Chapter 138: Chapter 79: Psychic and the Answer
The transformation of the Mule Level had just been going on for two days.
The boss contacted Chen Ming and asked him to go over.
Apparently, the boss had already dealt with the pirates and wanted to return the pirates he could turn in for the bounty to him.
After agreeing to go, Chen Ming first returned to the Iron Ore No. and prepared a bit.
He planned to bring along a hauling robot he had purchased earlier.
The hauling robot looked somewhat like a spider, about the size of a person, with high load capacity, adaptable to various complex environments, and capable of receiving simple commands.
However, when Chen Ming got his hands on the robot and tried it out, he discovered that the robot couldn’t be directly controlled through the panel.
But he wasn’t too concerned initially, so the problem wasn’t significant.
Chen Ming had purchased a total of three robots.
Currently, only this standard all-terrain spider-shaped mechanical body had been delivered.
The other two, an explorer robot and a guard robot, were still on the way.
In fact, Chen Ming also wanted to buy some professional combat robots, but after searching online and around the Space Station, he couldn’t find anywhere selling them, so he had to temporarily give up on that plan.
Chen Ming planned to learn some knowledge about mechanical body transformations if he got the chance; maybe he could transform some ordinary mechanical bodies into ones capable of combat.
While buying the robots, Chen Ming also bought a set of light exoskeleton armor, which could be worn together with a light protective suit, to ensure a bit of his combat power.
After all, although Chen Ming could control the spaceship, his combat power was somewhat low.
If necessary, he could also make some modifications, like adding armor plates, which wouldn’t be too difficult.
Initially, Chen Ming wanted to purchase heavy power armor, but like the combat robots, they weren’t available for sale, so he had to settle for less.
The things Chen Ming bought were generally a bit expensive.
The hauling robot cost four hundred thousand, the not-yet-arrived guard robot six hundred thousand, and the explorer robot seven hundred thousand.
These were just the purchase costs; subsequent maintenance would also require a considerable amount of spending.
Chen Ming’s more than forty million total assets had now dwindled to slightly over thirty million.
Spending fast.
But at least the things purchased were substantial.
The robots and exoskeleton armor indeed saved Chen Ming a lot of trouble and could protect his safety, giving his future plans a foundation.
Speaking of which, Chen Ming rarely saw anyone purchasing these kinds of robots in the Pirate Space Station.
But upon thinking about it, it was understandable.
Although human efficiency surely couldn’t compare to machines, labor costs were definitely lower than mechanized options.
Moreover, purchasing or displaying such things in the Pirate Space Station might attract the attention of some individuals.
After all, if you had the money to buy such things, the buyer’s wealth certainly wouldn’t be low.
Who wouldn’t like a fat sheep?
Chen Ming wasn’t bothered by this issue.
He frequently mingled around the repair yards and any pirates thinking of making a move would soon identify his status.
If they weren’t foolish, they wouldn’t actually dare to attack an employee of the Pirate Space Station, as there were mutual connections even between Pirate Space Stations of different factions.
If they were to attack a Pirate Space Station employee, unless the attacker avoided most Pirate Space Stations forever, they would eventually be caught.
Even if there were some reckless newbies, they certainly couldn’t beat Chen Ming.
So when it comes to safety, Chen Ming wasn’t too worried.
After activating the hauling robot on the Iron Ore No. and running a simple test,
Chen Ming took it to Arm Two of the Space Station.
During the first two Dusk attacks, while Arm Two of the Space Station had been affected, the interior hadn’t sustained any damage, and factories there were still operating.
Having seen the Dusk Colony and its factory covering one-fifth of the planet’s surface, the roaring industrial equipment no longer left Chen Ming in awe.
So he didn’t linger outside for long, and walked straight into the boss’s shop.
Upon entering the shop,
Chen Ming saw Old Wu, who was skipping work, squatting in a corner, smoking a cigarette, holding a terminal, watching videos with a face full of mirth.
Seeing Chen Ming enter, he greeted him and waved to signal not to worry about him.
Chen Ming indeed paid no attention to him, for the boss was already waiting for him.
In a room inside the hardware store, beside the boss, there were several metal boxes stacked together that looked like coffins.
Chen Ming took a closer look and asked the boss, "Are these the previous pirates?"
The boss nodded, took out a terminal, scanned a code attached to the corner of one of the boxes, and showed it to Chen Ming.
The scan result was the pirate information and his bounty.
"Are they dead?"
"The others are dead, and the leader is likely dying."
"Oh."
Chen Ming responded, not knowing if this pirate leader, in his death throes, would remember Chen Ming deceiving him.
Or whether he would feel deep resentment, yet what does such resentment matter when on the verge of death?
"By the way."
The boss put down the terminal, and casually tapped on the metal coffin at the top, saying to Chen Ming, "I talked with this guy. He said something interesting about you."
"What did he say?"
The boss’s expression suddenly turned somewhat serious but with an evident curiosity in his eyes said, "He said you attacked him with two Dusk ships."
"Mm."
Chen Ming didn’t deny, directly explaining with an excuse he had prepared earlier, "I had installed my own designed remote control systems on those Dusk Ships I captured."