Counterfeit Hero

Following behind the boss lady’s son, Meiduo walked into the narrow and cluttered Beer Street, carefully avoiding the pedestrians by her side.

Beer Street might be the liveliest place on Space Station 106.

Almost all crew members of the ships docked at the space station would gather here. Those smugglers, interstellar traders, adventurers, explorers, con artists, gamblers, thieves, and informants selling information spend their days here.

The beer taverns on both sides of the street were already packed, and tables were set up in the middle of the thirty-meter-wide street, leaving only a narrow passage about two meters wide in the center.

After forcefully pushing away a short man who bumped into her chest under the guise of the crowd, Meiduo’s face was blushing red. Beside her, an almost naked woman was sitting on the lap of a large man with his pants pulled down to his ankles, bouncing up and down. When she looked at Meiduo, she raised her eyebrows provocatively.

Meiduo turned her head in panic, only to find that on the other side, many men drinking were shamelessly glancing at her. There were also several scantily clad women sneering at her.

Meiduo bit her lip hard, resolutely following behind the boss lady’s son. Such a scene was already mentally prepared for when she boarded the ship leaving Leray. In mainstream human society, the description of the Free World was exactly like this scene.

This was a filthy world, and to find Fatty, she must traverse this world!

The boss lady’s son skillfully led Meiduo to a bar named Red Elf, guiding her through the crowded and noisy hall to sit at a small square table in the corner.

”I’ll have a beer...” the boss lady’s son said to the server while looking at Meiduo. ”What would you like, alcohol or a drink?”

”A drink then....” Meiduo knew that even if you didn’t drink in a bar, you had to order something—this was a reminder from the boss lady. There was nowhere here where one could sit down without spending a cent. She quietly added, ”The cheapest one...”

”Get a Clear as Water for her....” the boss lady’s son told the server a name that Meiduo found quite satisfactory. Then he continued, ”Sit here for a bit. I’ll go look for someone to see if anyone knows when that ship returns to Mars. Those informants always know a lot. Once I find them, I’ll bring them over. You’ll have to pay for the information..... It won’t cost much; this kind of intel is worth at most eight hundred to a thousand Fei Yuan.”

”Thank you.” Meiduo gave a slight smile to the enthusiastic man.

The gentle smile made the man, who had a face similar to the boss lady, slightly dazed.

When the bar server appeared again at the small table, the man was carrying a beer and vanished into the crowd in the bar.

Meiduo looked at the ”drink” in front of her.... to be honest, she couldn’t see how it was different from pure water. However, having had only a glass of water all day, she tried hard to restrain herself. Although she had to pay for this, in this chaotic world, it’s best not to drink if you don’t have to.

The old speakers embedded in the bar’s steel walls, resembling spaceship cabins, blared fierce music with all their might. In the central dance floor, people were dancing the space dance—not the weightlessness-imitation dance from ancient Earth, but a multi-person dance that became popular in interstellar travel. Passionate and uninhibited individual dance moves mixed with set pieces in the rhythm, dancers would continuously switch between individual and group formations, ordered and chaotic, restrained and unbridled, exerting an extraordinarily strong infectious power. This dance was indispensable from royal gatherings to roadside taverns.

Maybe it was the security of being undisturbed in the corner, maybe it was the influence of the dance, or perhaps it was the feeling that she was getting closer to Fatty, but Meiduo felt much better than before. She secretly tapped along with the rhythm, even licking the drink that looked like clear water but actually had a particularly fragrant taste. Then she rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

However, as more and more dance tracks played and the dancers became fewer, Meiduo still did not see the boss lady’s son return.

Just as she was getting anxious, a middle-aged man in a leather jacket and a beautiful woman in a white shirt and jeans, accompanied by several burly men, approached Meiduo.

”Are you Meiduo?” The woman brushed her fair fingers across Meiduo’s cheek.

”Who are you.....” A flustered Meiduo turned her face to avoid the woman’s fingers.

”You’ve been sold to us.” The woman chuckled softly, seductive and charming, ”Come with me.”

”You..... you’re mistaken.....” Meiduo suddenly stood up, panic-stricken. Her leg hit the edge of the table painfully, and the drink spilled: ”I’m here to find a ship to Mars Free Port......”

”What a pity....” The woman laughed, shaking her head and pointing at the spilled drink on the table, playfully saying, ”You should have finished your Clear as Water.... It represents your worth, which I just paid for—one hundred thousand Fei Yuan.”

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The list Cheng Zhixuan handed over was packed with names of the current core members of the major factions of the bandit army, especially the War God Level Mech Knights of each faction.

Which factions have which members, and their general level, is no secret in Mars. It doesn’t take much effort; just asking the Tai Sect and Absolute Kill Stream under the Longxing Association can yield detailed information.