Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 250 - 170: Spicy Knowledge

Chapter 250: Chapter 170: Spicy Knowledge

Duan Mingyuan stepped into the hotel and immediately saw a familiar face.

The star cowboy, wearing his distinctive hat, was leaning on the front desk with a cigar in his mouth, flirting with the hotel’s bionic receptionist.

The collision of machinery with machinery looked so...fitting.

However, among the two, it was the human whose body had been entirely replaced with metal parts, while the service worker, who bore a sweet, permanent smile, had the appearance of a human but was the bionic one.

What distinguished them from humans was the energy gathering ring on their foreheads, a sign that differentiated them from humankind.

Even when she was harassed by the cheeky cowboy during her shift, the receptionist still wore a smile.

"Damn, talk about a small universe."

When the interstellar cowboy heard footsteps behind him, and saw Duan Mingyuan and his group entering the lobby, he let out a complaint.

However, he had a feeling he would encounter Duan Mingyuan at this hotel when he saw Blue Star was also invited, as per the hotel’s guest list.

After all, there weren’t many Blue Star "police" who could arm-wrestle with the captain of the Rangers.

Apart from cigars, liquor, and women, there was little else that got his blood pumping, but a duel with Duan Mingyuan was one of those things.

Time had passed since he left Blue Star, but the scene of that night’s duel was still vividly etched in his memory.

He had lost in the duel but didn’t lose his life, which gave him the chance to reflect and reconsider; he obtained the recording of the event and had studied it for a long time.

Duan Mingyuan’s weapon of choice was a peach wood sword, and his offense had its patterns.

So, the next time he met Duan Mingyuan in a tight spot, could he win?

He could win!

From the video timing, he was less than half a second slower than Duan Mingyuan in drawing his weapon, and his gun-drawing technique still had room for improvement.

Thus, years after he had went through wars and betrayal, and left the company as a wanted man, Earth Wolf Twelve felt his skills had improved once more, and this had him looking forward once again to the day he could spar and exchange knowledge with Duan Mingyuan.

"Like I said, Blue Star’s prisons can’t hold star cowboys."

Earth Wolf Twelve used this phrase as his opener and opened his arms to greet Duan Mingyuan.

To others, the interstellar cowboy and Duan Mingyuan looked like old friends who had known each other for years; nobody would guess that their relationship was that of a criminal and a policeman.

Duan Mingyuan declined the hug and settled for a handshake, gently refusing Earth Wolf Twelve’s excessive enthusiasm.

"My duty was to put you guys away, what happens after that is not my business."

Though the scene was friendly, the dialogue was laden with meaning.

The loaded conversation was too much for the Third Prince and the others to immediately grasp what kind of past the two had shared.

"You know each other?"

The Third Prince asked.

After all, a former Long Branch Guard like Earth Wolf Twelve was quite infamous throughout the universe, "What is your relationship with Mr. Mingyuan?"

"What’s our relationship?"

After a moment’s thought, Earth Wolf Twelve cracked a smile, "Well, let me put it this way, I know there’s a good bar in this hotel with very intoxicating drinks and many hot gals. Once you’ve settled in, come find me on the first floor, I’ll be waiting right here."

Having gone through a dueling duel was enough to consider someone a friend.

Cowboys don’t do pretense; after meeting, they head straight to a local bar and drink themselves under the table—that’s more useful than anything else.

"No, we’ve never been to a bar."

Duan Mingyuan immediately clarified.

Jiuyue’s shocked look made him feel an unusual sense of panic, "and we have no plans to go to one."

"Oh, my mistake."

Earth Wolf Twelve, noticing the exchange of glances between Duan Mingyuan and Jiuyue, quickly added, "I misspoke just now. What I meant was this hotel has a great book bar, the coffee there is not bad, and there’s a lot of spicy... um, spicy knowledge."

Obviously, he wasn’t fond of reading, nor did he have a respectable repertoire of knowledge.

This wasn’t his first time dealing with this kind of situation.

Some of his Ranger comrades had settled down early; many issues were resolved within the Corps.

Rangers were famously rowdy, and Earth Wolf Twelve had often provided cover for his subordinates; he just hadn’t expected Duan Mingyuan to settle down so soon.

But considering Jiuyue’s beauty, and her rarity as a Fox Demon, he understood Duan Mingyuan’s situation.

He continued his improvised explanation, "You guys must be tired after the journey, go rest in your room first. We can go to the book bar another day to read together. Just so you know, I’m the chief of security appointed by the Chamber of Commerce to you, so if you encounter any problems in the hotel, you can come to me."

Next up was the check-in procedure, and Earth Wolf Twelve returned his attention to the beautiful bionic receptionist, sharing his experiences as an interstellar cowboy with vigor.

Unlike Duan Mingyuan, cowboys like him were fated not to belong to just one person, and though he had drifted across most of the universe, he still had never discussed some spicy knowledge with a bionic... female.

"Is this security chief reliable?"

Stepping into the elevator, Tang Qianqian couldn’t help raising her doubts.

This security chief looked like a careless rogue, seemingly more akin to her kind of person.

"If you’re referring to combat, he is reliable,"

Despite Earth Wolf Twelve’s loss in a duel to him, Duan Mingyuan still held this interstellar cowboy in high regard.

Earth Wolf Twelve didn’t fall into depravity after his defeat; instead, the next time they met, his aura had become even stronger than before.

Yang Ping also became interested, "Is he that strong?"

This was his first encounter with a powerhouse outside of Blue Star. He scrutinized Earth Wolf Twelve, noting his entire body had undergone metallic modifications, and presumed his weapon of choice to be the old-fashioned revolver at his waist.

However, he found it hard to imagine how such a weapon, already slightly outdated on Blue Star, could adapt to interstellar combat.

"Former Long Branch Guard, there’s no title more resounding than that across the Universe,"

the Third Prince said.

He had once considered hiring a Long Branch Guard at a high price to serve as an instructor at the Imperial Court, imparting advanced cosmic combat techniques, but the Council members didn’t even deign to take a serious look at him.

Let alone a Long Branch Guard, meeting even a reserve was a rare occurrence.

The Third Prince explained, "Although they are nominally security personnel, they hold a high status within Universe Company; even high-level executives like department directors show them great respect."

If one overlooked Duan Mingyuan’s exceptional combat abilities, the Ranger to Long Branch was like a rookie pirate entering the Grand Line and encountering the elite of the Seven Seas Warlords; a clash could possibly lead to their annihilation.

"Then why didn’t he stay with the company?"

This was Jiuyue’s question. Her current impression of Earth Wolf Twelve was very poor—this man had the audacity to invite Mr. Mingyuan to a bar in front of her!

The havoc a bad influence could wreak is often unimaginable.

"There are many interest disputes within the company. Someone as independent as him, who doesn’t get along with the higher-ups, is doomed to have a hard time flourishing there,"

The last time the Third Prince helped investigate the transaction center owned by the Shan Clan, he also came across some information about the encounters between Earth Wolf Twelve and the Ranger Corps.

The Rangers of today, like Hot Sand Star, have become history, leaving Earth Wolf Twelve as a lone commander.

This former Ranger was undoubtedly a tragic figure, becoming a sacrificial pawn in the power games between the Long Branch Committee and Consortia.

In their conversation, the elevator reached the designated floor.

Compared to the deserted streets, the hotel’s interior was much livelier.

In the lounge, representatives of the summit, dressed in suits and leather shoes, sat in clusters, discussing the conditions of their respective planets and their expectations for the summit.

Yet, upon closer inspection, one would notice that most of their expressions were somewhat unnatural.

According to the latest investigations, the votes in favor of the merger between Universe Company and Shanqi Commerce Association had already exceeded seventy percent. When representatives in the lounge discussed this topic, they were all full of praise, seemingly racking their brains to find the positive aspects.

Duan Mingyuan felt it had something to do with the omnipresent security personnel throughout the floor.

Surveillance cameras were everywhere, as were patrolling drones; there were also two security staff members in Exoskeleton Armor standing like sentinels at the entrance of the lounge. Unlike the carefree Earth Wolf Twelve, these two were stern and silent.

Although the summit’s delegates had brought their bodyguards, after experiencing numerous air disasters, nobody could remain indifferent to the security staff forcibly arranged by the Chamber of Commerce.

Soon, a person clad in Exoskeleton Armor, with an unseen face, approached them.

His voice sounded polite yet somewhat beyond question, "Greetings to the representatives of Blue Star. I am the security consultant assigned to you by the Chamber of Commerce, code name 4423. The environment on Mechanical Star is a bit special; if gentlemen have any travel plans, please be sure to communicate with me in advance to avoid any safety incidents."

"Hello, hello."

Tang Qianqian, logistics staff of the Ranger, proactively coordinated with 4423.

This was her area of expertise; back when she was in the company and undertaking projects in Duan Mingyuan’s group, she was usually the one handling this kind of liaison.

"I’m Tang Qianqian, logistics staff of the Ranger, no code name. If there is anything you need to discuss with us, you can come to me."

With this, the situation on Mechanical Star had become roughly clear.

To control the votes, it was necessary first to control the summit’s representatives. Duan Mingyuan had ample reason to suspect that their rooms had already been fitted with surveillance and eavesdropping devices; every word they uttered there would likely reach the ears of the Chamber of Commerce.

Sever the connection between the representatives, leaving them to make judgments amidst the unknown.

And the only designated place for face-to-face discussion was the common lounge on each floor, guarded 24 hours by the security staff—"safety concerns" completely without hidden dangers.

Jiuyue was infuriated when she learned of this, denouncing the Chamber’s conduct thousands of times.

This seriously impacted her normal nightly activities with Mr. Mingyuan!

Especially after that encounter with the interstellar cowboy, it gave her a new plan following her bath.

Reality often can somewhat refer to gaming.

When adventurers arrive in a strange area, their Action Points are usually limited. Adventurers with good stamina have higher Action Points. How to make good use of the Action Points to plan most effectively for the team’s exploration is key to measuring a player’s intelligence.

Mr. Mingyuan’s Action Points were certainly limited as well.

Therefore, as long as she drained Mr. Mingyuan’s Action Points in advance, leaving him without any Action Points, he wouldn’t be able to explore some spicy knowledge at the "book bar" with his harmful friends.