116: The Butcher's Double Report

"Beep."

the Butcher's reply was almost instantaneous, startlingly fast.

The content wasn't text; it was just a cold set of coordinates and a time—"Midnight."

Reno leaned in to take a look, and his expression changed instantly. "Boss, it's a trap!"

"Why?"

"These coordinates are at the 'Steel Graveyard' on the very edge of the port! It's a dumping ground for abandoned starships with a complex layout and chaotic signals—it's a notorious hotspot for backstabbing!" Reno said urgently. "He's up to no good, inviting us there!"

"I know," Chen Feng replied with terrifying calmness.

"You know, and you're still going?!"

"Because he replied instantly." Chen Feng turned off the screen and said flatly, "An information broker who sets a time and place without hesitation when faced with a crazy request like a 'nonexistent key' and an 'invisible lock'... that's not just confidence; that's having the goods. He really has what we want."

"But what if..."

"No 'what ifs'." Chen Feng interrupted him. "I'm only taking you. Lao Mo, stay on the ship, be ready to provide backup and... fire support."

"Understood, Boss." Lao Mo nodded, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

Reno wanted to say more, but seeing Chen Feng's unquestionable gaze, he could only grit his teeth and respond in a low voice, "Yes, sir!"

The Steel Graveyard at midnight was like a cemetery for ancient behemoths.

Broken starship hulls pierced the night sky, and fractured armor cast hideous, twisted shadows under the dim blue emergency lights. The air was thick with the smell of coolant and rusted metal.

Chen Feng and Reno walked through the metallic wreckage, each step crunching on shattered portholes and scattered parts.

Finally, they found the Butcher amidst the wreckage of a heavy cruiser that had been snapped in two.

He was sitting on a mangled engine cover, methodically scraping a massive leg bone of some unknown creature with a gleaming knife, seemingly enjoying a midnight snack.

"You're here." the Butcher didn't look up, his blade skillfully slicing through the joints, the sound particularly grating in the silent night.

"I'm here." Chen Feng stood still across from him. "Where is my key?"

"Don't be in such a hurry." the Butcher finally looked up, his eyes buried in fat glinting with shrewdness. "Before we talk about your current business, I have another report here that you commissioned me to look into earlier. It's about 'Nether'."

Chen Feng's pupils constricted slightly.

"I think you'd better hear this first." the Butcher grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow by tobacco. "After hearing it, you might reconsider... whether you still want to buy that 'key'."

"Speak."

"'Nether' isn't some commercial organization." the Butcher dropped his cynical facade, his tone becoming serious for the first time. "They come from a place that lifeforms in your material world cannot comprehend—the [River Lethe Echo Plane]."

"Their leader calls himself [Nether Archduke - Acheron]."

the Butcher licked his greasy lips and continued, "This Acheron is a complete fundamentalist lunatic. He intensely hates all material world civilizations that 'steal' soul energy from their plane. In their eyes, we are all... thieves."

Reno instinctively gripped the dagger at his waist.

"What's worse," the Butcher's gaze locked onto Chen Feng's face, as if savoring his reaction, "Acheron believes your newly established [Hanhai Trade] is the greediest and most deserving of death among all the thieves."

"As for the one you traded with before, 'Whisperer' Nyx, he has been branded a 'collaborator' by Acheron and is being hunted across the entire plane."

the Butcher's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Chen Feng's heart.

He instantly understood the purpose behind Nether's dumping of undead crystals.

"Their goal isn't to make money," the Butcher said word by word, confirming Chen Feng's suspicion. "They are declaring 'ownership' to the entire market! They are launching a resource war against all buyers. They want everyone involved in the trade of undead crystals to pay a price."

Attacked from both inside and out.

On one side was the pressing matter of Eve, and on the other was an interdimensional war about to shake his commercial empire to its foundations.

Chen Feng felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, yet his face remained expressionless, as cold as an ice sculpture.

the Butcher watched him with interest, seemingly surprised by his composure.

He chuckled and brought the conversation back. "Now, tell me, do you still want to buy that 'key'?"

"Name your price," Chen Feng's voice was devoid of emotion.

"Decisive!" the Butcher nodded in approval. "The price for information on it is one hundred thousand interstellar credit points. Pay first, then get the goods. Those are the rules."

"One hundred thousand!"

This figure nearly made Reno cry out. It was almost half of their remaining liquid capital!

Reno frantically signaled Chen Feng to refuse; this was pure extortion!

However, Chen Feng didn't even blink.

He looked directly at the Butcher and, with unusual calm, raised his personal terminal to begin the transaction.

"Beep." The notification for a successful transfer sounded.

"Money is a small matter," Chen Feng said, slowly lowering his hand, his voice cold. "But your information had better be worth the price. Otherwise, I'll make you realize that in this Free Port, sometimes reputation is worth more than life."

After receiving the transfer, the smile on the Butcher's face became much more genuine, even carrying a hint of respect.

He put away his knife, stood up, and brushed the bone fragments off his hands.

"Very well. I like doing business with lunatics like you."

His tone was more serious than ever.

"The 'key' you're looking for—there is indeed one in the port. And it's about to make a public appearance."

"In three days, at Port Master Hecate's private auction."

With that, the Butcher didn't linger; he turned and vanished into the depths of the dark wreckage, leaving behind only a sentence drifting in the night wind.

Chen Feng and Reno stood in place, not moving for a long time as they processed this bombshell of mixed news.