283: Chapter 284 Stepping into the Black Harbor

The Ghoul Stars, the throat passage between the south and the north—the Shadow Corridor.

In the cold, deep starry sky, a purple-blue Warp rift tore open silently.

A player Void Ship, its outer armor painted with conspicuous billboards, warped out from the rift, trailing exhaust flames.

Not far directly in front of the Void Ship.

A giant meteorite fortress, cast entirely from steel and rock, floated silently in the void.

This was the Black Port fortress, known as the Bone of the Throat.

It was the core transit hub for the entire Ghoul Stars, integrating commerce and military affairs.

Surrounding the perimeter of the fortress was a massive orbital port.

In the space further out, Imperial fleets with various liveries were densely moored.

There were dilapidated frigates and massive heavy transport ships; it was a mixed bag, with ships of every stripe.

At this moment, inside the bridge of the player Void Ship.

The player Mudslide of the Merchant World, who was leading this ocean-going trade trip, gripped the edge of the control console with both hands.

He looked at the heavily armed Black Port fortress in the distance, feeling a bit nervous.

"I say, Brother Lu."

Mudslide swallowed a mouthful of saliva,

"Is this Rogue Trader warrant we spent a fortune on really useful? I see the Imperial Navy NPCs in this place, each one looks fierce and menacing; they don't look easy to fool."

Mudslide's worry was not without reason.

At this time, on the outskirts of the port, a large number of merchant supply ships from various star systems were queuing and waiting.

Imperial shuttles, each stamped with the double-headed eagle emblem, were weaving between these merchant ships like hunting dogs, boarding them one by one to verify identities.

And the so-called official trade certificate in their hands was actually loot obtained after Baby Bus wiped out a Rogue Trader!

"What are you afraid of?"

Beside him, Legend of Lu Shi sat majestically on the captain's chair, patting Mudslide on the shoulder,

"When I handle things, it's guaranteed to be stable. We are legitimate Imperial merchants now, show some aura."

At this moment, the voice of Heisi came through the communication channel:

"The NPC inspectors have entered the cabin! Prepare to receive guests!"

"Take your positions! Stick to the script!"

Legend of Lu Shi immediately straightened his body, striking an arrogant pose with eyes higher than the top of his head.

A few minutes later.

The airlock of the bridge opened.

A squad of Imperial Defense Force soldiers wearing heavy bulletproof armor escorted an Imperial civil official wearing robes and walked in.

The civil official scanned the bridge, and his gaze landed on Legend of Lu Shi, who was sitting on the captain's chair.

He bowed slightly to salute, his tone neither humble nor arrogant:

"Respected sir, according to the Black Port Code, I need to inspect your Rogue Trader warrant."

Legend of Lu Shi squinted his eyes, not even looking directly at that civil official.

He just waved his hand impatiently, not saying a word.

Since they were role-playing as high-status Rogue Traders, they naturally had to act out that sense of superiority, viewing mortals as ants.

Heisi, standing on the side, immediately understood.

He walked forward with a straight face and made a gesture of invitation to the civil official:

"My lord is weary from the journey and has no time to deal with these trifles; please come with me."

Heisi led this team of NPCs to a cabin deep in the ship specifically used for enshrining the Imperial warrant.

Under the dim light, that ancient parchment scroll, stained with a trace of dark red blood, lay quietly inside a bulletproof glass cover.

The civil official leaned close to the glass, using the light to roughly read the High gothic inscriptions and sacred seals on it.

After confirming everything was correct, the civil official knelt on both knees on the spot, pressed his hands together towards the warrant, and performed a pious prayer.

The prayer finished.

The civil official stood up and nodded to indicate there was no problem.

He pulled a roll of parchment stamped with the Black Port Governor's seal from his sleeve and handed it to Heisi.

With this thing, their ship could legitimately enter the interior of Black Port to conduct large-scale trade.

The Void Ship slowly sailed into the designated berth, and the huge grappling plate fixing clamps connected to the hull.

Legend of Lu Shi, Mudslide, and Heisi changed into crisp trench coats and took a shuttle to descend to the interior surface of the Black Port fortress.

As soon as the three of them landed, they began to examine this brand-new map with great interest.

This was a Hive City built entirely from reinforced concrete and metal pipes.

The sky was a dead, pitch-black void with no natural light.

Dim yellow sodium lamps and the firelight from burning oil drums on street corners were the only light sources here.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of a mixture of engine oil and low-quality tobacco.

On both sides of the road, heavily armed Adeptus Arbites riot squads and Defense Force were constantly patrolling.

In a dim alley not far away, shrill screams of someone being beaten came, and a group of busybodies watching the excitement were cheering around.

On both sides of the street, various strangely dressed vendors held up signs, loudly hawking the goods in their hands.

Moreover, in this city, the existence of alien creatures did not seem rare.

The players even saw several dying half-lizardman slaves locked in iron cages by the side of the road;

A mutant with only one eye and dark skin was sitting by the side of the road, gulping down some kind of green liquid;

There were even a few tall figures who were clearly not human weaving through the crowd.

Here was a gray area that existed on the fringes of Imperial law.

"Brother Lu, look over there!"

Mudslide suddenly pointed excitedly at a stall on the street corner, "Bean sprouts! It's an Eldar!"

Legend of Lu Shi looked in the direction of the finger.

He saw an Eldar figure wearing a gray hooded ranger outfit, with pointed ears and a tall, slender figure, standing in the shadows.

On her stall lay a shuriken pistol with a streamlined, aesthetic design.

"Making a fuss over nothing."

Legend of Lu Shi straightened his collar, "She seems to be a merchant selling weapons, let's go, go over and take a look."

The three of them swaggered to the front of the Eldar ranger's stall.

"How much for this thing?" Legend of Lu Shi pointed at the shuriken pistol and asked casually.

The Eldar ranger raised her head, revealing a pair of eyes shimmering with a faint light.

She coldly scanned these three humans who had no sense of awe, and said in a low voice with a strange accent:

"Help me investigate a group of people, and this weapon is yours for free. Monkeys."

Hearing this sentence.

Legend of Lu Shi frowned.

Beside him, Mudslide whispered: "What do you say? This is obviously a hidden side quest!"

"Not accepting."

Legend of Lu Shi waved his hand without hesitation and turned to leave,

"We are here to trade and make money. Accepting side quests that involve running errands and gathering information is the most troublesome; it wastes time and doesn't pay much."

"Right, right, right."

Heisi also expressed deep agreement,

"Making money is important. Our arsenal will be able to build this crappy gun sooner or later; who has the time to play puzzle games with NPCs."

The three players didn't even take another look at the rare alien weapon, simply left the Eldar ranger hanging there, and turned to blend into the crowd.

Leaving the Eldar ranger standing in the shadows, looking at these three monkeys who didn't play by the rules with a look of astonishment.

The three of them discussed it and decided to go to a tavern first to inquire about news of big buyers.

After all, what they had in their cargo hold were large quantities of strategic supplies; they couldn't sell them by setting up a street stall; they had to find the powerful figures in Black Port who could afford them.

Pushing open the door of a tavern with a broken neon sign.

Noisy sounds and the strong smell of low-quality alcohol rushed towards them.

The three of them walked straight to the bar counter.

Mudslide didn't say a word, directly pulled out a few coins engraved with skull patterns, and threw them on the oil-stained bar counter.

This was the universal currency of the Ghoul Stars.

The tavern owner was a burly man with a full beard and a mechanical prosthetic eye in his left eye.

He glanced at the skull coins on the table, collected them into the counter, and then skillfully poured three glasses of turbid yellow liquid and pushed them in front of the three.

Legend of Lu Shi lowered his voice and went straight to the point:

"We have a batch of good goods in our hands, compressed wheat flour that hasn't been subjected to any radiation contamination."

Hearing the four words "pure wheat flour".

The tavern owner's action of wiping the glass stopped abruptly.

His only remaining biological eye widened, looking at these three outsiders with some surprise.

"Good stuff."

The owner lowered his voice,

"The logistics officer of the Governor's Mansion will definitely be interested in this batch of goods."

"But we are just passing merchants with narrow connections; we can't get in touch with people from the Governor's Mansion."

Legend of Lu Shi picked up the cup and took a sip of that yellow liquor.

The moment it entered his mouth.

Legend of Lu Shi's face turned green, and his facial features twisted together in pain.

This taste was simply like engine oil fermented for half a month mixed with horse urine.

The tavern owner didn't answer, just used a thick finger to tap the wooden table surface twice, neither lightly nor heavily.

Mudslide understood instantly.

He took out a dozen more skull coins and slid them over quietly.

The tavern owner pressed the coins down, and a satisfied smile finally appeared on his face.

He leaned into Legend of Lu Shi's ear and whispered an address:

"Lower level, Screw Street, No. 97. Go there, they will not only be interested, but they can afford the price."

Having obtained useful information, the three of them immediately got up and left.

Just as they walked out of the tavern door, Legend of Lu Shi leaned against the wall and vomited out all the liquor he had just drunk.

"Damn it!"

Mudslide pinched his nose, looking at Legend of Lu Shi,

"This liquor is fucking terrible to the extreme. This is simply not something for humans to drink!"

"Next time."

Heisi wiped his mouth,

"Once we open up the trade route, next time we'll go directly to Brother Kun, get a batch of his craft beer, and bring it over to sell! I bet if these Black Port natives taste our beer, they will definitely go crazy on the spot!"

"Let's go, getting down to business is important."

Legend of Lu Shi recovered, wiped his mouth,

"Let's go check out that 97 Screw Street."

The lower level of Black Port was even more chaotic and dilapidated compared to the upper level.

The roads were in disrepair, and the surroundings were piled with domestic garbage and industrial waste emitting a foul stench.

From time to time, one could see some emaciated scavengers rummaging through the garbage piles for something.

The three of them followed the signs, passed through several dark alleys, and finally arrived at 97 Screw Street.

This was a heavy, rusted iron door.

Mudslide walked forward and knocked hard on the door.

The observation window on the iron door was pulled open, and a pair of vigilant eyes looked them over from inside for a while.