"Oh, Kolev! I just heard you escaped, and here you appear! I knew it! The birdcage of the interstellar court could never hold you!
"But Kolev, giving Black Dragon to Kimo wasn't a wise choice. Kimo is too impetuous and brutal. He actually tried to alter the contract we've been executing for over twenty years, claiming we were making too much!"
Mimili by Yang Ming's side pursed her lips lightly in apparent disdain.
"Hahaha!"
Kolev laughed heartily:
"There's nothing I can do about it, Kimo just likes to take small advantages. Handing Black Dragon over to Kimo was the most suitable option I could think of! Come on, show me what new tricks you have here!"
"If someone else came, I would, of course, only offer them those flashy but useless things, but you're different, Kolev, you've saved my life!"
The shopkeeper exaggeratedly said, "Anything here, take whatever you want if you like it, everything else I'll give you at a fifty percent discount!"
Yang Ming raised his eyebrows; this shopkeeper was quite the businessman.
He looked around the shop and found it was like a single troop weapon exhibition, with a floor full of various guns and protective suits, and in the corner, there were hoverbikes, exoskeletal Mechas, and other individual assault equipment; there were also two more floors above and below, and who knew what treasures were hidden inside.
"Let's go by the rules," Kolev patted the shopkeeper on the shoulder, "bring out your best single troop equipment to take a look, I want to give my little buddy here a little gift."
Yang Ming naturally stepped forward, displaying a small, innocent smile to the shopkeeper.
"Is this your new apprentice? He's a handsome guy. Lucky my treasure of a daughter is away at school in the New Federation, not here right now."
"No, he's not my apprentice; he's my partner," Kolev stated seriously, "my most trustworthy ally at the moment."
"Oh, what high praise that is, come this way sir! You don't need to waste any thought on these common items."
The shopkeeper warmly grabbed Yang Ming's arm, dragging him toward the locked silver counter in the corner.
Seconds later, Yang Ming, looking at a row of neatly lined 'flashlights,' showed a knowing smile.
A man must wield the strongest Light Sword!
"Can I try it?" Yang Ming asked softly.
"Of course! Oh, that positronic-brain robot of mine—soggy as a wet sponge—hurry up and get the target!"
The shopkeeper shouted, and a skirted humanoid robot in the corner shivered for a few moments before taking heavy, quick steps down to the lower floor.
Yang Ming inquired, "What's the price range for these Light Swords?"
"We standardize prices here in New Federation Credit Coins and accept the top ten traded currency species at real-time exchange rates. These are all good items that go for five or six thousand credit coins."
Five or six thousand New Federation Credit Coins? That's thirty or forty thousand Emperor Star Coins of the Sherman Empire?
Oh, that's more than Hanton's three years' salary.
And he couldn't use Hanton's account now or it would be too easy to expose his location.
Noticing Yang Ming's hesitation, Mimili laughed, "Uncle, just pick whatever you like, consider it a gift from my pocket money."
"Compared to you, I'd more readily accept a gift from your father," Yang Ming picked up a brand new Light Sword, handling it through his gloves, "how could I accept a gift from the younger generation?"
Mimili shrugged her shoulders and leaned against the door frame without saying anything more.
Hum—
Yang Ming pressed the button on the hilt, and the confining magnetic field trapped the gaseous plasma into the shape of a blade, with the handle itself producing a slight vibration.
Yang Ming flicked his wrist lightly, and the Light Sword hummed.
"The shopkeeper grinned, "You can use it to slice open any hatch door trying to stop you!"
"The energy level is too low," Yang Ming shook his head.
The shopkeeper's smile stiffened: "The higher the energy of the Light Sword, the harder it is to control, especially in near-earth environments and simulated gravity environments. External magnetic fields will greatly hinder the Light Sword's confining magnetic field."
"That's a problem for the swordsman," Yang Ming said earnestly.
"I see! Try this one!"
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The shop owner picked up a slender, pale red 'flashlight' from the corner; it even had two words etched with a laser on it: "Zhan Mo."
"This seems to be second-hand," Yang Ming said.
"Yes, but this is indeed an excellent Light Sword. See if you like it," the shop owner pushed the energy switch to the maximum and handed it to Yang Ming with both hands.
When Yang Ming took hold of it, he felt the Light Sword was somewhat heavier than the standard.
He stepped back and switched it on, turning the entire cabin a blood-red hue.
The vibration feedback was indeed powerful.
Yang Ming waved it a few times and felt a surge of excitement; this Light Sword was even more powerful than the one he used in his fight with the Valkyrie.
Just then, a robot came holding a dummy wrapped in an alloy skin and placed it behind the shop owner, who burst out yelling, "Did your protocol to protect humans get eaten by a dog?!"
Yang Ming stared at the dummy, an inexplicable urge to destroy welling up inside him.
He made a gentle chop forward, and the dummy's shoulder was sheared off.
"Wow!" Kolev laughed, "That's a nice treasure!"
"Like it?" the shop owner squinted and smiled, "I haven't seen a warrior who can handle it easily yet, your muscle fibers seem to be different from ours, young man. If you like it, take it, it's my gift to Kolev."
Kolev chuckled, "That won't do, I can't simply waste my gift quota so easily. How many credit coins does a Light Sword cost anyway? Let alone a second-hand one."
"Hahaha! Cunning Kolev, what's wrong with giving you a few more? Consider it a gift for your prison break!"
Yang Ming turned off the Light Sword and placed it on a shelf nearby, stepping back to the side with a grin.
This was just an extra for him; Kolev had a big purchasing plan today.
Suddenly, Yang Ming heard a commotion coming from outside the door.
"Isn't that Mimili, the first beauty of the pirates? The one who was kicked out by her own subordinates and almost stripped of her clothes, that great leader?"
Yang Ming turned his head and saw Mimili standing by the doorframe, along with more than a dozen men and women passing by outside.
A big-chested girl in hot pants and a crop top strutted her proud cleavage and taunted Mimili's back with double scorn:
"Heard your old dad broke out of prison to help you out? He must be in his seventies, right? He could've lived his years in jail, but he's still worried about you."
Kolev slightly curled his lip and continued to talk to the shop owner in a low voice, ignoring the events outside.
Mimili remained silent because she realized that this group clearly outnumbered her, and she wouldn't want to be at a disadvantage.
"What's wrong, Mimili?"
The big-chested girl laughed eagerly, "Don't you even speak Galaxy Language anymore? Are you shocked? Wow, now you go out with only these two or three lackeys?"
Mimili snorted.
"Tch," the big-chested girl sneered and waved her hand dismissively, turning and walking towards the busier street corner, "Coward."
Mimili clenched her fists tightly and took a deep breath.
Suddenly, she sensed a tall figure appearing before her, and a low voice whispered:
"If you have enough spare cash, gift me that Light Sword, and I'll take down those lackeys for you. Throw in a protective suit, and I'll arrange them into a human centipede."
Mimili looked up at the young uncle close to her.
"I can give you three!"
She asserted, then turned and took two steps out, tossed her laser gun aside, pulled out the paralyzing baton hanging from her waist, and with a swish extended the metal staff. She dashed silently and quickly towards the group, running straight into their midst.
"Hey!" Mimili shouted.
The big-chested girl turned around, her face filled with anger. Before the dozen or so pirates around her could react, Mimili's baton had already smashed down on the big-chested girl's face.
"Bitch!"
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