After exiting the Virtual Arena, Gu Ding's mental energy had been drained to its limit. Fortunately, his winning streak had been maintained. After doing those two things to Gu Ding, that terrifying woman had voluntarily admitted defeat.
The mental exhaustion left Gu Ding's head spinning after he exited the arena. Without even taking off his clothes, he plunged straight into bed and fell into a deep sleep within seconds.
When he woke up, Gu Ding felt completely refreshed. "How long did I sleep?"
"You slept for twenty-five hours. A few things happened while you were asleep." Sea Emperor paused, seemingly considering how to phrase it.
"From your tone, it doesn't sound like good news, does it?" Gu Ding frowned slightly.
"There are two pieces of good news," Sea Emperor finally said. "First, your mental energy improved from the arena's exertion. It rose from 9.8 to 11. Second, someone sent you something through the arena. I accepted it for you. It's a Black Iron Armed, and it should be delivered soon."
"A Black Iron Armed?!" Gu Ding was somewhat surprised. "It must have been sent by that inexplicable woman."
Armed equipment was a late product of the ancient mecha civilization. Its primary materials came from Gene Beast bones and a liquid memory alloy that could fuse with the blood. Unlike the cumbersome mechas, armed equipment was much more flexible. Aside from certain special types, full-body armed equipment generally fit close to the body like clothing and did not hinder a warrior's performance in the slightest.
Black Iron Level armed equipment was the lowest grade. Even so, a single piece cost at least a hundred million Star Coins on the current market. Moreover, it was something money could not easily buy; even if someone wanted one, there was nowhere to get it.
Armed equipment had three greatest selling points: first, it could be hidden inside the user's body and summoned at any time; second, it could upgrade along with the host's genetic strength; third, it could repair itself after being damaged. Those three traits were the main reason buyers flocked to it.
Just as they mentioned the armed equipment, the doorbell rang.
"Hello, your package has arrived. Please sign for it!" A delivery robot with a metallic sheen stood outside the door, carrying a white box on its back.
Gu Ding pressed his fingerprint onto the receipt page. The robot handed him the box, then gave a slight bow. "Have a pleasant day. Goodbye!"
After closing the door and adding several locks, Gu Ding finally turned around and took the item out of the box.
It was a transparent glass injection container. Inside was a black liquid with a metallic sheen, while a graphic code was printed on the outside.
Gu Ding scanned the code using Sea Emperor's screen, and the product information quickly appeared.
Item: Full-Body Armed Grade: Black Iron Level Instructions: Inject intravenously. After being nourished by red blood cells for approximately seventy-two hours, it can condense and take form outside the body.
"Black Iron Level armed equipment can double the user's attack and defense. With the enhancement from the Limitless Body Technique, that will be quite impressive. And armed equipment can all be upgraded. Black Iron Level doubles the boost, Bronze Level gives a fivefold boost, Silver Level gives a tenfold boost, and Gold Level gives a fiftyfold boost. The earlier you inject it, the sooner you can use it," Sea Emperor reminded him.
Gu Ding nodded and inserted the injection container's needle into a vein on the back of his hand. As the armed equipment injected itself, Gu Ding felt a cool liquid slowly enter his bloodstream and travel upward along his arm. The injection was complete within seconds, and he barely felt anything unusual. This showed that his body was highly compatible with this set of armed equipment. In fact, around fifty percent of people experienced some degree of rejection when first injected with armed equipment. Of those, around fifteen percent were naturally unable to fuse with it and would automatically expel it from their bodies.
"Your compatibility is very high. I estimate that it will take less than ten hours for the armed equipment to condense outside your body." Sea Emperor knew Gu Ding's physical condition very well.
"Wasn't it supposed to take seventy-two hours?" Gu Ding asked in surprise. After all, armed equipment was not something ordinary people could afford, and little information about it was available on the civilian network. Gu Ding had only seen the seventy-two-hour figure in the instructions and assumed everyone required that much time for the process.
"Seventy-two hours is the normal average fusion time. Some people with special constitutions are slower, while others are faster," Sea Emperor explained. "Your genes have a very high compatibility with the armed equipment. At your current fusion rate, ten hours will be enough."
"You could have just told me my physique is amazing." Gu Ding grinned smugly. "You said there were two pieces of good news. So there must be bad news too?"
"Auntie Rose sent you a message while you were asleep. She said Rose Tavern is temporarily closed, so you won't need to go in for the next few days. She'll still pay you as though you were working." After saying that, Sea Emperor fell somewhat silent.
"That doesn't count as bad news, does it?" Gu Ding propped up his chin and thought for a moment. "Did she say why they were closing temporarily, or when they would reopen?"
"She didn't say any of that." Sea Emperor's tone became slightly grave. "After sending you the message, Rose Tavern shut off its external network. I felt something was unusual, so I infiltrated the tavern's internal network and used the cameras to learn some bad news."
"You know about the Federal Government's recent sweep of the Red Light District," Sea Emperor continued. "Because of it, many Interstellar Pirates were arrested, including someone named Kane."
"Uncle Kane?!" The moment Gu Ding heard that name, he knew who it was. Kane was an Interstellar Pirate with a bounty of more than three hundred million Star Coins. It was said that he had once been a member of Auntie Rose's crew. After Auntie Rose retired, he chose to form his own Pirate Crew and continue wandering the stars. But every two or three years, he would visit Rose Tavern to catch up with Auntie Rose and the others. "Uncle Kane is very powerful. How could he have been arrested?"
"Someone used Auntie Rose and the others to threaten Kane. If he resisted or refused arrest, Auntie Rose and the others would be wanted again, and Rose Tavern would be permanently shut down." Sea Emperor finally revealed the reason. "Because of that, Kane allowed them to put a Star Core Collar on him and take him away."
"A Star Core Collar?!" Gu Ding was shocked.
The Star Core Collar was a powerful electromagnetic restraint device. Once fastened around the neck, it emitted electromagnetic waves that completely severed communication between the brain's nerves and the body. A person wearing a Star Core Collar could only feel the existence of their head. Below the neck, they could feel nothing and could not exert any control. Once someone wore such a thing, they could only be at the mercy of others.
"Under normal procedures, after Kane's arrest, he should have been imprisoned at either the Tianhe Prison Hai Lan Branch or Tianhe Prison Headquarters and sentenced to the appropriate number of years. But a deputy warden at Tianhe Prison Headquarters named Prisson has an old grudge against Kane. Using this theft case as an excuse, he demanded that Kane be sentenced to death, and he will be attending the execution in person." Sea Emperor continued, "Based on the information I found, the person who secretly threatened Kane was also this Prisson."
"That bastard! There are actually people this sinister in the Federal Government!" Gu Ding could not help cursing. Although Uncle Kane had not met him many times, every time he came to Rose Tavern, he brought Gu Ding many gifts and treated him as one of the former Rose Pirate Crew.
"The news of Kane's imminent execution was made public yesterday. After Auntie Rose and the others learned about it, they began preparing a rescue. They plan to rescue Kane, then leave Deep Sea Star, perhaps even leave the Tianhe Star Region. Rose Tavern definitely will not reopen." Sea Emperor finally finished recounting what had happened. To Gu Ding, this truly was unprecedentedly bad news.
Gu Ding clenched and loosened his fists repeatedly before finally asking, "Sea Emperor, do you know where the other members of Uncle Kane's Pirate Crew are?"
"Before Kane was arrested, he requested that the safety of his Pirate Crew's other members be guaranteed. That request was granted. All of them are free now, gathered at the Interstellar Port to discuss their options."
"Sea Emperor, can the Universal Key now open the cell doors on every level of Tianhe Prison and restraint devices like Star Core Collars?" Gu Ding pondered for a moment, then seemed to come up with an idea.
"Tianhe Prison Headquarters is only a two-star prison. To me, anything three-star or below falls under basic access permissions, so cracking it will not pose any difficulty." Sea Emperor seemed to have guessed Gu Ding's plan. "However, to avoid being noticed by Heaven, it would be best if I could access a prison network terminal."
"I understand. I have a feeling the Federal Government will put a bounty on me very soon." Gu Ding grinned.
Before you continue