North Hudson Port.
Where there is light, there is darkness.
If Earth is heaven, then Hudson Port is undoubtedly its dark corner.
This huge port located on the Pampas Plains is a gigantic skyscraper. Its base is on the ground, and its top is a space station in low Earth orbit. Between the space station and the ground is a 500-kilometer-long space cable. The cable deploys space elevators, and the port is transported via these space elevators, far exceeding the transport capacity of near-Earth orbit spacecraft.
Every year, over three trillion units of goods flow into Hudson Port, nearly a quarter of which are smuggled goods.
A large number of space smuggler ships gather here, transporting various contraband to Earth's dignitaries, including drugs, weapons, mines, technology, and women of all races—human trafficking remains rampant to this day as a commodity that won't go out of style.
As a result, it has become a breeding ground for sin, the root of chaos, and produces villains, smugglers, thugs, and hooligans in abundance.
A space elevator whizzed by and landed at Plaza 4 of Hudson Port Ground Station.
Clarice stepped out of the elevator.
Beside her walked a young woman in a trench coat, her hair piled high, with finely drawn eyeliner around her eyes, giving her a unique and eccentric look with a touch of eerie color.
After the two women got on a shuttle, they flew to a dark corner of the ground station, passing rows of tall buildings until they reached a cold, dark corner.
Clarice got off the car and walked to a shady area, looking around and softly said, "Hey, Jia, are you here?"
"Of course." A voice sounded behind Clarice.
Clarice was startled and turned around to see Nora standing quietly behind her.
"Oh, damn it, you scared me." Clarice patted her chest. "Please don't appear out of nowhere like that. I mean, is everyone here? Where's Reno?"
"They are still behind. To evade pursuers, everyone is acting separately, so it will take some time for them to gather. I came first to ensure that everything here goes smoothly. How about the ship?" Nora asked.
"I brought the captain of the Thor." Clarice pointed behind her.
The trench coat woman stepped forward and said, "Hello, I'm Sereni, captain of the Thor."
Nora looked at her in surprise, "A female smuggler captain?"
"Since there can be female traitors, there can also be female smugglers," Sereni replied.
"I haven't betrayed the country; I've been betrayed by the country," Nora replied seriously.
"For a smuggling ship owner, this doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is money," Sereni replied, making a money gesture.
"I thought Austen had already talked to you about this." Nora looked surprised, glanced at Clarice, then back at Sereni.
Sereni smiled, "Dear Miss Jia, these are three thousand nationally wanted criminals. Do you think the authority of a third officer on a patrol ship is worth so much money? If you want me to take the risk to get you out, you'll have to pay a higher price."
"Well, then you're asking for the moon? How much do you want?" Nora was taken aback. Nearly three billion federal coins were astronomical; they didn't have that kind of money.
Three billion federal coins were no small amount. A Hellfire mech alone was only worth four million federal coins.
"That's a fair price," Sereni replied.
Yes, considering the aspect of smuggling, ten thousand per person was indeed not expensive; on the contrary, it was even cheap. After all, they were nationally wanted criminals. However, the number of two thousand eight hundred was enough to turn any fair price into an exorbitant one.
"We don't have that much money," Nora replied immediately. "I thought Austen should have told you about this. If you're not willing, why did you call me here?"
"In that case, there's nothing I can do," Sereni shrugged.
"Damn it, you're wasting our time!" Nora yelled.
She made a gesture to leave.
"Hey, hey, don't do this, can't we talk nicely?" Clarice hurriedly persuaded.
She turned to Sereni and said, "Sereni, don't be like this. You promised to help me out."
"But you also need to understand my difficulties. Three thousand people are not a small number. Without sufficient compensation, I can't explain to the crew below," Sereni replied.
"Well, maybe we can figure something out? Like maybe delaying payment? They can pay you back later. Trust me, they're all excellent soldiers and can make a lot of money. If necessary, they can also help you with things. If they act as guards, one can handle ten, right? Nora?" Clarice said anxiously.
She gave Nora a look, meaning to agree first and discuss later.
Nora, helpless, could only nod and grunt.
Sereni rubbed her chin, "In that case... it's not impossible, but if that's the case, I'll have to add interest. Also, until the debts are paid off, they must obey my orders."
Nora hesitated.
Clarice urged, "Just agree, Nora. This is the only way. Right now, only Sereni can get you out. Without her, you can't even find a spaceship! Sereni's price is not high, nor is it unreasonable!"
Nora looked at Clarice, then at Sereni, and finally nodded. "Okay, I agree."
"Great," Clarice breathed out a sigh of relief.
Sereni's face also showed a satisfied smile. She reached out to Clarice. "Well then, let's cooperate happily."
"To be honest, it's not exactly a happy agreement," Nora replied, but still extended her hand and shook hands with her.
Since the price was settled, the next step was how to get the people onto the ship.
Sereni, with Nora and Clarice, flew to the other end of the ground station. As they flew, Sereni explained, "We won't take the space elevator. The Thor has a separate hangar at the ground station, where we have our near-Earth transport ship, specifically used to transport some important goods that aren't suitable for public view. Have your people go to Hangar 46 in Terminal 12; we'll wait for them there until everyone arrives. Once they're on the Thor, we're very close to freedom."
Nora tapped on the terminal and said, "The message has been sent."
Curiously, Clarice asked, "Isn't your terminal being monitored?"
Nora replied, "This terminal has had its program modified; they can't trace it."
"That's good," Clarice nodded in relief.
The car quickly arrived at Hangar 46.
Sereni got off the car. "Let's wait here for them. Hopefully, your people will arrive soon."
"They will," Nora replied.
She got off the car and stood in the shade, looking somewhat casual, casually playing with the terminal in her hand.
Sereni and Clarice stood at the other end.
Watching Nora's casual demeanor, Sereni frowned.
She said to Clarice, "I don't know why, but I always feel there's something strange about this woman."
"What do you mean?" Clarice asked.
"Her behavior... doesn't seem like that of someone preparing to escape. I mean, she's too calm, surprisingly calm," Sereni replied.
Clarice thought for a moment, shaking her head. "Honestly, I don't know much about her. You know, my contact with her hasn't been long. Before that, she seemed cold and proud to me. As for being calm... she's a sniper, and snipers have strong psychological resilience, don't they?"
"But not like this," Sereni replied. "Clarice, I have a strange feeling, a strange feeling, as if..."
She lowered her head in thought for a moment, then hesitantly said, "There's danger coming."
"Danger?" Clarice widened her eyes. "What danger?"
"I don't know," Sereni shook her head.
She stared at Nora, who was standing there, holding a nail clipper, the terminal on her wrist flashing.
As she looked at the terminal, Sereni's pupils began to dilate.
She said, "Clarice."
"What's wrong?"
"I think you messed up," she said.
Clarice looked astonished.
She looked up at Nora and saw Nora smiling at her, a strange smile twisting her lips.
Then Nora said, "Austen, there are a few questions I've been curious about. Can you answer them for me? If you're already married, why do you never correct Reno when he calls you Miss Austen instead of Mrs.? Why does an environmental investigator have such excellent hacking skills? And why the courage to be with a group of wanted fugitives? If that captain and you just met, don't you think your relationship is too intimate now? And although this deal seemed to have gone through many twists and turns, the actual speed of reaching an agreement wasn't slow at all. Finally, I bet you didn't investigate carefully enough; although the third officer on the Lakrazaf ground patrol ship is indeed a man, he's actually gay."
Clarice's face changed drastically, and Sereni had already rushed forward. "Catch her!"
Nora was already retreating with a smirk on her face, fading away in the shadows, disappearing without a trace.
At the same time, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded outside the hangar.