Money Is a Good Thing, but I Don’t Have Any

Kontraxia!

A planet blanketed in snow year-round, but it was not the same kind of place as Jotunheim, where the Frost Giants of the Nine Realms lived.

Though the climate here was frigid, it was still suitable for life and habitation—as long as one could solve the problem of finding food.

Kontraxia had never produced any respectable civilization, nor had any powerful cosmic empire claimed it as territory. It was an ungoverned zone wedged between numerous cosmic civilizations.

The entire planet was a lavish den of indulgence, divided into several major districts and filled with bars, brothels, and casinos, all supported by the entertainment industry.

Because of this, Kontraxia had become the favorite planet of mercenaries, black-market traders, and smuggling rings. Generally speaking, it was a gray area for exchanging intelligence and hiring muscle.

In other words, it welcomed everyone, and all kinds of people mingled here.

But if they were talking about Earthlings, Russell and Natasha were likely the first and second. Then there was Jason… he had nearly forgotten him. Jason was the first dead Earthling to reach Kontraxia.

Following the beams of light guiding him through the atmosphere, Russell piloted the Cybertron fighter to a random district, parked it in the wilderness, and entered the snowfields with Natasha.

The pre-departure scans had shown that the planet’s gravity was comparable to Earth’s and that there were no poisonous gases in the atmosphere, making it suitable for Earthlings to survive on.

Natasha looked at the glittering lights ahead and the bizarre assortment of buildings, feeling somewhat uneasy. Then she suddenly thought of something. "Boss, do you know how to communicate with aliens?"

"Natasha, stop calling them aliens. Just like you’d become a foreigner if you went to Wakanda, we’re the real aliens now." Russell thought for a moment, then continued, "Language isn’t a problem. You might not believe it, but aliens all speak English!"

"What!?"

Russell clapped his hands and gave her a thumbs-up. "Yes, exactly this language!"

Natasha: "…"

"Don’t ask me why. I don’t know either. It’s like aliens speaking Japanese in anime and Chinese in novels—the same logic!" Russell’s explanation only left Natasha more confused.

Truthfully, Russell was not entirely sure either. Who knew whether aliens really spoke English? But it was no big deal. He just had to strike up a conversation with someone and ask.

As they neared the city ahead, more than a dozen drunken alien brutes staggered toward them. Each was powerfully built and carried the scent of gunpowder and smoke.

In terms of overall anatomy, they were broadly similar to humans, but their appearances came in every conceivable variety, as did their skin colors… in any case, not one of them looked human.

As they passed Natasha, one cross-eyed ugly bastard drooled greedily. His companions immediately started egging him on, laughing, cursing, and causing a ruckus.

A bunch of drunks!

Russell abruptly stopped and looked the group up and down. Just as the dozen or so alien men thought he wanted a fight, Russell yanked Natasha in front of him and, under her utterly speechless gaze, pulled down the zipper on her chest by a few centimeters.

Aliens: "…"

Russell gave a mysterious smile, pointed at a pile of ruins nearby, and led Natasha over.

The aliens looked at one another. The cross-eyed ugly bastard immediately followed, and the others broke into grins, swaying as they took turns heading behind the ruins.

Crash! Bang!

Two minutes later, Russell emerged whistling and counted the money in his hand. He had no idea what material the currency was made of, but that did not matter. Thanks to his enthusiastic alien friends, he had money now.

Noticing Natasha’s less-than-friendly stare, Russell handed half the money to her. "Don’t look at me like that. We’re strangers in a strange place, and it’s hard to get things done without money. Besides, don’t get too full of yourself. Those were just a bunch of drunks, so it doesn’t mean your charm is enough to conquer alien species. It’s like humans looking at apes. In their eyes, you’re at most a female—or a she!"

Natasha: "…"

The city was huge and divided into many districts. The division was simple and brutal: rich people went to the central district, while poor bastards wandered around outside.

The unlucky fellows Russell had robbed earlier belonged to the poor-bastard class, so he was one too. But the city had countless alleys, and Natasha’s zipper kept slipping down. In less than half a day, Russell… was still a poor bastard.

He took Natasha into a casino and specifically chose gambling games that tested memory. Winning twice for every loss, he rapidly amassed wealth. After sweeping through five casinos in a row, he finally became a rich man.

Along the way, Russell’s claim that aliens all spoke English had been proven a lie. Fortunately, the casinos sold translators, sparing them the awkwardness of a language barrier.

They were exquisite little earbud translators containing records of the languages of many cosmic civilizations. As long as a civilization was not so backward that it had yet to leave its home planet, the device could translate its language.

Russell tried English, and the translator quickly found it… found it!

"Why did it find it?"

The rich district was worlds apart from the shabby outskirts. There were not many skyscrapers, but the streets were clean, and the passersby were all neatly dressed.

"Boss, you seem pretty experienced?" Natasha tucked away the gold card she had won at the casino and looked around, discovering that alien planets were not so different from Earth.

"Not at all… Huh, that hotel looks pretty good. Let’s go take a look." Russell laughed awkwardly and led Natasha into a nearby hotel.

The moment they entered, dazzling multicolored lights hit Russell in the face. Amid piercing, restless music, dozens of aliens of all shapes and sizes twisted their bodies wildly in the center of the dance floor.

"Is there anything I can do for you two?" asked a burly attendant politely. The Energy Gun holstered at his lower back made it clear that he handled security when necessary as well.

Russell pointed at the wildly dancing crowd and shouted, "This is a hotel?"

"Yes, please follow me!"

The attendant led them past the bar and took the elevator straight to the fifth floor. "Everything below the fifth floor is for entertainment. You two may spend to your hearts’ content without worrying about safety."

"Sounds good. It’s our first time in this city. Could you give us a detailed introduction?"

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, but the attendant did not step out with them. "Sir, we have rental robots here. They can answer all your questions."

After saying that, the attendant pressed the elevator button and left.

Russell and Natasha rented a room and ordered a robot package while they were at it. Once inside, the two studied the appliances in the room and ultimately reached one conclusion: it really was a lot like Earth!

Russell was curious about everything, but Natasha was different. Perhaps that was the difference between men and women; she was more interested in the cosmetics in the bathroom.

A section of wall slid aside to reveal a voice-controlled display, which began playing television programs from around the planet. Russell flipped through several channels before stopping on a free-fighting match. The brutal battle between two aliens was truly blood-pumping. It was a live fight, and viewers could place bets to participate, though there was no sexy dealer online.

It was a distinctive form of combat. Whichever contestant received more financial support could unlock new weapons and gain a greater chance of victory.

Russell watched for a while before an advertisement that interrupted the broadcast caught his attention. It was placed by black-market traders, selling everything from snacks and medicinal herbs to spaceships and even military weapons.

They did not just sell finished products. If the price was high enough, blueprints were negotiable too. The black-market traders had extensive connections and talked big. According to the advertisement, as long as customers paid a sufficient deposit, they could meet all their needs.

Russell’s eyes lit up. The Hydra base was currently in an extremely awkward situation. He had plenty of advanced technology, blueprints, and knowledge, but without production lines, he could not achieve rapid development.

"If I can buy them here, I can save at least ten years…"

Knock, knock, knock—

Someone knocked on the door. The robot package Russell had ordered had arrived.

A female robot stood before Russell, her entire body covered in golden synthetic skin and dressed in revealing metal clothing. She had blood-red eyes, long silver-gray hair, and a tall, perfectly proportioned figure.

According to her, if Russell was dissatisfied with her skin color, hair color, facial features, or even body structure, she could adjust them herself. Her database stored female body data from major well-known cosmic civilizations, allowing her to alter herself until she looked completely real.

If Russell was still not satisfied, he could pay for a real person. As long as he had money, even an insectoid beauty was not a problem.

"Wait, this isn’t the service I wanted…" Russell’s mouth twitched as he looked at the female robot. She suddenly reminded him of the robot prostitutes from Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

The more he looked, the more alike they seemed!

"He definitely doesn’t need that kind of service. There’s nothing for you to do here. Get out!"

Natasha pushed open the bathroom door with an unhappy expression. She had only taken a shower and tried some alien body wash, yet a robot had shown up to sell services. Where was she supposed to put her pride?

The female robot nodded and bowed as she left the room. The service fee had already been charged, and since the customer did not want her, she could not force herself on him.

"Don’t look at me. I didn’t know the so-called robot package meant this either." Russell spread his hands, then suddenly realized something. "Come to think of it, that’s a robot. Should we call her back for some research…"

"Boss, since you’re so free, why don’t you research me first!" Natasha snorted coldly, strode over, and pinned Russell onto the sofa.

"Wait, nothing below the neck can be shown…"

The next day, Russell opened the room’s personal computer and browsed basic information about the planet and, primarily, the Milky Way with Natasha.

They both had astonishing memories and learned quickly, but learning alone was not enough. Russell packaged the information, intending to bring it back to Earth for use as teaching material for cosmic studies.

"Buying things costs money. Casinos can’t solve the problem. What do I have that could sell well in the universe…"

After entering the universe, Russell once again sighed that money was a good thing, but he did not have any.