Interstellar Hunting Nation - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: New Identity

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In the next few days after the crystal drama, Wu Chang’s mood was much better. Because there was no pressure to earn money, he did not go down the well these few days. Instead, he chose to accompany Lion to pick crystals at the waste slag.

Ordinary miners didn’t understand why Wu Chang didn’t go into the well. In their eyes, Wu Chang’s luck was at its peak if he could mine a 19 centimeter-long crystal. If he didn’t take this opportunity to try his luck, wouldn’t he be a fool?

However, they did not know what Wu Chang was thinking. In Wu Chang’s eyes, it was much better to understand this world and learn more than to go to the mine to earn a few gold coins.

As the dirty old man rambled on, a picture of this world began to appear in Wu Chang’s mind.

The humanities, geography, political structure, military composition, and even historical gossip were things Wu Chang loved to listen to. Lion seemed to enjoy the feeling of being a mentor. Although the knowledge he taught was very lacking in coherence, he met a good student who was tireless. He would raise his hand and ask questions if he had any doubts.

“You said that Huang’e was a source mineral planet. Then what are the source minerals?”

“There are too many source minerals, but you can understand the three most basic items from the currency physique. Rainbow Crystals, liquid mithril, and folded obsidian are the necessary minerals to produce a space-folding engine. This engine is the foundation for humans to enter the cosmic era.”

“Source mineral, source mineral. Where did the word source mineral come from?”

“The word ‘source’ represents the meaning ‘source energy’ of life. People have never been able to figure out the mysteries of this strange energy, but one thing is certain. This energy is the source energy of the Big Bang. This is the origin of the word ‘source.’”

“Oh! Then tell me more about that engine.”

“Trash, you can’t even remember this.” The old man went up and smacked Wu Chang’s head. “That’s called a space-folding engine. It was invented when people were researching source energy. Not only can this engine enable hovering while nullifying gravity, but it can also carry out spatial folding. It’s simply unimaginable to attempt space travel of dozens of light-years without spatial folding…

“Eh? I say, your amnesia is too serious. Why don’t you understand these basic things?”

“Aiya, if I understood everything, how could I show how knowledgeable you are, Master?”

“Hehe, you’re right. It makes sense. I think highly of you…”

The master-disciple duo happily stayed at the abandoned mine for three days. They didn’t care about the surprised gazes of the surrounding people at all. On the third night, the arrival of a few guests made Wu Chang overjoyed.

In the sealed guest room of the Delivery Center, Smith Pann was excitedly introducing Wu Chang. “Wu Chang, come here. This is the most awesome tattoo master in Huang’e City. Your identity has been settled. Even the administrative system of Huang’e has acknowledged the fact that your tattoo is missing. They no longer see you as a stowaway.”

The tattoo master covered in patterns also laughed. “I’ve worked in Huang’e City for my entire life, but this is the first time I’m tattooing an ID tattoo that isn’t fake. You really dare to spend money, kid.

“Remember, you’re an ordinary peasant child on the Left Bank on the planet Elysium. Your parents passed away due to illness. You started wandering on the planet when you were very young. Later, you were kidnapped by human traffickers, and became a laborer in the pirate nest. Later, during a pirate ship conflict, you took a lifeboat to Huang’e, and lost your memory after a violent collision—”

The tattoo master wanted to continue, but Wu Chang interrupted, “Wait a minute. Is this the life story you’ve arranged for me? Why does it feel so unreal? Can anyone believe this?”

“It’s one thing whether you believe it or not, but we can guarantee that all your identity documents are real. This is our ability. As for this strange background, more than 10 experts who disguised their identities spent an entire night choosing it for you. You don’t have the right to choose at all—”

Before the tattoo master could finish speaking, Lion spoke. “Don’t be picky. This is already the most reliable identity I’ve ever heard of. In this universe, whether your identity is strange or suspicious isn’t important. If you’re a good-for-nothing, then even if you have the most reasonable identity in the world, there will still be people bullying you. But if you’re an expert, then even if others know that you’re a pirate, they will still fight to be friends with you.”

At this point, Lion said to the tattooist, “I’m his master. I want to do this tattoo myself.”

“Oh? Do you know this skill too?”

“I used to do it on Sanhai. I’m a little itchy today.”

The tattoo master shrugged nonchalantly. “Alright, since you’ve already paid, and I can’t return the money anyway. However, I’ll say this in advance. Once your tattoo fails, you can ask me to do it again, but you have to pay for the materials again.” After saying that, he ignored the people in the room and went out to drink.

Boss Pann looked at Lion curiously, and asked concernedly, “Can you do it? Although I know you’re proficient in operating all kinds of machines, I’ve never heard of you operating an identity tattoo machine.”

Lion didn’t answer Boss Pann’s question. He opened the bottle of liquid silver ink that was worth 100 gold coins, and carefully poured it into the tattoo gun. Looking at the strange tattoo on Wu Chang’s back, he asked, “Have you thought about it? What kind of pattern should you use to cover it?”

Wu Chang, who was rarely asked questions by Lion, quickly took out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket. On it was a picture that he had spent three nights drawing.

“What’s this?” Lion and Boss Pann were dumbfounded when they opened the picture.

“Don’t tell me you two don’t know?” Wu Chang was a little surprised, but seeing the confusion in their eyes, it didn’t seem like they were pretending to be stupid.

“Forget it, just follow the patterns I drew. That… that’s a creature I saw in my dream.” Wu Chang could only pass it off as something from a dream. He couldn’t possibly say that it was the Blue Dragon1, right?

That’s right, Wu Chang had drawn the Azure Dragon. It was an ancient azure dragon that clearly had the style of the Qin and Han Dynasties. It was no wonder that others didn’t recognize it. It was hard to say if there was an Earth in this world. It wasn’t surprising that people didn’t know about legendary creatures like dragons.

Everyone had their own secrets. A mature person wouldn’t pry into other people’s privacy. Lion and Boss Pann didn’t dwell on this issue. Lion carefully looked at the map. In less than 10 minutes, he had already started.

The dirty old man Lion’s craftsmanship was not just for show. In this abandoned mining area, Lion’s reputation was no less than that of the contractors. From engineering equipment to electric hot coffee cups1, there was nothing that he did not know how to repair. Boss Pann had always suspected that if he was given a damaged space-folding engine, this old man might be able to repair it.

The tattoo gun filled with liquid silver ink1 moved on Wu Chang’s back. Liquid silver was a very good storage medium. The first half of the background of an orphan called Wu Chang was carved in the hands of Lion.

Drawing the tattoo did hurt a little, but Wu Chang could hold it in. He was even a little excited. He had a feeling that as the tattoo gradually took shape, he would gradually integrate into this world. Perhaps one day, Wu Chang would really forget the memories of his previous life and really treat himself as a part of this world.

Smith Pann looked at Lion’s skillful craftsmanship in surprise. He was once again impressed. Although he could not understand the techniques involved, it did not affect his admiration for the old man. Perhaps this was what it meant to think that it was impressive despite being clueless.

After a full 20 minutes, the square QR code was finally completed. Before the old man could recover from the excitement of creation, he suddenly took out a leather bag from his pocket, and threw it into Boss Pann’s hand.

“Send this money to the tattoo master. I want to buy three more bottles of liquid silver ink1.”

“Huh?” Boss Pann was a little dumbfounded. “Isn’t it already done? Why do you still want ink?”

“Cut the crap. My disciple hasn’t gotten the decorative tattoo he wants yet. As his master, I should at least give him a greeting gift.”

Boss Pann was dumbfounded. He had never heard of mithril ink being used for decorative tattoos. After all, decorative tattoos only had an aesthetic effect. The QR code was indeed quite monotonous, so 90% of people would use some beautiful tattoos to block the QR code. Anyway, it wouldn’t affect its functionality.

Boss Pann still wanted to dissuade Lion, but when he saw the old man’s determined gaze, he stopped talking. He knew that this dirty old man really treated Wu Chang as his disciple.

Before long, three bottles of mithril ink were added to the tattoo gun, and the old man’s creation began again. This time, it was true art. Boss Pann knew his stuff. After all, he had grown up in a poor noble family, and had been influenced by very good art since he was young. Although he didn’t know the quaint Blue Dragon, it didn’t stop him from experiencing the beauty it had.

Time slowly passed. At this moment, the tattoo master who was drinking came over. Perhaps he was also very interested in why someone would use expensive liquid silver ink1 to decorate a tattoo. However, when he saw the old man’s craftsmanship, he was dumbfounded.

“An expert. He’s really an expert. My grandmaster is the best tattoo master on Sanhai. He’s even in charge of the imperial family’s tattoos. After seeing your skills today, I feel that you’re comparable to my grandmaster!

“Old man, come back and work for me. Consider it. It’s at least 100 times better than mining.”

Lion ignored him. He focused all his attention on the Blue Dragon. After three hours, when Lion finally put the finishing touch on the last stroke, the old man’s legs went weak, and he fell into Boss Pann’s arms.

It was the finishing touch. The moment the eye appeared, everyone in the room suddenly had the illusion that this strange creature was actually alive. It seemed to be about to pounce out of Wu Chang’s body, and they could even vaguely hear a strange roar.

“I know what this is. This is the idiom for the finishing touch1. This figure is very likely to be the legendary dragon from ancient times…” Lion, who was leaning in Boss Pann’s arms, shed tears. He didn’t know what moved him.

The tattoo master didn’t understand what the finishing touch idiom was. He only felt that this tattoo was very powerful. It was the most powerful tattoo he had ever seen. Compared to it, the skeletons and tigers in the army were simply trash.

Lion’s words reminded Boss Pann. He suddenly remembered the records he had read when he was young. A precious ancient book seemed to have mentioned a sacred object like a dragon, but unfortunately, there were no illustrations in the book.

At this moment, Wu Chang had already stood up. The black Blue Dragon was lifelike. Due to the special nature of the liquid silver ink, this black dragon actually flickered with silver light under the light1.

With a wave of Wu Chang’s hand, the dragon seemed to come alive.