Money Is a Good Thing, but I Don't Have Any

Kontraxia!

A planet perpetually covered in snow, but it is not the same concept as Jotunheim, the home of the Frost Giants among the Nine Realms.

Although the climate here is frigid, it is still suitable for living organisms, as long as you can solve the problem of food supply.

Kontraxia has never given birth to any reliable civilization, nor has it been claimed as territory by any powerful cosmic empire. It is a no-man's-land, existing in the cracks between many cosmic civilizations.

The entire planet is a decadent and extravagant place, divided into several major areas, filled with bars, brothels, and casinos, and supported by the entertainment industry.

Because of this characteristic, Kontraxia has become a favorite planet for cosmic mercenaries, black market merchants, and smuggling gangs. Overall, it is a gray area for exchanging intelligence and hiring thugs.

In other words, this place welcomes all, and is a melting pot of all sorts of people.

But if we're talking about Earthlings, Russell and Natasha are probably the first and second, and Jason... I almost forgot about him, he was the first Deadman Earthling to come to Kontraxia.

Guided by the beams of light in the atmosphere, Russell piloted his Cybertron fighter and randomly chose an area, parking it in a wilderness before taking Natasha into the snow.

Before its departure, tests revealed that the planet's gravity was similar to Earth's, and there were no Poison Gas in the air, making it suitable for human habitation.

Natasha looked at the glittering lights and the bizarre array of buildings ahead, feeling a little uneasy. Suddenly, something occurred to her. "Boss, do you know how to communicate with aliens?"

"Natasha, stop talking about aliens all the time. Just like you would become a foreigner if you went to Wakanda, we are the real aliens now." Russell thought for a moment and continued, "Language is not a problem. You might not believe it, but aliens all speak English!"

"What!?"

Russell clapped his hands and gave a thumbs up. "Yes, that's the language!"

Natasha: "..."

"Don't ask me why, I don't know either. It's the same principle as aliens speaking Japanese in anime and Chinese in novels!" Russell's explanation only left Natasha more confused.

Actually, Russell wasn't sure either. Who knew if aliens really spoke English? But it wasn't a big problem; he could just strike up a conversation and ask someone.

As they approached the city ahead, a dozen or so burly alien men staggered out, each with a massive build and reeking of gunpowder.

In terms of appearance, these guys are similar in general structure to Earthlings, but their shapes are diverse and their skin tones are all over the place... In short, none of them look human.

As they passed Natasha, one of the cross-eyed, ugly men looked on with drooling eyes. His companions, seeing this, started to jeer and make a ruckus, laughing and swearing.

A bunch of drunkards!

Russell abruptly stopped, looking the group up and down. Just as the dozen or so alien giants thought he wanted to fight, Russell grabbed Natasha and pulled her in front of him. Under her utterly speechless gaze, he pulled down the zipper on her chest a few centimeters.

Alien. "..."

Russell smiled mysteriously, pointed to the pile of ruins beside him, and led Natasha over.

The aliens looked at each other in bewilderment. The cross-eyed ugly guy immediately followed, and the others laughed as they took over, shaking their heads and walking behind the ruins.

Crackling sounds!

Two minutes later, Russell emerged whistling, counting the banknotes in his hand. The material of the coins didn't matter; his enthusiastic alien friend was now rich.

Noticing Natasha's less-than-friendly gaze, Russell handed her half the money. "Don't look at me like that. We're new to this place, and money makes things difficult. Also, don't get too cocky. Those were just a bunch of drunks. It doesn't mean you're charming enough to conquer alien races. It's like humans looking at gorillas; in their eyes, you're at most a female, or a mother!"

Natasha: "..."

The city is very large and divided into many areas. The way the areas are divided is simple and crude: the rich go to the central area, while the poor wander around outside.

Russell had robbed a penniless man before, so he was now considered penniless as well. But unfortunately, the city had many alleys, and Natasha's zipper kept slipping down. Before half a day had passed, Russell... was still penniless.

He took Natasha into a casino, specifically targeting memory-based gambling games, rapidly accumulating wealth with a two-win-one-lose strategy. After conquering five casinos in a row, he finally became a rich man.

Midway through the journey, Russell's claim that all aliens speak English was deemed a lie. Fortunately, the casino sold translation machines, thus averting the awkward situation of language barriers.

A sophisticated and compact earbud-style translator that records the languages of many cosmic civilizations. As long as a civilization is not so backward as to have not yet set foot on its home planet, it can be used to translate languages.

Russell tried speaking in English, and the translator quickly found it... found it!

"How did you find it?"

The affluent area is a natural contrast to the desolate outskirts. Although there are not many high-rise buildings, the streets are clean and the people coming and going are all neatly dressed.

"Boss, you seem very skilled?" Natasha, clutching the gold card she won from the casino, looked around and realized that the alien planet wasn't much different from Earth.

"No, that's not true... Hmm, this hotel looks nice, let's go in and take a look." Russell chuckled and led Natasha into a nearby hotel.

As soon as Russell entered, he was blinded by the dazzling lights and the blaring music, while dozens of aliens of all shapes and sizes were wildly twisting their bodies in the center of the dance floor.

"Gentlemen, is there anything I can do for you?" the burly waiter asked politely. Judging from the Energy Gun tucked into his waistband, he was also in charge of security when necessary.

Russell pointed to the wildly dancing crowd and asked loudly, "Is this a hotel?"

"Yes, please follow me!"

The waiter led the two around the bar, took the elevator directly to the fifth floor, and explained, "The floors below the fifth are all entertainment venues. You two can spend as much as you like without worrying about safety."

"That sounds good. This is our first time in this city. Could you give us a detailed introduction?"

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and the waiter did not follow him out. "Sir, we have robots for rent here. They can answer all your questions."

After the waiter finished speaking, he pressed the elevator button and left.

Russell and Natasha booked a room and ordered a robot meal. After entering the room, they examined the appliances and came to a conclusion: it really is like Earth!

Russell was curious about everything, while Natasha was not; this may be a difference between men and women, as the latter was more interested in cosmetics in the bathroom.

The wall slid open, revealing a voice-activated monitor playing television programs from inside the planet. Russell flipped through a few channels, stopping at a scene of free-for-all combat. The brutal fight between the two aliens was truly thrilling; it was a live broadcast, and viewers could place bets to participate, although there were no sexy dealers online.

It's a unique fighting game where the player who receives more financial support can unlock new weapons and has a greater chance of winning.

Russell watched for a while, then his attention was suddenly drawn to an advertisement that was interrupted. The advertisement was run by black market merchants, selling everything from snacks and medicines to spaceships and even military weapons.

Not only finished products, but blueprints can also be negotiated if the price is high enough. Black market dealers have wide connections and make grand pronouncements; according to their advertisements, with sufficient deposit, they can meet all the customer's needs.

This gave Russell a glimmer of hope. The Hydra Base was facing an extremely awkward situation. It had a lot of high technology, blueprints, and knowledge, but it was hampered by the lack of production lines, making rapid development impossible.

"If we can buy it here, we can save at least 10 years..."

Bang bang bang —

There was a knock on the door; Russell's robot meal had arrived.

A female robot with full-body gold-colored simulated skin and wearing revealing metallic clothing stood before Russell. She had blood-red eyes, long silver-gray hair, and a tall, perfectly proportioned figure.

According to her, if Russell was dissatisfied with her skin color, hair color, or even facial and limb structure, she could adjust them herself. Her database stores body data of women from major cosmic civilizations, which she can adjust to achieve a level of realism that is indistinguishable from reality.

If Russell is still not satisfied, he can pay to find real people; as long as he has money, even beautiful Zerg women are not a problem.

"Wait, this isn't the service I wanted..." Russell's lips twitched. Seeing this female robot, he suddenly thought of the robot prostitute in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

You know what, the more you look at it, the more it resembles it!

"He doesn't need this kind of service. This is none of your business. Get out!"

Natasha pushed open the bathroom door with a displeased look on her face. She had just taken a shower and tried the alien shower gel, and now a robot was coming to her door to sell it. How could she save face like this!

The female robot nodded, bowed, and left the room. Since the service fee had already been charged, she couldn't force the guest to leave if they didn't want it.

"Don't look at me, I didn't know the so-called robot package referred to either." Russell spread his hands, then suddenly realized something. "Speaking of which, it's a robot, should we call it back for research..."

"Boss, since you're so free, why don't you study me first!" Natasha snorted coldly, strode over, and pushed Russell down onto the sofa.

"Wait, the area below the neck cannot be exposed..."

The next day, Russell turned on his personal computer in the room and, together with Natasha, browsed the planet, mainly learning about the basics of the Milky Way.

Both men possessed remarkable memories and learned at lightning speed, but learning alone was not enough. Russell packed up the materials, intending to bring them back to Earth to be used as teaching materials for space learning.

"Buying things costs money, and casinos won't solve the problem. I have something that can sell like hotcakes in the universe..."

Upon entering space, Russell once again lamented that money is a good thing, but he didn't have it.