Chapter 1401 - You’ll have to pay for it sooner or later (1/2)
Somewhere in the Sea of Star Spirits, a large starship slowly sailed through the universe. In the exquisitely decorated captain’s cabin, Carlozo was leaning lazily on the soft and comfortable captain’s chair, his legs crossed on the table. One arm was leaning on the armrest, holding an expensive bottle of fine hard liquor which he was swinging around, There was a thick cigar in his mouth, burning with green smoke while a virtual screen floated in front of him, playing an entertainment program.
Carlozo had rough brown skin like a lizard. His facial features were similar to a human’s, but the gap between his eyes was quite large and his jaw was protruding, similar to that of a beastman. In addition, one of his eyes was missing, and the empty eye socket was exposed as a black hole just like that. It was like a wound left by an energy gun, lending him a fierce aura.
He looked very rough on the outside, but he was wearing an exquisite and complicated noble-style dress that seemed to have been carefully ironed without many creases. This was accompanied by a small, noble-style round hat on his head, covering his sparse and messy yellow hair. Only a few locks of hair hung down from the gaps of the hat, giving people a strong visual contrast.
While the slave trade was mostly held in the galactic black market, there existed an independent ecosystem that formed a secret trade chain. Because this industry was unsuitable for the public’s eyes, any seller of a certain size rarely acted in the name of an organization. They usually gave themselves a code name and used this name to make friends with customers, forming a trade network around their identity.
As for Calozo, he was a reputable seller of this secret trade, nicknamed ‘Lord’. He had been in the industry for many years and had outstanding results. His business had even crossed several Star Clusters, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a slave-trading giant in the Sea of Star Spirits.
Gulp… Carlozo took a sip of the wine, and the bright red liquid flowed out from his lips and slid down his chin. He ignored the sounds of his subordinates playing outside the cabin, puffing on his cigar as he increased the volume of the virtual screen. He kept changing the channels with hand gestures, looking through one program after another with boredom.
At this moment, an encrypted communication interface suddenly popped up on the virtual screen, and a number marked ‘Buyer 178’ appeared. Carlozo’s eyes flashed. He paused the show and picked up the call. A black shadow with no specific appearance appeared on the screen and gave a string of code numbers. Carlozo also replied with a string of numbers and they conversed like this for a few sentences to confirm that there was no problem with their identities. After checking the code, Buyer 178 went straight to the point. “Lord, did you get the goods I ordered last time?”
Carlozo took out a notebook and flipped through it. “Sorry, we haven’t gotten the goods yet.”
“How long has it been? It’s just a batch of Silver Spirits. You weren’t this slow in the past. My master is already impatient from waiting,” Buyer 178 sounded unhappy. Carlozo shook his head. “The environment is different now. As you know, due to the war, the entire universe has been under martial law for the past three years. A large number of races have gathered in the Central Galaxy to take refuge, causing our business to reduce by ninety percent. It’s not as easy to obtain goods anymore.” All along, the slave trade black market hidden under the deep sea of the galactic society had been very prosperous, but with the outbreak of the World Tree War, this industry had fallen into winter. Generally speaking, war should be able to promote the slavery trade, but the current war did not break out on the mainland. In order to prepare for war, the three Universal Civilizations imposed high-pressure restrictions on the various Star Fields. With the large number of people taking refuge, the population of the galactic residents plummeted.
This was equivalent to cutting off the supply of many slave traffickers. The majority of the people captured by the slave traffickers were ordinary galactic residents. They were usually lone galactic travelers, either swindling tourists or buying captives from the galactic pirates. They rarely attacked passing spaceships and it was even harder for them to land on a colonial planet to capture people. They did not have such armed forces. Due to the restrictions of the three Universal Civilizations, it had been a long time since Carlozo had opened his ‘store’, and this business was getting more and more difficult. “Although I can’t get the Silvers here, there are still some other goods. Do you want to take a look at the list?” asked Carlozo. “Forget it, forget it. I’ll find someone else.”
Buyer 178 went offline.
Carlozo curled his lips and did not mind.
Although this deal fell through, he did not feel any regret. Because of the war, Calozo had already made up his mind not to purchase any more goods. He only wanted to clear his inventory and wash his hands off this business. As for whether or not he could completely free himself, Carlozo was not worried.
Sellers who had been operating for a long time all had a set of survival rules. They paid attention to their identity and kept it a secret. Most of the time, they only worked with regular customers and maintained good relationships with some armed organizations. Some powerful clients could even provide them with assistance, so they were able to survive in the underworld… As long as they kept a low profile and did not expose themselves or provoke any big shots, no one would care about them. They could leave after making a fortune. It was very safe. Carlozo closed the communication interface and continued to switch channels. He casually scrolled through the programs, but his mind was not in it. He was immersed in the excitement of looking forward to the future. “When this batch of stocks is cleared, I can retire…”
Carlozo was in a good mood.
The money he had earned over the years was enough for him to live a carefree life for a few lifetimes. As long as he could retire successfully, he would be able to change his appearance and enjoy his life with the wealth he had accumulated. There were too many such examples in this industry. It could be said that this was every slave trader’s dream, and it was Carlozo’s goal. The thought of his beautiful life finally waving at him after working so hard for so many years made him excited.
However, at this moment, he swiped to a news channel that was broadcasting Black Star’s conference.
Carlozo had also paid attention to the recent invitation issued, and he could not help but pause there.
His eyes grew wider and wider, and his body started to tremble uncontrollably. A thick sense of fear gradually filled his face, and a chill ran down his spine. Looking at the countless large organizations in the image responding to Han Xiao’s call, Carlozo panicked. His mind went blank, and he could not help but recall a sentence that he had once scoffed at…
If you come out to play, you have to pay the price sooner or later! Crack! The subordinates who were playing cards loudly in the cabin suddenly heard the sound of things being smashed frequently from the captain’s cabin. Just from the sound of it, they could almost imagine the hysterical look on his face, like a trapped beast in despair.
Endless Nebulae, a certain galactic free city. A luxurious mansion sat in a scenic area surrounded by green trees and a clear lake. Such a special area existed in the highly man-made galactic capital city. Clearly, the people living there had a lot of influence. In the spacious living room, a man in a sleeping robe was sitting on the sofa. A few female Elven creatures were lying on the floor beside him. Their heads were lowered, jaws on the ground, and they had a collar tied around their necks which was connected to a pillar, like leashed pets.
In front of them was a large virtual screen playing a show. The man was eating breakfast while looking up at the screen. He would stroke the back of the elven lady from time to time—which was covered in purple bruisesas if he was simply petting her.
The elven lady subconsciously shrank back, but her eyes were still like a pool of stagnant water. She lifelessly looked at the virtual screen in front of her, like a zombie whose soul had been sucked out.
At this time, the man changed channels and saw the news recording of the Black Star Conference.
After looking at it for a while, he sneered, his face appearing as though he did not give two hoots about it, “This Black Star, he’s always so busy. He should go fight the enemies if he’s bored. That’s his responsibility. What’s the point of worrying about population trade? Does he think he’s the leader of the galactic society? Pfft, what the hell.”
As soon as he said that, the bodies of a few elven women lying on the ground suddenly trembled, and their dead eyes suddenly regained a bit of life. Ever since they were captured by the slave traffickers and sold, their lives were only left with darkness. They were like stagnant water without any life, thinking that they would be like this for the rest of their lives. However, at this moment, Black Star was like a ray of light piercing through the darkness, piercing into their despairing hearts and waking up their shattered personalities.
The few of them looked at Black Star on the screen and could not help but feel hopeful.
Will someone really save us…
The man in the robe noticed the looks of his pets and frowned. “Hmm? What kind of look is that?”
As he spoke, the man in the robe glanced at Black Star on the screen and suddenly felt a surge of anger. He picked up a short prismatic whip from the side and threw it out. “It seems like I haven’t trained you guys enough. Are you still thinking of escaping? Why, did you think that Black Star can save you after seeing the news? If so, keep an eye on him and see if he can save you guys now.”
The few female elves were so frightened that their bodies stiffened. They lay on the ground and trembled nonstop, but they did not dare to dodge or beg for mercy. If these ‘pets’ opened their mouths to speak without the permission of the man, it would only lead to worse torture.
The man in the sleeping robe had a dark expression on his face. He raised his whip and looked like he was about to hit one of them.
However, at this moment, the mansion’s door exploded!
Bang!
Fragments flew everywhere, and the wall was covered in dust.
The man in the robe was shocked. He turned around and saw a group of people walking in. They were wearing familiar uniforms. It was the security patrol team of this galactic city. Upon seeing who it was, the man in the robe immediately relaxed. He then roared in rage.
“What are you doing?! How dare you barge into my house?! Do you want to die?!” The captain walked out and showed his electronic arrest warrant. He said coldly, “Your Excellency Anhuso, we have received a reliable report that you have broken the law by raising a galactic resident as a pet. Please come with us.”
The man in the robe opened his eyes wide in disbelief and pointed at himself in surprise. “Arrest me over such a small matter? Do you know who I am?”.
“You have violated the Planetary Universal Law’s life form trading prohibition.” The captain remained expressionless.
“If you capture me, can you bear the responsibility? Go back and ask the feudal lord of this free planet, does he still want the rights to operate his planet?” The man only found it ridiculous and did not know whether to laugh or cry. With his identity and background, such a crime was a joke. He had raised many galactic species as pets, and no one had ever dared to hold him responsible for it.