CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 53: EARNINGS AND CONTINGENCIES_3

The shopkeeper extended a fist for Chen Ming to see.

"One hundred?"

"One thousand."

"Then never mind."

Ten million, and he might not even manage it—Chen Ming wouldn’t be fooled that easily.

Not to mention whether he could afford the ten million, he couldn’t even get to the Military Outpost.

Although Chen Ming had assumed a new identity, his face and the Iron Ore No. itself might both be in the military’s database.

Going to a Military Outpost would be akin to suicide.

That’s why Chen Ming had been considering whether to swap ships.

There were pros and cons to both swapping and not swapping, so he felt conflicted.

Forget it, I’ll think about it later.

He didn’t plan to leave the Space Station anytime soon; there was time to ponder this.

Chen Ming stopped thinking about those unnecessary matters, focusing on the present.

But then something occurred to him, and he asked, "By the way, boss, how much for a regular ID here?"

The shopkeeper was engrossed with his terminal, and without looking up, said, "2000, add a terminal, 3000."

"That cheap? Old Wu was a bit of a rip-off."

The shopkeeper shrugged, without saying a word.

Forget it, it’s not a big deal, being ripped off is being ripped off.

Old Wu wasn’t actually that bad, although he overcharged me, his products and words were reliable.

I still need to find a way to join the Maintenance Plant; there will be chances to get even.

Chen Ming didn’t dwell too much on being ripped off, and asked again, "Do you do anything else here besides issuing IDs?"

"I don’t dabble in other businesses myself, just IDs and some tools, nothing more, retirement is nice."

"But some people do ask me to collect things for them."

Following the shopkeeper’s lead, Chen Ming asked, "What kind of things?"

"All sorts."

"Do you take cigarettes and alcohol?"

"Yes."

"Then wait a moment, I’ll go get some."

Chen Ming turned and left the hardware store, heading back to the ship to fetch samples.

Arms 1 and 2 of the Space Station were very close, and Chen Ming quickly returned to the dock, grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of alcohol from the Iron Ore No.

Just as Chen Ming was about to leave the dock, some strange noises came from behind him.

He turned his head to look.

A ship, so damaged that it could barely maintain its frame, was shakily flying into the dock.

Chen Ming frowned and quickly stepped outside the door, standing at the edge, watching the ship that could disassemble at any moment.

The ship wobbled towards the berth, seemingly about to stabilize.

But when it was just a dozen meters away from the berth, it suddenly accelerated, crashing head-on into the dock.

The ship was instantly engulfed in flames.

A piercing alarm immediately blared throughout the dock.

The explosion’s shockwave affected several nearby ships.

Chen Ming quickly took cover outside the door, peeking out again after the shockwave subsided.

The spot where the ship collided was now obscured by thick, billowing smoke.

It was impossible to tell the extent of the dock’s damage.

However, there shouldn’t be significant personnel casualties.

Just as Chen Ming was observing the scene inside the dock,

A swarm of drones with blinding lights flew up from beneath the dock, isolating the explosion area and starting to extinguish the fire.

The previous alarm had attracted many onlookers from elsewhere, and the somewhat quiet dock was suddenly bustling.

Of course, no one dared to stand too close to the damaged ship, all gathering near the entrance, discussing the cause of the accident.

But before long,

A fully-armed team equipped with specialized tools arrived from the Space Station’s core area, heading to the dock.

They began collecting the exploded ship’s wreckage, assessing the dock’s damage.

While also dispersing the surrounding crowds of onlookers.

Chen Ming was naturally also driven away.

The dock was temporarily sealed off, inaccessible.

But during the time before these people arrived, Chen Ming overheard some possible information from other people.

This ship ending up like this seemed to have something to do with Dusk.