294: Chapter 288 Purchasing Guards

The young girls looked at the man in the sky, a faint glimmer finally flickering in their hollow pupils.

Sunlight spilled over their bodies, bringing a long-lost warmth.

The girls walked out of their cages one after another, gathering together, yet they still didn't dare to make much noise, only stealing glances at the man hovering in mid-air with fearful eyes.

Song Yang paid them no mind.

With a slight thought, those dark red vines that had occupied the entire manor and churned the ground into a mess began to shrink rapidly.

They were no longer violent, but instead withdrew submissively from the architectural ruins and soil, receding section by section, finally turning into countless red points of light that sank into Song Yang's back and disappeared.

As the vines vanished, the completely destroyed ruins of the manor were fully exposed.

The girls supported each other, and one girl with thin, dragonfly-like wings on her back was pushed forward; she summoned her courage and bowed deeply toward Song Yang.

The rest of the girls followed suit.

They didn't say thank you, because simple words could not express their current feelings.

Having done this, they stayed no longer, supporting each other as they stumbled their way out of the manor.

Soon, several sounds of breaking air came from the direction of the city center.

Three silver-white small shuttles imprinted with the insignia of the Planetary Law Enforcement Team rapidly approached in a triangular formation, finally hovering above the manor.

The hatches opened, and over a dozen enforcement officers wearing standard combat armor and holding energy weapons flew out, surrounding Song Yang.

Leading them was a burly middle-aged man whose faceplate was open, revealing a weathered face with a serious expression.

"What happened here? Did you do this?" he asked in a deep voice.

The Law Enforcement Team's reaction speed was very fast; from the time the manor was attacked to their arrival, it had been less than three minutes.

Song Yang didn't answer, simply kicking the corpse of a Star Pirate next to him.

The captain followed his gaze and noticed the skull emblem on the corpse.

He immediately ordered the team members behind him:

"Check all corpses and confirm their identities."

"Yes!"

The enforcement officers immediately scattered and began a rapid investigation among the ruins.

Soon, the results were compiled and brought to the captain.

"Captain, confirmation complete! There are sixty-three deceased in total, all members of the 'Black Skull Pirate Gang' recorded on the interstellar wanted list!"

"Reporting to the Captain, an underground hangar for Star Pirate ships was discovered, with a total of seven ships, all models belonging to the Black Skull Pirate Gang, and they have been completely destroyed!"

Hearing his subordinate's report, the burly captain's expression softened considerably.

He looked at Song Yang again, his original scrutiny and wariness turning into surprise and praise.

The Black Skull Pirate Gang were a notorious criminal organization in the nearby star sectors, known for burning, killing, looting, and committing all sorts of evils; they had always been a major threat to city security.

The Law Enforcement Team had organized several suppression operations, but all had returned empty-handed because the enemy was too cunning.

Unexpectedly, the entire Star Pirate group's nest had been wiped out by a single person today.

"Good job."

The burly captain put away his weapon and nodded to Song Yang, "I am the Law Enforcement Team Captain for this city district. According to city security regulations, the act of clearing out Star Pirates is not only without fault but is actually a meritorious deed."

As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized badge made of special metal from a storage device at his waist.

The badge was shield-shaped and engraved with the city's emblem.

"This is an 'Honor' badge. With this badge, you can enjoy the highest priority and discounts for most services within the city."

The man handed the badge over.

Song Yang reached out to take it; it felt slightly heavy in his hand.

He wasn't particularly interested in being an honorary citizen, but the conveniences attached to this thing might come in handy later.

"Thanks."

Song Yang replied casually and put the badge away.

The man glanced at the devastated manor and added another sentence:

"We will handle the cleanup here; you may leave."

...

Leaving those ruins, Song Yang quickly blended into the bustling city streets.

The technological level of this planet was very high, with holographic projection billboards on both sides of the streets broadcasting product information from different star sectors.

Alien humans of various skin colors and forms walked the streets, composing a lively picture of an interstellar metropolis.

Song Yang took several turns and finally arrived at an area that looked somewhat chaotic.

This was the "Talent Market."

A high-sounding name for what was actually a place of mixed quality where various grey-market transactions took place.

Along the streets were shops separated by energy shields.

What was displayed in the shops were not commodities, but living beings.

They were treated as goods, waiting to be picked by buyers.

Song Yang remained indifferent to those crying, numb, or angry "goods."

He walked straight into the deepest part of the market, to a shop of a somewhat larger scale.

A sign hung at the shop's entrance, written in Interstellar Common Tongue—"Slave Workshop."

A short, fat Shop Owner with a handlebar mustache saw Song Yang enter and immediately greeted him with a face full of smiles.

"Welcome to the Slave Workshop, boss! Looking for something? We have the most valiant gladiators, the most obedient servants, and the most reliable guards! Guaranteed to be worth the price!"

Song Yang ignored his incessant chatter, his gaze sweeping over the huge cages displayed in the shop.

Finally, his gaze rested on four special cages in the corner of the shop.

Imprisoned inside were four creatures of strange appearance.

They had the heads of wolves and the bodies of humans, covered in short grey-black fur with bulging muscles.

Even while imprisoned, the fierce and violent aura they exuded could not be completely hidden.

These were of the Werewolf Race.

One of the subsidiary races of the Beast Race, they were natural warriors known for their cruelty and bellicosity.

In a border war between the Human Race and the Beast Race that ended not long ago, the Werewolf Race, acting as the Beast Race's vanguard, was completely crushed, and a large number of their tribesmen were captured, becoming slaves sold in Talent Markets across various planets.

"Boss, you have a good eye!"

The Shop Owner followed Song Yang's gaze, the smile on his face becoming even more brilliant.

"These are the treasures of my shop! Four top-tier werewolf warriors, all with the strength of Stellar Level Nine! Captured right from the battlefield, they are full of wildness!"

He walked to a cage and pointed at a shimmering metal plate on the back of a werewolf's neck.

"Rest assured, every single one has been implanted with the highest-grade control chip. As long as you have this controller in hand, I guarantee they will be more obedient than kittens; if you tell them to go east, they won't dare go west!"

The Shop Owner took a remote-like device from under the counter and pressed a button on it.

In the cage, the werewolf that had been baring its teeth suddenly let out a painful groan, its entire body twitching violently before it slumped powerlessly to the ground, whimpering.

"See, the effect is outstanding!" the Shop Owner boasted proudly.

Song Yang watched this scene expressionlessly.

"What's the price for these four?"

The Shop Owner's eyes lit up, and he held up one finger:

"One hundred million star coins! Twenty-five million for one, and if you take all four as a package, I'll round it off for you at one hundred million! This is a fair price; if these Stellar Level Nine war slaves were put up at an auction, the price would have to double!"

This price was enough to deter the vast majority of people.

However, Song Yang didn't even bother to haggle.

He directly transferred one hundred million star coins from his personal terminal to the Shop Owner's account.

Ding!

The crisp sound from the Shop Owner's personal terminal made him freeze.

He looked at the long string of zeros that had appeared in his account and rubbed his eyes to confirm he hadn't seen it wrong.

One hundred million star coins, paid without even blinking?

Where did this big spender come from!

The Shop Owner's attitude instantly became incredibly respectful, and he almost ran to present the controller with both hands.

"Boss! You are truly straightforward! This is the master controller, already bound to your personal terminal; only you can use it!

These four werewolves are now your private property!"

Song Yang took the controller and operated it, completely transferring the control permissions.

He could feel that through this small device, he now held the life and death of those four werewolves in his hands.

"Open the cages."

"Certainly!"

The Shop Owner immediately opened the electronic locks of the four cages.

As the heavy metal doors slid open, the four werewolves stood up unsteadily.

Song Yang didn't say anything, simply turning and walking out of the shop.

The four werewolves hesitated for a moment before silently following behind Song Yang.

The Shop Owner saw Song Yang all the way to the door, still bowing repeatedly:

"Take care, boss! Please come again!"