Chapter 43: Consumption Everywhere
The reception in New Moon City didn't linger or pressure; after a polite reminder, they bowed respectfully and left, leaving both space and choice in the hands of Tian Xiao.
Tian Xiao was genuinely unaware that the New Moon City training facility also secretly operated such businesses.
However, upon reflection, he realized that everyone, both openly and covertly, was recruiting talents, and the things in highest demand were naturally what they needed to prepare for. Through the items purchased by these individuals, they could also gauge the strength of those involved—so why not make the most of it?
One could only say...
The management team that had expanded its business to space, securing a significant foothold within a large base, was far from simple.
Tian Xiao pondered for a while before following the instructions given, accessing a hidden link in the lifetime membership privileges of New Moon City.
This link led to a black market network, invisible to the public eye, filled with all sorts of items available for browsing and purchase.
From rare metals and gene enhancement liquids to D-series transport ships, aircraft, weapon systems, and even full-metal skeleton robot teams—everything was available.
Tian Xiao remained calm, unaffected.
In his past life, he had encountered New Moon City. He knew that New Moon City actually operated several mobile black-market outposts. The reason these goods could be sold at lower prices than the market rate was simple.
Most of the items weren't clean.
They were seized—stolen goods.
Some had been plundered by interstellar pirates.
Others...
Were scavenged from the dead.
The plundered items could not enter the Earth Alliance; they would be reclaimed, so they had to be disposed of quietly, used up.
Items scavenged from the dead were mostly biological chips.
The chips from deceased individuals could be recycled or directly consumed.
For instance, H2 national chips could be upgraded by consuming H3 citizen chips, gaining all the rights and computing abilities of the H3 chip.
Similarly, H3 chips could slightly enhance their processing power by consuming H2 national chips—although the improvement was minimal.
In the black-market mall of New Moon City, the H-series chips were priced at about 900,000 each, which was 100,000 cheaper than upgrading them externally.
However, upgrading externally was fast, with computational abilities reaching their peak instantly. In contrast, the process of upgrading by consuming biological chips was much slower.
It required eliminating unnecessary memories and data, discarding everything the original owner had left behind, and retaining only computational power. The process took at least 48 hours.
Tian Xiao didn't hesitate. He immediately purchased an H6 chip, an H7 chip, an H8 chip, and an H9 chip, planning to slowly improve his chip level once he returned to his base.
Payment: 3.6 million.
His bank balance dropped back into the seven-digit range.
Next, Tian Xiao entered the combat suit section of the black-market mall.
The combat suits here were all brand-new, pristine, looking as if they had just left the factory. However, he knew well that each one had been stained with blood.
But that didn't matter.
Tian Xiao had once had the experience of ripping off still-usable combat suits from the battlefield to wear.
Waste not, want not.
The mall featured H-series combat suits.
These suits were different from the semi-combat suits worn by security personnel. These were military-grade, designed not only with memory metal threads that could form tools like knives, screws, and screwdrivers, but also with powerful bulletproof, stab-resistant, and puncture-resistant features. Especially in the event of an ambush, metal particles would converge to form a shield, significantly improving the wearer's chances of survival. The processing speed and responsiveness far exceeded that of security suits.
An H-series combat suit cost 5 million.
Without a military identity, one couldn't qualify or have access to purchase them.
But here, for only 4.5 million, New Moon City even offered customization and color-changing services—there was no need to worry about anyone investigating. Even if someone did, they wouldn't be able to trace it.
After considering, Tian Xiao placed an order, specifying the style of his current security combat suit.
Military-grade suits were much more advanced than security ones, with better battlefield adaptability. Indeed, they were a necessity.
Especially for him...
Since he didn't plan to join the Earth military just yet, a fully functional combat suit with high defensive capabilities would be sufficient for his needs at F-level.
Remaining balance: 4.35 million.
Tian Xiao didn't intend to look any further.
He was poor!
But because he was poor, he scrutinized every detail even more carefully.
A specially-made F-level electric shotgun, worth 12 million, with ammo priced at 100,000 per shot, could easily stun a group of F-level beasts or insect beasts.
A specially-made F-level anti-material sniper rifle could tear apart F-level metal shells, and included drones capable of reconnaissance and self-destructive missions, priced at 20 million.
A high-frequency vibration cutting knife, capable of easily cutting through 5 cm thick G-level alloy shells, destroying any combat suit, priced at 18 million.
An invisible "Blue Bird" drone, powered by an H9 chip, with an invisibility coating, four machine guns, a 100-round ammo capacity, 30,000 heavy machine gun bullets, and an energy reserve of 1,400 units, priced at 32 million.
All items were available at a 10% discount in the black-market mall.
Tian Xiao couldn't help but salivate.
After quietly calculating, he realized that to acquire a full set of mature equipment, he would need a fortune of at least 200 million. And that was just the beginning.
This didn't even account for the genetic enhancement funds required to upgrade from H-level to G-level.
Being an ordinary person was easy.
Becoming someone extraordinary...
With only a bit more than 4 million left, Tian Xiao began his training.
His sparring partner, YOYO, stood by with a sweet smile, professionally cheering him on.
Not long after, the chips and combat suit arrived.
Tian Xiao entered the changing room and put on the new suit.
The suit had been tailored to perfectly match his current one. It fit comfortably, and the four chips were placed in the inner pockets of the combat suit. As he left the New Moon City training facility, everything seemed unchanged, as if nothing had changed at all.
At the top level of the New Moon City training facility, behind a one-way window, Wang Qiushan stood next to a middle-aged man with distinguished white temples and a commanding aura, watching the young man leave.
"This person is quite interesting."
"A new graduate from a security team, who's never met me, actually dared to place a million-dollar bet on my victory in my first match."
Wang Qiushan, whose wound had long since healed and now wore a neat Zhongshan suit, exuded a refined aura with a touch of militaristic sharpness.
"Having good vision and courage is one thing, but after the match, spending 2 million to purchase a lifetime membership and tipping me an additional 1 million shows this young man's broad-mindedness and perspective. He's not someone who got lucky and became rich from some random chance."
The middle-aged man with the white temples, who bore some resemblance to Wang Qiushan, spoke calmly and powerfully.
"I've investigated his background. He has several records of battlefield achievements—having encountered beasts, insect beasts, and interstellar pirates, he's nearly a polymath. He's worth recruiting."