Chapter 152: Blue Sandstone
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
He knew from Wei Xi that the city did not have restrictions on activity time, so Ye Chong decided to make a grand tour of the almost miraculous underground city. After declining Wei Xi’s company, Ye Chong headed for the streets alone. Usually, he would not be in the mood for a stroll in the city, but Nine Gates of Daylight had irrevocably made him curious. A massive underground metropolis like this, Ye Chong believed, would never have been possible in the Five Galaxies. Ye Chong himself had never imagined for there be such a city in this world. On the other hand, no matter the time, familiarizing himself with the environment was enough to significantly raise his chance of survival. This was according to Ye Chong’s experience.
Witnessing the miraculous existence of Nine Gates of Daylight, Ye Chong began to have doubts on whether he could pass the so-called five Trials, for the Sanctuary’s strength was truly unpredictable!
Every candidate had to wear a silver electronic wristband once they left their ship. Its matted internal surface made for a comfortable wear. Its smooth surface of gleaming silver was etched with patterns of intertwining vines, and between the leaves of these vines, Ye Chong found many holographic projection apertures. Wei Xi said that this was a travel pass for Nine Gates of Daylight. Without it, moving throughout the city would be difficult, and his personal safety would not be guaranteed. As for how it would "not be guaranteed", Wei Xi only smiled and moved on to another topic.
Ye Chong found that wristband could not be taken off once it was put on. Wei Xi’s explanation was that it prevented any accidental loss of the item. Ye Chong, however, did not buy it at all. Wei Xi also warned Ye Chong to never attempt to remove the wristband, or it would be very dangerous. Similarly, she did not elaborate any further on how it could be "dangerous".
Of course, Ye Chong was not foolish enough to believe that this was only a simple travel pass. Just as he laid sight on the wristband, Mu’s superior scanning system had already gone through the entire item. When Mu informed the scanning results to Ye Chong, Ye Chong could only force himself to maintain an acceptably normal expression as he was given the wristband.
It had a signal tracking feature, allowing the Sanctuary to know at all times the whereabouts of the wearer. There was also an unknown liquid inside, mixed with more than 300 extremely tiny alloy needles. Next to the liquid was an extremely potent high explosive material. Mu concluded that this material could explode and wipe out anything within a three meter radius. The probability of this was much higher than the material being a tasty beverage. Based on Mu’s calculations, the explosion would cause the alloy needles submerged in the liquid to shoot outwards in all directions, being effective up to a thirty meter radius. The explosive decision was similarly controlled by the Sanctuary. It meant that, whoever wearing this item would place their lives in the hands of the Sanctuary.
Ye Chong received the seemingly elegant wristband as he listened to Mu analyzing all the various functions of the item, and grew anxious inside!
However, seeing Wei Xi and an entire standard combat squad of mech pilots eyeing him with hostility, Ye Chong could only brace himself and put on the terrifying item on his left wrist. If he did not cooperate, he would probably be surrounded and attacked. Besides, there were many of the Sanctuary’s pilots around here. Since he left the starship, Ye Chong noticed keenly that there were more than ten of the Sanctuary’s combat squads flying in the air! If he were attacked here, there would not be much of him left in the end!
Wei Xi was secretly pleased. No matter what troubles Ye Chong could bring, once he put on the travel wristband, he would never escape the Sanctuary’s grasp. They would not have to fear for any of his tricks.
After Ye Chong put on the silver wristband, the squad of mech pilots behind Wei Xi left silently.
Ye Chong made the excuse of wanting to look around the place, and quickly left Wei Xi. Wei Xi was not afraid of Ye Chong being up to something, and agreed smilingly.
Ye Chong turned and immediately asked Mu urgently, "Mu, can you take care of this?" Ye Chong hated the feeling of having his fate being controlled by someone else.
Mu was silent for a moment before saying, "Ye, this design of theirs is quite delicate, I’ll need some time!"
Ye Chong could not help but exhale in relief. He had an almost blind confidence towards Mu’s abilities. If Mu did not say it was impossible, then Ye Chong believed that Mu would be able to do it. In truth, ever since their meeting on the trash planet, Mu had never let Ye Chong down. However, even the usually undaunted Mu had requested for more time. This showed how advanced Sanctuary’s technology really was.
Ye Chong calmly began his solo exploration of the metropolis known as Nine Gates of Daylight.
It was only by entering Nine Gates of Daylight that one could truly appreciate its magnificence. Walking leisurely along the streets, Ye Chong found the city’s prosperity surprising. He had thought that the place was like a man-made base, but along the streets Ye Chong discovered that it was complete with various facilities. This was undeniably a real city.
Unlike the rushed pace of the pedestrians Ye Chong had seen in other cities, the people here seemed to be leisurely walking and looked carefree. Ye Chong also noticed something curious - most of the pedestrians he saw were middle aged, and there were basically no one as young as he was. Nonetheless, the people on the streets had all looked at him oddly, and Ye Chong did not understand why, though he did not really mind them.
The skies were much livelier than on the ground. Numerous mechs cruised between the skyscrapers, dangerously close to each other, but the mech pilots all displayed extremely well piloting skills. The common sight of newbie pilots flying their mechs uncertainly across the skies was absent in Nine Gates of Daylight. Ye Chong was suspected that they could be having some sort of mech piloting competition.
In a small store on the roadside, through an organic sheet of glass, many mechs were put on display. Ye Chong could not help but stop in his tracks. The holographic advertisement at the door wrote, ‘Blue Sandstone Mech Store - Mechs Made To Order, with Modification, Assembling and Reparation Services’.
Ye Chong stared. What a huge boast. This was the first time Ye Chong had seen an advertisement offering custom made mechs, and even had modification, assembling and reparation services. If this little store could build custom made mechs, it would mean that the store had the facilities to build an entire mech by itself. That seemed preposterous. If it was one of those huge mech production companies displaying this ad, Ye Chong might have believed it, but this was an inconspicuous looking little store. Ye Chong found it hard to believe that it had the facilities to build an entire mech.
Even Ye Chong himself could not build an entire mech. With his most recent success, Han Jia, even though he had made most of the parts by himself, the engine, scanning system and other important parts were not what he could manage. Besides, without Mu’s help, building Han Jia would have been more difficult. However, who could possibly have a helper like Mu?
Unintentionally, Ye Chong found himself entering the little store named Blue Sandstone.
The shop looked inconspicuous on the outside, but it was very spacious inside, with many different mechs on display. Ye Chong examined those mechs in detail, and found to his surprise that they were not in the usual natural style common in the Orbits, but were very similar to the advanced level mechs found in the Five Galaxies. Ye Chong was very familiar with advanced level mechs of all models from the Five Galaxies, and could notice the difference in style.
Suddenly, a soft voice reached him. "Young man, these things are very different from your equipment, don’t waste your time on them!" The tone was not very welcoming.
Ye Chong turned to see a middle aged man in a working uniform standing behind him, his body covered in patches of grease, and his expression a little unfriendly. "What did I do to him?" Ye Chong thought to himself. The middle aged man’s words meant nothing to him. What did he mean by "your equipment"?
Not understanding his words, Ye Chong had no intention of probing further, but instead studied the modified version of the Eden-IV model before him. Whoever modified it had intended to improve the mech’s automotives, and even put on some horizontal stabilizer fins and simplified the design on Eden’s originally thickset limbs.
Ye Chong could not help but shake his head.
"This is just a small store, nothing much to see!" Seeing Ye Chong shake his head, the middle aged man made a hostile expression, obviously trying to kick him out.
Ye Chong looked up in surprise. While he had few experiences in buying things, this was the first time he met such a storekeeper.
"How much is this Eden?" Ye Chong pointed to the Eden-IV model before him. This Eden-IV model had good balance, but its automotive power was regrettably lacking. However, other parts of its design were all aimed for balance. Besides, the mech model had an important advantage, and that was its stability. It had stable performance no matter what the environment. Besides Han Jia, Ye Chong only had Guardian, which cannot ever show itself. He felt the need to have another mech, in case if Han Jia was damaged, he would still have another mech to travel. Moreover, Ye Chong already had an idea on how to modify this Eden model.
"You buying?" The middle aged man looked unconvinced.
"Yes!" Ye Chong nodded.
"You really buying?" The middle aged man’s face was full of disbelief.
"Yes!" Ye Chong did not even make the effort of nodding this time.
"Alright, that model’s 15 Nine Gate points." The middle aged man gave a look that asked him to pay up if he wanted to buy the mech.
"Nine Gate points?" What is this Nine Gate point? Was it the local currency? Ye Chong suddenly remembered something important - he did not have any local currency.
The middle aged man studied Ye Chong for a moment, and saw the silver wristband on Ye Chong’s left wrist. He asked, "You a new candidate?"