Chapter 5: Black Gold, Section 5

Fifteen fully armed magic mechs.
Xue Tong immediately took a sharp breath. Such formidable military strength, right at this narrow city gate, with their side unprepared at all—should a conflict arise, even a fool could predict the outcome. He never expected that while chatting with Black Hair, they would end up in such a predicament. The assassin’s intuition made him feel uneasy; even his hair stood on end. He fell silent, desperately searching for a way to escape.
There was no doubt about the combat capabilities of those mechs. From below, Xue Tong could even see the glow of the magic crystals in their weapons—a sign that only appeared after the safety was disengaged, indicating that these mechs could launch deadly attacks at any moment. Under the cold moonlight, faint blue dots reflected off their surfaces, creating a tense atmosphere.
Yet his employer, our comrade Black Hair, clearly lacked this awareness.
Reaching out to open the window, Black Hair casually poked his upper body out and handed over the identification card he had used during his last visit to Berin.
“Please hurry, we’ve been traveling for days and need rest.”
“Hmm, it won’t take too long, young man,” the official said, taking Black Hair’s ID and scanning it with a device before freezing abruptly.
“Name: Black Hair. A fugitive?”
“Yes, sir,” Black Hair replied, maintaining his charming smile and nodding gently.
Behind him, Xue Tong’s body trembled slightly, his right hand instinctively reaching into his pocket. Meanwhile, the girl Su Lei sat down at the control seat, her fair hands rapidly adjusting the puppet worm to manual control mode. Her beautiful face was serious, with faint sweat glistening on her skin.
In their hearts, although Black Hair was a good leader and an extremely powerful warrior, in such a trap-like situation, individual strength seemed insufficient to turn things around. They could only prepare for the worst.
If that official said the wrong word, there was no doubt the puppet worm would instantly reach full power and break free from the encirclement. Behind him, Xue Tong would surely use the controller in his pocket to open the mech’s cargo door, revealing his demons to the world.

But to their surprise, the official merely let out a low “oh,” then bowed his head again, fiddling with the instrument in his hands before suddenly laughing heartily.
“Kid, you really have a bright future ahead. Last time you came to Belin, you already took down two of Black Gold’s underlings. Now your value has gone up—the bounty on your head has reached 150,000. If this continues, you’ll probably be on the blacklist soon. What’s your purpose here this time?”
“Selling goods,” replied the black-haired man briefly. Then he casually glanced at those massive magic mechs and reached out absentmindedly. “What are those?”
“Those are guards. The desert has been unstable lately. Don’t pretend you don’t know. Kid, asking too many questions won’t do you any good. Alright, go in now. As per the old rules, you need to return your identity card after killing someone. I hope you don’t forget that,” the official replied impatiently.
“Yes, sir,” the black-haired man nodded, then took out a crystal card from his pocket and casually tossed it into the official’s hand. “Thank you for your kindness. Here’s a small token for your drink.”
“Hehe, good boy. Go ahead, stop blocking the entrance.” The official’s face lit up with a smile. He put the crystal card in his pocket and waved them through.
Blood-Eyed and Sulei inside the carriage finally breathed a sigh of relief…
It was ironic—that official could never have guessed that the most notorious sand pirates these days, the so-called “Locusts,” the ones who had made their lives miserable, were actually among these puppet bugs they were now letting through. The mech guards at both checkpoints not only failed to serve any purpose but seemed to have become their escort instead.
The black-haired group didn’t linger either. After parking the puppet bugs, the three of them headed straight to the black market beneath the city.
Those who had never seen this black market would never have imagined that transactions here were so simple and direct. Even Black Hair from the modern world was amazed by its efficiency.
That’s because they couldn’t see any actual goods, nor was there any noisy, chaotic crowd. All that appeared before them was a huge square, with countless beautiful video crystals neatly arranged in the middle, forming well-defined pathways. Whenever a customer passed by a video crystal, information and introductions about various goods would appear on it, along with detailed explanations in language. Transactions could also be completed directly via the internet based on the customer’s choice—utterly convenient.
“Surprised?” A clear voice rang beside Black Hair, pulling him out of his observations.

It was Sulei. Somehow, she had already changed into a red miniskirt; the tight outfit highlighted her slender figure, with her fair skin exposed extensively under the light, giving off an alluring, almost criminal vibe. Coupled with her delicate appearance, any normal man would likely feel the urge to tease her.
“You’re lying again. Do you really think Blackhair is someone who can be easily deceived?” Bloodpupil rolled his lips in boredom and tapped the video crystal beside him. Soon, a waiter brought over a glass of red wine.
“Of course not,” Sulei said shyly, a faint blush appearing on her fair face. “This is just my work uniform here. Mr. Bloodpupil, don’t you think it’s a good idea?”
“It’s none of my business,” Bloodpupil replied coldly.
As a killer who had lived in Belin for a long time, Bloodpupil naturally knew quite a bit about this girl. He also knew exactly how many businessmen had been played by her because of her delicate appearance. Even Heijin had only developed a strong interest in her after falling into her hands.
Unfortunately, this cute appearance seemed to not work on Blackhair. After giving it a brief glance, he merely grunted and continued observing the black market.
“Mr. Blackhair, looking like this isn’t very meaningful. It’s hard to haggle over transactions here. We can only get the best deals by contacting the sellers directly,” Sulei spoke confidently, undeterred by Blackhair’s attitude. “But this is the rule for displaying goods here, and we can’t make exceptions. So we should get a counter first.”
“Your goods? Can I take a look first?” A voice suddenly rang out behind them.