The bottom layer of the Dyson sphere is the dark side of light.
If the upper "Sky City" is the garden of the gods, then this is the excrement pipe of a behemoth. Huge cooling pumps roar, pumping streams of scorching stellar plasma. The air is thick with the acrid smell of ozone burned by high-voltage electricity and the cloying sweetness of evaporating engine oil.
Shen Qingqiu, pulling Seventeen along, races through the intricate network of pipes.
Her flowing brocade dress has been torn, revealing her pale legs stained with black oil.
"Warning! The Imperial Third Fleet has sealed off the star system!"
"Warning! Space jump engine power insufficient…requires replenishment of high-energy fuel." The terminal on her wrist emits a death knell.
"Damn it." Shen Qingqiu stops before a rusty, airtight door, her chest heaving.
Just now, in order to escape from compartment number one, Seventeen forcibly tore through space, exhausting most of the energy stored in her stellar right arm. Their spaceship, the "Vermilion Bird," was currently at the port ahead, but lacking its core energy source—the "Star Core"—it couldn't activate its warp drive.
Without a warp drive, they were like fish in a barrel in this sealed-off star system.
"Qingqiu." Seventeen suddenly stopped. He turned his head, his purple eyes piercing through the dim steam, looking at an underground exchange not far away—the [Abyss Pawnshop]—with its neon-lit sign.
"There's a high-energy reaction there." Seventeen's voice was terrifyingly calm. "According to the scan, it's a… miniature neutron star core."
... Inside the pawnshop.
There were no elegant waiters, only fully armed mechanical thugs.
Behind the counter sat a small creature with six electronic compound eyes, known as the "Collector."
He greedily toyed with a fist-sized blue crystal in his hand, radiating terrifying gravitational fluctuations.
That was the Star Core. A heart powerful enough to power a warship for interstellar jumps.
"Want it?" The collector's compound eyes darted around, emitting a grating laugh.
"This is contraband. The Empire is cracking down hard. Your credits aren't even enough to buy this layer of blue light." Shen Qingqiu stood before the counter, her folding fan long gone. She touched her empty pockets—all her assets had been frozen in that high-stakes gamble.
She was now penniless.
"We can trade." Shen Qingqiu tried to access the technical blueprints in the [Civilization Library].
"No, I don't want the blueprints. Those are too abstract." The collector shook his head, his six compound eyes passing over Shen Qingqiu and fixing fixedly on Seventeen.
More precisely, fixed on Seventeen's right arm, flowing with starlight and dark gold patterns, and the faintly visible **[Nano Divine Gold]** core on his chest.
"I want that." The collector pointed a withered finger at Seventeen.
"A perfect biological weapon. A fusion of Stellar Mithril and an unknown divine metal. My God… this is a work of art." The collector's voice trembled with excitement.
"Leave him. This star core, along with all the weapons in this shop, are yours." Shen Qingqiu's eyes instantly turned icy cold.
She was about to tell this reckless fool to shut up.
"Deal." A deep, calm voice sounded behind her.
Shen Qingqiu turned sharply, staring at Seventeen in disbelief.
Seventeen walked past her to the counter.
His expression was indifferent, as if he were discussing the weather, not selling his freedom and body.
"I am Subject Seventeen. Possessing S-level individual combat capabilities, with built-in Nascent Soul stage core code, and my right arm can tear through space." As Seventeen spoke, he unbuttoned his cuff, revealing his priceless mechanical arm.
He then pointed to his chest.
"The core energy source is renewable divine metal, and its lifespan... is unlimited." He turned to the collector, his purple eyes devoid of humiliation, only a heartbreakingly rational calculation.
"My valuation should far exceed this star core."
"You've made a profit."
"A profit! A windfall!" The collector jumped up from his chair excitedly, pulling out a **[Soul Contract]** (Electronic Slave Agreement) emitting a ghostly glow.
"Quick! Sign it! Input your underlying control!" Seventeen reached out, his fingertips probing the input interface.
*Slap!*
A crisp slap echoed in the deathly silent pawnshop.
Seventeen's face was turned to one side.
He froze.
The hand that always gently stroked his cheek now trembled with anger, leaving a red mark on his face.
"What... are you doing?" Shen Qingqiu's voice trembled. Not from fear, but from extreme anger and heartache.
She stared at Seventeen, her eyes red-rimmed, like a lioness driven to desperation.
"Who gave you permission to calculate like that?"
"Who gave you the authority to value yourself?"
"Qingqiu…" Seventeen turned her head, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
"This is the optimal solution."
"Zera's fleet will arrive in three minutes. Without the Star Core, we can't leave."
"As long as I stay, you can live. Once I find the loophole, I can self-destruct, or…"
"Shut up!" Shen Qingqiu screamed, interrupting him.
She whirled around, her hands gripping the counter, her golden eyes burning with a fury powerful enough to incinerate galaxies.
She looked at the collector, then at the electronic contract.
Crash—
She overturned the counter in front of her.
Various rare parts, chips, and energy blocks scattered across the floor, making a clattering sound.
"Buy him?" Shen Qingqiu stepped over the mess, approaching the collector step by step.
Her aura exploded at that moment; she was no longer the elegant noblewoman, but the god-slayer who had once ravaged the cultivation world.
"What are you?"
"All the stars in the sky combined are no match for a single finger of his!"
"You actually dared…you actually dared to let him think of you as a commodity?"
Shen Qingqiu stretched out her hand, grabbing at the air.
[Universal Interface · Matter Recombination.] The scrap metal on the ground instantly flew up, coalescing in her hand into a monstrous heavy electromagnetic cannon.
"Crazy woman! What are you doing?! This is the black market!" The collector retreated in terror, pressing the alarm.
"What am I doing?" Shen Qingqiu sneered, tears streaming down her face, but her killing intent remained undiminished.
"I'll let you know."
"Some things are priceless."
BOOM—!!!
The electromagnetic cannon roared.
Not for robbery, but for venting anger.
That single shot shattered the pawnshop's defensive field, reducing the vault door behind the collector to dust.
The blue star core rolled out.
Shen Qingqiu didn't pick it up.
She turned, grabbed Seventeen by the collar, and pulled the tall man sharply towards her.
"Look at me!"
She stared into his eyes, tears blurring her vision, yet searing his heart.
"Seventeen, listen to me."
"You are my lover, my other half, my only warmth in this cold universe."
"Not a weapon, not a bargaining chip, certainly not currency to exchange for survival!"
"If the price of living is selling you..."
Shen Qingqiu released her grip, pointing to the starry sky outside, now surrounded by the Imperial fleet.
"Then I'd rather hold you right now and be blown to ashes together!"
Seventeen's pupils trembled violently.
His core overloaded at that moment.
Not because of the battle, but because of Shen Qingqiu's **"would rather be blown to ashes together"**.
In his logic, sacrificing himself to protect her was the highest order.
But in her logic, losing him meant life was meaningless.
Is this…love?
Not calculating gains and losses, but a resolute commitment to live and die together.
"I'm sorry…" Seventeen lowered his head, reaching out to wipe away her tears, yet he dared not touch her.
"I…was wrong."
"I thought…that way you could live."
"Without you, what's the point of living!"
Shen Qingqiu cursed.
She grabbed Seventeen's hand and pressed it to her heart.
"Here, I only beat for you."
"You sold yourself, which means you ripped my heart out too."
The mechanical thugs had already surrounded them.
"Dare to cause trouble at the Abyss Pawnshop! Kill without mercy!"
Shen Qingqiu didn't even glance at them.
She picked up the star core from the ground and casually tossed it into Seventeen's arms.
"Take it."
"This is what we stole, not what you sold yourself for."
"Now..." She raised her head, wiped away her tears, and her eyes regained their arrogant and domineering arrogance.
"Seventeen, someone wants to kill your priceless treasure."
"What should you do?"
Seventeen grasped the star core.
The energy of the star core flowed into his palm, illuminating the dark gold patterns all over his body.
He raised his head, the confusion in his purple eyes completely gone, replaced by a world-destroying savagery.
He slowly withdrew the star-shaped right arm that Shen Qingqiu cherished.
His five fingers spread, and space trembled.
"Whoever dares to touch her."
"I'll make this entire Dyson Sphere... perish with her."
Boom!
Seventeen's figure vanished.
The next second, the mechanical thug at the forefront was directly compressed into a pancake by an invisible spatial force.
It was a crushing defeat without any suspense.
A weapon that has awakened "self-worth" is more terrifying than a mere weapon. Because he was no longer fighting for orders.
He was fighting to protect the woman who **"valued him above all else."**
Five minutes later.
The Abyss Pawnshop was a ruin.
Shen Qingqiu stepped over the rubble and walked out the door.
Seventeen followed behind her, his trench coat spotless, clutching the star core tightly in his hand.
"Let's go." Shen Qingqiu didn't turn around, her voice still slightly nasal.
"Home." Seventeen quickly stepped forward and scooped her up in his arms.
In this chaotic, filthy, and smoke-filled underground black market.
He held her as if she were the most precious crystal in the world.
"Qingqiu."
He whispered in her ear.
"Hmm?"
"I won't sell anymore."
"No matter how many stars you offer... I won't sell."
Shen Qingqiu leaned on his shoulder, finally breaking into a smile through her tears.
She reached out and pinched his handsome face hard.
"I remember."
"You are not for sale."
"No returns or exchanges." The shuttle's engines roared to life.
In this universe enveloped in the stench of money and steel, there exists a contract, unwritten, yet etched deep within the souls of two people.
Your body is priceless.
Only deep affection… can redeem you.