Chapter 454: Undercover (1/2)

Jaol hurriedly nodded in response to Zac's warning as the ship schematic on the wall changed to a large array of complex schematics and diagrams. They didn't have to wait long until the sliding door opened, and a burly man stepped through, his eyes trained on Jaol who stood by the screen seemingly in deep thought.

”You better not be lying about pay-” the man said, but didn't get any further before he was on the ground twitching.

”Undress him and take away anything that he can use to warn people,” Zac said.

”That's impossible. He has implants like everyone else. The moment you try to tamper with that a warning will go out,” Jaol said with a shake of his head.

Zac thought for a few seconds before he took out a vial and threw over a pill to Jaol.

”Feed him this,” Zac simply said.

”If he dies you will be exposed,” the comms technician hesitantly said as he looked down on the pill with trepidation.

”It'll just make sure he won't wake up for a day or two,” Zac explained.

A minute later Zac inspected himself in a monitor, and it felt like he was on some science fiction show as his clothing completely matched that of Jaol's. The clothes of the poor man who was now slumbering in Jaol's sleeping pod was a bit long and snug, but it was a passable fit that shouldn't arouse any attention from a casual glance.

”Let's go,” Zac said as he cracked his neck. ”Take me to Dr. Fried's laboratory.”

”I-” Jaol said before he sighed and shook his head. ”Fine, let's go. Try not to speak. If anyone asks, we're heading toward the research department because the scanning equipment has been broken by the Shard. This is actually true, but it's a low priority compared to the engines. It would have been better if I had a gift. Some might see this as me taking the chance to suck up to the doctor.”

Zac nodded, feeling it wasn't a bad idea.

”What kind of gift?” Zac probed.

”Rare materials and stuff like that. Something I could pretend to have picked up on the planet we just visited and wanted to use as a bribe,” Jaol thoughtfully said.

”I have a few things,” Zac said before he froze as he looked down at his Spatial Ring.

He hurriedly reached for his pouch, but he breathed out in relief when he saw that all items were still there even though he wasn't inside the tower. But what did that mean? Were all his items safe? Or would the confiscation still happen the moment the trial ended? Perhaps it was even possible to cheat the System this way by sending out everything he had gained. But he obviously couldn't trust Jaol to come through and send his amassed wealth back to Earth.

Even if Zac somehow managed to make Jaol obey, did the technocrat even have the ability to follow through? They could be anywhere in the multiverse right now, and there was probably no way for some random technocrat to find his sector, let alone Earth. Zac eventually threw out a handful of random materials he hadn't figured out the use of.

”This...!” Jaol said with wide eyes as he looked at the items that emitted strong fluctuation.

”So?”

”Ah? Yes, yes,” Jaol hurriedly said as he reached out and took one of the items, a piece of purple wood.

It was something that Zac picked up on the 6th floor. He had noticed that a tree survived even though Zac fought right next to it. The bark was extremely durable and was even able to resist being cut with the Fragment of the Axe twice. Strangely enough, the whole tree withered when Zac cut it down to bring with him, leaving only the plank-sized piece of lumber intact.

”A piece of wood is actually valuable among technocrats?” Zac asked curiously as he saw Jaol's excitement.

”Well, no. It is rather the unique energy signature of the material that is valuable. We can extract it and infuse it in an alloy to make a stronger material,” Jaol said without taking his eyes off the piece of wood. ”My preliminary reading says that it should be able to increase the durability of many alloys by some degree.”

Zac shrugged and the two finally left the compartment, and they found themselves in a luxuriant hallway. It didn't feel cramped at all like how it often was with cruise liners back on Earth, but the hallway was almost ten meters wide with the occasional seats and greenery. There was even a small artificial river running along the middle, creating a soothing atmosphere. Zac wasn't there to sightsee though and they hurried toward the center of the ship.

Soon enough they reached a door that seemed to be a checkpoint between sectors, and Zac noticed how stiff Jaol looked as he waited for it to open. But the door slid open without any issue, making them both release a breath in relief as they kept going. It looked like the insignia left by Leandra really worked like some sort of universal key.

It only took a few minutes of walking for the surroundings to quickly change. Zac remembered the map he had studied, and they now were in the sector where the cabins housed over ten people each. The hallways had become a lot more cramped, and there were even missing platings and exposed wires seen at spots.

Zac was surprised at the stark contrast between different parts of the ship. Jaol's compartment and the section around it were hypermodern, with not a speck of dust in the fancy hallways.

“This looks more run-down than what I would have expected,” Zac muttered with a low voice as they passed through the barracks and a large mess hall. ”It's like this part will fall off at any moment.”

“Well…” Jaol coughed. “We’re a freelance freight-class vessel bought from an auction selling off the inventory of a defunct company. The ship itself is well over four thousand years old and long due for an overhaul. The section where I and the higher-ups live was refurbished five years ago, but this section...”

“Four thousand years?” Zac exclaimed with surprise.

A thousand years wasn’t much in the world of cultivation, but he knew how quickly technology failed back on Earth. A machine holding together for a couple of decades was a nigh-miracle, and this spaceship had stayed in one piece over thousands of years and countless missions?

”Are there no teleporters on the ship?” Zac asked after they had walked a while.

They had passed through a seemingly endless number of passageways and were currently passing through what seemed to be a large mess hall. They had passed some people by now, but Zac was relieved to see that they only shot Jaol, or rather the piece of lumber in his arms, a curious glance before continuing with their business.