CH 50

A blinding flash erupted, temporarily blinding the Eternals. The shields they erected to withstand our nuclear warhead failed to protect them against the light.

"Canyue, are you fine? I'm here to help you," Zhang Xingxing's voice came from the communicator.

The heroine had arrived at the perfect timing.

"We're trapped. Try to blast open a path and cover us. Try not to harm them too badly," I said.

Zhang Xingxing's surprise attack from behind the Eternals had messed up their formation. While they were in chaos, I saw a blue phantom jump onto the juxi beast's back. The Bright warrior, Titan, had a lightning longbow in his hand as he rushed from the beast's back to its head. There, he raised his bow high, manifested a lightning arrow, and released it at the beast's massive head.

The energy of Sirius B clashed with Betelgeuse's life form intensely. A powerful enough energy attack was something no life form could withstand. After a dazzling flash, the juxi beast was in so much pain it stood up on its rear legs. It shook its head and roared before finally collapsing onto the ground. The collapse of the juxi beast coupled with the flashbangs created a momentary opening in their formation.

"Canyue, move immediately. Ahead of you to the right, at three o'clock," Zhang Xingxing commanded.

We did as told and sprinted toward the three o'clock direction. Two red beams shot at us from our path, attempting to cut our escape.

"The two air defense drones are getting annoying," cursed Zhang Bao'er.

"Dodo, hack their system and ruin the air defense drones' database. Provide support to Canyue and the rest," commanded Zhang Xingxing when she saw the two air defense drones attacking us.

Dodo, who was hidden in a corner, rushed toward the juxi beast. It stabbed a probe into the beast's tentacle and started hacking into the Eternals' database to obtain control over the air defense drones. The drones continued attacking us as we dodged in a sorry manner, moving amid the numerous cut rubbles. At this time, I saw some Eternals slowly recovering from their temporary blindness.

"Dodo, are you done yet?" I shouted.

Right after I asked, the two air defense drones released zaps, then dropped from the air.

"Well done, Dodo. I'll treat you to a drink of some top-quality engine oil!" Zhang Bao'er shouted.

Taking advantage of this chance, we rushed out of the encirclement. With its big head heaved high, Dodo led the way ahead of us. After running about a hundred meters away, we saw several parked patrol cars. Dodo gestured at everyone to get in one of the cars. It then took the driver's seat and operated the car according to the data it had gathered from the Eternals' database. We fled rapidly. About 400 or 500 meters away, countless whistling sounds rang out ahead of us. When Dodo saw that, it quickly hid the patrol car in a dark alley. About three minutes later, we saw at least ten patrol cars drive by the entrance of our alley, heading toward the combat site.

"That was too close. If you were a few minutes late, the Eternals would have swarmed us with their sheer numbers," said Zhang Bao'er as he stuck his tongue out.

"Too bad we killed a juxi beast while escaping. That is a treasure that needs 1,000 years for one to appear. I wonder if that will infuriate them," I said with a sigh.

"It's not dead. I used the tranquilizing arrow. It's not fatal," said Titan.

"Not bad at all, Titan. You look rough, but all in all, you're quite attentive to detail," praised Zhang Bao'er.

"Team leader, we shouldn't stay here too long. We also need to think of our next plan before they start scanning for us with another juxi beast," said Old Du to Zhang Xingxing.

Zhang Xingxing did not reply for quite a while. Only then did I notice her focusing on the signboard of a dark shop in the alley. I walked up to her and looked at the signboard. The shop's name was Jido Race's Shop. Below the name was a row of words: Darkness comes from concealment.

"Jido race's shop? Jido race? What planet is this race from?" I asked.

"That's a Jido shop? I did not expect there to be Jidos on Lidu," said Prince Toruse.

"Are the Jidos from the Riger System's Planet Kadote?" Dodo asked.

"Not bad, Dodo. Your database is truly impressive. Why wasn't I taught about that planet?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

"I just learned it from the Eternals' database," said Dodo.

"Yes, the Jidos are a minority race on Kadote," said Toruse.

"Minority race? What do you mean?" I asked.

"There are two main races on Kadote. Both are fierce and warlike. The Katar race is one of them, and the other is the Liyate race. The two races make up 99 percent of the planet's population. The two races had been warring with each other for over a millennium for territories," said the prince.

"You mean the two races make up for 99 percent of the planet's population while the other 1 percent is the Jido people?" I asked.

"Yes. The Jidos are short and small with comparatively weak bodies. Stuck between two warlike races, they lived terrible lives. For the sake of survival, the Jidos maintained some sort of balance with the two races through trade. Eventually, they evolved and obtained a unique ability," said the prince.

"What ability?" I asked.

"They're good at concealment. They can change into different appearances, and they can even manipulate time and space itself to hide in the cracks of timespace," said the prince.

"With such a powerful concealment ability, we can borrow the ability to hide from the manhunt. We can even use it to steal the golden pass we need," said Zhang Xingxing in excitement.

"That's a good idea. I did not expect that the frail Jidos would also live a life of exile. However, the Jidos are a merchant race by nature. It won't be cheap trading with them. Because my escape had been too hasty, I don't have much money on me," said the prince.

Hearing about money, I said, "Prince, don't worry about money. Since you are familiar with the Jido ways, take us there. We need shelter."

Suddenly, the roars of a juxi beast started coming from far away. The Eternals were starting their manhunt yet again.

"There is no time to hesitate, prince. Please take us there," said Zhang Xingxing.

Prince Toruse did not hesitate. He immediately led us to the small black door under the black signboard.

We all walked through the door, entering a cramped and dark room. Some sort of lighting was installed in the four corners of the room, flickering like candles which caused the room to be occasionally dark and bright. The careless Zhang Bao'er immediately hit a bell, creating a loud sound that reverberated in the room.

"Damn it. What building is this? Why is it so short with pillars everywhere?" Zhang Bao'er complained.

At this time, a voice rang out from a corner, "Who are you? Why are there so many of you? What do you need?"

I looked over and saw that there was a small table near the room's southeast corner. Seated behind the table was a Jido with a small body. The Jido's body was completely covered, leaving only a pair of eyes visible.

"Isn't this a shop? Since this is a shop, we're naturally here as customers. Why else would we be here?" replied Zhang Bao'er.

"This is an expensive shop. We don't serve common customers here. If you do not have sufficient funds, please leave," said the Jido.

The Jido had barely finished his words when a palm-sized diamond dropped onto his table with a clang.

"Little dwarf, see if this is enough funds," said Zhang Bao'er.

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The Jido looked at Zhang Bao'er before looking at the diamond. He then silently whisked the diamond under the table.

"Honored guests, welcome to my shop. I am Domo. We offer all sorts of services here, and we strive to satisfy all our customers’ needs," said the Jido with a far friendlier voice.

"A group of Eternals is pursuing us. Can you help us hide?" I asked.

"You're already well hidden. They won't be able to find you," replied Domo.

"Are you kidding? They only need to rush through that door and everyone here will be caught," complained Zhang Bao'er as he pointed at the door.

It was then that we found to our surprise that the door we walked through had vanished. Zhang Bao'er noticed that as well. His mouth was wide agape from surprise. The moment he had made a move, he showcased his incredible concealment ability. We couldn't help but be impressed.

"Domo, can you help disguise us as Eternals to help with infiltration?" asked Zhang Xingxing eagerly.

"Where do you plan to infiltrate? A different place poses a different level of difficulty," said Domo.

Everyone looked at Prince Toruse.

"The governor is a sinister individual. He is colluding with my brother to get me killed. Let's take his golden pass," said the prince.

"You're intending to steal the governor's golden pass? That is punishable with death," said Domo.

"It is also punishable with death for an imperial official to lose a golden pass," replied the prince indignantly.

"Yes, but do you know how tight the governor's security is? No fewer than 50 guards and 10 air defense drones are guarding the mansion. There are also two Gando warriors," said Domo.

"Gando warriors," the prince sank into silence.

"And what sort of a monster are the Gando warriors?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"The Gando warriors are not undefeatable. We can apply a good disguise and try to avoid them," said the prince.

"I need to remind you, honored prince, that you can hide from everyone except a Gando warrior. The Gandos are monsters that exist in multiple dimensions," said Domo.

"How did you know that I'm a prince?" asked Toruse in astonishment.

Domo had a peculiar glint in his eyes, but he did not reply. Instead, he looked at us and asked, "Who's in charge of the money?"