Do such generous people really exist?! Yun Xingze was stunned. He had guessed that Luo Wenchuan was rich, but he never imagined this guy would tip him the same amount as the original payment. All he did was modify the elbow!
He quickly opened the optical web and sent several “Thank you, boss” messages to Luo Wenchuan’s account. After that, he added, “You don’t have to tip me so much next time.”
There was no reply.
But Yun Xingze didn’t mind. Overjoyed, he ran back to the mecha shop and said loudly to the shop owner, “Boss! I have money now! Give me the mecha!”
“Did you rob someone?” the shop owner asked, puzzled. “How did you suddenly get the money?”
Yun Xingze said he earned it through a part-time job. Then he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Boss, if I spend a few more thousand, can you give me a better mecha? Like… a B-class one?”
“How much can you spend?” the boss asked, though clearly not holding out much hope.
“Around 180,000,” Yun Xingze replied. Seeing the owner’s slightly disapproving look, he scratched his head and added, “You know my financial situation—I definitely can’t afford anything super expensive. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bargained so hard.”
“You only added 30,000 more. What kind of mecha do you think you can buy with that?” the boss said.
But he wasn’t actually annoyed—he was infected by Yun Xingze’s cheerful energy, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
“Just something a little better than before is fine.”
The boss searched through a pile of mechas for a while, looked at Yun Xingze, and said, “How about this? I’ll give you some extra parts to take home, and you can ask a factory to help you modify the mecha. That would be more cost-effective.”
If the boss could give him quality parts, Yun Xingze could modify the mecha himself. That really would be a great deal. He nodded eagerly.
The boss took out a small storage box and said, “This is a reconnaissance mecha, about two meters tall. It used to be part of a Twin Star mecha, but the main mecha was destroyed. This scout unit ended up here.”
Yun Xingze took the box and asked, “Is a reconnaissance mecha still a real mecha?”
“It’s a semi-automatic mecha. It can lock onto enemy targets, mark them, and carry out short-range harassment,” the boss explained. “It doesn’t have a cockpit—basically the same as a drone. If you dismantle it, there are still a lot of valuable parts inside. I’ll give it to you for 30,000. That’s a good deal.”
Yun Xingze thought about it. With 30,000, he couldn’t buy a B-class mecha anyway. Buying a scout mecha to study and then dismantle for parts actually sounded pretty good.
So, he made the payment and bought both the C-class lightsaber mecha and the scout mecha.
The boss was surprised. “Wow, that was quick this time?”
“Thanks, boss. I’ll come back next time!” Yun Xingze said happily.
“Don’t, don’t. If you come back too many times, I’ll go bankrupt,” the boss joked with a smile.
Yun Xingze left the underground third floor with his prizes and headed back to school. On the way, he kept wearing his mask. As an Omega, he didn’t want to attract trouble by revealing his identity.
Just as he left the black market, it started to drizzle.
Yun Xingze pulled up his hoodie, hiding himself in the shadows.
Suddenly, a harsh voice called out, “Hey, kid up ahead, stop right there.”
Yun Xingze froze. He turned and saw three tall Alphas—two men and a woman—who looked like street thugs. They were clearly up to no good.
Hugging the mecha cube and storage box close to his chest, Yun Xingze turned to leave the alley quickly. But the group charged at him and surrounded him.
“Oh? Look at his boots—he’s from Starsea Military Academy,” the leading young man sneered. “I hear students there are rich. You must be, too?”
Yun Xingze instantly understood—they were trying to rob him.
His boots had the falcon emblem of Starsea Military Academy. He thought wearing it would show his status and keep him safe. After all, who would dare mess with a military cadet?
Apparently, some people would.
“I don’t have any money,” Yun Xingze said calmly. “Go find someone else.”
“Oh, really?” the chubby Alpha glared at him. “Then what are those two boxes you’re holding? Mecha parts or something?”
The red-haired female Alpha twirled her hair with her finger. “I heard mechas can sell for millions of star coins.”
Millions? That was a huge overestimation.
Yun Xingze took a few steps back, scanning the area. The narrow alley didn’t have space to deploy a mecha. Even if he did, there would be no room to move.
“They’re just boxes for storing salt and MSG,” he said. “Big brother, big sister, I really am from Starsea Military Academy, but I’m in the cooking department.”
“Cooking department?” the chubby Alpha asked the others curiously. “Military school has that? I would’ve joined too I’m good at stir-frying… Hey, kid, what kinds of dishes do you usually make?”
Yun Xingze: “…”
“Hmph, I think he’s just lying,” the young Alpha said and stepped forward to grab him.
Yun Xingze didn’t want to fight. He dodged quickly and looked for a way to escape the alley, but the other two blocked him tightly.
As the three Alphas cornered him and prepared to rob him, Yun Xingze turned to run back toward the black market.
But just as he turned around, three sharp cries rang out behind him.
Yun Xingze stopped in his tracks, shocked. The things in his hands fell to the ground.
But he didn’t dare turn around. He didn’t even dare to bend down and pick up his stuff.
When those three had surrounded him, he hadn’t been scared he was confident he could escape eventually.
But now, the three screams came one after another, without pause.
A wave of intense danger surged from behind him.
Yun Xingze couldn’t tell if the person behind him was friend or foe. He held his breath and slowly turned around.
Then, his eyes widened.
All three Alphas were lying on the ground. A pair of long legs stood beside them. Looking up, Yun Xingze saw the person was dressed in black. His neck was so pale under the streetlight that it almost glowed.
Then he looked further up—
It was an incredibly handsome face.
From the tall height, long legs, broad shoulders, and narrow waist, it was clear this person was an Alpha.
His features were sharp and defined. His eyes, with single eyelids, looked cold. The corners tilted slightly upward, and under his eyes was a tiny mole that appeared especially striking in the dim light.
A very high-quality Alpha.
In Lu Ranxu’s words.
The three Alphas struggled to stand. The lead youth gritted his teeth and glared at the man. “Who are you? Don’t you know whose territory this is ah!”
Before he could finish, he got kicked again.
“Don’t block the way,” the man said softly, lifting his eyelids slightly. His voice was calm but carried an overwhelming presence.
The other two didn’t dare speak. They helped the youth up and left in frustration.
Yun Xingze looked at the man and said seriously, “Thank you for helping me.”
The man didn’t respond. He lowered his eyes and stared at the mecha cube on the ground. His gaze paused for a few seconds, and a strange emotion flashed in his eyes.
Yun Xingze quickly bent down to pick it up, muttering as he did, “I finally saved up enough money to buy this mecha today. I haven’t even used it once yet. If you hadn’t helped me, I might’ve been in real trouble…”
Just as he finished and stood up, the man was already gone.
Yun Xingze stood frozen.
Are experts always this cold?
He really wanted to thank the man properly—but he had already disappeared…
—
**Black Market, Underground Level 3**
When the second-hand mecha shop owner saw a familiar face, he greeted him warmly:
“Hey, you’re finally back! I was just worrying about having no stock…”
Luo Wenchuan handed him a weapon case. “Boss Chu, these are mecha weapons.”
Boss Chu happily accepted it and transferred payment.
“Oh right, that mecha you used it finally got sold,” he suddenly said. “The previous buyers didn’t want it. I told them it got downgraded to C-class due to damage, but they didn’t care. None of them realized that it used to be an S-class mecha, with amazing internal parts.”
When an S-class mecha has some parts removed, it can drop to C-class. But if the parts are replaced properly, it can be upgraded back.
Years ago, Luo Wenchuan was the original owner. The mecha was badly damaged in battle. Since he needed a new one, he sold the old one cheap to someone with fate.
“I know,” Luo Wenchuan said calmly.
“You know?” Boss Chu was surprised. “You saw the buyer?”
“The shelf was empty,” Luo Wenchuan replied.
The boss chuckled. “You’re really observant…”
Then he remembered something. “But honestly, that kid who bought it didn’t seem very talented. Probably doesn’t even know how to fight. I doubt he’ll recognize the value of that mecha—let alone modify it. He even kept haggling. I almost didn’t sell it to him…”
“Mhm,” Luo Wenchuan responded, as if he agreed.
“Then why did you sell it?”
“Ah, he had a good attitude and said he really liked mechas. So I gave it to him,” Boss Chu explained, then quickly added, “Don’t be mad. Even though he looks weak, I’m sure he’ll treat your mecha well.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Luo Wenchuan said. Then he suddenly asked, “How much did you sell it for?”
“150,000,” the boss said, avoiding his gaze.
Luo Wenchuan stared at him for a moment, then turned and left with a final remark: “You’ll go out of business one day.”
“Hey, come on! Don’t say that,” the boss called after him. “It’s just that the kid really liked your mecha. No one else wanted it anyway! And you wouldn’t let me tell the truth…”
“Come earlier next time!”
He looked at the weapons in the storage case and couldn’t stop smiling.
“With this kid around, how could I ever go out of business?”
