Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

The heavy, rusty iron doors of the air-raid shelter slid open to both sides. Gu Shao took a deep breath, forced out an arrogant, crooked smile, and stepped into the darkness.

The iron gate slammed shut behind them with a loud bang.

The faint streetlights outside were all turned off.

Several red tungsten filament lamps flickered in and out of the passageway.

The air was so humid you could wring water out of it, mixed with the stench of damp sewers and the sour smell of fermenting engine oil.

Young Master Gu's pointed leather shoes stepped into the puddle.

Mud splattered and landed directly on the hem of his pink trousers. He glanced down at it, his heart aching with distress.

"Go inside. Don't look around."

The skinny guy behind him shoved him. The withered knuckles of his fingers dug into his back, causing a sharp pain.

Gu Shao gritted his teeth, enduring the cramps in his legs.

He stiffened his neck and reached out to dust off the spot that had been touched.

"Hey, get your hands off me. This is a custom-made, handcrafted Italian silk. Can you afford to pay for it if you damage it?"

The skinny monkey didn't reply, only letting out a cold snort through his nostrils.

After rounding two dark bends, the view suddenly opened up ahead.

It's an underground market converted from the main room of an air-raid shelter. The space is quite large, but it's filled with smoke and fumes.

A jumble of black electrical wires hung from the concrete ceiling like a spider web.

Several shirtless, burly men huddled around a tin bucket, warming themselves by the fire. The firelight made their faces appear yellowish, and their eyes gleamed with the ruthlessness of desperate criminals.

We arrived at a soundproof iron gate at the end of the road.

A bald, burly man blocked his way. Without a word, his rough, large hand reached directly for Gu Shao's suit jacket.

He groped Gu Shao all over, making him break out in goosebumps.

"What are you doing! I like women!" Young Master Gu jumped back to avoid her.

"Search me. The rules." The bald man's voice was rough and hoarse, like sandpaper scraping an iron pot.

He took a black handheld scanner and ran it over Gu Shao's chest.

The scanner beeped twice, but the red light did not turn on.

Young Master Gu held his breath.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on my back, soaking my shirt underneath.

The three layers of miniature listening devices that Su Xiaoxiao sewed were hidden under that piece of fabric.

Fortunately, the special investigation team's technical skills were excellent. Extraterrestrial dimensional reduction materials couldn't be swept out by this kind of scrap metal.

The bald man patted the scanner, thinking it was malfunctioning due to moisture, and waved it through.

The iron gate was pushed open.

Inside was a small underground private room.

The ventilation system was old and dilapidated. The exhaust fan in the corner creaked and groaned, its blades covered in a thick layer of black ash.

The room was filled with the strong smell of Cuban cigars, which made one's throat dry.

After being searched, Gu Shao was led into a smoky, underground private room. Several boxes of brightly colored smuggled alien parts were laid out on the table.

In the center of the private room stood a billiard table with peeling paint.

There were no billiard balls on the table. Instead, it was piled high with metal parts of all sizes. Some of them gleamed with a faint red and blue light and emitted an ozone-like smell.

A man was sitting sprawled out on the sofa.

The man was wearing a black shirt with the collar open, revealing a tuft of chest hair. He had a large cigar dangling from his mouth, the butt glowing faintly.

Yesterday, when I went to the convenience store to look for Young Master Gu's scarred face, he was standing respectfully behind me.

"Brother Jin. The man has been brought here," Scarface reported, bowing low.

The underling known as Brother Jin exhaled a large puff of smoke.

The smoke dissipated in the air, hitting Gu Shao's face. The fumes made him sneeze twice loudly.

"Sit down." Brother Jin raised his chin forward.

Gu Shao pulled up a folding iron chair with a missing leg and sat down carefully.

His legs were pressed tightly together. Feeling the posture wasn't grand enough, he awkwardly crossed his right leg over his left and shook his toes a couple of times.

"Jin, right, Brother Jin?" Young Master Gu rubbed the cold sweat from his palms.

He forced a shrewd smile. "I heard you guys have some serious stuff? Can you show me?"

Jin, with a cigar between his fingers, leaned forward.

He rummaged through the mess of parts for a bit and picked out a round, large iron plate that looked like a pot lid.

"Bang."

The iron plate was thrown onto the billiard table, kicking up a layer of dust.

"Young Master Gu, you used to hang out in nightclubs, you've seen a lot of good stuff."

Jin Ge reached out and patted the iron plate. "But you've definitely never seen this before. It's called an energy deflection shield."

Young Master Gu peeked over.

The surface of the metal plate was covered in scratches. The edges were haphazardly wrapped with two layers of black waterproof insulating tape.

Several red and blue wires were exposed, with some burnt black solder stuck to the ends.

There was a grayish crystal embedded in the middle of the plate, which looked no different from a shard of broken glass on the roadside.

"hiss--"

Gu Shao gasped sharply. His eyes widened, and his mouth formed an exaggerated circle.

"This... this could be the legendary... high-dimensional armor used by aliens?"

He leaned forward, his hands hovering precariously above the iron plate, feigning a naive, hesitant look as if he wanted to touch it but dared not.

"Brother Jin! That's awesome! You managed to get your hands on this thing?" he exclaimed repeatedly, his face full of admiration.

In fact, Gu Shao was rolling his eyes inwardly at that moment.

He was already cursing under his breath.

Pshaw! Who are you trying to fool with that piece of junk iron pot lid?

This piece of junk is held together with electrical tape? Even the robot vacuum cleaners on Pinduoduo that cost 9.9 yuan with free shipping are better made!

He's a man who's seen the world.

Back when Lu Jingyan was at the spaceport, he single-handedly pinned that four-armed alien smuggler to the ground and rubbed him to the ground. How shocking that scene was!

This thing in front of me looks like a scrapped part salvaged from some junkyard.

If Lu Shen were standing here, he could smash this iron pot lid with a stainless steel thermos.

Jin Ge was very pleased with the praise.

He leaned back on the sofa, put the cigar in his mouth, and crossed his legs.

A mid-level black market boss, puffing on a cigar, was trying his best to sell Gu Shao a smuggled version of an "energy deflection shield" that was said to be able to block missiles.

"Young Master Gu has good taste." Brother Jin flicked his cigarette ash. "This is a genuine individual defense module salvaged from the Sirius mainship."

He extended a short, stubby finger and tapped it on the table.

"Once it's charged, it can block not only police submachine guns, but even anti-tank missiles that come head-on at you. Not a single speck will be left behind."

On the surface, Gu Shao pretended to be amazed, exclaiming how awesome it was, but in his heart he was rolling his eyes and complaining: I personally watched Lu Shen dismantle the Sirius warship with his bare hands back then! What are you trying to prove by pretending to be an alien overlord with a dim and leaky light shield?

He slapped his thighs hard with both hands, making a crisp sound.

"My goodness! It can even block missiles?"

Young Master Gu's face flushed with excitement, and his voice trembled.

"Wearing this thing and walking down the streets of Jinghai City is like carrying a bomb shelter with you, right? Dude, this is amazing! If my supercar-loving buddies knew about this, they'd sell their possessions to buy one!"

He sneered inwardly.

It can block missiles? Why don't you say it can block solar storms? This broken crystal is leaking electricity, making a crackling sound. Aren't you afraid of getting roasted like a pig if you wear it?

Jin smiled smugly, revealing a gold-plated front tooth.

"I just love doing business with straightforward people like Mr. Gu."

He pointed to several cardboard boxes under the table.

"This batch of goods consists of fifty shields. You help me distribute them, and once the money arrives, I'll give you thirty percent."

Young Master Gu nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice.

"No problem, Brother Jin! I've got your back! But..."

His eyes darted around. He deliberately feigned difficulty, rubbing his hands together.

"I've never seen this thing really unleash its power. My brothers are as cunning as monkeys, so I need to see it for myself before I can go back and brag to them and attract customers."

Scarface glared at him from behind, about to lash out.

Jin raised his hand to stop him.

"Alright. I'll show you."

Jin stood up. His burly body blocked most of the light from above.

He reached out and grabbed the scratched metal plate. His thumb found a small red button on the edge.

"Watch closely."

Jin sneered and pressed down hard with his thumb.

"Click".

The old switch made a dry, grinding sound.

Immediately afterwards, the dull gray crystal suddenly burst into a flash of light, accompanied by a piercing crackling sound of electricity.

The gang leader smugly pressed the shield switch, and a dark blue light shield lit up in the private room: "Young Master Gu, have you witnessed the power of high-dimensional technology? This is what you call invincible."