Chapter 89: Mavi's Killing Intent

(Author's Note: The chapter title is incorrect, but it does not affect the reading experience. I am trash.)

After a glass of wine, the atmosphere here eased up considerably. The green Goblin swirled his wine glass, looking somewhat comical. He called himself Mavi, though it was impossible to tell if that was his real name.

"What is it that you three are looking to sell to me?" Mavi asked, dispensing with any further pleasantries. He leaned back in his chair, staring intently at the trio.

"Some Gene Chains..." Li Yu replied carefully.

"Oh?" The smile on Mavi's face deepened. Although those damn Marauders were his dear clients...

Those bastards had absolutely no idea what constituted hard currency and what was difficult to offload.

And Gene Chains were the hardest of hard currency. No one would ever refuse a Gene Chain.

"Which company produced them?" Mavi inquired. Gene Chains from different companies varied greatly in quality.

The best, of course, were those on the level of the Tyron Chamber of Commerce...

After all, that company was based on Heavenly Desolation Star, and since Heavenly Desolation Star had been quite eye-catching recently, mentioning it might attract unnecessary attention.

Mavi narrowed his eyes but did not press the issue. It was normal to be cautious. It was very common for internal staff of large companies to secretly resell internal goods.

"May I inspect the quality?" he asked.

"Naturally." Li Yu was well-prepared. He pulled a pre-prepared vial containing a Gene Chain from his jacket and handed it to Mavi.

Mavi observed it carefully. It was a very ordinary gene-fusion syringe; eight out of ten companies that produced Gene Chains used this exact style.

The company logo had been sanded off. They were quite cautious in their operations...

He discreetly passed the syringe to a Fossas standing beside him, instructing his subordinate to test it.

"If the quality is up to standard, I can give you around forty-five percent of the market price," Mavi stated indifferently. He then added, "Of course, the quantity must be substantial."

'Forty-five percent of the market price... Damn, what a blood-sucking fiend,' Li Yu could not help but grumble inwardly, though he knew this price was actually quite favorable.

Normally, getting forty percent of the market value for a buy-back price on Gene Chains was considered good. After all, the selling price for these black market Gene Chains was at most sixty to seventy percent of the market rate.

"Over a hundred vials," Li Yu probed. "Is this quantity..."

"Over a hundred vials?" Mavi frowned slightly. "That amount... as an initial transaction, it barely passes the mark."

Li Yu's expression suddenly turned rather colorful. 'Initial transaction... Bro... did you misunderstand something?'

The expressions of all three subtly shifted, which allowed the astute Mavi to sense that something was off.

"What is it? Is there a problem?" he asked with a trace of suspicion.

"No," Li Yu shook his head, having no intention of exposing himself. He sighed, "I just didn't expect Your Excellency to have such a massive appetite. Our vision was too narrow, bringing only this little bit over."

"Haha!" Mavi immediately burst into laughter. He really enjoyed this subtle flattery, unlike his idiotic subordinates whose brown-nosing was always so crude and obvious.

"No matter. It is perfectly normal to be a bit cautious during the first transaction."

Right at that moment, the Fossas from earlier returned. He whispered something into Mavi's ear. Hearing this, Mavi nodded and turned to Li Yu's group.

"The quality is fine. We can proceed with the transaction."

Mavi stood up and led them out. Goblins were generally very short; Mavi only reached about the height of Li Yu's navel, which already made him quite tall for his species.

This was his office, so naturally, they would not conduct the transaction here. They arrived at a cold storage facility where quite a few staff members were processing Gene Chains.

The Marauders would occasionally manage to loot some Gene Chains, but they were all loose goods. Some had even undergone internal mutations and were completely unusable.

Li Yu took out his white metal cube and expanded it on the ground. A massive spread of Gene Chains appeared. The staff members were not surprised and methodically began the screening process.

"How did you get this password?" Mavi asked seemingly casually, as if he did not care about the answer, even pausing to scold a staff member who made a mistake.

Li Yu and Hunter subtly exchanged glances before Li Yu spoke up, "A friend gave it to us."

"Then this friend of yours is truly resourceful," Mavi sighed. Following that, the group exchanged a few more sentences of utter nonsense, mostly pointless filler conversation.

But Li Yu could not shake the feeling that this guy was subtly probing him the entire time.

"My Lord, the screening is complete. There are one hundred and seventy-nine E-rank Gene Chains. Based on the market rate, the buy-back price should be ninety-seven million Star Coins," a staff member reported honestly.

"Ninety-seven million? Let's round it up. One hundred million Star Coins. Give me your Black Hole Account," Mavi said casually.

Li Yu, of course, would not refuse the generous addition of three million. He provided his Black Hole Account without hesitation.

With one hundred million Star Coins credited to his account, Li Yu felt significantly more relaxed. Holding onto those items was never as secure as having cold, hard Star Coins.

Thud! Thud!

Accompanied by a few muffled thuds, a tall figure strode in from outside. With thick, bulging muscles, it was actually a Troll. His skin was a crimson red, completely different from Tu Rui.

"Mavi... your custom spaceship has arrived. It's parked at Port 7," he rumbled in a muffled voice. His attitude toward Mavi was not particularly respectful.

A Goblin and a Troll—this combination was quite rare in the interstellar scene.

"It's finally here!" Mavi looked a bit excited. He turned to Li Yu and the others. "Are you three interested in coming with me to take a look?"

"Thank you, but no," Li Yu shook his head. "I still have business to attend to."

He had zero interest in watching a wealthy tycoon show off his riches.

"What a pity," Mavi said with a look of regret as he watched the three of them leave.

"Baal, take some men and follow them. Find a secluded spot and bring them back," Mavi's expression instantly turned ice-cold.

The Troll looked confused. "You personally accompanied them. Aren't they major clients?"

"Major clients?" Mavi sneered. "No matter how big the client, they can't compare to the whale shark hiding behind them."

"Then why did you let them go? Couldn't we just take them down right here?" Baal's relationship with Mavi was clearly not that of a simple subordinate. He spoke with a hint of reluctance, yet still added,

"The Boss ordered me to look into those two guys who kidnapped the Imperial Noble. I'll dispatch the squad under my command over there..."

"Business is business, and personal vendettas are personal vendettas. We Goblins are the ones who value commercial reputation the most..." Mavi muttered, though it was unclear who he was really talking to.

...

"Those old brothers of mine are still pretty useful," Hunter said gleefully, finally having a chance to show off in front of Li Yu.

"Let's get out of here quickly. That Mavi back there could barely restrain his killing intent," Mo Duo suddenly whispered.

"What!?" Hunter felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head. He looked incredulous, but seeing Mo Duo's crimson eyes, he did not argue.

Evidently, he had also guessed Mo Duo's origins. That pair of eyes was quite trustworthy.

"No wonder I felt something was faintly off," Li Yu's expression grew solemn. This was not hindsight wisdom; when one's mental power reached a certain stage, it naturally reacted to the malice of others.

The three of them departed from the territory of the Black Skull, a powerful Marauder legion.

The ground in the Pale Land was entirely constructed of metal. Many areas showed obvious signs of repair, having clearly endured numerous massive battles.

Walking down a deserted street, Li Yu's footsteps abruptly came to a halt. He looked around warily. "Come out."

The surroundings were deathly silent. It seemed no one was there. Hunter and Mo Duo did not react; along their journey, this was already the third time Li Yu had tried to bluff like this.

However, this time... things were a bit different.

"Such strong vigilance..."

A voice echoing out of thin air caused Mo Duo and Hunter's expressions to change drastically. They subconsciously looked for a place to take cover, while Li Yu's face tightened.

From all four corners of the street, several figures gradually emerged. With towering bodies and fierce auras, six Trolls stepped out from the shadows.

This reminded him of the Troll he had seen with Mavi, though the sense of danger emanating from these Trolls was not nearly as intense.

They were likely all D-Class Lifeforms. Unlike the situation with the Red Fox Brothers, Trolls... were incredibly strong.

"You three, come with us," the leading crimson-skinned Troll demanded. He was bare-chested, his muscles bulging viciously. His tone was flat, as if he did not take the trio seriously at all.

The Black Skull possessed a dedicated Troll Squad. This was common knowledge throughout the No Man's Land System, and it was a source of great envy among the other Marauders.

Trolls, much like the Four-Armed Titans, were an incredibly sought-after interstellar race. Even without training, they were core combatants, and with a little development, they could single-handedly hold their ground. It was impossible not to favor them.

"Mavi sent you? Killing your own clients... isn't he afraid of cutting off his source of wealth?" Li Yu glanced around, rapidly calculating his next move.

"We just follow orders." The Troll could not be bothered to argue with him. He waved his hand, signaling the immediate commencement of their operation. The six Trolls directly closed in.

The other two people did not have much energy fluctuation around them; they were clearly trash. They would take down the primary target first.

With dual pistols in hand, Li Yu's accuracy was not exactly top-tier. But because the enemies' frames were so massive, he hardly needed to aim. Muzzle flashes formed continuous lines as he opened fire in all directions.

This group of Trolls had arrived in a hurry and were not wearing full sets of combat armor—perhaps because they assumed their target was not very strong.

As the six Trolls converged, the lethal power of the pistols looted from the Red Fox Brothers proved to be quite limited.

"Roar!" One of them bellowed and charged like a raging bull, bringing with it an unmatched, devastating force. Li Yu's pupils shrank as he activated Bullet Time, sidestepping quickly to the left.

At the same time, he clenched his left fist. Pulsating with purple electricity, he smashed it right into the back of the Troll's head.

The Troll stumbled, shaking its head dizzily.

'Damn, they're thick-skinned and meaty... If it had been the Red Fox Brothers, they would be lying on the ground drooling by now.'

The other five Trolls had already rushed in. A stormy barrage of attacks landed on the Purple Sniper armor, rapidly accumulating dents and scratches. Being besieged by six Lifeforms of the same tier was utterly perilous; it was like facing a crashing tidal wave. Li Yu could barely fight back.

He could only rely on Bullet Time to continuously dodge and weave, but the situation was spiraling in another direction.

"Damn it, that bastard! He'd better hope I never run into him!" Hunter cursed furiously from the shadows as he fiddled with his Smart Terminal.

He seemed intent on questioning the person who had given him Mavi's contact channel in the first place.

His Smart Terminal was quite special. Li Yu had secretly asked Claptrap to hack it multiple times, but to no avail.

Mo Duo's Smart Terminal vibrated. It displayed only one word: Pearl!

It was a message from Li Yu.

A trace of worry surfaced in Mo Duo's crimson eyes. Li Yu had used the pearl far too many times.

She had no idea that Li Yu had been using Spice to smooth over the pearl's severe backlash.

Rumble!

The six Trolls boxed Li Yu in, ganging up on him like a group of thugs beating a child. In the face of their torrential assault, he could only defend blindly. Any attempt to move or dodge was brutally interrupted by their savage strikes, leaving him completely unable to counterattack.

Loud clangs and crashes echoed continuously as dust flew into the air. Li Yu's figure was almost completely obscured; all that could be seen were the six Trolls relentlessly throwing punches.

Watching Li Yu in the center of the fray, her expression gradually calmed down. Her lips turned slightly pale as a surge of resolve filled her crimson pupils.

"This... debt. I'm taking it on in the end..."

She took out the pearl and prepared to press it against her forehead.

Right at that moment, the leading crimson-skinned Troll waved his hand and spoke indifferently, "That should be enough. Don't beat him to death. Take him away."

The moment his voice fell, the dust swirled. Li Yu's clothes were already torn to shreds, yet he had surprisingly few injuries. The Purple Sniper armor on his body was visibly warped—those punches were truly no joke.

At the same time, on the areas not covered by the Purple Sniper, individual brown scales gradually receded. A trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, yet he wore a bizarre smile.

At some unknown point, he had drawn out a crimson scythe. This item had been kept stored away in his Space Folding Device.

Surging purple lightning coiled around his entire body, forcefully stimulating his muscles to tense up, allowing him to exert even greater power.

The self-healing ability derived from the T-Virus continuously repaired his injuries, granting him stamina far beyond that of a normal person.

He shot forward like a purple bullet, piercing through the smoke and dust. This exact moment—when they relaxed their guard—was what he had been waiting for!

The scythe swept horizontally toward the nearest Troll. The razor-sharp blade slashed right across the Troll's throat, the clinging purple electricity instantly cauterizing the wound.

The head rolled off, yet not a single drop of blood spilled out.

The Purple Thunder Rat Gene Chain already provided a natural boost to speed. Coupled with the forceful electrical muscle stimulation, Li Yu's speed had reached a point where the group of Trolls did not even have time to react before one of their comrades was killed.

"Beat him down!" The leading crimson-skinned Troll was stunned for a second before roaring furiously. Its entire body began to glow an intense crimson, oozing a substance that resembled boiling magma.

However, it did not join the fray. Instead, it locked its eyes onto the two figures standing not far away: Hunter and Mo Duo.

From the very beginning, he had sensed a dangerous aura from them. Mo Duo was now completely enveloped in a radiant green glow, floating slightly in mid-air. Her hair billowed wildly and her eyes were squeezed shut, as though she were enduring excruciating pain.

Around her, faint humanoid silhouettes began to fade into existence. They were indistinct, far too blurry to make out clearly.

The crimson-skinned Troll frowned deeply, suddenly struck by a powerful sense of foreboding. It kicked off the ground and charged directly toward Mo Duo.

The very next moment, the floating Mo Duo abruptly opened her eyes. Red and green lights intertwined, giving her an incredibly enigmatic appearance. The crimson-skinned Troll's body stiffened as its own eyes were completely overtaken by a red glare.

It forcibly twisted its body and astonishingly charged right at another Troll.

"Boss, don't do it..." The Troll that had been busy besieging Li Yu was noticeably caught off guard, right before the crimson-skinned Troll smashed a massive fist directly into its head.

The two immediately dissolved into a brutal brawl.

Li Yu shot a glance at the floating Mo Duo and felt the pressure on him suddenly lift. Now, he only had to face three Trolls...

"Are you ready?" Li Yu's gaze turned chilling as he dragged his scythe along the ground, sending sparks and electric arcs flying in all directions.