It was already very late when Lingwind came out of the underground black market.
Most of the surrounding shops had already closed, and only the streetlights offered a little illumination.
Yet even on such a dark street, she still let out a breath of relief.
The underground black market was far too oppressive, and the Duel Arena was oppressive to the extreme.
Compared to the Sharp Peak Underground Black Market, the Duel Arena at the Haitang Black Market was already relatively gentle. At least every Mecha Girl fighting there had a pilot behind her who cared about her. They were fighting for their dreams, fighting to earn money for Modules, fighting for a chance to get onto the track.
But what about the Mecha Girls here?
They were more like prisoners who had lost their freedom.
A group of tools.
Even now that she had left the Duel Arena, Lingwind still felt a chill over her whole body when she thought about their situation.
"I need to hurry back and report this!"
She steadied herself.
Just as she turned around, she saw, at the far end of the street, a group of expressionless functional Mecha Girls in police uniforms charging over in a neat formation, fully equipped and carrying an intimidating presence.
They moved quickly, their steps perfectly synchronized.
And they were not only on the street. Their figures could be seen on the surrounding rooftops as well.
In just a few breaths, they had completely surrounded the Sharp Peak Underground Black Market.
What were they doing?!
Lingwind was dumbfounded.
This was the first time in her life she had ever seen so many armed functional Mecha Girls.
Leading them was an armed Mecha Girl who was not very tall, but whose expression was stern.
While Lingwind was still frozen in shock, she had already walked up to her.
[Mecha Girl Restriction Regulation No. 2, lifted!]
With that electronic voice, a black pistol appeared in the armed Mecha Girl's hand, its caliber large enough to be frightening.
She raised the pistol.
The dark muzzle aimed straight at Lingwind, and her black eyes were filled with cold indifference.
"I am Falcon, captain of Mecha Island Armed Squadron 17!"
"Hands up!"
Waaah! Lingwind was scared out of her wits.
She quickly raised both hands over her head.
With her eyes squeezed shut, she cried out in a panic, "Don't arrest me! I didn't commit any crime! I-I'm an upstanding citizen!"
...
When the phone rang, Ethan Yang was in his bedroom, thoroughly enjoying a massage from his first Mecha Girl.
The piercing ringtone instantly darkened his expression.
It was almost midnight. Who was so tactless that they would call him now and disturb his rest?
"Hello!" He picked up the phone and answered.
Ethan Yang's tone was anything but polite.
A panicked voice came from the other end of the line. It was one of his underlings.
[Boss! Something happened! Your Sharp Peak Black Market has been sealed off by an armed squadron from Mecha Island!]
"What?!" Ethan Yang, who had still been a little drowsy, instantly woke up.
His first reaction was disbelief.
Who in Tianyuan City would dare touch his black market?
He had people backing him from above. But this late at night, his underling would not dare call just to mess with him. That would be asking to die.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to stay patient and said, "Don't panic. It's probably just a routine inspection, a formality. They'll leave after a while."
But then...
[Boss, no! They took Old Zhang from the Duel Arena and all the Mecha Girls there. They also took several modders from the modification shop, and they confiscated the illegal modification parts in our warehouse!]
Hearing that from his underling, Ethan Yang could no longer stay calm.
He finally realized something was wrong.
"Which squadron are they from?"
[Special Squadron 17.]
Squadron 17? They were not from Tianyuan City at all.
Tianyuan City's armed squadron was Squadron 13, with a full roster of 3,600 people. It was formed by functional Mecha Girls from Mecha Island and soldiers dispatched by the Human Federation. Its main duties were maintaining public order in Tianyuan City and handling disputes between humans and Mecha Girls.
The reason he had not believed the underground black market was being sealed off was because he had a good relationship with the Human Federation management in Squadron 13.
Even if they carried out a routine inspection, they would never send a Mecha Girl unit.
At most, they would put on a show to satisfy Mecha Island.
But judging from what his underling said now, this Special Squadron 17 was very likely made up entirely of functional Mecha Girls.
That was bad.
Ethan Yang thought of all the places in his underground black market that failed to meet the required standards.
The Duel Arena itself was not a problem. Buying a group of Mecha Girls specifically for duels was not a problem either. All of that was permitted by law. The main issues were that he paid them too little and did not have a medical team.
A proper Duel Arena had to be equipped with a medical team and pay the Mecha Girls their full wages.
That would be hard to explain.
Fortunately, he was not too flustered.
If the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up.
Moving against the underground black markets did not only affect his interests.
He took out his phone and sent several text messages, telling the underground black markets that had not yet been checked to improve their facilities immediately, so they would not end up facing even heavier charges.
By the time he finished arranging everything, half an hour had passed.
With all preparations made, Ethan Yang was no longer panicked at all. He put on an expensive suit and even calmly combed his hair into place.
Then he suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed slightly.
Why did the one being inspected have to be the Sharp Peak Black Market?
The Sharp Peak Black Market was not the largest one under him, nor was it the only one breaking regulations.
The Sharp Peak Black Market could be considered an extremely unremarkable black market.
It was opened in an unremarkable place, occupied an unremarkable space, and provided the Group with unremarkable income.
It had only one unusual point. It was the place where Crimson was imprisoned.
Now the Sharp Peak Black Market had been inspected, and Special Squadron 17's target just happened to be the Duel Arena.
That meant Crimson, whose damage level had reached level five, would definitely become the focus today.
"Could it be... someone wants to save you?"
Ethan Yang adjusted his tie, looking at the indifferent face in the mirror as his eyes narrowed.
"Don't even think about it!"
Whether today's incident was a coincidence or someone had deliberately arranged it, Crimson could not be rescued.
He turned and returned to the study, taking a statement of leniency out of the safe.
At the same time, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.
Ten seconds later, the call connected.
"Wang, sorry to bother you this late... Do you still remember the case you helped me settle a year ago?"
"Yes, the assassination attempt against me. The suspect's Mecha Girl was sentenced to the Recycling Yard. Back then, I submitted a statement of leniency that could be revoked at any time, didn't I? There were two copies. The other one is with you. Bring that statement of leniency to the Sharp Peak Black Market right now."
"That's right. I'm revoking that statement of leniency!"
...
A while later, Ethan Yang hung up the phone, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Only the final step remained.
"Wind Blade, come with me to the Sharp Peak Underground Black Market." He turned to the Mecha Girl beside him.
Wind Blade was Ethan Yang's first Mecha Girl. Hearing this, she immediately went downstairs, deployed her vehicle body, and got ready.
Ethan Yang, meanwhile, walked down the stairs with a smug tilt to his head.
His cold voice echoed through the stairwell.
"Old Zhang's family is my family.
"He has made great contributions to our club..."
"Golden Shark, you handle it!"
On the second floor.
Julian Ziliang's former second Mecha Girl, Golden Shark.
Her cold eyes flickered.
Family, huh? That was the best hush money.
She slowly turned around, her figure disappearing into the darkness.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (40 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.