64: Ambush in a dark alley, the dance of the shadow guards

Night in the black market always arrived exceptionally early. Or rather, there was no such thing as daytime here.

There was only the thick metal dome overhead, isolating the area from all starlight.

In its place were countless flickering neon tubes, dyeing this massive underground city in bizarre, cyberpunk hues.

Gu Pingsheng led the three women out of the auction house.

He did not take the wide, bright main road, but instead turned into a narrow, gloomy back alley.

This was the backside of the black market. The ground was covered in sewage, emitting a foul stench of mixed machine oil and rotting food.

The walls were plastered with various vulgar advertisements and wanted posters, covered beyond recognition by messy graffiti.

Occasionally, a few mutated rats would dart out from the trash heaps, staring with scarlet eyes, vigilantly watching these uninvited guests.

"Captain, why do we have to walk this way?"

Liu Ruyan stepped carefully in her high heels, avoiding the puddles on the ground. If her expensive qipao got dirty, she would feel heartbroken for a long time.

"It's dirty and smelly here, and besides..." She shrank her neck, feeling the eeriness of the surroundings.

"And it's very suitable for killing and looting, right?"

Gu Pingsheng stopped walking, turned around, and looked at the pitch-black shadows behind him. There was no trace of tension on his face; instead, he wore a casual smile.

"Since you've been following us the whole way, come out."

He took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and pulled one out to hold in his mouth. "Click." The lighter's flame flickered, igniting the tobacco.

As he exhaled a puff of bluish-white smoke, dense footsteps suddenly echoed from the previously empty alley entrance.

"Clap, clap, clap." A round of applause rang out. Immediately after, the beams of a dozen high-powered flashlights hit Gu Pingsheng and his group in the face. The blinding light made it impossible to open their eyes.

"As expected of a big spender who can pull out two hundred million, your vigilance is quite high." An arrogant voice came from behind the beams.

Zhao Tianba, wearing that glittering power armor, swaggered out, surrounded by a group of heavily armed mercenaries.

A ferocious grin hung on his face, his eyes filled with greed and murderous intent.

"Unfortunately, your brain isn't working too well." "You didn't take the main road and insisted on drilling into this dead end." "Isn't this just saving me the trouble?"

He waved his hand. The twenty-something mercenaries behind him immediately fanned out, their heavy blaster rifles aiming in unison at Gu Pingsheng. The dark muzzles gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the neon lights.

"Zhao Tianba?" Gu Pingsheng squinted his eyes, adjusting to the bright light. He pointed at Zhao Tianba with his cigarette-holding finger, his tone as flat as if he were asking for directions.

"What? You couldn't compete at the auction, so you plan to rob us in broad daylight?"

"Rob?" Zhao Tianba sneered. "In the black market, this is called 'resource redistribution'."

His greedy gaze swept over Gu Pingsheng, finally landing on the two women. Especially Liu Ruyan's high-slit qipao, which made him unable to help but swallow hard.

"Kid, if you're smart, hand over that map fragment." "And all the money on you." "Oh, right, these two chicks are not bad either; leave them behind to play with me." "As long as you listen obediently, if I'm in a good mood, I might even leave you a whole corpse."

Hearing this, Liu Ruyan turned pale with fright, subconsciously gripping Gu Pingsheng's arm. Gu Nian pushed up her glasses, calmly assessing the disparity in combat power between the two sides.

"The opponent has twenty-three people, well-equipped, with heavy firepower." She whispered into Gu Pingsheng's ear. "If we fight head-on, the odds of winning are low. I suggest using the terrain to retreat."

"Retreat?" Gu Pingsheng laughed. He flicked the ash from his cigarette, the sparks tracing a graceful arc in the darkness. "In my dictionary, there is no such thing as retreat."

He raised his head, looking at Zhao Tianba's arrogant face. There was no fear in his eyes, only a kind of pity one might show a dead man.

"I originally wanted to let you live a few more days." "Unfortunately, you chose to die yourself."

"What did you say?!" Zhao Tianba was furious. "You're at death's door and still talking tough! Get him! Kill the man! Capture the women alive!"

"Yes!" The mercenaries shouted in unison, their fingers pulling the triggers.

Just at this critical moment, Gu Pingsheng softly uttered two words. "An An."

This call was very soft. So soft it was like a lover's whisper in the ear. But in that shadow illuminated by the bright light, something had awakened.

The shadow at Gu Pingsheng's feet suddenly boiled, like a pot of boiling ink. The next second, a black figure drilled out of the shadow without any warning.

No sound. No omen. It was as if a ghost had descended upon the world. It was An An.

She wore that oversized black hoodie, the hood covering most of her face. Only the eyes exposed were now a strange scarlet red. That was the color of slaughter.

The dagger in her hand slashed a dark streak of light through the darkness. Pfft—! A soft sound.

The mercenary standing at the very front didn't even have time to scream. A thin line of blood appeared on his throat. Blood gushed out, staining the sewage on the ground.

"What is that?!" The other mercenaries were horrified, frantically turning their guns. But An An's figure had already disappeared. Or rather, she was everywhere.

She activated her talent—【Shadow Stealth】. In this dark back alley, there were shadows everywhere. And wherever there were shadows, it was her home turf.

She was like a black butterfly, dancing gracefully among the crowd. Each flicker was accompanied by a deadly cold light. Each appearance took away a living life.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! The sound of blades cutting into flesh rose and fell. Those heavily armed mercenaries, in front of An An, were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Their heavy armor could not block that purple dagger reinforced by Gu Pingsheng at all. Their heavy firepower couldn't even touch the corner of An An's clothes.

In just a dozen seconds, all twenty-something mercenaries collapsed in a pool of blood. The entire back alley instantly turned into a Shura field. The thick smell of blood overpowered the original foul stench.

Zhao Tianba was stunned. He stood blankly on the spot, looking at the corpses all over the ground, his mind completely blank. The team that had been so aggressive just a moment ago was now reduced to just him, a lone commander.

"This... what kind of monster is this?!"

"You... don't come over!" Watching that blood-soaked black figure walk toward him, Zhao Tianba's legs went weak from fear, and he sat down on the ground with a thud.

He scrambled backward on his hands and feet, his voice filled with terror. "I am a young master of the Interstellar Chamber of Commerce! My dad is Zhao Baiwan! If you dare to kill me, my dad won't let you off!"

An An did not speak. She just walked quietly in front of him. The dagger in her hand was still dripping blood. In those scarlet eyes, there was no emotion, only pure killing intent. She raised the dagger, ready to stab down.

"Wait." Gu Pingsheng's voice suddenly rang out.

An An's movement stopped instantly. The tip of the dagger was less than a centimeter away from Zhao Tianba's eyeball. Zhao Tianba could even feel the bone-chilling cold. He was so scared he forgot to breathe, and a warm wetness spread in his crotch. He had peed.

Gu Pingsheng, holding his cigarette, walked over slowly. He looked down at Zhao Tianba, who was collapsed on the ground, his eyes filled with mockery.

"Young Master Zhao, weren't you quite imposing just now?" "Why have you wet your pants now?"

"Don't... don't kill me..." Zhao Tianba cried with snot and tears streaming down his face, kowtowing desperately to beg for mercy. "I was wrong! I didn't recognize your greatness! Please spare me! I will give you as much money as you want! My dad has plenty of money!"

"Money?" Gu Pingsheng smiled. He squatted down and reached out to pat Zhao Tianba's pale face. "I am not short on money." "What I am short of, is making those who want to kill me pay the price."

After saying this, he stood up, turned his head, and didn't look at Zhao Tianba again. "Do it."

Pfft—! A muffled sound of a blade entering flesh came from behind. Zhao Tianba's pleas for mercy came to an abrupt end. This arrogant young master of the Interstellar Chamber of Commerce died just like that in this dirty back alley. He died with his eyes wide open, unwilling to accept his fate.

The battle ended. An An stood in the pile of corpses, her chest heaving violently. Her body was stained with blood, both from the enemies and the filth that had splattered onto her.

Those scarlet eyes were still staring fixedly at the corpses on the ground, with a kind of frenzied instability flickering in them. That was the aftereffect of the slaughter. Her mental state was not good to begin with, and this kind of high-intensity killing could easily make her lose control.

Gu Pingsheng threw away his cigarette butt and crushed it. He walked to An An. He did not dislike the bloodstains on her, nor was he afraid of her crazy eyes.

He took a clean white handkerchief from his pocket. He reached out and gently lifted An An's chin. "Well done." His voice was very soft and gentle.

The handkerchief in his hand wiped away the bloodstains on her cheeks bit by bit. His movements were as gentle as if he were wiping a rare treasure.

"My shadow." An An's body trembled. She looked up, gazing into Gu Pingsheng's deep eyes. There was no fear in them, no disgust. Only full indulgence and recognition.

The scarlet in her eyes gradually faded, turning back to their original black. The frenzied killing intent also dissipated, replaced by a docile attachment. She was like an injured kitten, pressing her face into Gu Pingsheng's palm and rubbing gently.

"Master..." She murmured in a low voice. Her voice was hoarse, but it carried an indescribable satisfaction. As long as she could protect him, even if she became a demon, she was willing.

Gu Pingsheng smiled and tossed the blood-stained handkerchief onto the ground. Then, he walked to Zhao Tianba's corpse. Although the person was dead, the equipment and wealth could not be wasted. This was a traditional skill.

He searched Zhao Tianba's body for a while. Besides some scattered energy coins and the power armor that was worth something, he felt a hard card in Zhao Tianba's inner pocket. He took it out and looked. It was a purple metal card. It was imprinted with the emblem of the Interstellar Chamber of Commerce.

【Chamber of Commerce Gold Card (purple)】. This was a symbol of a high-level member of the Interstellar Chamber of Commerce, possessing an extremely high overdraft limit and purchasing authority.

"Not bad." Gu Pingsheng raised an eyebrow. Although it couldn't compare to his supreme card, it was still a good item.

Just at this moment, his heart suddenly stirred. That familiar feeling came again. "Hand of God, activate!" Hum—! The purple gold card in his hand suddenly began to vibrate.

The original purple light instantly surged, becoming blindingly bright. The metal patterns on the surface of the card began to reorganize, and the color changed from purple to a deep black, with a circle of brilliant silver edges inlaid around the rim.

"Ding! Hand of God activated! purple -> Brilliant Silver!"

【Obtained: Interstellar Black Gold Card (Brilliant Silver)】 Description: The top-tier black gold card used universally by the Chamber of Commerce across the universe. It has an unlimited overdraft limit (directly guaranteed by the Interstellar Chamber of Commerce headquarters) and is a symbol of noble status. Holding this card is like the Chamber of Commerce President arriving in person.

"Holy crap..." Even though Gu Pingsheng was knowledgeable and experienced, he couldn't help but swear at this moment. Unlimited overdraft limit? Like the President arriving in person? This wasn't just a gold card; this was practically an infinite-swipe cheat code!

With this card, he wouldn't have to spend money when buying things at any Chamber of Commerce in the future? And he could also mobilize the resources of the Chamber of Commerce? This loot grab was an absolute massive profit!

"What's wrong, Captain?" Gu Nian saw Gu Pingsheng stunned there and came over curiously.

"Nothing." Gu Pingsheng put away the black gold card, unable to hide the smile on his face. "Just picked up a... little gadget that will let us walk sideways in the future."

He turned around and looked at the three confused women behind him. He waved his hand. "Let's go." "With this, we won't have to spend money on anything in the future." "Back to the spaceship, get ready to set off." "Our target—Eden!"

The group stepped through the blood on the ground and left the dark back alley. They left behind a ground full of corpses, and Zhao Tianba, who had died with his eyes wide open. Behind them, the neon lights of the black market continued to flicker, as if nothing had ever happened. Only the blood-stained handkerchief left on the ground silently told the story of the slaughter that had just taken place.