Chapter 508: Sili Lan: Trade and… Hailing a Ride

Now.

The Griffin opened the hangar doors on its hull, releasing a Yuyou Type‑6 transport aircraft and two pirate Type‑2 fighter‑jets equipped with transformable mechanisms for escort, which then entered stealth mode and formed an aerial formation heading for Sili Lan.

Soon, the formation broke through the atmosphere, gradually descended, crossing the endless yellow desert sea, while the scorching sun baked the ground, keeping the surface temperature around forty degrees.

Inside the Yuyou's cabin.

Eight auxiliary troops sat, dressed in desert‑colored long‑sleeve shirts and trousers made with nanotech and vibranium fibers—though they looked ordinary—wearing holographic glasses, weapon belts and other "old‑style" gear.

Leon, the superior of those eight auxiliaries, wore desert‑colored combat pants of the same material and a black long‑sleeve shirt, but was not fully armed, only equipped with a leather under‑arm holster. He sat near the cockpit, using a holographic screen generated by his personal mobile device to browse intelligence on Sili Lan.

At this moment, an auxiliary standing about 2.2 meters tall and not equipped with Helundin power armor gathered his commander‑type laser rifle, ammunition and supplies, rose, walked to Leon's side, and, as he sat down again, asked:

"Sir, do you think we'll find anything new on Sili Lan?"

Upon hearing that.

Leon turned his head to glance at the other, then refocused on the screen and answered off‑topic: "I recall your father was also an intelligence officer, right, Lin Hong."

"Yes." The auxiliary named Lin Hong nodded.

In fact, the father Leon referred to was the legendary intelligence officer Lin Shunsheng, who single‑handedly perished together with a monstrous race.

Lin Hong, who had taken part in the Fenris campaign a century ago, faced the fallen gods, and with outstanding performance was transferred from the UNSC's Fenris infantry to the twelfth battalion of the Sparta Corps, is no longer the hot‑headed youngster he once was; now he is a centenarian elite.

Of course, compared with the nearly two‑and‑a‑half‑century‑old Leon, Lin Hong is still a "junior with insufficient experience."

It is also worth noting that Lin Hong lost an arm in the Fenris battle (later reattached with a bio‑prosthetic), and married the female medic who provided his battlefield first aid and wore CMC‑powered armor, continuing the family tradition in a similar manner.

However, Lin Hong's temperament is more fierce, loving to charge into battle, so he did not follow his father's path as an intelligence officer; instead he underwent augmentation surgery and became today's elite auxiliary.

Thus, when asked, Lin Hong was momentarily stunned, but a hundred years had already erased the sorrow, and he answered truthfully: "Yes, sir, but my father died when I was very young."

"If he were still alive, he would tell you that machines are convenient, but sometimes they are less reliable than human experience, sixth sense, or intuition."

Leon said this, then dismissed the holographic screen, patted Lin Hong's shoulder, and continued: "Sometimes, don't rely solely on technology, child."

Having received the explanation, Lin Hong seemed to understand, nodded and replied: "Yes, sir, I understand."

"Hmm." Leon smiled lightly in response.

The conversation ended.

Everyone in the cabin sensed the Yuyou slowing and a subtle descent, while the intercom broadcast the pilot's reminder: "Landing expected in twenty seconds; please, sir, and all personnel, prepare."

Hearing the reminder, Lin Hong and all auxiliaries performed another check of their weapons and gear, and Leon drew a custom‑made plasma pistol from his under‑arm holster for calibration.

After preparations were complete.

Leon returned the plasma pistol to its holster, rose together with the auxiliaries who were three to forty centimeters taller than him, and proceeded to the rear of the cabin.

With a low‑amplitude vibration, the Yuyou's landing gear deployed, completing the landing, and the pilot opened the tail hatch.

Whoosh———!!

As soon as the hatch opened, a wave of scorching heat swept into the cabin, prompting the nanobots in Leon's body to activate rapidly, allowing him to pre‑adapt to Sili Lan's surface environment.

Waiting for the hatch to fully open.

The group, already acclimated to the heat, then, led by Leon, stepped out of the Yuyou's cabin one after another.

Outside, the high sun forced Leon to squint, and the nanobots promptly adjusted his vision.

What about Lin Hong and the remaining auxiliaries?

Although they also have nanobots, the post‑augmentation surgery means that merely being on Sili Lan's surface is insufficient for the nanobots to activate fully.

Moreover, auxiliaries can extract nutrients and water from wood, so Leon appears somewhat "mortal" compared to these auxiliaries who are not far behind the 03 Astate.

He looked around.

The formation landed in a gorge between two desert cliffs about six or seven meters high, a relatively concealed spot, and the formation remained in stealth; without close contact, one would not know a Yuyou and two pirate craft were parked here.

At this moment the two pirate fighters reconfigured, emitting faint metallic sounds as they shifted into fifteen‑meter‑tall mech mode to guard and secure the landing zone.

From the mech's overhead monitor looking north, one can see, two or three kilometers away, a town of low‑rise buildings—none exceeding a hundred meters—exhibiting an exotic style.

It seems the location Leon and his party will investigate is that exotic town.

Drawing on years of experience, Leon ordered the Griffin and the entire task force to stay concealed, avoiding detection by locals.

Because Sili Lan prefers to remain in such an environment rather than go to a proper, official colony, it shows the locals are, to some degree, unruly and unwilling to accept any form of rule.

There's no helping it; whether human or other alien races, such gray‑zone or black‑zone forces exist.

The former UEG and today's Human Empire possess AI technology that can monitor everything openly or covertly, so Sili Lan's technological level is modest, its electronics "rudimentary," suggesting the locals also harbor resentment toward official organizations.

That is why Leon travels lightly, selecting the unremarkably built and sized Lin Hong and auxiliaries for assistance and escort; sending six Astates would…

The investigation would then be obstructed.

Alternatively, they could launch a blatant deterrence and use accompanying Ghost operatives for Spiritual Energy interrogation, but that is too extreme; Leon does not wish to disrupt Sili Lan's existing order and risk drawing the Empire's ire.

Next.

Leon, Lin Hong and their party left the fissure between the two cliffs and trekked on foot toward the town.

After a short while, they crossed the scorching desert, reached a desert highway occasionally traversed by ground vehicles, and finally arrived at a checkpoint on the town's outskirts.

Although Sili Lan is chaotic and both the UEG and the Empire are too lazy to govern it, that does not mean there is no "order" there.

The checkpoint resembled an early‑21st‑century toll station, crowded with numerous wheeled ground vehicles powered by hydrogen engines, queuing for inspection.

Also present were many scavengers, pioneers or mercenary‑clad humans and "aliens," all subject to inspection and interrogation by a squad of "soldiers" wielding pulse rifles, equipped with Mechanical exoskeletons and dressed in dark‑green combat suits.

These "soldiers" were clearly the private army of the town's de facto rulers, essentially a gang of thugs on a larger scale with higher‑grade weapons and gear.

When Leon's group queued at the pedestrian passage, they attracted many scrutinizing looks.

After all, even with their modest, "cheap" weapons and gear, locals instantly labeled them as "wealthy" and "foreign."

After a brief wait, it was finally Leon's turn for inspection, and the soldiers conducting the check became extremely alert, some even raising their barrels.

Although Lin Hong and his comrades received no order to brandish weapons, their gazes were sharp, also on high alert, and their eyes subtly conveyed disdain, not regarding the surrounding soldiers as a threat.

"."

A officer wearing a dark‑red beret furrowed his brow, glanced at Leon, then looked up slightly, surveyed Lin Hong and the auxiliaries, and fell silent.

"Heh heh, this brother." Leon, however, showed a genuine, even award‑worthy flattering smile, walked slowly up to the officer, and began to explain:

"I'm an arms dealer wandering between worlds, selling weapons—you know, the worst thing is getting double‑crossed, so I spent a fortune hiring a bunch of veterans retired from the UNSC Special Operations Command, and to avoid being targeted and tracked by enemies, we parked our space shuttle in the desert."

Seeing Leon lower his posture, the officer also relaxed his vigilance a bit and, following procedure, asked: "Understood. So what brings you to Radiant City? Are you also here to dump arms?"

"Of course." Leon raised his left hand and waved it.

Having understood Leon's hint, Lin Hong took down the large tactical pack on his back, stepped forward, unzipped it, and exposed the several small equipment cases stored inside.

At that moment, Leon reached into the tactical pack, pulled out one of the equipment cases, used the password to release the lock, and caused the case's automatic lid to swing open sideways.

Inside lay not only a grenade marked "High‑Power Plasma Grenade," but also four bars about the same size as the grenade, yet shining with a brilliant golden light.

"Oh?"

Tossing aside the grenade whose blast yield equaled 30 kg of TNT, the officer's spirits lifted the instant he saw the gold bars.

Gold is an absolute hard currency at any time, in any universe, and one of the most valuable metals and resources.

As for diamonds?

Those are a series of scams cooked up by early capitalist powers, long since eliminated by humanity of the main universe; diamonds are practically the cheapest items in the cosmos.

Leon then smoothly replaced the lid on the case, handed it to the officer, and without much subtlety said, "Brother, I'm here to get these grenades into the market and expand my trade a bit; I also know you and your men aren't having it easy, so this case of grenades can serve as your sample—take it to fulfill your quota, how about that?"

"No problem at all." The officer also waved his hand, having a subordinate take the case.

This action and reply showed the officer had no intention of investigating Leon and company's true origins, and granted them passage rights.

"Right, brother." Leon then seized the moment to ask, "We've just arrived and don't know which market street is reliable—could you give us a good recommendation?"

The officer, in high spirits, hesitated not at all, turned and pointed westward: "Go to Rolan District—if you want to find good buyers, that's the most reputable, largest area in our Radiant City, bar none."

Saying that, the officer leaned in close to Leon, eyes glinting as he lowered his voice: "Besides, Rolan District is also the best place to kick back and relax, hahaha!"

"Hahaha!" Leon, instantly catching the double meaning, laughed heartily in agreement: "Thanks for the tip, brother."

"You're welcome!"

As the talk ended, the private soldiers blocking the route stepped aside one after another, letting Leon, Lin Hong and their party pass through the checkpoint without obstruction, with no bloodshed, and they successfully entered Radiant City.

Away from the checkpoint.

Deep into Radiant City.

The district roads were crowded with wheeled vehicles, early‑model civilian Warthogs, and many decommissioned military vehicles, while flying craft rarely streaked across the sky.

This directly confirms that Radiant City, and indeed the technology level of all Silan, is comparable to the fringe colonies of the main universe in the mid‑21st century.

Moreover, after arriving in Radiant City, Leon gave Lin Hong and the auxiliary forces a lesson: when conducting covert investigations to obtain local intelligence, besides the "traditional" and "old‑fashioned" methods, there is also—

Taking a taxi.

That's right—Leon, from the era when humanity was still confined to Earth, learned plenty of information simply by riding the local taxis.

Of course, the party, with sufficient funds, first took three taxis in succession to a reputable used‑car lot.

During that time, Leon chatted amiably with an elite driver and also learned who actually rules Radiant City, how many factions exist in the city, some of the unspoken rules of Rolan District, and the recent abnormal phenomena erupting in the desert—"Crimson Light" and "Noxious Shout."

As for Silan's unique paper‑money system, Leon had already figured it out back when he was on the Griffin, and Shellless Pulse Ammo, Gauss spike rounds, laser batteries, and gold are all hard currency as well.

Upon arriving at the used‑car lot, the proprietress assumed the seemingly affluent group would be easy to swindle, but Leon stubbornly drove the price down to near cost, buying three civilian‑spec, modified Warthog off‑road vehicles.

Intimidation?

How could that be possible?

In Radiant City, where firearms are free, the proprietress could at most try to cheat Leon and company, but she could never lose her temper at Lin Hong and the auxiliary forces.

Finally, after using their onboard gear to ensure the three Warthogs were "clean," Leon and company set off toward Rolan District.

(End of chapter)