Becoming the Wasteland Overlord With My Harem System!

Chapter 313: Eyeing a Dragon

Around 250 million kilometers away, in the void of space, the remnants of Trismus Weapon Solutions gathered.

As the flagship was included in the ones Fenrir "collected," Rochelle had no choice but to stay in a different ship, arms crossed as she paced around uneasily. The bridge of this vessel was smaller, stuffier, and carried none of the commanding presence she was used to.

Every step she took felt like pacing inside a cage.

They have spectacularly failed to get Axel. Not only that, it was them who ended up paying just to keep their lives. As such, she had no plans of returning until they could ensure they would win.

"But the abilities they displayed suggest they have god-level beings as a backer." She whispered, biting her nails. "At this rate, we wouldn’t be able to get back at them!"

She already lost nearly half of her escort ships and troops. The gap in their formation where those vessels used to sit felt almost accusatory—a visible record of her failure.

If she returned like this, without getting what she originally came for—Axel—then only death would be waiting for her, that’s for sure!

Thus, instead of retreating as she "promised," she instead called for backup.

After she finished coordinating her side of the story, she quickly initiated contact with a specific individual under Trismus’ umbrella. Someone whose name she had hoped she’d never need to invoke.

[...Rochelle, huh. What do you need?]

A man’s voice echoed loudly in the near-empty ship’s bridge. A commanding voice that almost made Rochelle kneel against her will—low and unhurried in a way that made it somehow more threatening than shouting.

"Senior, sorry for disturbing your rest." She started, bowing her head respectfully. "I wish to bring a certain topic to your ears. Please allow me to relay this, Senior."

[News...?]

Taking his word as confirmation, the woman began recounting what happened.

How they were routed. How they had to pay for their survival. And how the decisive blow was delivered in the span of a few breaths, before her people had any real chance to react.

"...And as such, I am sure of the presence of a god-level being protecting the target, Axel Walker." She finished, bowing her head once more. "I implore Senior to please help me out and get justice for our fallen comrades!"

After that, she kept quiet, waiting for the other side to speak first.

She already said everything she needed to, so all she could do now was pray that this senior of hers would humor her request.

[A god-level being, huh...]

The man whispered, patting his long, black beard. The silence that stretched after those words had weight to it. Not the silence of someone who had nothing to say, but of someone taking their time because they had never once needed to rush for anyone.

After a while, he slowly nodded. The vertical slit eyes he had sharpened as he spoke.

[Good. I did see something interesting in the clip you showed, so I’ll accept this request of yours. But remember, this is a loan you shall pay in the near future. I’m not doing this out of charity.]

"T-Thank you, Senior!"

Rochelle bowed down her waist, a perfect 90 degrees, showing her utmost gratitude.

After all, now that the senior was helping her, success was only a matter of time. However, beyond her knowledge, the said senior had paused the video recording of their short interaction, focusing his narrowed golden eyes on a certain figure in the distance.

A large figure that failed to hide even with all its efforts.

[A dragon...]

As if finding his own words funny, the corner of his lips curled up.

Aside from capturing Axel for Rochelle, he also had another agenda known to nobody but himself.

...

After failing to use the ship’s systems to figure the data out, Axel didn’t just give up.

He went through the system shop, checking for items like computers that were of the same kind used on these ships. The latest, most cutting edge technology in the entire multiverse.

He didn’t need to search for long before finding the item he was looking for. However, upon seeing the price tag, he could only cough awkwardly.

"F-Fifty Quadrillion?! Fuck, this is daylight robbery!"

He couldn’t believe the price he was seeing. He stared at it for a few seconds longer than necessary, half-expecting the number to change out of basic decency. It didn’t.

But as soon as he muttered that, an idea crossed his mind.

"Wait, these ships all have this same computer equipped..." He whispered, glancing over at the inventory screen where the captured fleet sat listed. "Wouldn’t they be worth even more than that?!"

Right now, he only had a few quadrillion in his account.

If he sold a few of the ships, and each could at least fetch fifty Quadrillion Colts, then he wouldn’t have a hard time buying the computer along with its complete user manual!

Not delaying things, he quickly checked the market price of the ships inside the inventory.

However, he was soon left shocked.

"What? Zero?"

Each of the ships, no matter how small or big, was evaluated for Zero Colts. The system’s estimates had always ben underperforming, but this is way too much. As for the reason, Axel couldn’t figure it himself.

Just then, the usual pair of spirits popped up, as if detecting his confusion, and explained.

[Ah, contractor. That’s because those ships are privately owned by Trismus. You can try and sell it to the shop, but after they see the mark on it, nobody would dare buy it off you through legal channels.]

This revelation was a big hit to Axel’s plans. For a moment he just sat there, staring at the screen with the energy of a man watching his best idea dissolve in real time.

Just as he was thinking of scrapping each part and selling them individually—about to give up—he noticed something in Navi’s words and raised a brow.

"Wait... Legal channels? You mean..."

Seeing him ask, Navi bobbed his little penguin head up and down.

[Yes, contractor. If you negotiate face-to-face and not use the system shop for trading, then I’m sure a few would be willing to buy it off you at bargain!]

Trismus is a big company, and with their size, it isn’t hard to imagine how many enemies they have. Those enemies would definitely love getting their hands on Trismus’ latest tech ships. Even if it’s broken and not working, they could still use it to find weaknesses or reverse engineer parts.

"So, I just need to find a buyer and deliver it directly to them...!"

With his course of action set up, Axel didn’t hesitate.

He put one of the smallest sized ships on sale, setting the price at an exorbitant 1 Sextillion Colts. Even if someone was brave enough to buy it straight, interrupting his plans, he wouldn’t lose out—definitely.

"Hmm?"

Of course, as soon as he posted it, a chat attempt went through.

Checking, Axel quickly saw the name of the other party—Trismus Weapon Solutions Legal Dept. Seeing such a banner flashing menacingly, Axel could only grin. Just as a test, he opened the message and scoffed.

"I figured..."

The content was a simple cease and desist, along with warnings of suing him with various things if he didn’t follow their commands. However, the two of them were already on each other’s necks. There’s no way he would dare follow their instructions this late in the game.

"Legal repercussions? Talk about that when you’re sure you can catch me first!"

Axel just tapped the name and blocked it off from his chat.

After that, he was silent in the bridge for a while, waiting. The quiet of the ship settled around him, broken only by the soft hum of systems running in the background, and the soft chatter of the girls around him.

He leaned back, watching the listing sit there like a hook dropped into dark water.

Until someone unknown finally sent a private message.

~~~

>>> SunderTECH Imperium: If this is legit from Trismus, then I’m willing to buy it. But the price is too high. Can you lower it?

~~~

A fish took the bait.