Chapter 869: Longyou Shuangzixing (3)

A big shot from the core region of the Star Alliance? Suddenly arriving at a backwater mining star like Longyou?

Axing's heart began to beat faster involuntarily. He recalled what Aier had mentioned about the "border being unstable"... and Uncle Kahn's "war reserves"...

A big shot from a distant core star sector suddenly arriving at a place like Longyou Shuangzixing would never be here to inspect work or enjoy the mining scenery.

Combined with the suddenly increased mining pressure, the cold-blooded discussions of "attrition processing," and the rumors about the border and war...

Could it be... that the Fengqi Star Alliance has truly encountered a powerful enemy?

Is that why they are so urgently scraping for resources, to the point that even they, the "attrition," must be utilized at an accelerated rate?

"Sister... you say... could it be... is it possible that someone... is really coming to attack the Fengqi Star Alliance?"

Ayue was startled by her younger brother's guess, her face turning deathly pale, and she instinctively reached out to cover his mouth.

"Are you crazy! What kind of nonsense are you spouting! Do you want to die?!"

But her outstretched hand stopped in mid-air, because she also saw in Axing's eyes an extremely faint glimmer of something called "hope."

Even though this hope was built upon a massive catastrophe and the unknown.

"I... I was just guessing..."

Axing lowered his head, his voice growing smaller, but once that thought had been born, it could no longer be easily extinguished.

"Regardless of whether it's a guess, you are not allowed to mention it again! Don't mention it to anyone!"

Ayue warned him sternly.

"No matter who is coming, no matter what has happened to the Star Alliance, we are just dust in the mines! The big shots only need to flick a finger to crush us countless times! Living... staying alive is the most important thing, understand?"

Axing looked at his sister's pale face and nodded, saying nothing more.

His sister was right; for people like them, any change, whether good or bad, would first crush the ants at the very bottom.

Axing took a bite of the Nutrient Paste, the familiar taste of dirt and metal spreading in his mouth.

But this time, the taste seemed to have a hint of something different.

Longyou Shuangzixing · Kafu-Long Planet · Diqishisihao Kuangqu Jiluo · Abandoned Tunnel "Mole Market."

After finishing that stick of Nutrient Paste, Axing did not collapse and fall asleep as he usually did.

He decided to make a trip to the "Mole Market."

The "Mole Market" was not a real market, but a nickname miners gave to an ancient, half-collapsed tunnel that had long been abandoned deep within the settlement.

Located far from the main passages and the regular patrol routes of the mechanical overseers, it had become a market for underground black market trading and the spread of secret information.

Axing avoided the surveillance cameras on the main passage, ducked into a ventilation shaft branch, and crawled through a gap fractured by shifting rock layers, finally arriving at that abandoned tunnel.

As soon as he entered the "Mole Market," Axing noticed that there were more people here today than usual.

In the tunnel, illuminated by only a few sporadic miner's cap lamps, many figures were moving about.

Most of them were like him, wearing tattered, filthy work clothes, their faces bearing the marks of long-term exhaustion and malnutrition.

People gathered in twos and threes, exchanging insignificant items in their hands: a small piece of strangely colored ore, a few pills that might have long since expired, a small bottle of murky liquid, or even half a piece of saved Nutrient Paste.

But more than that, they seemed to be exchanging information.

It seemed that he was far from the only one who had sensed the abnormal atmosphere.

Axing's gaze searched the crowd for that familiar figure, Laogui.

Laogui was not hard to find.

He usually hunkered down in a corner relatively deep in the market, where there was a shadow formed by a collapsed rock, making it easy to slip away through a Rift behind it if things went wrong.

Soon, Axing saw that thin, gaunt figure wrapped in an old coat in that patch of shadow.

Laogui was squatting on the ground, talking in a low voice with a miner, gesturing with his hands.

The miner handed Laogui a small object, then received a small package wrapped in dirty cloth from Laogui's hands, stuffed it into his bosom, and hurriedly ducked into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

Axing waited until the miner had walked far away before slowly approaching.

"Hmph, kid, how do you have time to come wandering around today? Aren't you afraid of being scolded by your sister?"

Axing walked to his side and also squatted down, imitating his posture.

"Laogui, what's... what's going on here today? It feels like there are a lot more people."

Laogui turned his head, sizing Axing up in the darkness.

"Panicked? How could we not be?"

He let out two low, wheezing chuckles.

"The whip from 'above' is cracking faster and faster, so the rats 'below' are naturally scurrying about more frantically."

He pointed to the restless crowd.

"See that? Everyone is trying every possible way to save up some 'life-saving' capital. Painkillers, antibiotics, high-energy compressed blocks... or even wanting to trade for some good stuff that can make people temporarily forget their pain... hehe, the market for these things is trending upward lately."

"Life-saving? Is it because of... the algorithm adjustments and the 'attrition processing'?"

Laogui's smile faded slightly, and he glanced at Axing.

"Yo, kid, you're pretty well-informed, aren't you? You even know about 'attrition processing'? It seems I'm not the only old ghost listening to the wind.

But then again... algorithm adjustments alone wouldn't make these old mining dregs, who are used to seeing death, this anxious. The key is... the wind direction has changed."

"What wind direction?"

"Not sure, but it has changed."

Laogui's voice dropped even lower.

"The transport ship schedules are becoming increasingly unreliable; sometimes they are delayed for a long time, and other times they suddenly add an extra run, with loading and unloading all done in a rush. Those 'tin-can overseers'... have you noticed? The 'alert priority' in their core commands seems to have been raised; they scan more frequently and react more... more 'sensitively.' Yesterday, a guy in the neighboring 75th settlement was taken away by an electric baton for 'intensive education' just because he was so exhausted that he leaned against the wall to catch his breath a couple of times... it wasn't this harsh before."

Laogui licked his dry, cracked lips, his eyes gleaming with a ghostly light in the darkness.

"Add that to the 'attrition processing' you mentioned... hmph, all signs indicate that the masters 'above'... might not have much patience left. They seem to be... seem to be preparing to deal with some big trouble, or they are in a hurry... rushing to squeeze out the last bit of value before we completely turn into waste."

Axing listened to Laogui's words, and they matched up with what his sister and Uncle Kahn had said.

"Then... that..."

Axing hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question.

"... What about the big shot from Mi-You Star? Have you heard? Does it have anything to do with this?"

A flash of surprise crossed Laogui's eyes, which then shifted into that "I knew you kid knew something" expression.

"Tsk, you even know about this? It seems my information is struggling to keep up with you. That's right, there is such a thing. Liuli City is under martial law; it's said a big shot has arrived with quite the grand display, escorted by a fleet directly from 'Fengrao Starport'. No one knows exactly what they are here for. But one thing is for sure: they definitely didn't come to hand out benefits to us."

He paused, his voice becoming even more mysterious.

"Some say... that big shot didn't just bring attendants, but also an entire squad of 'Liquidators'... Do you know what 'Liquidators' do?"

Axing shook his head blankly.

"They are the ruthless characters within the Star Alliance specifically responsible for 'optimizing resources,' 'handling redundancies,' and 'auditing efficiency'... Wherever they go, it means... things are about to 'tighten up,' or even... be 'cleansed'."

Axing fell into Silence.

Big shot, Liquidators, stepped-up mining, loss processing... this is truly not a good omen.