This assassin is upright

Chapter 456 Trading Plutonium Refinement

As it turns out, the rat is still the same rat; the moment it opens its mouth, it gives off a sly, cheeky vibe that makes you want to beat it up.

As a result, everyone seemed to return to their original state.

They carefully collected the valuables from Paz and the others, and on their way out, they tacitly refrained from asking about Paz's past with the rat.

Although you can guess the general idea from their few words.

"Are you still going to the cybernetic modification center?" Black Hawk asked.

“Of course.” The mouse raised an eyebrow. “I originally went there to get my prosthetic body modified, but there was a little hiccup.”

"Now that I've dealt with Paz, I'm confident that my prosthetic body modification today will be a great success. After all, good things come in pairs!"

At this point, he couldn't help but wink at Wolf Fang and Iron Tower, "Once I have the strength to rival a third-tier opponent, I'll protect you."

"No need!" Wolf Fang said gruffly, his defenses momentarily broken by Rat's words.

Damn it, if the rat surpasses him, who will be there to help him stay at the bottom?
In an instant, Wolf Fang silently decided to train harder to adapt to his current state more quickly and prepare to use the Tier 3 gene drug.

Throughout his life, he was second to none in the Wolf Fang Clan!

"Alright, stop being so sarcastic." Black Hawk shook his head helplessly. "Although I'm not a cybernetic user, I know that it's not so simple for someone like you to improve through modification."

"After all, your heart also needs to be modified accordingly. If you rush it, it will put a huge burden on other internal organs."

“Our team is already quite strong at this stage, so there’s no need for you to be so eager to improve it.” Black Hawk glared at Rat. “Regular improvements are fine, but if you rush things, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

"I was just saying..." the mouse shrank its neck.

He knew his physical condition better than anyone else and was aware of the consequences of being too hasty. "Don't worry, boss. This time, my modifications are just to add some functions to the arm prosthesis and upgrade the heart prosthesis to increase its endurance and stability."

“That’s a good idea.” Black Hawk nodded slightly. “We’ll go with you. You can’t refuse this time.”

“…Alright.” Knowing that Black Hawk was worried that he might tamper with the prosthetic body, Rat shrugged and nodded helplessly.

The group returned to the prosthetic body modification center.

Arm prosthetic modification is relatively easy; the mouse only needs to disassemble it, select the corresponding components and modules, and then pay someone to debug it.

However, modifying the heart into a prosthetic is much more difficult.

Watching the rats sent into the life support pod have their mechanical hearts removed by fully armed medical staff with scalpels and handed over to prosthetic modifiers for modification, Yu Zhun, who was waiting, couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

"Was the heart modification of mice done in the same way before?"

“Internal organ prosthetics are different from limb prosthetics.” Black Hawk, who was also watching this scene, slowly spoke up, “The loss of internal organs can be life-threatening, so modification and maintenance require specialized equipment and personnel.”

"This is also why rats, who can modify their own bodies with prosthetics, still come here for modification."

At this point, Black Hawk sighed.

"As far as I know, the prosthetic heart that the rat is currently using is the same one that he used from the very beginning, and it has never been modified in any way."

"That heart prosthetic isn't very strong; it's already struggling to power a Tier 1 modified prosthetic."

"With the rat's current strength comparable to that of a second-tier evolved human, it could have problems due to the overload of its prosthetic heart as soon as it makes a move."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhun immediately recalled the scene of the rat being brutally beaten on the ground by Paz, realizing that there was another reason behind it.

Presumably, once the heart is modified, the rat will be able to use its power more easily, and its strength will be fully unleashed.

The wait wasn't long. Soon the heart modification was completed, and after the new prosthetic heart was implanted, the rat in the life support pod slowly woke up and looked at Yu Zhun and the others waiting outside.

"Rat, how are you feeling?" Black Hawk couldn't help but ask.

"It feels..." The mouse touched its heart, where a prosthetic heart was beating strongly beneath the newly stitched wound.

He couldn't help but grin. "Better than ever before."
-
Meanwhile, at the border between the inner and outer districts of the City of Floating Ash, Old Geler stood with a serious expression, his hands supporting his cane, his gaze fixed on the direction of the inner district, as if waiting for someone.

His expression changed slightly in a short while.

At the same time, a figure draped in a black robe and wearing a mask slowly walked out from the inner city. Almost no part of the person's body was exposed, and even their hands were hidden in the wide sleeves of the robe.

However, his extraordinary height and the faint outline of his figure beneath the black robe, along with the subtle aura of danger emanating from him, still made it easy to recognize that the person under the black robe was wearing a single-soldier exoskeleton.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Old Geler lowered his head slightly. "Sir."

"You'd better have a good reason for urgently asking me to leave the inner city at this time," the voice from beneath the black robe said quietly. "Gler, you know, this is the most crucial moment for the plan."

"Every minute of my time is precious."

“My lord, I dare not waste your time,” Grell quickly said, “but I do have something important to report to you.”

"Furthermore, because this matter is of great importance, I dare not transmit the information to you through communication means, and you can only condescend to come out in person."

"Alright." The black-robed figure softened his tone slightly. "Since you have a valid reason for your actions... tell me, what is it?"

“My lord…” Geller looked around before speaking in a low voice.

"It's plutonium."

The man in the black robe paused for a moment, then realized what Geller was talking about. His eyes, hidden under the hood, flashed with a sharp light, and even the powerful aura from his combat exoskeleton was almost impossible to conceal.

"Is it purified plutonium, or plutonium ore?"

“Naturally, it’s purified plutonium,” Greer quickly replied. “And the quantity exceeds six hundred grams.”

"Six hundred grams?!" The voice in the black robe murmured, filled with disbelief. "You actually managed to get so much at once?"

In an instant, he connected the dots to the plan he was currently undertaking.

If I had these few hundred grams of purified plutonium as leverage…

The likelihood of his plan succeeding will increase significantly!

Thinking of this, the black-robed figure's gaze towards Geller became fervent. "Where is the thing? Give it to me now!"

"Sir, the goods aren't with me." Old Geller looked helpless. "These purified plutonium haven't reached my hands yet."

"But I've already secured the buyer's trust."

"Now we need you, sir, to conduct the transaction with the other party."

"Do you need me to make the deal?" The man in the black robe quickly calmed down. He stared at Old Geler for a while before slowly speaking.

"Who are they?" "They're from the excavation team. They're the ones who dug up that purified plutonium." Old Geler paused slightly. "I've dealt with them before. They have a good reputation, and there are no cyborgs in their team."

“I’ve managed to calm them down and arranged the transaction for four days from now.” Old Geler then looked at the man in black robes. “My lord, what do you think…”

"Four days later..." the man in black robes said softly, "That's too long."

“That’s over 600 grams of purified plutonium. I hope it can be in my hands immediately, and…” The black-robed man paused slightly, “the value of this purified plutonium is too high. I don’t have the equivalent to exchange it with them for the time being.”

Upon hearing this, old Geler was slightly taken aback.

"What do you mean, sir?"

“Since they are members of the excavation team, I can give them a bright and smooth path in exchange.” The black-robed man spoke slowly. “Follow me, and when my plan succeeds, they will all become distinguished people, qualified to enter the inner city, and wield enormous power in the City of Floating Ash.”

"I believe they will not refuse such an invitation."

Old Göller paused for a moment.

Won't you refuse?
Based on his understanding of the Black Hawk team, he probably wouldn't.
-
"Let's stay here tonight."

Looking around, Black Hawk nodded in satisfaction. "The accommodations that Wolf Fang and Iron Tower chose are not bad."

"This place offers a wide view, making it easy for me to use my abilities to observe my surroundings. It also allows for easy movement and enables me to evacuate quickly in case of emergency."

"Everyone, choose your rooms." Black Hawk paused for a moment. "If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be spending the next few days here."

"Captain, do we really have to wait another three days?" Yu Zhun suddenly asked.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Black Hawk sensed that Yu Zhun's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, so he couldn't help but ask.

"Not for now. I just think three days is a bit too long." Yu Zhun shook his head. "Besides, you can't put all your eggs in one basket."

"Our only channel right now is the person behind Old Grole, but what if they don't offer us something of equal value in exchange, as we expect, and instead want to use other methods?"

"After all, we're an excavation team, and our reputation in the city isn't very good. Would a big shot from the inner city really do business with us on an equal footing?"

Upon hearing this, Black Hawk's expression turned serious.

He hadn't thought of these things before, but after Yu Zhun reminded him, he realized the huge risks involved.

Indeed, the bigwigs in the inner city had the money to buy that piece of refined plutonium.

However, they also have a more cost-effective approach than trading, which is to directly use force to seize the property.

The Black Hawk team has improved significantly, but they are still far from being a match for the inner city.

"Do you have any other plans?" Black Hawk couldn't help but press.

Yu Zhun pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Perhaps we can try to trade with another target. Even if the trade fails, at least we can have a comparison and avoid putting all our eggs in one basket."

"Another trading partner?" Black Hawk frowned in thought.

Even he couldn't think of a second person who could consume purified plutonium. Could it be that Yu Zhun, who was visiting the City of Floating Ash for the first time, had other options?

Seeing Black Hawk's expression, Yu Zhun guessed what he was thinking and a mysterious smile appeared on his face. "You can ask Song Yan."

"Who?!" Black Hawk was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened.

Song Yan?

The person who helped Yu Zhun forge the dagger today?
The other party was just an ordinary weapon forger, and even somewhat unpopular because of his overly traditional forging techniques. His only redeeming quality was his exceptional forging skills.

Would someone like that be able to accept their purified plutonium?
For a moment, Black Hawk even felt that Yu Zhun was grasping at straws, since after arriving in Floating Ash City, Yu Zhun seemed to only know Song Yan besides Old Geler.

Is that why he proposed selling it to Song Yan?

But in my memory, Yu Zhun wasn't a reckless person...

Black Hawk couldn't help but cast a questioning glance at Yu Zhun.

Even the other three members of Black Hawk Team were completely baffled. Rat couldn't help but joke, "If that's the case, then I know quite a few people. Maybe I can ask them?"

As a former local, Lao Shu had far more connections than Yu Zhun.

Ignoring the rat's teasing, Yu Zhun said seriously, "I'm not joking, we really can try asking Song Yan."

He paused slightly at this point, then added, "That guy is not simple."

"Huh?" Black Hawk was the first to be surprised when he heard this.

He had the most contact with Song Yan among them, but he didn't notice the problem at all. Yu Zhun, on the other hand, noticed it after just one contact.

"Captain, have you ever thought about this?" Yu Zhun asked calmly, "What's needed to successfully forge a fifth-tier alloy weapon?"

"What do you need?" A hint of confusion flashed in Black Hawk's eyes.

He really didn't understand forging, especially the overly traditional forging method that Song Yan had mastered.

Yu Zhun didn't expect the other party to give an answer. After a slight pause, he gave his answer directly: "That is to use fifth-order alloys to conduct a lot of forging practice and accumulate experience through countless failures."

Besides being an Assassin, Yu Zhun's previous secondary profession was Enhancement Master, so he was no stranger to forging and enhancing equipment.

Although the secondary profession system in the world of Divine Revelation is more game-oriented and cannot be completely applied to this world with a completely different style, precisely because of this, the price to pay for successful forging in reality is even higher.

So now comes the problem.

Where did Song Yan, a relatively unknown blacksmith, get his hands on fourth- and fifth-tier alloys to practice with?
Clearly, his identity is not as simple as it appears on the surface.

Upon hearing Yu Zhun's analysis, Black Hawk stood frozen in place.

"I think Yu Zhun makes a good point," the rat beside him muttered. "Those professionals at those prosthetic modification centers, which one of them didn't fail countless times before they were qualified to practice?"

"If Song Yan hadn't practiced it himself, how could he have directly used Yu Zhun's fifth-grade alloy to forge it and succeeded on the first try?"

Wolf Fang and Iron Tower, standing to the side, nodded in agreement.

“Well, you’re right.” Black Hawk sighed. “I never imagined my perception would become so bad.”

“I never thought about such details.”

"Captain, you just don't understand forging." Yu Zhun smiled.

Black Hawk looked at Yu Zhun with a questioning look in his eyes, "So, we're going to find Song Yan now and try to trade with him for purified plutonium?"

(End of this chapter)