death of hope

Chapter 1038 "Psionic Storm" (111) Black Market Deal

New Sapporo City,

Xiacheng District
The streets of Kanagawa were as bustling as ever.
Everywhere you look, there are haphazardly strung and tangled electrical wires, makeshift shacks, and shops crammed into tiny, pigeonhole-like spaces. The narrow alleyways extending from either side of the street are completely blocked off.
Vendors setting up stalls, itinerant merchants carrying loads on shoulder poles, performers drawing circles to sell their art, and beggars kneeling and kowtowing have almost completely blocked the road... Cars have to honk their horns for ages to get through.

Looking up, holographic projections, neon lights, and large signs are layered on top of each other, and the tiny bit of space is also occupied by tenants' clothes racks, making it almost impossible to see the night sky.

This place is a melting pot of all sorts of people, a veritable hub of illegal goods and scams. You can find illegal immigrants of all skin colors and with forged documents, and you might even spot alien merchants.
The elves with pointed ears hawked their so-called "cure-all" psychic tonics, while green-skinned orcs with bared fangs sold primitive necklaces made of monster bones to passersby, claiming they were handcrafted lucky charms blessed by an old shaman, capable of warding off evil and bringing wealth. In reality, they were probably just cheap handicrafts made in some small workshop.

·
Before arriving at the black market, Li Ang drove around the city, running several red lights and nearly crashing into a dump truck. He managed to shake off the spies sent by the director without taking Yuna with him, and the people following him weren't very persistent.

An old beggar noticed Li Ang's tie clip and called over a few of his fellow beggars to surround him. Li Ang secretly reached for the stainless steel basin with his left hand, but was knocked down by an elbow strike, his nose bleeding profusely.

"You've got some nerve, kid! Which neighborhood are you from?!"

Several beggars brandished gleaming knives. Li Ang impatiently lifted his clothes, pulled out a 'Scorpion' submachine gun with an extended magazine, and chambered a bullet with a 'click'.

"Get lost! I don't want trouble, but I'm not afraid of trouble either!"

The beggars exchanged glances; "You're something else!" they said, sheathing their knives and scattering like birds.

Bystanders who witnessed the incident were indifferent to the scene; after all, Walmart sells guns these days, and they're used to seeing gang fights every day.

·
Li Ang pulled out a slip of paper with an address written on it; it was information he had bought from a gang henchman.

After several twists and turns, he arrived at the entrance of a shop without a sign. The rusty roller shutter was covered with small advertisements such as "Professional Locksmith" and "Cure X Disease with One Injection". Through the gaps, he could see that the lights were on inside. Li Ang smashed the roller shutter with all his might.
Is anyone there?!

Inside, you could hear men cursing, women laughing, a series of clanging noises, and then the sound of the elevator starting up.
The roller shutter door had just risen halfway when a heavily made-up Latina woman dressed in revealing clothes popped out, blinked her super long false eyelashes, gave a flirtatious look, and said in a coquettish voice while tugging at Li Ang's belt buckle.
"Wow! That's so cool! Can I have it for free?"

Li Ang impatiently pulled out a banknote;
"roll!"

"Okay~"

The Latina woman skillfully rolled up the banknotes and stuffed them into her bra; "What a lucky day! I have to buy a lottery ticket!" She ran off barefoot, carrying her high heels, laughing loudly.

·
"Damn it! I'm not doing anything important!"

The roller shutter door was fully raised, and a disheveled middle-aged man with a receding hairline walked out while putting on his clothes, his small, rat-like eyes staring at Li Ang:

"You blondie, you better not be a salesman!"

Li Ang was too lazy to waste words with him. He looked around, pushed the man into the shop, and whispered in his ear.

"You're Koji Kamino, nicknamed 'Super Glue,' right?"

"It's me, so what?"

"I heard you can get your hands on standard equipment for the Federal Army?"

The slovenly middle-aged man paused for two seconds, examining Li Ang's designer suit and tie, then looked down at the brand logo on his belt buckle and the car keys hanging on his belt. He was undoubtedly an elite from the Upper East Side; the thugs on this street couldn't afford such clothes.

·
The boss grinned lewdly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth; "Oh, a big client! My apologies for not recognizing you sooner. Come, come, come in, let's talk over drinks~" "No need, I'm pressed for time. Take a look at this,"

As he spoke, Li Ang pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to the other person:

"Can you get your hands on the equipment listed here?"

"Oh my god?!"

The slovenly middle-aged man raised an eyebrow;
"Hey buddy, what are you trying to do? Are you going to rob all the banks in Shin-Sapporo?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just tell me if you can get it."

The shop owner took a drag of his cigarette, and Niu Pi gave himself a thumbs-up with a loud thud.

"Dude, you've come to the right person. I, 'Super Glue,' am the king of distribution channels and the god of middlemen. If the money's right, I'll get you a tank!"

"We don't need tanks, just these items on the list, are they authentic?"

The shop owner glanced outside to make sure no one was there, then whispered:
"Well, the Battle of Corandas just ended, right? We were driven away by those scaly lizardmen. All the oil and minerals belong to us humans. The price was that the 17th and 19th Marine Divisions were almost completely wiped out. A lot of individual equipment was picked up by the 'battlefield scavengers' and transported to New Sapporo. I happen to have a connection to that."

"Are you sure it works?"

"It's all covered~ provided you're not superstitious and don't mind that these things were taken from dead ghosts, have spirit rings, and might have some minor smells or scratches, you know what I mean, hehe~"

"What about ammunition and batteries?"

"The whole set, absolutely!"

What's the price?

"Friendly price~ Lots of stuff, let me do the math~"

·
The sleazy-looking middle-aged man pretended to tap on a calculator, his eyes constantly glancing at the Cadillac car key clipped to Li Ang's belt. Finally, he held up the calculator, showing Li Ang the numbers on the LCD screen.

Li Ang nodded: "Can you get it within three days?"

"No problem~ They're all in stock. I'll contact those cleaners, and they'll be delivered tomorrow night~"

"I'll pay a 20% deposit first,"

As he spoke, Li Ang took out his credit card; "I'll pay the rest when I pick up the goods, and if the goods are good enough, I'll give you an extra five percent."

"Awesome! Great deal! This guy's got guts! What an amazing buyer! He didn't even try to haggle!"

The shop owner blew the dust off the POS machine, handed it to Li Ang to swipe the card, took out his communicator and saw the payment notification. He was so happy that his face was full of wrinkles, and his forehead wrinkles appeared. He started planning how many "X-girls" he would call that night.

"Tomorrow at the same time, cash on delivery. Don't try anything funny. I know where your wife and son live."

After saying that, Li Ang walked out of the shop without looking back and quickly disappeared into the crowd, leaving the shop owner standing there dumbfounded.