Star Odyssey

Chapter 1567: Black Street

"Since everything here’s completely useless, how does anyone make a living?" Lu Yin asked.

Ah Da replied, "Ninety nine percent of the trash here is useless, which means that those living here survive by hoping to stumble upon that one percent. It’s not easy to survive in the Neoverse, and worms and bugs have appeared here in Black Street. As long as one has the ability, they can actually thrive here.”

Lu Yin frowned. This was actually where Ming Yan was staying, which Lu Yin was not comfortable with. The hidden master of the Azure Mansion was also the master of Black Street. In other words, if Ming Yan had not been as capable as she was, she would have been tossed aside like the rest of the miserable wretches that lived in this trash heap.

Lu Yin clenched his fists. If not for how useful Bu Laoweng was alive, he really would have smacked him to death.

Strange creatures occasionally wriggled through the garbage piles drifting through space, and there were also all kinds of odd astral beasts that would eat something.

There was a strange ecosystem in this place. Even though humans could not survive off of the waste in this place, creatures would adapt to every kind of habitat imaginable.

There was a bang as a spacecraft exploded off in the distance, instantly killing everyone in it.

Lu Yin and the others watched as a dark shadow left, but they did not move to stop it.

That attack had been an assassination, a perfect one.

Lu Yin was not surprised to see such a thing occur, and Ah Da was also used to such sights. The vessel that had been attacked had also been heading towards Black Street, which meant that it definitely did not have a simple purpose.

Since they were traveling to what was known as the dirtiest place in the Neoverse, such occurrences did not surprise Lu Yin at all.

The holes in the garbage drifting through space formed passageways that led to Black Street, and they formed a natural maze.

A long time later, the spaceship finally arrived at Black Street.

What was known as Black Street was actually a massive mainland that joined up to a pile of garbage on the horizon. It was covered with humans who looked like ants, and these people survived off of the waste in this place.

Surprisingly, Black Street was a very prosperous place, and it was not as gloomy and dark as Lu Yin had expected. The mainland itself was wide enough to fit more than ten planets lined up side-by-side.

There were no procedures required to enter Black Street, as anyone could come.

Lu Yin and his little group docked their ship, and they were almost instantly surrounded by people who wanted to introduce them to various businesses.

"Sir, do you need anyone assassinated? This little one will take you where you need to go. Their assassination rate is 100%! Guaranteed to be perfect and fairly priced as well."

"Sir, this little one has an offer that comes with a beautiful assassin who will keep you company throughout the entire process. High quality and low price."

"Sir, come and see this young sister here. We have every type of service you could want. Everything is freely available, even watching authentic matches with guaranteed bloodshed."

"Sir…"

…

"Get lost!" a deafening shout echoed out from nearby.

Lu Yin looked over to see a group of people quickly approaching them. As they did so, they drove away the crowd of peddlers, and the man in front bowed to Lu Yin in a very respectful manner. “Sir, Boss sent this underling out to pick you up."

Lu Yin had called Ming Yan before arriving, and these were the people that she had sent out to pick him up.

If not for the rubbish that was ubiquitous in the entire region, Black Street would have just been another ordinary landmass. From the outside, none of the dark and shady dealings could be seen.

However, after unleashing his domain, Lu Yin became incredibly uncomfortable. He was flooded by all kinds of wailing and crying while he saw all kinds of heartbreaking scenes. The overwhelming misery shocked him, and he could not understand how Ming Yan could tolerate staying in such a palace.

There was a scream as a woman was grabbed by her collar and dragged off somewhere.

This was not an uncommon event.

Blood filled the dark corners of Black Street that were only occasionally cleaned, and some areas had even been infested by bugs since no one ever cleaned them.

This was not a place that ordinary people would ever visit.

Fortunately, Lu Yin had put Luo Shen in Zenith Mountain. He let out an emotional sigh.

He was no saint, and he was also incapable of saving the people in this place. Even if he could clean up Black Street, there were simply too many places in the universe like Black Street.

As they continued walking along, the surroundings continuously improved. There were some people hidden in the shadows who stared at Lu Yin and the others with envy and desire.

Once Lu Yin arrived at Ming Yan's residence, he turned back to observe the path they had taken through Black Street. The two places were essentially two different worlds.

Ming Yan lived in a place with clear running water and green mountains. No garbage could be seen in the sky overhead, nor were there any dark and dirty hidden corners. White clouds drifted above them, and a floral fragrance filled the air. It was like a fairy wonderland that had descended down onto earth.

So there were opposing extremes even in this place.

Everyone in Black Street saw Bu Laoweng as their master, and his control of Black Street alone had given him a special status among the Hall of Honor’s nine overseers.

Black Street processed an untold amount of waste from the entire Neoverse, and it was also one of the guardian nodes. This was what made the place that Bu Laoweng had built up so unique and what had allowed for the rise of the bizarre location that was Black Street.

However, Black Street was actually under the control of a beautiful girl at the moment, and she was snuggling in Lu Yin's arms.

As he held Ming Yan, Lu Yin felt complete.

He had never spent much time with Ming Yan, except for the one time after they had first been separated for a long time, and the separation had created a strange misunderstanding between them.

"Brother Lu, Yan'er missed you so much!" Ming Yan whispered, her eyes flushed with happiness.

Lu Yin lifted her head. "Tell me about what you’ve been doing. Don’t leave anything out."

Ming Yan blushed and then sighed.

…

Half a day later, Ming Yu formally asked to meet with Lu Yin.

Lu Yin kept his arms wrapped around Ming Yan, preventing her from leaving, and at the same time, he looked at Ming Yu. "I saw you in the Mountain and Seas Zone."

Ming Yu was very nervous about speaking with Lu Yin. He was different from Ming Yan, and he exerted an immense pressure on Ming Yu that made it hard for her to breathe. “This little one used Sir Lu Yin’s name as protection. I ask for sir’s judgment now."

Lu Yin replied, "I appreciate smart people, and you even saved Yan'er. Thus, we can forget about the whole thing."

"Thank you, sir." Ming Yu heaved a sigh of relief as her expression visibly showed relief.

"Where's Bu Laoweng?" Lu Yin asked.

Ming Yan replied, "I had him locked up. I’m controlling him with Vitality Poison, so he doesn’t dare to go against me."

Lu Yin stared deep into Ming Yan's eyes. They were clear, limpid, and still as pure as the first time Lu Yin had seen them. Despite all that Ming Yan had gone through, the white-haired Ming Yan had taken on the entire burden of the girl’s negative emotions. "Don't mention Vitality Poison again. Avoid using that specific name in the future."

Ming Yan nodded, happy to please Lu Yin.

Ming Yu was startled by the behavior, as Ming Yan was currently behaving completely different from the woman whom Ming Yu was familiar with. While the black-haired Ming Yan initially seemed like a soft person, she was used to wielding the authority of an empress, and her aura dominated others. But her overbearing aura was currently being suppressed by Lu Yin’s presence, and Ming Yan seemed like nothing more than a well-behaved child.

This was the charisma of this particular man. He had subdued the Outerverse, conquered the Blaze Realm, and controlled forces that Ming Yu could only guess at. Only a man like this could be worthy of Ming Yan.

The two of them together were essentially the deciding voice of the Hall of Honor’s overseers.

"This place is not suitable for you to live in." Lu Yin repeated his warnings regarding the Neohuman Alliance. He was hoping for Ming Yan to return to the Great Yu Empire and stay on Zenyu Star, which would give him great peace of mind. That, or she could go to Earth.

Ming Yan immediately changed the subject. "Brother Lu, Ming Yu has a gift for you."

Lu Yin was caught off guard, and he turned to Ming Yu. "A gift?"

Ming Yu spoke in a very respectful tone. "Since Your Highness has returned safely, your subordinates should prepare some gifts."

She clapped her hands.

Soon, a little boy was brought to them. He knelt on the ground, clearly so nervous that he would not even look up.

Lu Yin was completely confused.

Ming Yu explained, "He is old man San Shang’s great-grandson."

Lu Yin’s brows rose high. "Overseer San Shang? That old man?"

The little boy looked up as soon as he heard “San Shang.” His face turned pale, and he started trembling.action

"Sir, old man San Shang is being targeted right now. First, his eldest son married a woman, but he died soon after. That woman then went after old man San Shang by capturing all of his descendants and their families in order to gain control of old man San Shang. This child was the only one who escaped, but his luck was bad, and he eventually ended up being captured by pirates and sold to Black Street.”

Lu Yin let go of Ming Yan and stood up to approach the child, where he crouched down. “What's your name?”

The child was scared, and he looked at Ming Yu before licking his dry lips. "Bo."

"Your name’s Bo?" Lu Yin asked.

The little boy nodded and looked up. He saw Lu Yin's gentle eyes, which helped him summon his courage. "Sir, can you help me?"

Lu Yin smiled and ruffled the little boy's hair. "Take him away for now."

The little boy was led away.

"Who's supporting that woman?" Lu Yin asked. Not even an idiot would believe that there was no one behind a woman who was able to attack one of the Human Domain’s nine overseers.

Not a single one of the nine overseers was a simple person. Even if they decided not to pay for protection, countless desperate powerhouses would line up to take up the task. For example, Bu Laoweng had easily maintained his control over Black Street. Even though there was no powerhouse above the Envoy realm following Bu Laoweng, that was mostly because the number of such powerhouses in the Fifth Mainland were simply too few. If an overseer wanted to raise an army, untold Enlighters would flock to follow them.

Old man San Shang had made no plays to gain power or influence, but the power that he wielded could not be ignored. How could such a man be easily subdued by a woman and then have all of his family and descendants imprisoned? There had to be truly unusually strong power to be supporting the woman.

Ming Yu politely answered, "We have been looking into this ever since Bo was discovered, but we have linked no forces to her."

Lu Yin sat down, and Ming Yan casually moved behind him and began to massage his shoulders.

"Then just leave her alone and keep an eye on her," Lu Yin casually ordered. He always made plans before making a move. He would not rashly become enemies with whoever was supporting this woman before he learned who they were. Besides, they had Bo in their control, so Lu Yin could make a move at any moment.

"Yes sir," Ming Yu replied demurely.

Lu Yin had no intention of making trouble for this woman, and yet she had still sought out Lu Yin on her own. Though it was old man San Shang who had called Lu Yin, Lu Yin knew that the woman was the one making the overseer’s decisions.

"Alliance Leader Lu, I'm truly sorry, but I may not be able to follow through on what I promised you," old man San Shang apologized in a hoarse voice.

The ancient man looked pale on the display, and he really did look as though he could die at any moment.

Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, are you saying that you will now agree to Shamrock Enterprise's request to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms?"

Old man San Shang nodded. "I'm old, and I tend to forget many things. This old man has already come to an agreement with Shamrock Enterprise, and I cannot go back on my word. You must understand."

Lu Yin looked away. "This junior does understand."

"Then goodbye, Alliance Leader Lu," old man San Shang said before ending the call.

Lu Yin rubbed his gadget as his eyes flitted about.

Ming Yan prepared some tea for Lu Yin and quietly asked, "Has he changed his mind?"

Lu Yin gave a small smile. "It looks like he was forced to go back on what he told me. That woman probably forced him to do this. Things aren’t adding up, so it’s possible that she only just learned of our agreement, and if that is indeed the case, then she should be calling me herself soon.

"Let's go. I’d like you to show me around Black Street. Though skip the front section—that place is too filthy."