Section 288 Ripple Orchid
"Hailian asked quite strangely, 'How did you end up coming here?' In his view, given Boss Guo and his crew's equipment, venturing into the Death Asteroid Belt was practically no different from seeking death. Before meeting this group, he thought he was poor enough, but he never imagined these people were even poorer than him.
Boss Guo's old face flushed red, but Huang Datou, being blunt and outspoken, muttered, 'If we weren't desperate from poverty, who would come to this damned place?'
'You took on a commission?' Hailian's eyes widened, full of disbelief. These people actually dared to accept a commission here? He wasn't like Ye Zhong and the others, who knew nothing. As a freelance mecha pilot for years, he was well aware of the intricacies. Any commission related to the Death Asteroid Belt was invariably high-risk, and very few dared to take them. He had just seen this group's skills—they were even less capable than him—yet they had the nerve to come to the Death Asteroid Belt. Even large mecha regiments, gathering elites, wouldn't lightly accept such commissions.
It seemed desperation from poverty was truly frightening.
Boss Guo nodded helplessly, 'Yeah, we're here to find Ripple Orchids. Sigh, I'm not afraid of you laughing at us, but we're so broke that if we don't take on commissions soon, our team will likely disband before long.'
Hailian nodded in understanding, 'So that's why, no wonder!' He had heard about the increasingly fierce competition in the mecha pilot market but never expected it had reached such an extent.
'Ripple Orchid? What is that?' Sang Fan asked, his face full of curiosity.
'It's an ornamental plant, not very valuable.' No one expected the one to answer would be Ye Zhong.
Immediately, everyone's eyes gathered on Ye Zhong, each unable to hide their astonishment. Ye Zhong didn't seem like someone with an interest in ornamental plants at all. Even seasoned veterans like Boss Guo and his crew had never heard of Ripple Orchids before taking this commission.
They didn't know that Ye Zhong was actually a Modulation Master. He had memorized every plant in the botanical guide Madman Guan gave him. Ripple Orchid was recorded there, but only briefly mentioned—it was an ingredient for making advanced knockout drugs. In Ye Zhong's view, Ripple Orchid was purely mediocre: not only hard to find, but its effects weren't particularly outstanding. The guide listed several more common plants with equally potent effects.
'Who says it's not valuable? One Ripple Orchid is worth 500,000 points!' Little Francis retorted, his face flushed red.
'500,000 points?' Everyone gasped in shock. What did 500,000 points mean? Hailian had been stunned when Sang Fan's Flow-Gold dagger cost 30,000 points. Now, hearing that a single Ripple Orchid was worth 500,000 points, Hailian nearly fainted on the spot.
Instantly, everyone's eyes turned red with greed. Even Ye Zhong felt his head spinning. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't understand why such a worthless plant could be worth 500,000 points. How many mechas could that buy?
Poor! They were truly poor! Whether it was Ye Zhong's group or Boss Guo and his crew, all were so destitute they'd恨不得 sell themselves if they could.
'This is the Ripple Orchid,' Boss Guo projected an image of the plant.
The delicate yet sturdy plant had thick, jade-like leaves, warm and smooth. The slender stem was variegated with interwoven colors, and its flower was quite unique—resembling a perfectly formed circle. Concentric patterns rippled out from the center, like waves on water.
No matter how pretty this damned flower looked, it was impossible to see how it could be worth 500,000 points.
'Does Ripple Orchid grow around here?' Ye Zhong asked. The guide hadn't specified its place of origin.
'Yeah, according to the intelligence provided by the client, the last Ripple Orchid was found in this area, so we came here to try our luck,' Boss Guo explained.
'Sang Pu, send half the men to search for this Ripple Orchid,' Ye Zhong ordered, pointing at the holographic image. Joking aside, 500,000 points—that was an enormous amount of money. Ye Zhong, currently worrying about funds, wished he could conjure money out of thin air. While this commission was indeed very dangerous for ordinary people, for Ye Zhong and his team, it was an exceedingly simple task.
"Hmm." Sump nodded heavily. As the frontline commander of five thousand troops, he had an almost fanatical pursuit of advanced weaponry and equipment—all of which required money to acquire. This obsession with equipment soon transformed into a craving for wealth.
Apart from Old Guo, the remaining members of the original pilot corps followed Sump in search of Rippling Orchids.
The remaining two thousand or so people took a brief rest. After days of non-stop flying, they finally had a chance to relax. Except for those in警戒 mechas, everyone stepped out of their cockpits. They gathered to chat, but soon, the restless Sang Village villagers began their most common form of entertainment—challenge fights. In these fights, everyone would form a circle, with two people engaging in unarmed combat inside. Anyone could step up to participate.
After being cooped up for so many days, everyone was itching for some excitement. With this rare opportunity to unwind, the atmosphere at the challenge fights grew intensely lively, with cheers and shouts rising one after another.
Old Guo’s shifting expressions amused Ye Zhong greatly—from initial solemnity to shock, and finally to utter disbelief.
Old Guo felt as though he were dreaming, though it was anything but a pleasant dream.
At first, the skills of the two fighters in the challenge ring had already astonished him. He never expected such terrifyingly skilled combat experts among this group! Old Guo’s opinion of these people had already risen significantly. While his own combat skills weren’t particularly impressive, he had great confidence in his judgment. Experts of this caliber, he believed, were rare even in large pilot corps—at most one or two. Yet, though this group numbered only five thousand, they already had two such formidable experts. Their strength was clearly exceptional.
But as time went on, his face grew paler, his facial muscles stiffening.
The third, fourth, fifth… Every person who stepped into the ring displayed similar levels of skill, and the fights were exceptionally intense.
How was this possible? Old Guo’s mind short-circuited. Could it be that all of them were combat experts of this level? His dazed eyes swept over the two thousand people, and the thought involuntarily sprang to his mind. How could this be? Old Guo muttered to himself, yet he had a growing suspicion that his guess might very well be true.
He shook his head vigorously, as if trying to dispel this terrifying thought.
Glancing at Ye Zhong, Old Guo carefully weighed his words before cautiously asking, "Sir, where… um… is our base located?"
"Base? We don’t have one," Ye Zhong replied without hesitation.
"No base?" Old Guo’s jaw dropped, his expression stunned. Five thousand people, with no base? What kind of organization was this? Even pirates had bases.
"Oh, do you have a base? Where is it?" Ye Zhong turned and asked.
Old Guo smiled wryly. "A small pilot corps like ours doesn’t have a base. May I ask where you plan to settle, sir?"
"We’re planning to go to the Gray Valley," Ye Zhong said calmly.
"Gray Valley?" Old Guo’s face instantly turned ashen, and he couldn’t help but exclaim urgently, "You can’t go to the Gray Valley—it’s far too dangerous!"
"Oh? Is it dangerous?" Ye Zhong asked with interest.
"Yes, extremely dangerous!" Old Guo said gravely. "I had a friend who went to the Gray Valley. His skills were far superior to mine. But within three months of arriving, news came that he had died. Among my friends, three have already lost their lives in the Gray Valley." Old Guo’s face was filled with sorrow as he spoke of this.
"That dangerous?" Ye Zhong was quite surprised. To be honest, he had seen many pilots in this region, particularly in Foundation City, and their skills were quite impressive. Many pilots here were at least as skilled as, if not better than, those he had encountered from the three major factions in the Five Major Star Domains. If pilots of this caliber faced such high mortality rates in the Gray Valley, then it truly must be a perilous place.
"Well, yes. Those who have never been to the Valley of Gray can never truly comprehend its dangers. Could it be that you’ve offended some influential family?" Old Guo couldn’t help but ask curiously. Most people who went to the Valley of Gray were either those who held no favor for the great families or those who had crossed them.
"Just the three major families," Ye Zhong said casually.
Old Guo drew a sharp breath. The three major families—this boss of his was truly bold, daring to provoke even them. And from his tone, it didn’t seem like it was just one or two of them. However, it hadn’t yet occurred to him that the man before him was the very one who had caused the widely rumored standoff between eight jie masters and the three major families. This was mainly because he was misled by the number eight. After all, for jie masters, eight was already a terrifyingly high number, and it was almost impossible for anyone to imagine an even larger count.
Five thousand jie masters? Anyone who said something like that must be insane.
"Perhaps we could find a less developed planet," Old Guo suggested hesitantly.
"Oh?"
Seeing Ye Zhong’s gaze fixed on him, Old Guo felt a shiver run down his spine. He quickly explained, "Although the three major families are powerful, they don’t have control over the entire He Yue Star Domain. On some of the more backward planets, their influence is quite limited. We could start by developing there. As long as we’re careful, we should be able to avoid drawing their attention." As he spoke, Old Guo’s nervousness gradually eased. After all, he had once been a leader himself, and his insight was far sharper than that of the average person.
Ye Zhong fell into thought, considering Old Guo’s words.
Old Guo continued, "With our current strength, we might be able to establish ourselves in the Valley of Gray. But..." He glanced at Ye Zhong and then spoke frankly, "we have no money. Although I don’t know exactly what it’s like inside the Valley of Gray, I do know that without money, it’s difficult to go anywhere."
"Well, that’s true," Ye Zhong nodded. Old Guo’s words were undoubtedly correct. Moreover, the equipment on their mechs was incomplete. While their current combat prowess was formidable against wild beasts, Ye Zhong had no confidence in how they would fare against other mech squads. After all, humans were far more cunning than beasts.
Now was indeed not the right time to go to the Valley of Gray.
Seeing that Ye Zhong agreed with him, Old Guo felt no sense of pride. Instead, his mind grew somewhat dazed. Originally, he and his people had wanted to avoid aligning themselves with any major power, but in the end, they couldn’t escape this path. He smiled bitterly to himself, knowing he had no other choice. He understood all too well what fate awaited them if they refused to compromise. He wasn’t yet at the point where he would willingly sacrifice his life for such a cause. Moreover, the hardships of recent times and the pressure to survive as part of a mech squad had already worn him down.
Perhaps this wasn’t such a bad thing for him and his people, Old Guo consoled himself.
"Sir... sir... we’ve found it!" Sang Pu’s steady voice carried a hint of joy.
※※※※
Fan Qing sat in a soft chair, gazing at the cup of clear green algae tea before her. The faint aroma rose with the steam. She was waiting for someone. There were still half an hour left until the appointed time, but she had arrived early. It was her habit—she preferred to take the initiative.
The Papat Mech Squad—she had specifically looked into this squad when she accepted their commission. It was a small mech squad with only about eighty members, and both its strength and reputation were rather mediocre. Fan Qing had even checked their record of completed commissions, all of which were trivial matters. Their half-star rating was enough to indicate that this was an unremarkable squad.
So, she had given up hope back then. A squad like this, attempting such a high-difficulty mission, was likely driven by desperation, gambling with their lives. She had put the matter out of her mind. However, two days ago, she suddenly received a message from this very squad, claiming they had completed the commission.
To be honest, she was skeptical. But being a meticulous person, even though she didn’t believe anyone would dare to plot against the Fan family, she had made ample preparations. She had stationed a large number of personnel nearby, just in case.
She checked the time—five minutes left, and the other party still hadn’t arrived. Fan Qing frowned slightly. She was a very punctual person and deeply despised tardiness.
One minute left, and there was still no sign of them. She was already growing impatient. If they didn’t show up in the next minute, she decided she would leave.
Half a minute. Her expression turned cold as she leisurely sipped her green algae tea. Her subordinates nearby grew increasingly tense. This expression of hers was a clear sign that she was angry. Those who knew her well understood: when Sister Fan was angry, the consequences were severe.