Star Hunter.

Chapter 225 Two Great Nobles

Xilin asked at several large hospitals in the city center, but many doctors were too lazy to answer his questions.

When people see Xilin, the first thing they look at is his clothes. If they're not high-end, sorry, they don't have time to pay attention to him. If they see that he's not a local, they won't even acknowledge him.

Several times, before Xilin could even speak, the doctors walked away like they were avoiding a plague. The nurses wouldn't give him a second glance just because he was young and handsome. In big hospitals, there were plenty of rich and good-looking patients, so who cared about you?!

Although Chang Xiaoqi couldn't fully understand, she vaguely sensed something. After all, children have an instinctive understanding of adults' gazes. When she saw the eyes of the doctors and nurses, Chang Xiaoqi's initial excitement and curiosity cooled down considerably, and she became very quiet.

Xilin glanced at Chang Xiaoqi, then decided not to try and fawn over him anymore. Judging from the current situation, Old Man Chang had received plenty of cold shoulders and indifference when he came seeking medical help years ago. So, based on Old Man Chang's experience, if things didn't work out immediately, he should just ask the service robots; at least they would be better.

Sometimes non-humans are easier to approach than humans; the distance between hearts between humans is less than that between a machine.

After asking about the situation, Xilin estimated that if someone like Chang Xiaowu needed a full set of treatments, it would cost no less than 100,000 yuan. And that was just the minimum cost; a more advanced treatment would cost 300,000 to 400,000 yuan or more.

A long way to go!

After leaving the hospital, Chang Xiaoqi felt much better. After all, she was just a child, and seeing all the new and exciting things in the city temporarily put her discomfort behind her.

  

Xilin bought some items from Old Man Chang's list. As for the fish-shaped dried fish cakes for the gray cat, those weren't easy to find. Xilin looked at the pet biscuits in the pet supply store; the quality wasn't good, and based on Xilin's understanding of the gray cat, the guy definitely wouldn't like them. So Xilin searched several large stores before finally finding satisfactory ones. These weren't pet food; they were for human consumption, and preferred by the middle class. After buying them, the gray cat and the other little guys could enjoy them.

Xilin also went to a few communicator vendors that were having promotions and bought a simple, inexpensive communicator. He wasn't in the Star Alliance anymore, and the large amount of Star Alliance currency he had wasn't valid here.

After making the purchase, Xilin first contacted Old Man Chang. Old Man Chang and Peter were currently extremely busy, and it was Chang Xiaoliu who answered the communicator. Xilin asked about the shop's situation and whether anyone wanted to buy anything. Peter knew it was Xilin calling and shouted for Xilin to hurry back, saying he couldn't handle everything alone.

After contacting Old Man Chang's shop, Xilin also contacted the fat shop owner at the parts market. The fat shop owner was very reluctant to see Xilin leave and left his contact number, telling Xilin to contact him after buying a communicator.

It has to be said that this portly shop owner really thinks highly of Xilin. Besides, there might be a few more parts transactions later, and he gave us a 20% discount and even offered to contact us. That's giving us a lot of face, so we can't be stubborn, right? That would be ungrateful.

The portly shop owner was delighted and wrote down Xilin's contact number, saying he would contact Xilin once his flying car model was finished.

While Xilin was buying things, someone had already learned everything Xilin did, including the person Xilin was contacting via communicator.

"Ekachi, do you think our Prince is a pushover?"

"Isn't Your Highness always like this?" Ikech, the one who played the bad cop in front of the planetary government officials, frowned as he glanced at his subordinate's report. He said, "We actually ran into that fat guy."

"Which fat guy?"

Muso leaned over to see the report and exclaimed in surprise, "So it was this guy! Didn't the Szel family take him back?"

Icage scoffed. "This guy's a freak just like our prince," he paused, then sighed, "He's gotten even fatter!"

Xilin took Chang Xiaoqi to buy some children's clothes and got himself a set. Although they weren't high-end, they looked about the same as ordinary people in the city. That way, he wouldn't be kicked out before he even opened his mouth when he went to certain places in the future.

Looking at his bank account balance, Xilin sighed, just like the old people on the repair street he had overheard lamenting: "We can't afford to go to the city!"

Xilin and Chang Xiaoqi both changed their clothes. Chang Xiaoqi was very concerned about her new clothes. Although she was usually active and mischievous and wore out her clothes all the time, she became more careful after changing into her new clothes. However, she was still quite excited, and even the temptation of candy seemed to diminish.

Xilin led Chang Xiaoqi into a fast food restaurant. Having changed their clothes, Xilin and Chang Xiaoqi didn't stand out too much among the group of people. Their clothes didn't immediately give the impression that they came from outside the city. The meal was quite good, and they didn't receive any disapproving looks.

The conversation in the fast food restaurant also touched on the topic of ordinary people from outside the city coming to the city, all in a mocking tone. But Xilin could tell that these people actually had similar thoughts, only they were exaggerating their own importance and deceiving themselves.

Watching Chang Xiaoqi devour her food, Xilin felt a pang of sadness. Although there was a genetic constraint in the Star Alliance before, the differential treatment wasn't this severe. Now, many of these people in the city are genetically inferior to those outside the city, but they are considered superior simply because their identity documents show them as city residents.

Shaking his head, Xilin cleared his mind of those chaotic thoughts, finished the food in front of him, and after Chang Xiaoqi finished eating, Xilin took Chang Xiaoqi on the way back.

Back on the repair street, you can see long queues in front of the shops from afar.

"Xilin, come help me, my arms are killing me!" Butler had just finished repairing a flying car and was about to give it a back massage when he glanced at Xilin and got excited. He waved and shouted as if he had seen a savior.

Chang Xiaoliu and Chang Xiaoba, who were handing parts to Old Man Chang, heard the noise, threw down the parts and ran outside, making Old Man Chang shake his head.

"Huh? New clothes!"

"I've seen it before, it's a sign from the city!"

"This brand isn't anything special in the city, it's not expensive."

"Even if it's not expensive, it's still in the city!"

The people waiting in line discussed it amongst themselves. Some who had never been to the city before thought, "We'll go to the city once the car is fixed. It's just a little money! We'll grit our teeth and go! Even if we don't gain the favor of nobles, at least we'll have something to brag about after going to the city. Having something to brag about makes us feel superior to those who know nothing and have never even been to the city."

When Chang Xiaoliu and Chang Xiaoba heard from Xilin that there were new clothes bought in the city, they looked at Old Man Chang with longing eyes. Old Man Chang smiled wryly and waved his hand, "Go ahead."

"Thank you, Grandpa!"

The two little ones took the bags of clothes from Xilin and ran upstairs. Xilin handed a bag to Chang Xiaowu, who was lying on a recliner. "Here's yours, go take a look."

Gray Cat had already gone to eat dried fish cakes. Chang Xiaowu didn't actually have much of an emotional reaction to the new clothes, but seeing that Xiao Liu, Xiao Qi, and Xiao Ba had all gone upstairs, he took the bag from Xilin, thanked her, and went upstairs.

"Alright. Let's get started!" Xilin stretched his arms and legs. The repairs began.

It was another busy day, but also a fruitful one.

That night, the gray cat lay lazily next to Xilin, licking its paws. Chang Xiaowu was already asleep. After a period of instruction, Chang Xiaowu's understanding of some complex procedures had satisfied the gray cat. It was rare to encounter a human with a reasonably good brain, so the gray cat didn't have high expectations.

"The fish cakes are pretty good today!" Gray Cat said in a tone that suggested he was very satisfied and deserved praise.

Xilin pinched one of the gray cat's ears and shook it. "You have the nerve to say that? A tenth of the money I work my ass off earns is gone in a single bag of your food money!"

The gray cat raised its paw and patted Xilin's hand, saying, "I also deserve credit. The kid you asked me to keep an eye on is indeed not simple."

"Oh? Tell me about it!"

Xilin had sensed something was off about Peter from the beginning. Although he dressed similarly to the locals and lacked the arrogant demeanor of city dwellers, coupled with his shameless behavior, he seemed more like a true local at first glance. But Xilin just felt something was off about this kid. Very off, so on Peter's very first day here, Xilin had Gray Cat secretly monitor him.

Whether it's a communicator or a surveillance device, those are all Grey Cat's eyes and ears. Butler has never used a communicator in public, but he has used it in private, which is one of the ways Grey Cat learns about Butler.

"That kid's communicator is pretty advanced. Even the detectors at the waterway entrance might not be able to detect it. But, heh heh, it can't escape my ears," Gray Cat said smugly.

"Yes, yes, Cat Master, you're amazing," Xilin said with a smirk. This guy always liked to flatter himself.

As the gray cat got excited, it rolled over and said mysteriously, "Do you know who that kid is? Meow, I really didn't realize he was hiding his true identity. I thought he was just someone from this area, but it turns out he's a member of one of the three royal families, the Flaming Eagle Foveg family. People there call him His Highness."

Xilin was already prepared for what Grey Cat said, so he wasn't surprised. However, Grey Cat's next words greatly changed Xilin's opinion of this prince who was traveling incognito to experience the lives of ordinary people.

"That kid secretly arranged for medical staff and even transported a batch of expensive drugs over, intending to secretly help Chang Xiaowu during his treatment."

This is also why the gray cat is much nicer to Peter. It used to not let Peter touch its fur, but now, it reluctantly lets him touch it a little.

Xilin nodded, scratched the gray cat's chin, and remained silent.

"Sigh, the city isn't really that great, so why do so many people yearn for it? In terms of development and skyscrapers, it can't compare to some of the old planets in the Star Alliance." Gray Cat couldn't understand people's attitude towards the city. Humans are truly complex creatures.

Hearing Gray Cat's words, Xilin smiled. "This place is different, but it's just a small planet that's not very developed yet. We'll see when we go to the capital of the Lansa Empire."

"Okay!" The gray cat squinted and began to imagine the scenery of the capital of the Lansa Empire.

Suddenly, its ears twitched, and the gray cat opened its eyes. "That kid's started contacting people in town again, but all he asks about are you... Hmm?"

Seeing the gray cat suddenly listening intently, Xilin didn't disturb it; this guy must have heard some important information.

A moment later, the gray cat looked at Xilin: "Do you know a fat guy?"

"A fat man?" Xilin asked in confusion. "The owner of the shop where I bought the used parts is a fat man. I've run into a few fat men at the hospital and shopping mall, but if we're talking about special cases, that fat man is the only one."

"Yeah. That's the one. His mom was talking about parts, but," Gray Cat looked at Xilin, his eyes gleaming, "it sounds like that fat guy is also a nobleman, a pretty good one at that!"

The fat shopkeeper was a nobleman? Xilin hadn't really considered that. He thought of the eccentric Prince Pierre based on the Firehawk incident. But the fat shopkeeper had lived in the city for several years. If he were a nobleman, people wouldn't treat him that way. In that case, the fat shopkeeper was probably someone who kept a low profile.

"What's his background?" Xilin asked.

Gray Cat didn't answer Xilin immediately. Instead, he grinned after hearing something. "Xilin. That fat guy has a lot of embarrassing stories. I heard from people over there that his family, the noble Szel family, would tie him up like a pig and take him back home every now and then in the middle of the night. Hehe, his family almost razed his shabby shop to the ground several times. Oh, no, they almost razed the entire auto parts market to the ground..."

Xilin knew a little about the surname Szell; he'd heard it on television. The fact that such a surname could be heard even in this small place meant that this nobleman wielded considerable influence throughout the entire Lansa Empire. While not on par with the emperor and the three kings, it was certainly not something an ordinary minor noble could compare to.

Furthermore, the fact that the Szel family was able to send people all that way to kidnap someone and bring them back indicates that the fat shop owner holds a fairly high position within the Szel family.

"What a small place, yet it harbors hidden talents!"

The gray cat's eyes lit up: "Of course! Don't you know who we are? We've killed star-level hunters!"

Xilin: "..." I wasn't talking about "us".

Three days later, Xilin, who was repairing the flying car, received a call from the fat shop owner. The shop owner was very excited on the other end of the communicator, showing off his newly made flying car model and urging Xilin to come to the city to discuss it.

While repairing the flying car, Xilin said, "I'm busy. I've been busy earning a living lately. Why don't you come over yourself?"

Xilin had only meant it casually, but who knew that the fat guy would actually come over.

The portly shop owner may seem carefree, but he's actually quite meticulous; otherwise, he couldn't have designed such high-precision flying cars. When Xilin saw the portly shop owner come to the shop, the man was getting off a rather dilapidated old-fashioned two-seater flying car.

As they watched the fat man struggle to squeeze out of the relatively narrow car door, taking up space meant for two people, Xilin and the others' eyes twitched.

"Hey, who's this fat guy?"

"I don't think I've ever seen this person before."

Given the fat man's size, standing in a crowd, his towering, bulky figure was hard to forget. So the drivers in line exchanged glances and asked, "Hey, Old Chang, is this guy from the city?"

Old Man Chang was also puzzled, as he didn't recognize this person.

Xilin greeted the portly shopkeeper and then said to the others, "He's a friend from the city."

In people's eyes, having a friend in the city is an absolutely rare and enviable thing. What's so special about having been to the city? Others have friends in the city! At the same time, people's desire to go to the city is even stronger. It's estimated that tomorrow the news will spread: Some not-so-great silly boy went to the city and made a friend in the city. That friend even came all the way from the city to see him!

The triplets worked together to move a large chair for the chubby shop owner, but when the owner sat down, they couldn't help but worry whether the chair could support his weight.

The gray cat crouched on the overpass, looking down at the people below: Damn, these two nobles don't even know each other!

Seeing that Xilin and Peter were both busy, the portly shopkeeper didn't disturb them, but simply watched from the sidelines. To others, Xilin and Peter's repair work would just seem like a display of skill, but the portly man was an expert. He knew the intricacies of their work, and his eyes gleamed with delight. He was overjoyed: "I never expected to find not only a capable person like Xilin here, but also another one! I've never seen such skilled people in the city before. Now that I've seen two at once, this trip has definitely been worthwhile!"

The triplets felt a chill run down their spines as they watched the fat customer's face jiggle with laughter, and they all backed away.

Noticing the triplets avoiding him, the portly shopkeeper tried to put on a friendly smile and asked, "Little ones, do you like racing cars?"

Although they didn't know what the chubby customer's purpose was, who doesn't love a racing car? The triplets nodded in unison.

The fat shopkeeper's face creased even deeper with his smile. He pulled out a palm-sized device, fiddled with it for a bit, and then looked at his flying car parked outside.

The triplets looked over, and upon seeing it, their mouths watered.

Suddenly, the windows of the fat shop owner's car opened automatically, and four super mini flying cars, not much bigger than an adult's palm, flew out and each flew in front of Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, Xiao Qi, and Xiao Ba.

Flying car toys!

The people queuing outside were practically drooling. Look, their friends from the city even brought a toy flying car! Those are real flying cars, you can't find them for sale in this area.

With Xilin's nod and Old Man Chang's permission, the four of them finally got on the flying car.

Not only the triplets, but Chang Xiaowu also really likes them. The more he is exposed to those programs, the more fascinated he becomes with mechanics, not to mention these delicate toys that have high requirements for parts and programs.

After receiving it, the car door pops open, revealing a card slot. Following the chubby shopkeeper's instructions, the small card is taken out. Once taken out, the card unfolds to about the same size as the device in the chubby shopkeeper's hand. It's a thin metal sheet with many sensor buttons on it, allowing children to control the toy car.

With the toy flying car, the triplets were no longer afraid of the chubby guest whose fat jiggled when he laughed, and happily played with the flying car. (..)