Chapter 149 Selling Erguotou as a Biological Weapon

"Hiss—"

The airlock, filled with rust and grease, slowly opened, and a stench—a mixture of machine oil, cheap spices, and some indescribable foul odor—rushed directly into Lin Yuan's face.

This was Sin Starport.

Lin Yuan raised his hand and waved it in front of his nose. If he were still in his former mortal body, this stench would likely have made him vomit his previous night's meal. But now, he only felt that this smell… had a kick.

"So this is Free Trade Zone No. 49?"

Lin Yuan pushed his sunglasses down slightly, revealing a pair of pupils now disguised as black, his gaze sweeping across the bizarre steel jungle before him.

If one ignored the artificial, dim firmament overhead, this place was essentially a slum magnified ten thousand times.

However, the street vendors here weren't old men missing limbs, but alien creatures with four arms and oozing sores all over their bodies; what they sold weren't old clothes, but biological prosthetics still stained with blood, slices of brains from unknown organisms, and even miniature stellar cores encapsulated in magnetic bottles, still constantly slamming against the bottle walls.

"Boss, fresh Titanian star slaves. Not only can they do heavy labor, but their meat is also extremely delicious. Want two pounds?"

A vendor that looked like an upright toad held up a twitching thigh and eagerly crowded toward Lin Yuan.

"Scram."

Lin Yuan didn't make a move; his black trench coat simply billowed without wind, a sliver of pressure belonging to a higher life form leaking out slightly.

The toad was instantly like a creature electrocuted; it shrieked and was sent flying backward more than ten meters, knocking over a pile of jars filled with eyeballs.

The surrounding gazes that had intended to crowd around and "fleece" him instantly retracted.

In this godforsaken place, strength was the best form of identification.

"gaia, scan the currency system here." Lin Yuan said, hands in his pockets, strolling down the street with apparent nonchalance. "We need to find a good buyer for this ship full of junk."

"Accessing the local dark web…"

gaia's voice rang in his mind, accompanied by the crisp sound of abacus beads clicking.

"Boss, the currency here is very chaotic. The hard currencies are 'Aether Crystals' and 'High-Energy Fuel Rods,' but the most circulated one is a virtual currency called 'credit points.' I just hacked into their exchange rate system and discovered something interesting."

"What?"

"There's a delay in the exchange mechanism for credit points here. If we use a high-frequency trading algorithm like the one on NASDAQ to rapidly flip assets between the 'Black Gold Bank' in the East District and the 'Redemption Pawnshop' in the West District…"

"How much can we make?"

"If we aren't discovered, we can triple our money every minute. However, we need a bit of startup capital."

Lin Yuan paused, looking at the addicts on the side of the road screaming in pain due to the lack of some neuro-anesthetic, then felt the "specialties" he had brought from Earth in his pocket.

"Startup capital, huh… I have some."

Ten minutes later.

In the most bustling "money-burning" district of Sin Starport, an extremely crude stall was set up.

There were no holographic billboards, no coquettish promoters.

There was only an armor plate salvaged from a warship wreck, with four characters laser-engraved on it: 【Earth Specialties】

Lin Yuan sat behind it in a domineering posture, with two items placed in front of him:

A bottle of Red Star Erguotou (56% alcohol) and a bottle of Lao Gan Ma (fermented bean curd flavor).

"Which primitive planet did this monkey run out from?"

"What is that transparent liquid? Industrial alcohol?"

Several multi-armed alien passersby crowded around, pointing and gesturing, their three compound eyes filled with mockery. In their view, daring to set up a stall in this area, but selling neither energy weapon nor contraband, was simply courting death.

"Country bumpkins who haven't seen the world."

Lin Yuan glanced at them disdainfully and reached out to unscrew the cap of the Erguotou.

"Pop—"

With a crisp sound, a rich, pungent, and mellow aroma unique to fermented Earth grains instantly permeated the district, which was otherwise filled with foul odors.

For Earthlings, this was the aroma of liquor.

But for these alien races who had never encountered ethanol, a type of "neurotoxin," this smell was essentially some kind of high-purity biochemical hallucinogen!

"Hiss—what… what an intoxicating scent!"

A long-nosed alien standing closest to him took a deep breath. Its originally pallid complexion instantly flushed deep red, its two eyes began to spin irregularly, and its whole body swayed as if it were stepping on cotton.

"I… I saw my great-grandmother…"

"What is this?! My neural centers are burning! But I… I want to smell it again!"

The onlookers immediately erupted in chaos.

In the interstellar era, substances that could cause such violent reactions in the nervous system were usually top-tier contraband under strict control.

"This is called 'Tears of the Ancestors.'"

Lin Yuan picked up the bottle and shook it in his hand, his tone sounding like a complete charlatan.

"It comes from the distant Blue Star. Each drop contains a high-dimensional law called 'Sorrow.' Take one sip, and you can forget all your debts and enemies; take two sips, and this entire galaxy will be yours."

"How much?!" A burly, one-eyed giant embedded with cybernetics pushed through the crowd and slammed a bag of energy crystals onto the table. "I want it all!"

Lin Yuan held up one finger and shook it.

"I don't sell this by the bottle, I sell it by the drop. One drop, ten high-energy units."

"Are you robbing me?!" the one-eyed giant roared.

"Take it or leave it." Lin Yuan unscrewed the other bottle of Lao Gan Ma, scooped a little out with a spoon, and spread it on a compressed biscuit. "This is called 'Hellfire.' Take one bite, and your digestive system will experience the thrill of a stellar explosion, and it can also greatly boost your adrenaline. Take a bite on the battlefield, and your combat power will double."

As he spoke, he handed the biscuit to a scrawny rat-man nearby.

The rat-man tremblingly licked it.

The next second.

"Awoo—!!!"

The rat-man let out a shrill yet excited scream. Its originally murky eyes instantly turned blood-red, its shriveled muscles swelled visibly, and the whole person began to jump wildly on the spot as if it had been injected with stimulants.

"Spicy! So spicy! But… it feels great! So great! I want to fight ten of them!"

The whole place went dead silent.

Immediately followed by a crazy roar.

"Give me a spoonful! I have money!"

"I want that bottle of liquid! I'll pay double!"

Lin Yuan looked at the group of aliens waving their money in front of him, the corners of his mouth curling into the smile of a profiteer.

"Don't rush, queue up. gaia, start collecting money, and by the way… run your high-frequency trading algorithm."

Just as Lin Yuan's business was becoming so hot it was about to cause a traffic jam, a few discordant shadows blocked the light to his stall.

The crowd instantly quieted down. The aliens who had been scrambling to buy goods acted as if they had seen a plague god and retreated in all directions.

"New here?"

A harsh voice that sounded like two pieces of metal rubbing together rang out.

Lin Yuan looked up.

Standing in front of him were five creatures wearing identical uniforms. They were nearly three meters tall, their skin a metallic iron-gray, and they held high-frequency vibration spears that were still charging.

On their chests hung a black badge: 【Interstellar Chamber of Commerce】.

The leader was a cyborg, half his face flesh and blood, the other half a red optical sensor. He kicked Lin Yuan's stall, causing the half-empty bottle of Lao Gan Ma to wobble.

"Doing business on this street without paying respects to the 'Interstellar Chamber of Commerce'?"

The cyborg looked down at Lin Yuan, red light flickering in his mechanical eye. "The goods are not bad. Hand over the recipe, this stall belongs to us, and you can get lost."

Forced buying and selling.

This kind of thing happened hundreds of times a day at Sin Starport.

Lin Yuan sighed, straightened the bottle of Lao Gan Ma, and pulled out a tissue to carefully wipe the bottle.

"I have a bad habit."

He slowly threw the tissue into the trash can, then stood up slowly.

"I hate it when people touch my things. Especially… those who haven't washed their hands."

"You're courting death!"

The cyborg sneered, and the vibration spear in his hand, carrying a frequency capable of shattering rock, smashed down toward Lin Yuan's head.

The onlookers around them covered their eyes, not wanting to see the scene of brains splattering.

But the anticipated scream did not come.

There was only a dull sound, like knocking on a watermelon—

"Bang!"

Lin Yuan's hand had somehow acquired a black, square brick.

It wasn't an ordinary brick; it was a piece of high-density titanium alloy he had cut from the engine scrap of the dragon sparrow, with a density hundreds of times that of ordinary steel.

The vibration spear hit the brick and snapped in two.

The brick in Lin Yuan's hand didn't lose momentum. Under the cyborg's stunned gaze, it slammed heavily onto his mechanical face with an extremely simple and unadorned trajectory.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The cyborg didn't even groan; his head was smashed directly into his chest cavity, and he fell straight down.

"Captain?!"

The remaining four thugs were stunned.

"Attack together!"

Four vibration spears thrust forward simultaneously, sealing off all escape routes.

Lin Yuan didn't retreat but advanced.

He didn't use his mech at all, nor did he even mobilize the Void Energy within his body. In such a narrow alleyway, the most primitive violence was the aesthetic.

Sidestep, dodge, swing the brick.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four crisp sounds, with a very strong rhythm.

Two seconds later.

The five so-called elite members of the Chamber of Commerce lay neatly on the ground, each with a large lump on their head, passed out cold.

Lin Yuan shook the brick in his hand and stepped on the cyborg captain's chest, applying slight pressure.

Crack.

The sound of the metal chest plate caving in made all the onlookers' teeth ache.

"Is this your Chamber of Commerce's way of treating guests?" Lin Yuan looked down at the twitching guy under his foot. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried throughout the entire street. "In Daxia, we value fairness in business. If you don't value fairness, I'll help you… gain some decency."

"Stop! Stop!"

Just as Lin Yuan was preparing to add another brick, a round figure rolled out from behind the crowd.

It was a fat man who looked like an octopus, wearing a luxurious silk robe, sweating profusely.

"Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"

The fat man was clearly the person in charge here. He glanced at the elite thugs lying on the ground, then looked at the unscathed Lin Yuan, who was still holding the weapon, a flash of shrewdness passing through his eyes.

To be able to instantly kill the Chamber of Commerce's law enforcement team using only physical strength without resorting to energy weapon, this was definitely a tough nut to crack. He might even be a royal from some higher civilization out for training.

"My good sir, I am the person in charge of this district. You can just call me Old Eight."

The fat man's face was piled with a fawning smile, and his tentacles even flatteringly helped Lin Yuan dust off his trench coat. "My subordinates were ignorant and offended a distinguished guest. You can deal with these people as you please. To express our apologies, the Chamber of Commerce will cover all your expenses in the Starport tonight!"

The surrounding aliens watched with their eyeballs almost popping out.

This was the law of Sin Starport.

If you are weak, they will chew your bones to dust; if you are strong, you are the master who must be catered to.

"No need to cover the bill."

Lin Yuan tossed the oil-stained brick onto the table with a loud thud, shaking the fat man's flab.

"I heard there's an auction tonight?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The fat man hurriedly pulled a gold-inlaid magnetic card from his bosom. "This is an admission ticket for a top-tier VIP box. It was originally reserved for a Star Governor, but now it belongs to you!"

Lin Yuan picked up the card with two fingers, the corners of his mouth curling into a satisfied arc.

"You're sensible."

...

Half an hour later.

In the center of Sin Starport, the Black Hole Auction House.

This place was a completely different world from the filth and chaos outside. The huge dome simulated the deep starry sky, and every box floated in mid-air, possessing an independent gravity system and air circulation.

Lin Yuan sat on the leather sofa in the Heaven-tier box, holding a cup of cola just "repurchased at a high price" from the Earth specialties area, watching the dense crowd of bidders below.

This feeling of looking down from above was indeed not bad.

"gaia, is the money laundered?"

"Laundered clean, Boss," gaia reported. "With that wave of exchange rate operations, plus the income from selling the specialties, we now have eighty million credit points in our account. While we can't buy the entire Starport, it's more than enough to buy some key intelligence."

"Hmm, then let's see what good things these aliens can bring out."

At this moment, a spotlight shone down on the auction stage below.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first lot!"

The auctioneer's impassioned voice rang out.

A holographic projection unfolded, and a giant warship with a hull full of bullet holes and smoke still rising from its tail appeared before everyone.

"A Mechanical Papacy 'Punisher-class' heavy cruiser! Although the propulsion system is damaged, the main cannon is intact! Starting bid: five million!"

The bidders below instantly boiled over, and shouts of bids rose one after another.

Lin Yuan, however, just curled his lip, looking disgusted.

"Trash. This broken ship's main cannon takes three minutes to charge. I wouldn't take it even if it were given to me."

He toyed with the VIP card in his hand, preparing to close his eyes and rest, waiting for the real finale—the titan relic.

Just at this moment.

【Ding!】

The system suddenly emitted an unprecedented, extremely sharp alarm sound.

【Warning! High concentration of Void Energy contamination detected!】

【Distance: 5 meters!】

【Location: Next-door box!】

Lin Yuan's originally lazy body instantly tensed up, like a leopard that had caught the scent of its natural predator.

5 meters?

Isn't that just one wall away?

He turned his head abruptly, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the special one-way glass and look at the Heaven-tier No. 2 box next door.

Although invisible to the naked eye, in Lin Yuan's semi-energized perception, there was no one sitting next door at all.

What was sitting there was a mass of… black hole, constantly squirming and emitting a nauseating aura.

It was a scent purer, older, and more evil than the Mechanical Papacy.

"This smell…"

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes, the purple light deep within his pupils flickering like breathing.

"It's really pungent."