Genius Mechanic: Chapter 14

Banute Contaminated Zone

14. Transaction

Proofread by An Zheee and Cloud Chip Cake

You Su replied without hesitation, “Not interested.”

“You really don’t show any mercy,” Shen Xingtang sighed regretfully, patting You Su on the shoulder, “Thanks for today.”

“No need to thank me,” You Su said and turned, walking into the crowd of people.

Jiang Simiao came over after being occupied and saw Shen Xingtang standing there in the cold wind. He asked, “He rejected you again?”

“It’s common. He’s never had the desire to participate in the League,” Shen Xingtang raised an eyebrow, “He prefers staying in the Contaminated Zone over playing in the League. When I first met him, he was like that too. He can live his life in the Contaminated Zone.”

Jiang Simiao hesitated, “How do we handle the Artillery mecha situation then?”

“What else? We still need him,” Shen Xingtang said.

“But didn’t you say that you can’t convince You Su?” Jiang Simiao asked.

“Try calling him a few more times,” Shen Xingtang looked into the distance, where You Su’s figure was no longer visible amidst the bustling crowd, “We still have time. With You Su, we need to find something that piques his interest.”

Something that piques his interest… Jiang Simiao was even more troubled. Everyone knew that what currently interested You Su the most were S-Grade anomalous crystals.

“Oh, speaking of that Guardian mecha, is there any news?” Shen Xingtang suddenly asked.

“No, I asked both of them, but there’s no information about that Guardian mecha. The operator behind that Guardian mecha is indeed skilled,” Jiang Simiao suddenly thought of something, “Our front-line mecha lineup is already chaotic enough. Shen Xingtang, you should at least consider the team composition.”

—

The base outside Banute was not peaceful; news of the anomalous crystals continued for several days.

Dr. Wu happened to be on vacation for the past couple of days. When he received the communication call from Sirius, he remembered the patient he had treated not long ago. Through a virtual screen, he listened to the patient’s account and couldn’t help but feel exasperated, “I warned you not to overuse it when you left. How did it become like this in the blink of an eye? Besides the soreness, are there any other reactions?”

Ying Chenlin listened attentively to Dr. Wu’s nagging and replied seriously, “I’m just tired, no other problems.”

He also sent the medical report generated by the hotel’s medical robot to the doctor as an attachment.

“Fatigued?” Dr. Wu hesitated slightly upon hearing this description. Ying Chenlin’s recovery during the entire treatment was exceptionally high, possibly due to the naturally superior physical condition of a mecha pilot. Other patients took anywhere from six months to several years to recover after surgery, but he achieved the expected results in just two months.

Now, considering the situation where he overused the mechanical limb, which could cause fatigue, there was a possibility that the well-aligned mechanical nerves inside the limb might have issues, leading to impaired hand functions.

Dr. Wu asked Ying Chenlin to perform several more movements, but there was no impairment in his hand functions. His reaction was more akin to muscle soreness resulting from intense exercise after a long period of inactivity.

“It’s challenging to pinpoint the problem through a screen. Observe for a few more days and avoid using your right hand during this time,” Dr. Wu advised, “I have a friend in Sirius. I’ll explain the situation to him, and next week, you can go to his hospital for a re-evaluation.”

Ying Chenlin understood, “Thank you, Doctor.”

Dr. Wu replied, “No need to thank me. Just remember not to use your right hand during this period.”

After listening to Dr. Wu’s instructions repeatedly, Ying Chenlin confirmed the precautions before bidding farewell.

After ending the conversation, Ying Chenlin’s gaze rested on the light-brain’s display, remaining motionless for a long time.

After a while, his eyes moved, scanning the nearby opened vials containing syringes and certain scattered anesthetics, along with a special surgical knife that could be dismantled at any time.

For a long time, he regained his focus, haphazardly packing all these items into a medical kit and returning to work.

The room was filled with various materials scattered about. Ying Chenlin deftly picked up a sharp object placed on the table, enveloping it with the mental power that emanated from his left fingertip. Nearby, several tools and completed parts, about the size of a fist, were also placed.

Reinforcing the raw materials with mental power during shaping protects the inherent properties of the materials better than just using physical methods. This was a technique that an old mechanic at KID’s base had taught him during his previous life when he repaired mechas. However, back then, his mental power’s condition was even worse than it is now, and it took him much longer to shape the parts.

After finishing the last piece, Ying Chenlin tossed the piled-up materials into a suitcase.

The light-brain still displayed a message he had recently received, an electronic version of the contract sent by KID.

After reading the contract, he looked towards the other side of the room where some items were still left unattended.

Today, he had to go and report to KID, but before that, he needed to deal with a few things.

There were plenty of materials in the room, all of which he had collected from the Banute Contaminated Zone in the past two days.

Some materials were for his personal use, while others were utterly useless to him, like the crystals from the Sharp-Toothed Rats.

—

The trading market was located in Zone A, not far from Ying Chenlin’s hotel. Upon arrival, he inquired about the directions and headed straight to the auction house within the market.

It was daytime, and the auction house had not yet started its business. Only a small door was open for people to enter and exit.

Ying Chenlin had not visited the auction house often, and his impression of it mainly came from discussions among other mechanics at KID’s base in his previous life. For professionals like them, the only place to acquire rare mecha materials and special parts was the unique environment of an auction house.

The auction house in Sirius’ Zone A was currently one of the top auction houses within the Dawn Galaxy.

Previously, during the rat wave, all the Sharp-Toothed Rats’ bodies were given to those three mecha pilots, while he kept all the crystals. The incisor shards were still usable for polishing parts, but the Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals were medium grade and not suitable as chip materials for him.

To deal with the goods, he could simply process them at the outskirts of the base outside the Contaminated Zone, where many merchants would accept them. However, if he wanted to sell them at a good price, he needed to take some time to find a more suitable route, like the auction house.

Apart from the people at the auction house, there were other wandering merchants, occasionally glancing towards the entrance as if waiting for an opportunity. Wearing a mask and hat to shield himself from the surrounding gazes, he pulled up the hood of his coat and walked straight to the entrance.

“Here comes a young person.”

“I wonder what he’s selling. There have been too many people eyeing the auction house lately. Is it something from Banute?”

Upon entering, he first arrived in the auction hall. The suspended large screen displayed various auction items. Ying Chenlin scanned his surroundings and noticed the attention he was receiving, starting from his attire and finally focusing on the single shoulder-bag he carried.

Since he entered the hall, people had already targeted him.

However, Ying Chenlin did not pay further attention to those gazes and looked up at the preview of auction items.

Yet, the grading of those items made him hesitant. Regrettably, those were things he could not afford to bid on.

The reception hall was crowded, and not far away, people lined up, waiting to be served at the counter. Ying Chenlin stood at the back of the line and took out a C-grade crystal from his pocket, intending to inquire about its purchase price.

Once again, the surrounding gazes fell on his hand, and whispers filled the air:

“What is that, a pale gray crystal?”

“A C-grade crystal, right? Can’t believe someone brought just a C-grade crystal to sell here?!”

“Do you think he believes that the crystal will detect anomalies?”

Ying Chenlin glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.

The group of people averted their gaze.

“Hello,” a man in a suit approached from inside the auction house and kindly asked, “May I help you?”

Ying Chenlin retrieved his gaze and noticed that the attention surrounding him had not dissipated. He handed the crystal to the man, saying, “I want to sell this C-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystal. I heard that you accept them here.”

The whispers from before echoed in Ying Chenlin’s ears, but he remained composed as he looked at the man in front of him. “I’ve heard that you buy them here.”

The auction house manager had been closely monitoring Sirius’ market these days, given that the incident in Banute Contaminated Zone had only recently been exposed, and materials had been sporadically flowing into the market during this time.

The manager subconsciously sized up Ying Chenlin. His face was partially concealed by the hood and mask, with his right hand in his pocket and a simple storage bag on his side, it was impossible to discern any other details.

After evaluating the crystal for a moment, which was a C-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystal that showed no signs of having an anomalous ability, the manager’s tone instantly became flat, “Yes, this is a C-grade mutated Sharp-Toothed Rat crystal. Would you like to sell it to our auction house?”

Ying Chenlin nodded, “How much is the selling price here?”

The Banute Contaminated Zone underwent significant changes a few days ago, and during this time, many mecha pilots have come to sell anomalous crystals. Quite a few C-grade anomalous crystals have been found, and there are even some B-grade anomalous crystals. When this person came to the auction house, all wrapped up so tightly, the manager even thought he might be a mecha pilot hiding his identity.

Anomalous crystals with abilities and those without any had different prices, and the commission rates also varied.

… To bring out just one crystal like this, was really wasting his time.

As the manager led Ying Chenlin towards the reception desk, he said, “It depends on the situation. We have two types of services here: consignment and direct purchase. For consignment, our auction house charges a 4% handling fee.”

The manager glanced at Ying Chenlin and continued, “Currently, I don’t recommend the consignment service for you because the market price for C-grade mutated crystals is only 4,000 starcoins, and our consignment service has interest restrictions. So for your item… instead of consigning it, you can sell it directly to us for 3,500 starcoins.”

As they arrived at the reception desk, many gazes turned their way, seemingly very interested in inspecting the results.

Ying Chenlin finished asking his previous question and fell silent.

The manager didn’t want to waste any more time and was about to urge him to make a decision when he heard Ying Chenlin asking another unrelated question, “Then, how much is the typical purchase price for regular C-grade and B-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals?”

The manager felt a bit impatient but still replied, “We offer 1,800 starcoins for C-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals and 2,600 starcoins for B-grade ones.”

Ying Chenlin remained calm, “For C-grade mutated crystals, 3,700 starcoins, and for B-grade, 2,700, for regular C-grade, 1,900.”

The manager furrowed his brows slightly, “Sir, are you joking? Our purchase prices here are clearly marked.”

Ying Chenlin responded, “Is there no room for negotiation?”

In the reception area, there were already many merchants present. Crystals sent for inspection were their focus, as different anomalous crystals could fetch varying high prices. Seeing that no agreement seemed to have been reached, they walked over to take a closer look.

The manager noticed that the man was trying to raise the price while selling a crystal and immediately felt displeased, “Sir, the merchants in the Contaminated Zone offer 3,300 starcoins for C-grade mutated crystals.”

Before the manager could finish speaking, a large bag was suddenly placed heavily on the table.

A dull thud echoed, hinting at the weight inside.

The manager was taken aback for a moment, and then Ying Chenlin opened the zipper, revealing an endless pile of C-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals inside the bag. The interplay of white and gray light immediately drew the attention of the onlookers.

The manager exclaimed, “What?!”

The commotion attracted nearby merchants who were previously engaged in their own business discussions. The previous lecturing tones vanished instantly. This was the public reception area, typically used for small transactions, but with so many Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals appearing at once, they couldn’t sit idly by. The gazes of everyone looking at Ying Chenlin immediately changed.

“So many C-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals?!”

“Wait, there are even B-grade ones among them…”

“Have they been tested? Are there any mutated crystals?!”

“Oh my, due to the Contaminated Zone incident, Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals have become rare. To suddenly bring out so many…”

The manager’s expression changed drastically. Although Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals were C-grade crystals, they were considered intermediate materials due to their unique properties. Many mecha pilots and mecha factories favored them. These anomalous crystals only appeared in the Banute Contaminated Zone and were in high demand. Once transported to other Galaxies, they could be sold for a good price.

Mecha pilots didn’t want to incur significant transportation costs, so the Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals were usually sold to merchants or auction houses. For example, they would sell regular C-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals for 1,800 starcoins, which could fetch 2,200 starcoins in other Galaxies, leaving a net profit of 300 starcoins after deducting transportation costs.

Moreover, Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals rarely appeared in large quantities, and their prices in the Sirius market had always remained stable.

Having so many Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals at once could only mean one thing – a huge business opportunity ah!

One of the nearby merchants couldn’t resist and said, “Brother, 1,900 starcoins for C-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals and 2,700 for B-grade. Sell them all to me.”

“I’m offering 20 starcoins more than him,” another person chimed in.

“I’ll pay 30 starcoins more!”

The people around couldn’t sit still. A large quantity of Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals had flooded the market, and considering the current situation in the Banute Contaminated Zone… If they could intercept this batch of goods, the profits would far surpass finding one or two mutated crystals.

As the manager listened to the various offers from the crowd, beads of sweat formed on his forehead. If only he had brought out these crystals earlier! With such a significant business opportunity, would he have bothered bringing the person to the public reception area?

Seeing the increasing interest of the surrounding people, the higher-ups of the auction house took notice and hurriedly approached to assess the situation.

The senior manager decided to relocate and negotiate the price in a quieter place. Ying Chenlin didn’t want to waste too much time at the auction house. With so many crystals, he didn’t have the time to negotiate with other merchants. The best option to quickly get a high price in starcoins was the high-level auction house of Sirius.

The crystals were sent for professional machine testing at the auction house. While waiting, the senior manager engaged in small talk with Ying Chenlin to gather information. However, this gentleman was obviously not any ordinary mecha pilot; he didn’t fall for any of the small talk. Having so many Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals implied he must have killed numerous monsters in the Contaminated Zone. This person was definitely a high-level mecha pilot.

The senior manager was secretly amazed. Other individual merchants or organizations in Sirius might not be able to present so many Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals. Operating this business through their auction house and selling them to companies in urgent need would undoubtedly bring in huge profits.

The test results were quickly released, and Ying Chenlin immediately said, “Name your price.”

After considering the previous offers, the senior manager replied, “We’ll buy C-grade Sharp-Toothed Rat crystals at 2,000 starcoins each, and B-grade at 2,900 starcoins each. You have a total of 25 C-grade and 17 B-grade crystals, which adds up to 99,300 starcoins.”

“Three mutated C-grade crystals, we’ll buy at 3,600 starcoins each… Also, one mutated B-grade crystal.” The senior manager noticed the unique B-grade crystal in the batch. Though it didn’t have any anomalous abilities, its traits were close to A-Grade, and many alliance teams would buy such materials to build A-Class or championship-grade mechas.

The senior manager offered, “We can pay you 20,000 starcoins for it. What do you think?”

Ying Chenlin didn’t respond immediately, leaving the senior manager feeling more uneasy.

After a moment, Ying Chenlin finally spoke, “All of them for 130,000 starcoins.”

The senior manager was delighted at this response. The deal was quickly processed and 130,000 starcoins were transferred to Ying Chenlin. The senior manager observed him carefully and noticed that this young man was cautious. He left no other information at the auction house and even chose to receive the payment in person.

The senior manager handed a business card to Ying Chenlin. “Sir, if you ever want to sell crystals in the future, you can contact our auction house. Of course, we also have priority recommendations for rare materials that might interest you.”

“Thank you,” Ying Chenlin said, taking the business card and leaving promptly.

The other staff members were puzzled about why the senior manager treated this person so well. The senior manager explained that Ying Chenlin had agreed to sell the crystals to them in exchange for a favor. Giving him this batch of crystals was a small price to pay for recruiting such a high-level mecha pilot; it was a profitable move.

One staff member asked, “But boss, we didn’t get his contact information. Is that okay?”

The senior manager, in a good mood after securing such a large deal, replied, “Remember this user ID. If this person comes to our auction house again, notify me immediately.”

The staff member looked at the simple ID—Yuan?

—

When Ying Chenlin left the auction house, he noticed someone trailing behind him. The crowded market made it easy for him to lose the person, and he quickly shook them off.

In a spacious area, Ying Chenlin flagged down a hover car and glanced at the golden business card in his hand. It was given to him by the senior manager of the auction house. High-level auction houses like Sirius had a wide variety of materials circulating, and some lists with rare materials were exclusively available to their esteemed clients.

“Sir, may I ask your destination?” the intelligent system of the public hover car inquired.

Ying Chenlin snapped back to attention and replied, “Yes, I’m heading to the KID base Building on Hope Road in Zone A of Sirius.”

Author’s Note:
Here we go~
Congratulations to Xiao Ying for making a profit by selling crystals!

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