manynovel Chapter 88 Grand Opening
Chapter 88 Grand Opening
Chapter 88 Grand Opening
"Sizzle—"
—
With the sound of air pressure equalizing and depressurization, the heavy, airtight hatch on the side of the Xinbang slowly slid open.
A strong, pungent odor, a mixture of stale engine oil, mold, cheap spices, and the sweat of millions of people crammed together, seeped into the cabin through the open cracks.
Sisyphus stood at the hatch, frowned slightly, then relaxed.
He's a long-time resident of the area, so this taste actually feels quite familiar to him.
He strode out.
Behind him, twenty heavily armed guards filed out.
Their entire bodies were completely encased in the matte black T-9000 heavy exoskeleton, the hydraulic boosters humming softly and rhythmically with each step, and they carried CBS-12 high-explosive crossbows.
The thick crossbow bolts were already strung, their arrowheads gleaming dangerously in the dim light.
Gamma-9 was at the very front of the procession.
The political commissar wore a black overcoat draped over his shoulders, a pistol with explosive charges hanging at his waist, and a single eye coldly surveyed his surroundings.
Berth B-74 is located in the middle level area of the landing port.
As soon as the convoy stepped out of the berth gate, the road ahead was blocked.
There were about two hundred people.
These people were wearing a jumbled mess of makeshift armor; some had chains hanging from their bodies, while others had industrial waste welded onto their bodies as bulletproof vests.
The weapons they carried were a motley collection: shotguns with their barrels sawed off, chainsaw axes, and several others wielding power sledgehammers.
Although they were poorly equipped, they had the advantage of numbers, and every one of them had greed and ferocity written all over their faces.
Any new ship, especially a "fat sheep" like the New Bang, which looks like a lucrative business and doesn't fly the flag of a merchant ronin, will be skinned alive before it even sets foot on the ship.
The leader was a burly man who was over two meters tall.
Half of his face was gone, replaced by a rough iron plate, which looked extremely ferocious.
Stop.
The burly man with the iron face hoisted the heavy wrench in his hand onto his shoulder and blocked the middle of the road.
"New guy, don't you know the rules?"
Sisyphus stopped in his tracks, a professional smile on his face.
"Brother, we already paid the berthing fee to Old Harry in the control tower when we entered the port."
"Harry?"
The burly man with the iron face spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground.
"Harry, that one-eyed bastard, collects money for docking and controls that void."
He tapped the floor with a wrench, making a clanging sound.
"But this land belongs to our Iron Hook Gang. If you want to pass through here, you have to pay a landing tax."
"besides----"
The burly man's one intact eye stared greedily at the workers behind Sisyphus who were unloading cargo containers from the ship.
"You're carrying so much cargo, you still have to pay goods tax."
"I can see you're not having an easy time either. Here's what we'll do: leave that box of goods, and you can go."
The box he was referring to was a sample box filled with high-purity antibiotics.
Sisyphus's smile didn't disappear, but his years of experience in the underworld told him that this matter couldn't be handled amicably today.
They used the guise of tax collection to commit robbery.
Both being from the underworld, although Sisyphus's methods were relatively more civilized, he certainly didn't hold back either.
Most gangs are like this: they bully the weak and fear the strong. If you appear weak, they will only become more aggressive.
"Friend, if you eat too much, you'll burst your stomach."
Sisyphus said calmly.
"How about this: I'll give each of you brothers two bottles of good wine, let's make friends, and ask you to let us pass by. What do you say?"
"liquor?"
The burly man with the iron face burst into laughter, and the gang members around him joined in the commotion.
"What do I need your wine for? I want your life!"
The burly man suddenly waved his hand.
"Brothers! Charge! Grab the goods! Don't kill the guy in the white coat, keep him for ransom!"
More than two hundred rioters let out a strange cry and charged forward with their weapons raised.
In their view, although the people opposite them were wearing strange armor, there were only twenty of them.
Even a single spit from each person could drown the other!
Sisyphus sighed, took a step back, and retreated behind the heavily armed guard's defensive line.
Andy's cold and emotionless voice came through the communication channel.
Andy was sitting on the bridge of the Newborn, watching everything through the monitor.
"Tsk, clean it up quickly."
Upon hearing the command, Gamma-9's single eye instantly glowed bright red.
He suddenly drew his explosive pistol from his waist and fired a shot at the burly, iron-faced man at the front.
"Bang!"
The bomb shattered the metal face, blowing off half of the head along with it.
"All personnel, free fire!"
Gamma-9 roared.
Twenty heavily armed guards simultaneously raised their high-explosive crossbows.
No aiming is needed; in this narrow dock corridor, the enemies are packed like sardines.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A dull, resonant sound of bowstring vibrations rang out.
Twenty crossbow bolts, loaded with three high-energy explosives, pierced the charging crowd with a deathly whistle.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A violent explosion erupted in the crowd.
The shockwave rippled through the enclosed corridor, tearing the thugs apart. Blood mist exploded in a chain reaction, and limbs flew everywhere!
With just one volley, more than half of the enemy's men were wiped out.
The remaining thugs were terrified by the terrifying firepower.
They initially thought the other side was using some kind of cold weapon, or a homemade gun with a very slow rate of fire.
Who would have thought these guys were holding those damn little missiles?!
"Holy crap, what the hell is this thing?!"
Some people screamed and tried to back away.
But the people behind kept pushing forward, and the scene instantly turned into chaos.
"Press it down."
Gamma-9 showed no mercy; twenty black steel giants strode forward.
The T-9000 exoskeleton endowed them with terrifying strength and mobility.
They don't need cover or tactical evasion.
If anyone dares to get close, just punch them.
"Click."
A thug wielding a chainsaw axe attempted a sneak attack but was grabbed by the neck by a guard.
The hydraulic gloves applied force, and the thug's neck was snapped instantly, his head drooping limply.
A completely unequal massacre.
The bullets from the Iron Hook Gang's automatic guns only managed to send up a few sparks when they hit the guards' composite armor, barely scratching off any paint.
Every attack by the guards, whether it was an exploding crossbow bolt or close-quarters combat, was deadly.
Three minutes passed.
The battle is over.
The once crowded and noisy dock corridor is now deathly silent.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of corpses and bits of flesh, and blood dripped down the lattice floor into the void below.
Apart from the heavy breathing of the guards and the hum of the exoskeleton motors, there was no other sound.
The once arrogant Iron Hook Gang has been removed from the list of gangs in the port.
"Hmph, a bunch of scum who don't know what's good for them."
Gamma-9 ejected the empty magazine from his hand and replaced it with a new one.
He turned to look at Sisyphus.
"Sisyphus, that's enough."
Sisyphus emerged from behind, surveying the carnage on the ground, his expression completely unwavering.
Having experienced so much these past few days, this scene is nothing compared to what's to come.
He's now a man who went aboard a starship with Andy!
Sisyphus did not choose to move to another location: "Let's stay here and set up the stall."
Although the workers were pale and felt nauseous, under the fierce gaze of Gamma-9, they obediently pushed the cargo boxes next to the pile of corpses.
The box was opened.
Inside, neatly stacked glass bottles filled with a pale yellow liquid were revealed.
"Andy Biochemical No. 1".
High-purity broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Sisyphus casually picked up a bottle and shook it in his hand.
It wasn't completely deserted.
In a corner of the corridor, countless eyes were watching this side.
Those were spies from other gangs, passing merchants, and some scavengers struggling to survive.
They had just witnessed the massacre and were horrified by the horrific force.
But now, when that box was opened, greed triumphed over fear.
In places like Port of Calls, where sanitation is extremely poor, radiation levels are excessive, and injuries are commonplace, any small wound, if not treated promptly, can develop into gangrene and sepsis within days, ultimately leading to a painful death.
Most medicines on the market are counterfeit, but the clear and pure injections that Sisyphus has are obviously high-end products!
"Everyone!"
Sisyphus's voice echoed through the corridor.
"I am a trade representative from the Misty Starfield. I know you are watching, and I know what you want."
He pointed to the corpse on the ground.
"These blind fools tried to rob our goods, so they died."
3
"We are business people who follow the rules. As long as you follow the rules, we are your best friends."
"Now, the new store is open."
"High-purity broad-spectrum antibiotics. Even if your intestines spill out, just one injection and you'll still be able to chop people up tomorrow."
"I don't accept Imperial Coins; they're just worthless paper here."
"I only want high-quality goods: rare ores, advanced electronic components, unknown alien technology, condensation facilities, and ancient relics. As long as the quality is good, the price is negotiable."
As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose in the shadows.
Finally, a person wrapped in a tattered robe came out.
He carefully walked around the corpse on the ground, holding something wrapped in an oilcloth in his hands.
"Will this... will this work?"
The man trembled as he handed over the object: a fragment of some kind of creature's carapace, still slightly warm, with several twitching nerve cords attached to it.
Sisyphus didn't understand technology; he looked at Gamma-9.
"Remnants of Eldar biotechnology, with extremely high neural conduction rate." Gamma-9 scanned it, nodded, and said, "Good stuff."
Sisyphus laughed and threw the man a dose of antibiotics.
"make a deal."
The man was overjoyed, grabbed the medicine, turned and ran, afraid that someone would steal it.
Once there's a first one, there's bound to be a second.
The crowd, which had been observing, instantly erupted in excitement.
They all had some strange items they'd picked up from the ruins or stolen from others.
Normally, no one recognizes the value of these items, or the buyers drive down the price too much.
Now, here's a big grudge—oh no, a big rich man—who's willing to trade this junk for a life-saving miracle drug!
Business boomed instantly!
at the same time.
On the upper level of the port, inside a lavishly decorated palace.
A senior deacon of the Casparri Cassidy was holding a wine glass, watching the footage coming back on the monitor screen.
The scene shows a group of soldiers wearing black exoskeletons and a businessman selling medicine while stepping on corpses.
"That's interesting."
The deacon took a sip of wine, his eyes cold.
"This level of firepower, and this purity of the drug, definitely doesn't belong to ordinary smugglers."
"Kaka" is one of the largest forces in the port, specializing in monopolizing the trade of condensed energy, which is essentially the smuggling of alien artifacts.
They are not the kind of street thugs who only know how to fight and kill, but a large underground force with a tight organization and operations like a big company. They usually only have two attitudes towards such a powerful competitor who suddenly appears and has both strength and resources.
Either swallow it up or destroy it.
"Go and investigate their background," the deacon said to his men behind him. "If they're easy prey, slaughter them."
"If it's a wolf—"
"Let's see if we can put collars on them."