Chapter 13

Exiting the Virtual Arena, Gu Ding's spirit had reached its limit. Fortunately, Gu Ding's winning streak was maintained. After the terrifying woman had done those two things to Gu Ding, she had taken the initiative to admit defeat.

The mental exhaustion made Gu Ding feel dizzy after exiting the Virtual Arena. Without taking off his clothes, he dove into his blanket and fell asleep in a few seconds.

Gu Ding felt refreshed when he woke up. "How long did I sleep?"

"You slept for twenty-five hours. Something happened while you were asleep. "Neptune's voice paused as if he was thinking about how to summarize his words.

"From your tone, it doesn't sound like anything good." Gu Ding frowned slightly.

"There are two pieces of good news," Neptune said, "First, your spirit has increased from 9.8 points to 11 points because of the battle in the Virtual Arena. Second, someone gave you something in the Virtual Arena. I've accepted it for you. It's a Dark Iron Combat Armor. It should be delivered to you later. "

"Dark Iron Combat Armor?!" Gu Ding was surprised. "It should be a gift from that strange woman."

Combat Armor was a late product of the ancient mech civilization. Its main materials came from the bones of genetically modified beasts and a liquid memory alloy that could be fused with blood. Unlike the bulky mech, Combat Armor was more flexible. Other than some special Combat Armor, a full-body Combat Armor was usually close-fitting like clothes and would not affect a martial artist's ability at all.

Dark Iron Combat Armor was the lowest level of Combat Armor. Even so, in today's market, such an item would cost at least hundreds of millions of Star Credits. Moreover, it was priceless. There was no place to buy it even if one wanted it.

Combat Armor's biggest selling points were two. First, it could be hidden in the user's body and could be summoned at any time. Second, it could be upgraded according to the host's genetic strength. Third, it could repair itself after it was damaged. These three characteristics were the biggest reasons why buyers flocked to it.

As soon as he mentioned Combat Armor, the doorbell rang.

"Hello, your package has arrived. Please check it!" A delivery robot with a metallic luster stood at the door with a white box on its back.

Gu Ding pressed his fingerprint on the receipt page. The robot handed the box to him and bowed slightly. "I wish you a happy life. Goodbye!"

After closing the door and adding a few more locks, Gu Ding turned around and took out the items from the box.

It was a transparent glass injection container. Inside the container was a black liquid with a metallic luster. There was a graphic code printed on the outside of the container.

Gu Ding used Neptune's screen to scan the code, and the product information quickly popped up.

Item: Full Body Armor

[Grade: Black Iron]

[Instructions for use: Inject it into the body through an intravenous injection and incubate it with red blood cells for about 72 hours before it can be formed outside the body.]

"Iron-ranked equipment can double the user's attack and defense. Coupled with the boost from Ultimate Arts, it was quite impressive. Moreover, equipment could be upgraded. Iron equipment could be upgraded by two times, Bronze equipment by five times, Silver equipment by ten times, and Gold equipment by fifty times. The earlier you inject it, the earlier you can use it, "Neptune reminded.

Gu Ding nodded and inserted the needle in the injection container into the vein on the back of his hand. As the equipment was automatically injected, Gu Ding felt a cold liquid slowly enter his bloodstream and flow up his arm. In just a few seconds, the injection was completed, and there was almost no abnormality. This meant that Gu Ding's body was very adaptable to the equipment. In fact, about 50% of people would experience a certain degree of rejection when they were injected with the equipment for the first time. Among them, about 15% of people were born with a physique that could not integrate with the equipment and would automatically expel the equipment from their body.

"Your integration rate is very high. I estimate that you will be able to form the equipment outside your body in less than ten hours." Neptune was very familiar with Gu Ding's physical condition.

"Doesn't it take 72 hours?" Gu Ding asked, a little surprised. After all, the equipment was not something that ordinary people could afford. There was not much information about it on the civilian Internet. Gu Ding only saw that the instructions said 72 hours, so he thought that everyone needed 72 hours of incubation.

"72 hours is the normal average integration time. Some people with special physiques are slower than this, but some are faster," Neptune explained. "Your gene integration rate with the equipment is very high. Based on the current integration rate, ten hours should be enough."

"Just tell me that my physique is very good," Gu Ding grinned proudly. Gu Ding grinned smugly. "You said there were two pieces of good news. So, there should be bad news too?"

"Auntie Roastbeef sent you a message while you were asleep. She said that Rose Tavern is temporarily closed for the time being. You don't have to go there for the next few days. She will pay you according to your salary." Neptune was a little silent after saying this.

"That's not bad news, is it?" Gu Ding thought for a moment with his chin in his hand. "Did she say why she's temporarily closed for the time being and when she will reopen?"

"She didn't say anything." Neptune's tone was slightly heavy. "After sending you the message, Rose Tavern closed off the external network. I felt that something was wrong, so I probed into the tavern's internal network and heard some bad news through the cameras. "

"You know about the Federal Government's recent sweep of the Red Light District," Neptune continued. "Because of this, many Interstellar Pirates have been arrested, including a guy named Cain."

"Uncle Cain?!" Gu Ding knew who the name was the moment he heard it. Cain was an Interstellar Pirate with a bounty of more than three hundred million Star Credits. It was said that he used to be a member of Auntie Roastbeef's ship. After Auntie Roastbeef retired, he chose to create his own pirate crew and continued to drift. However, almost every two or three years, he would come to Rose Tavern to catch up with Auntie Roastbeef and the others. "Uncle Cain is very powerful. How did he get arrested?"

"It's because someone threatened Cain with Auntie Roastbeef and the others. If he resisted arrest, Auntie Roastbeef and the others would be wanted again, and Rose Tavern would be completely closed down," Neptune finally said the reason. Neptune finally revealed the reason. "Because of this, Kane made them wear star core collars and were taken away."

"Star Core Collar?!" Gu Ding was shocked.

The Star Core Collar was a powerful electromagnetic restraint device. Once it was fastened around the neck, it would produce electromagnetic waves that completely cut off communication between the brain and the body. The person who was put on the Star Core Collar could only feel the presence of their head. They could not feel anything below the neck, and they could not control it. It could be said that once the person wore the Star Core Collar, they would be at the mercy of others.

"According to normal procedure, after Cain is arrested, he should be locked up in the Aquamarine Branch of Skyriver Prison or the Skyriver Prison Headquarters and sentenced to a certain number of years. However, there is a deputy warden named Pearson who has a grudge against Cain. He is using this theft as an excuse to demand that Cain be sentenced to death. He will come to the scene to watch the execution, "Neptune continued. "According to the information I have gathered, the person who secretly threatened Cain is also this guy named Pearson."

"D * mn it, how can there be such a sinister person in the Federal Government!" Gu Ding could not help but curse. Although Uncle Cain had not met him many times, he would always bring him many gifts every time he came to Rose Tavern. He treated Gu Ding as a member of the Rose Pirates.

"The news that Cain is about to be executed was made public yesterday. Auntie Roastbeef and the others have been preparing to rescue him ever since they received the news. After rescuing Kane, they plan to leave Cerule and even the Skyriver Sector. The Rose Tavern will never open again. " Neptune finally finished telling Gu Ding what had happened. This was bad news that Gu Ding had never heard before.

Gu Ding clenched and unclenched his fists several times before asking, "Neptune, do you know where the other members of Uncle Cain's pirate crew are?"

"Before Cain was arrested, he made a request to ensure the safety of his crew. His request was granted. Now, his crew members are all free and have gathered at the starport to discuss countermeasures. "

"Neptune, can the Master Key now open all the doors of the Skyriver Prison and the restraints such as the Star Core Collar?" Gu Ding pondered for a moment and seemed to have an idea.

"The Skyriver Prison Headquarters is only a two-star prison. To me, three-star and below are considered beginner's privileges. I won't have any trouble cracking them." Neptune seemed to have guessed what Gu Ding was thinking. "However, to avoid being noticed by Skynet, it would be best if I could access a port of the prison network."

"I know. I have a feeling that the Federal Government will soon put a bounty on my head." Gu Ding grinned.