65: Young man, you need to know when to be pragmatic.

The air was thick with the sour, fermented stench of machine oil, mixed with the distinct, metallic tang of rust, drilling straight into the nose.

This was the so-called "Mechanical Graveyard," and also the special treasure chest location that was flashing frantically on the market navigation map.

What kind of treasure could there be in this godforsaken place?

Su Chen parked the bus on the open ground in the periphery. When getting off, he deliberately patted Lin Mengyao on the shoulder, signaling her to stay close.

This place was chaotic. If this delicate greenhouse flower were to be snatched away by someone, who could he cry to about his half-upgraded "Acacia Cultivation Method"?

At the entrance of the graveyard, an old man wearing oil-stained work clothes was squatting in front of a scrapped diesel engine, tinkering with it.

His left eye was a dark red mechanical prosthetic, and his right hand gripped a wrench covered in black oil. Hearing footsteps, he didn't even lift his head.

"Black Iron Badges can only wander in the outer perimeter of the market."

Old Mo's voice sounded like it had been scraped across sandpaper.

"Want to enter the core area to pick the best goods? Unless you have a handwritten approval note from Boss Thunder Owl, even the King of Heaven would have to wait outside."

Su Chen raised an eyebrow, his gaze crossing the waist-high barbed wire fence to scan the mountains of accumulated wreckage of precision instruments inside.

There were indeed quite a few good things, he could even see a few intact military exoskeletons, but those were not his target right now.

That damned treasure chest cursor wasn't pointing to the core area, but rather to that pile of black slag casually dumped like trash at Old Mo's feet.

Su Chen calmly activated [Appraisal of All Things] in his field of vision.

Lines of light blue data streams cascaded across his retinas.

【Industrial scrap metal, Value: Low】

【Radiation-exceeding copper wire, Value: None】

【Damaged hydraulic rod, Recycling value: Extremely low】

His gaze fixed on the bottom of that pile of slag, on an inconspicuous black object that would definitely be mistaken for a lump of coal if one didn't look carefully.

【Item: Damaged Void Engine Core (Fragment)】

【Rating: Epic (Damaged State)】

【Description: A power component from a higher dimension. Once repaired, it can grant a vehicle space-jump capability. Currently in a dormant, dim state, requires high-energy activation.】

There really is a treasure?

This luck—even stepping in dog shit when going out wouldn't be this accurate.

Su Chen was blooming with joy inside, but on his face, he put on an expression of disdain, kicking the tin box next to the pile of slag with his toe.

Sitting on the box was a girl as thin as a monkey, her eyes covered by a dirty black cloth, her hands tied behind her back with nylon zip ties. Hearing the commotion, she trembled in fear.

"Old Mo, let's make a deal."

Su Chen pulled two unopened cans of "Great Wall" brand luncheon meat from his pocket and tossed them in his hand.

The crisp sound of the tin cans clashing made the red light in Old Mo's mechanical prosthetic eye flare brilliantly.

"This pile of scrap, plus this... little girl who I don't know is blind or mute, I want them all."

Old Mo, like a hyena that had smelled blood, snatched the luncheon meat, greedily sniffing the scent of industrial preservatives remaining on the tin.

"That's just waste slag dug out from the mine pit yesterday, originally planned to fill the roadbed tomorrow."

"This girl is also a money-loser; she can't do heavy work. Aside from those eyes being a bit strange, she doesn't have an ounce of meat on her."

"Two cans of meat? Deal! Whoever goes back on their word is a coward!"

He looked at Su Chen as if looking at a landlord's foolish son. In this day and age, someone was actually paying a high price for non-flammable trash and a sickly weakling?

Su Chen ignored Old Mo's mockery. Just as he was about to untie the zip ties on the girl's hands, the crisp sound of high heels striking the ground abruptly cut in.

"Wait."

A rich scent of rose perfume forcibly dispersed the stench of machine oil.

Ye Hongyu swayed her exquisite sandalwood fan, walking elegantly with four attendants wearing high-slit cheongsams.

That blood-red cheongsam was extremely eye-catching against the gray, gloomy garbage dump.

She didn't even glance at Su Chen, her gaze locked tightly onto the shivering blind girl, her cinnabar-painted fingers tapping lightly.

"I want this girl. Six cans of beef, plus one antibiotic."

The luncheon meat in Old Mo's hands almost fell to the ground, his eyeballs nearly popping out.

What kind of incredible luck did he hit today?

"Sorry, the deal is done."

Su Chen turned sideways to block the girl, a playful smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

"You're late. This is now my private property."

"Ten times."

Ye Hongyu narrowed her eyes, that lazy charm instantly turning into the sharpness of a blade.

"Handsome, you need to know how to read the room. This girl has a special constitution; in your hands, she's just a bed warmer. Don't waste such a treasure."

"What a coincidence, I just happen to be missing a bed warmer."

Su Chen sneered. This feeling of being intercepted halfway made him very unhappy.

Not only did he not retreat, but instead, he turned and grabbed the girl's thin shoulders.

The overbearing Sacred Yang True Qi within his body was instantly mobilized, forcefully pouring into the girl's body through his palms.

"Ugh!"

The girl let out a short, sharp cry of pain. Immediately after, her paper-white skin flushed with a rosy hue at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A faint golden light actually emanated from the center of her previously lifeless brow.

Su Chen's move was not just a show of force, but also an "inspection of goods."

If she were truly waste, unable to withstand this extreme Yang energy, her blood vessels would have burst on the spot.

But the girl only trembled once, and that overbearing energy, like a clay ox entering the sea, was instantly absorbed by her completely.

"You!"

Ye Hongyu's expression changed slightly, clearly not expecting Su Chen to be a hidden expert.

And this energy attribute... why does it seem a bit similar to that annoying Thunder Owl?

Su Chen ignored Ye Hongyu's man-eating gaze and reached out to pull the black cloth off the girl's eyes.

The girl slowly opened her eyes.

They were a pair of eyes without pupils, only a chaotic, silvery white.

The moment these eyes reflected Su Chen's figure, the girl's previously dull expression suddenly turned into extreme terror.

She desperately grabbed the corner of Su Chen's clothes with her backhand, her grip so tight her knuckles turned white.

"Don't... don't move!"

Her voice was as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing together, only audible to Su Chen.

"Underneath that pile of black stones... there's something alive... it's breathing... it wants to eat people..."

Su Chen's pupils constricted slightly.

Something alive?

Immediately after, the girl buried her head very low, her body trembling violently, her voice lowered even further, carrying a sobbing tone.

"And... behind that window on the second floor that looks like a bird's beak... there's a long black tube... pointed right at the back of your head... that's Thunder Owl... he's laughing..."

Su Chen's heart jumped violently, the hairs on his back instantly standing on end.

He did not look up, not even tensing his muscles, maintaining that same devil-may-care posture.

It was just that the hand in his pocket had already silently gripped an instant-detonation smoke grenade.

It seems this market is not as hospitable as imagined.