Chapter Forty-Three

After leaving the boss’s study, the short fellow furtively glanced around. Seeing nobody nearby, he swiftly slipped out through the back door.

He walked deeper into the labyrinth of alleys, growing more anxious with each step. He constantly looked over his shoulder, his shifty eyes darting about, sizing up every shadow. Only after confirming he wasn’t being followed did he dart into a narrow lane.

“What did you say?” A burly man with a coal-black face shot to his feet. His gleaming, oiled bald head flashed dazzlingly under the lamp’s glare.

“Boss North, I’m absolutely certain—I saw Bai Li Nan with my own eyes, I couldn't have mistaken him. He’s here in Reno right now. If you don’t believe me, send a few more boys out for a look—you’ll find them for sure. The boss said they must have cut through the Asteroid Belt and veered off the route to Red Star Beach, ending up here in our turf!” the short fellow replied respectfully.

At that moment, another subordinate hurried in, leaned close to Boss North’s ear, and whispered a few words. Instantly, the big man’s face split into a grin.

“Monkey, you did well this time!” Boss North nodded approvingly, then signaled to a subordinate standing by. The man drew a card from his pocket and held it out before Monkey’s eyes. “Monkey, keep up the good work. Don’t worry—your share of the rewards won't be small!”

Monkey nodded eagerly, his eyes shining with greed as he accepted the card with trembling hands.

Boss North waved him off, and Monkey slipped out tactfully.

Once Monkey had left, Boss North burst out laughing, looking skyward. “Ha! Heaven’s really smiling on me! The big boss ran off to Red Star Beach chasing that assassin, but who’d have thought I’d stumble upon a windfall right at home? Get the brothers ready—we’re going to meet the guy who killed Cyclops in three moves. Everyone bring a gun! Hmph, I’d like to see if he’s faster than a bullet!” Boss North stroked his shiny scalp with self-satisfied pride.

A hesitant voice piped up from the side: “Second Boss, shouldn’t we at least inform the big boss about this?”

Boss North exploded. “Inform my ass! By the time you finish informing him, those two will be long gone! When we drag him back, that’ll be a nice surprise for the big boss, ha! What are you waiting for? Go get ready!”

Meanwhile, Ye Chong and Bai Li Nan were wandering aimlessly through Reno. Bai Li Nan was visibly drained—who knew where this new master had popped out from? He knew nothing about anything, asking this, asking that. At first, Bai Li Nan answered with enthusiasm, but the endless stream of questions soon overwhelmed him. No sooner had he explained one thing than a dozen more questions appeared, all of them strange and bewildering, leaving Bai Li Nan at a complete loss.

How unlucky could a man get to end up with such a master? Bai Li Nan rolled his eyes skyward in silent complaint. What irked him most was Ye Chong’s disrespectful remarks about his idol, Feng Su—saying his legs were too thin or his skin too delicate. Heaven help him! What sort of human would say such things? Bai Li Nan felt utterly defeated.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted ahead. A group of burly thugs surged toward them, their intent unmistakably hostile.

Ye Chong’s eyes narrowed. He immediately summoned his mecha.

The mechas Ye Chong had scavenged from the merchant ship were the Oak Leaf group’s hard-won emergency reserves, all of mid-tier or higher quality, with quite a few advanced models among them. The humanoid mecha Ye Chong summoned now—Golden Milor—was one such advanced model.

Back on the ship, when Bai Li Nan saw Ye Chong pour out a pile of spatial buttons from his pouch, his eyes had practically popped out of their sockets. Was this guy an arms dealer?

Learning from past close calls, Ye Chong had preset several advanced and specialized mechas for instant deployment. Better to be overprepared than caught off guard—one second could decide life or death on the battlefield!

To Bai Li Nan, it looked as though his new master was putting on a mecha fashion show, swapping suits one after another. Was this a performance? He was baffled.

Once he realized what Ye Chong was actually doing, Bai Li Nan was dumbstruck. All this just for emergencies? He’d never seen anyone carry more than two mechas at a time, and Ye Chong had preset five advanced mechas and three specialized ones! This was practically a walking mecha arsenal! He watched in disbelief as Ye Chong slipped one spatial button after another onto his fingers. If only he knew Ye Chong also carried a Sandworm and wore Mu Shang around his neck, who knows what expression he’d make…

Most spatial buttons were crafted as ornaments for easy carrying. Ye Chong now wore four rings, two bracelets, and even had an earring-shaped spatial button, which he clipped onto his left ear without hesitation. Bai Li Nan was so stunned he turned to stone, and when he finally came to, he couldn’t help but double over with laughter at Ye Chong’s appearance.

Ye Chong, however, couldn’t have cared less. Unattractive? What did that matter? If it kept him alive, he’d wear anything! He scoffed inwardly at Bai Li Nan’s ridicule. The only minor drawback was that the rings on his hands slightly hampered his dexterity and feel.

At the first sign of danger, Ye Chong summoned Golden Milor from the ring on his left middle finger.

Golden Milor shone with a radiant golden light, imposing and majestic like a god descended to earth. Yet this was precisely what Ye Chong disliked most about this mecha—so dazzling and conspicuous, it was impossible to blend in or go unnoticed. If only it were a dull blue-grey or a muted brown, it would be far better.

Still, he was thoroughly satisfied with its configuration. The armor was streamlined and aerodynamic, with a dual-layered composite structure—lightweight yet robust. Its main weapon was a high-frequency magnetic blade, whose destructive power was directly tied to its oscillation frequency. The high-frequency blade could shatter a mecha’s metal shell into fragments in a heartbeat. Lacking the flashy brilliance of a laser sword, it was overlooked by many, but to Ye Chong, that was a virtue.

Unlike typical combat mechas, Golden Milor had no shield, instead equipped with two parrying spikes and a small buckler on its right arm. Speed—the quality Ye Chong prized above all—was top-tier, powered by a Light-Lynx engine that delivered formidable thrust. Eight auxiliary engines offered superb maneuverability at the cost of greatly increased handling difficulty. The mecha was also stocked with daggers and the like. Its only real weakness was in ranged combat: aside from a concealed firing chamber on its left arm, which housed a single low-tier scattergun, it was sorely lacking in firepower.

But for Ye Chong, this kind of close-combat mecha was his forte and his favorite. So, naturally, it was his first choice in a crisis.

Golden Milor’s electronic eye flashed gold as it coldly fixed its gaze on the approaching, ill-intentioned mob.