"It's called 'Steel,' not because of anyone's naming it or so force,"
"but because at the entrance of the ruins, there appears an object representing its characteristic, becoming conventional. When people enter this ruin, they naturally see a piece of steel at the entrance, polished by teorites." Jude spoke, and in just a couple of sentences, he had already filled them with rich information.
Black was silently recording; ruins are mostly distributed in remote areas, and the nearby native planets are often pitifully underdeveloped.
"So all the previous ruins were like that?" Mu Fan squinted.
"Of course. For instance, six years ago there was 'Ice,' nine years ago 'Wood,' twelve years ago 'Sword'..." Jude was genuinely like a real informant now, narrating with an exceptionally professional tone.
"This 'Steel' ruin is considered a small ruin; there's a limit on the number of people, whoever discovers it first can enter first."
"What's the limit on people?" Mu Fan directly hit the crucial point.
"I don't know, since I'm not fortunate enough to make it inside; once the personnel are full, this ruin will naturally collapse and disappear."
"What about the people inside..." Mu Fan frowned.
"They won't die; they will randomly appear on nearby planets when they co out. I don't know the principle of this either."
Upon hearing this, Mu Fan nodded, signaling for Jude to continue.
Seeing Mu Fan's focused deanor, Jude's smile deepened.
"The 'Steel' is a giant fortress entirely made of steel, and the steel seems to be a unique exotic alloy, incredibly hard, impossible to cut. It's also a maze; only living beings can enter, while warships, chas, and all other non-living entities trigger the ruin's counterattack chanism, instantly slicing any non-living entity. No matter how strong the chas and warships are, you can destroy this ruin but cannot break its rules."
...
"As for the fold jump point left after the ancient ruins disappear, so are long, and so are short, no different from normal ones, except the jump point is one-way."
"Where does it lead?"
"To the edge of the Federation's third star district, an desolate area, where it takes twenty days to navigate to the nearest space station, and you might encounter wandering Federation fleets, not worth the risk."
"Whether out of curiosity or not, few go there, in case there's any danger."
...
Ti ticked by.
A picture of ancient ruins unfolded slowly from Jude's words.
The detailed descriptions were so precise that it was hard to believe, giving the feeling that one had truly toured a ruin.
This added another layer of mystery to Jude, a man with an odd ugly appearance.
For a full twenty minutes, Jude finally finished speaking.
"That's all the intelligence; you might be able to gather about 70% yourself, but the remaining 30% is not circulating in the market."
Jude whistled, playing with an anonymous card, a satisfied expression flashing across his face.
Yet inside, he sneered coldly; this outsider really didn't understand ancient ruins, so he naturally concealed the most crucial and dangerous part of the ruin's fold jump point.
The fold jump point of the 'Steel' ruin, unlike other fold jump points, lacks elasticity and tension.
Only allows small ships to fly in!
Larger ships trying to forcibly enter will likely be fragnted by space cutting.
Moreover, within the jump tunnel, do not try to touch the multicolored wall with the ship's body.
That will... end in death.
As to why he didn't ntion this, it's his response to that "get lost."
"Pleasant transaction."
Mu Fan pondered for a mont; this intelligence head's information was surprisingly rich.
He needs to prepare for action imdiately.
"By the way, what business were you talking about earlier? People are coming and going on the Ancient Steel Star, and now it's getting rather lively. If my brother wants to invest, you can co to ."
Jude put his sunglasses back on, hiding his ugly eyes.
"Arms trade, are you in?"
Mu Fan laughed, his lips curling.
"Arms?!" Jude's pupils behind the sunglasses shrank suddenly, his heart pounding heavily.
Arms dealers represent endless wealth in any region!
"Just joking."
Mu Fan casually said, stood up, and walked towards the door.
He indeed wants to do it, but not here.
The probing subtleties in the other's language were hard to distinguish, but it didn't affect his intuition.
There's definitely so error in the intelligence Jude provided, and it's a deliberate lead.
He didn't want to discern Jude's purpose.
Today's visit was purely for intel gathering, uninterested in ddling.
Jude didn't get up; he lay back on the chair with a huge grin, watching Mu Fan's back.
As Mu Fan passed the bar, he smiled slightly.
No one noticed that under the old wooden bar in this bustling tavern, a chanical ant only half a centiter long suddenly crawled down the bar.
This ant leaped smoothly at Mu Fan's stride.
Accurately fixed onto Mu Fan's trouser leg.
Mu Fan didn't pause, pushing past a drunken tall, thin man and striding out.
The drunk man's swear words resounded behind him, followed by loud laughter.
However, once Mu Fan's figure truly disappeared,
that tall, thin man glanced at the tavern's wooden door, cursed at the surroundings, then staggered toward Jude.
Jude, swinging his crossed legs, felt a palm suddenly slap on his shoulder, followed by a pungent alcohol sll from behind.
Fury flashed instantly in his eyes, he removed his sunglasses and turned his head expressionlessly.
"Had enough?"
However, seeing the bull and ram overlapping tattoo next to the sneering whisky drinker's ear, he instantly fell silent.
The drunk tall, thin man shook his head, hiccupped, giggling coldly, but his eyes were anything but cold.
Jude patted the dancer at hand, signaling her to leave.
Then he rose, eyes flashing with respect, but the tone of voice remained as arrogant as ever.
"Brother looks familiar. Care for another drink inside?"
"Hic~ sure, hehe," the tall, thin man said, rubbing his flushed face.
The two squeezed toward the back door of the tavern.
There were fifteen small rooms prepared for wealthy patrons to conduct business.
As soon as they entered room three, the boastful Jude quickly removed his sunglasses and bowed, "My lord, what would you like to drink?"
The obsequious smile was genuine, surprisingly so.
As the tall, thin man sank into the couch, all traces of intoxication vanished.
He gazed at Jude with a curious look, then suddenly smiled.
"You've been here three years, probably about to be promoted."
Jude's eyes lit up!
Excitedly said, "My lord, is my mission terminated two years early?"
"I must say, your luck is really absurdly good. Lord Asmode arrived in this star domain three hours ago; I was only here to scout for him early, but happened to discover sothing interesting. This is a heaven-sent opportunity. Lord Asmode might reward you."
Upon hearing this, Jude's eyes flashed with shock; the prior seasoned deanor vanished, now excited and uncontrollably devout like a believer seeing a deity.
Asmode...
Solomon's thirty-second Gatepost Knight!
He rose from a slave to an underground mogul only through the casual favor of the knight's second-grade retinue... this second-grade favor.
And now he heard what, the Gatepost Knight has arrived at the Ancient Steel Star!?
At this mont, Jude felt even breathing was difficult.
He excitedly swallowed, nervously asked:
"L-Lord, what... heaven-sent opportunity?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers