Chapter 118
Chapter 118
“Boss, where did you acquire this uniform?”
Qin Lan pinched one corner of the combat uniform, giving no emotion away.
The owner jolted and immediately raised a hand to swear.
“My lord, I obtained everything here legally! All through proper channels!”
Qin Lan glanced at him and caught the flash of guilt in his eyes.
Proper channels?
If the channels were truly proper, an Anomaly Hunter Bureau combat uniform would never have appeared in a roadside shop like this.
The style might be obsolete, but it remained classified. Private sale to outsiders was prohibited.
Qin Lan had specifically studied these regulations before.
“Is that so?” His voice turned cold. “Why don’t I call the Bureau and have someone investigate whether your source is proper?”
“I’d love to know what proper channel gave you access to classified Bureau equipment.”
The owner’s face went white.
It took almost no effort for Qin Lan to pry out the truth.
The owner had found the uniform in a pile of salvaged waste from the Fallen Zone.
When every anomaly inside an instance was killed, its space collapsed. Uncollected resources and items left by other people could randomly scatter nearby.
Some people therefore obtained Fallen Zone passes through irregular means and risked their lives searching for “lost supplies.”
This had spawned an entire industry dedicated to salvage gambling.
The odds of finding anything valuable were actually very low.
Most salvaged goods came from ordinary ruins in the Fallen Zone and were marked up under the gimmick.
Although this owner sold clothing, he knew nothing about the uniform’s origins. Outsiders found it difficult to obtain information related to Anomaly Hunters.
That was why he had dared display it openly by the window.
“Sir, ignorance is no crime…” The owner looked miserable. He had expected a major customer and gotten major trouble instead.
“Take the uniform. We’ll pretend I never knew anything…”
Qin Lan laughed.
“Relax. I’ll pay for it.”
“But I’m very interested in your so-called proper channel.”
The owner immediately fell into conflict.
Losing one item would hurt only briefly. Selling out the people behind “that route” might bring far greater trouble.
But he could not afford to offend Qin Lan either.
Such a young 3-Star Anomaly Hunter must hold considerable status in the Bureau. If he truly called in an investigation…
Hiss…
The owner would lose his underwear along with everything else.
After agonizing over it, he gritted his teeth, wrote down an address and contact information, and handed them to Qin Lan.
“Sir, this has nothing to do with me…”
Qin Lan understood his concern and waved a hand.
“I guessed the address. I dreamed the communication number. Don’t worry.”
After packing the uniform away, Qin Lan left the store.
The clothing was extremely strange. He needed somewhere safe to study it.
There was no rush.
Qin Lan then arrived at the “old shop” Fatty Wu had mentioned.
It was extraordinarily well hidden, without even a sign to reveal its business. A heavy curtain covered the doorway and blocked the interior from view.
Had Fatty Wu not repeatedly described its appearance, Qin Lan would have mistaken it for the neighboring shop’s restroom.
“This is definitely it.”
He reached for the curtain, only to collide head-on with a customer rushing out.
“Ow, what the–”
Qin Lan staggered and nearly fell.
Then he realized something was wrong.
His four basic attributes now exceeded sixty. Forget a person–even a truck could hit him without knocking him over.
Steel was roughly eight times denser than ordinary human bone, and Qin Lan’s body had already surpassed steel. To exaggerate slightly, he resembled Superman from an old movie–apart from his inability to fly or shoot lasers from his eyes, there was almost no difference.
Yet the man before him had nearly knocked him down.
Even caught off guard, that should have been impossible.
Qin Lan looked closely.
The person who struck him was a tall man wearing a baseball cap and mask that completely concealed his face. A trench coat made him look like a spy attending a clandestine meeting.
He had even added sunglasses.
Their gazes met for an instant through the lenses. Before Qin Lan could speak, the man hurried away and vanished from sight.
“Why’s he running so fast?”
Only after recovering did Qin Lan realize how absurd that speed had been.
He rubbed his chest. The point of impact still ached, as though he had taken a heavy punch from a 4-Star anomaly.
“Whew… The Central Region really is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers…”
Qin Lan’s expression turned grave. He looked sharply at the curtain.
“What does this shop sell? A random customer has such terrifying strength?”
Contraband? Special items?
He took a deep breath and entered with apprehension.
Five minutes later, Qin Lan emerged with a dark expression.
The fucking place sold porn.
Qin Lan had prepared himself for anything. Instead, he entered to find rows of shelves covered in “study materials.”
European, American, Japanese, Korean, science fiction, supernatural…
If you could imagine it, these directors could film it.
Take *Exorcist Battles Sadako*. You thought it depicted a proper exorcism?
No. This exorcist used the method of yang-energy infusion, forcefully pouring the scorching yang energy inside his body into Sadako to purge her evil.
Utterly heaven-defying.
“Oh? Old Wu sent you?”
“He’s one of our VIPs… Here, those item numbers are from the collector’s selection. I saved them especially for him.”
The owner had a scruffy beard, messy hair, and a loose white undershirt. A cigarette hung from his lips as he winked at Qin Lan.
“Young man, what kind of movies do you like?”
“Young people must love science fiction… I have *Optimus Prime vs. Megatron–Gender-Swapped Edition*. Interested?”
What kind of fucking science fiction was that?
Qin Lan repeatedly shook his head. Embarrassed, he grabbed Fatty Wu’s requested items and fled.
The moment he reached the street, he called Wu Rendi and roared.
“You motherfucker!”
“You sent me all this way just to buy porn?!”
“Are you even human?!”
Fatty Wu’s leisurely voice answered through the communicator.
“Look at you, getting worked up again.”
“What do you mean, porn? These are artistic creations embodying human wisdom, the violent sparks produced when primal instinct collides with modern civilization… What would a brat like you understand?”
“Back in the day, those of us who shared this interest even formed a film study and discussion group… Shall I introduce you so you can observe sometime?”
Qin Lan decisively ended the call.
If he kept talking to Fatty Wu, his pure soul would be corrupted.
He sighed and prepared to leave, then froze.
Someone stood before him who had no business appearing here.
“Ah, what a coincidence…”
The black-haired young man scratched his head awkwardly, his gaze wandering. “Well, I was only passing by. Looking around…”
“I definitely wasn’t planning to buy any discs or anything like that…”
Qin Lan lacked even the strength to make a sarcastic remark.
“Han…” he said sorrowfully. “Why are you in a place like this too?”