Chapter 45: A Sticky Situation

But after checking closely, the nearest one is still more than ten kilometers away. Moreover, due to this situation, the whole planet is under lockdown. Residents are advised not to leave.

“Anyway, take this money and stroll around nearby for a bit. Clear your head.” Yang Bo had no plans to get back into the game. Yesterday had been intense, and besides, he hadn’t decided on his next move yet.

Should he buy a big house to boost his strength, or should he hold onto the money just in case he needs to make a quick getaway?

“It looks prosperous, but who knows what dangers lurk beneath?” Yang Bo stepped outside, watching the sky where air-ground fighters patrolled endlessly.

Air-ground fighters. Air-space fighters. Air-ground fighters travel from space to the surface. Air-space fighters fly from the ground into space. Aren’t they the same? It seems like they belong to different units. Air-ground fighters are part of the Space Fleet, while air-space fighters seem to belong to Planetary Defense.

Yang Bo didn’t wander far, just strolled around within the community. The trees here varied greatly, and the flowers too. There were quite a few people in the area because the planet was entirely sealed off. Anyone who tried to fly would be immediately targeted by countless weapons.

Mechas don’t have much use in such a highly developed civilization. According to Yang Bo’s guess, the reason mecha companies are still huge companies is that they probably face powerful enemies somewhere out there. The mecha game he played was likely based on a contested planet.

“Could it be just for those exotic beast materials?” Yang Bo boldly speculated. The reason these exotic beasts were valuable in the game was probably because they were used as raw materials for Gene Injections.

Walking to a small lake, he heard humming before he even got close. Yang Bo frowned slightly.

By the lakeside, he saw a girl wearing a loose hoodie. Her face was covered, and she was wearing sunglasses.

Such attire was common. Many of this world’s inhabitants dressed like this when they went out because people barely interacted with others, living very reclusive lives.

Although the tune she hummed was pleasant, Yang Bo inexplicably felt irritated. He had been walking in her direction but, still several meters away, he turned and walked the other way.

The humming girl abruptly stopped, turning her head to look at Yang Bo. She was astonished. Why had he turned away when he was walking toward her just a moment ago?  She knew her ability well—it shouldn’t have been this way.

“Sir?” The girl couldn’t help but call out.

“Hmm?” Yang Bo heard the girl behind him, gave a responding grunt, and then turned to look at her.

Hearing his grunt, the girl was startled. She asked, “Sir, did my humming bother you?”

“No. I just prefer a quiet environment,” Yang Bo shook his head and turned to leave.

As he walked, Yang Bo was somewhat surprised. “I didn’t expect to encounter her here.”

He had felt something was off earlier. The tune she’d been humming was popular in this world, and he had heard it before, but why had it made him uncomfortable?  When the girl spoke, her voice had also sounded grating, and he had quickly remembered—at Li Aidu’s concert, when she sang, he felt uneasy.

He used his reply’s sound waves to scan her. Sure enough, she was a Genetic Evolver. Judging by her height and physique, she was 99% likely Li Aidu.

Li Aidu frowned slightly as she watched Yang Bo leave. She couldn’t help but remember the whistling she had heard in the basement of SkyDome Amusement Park Stage the previous day. She was very sensitive to sounds—once she heard someone’s voice, she would never forget it.

Afterward, the police informed her that the mysterious Ace Mecha Pilot had also vanished without a trace.

“He’s way too young… The Ace Mecha Pilots I know aren’t so young,” Li Aidu frowned, deep in thought.

She got up and left as well, followed closely by a few bodyguards from a distance.

Li Aidu lived in this community too. She had been relocated temporarily because the situation at the hotel was getting chaotic.

Back at her place, Li Aidu picked up a pen and started drawing. She quickly finished—what she had drawn was Yang Bo.

After strolling around for a while, Yang Bo made up his mind: first, he’d buy a house. Strength was the most important thing. When faced with danger, all the money in the world wouldn’t help—only strength would.

For now, Yang Bo had no plans to go back into the game to grind resources. Transforming his skills into practical combat ability would require real-world training.

Back home, he checked the situation and found out that all real estate transactions had been halted.

Sitting on the sofa, Yang Bo rubbed his forehead. “Someone unknown has their eye on me. No idea who it is. If the Red Earl’s group infiltrates the military and ends up attacking the planet with warships, that would be a huge problem.”

“And then there’s An Zhijie Corporation… That Fat Liu clearly laid a trap for me.”

“The more I learn about this world, the smaller I feel.”

“Sigh… What is freedom?”

Yang Bo stood up and glanced at the house where he had gotten his mecha’s Space Button. He had passed by earlier and done some reconnaissance. Nothing inside the room seemed to have been touched.

Yang Bo couldn’t be sure that the place wasn’t being watched. He still had one major problem.

That problem was the counterfeit Space Button he had bought, identical to the real one. Initially, he had intended to make the Red Earl suffer in silence, but if the Planetary Security Organization found out… they might investigate. After all, they could trace who had bought that kind of trinket.

“Damn it.” Yang Bo hesitated. Could the authorities be monitoring that location?

Yang Bo felt irritated, but there was no avoiding it—he had to deal with this.

He went down to the basement, where he parked and charged his vehicle. After a quick cough to ensure no one was around, he found a hidden spot, undressed, and activated his Invisibility. He headed straight for that location.

In the stairwell, Yang Bo snapped his fingers and carefully listened. He didn’t detect any anomalies.

In an instant, he destroyed the inner mechanism of the door lock. This was a deliberate exploit—a flaw in the material could easily be identified.

Invisible, Yang Bo entered the room, carefully inspecting the traces he had left. No one had come by.

“Could it be that I killed them all?” Yang Bo muttered to himself.

Grabbing the counterfeit item he had obtained, he was ready to leave when he noticed an ancient oil painting. Yang Bo’s heart skipped a beat. This thing had to be important. If the authorities discovered it, they might launch a thorough investigation. He couldn’t afford to leave any clues behind.

“I’m even cleaning up after these idiots,” Yang Bo muttered to himself as he carefully checked everything. After confirming, he took the rolled-up painting.

He thoroughly examined everything else but found nothing suspicious. He quickly left.

If anyone had been watching, they would have witnessed the painting mysteriously floating through the hallway.

Back in the basement, Yang Bo was feeling the pressure. What should he do with this hot item?

“Could I store it inside the mecha? But how would I even deploy the mecha for that?” Wandering what to do, Yang Bo could only take the hot painting back to his house.