I Married A Degraded Alpha
Chapter 26: Planning to Buy a Mecha

Chapter 26: Planning to Buy a Mecha

Tuss had arranged for a private civilian starship to give them a lift while passing by the ore planet.

"We’re headed to Planet 814, which houses the largest black market in the Gamma Galaxy," Tuss explained to her.

Yuri looked at everyone around, silently questioning with the shape with her mouth: Is it safe to speak so openly?

Tuss chuckled and said, "It’s common knowledge. Maybe they’re heading to the black market too."

Yuri suddenly realized and asked, "Is this even legal?"

"No," Tuss shook his head, "But nobody bothers to intervene. The people behind the black market have strong connections."

"More than just strong," a man sitting up front chimed in, gossiping, "Rumor has it that it’s run by a third-rank commander’s nephew. A third-rank commander, mind you, there aren’t many in the Alliance."

Yuri knew the ranks in the Alliance’s command were numbered one through nine, with one being the highest and nine the lowest. There were very few first-rank commanders, fewer than five in the whole Alliance. Second-rank was scarce too, less than ten; and the third-rank, although more prevalent, still only had about fifteen.

Considering the Alliance’s population of billions, fifteen was like finding a needle in a haystack. The power they held was immense.

Yuri sighed, "Nepotism is everywhere."

"Tell me about it, when one person rises to power, their entire family benefits," the man in the front row agreed, striking up a conversation with Yuri, "What are you heading to the black market for?"

"Just looking around. We’ve never been to a black market, just curious," Yuri admitted with a sense of longing.

The man nodded knowingly and warned, "There are a lot of great items in the black market, it’ll certainly be eye-opening. But keep your hands in check, the stuff there may cost arms and legs...oh... well..."

Yuri innocently replied, "No problem, we don’t have many arms and legs to spend anyway."

Looking at Yuri and then at Tuss, the man said sympathetically, "You two seem to complement each other, one missing an arm, the other a leg. Life might be hard, but if at least one of you was ’normal’—"

The man paused, perhaps realizing his words might be offensive. He chuckled awkwardly and corrected himself, "It’s commendable how you stick together. Good, very good, ha ha ha."

Yuri, not taking offense, merely went along with the man’s comment, "It’s because we each have our own impairments that we don’t judge each other. If we were both able-bodied, it might be a different story."

The man nodded in agreement, "That’s true."

The black market was in an underground city, open only after dark and closed by sunrise.

Before venturing there, Tuss and Yuri booked a suite in a hotel. Watching a significant amount deducted from their account, Yuri winced, "So expensive."

"The black market attracts a lot of people, so everything here is more expensive than in other cities," Tuss explained. He paused and added, "I’ll take care of earning money and providing for us. If you see something you like in the black market, don’t hesitate to buy it."

Yuri raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his words. She decided to tease him a bit, "What if I’m interested in a mecha?"

Tuss glanced at the balance in their bank account and grimaced, "Well, that depends on the mecha."

Mecha prices ranged from millions to billions. Their savings would allow them to afford a mecha in the tens of millions range, but after such a purchase, they wouldn’t have much left for illegal suppressants.

But if Yuri wanted one, Tuss would make sure she got it. He’d figure out how to earn more astracredits.

"We could certainly use a mecha, it would make traveling easier," Tuss conceded.

Yuri’s eyes lit up, she asked in disbelief, "We could have our own mecha?"

If Tuss had any hesitations a moment ago, they were gone the instant he saw her excitement. Even if it meant spending their entire savings, he didn’t flinch, "Yes, we’ll buy a mecha. Our own mecha."

Yuri broke into a big goofy grin.

Seeing her happiness, Tuss couldn’t help but smile as well.

"Can we sell things at the black market too?" Yuri asked.

Tuss nodded, "They don’t take common items."

In other words, they’d need something special or valuable to sell.

Yuri’s demeanor changed, she asked cautiously, "Is our room under surveillance?"

Confused, Tuss wheeled around the room, thoroughly inspecting it. Once satisfied, he confirmed, "No, it’s not."

Yuri sighed in relief and moved closer to Tuss. She said nervously, "I have something to show you."

Intrigued, Tuss leaned forward, "What is it?"

The next second, he saw a flash of blue.

Surprised, but not entirely, he asked, "You hid it in your body?"

Yuri looked pleased with herself, "I wrapped it in Enova, so it can’t be detected."

Tuss had shared his wealth with her, so she saw no reason to keep her Blue Keystone hidden.

"When did you manage to hide so many? Were you some drug mule before we met?" Tuss asked curiously. He knew that the pirates only had about a dozen, but Yuri had at least a hundred of them.

"I gathered them in the chaos," Yuri boasted.

Tuss was both fond and impressed. He gave her a thumbs up, "Well done."

Everyone else was focused on surviving the chaos, only she had thought to collect the Blue Keystone. It was daring and meticulous. Not many could have done it.

Taking from the pirates was no easy feat.

Yuri divided the Blue Keystone into three parts. She gave one third to Tuss, "Blue Keystone is very hard, apart from its extraordinary medicinal properties, it’s also a great metal. Keep it inside you, it might come in handy in the future."

Tuss was about to refuse, but when he saw Yuri looking thoughtfully at his empty pant legs, he took it.

"I’ll keep a part for myself. The rest we can sell," Yuri said, weighing a third of the Blue Keystone in her hand. It was heavier than gold, even a small piece like this weighed over a pound.

A gram was a hundred thousand astracredits, and a pound was fifty million astracredits. That was enough to buy a mecha.

As night fell, Yuri and Tuss geared up and masked their faces. Yuri wrapped herself in a black cloak, covering her missing arm. Tuss, also cloaked, moved smoothly on two crutches.

To visit the black market, Tuss had specially arranged an anonymous card.

They headed first to the sales section.

As they walked in, the sales clerk barely glanced at them, his attitude aloof and indifferent.

Yuri didn’t bother with him and simply said, "Call your manager."

The clerk rolled his eyes and said, "If the price is less than a million, I can handle it."

"Don’t waste time. Get your manager," Yuri ordered, her attitude even more arrogant than the clerk’s.

The clerk gritted his teeth and said, "You’d better have something valuable. Our manager is not very patient."

The clerk reluctantly went to call the manager, throwing back a ’you’re on your own’ glance at Yuri.

Yuri was very curious about just how bad the manager’s temper could be.

Tuss calmly sat down and said, "I guess he’s an alpha."

Yuri, who had been refreshing her knowledge on societal norms over the past few days, realized, "Then his Sea of Consciousness must be quite turbulent."

The manager’s appearance confirmed Yuri’s guess. His Sea of Consciousness wasn’t just turbulent; it was on the brink of chaos.