Chapter 129: Setting Up a Stall

“Yes.”

“There was no time to react. The highest alert system activated. We ran into the safe house, and only then did we learn no one had touched it.”

“None of us were in that room at the time, and that area was on the highest level of security. We followed protocol and entered the safe house within thirty seconds. The door was locked after that,” said the head of the Biological Mecha Manufacturing Base.

The Grey Ash Organization leader already knew what the scene looked like when these people were rescued. The door to the safe house was almost destroyed, and nothing else remained—not even a piece of paper.

This wasn’t surprising. Most Mutant Tribes are poor, always facing mutant beasts and the pressure from the Alliance, so any resource is precious.

“Live here for now. This situation is strange,” said the Grey Ash Organization’s leader, feeling troubled.

The Alliance Base’s main energy room was damaged, something that was supposed to be impossible. Someone also took a mech.

The Grey Ash Organization leader felt like an invisible hand was targeting him. Being the largest intelligence organization with vast power and connections, the consecutive failures and accidents made him uneasy.

First, something unexpected happened with the Pirate Fleet. When they arrived, they couldn’t find the planet’s main warship. Later, they found two, along with another fleet.

They still hadn’t figured out how to calm the Mutants. This treasure exchange meeting was arranged to sit down and talk about things. Thankfully, some Alliance organization branches were within the Mutant Tribes, gathering information ahead of time about their demands.

The mech company’s Biological Mecha cultivation base was attacked, which was very unexpected. These bases are usually chosen for their unique locations, places even Mutants, skilled at digging, cannot reach.

News of the attack on the mech company’s Biological Mecha research base had spread. Now, all organizations were struggling to contact headquarters, and everyone was on edge. The rescue team returned, describing a devastating scene.

The Mutant Tribes were always killing each other—how could they not fight other groups? Though some Alliance organizations or entities had branches within the tribes, they held little power.

Many people originally assigned by companies saw how easy life was here. Ample food, women, and a chance to gain strength. Why bother with some company?

Some were double-dealing as well. That’s why major companies and the Grey Ash Organization stayed in touch, tracking their people’s activities here.

Of course, the Grey Ash Organization charged for their services.

Yang Bo wandered around. Humans and Mutants mingling wasn’t unusual. He quickly noticed something.

The humans all entered and left the same area with quite a few guards. Even though they used old seventh or eighth-generation mechs, they had control over that spot.

“Tsk tsk.” Unless a Mutant was suicidal enough to attack, the other side looked secure with plenty of metal reinforcing the area.

Yang Bo set up somewhere nearby, unpacking the items wrapped in beast hide. From here, he could observe the entrance humans used, counting how many entered and left.

Around him, several lone Mutants sat quietly. Their ruthless gazes marked them as dangerous loners, each equipped with Energy Suit. One man’s hand was a black claw, likely venomous. Yang Bo decided to call him ‘Black Claw.’

On the other side sat a curvy woman dressed in finely made leather armor, something a bit unexpected here.

At first, Yang Bo had thought his own armor was leather, only realizing later it wasn’t.

True armor-beast hides came from defeating mutated beasts. Yang Bo could’ve skinned the large Serpent he killed to make Energy Suit, maybe even one imbued with a fire energy shield. Unfortunately, he already had armor that could transform thanks to Metal Superpower.

The woman’s face was fully covered, so Yang Bo wasn’t even sure she was a woman. Mutants’ genders could be tricky, and Yang Bo was a little suspicious.

The woman’s face was completely covered except for her nostrils and eyes. He decided to call her ‘Nostril Girl.’ Her whole body was wrapped in armor, with two swords strapped on her back. The hilts looked like they were made from beast teeth.

In front of Nostril Girl lay several pieces of beast hide, with some large blue Energy Stones, one the size of a soccer ball, others the size of a fist, with black rocks mixed in.

These were attribute Energy Stones, different from the transparent ones Yang Bo collected from the base. The transparent ones were non-attribute stones.

Black Claw, on the other hand, had displayed eggs. The largest one was the size of a basin, while the smallest was as big as a soccer ball.

Yang Bo revealed his own items. The two glanced briefly at them, then looked away.

The main clients here were humans. Most would hold off for now, waiting until the last days of the treasure meeting to get better deals. Mutants knew this but couldn’t do much about it. However, Yang Bo seemed to be getting attention sooner than expected.

A Bald man dressed in Energy Suit approached Yang Bo, helmet off, carefully examining the items before asking, “What do you want to trade for?”

“What do you have?” Yang Bo regarded him cautiously but still responded in the Alliance language.

“I’ve got all kinds of good things. Armor, Energy Weapons, laser guns, even some genetic interference drugs,” the Bald man boasted.

Yang Bo didn’t know what genetic interference drugs were but said calmly, “I’ll keep looking around.”

“Alright.” The Bald man left with his group in tow. By the look of them, they weren’t good people.

Of course, Yang Bo looked around and saw none of these people—including the Mutants—seemed like good people. He was probably the only decent one.

Soon after, a one-eyed man approached. Yang Bo grew more alert. In an age of advanced genetic science, how come this guy didn’t have a replacement eye? He must be strong since the energy overload would destroy anything but top-tier replacements.

It could also be that these powerful gene warriors refused to let themselves be studied by organizations, even though restoration was possible if research proved fruitful. Regular Alliance soldiers could recover from serious injuries in time.

“This kid’s suspicious,” both Yang Bo and One-Eye thought while eyeing each other, secretly on guard.

Yang Bo’s container? Some recognized it. Energy Core containers, though the serial number had been erased.

Clearly, he was someone who knew his stuff.

“What do you want to exchange?” One-Eye casually asked.

“What do you have?” Yang Bo gave the same response.

“Everything others here have. I’ve got it all,” One-Eye said arrogantly.

Yang Bo shook his head. “I haven’t seen your actual goods yet. You can say anything.”

“Alright. I’ll bring my stuff out for you to see,” One-Eye nodded.

“Fine,” Yang Bo agreed.

The two clearly weren’t catering to regular clients. Their presence attracted attention from others—both humans and Mutants.

The Tiger-Faced King received news and came over, his eyes lighting up as he asked, “Brother, impressive! You managed to get your hands on that? Care to chat?”