Chloe's junk station belongs to Civet. If Xiao fights there, he can get rid of Civet as a bonus. Thus, Xiao stops the work and asks Qian, "Could I take a day off?"
"Sure." Qian blinks her eyes and asks, "Are you alright?"
"Why?"
Qian is meticulous. Xiao is usually lazy and passive usually but he changed a moment ago which was noticed by Qian. It is hard to describe Qian's feeling about him… She feels Xiao is becoming dangerous.
"If there is any trouble, I can help you," Qian says sincerely.
Xiao stares at Qian's bright eyes for a long time, which makes Qian uncomfortable and she looks away. She tidies up her hair, "It is impolite to stare at a girl like this."
Xiao looks away too. "I will not join the dinner tonight."
"What a pity. I plan to make a new dish tonight - pork rib steamed with carrot and seaweeds, plus black pepper sauce."
Wtf is that, Xiao thinks. Anyway, he has a day off. He puts lthe ight power arm in the bag and covers the Ranger robot on a trolley with a black cloth. He pushes the trolley and heads to Chloe's junk station.
...
"Captain, is that young boy the target?" A man with sunglasses follows Xiao. Every time Xiao turns back or takes a turn, he could take advantage of the surroundings like the crowd, booth or kiosk to hide himself. He is well-trained. He wears a micro earphone and communicates with his teammates who are in an old car two blocks away. There are five people with masks in the car. They are hunting Xiao.
They are mercenary and part-time bounty hunters, code-named 'Bee squad'. They have completed many missions and have a good reputation on the dark net. They found Xiao's trace by accident. They realised it's a good chance to make a fortune themselves and they might get recruited by the Sprout after that.
"That boy is worth a million? He looks like a normal kid!" The second hand in the squad with long hair says with doubt and scorn. The captain Kerry is checking the weapon and reminds the team, "This is the capital of Stardragon, we need to be fast. Run out of this city immediately after finishing the target."
...
"The target is moving." Another black jeep is following Xiao; there is a squad from Thirteen on the car. Captain Li is in charge of this action with the help of Jun. All eight agents are armed with anaesthetic rifles and wearing bullet proof vest. As Xiao expected, the hunter 'Bee squad' is a way that Thirteen checks his ability. The mission of this team is to watch Xiao's performance secretly and wipe out the mercenary if necessary. And they would take Xiao to the Thirteen after. 'Bee Squad' is a 'tool' with limited power and can be dealt with after use.
Jun analyses Xiao's route, "Xiao is going to Chloe's junk station in the seventh district. The Bee squad is following the target. If the fight is in the junk station, the loss would be minimal." The force area and background of Civet are clearly checked by Thirteen. They can wipe out Civet at anytime if they want. That's the power of an authoritative institute.
…
It is around nightfall, the skyscraper of Western Capital is covered with a warm red coat. In Chloe's junk station, Civet is surprised by Xiao's visit. Xiao always comes in the morning and stays exactly two hours. What happened today?
"I am here for some junk materials." Xiao makes up an excuse. Civet doesn't doubt that and asks casually if he wants to stay for dinner. He expects that Xiao would turn him down but Xiao nods and agrees! As if he is waiting for the invitation. Xiao takes off the mask and Civet sees his real appearance for the first time. Civet finds him familiar but could not remember where.
Although there is Xiao's reward on the dark net, the power of Civet is too limited for him to take that reward seriously. Just like the reward from the police, most people will forget after seeing it. Before, Xiao wears mask to keep secret. There is no need now, as Bearau Thirteen won't risk him being exposed. They will deal with Civet.
In the lounge of the station, a generous meal is ready. Two people sit down and chat. "How was the gun?"
"Bee 73. pistol, a good kind, even used in the military. Other merchants would ask 6 - 7k per pistol. You saved me a lot of money." Civet says casually. He takes out a cigar and lights it up, "And the pistols you made are much better than those second-hand ones."
Xiao doesn't deny it. The gun from the assembly line is okay but the details of each gun can't be guaranteed. Those details originated from the subtle difference in materials and metals. They are covert. Only machinists can notice the difference and adjust and modify it. Guns from them are like tailored suits, smarter.
Civet notices Xiao's full bag and a trolley. He asks curiously, "What's inside?"
"Some machine parts."
Civet stops as Xiao doesn't want to talk about it.
After a while, it is getting dark. The sky goes light grey after sunset. A man runs in suddenly and reports, "Boss, somebody wants to meet you." "Fuck off, don't you see I have an important guest?" Civet frowns. The man talks near his ear and Civet looks at Xiao profoundly. He smiles, "Excuse me." Xiao squints.
…
Half an hour ago.
"Cousin, it takes a great effort to come to the Western
capital. All my hope is on you." Mark follows a teenager with yellow hair and keeps talking. He came to Western Capital for his cousin with the hope of living a luxurious life. But his cousin is not keen on taking care of him and assigns a cleaning job to him. Mark is unsatisfied and tangles him. Mark flatters his cousin as he doesn't want to be kicked out.
The yellow-haired person is annoyed, "How many times do I have to tell you. Don't call me cousin in front of others."
"My fault, my fault." Mark slaps himself.
"What a pity loser. I gave you the job because we are cousins. Do you know how many stragglers are starving here! You are not satisfied then fuck off. I need to meet a big name now. Leave me alone."
"Big name?" Mark's eyes light up, "Who is he?"
"The boss of the event district. My boss, Mr Civet." Yellow hair is proud. "Except for the first district, every other district has its own boss who controls the grey area. They are honourable. My cousin." As they speak, they arrive at the door of Chloe's junk station. Mark follows him without shame. Yellow hair is angry. Mark has to stop. However, he sees Xiao, who is welcomed by Civet and taken inside when he is about to leave.
"That is the kid who sneaked in with me!"
The guard of the junk station walks towards them, "Don't linger here." Yellow hair soon changes to a flattering face and says, "I am working for Mr Civet too. I am here to submit the tribute today." Mark points at Xiao's back and asks, "Who is he?" Yellow hair stops him, "Shut up! You don't belong here!" The guard stops the yellow-haired person and answers, "That's an important guest of the boss."
Important guest? Mark is shocked, jealous and embarrassed. He is cleaning the floor and toilet and earns less than a per cent of Xiao. Why that rude boy could have this privilege! The conversation they had embarrassed Mark.
"Do you know Machinist Han?"
Mark answers awkwardly, "Not familiar. We talked when the stowaway. That's it."
The eyes of the guards light up.
"Come, the boss wants to see you."
The teenager and Mark are amazed.