"Ticket Clip?"

"Whoa... uh, damn, you know me?"

The sunglasses on Ticket Clip's nose slipped down, revealing tea-colored eyes full of scrutiny, with metal screws embedded at the corners.

He hesitated for three seconds about whether to run, but finally greeted with a smile.

"I'm sure we've never had a grudge, buddy. In our line of work, having a stranger call your name is often not a good thing; maybe the next second they'll start cursing or pull a gun."

"It shows your reputation is terrible, huh, stay away from me."

John had no interest in paying attention to him.

But Ticket Clip actively approached.

"CMOE~MAN~ How could I dare to offend someone as big as you? I wouldn't introduce business unless I was sure of making money. No need to steal, no need to rob, just invest a little and you'll have a steady income~"

He raised both hands in a surrender gesture, his mouth full of gold with one or two places showing blackened gums.

"I saw you came out from a robot fighting venue, interested in investing in a piece of equipment to go in and make some bucks?"

Seeing that John hadn't moved a step, Ticket Clip quickly introduced.

Robot fighting wasn't Bone Shards' idea. Similar activities existed at abandoned construction sites and illegal casinos before, but Bone Shards legalized the illegal projects, eating both the box office and the gambling.

"You think you can be the banker for Bone Shards?"

John looked at him as if he were a dead body.

"But they lack machines, and it just so happens I have the channels. Just short of some operating funds. Bone Shards can't cooperate with companies on everything, and besides, when you take someone else's rice bowl, you have to give us a share of the leftovers, right?"

Those "old players" have second-hand machines they can use to invest and earn money, helping Bone Shards keep the arena lively, a win-win situation.

The Black Gold Gang gives casino rebates to robot owners who participate; by secretly adjusting the odds, they can ensure participants earn back the cost of the equipment.

John understood but was still not interested.

"If this kind of investment guarantees profit, what's the catch?"

"Of course, it's to earn even more. Only with enough participants can this thing scale up. Bone Shards lacks that. If all the robots were managed by the Black Gold Gang, who would dare to place bets?"

Ticket Clip's artificial eye started to light up.

John folded his arms and asked.

"Do you know about security robots?"

"Trying to test my expertise, huh? As long as you have time, we can have a good chat..."

Ticket Clip actually followed the topic and elaborated.

Robots produced by small label companies can only be used in their own factories; not many people use them for fighting competitions. Most small companies only produce robotic arms and control modules.

Currently, Eden City's intelligent robot or security market sales are dominated by Jingke Heavy Industry and Raqi Group.

They are arch-rivals.

Jingke Heavy Industry is a European enterprise, focusing mainly on services in the intelligent robot field, involving apartment management, hotel management, whole-house environmental sanitation system, early childhood education, and protection, among others.

Their robots are lifelike, paired with networked data algorithms to provide customized services to customers.

John nodded.

He immediately pictured the waiter robots at Dan Street Apartment and Bolago Club.

Those highly humanoid intelligent products always tread the line between the uncanny valley effect and hallucinogenic drugs, keeping people oscillating between a sense of superiority over being served and AI phobia.

Jingke Heavy Industry is also strong in mechanical engineering.

The digging robot that John modified into a Black Spider was one of their bestselling series, "Jingke" being a representative company for post-war reconstruction, ruin rescue, and harsh environment exploration.

Raqi Industry's situation is a bit complicated.

It doesn't equate to Raqi Group but is just a subsidiary focusing on engineering and construction, with many patents in the field of engineering equipment.

However, its market share is small; the two aren't in the same league.

Raqi Group is a solid giant.

Its other division, Raqi Military Industry, has significant sway in the intelligent machinery field. Unlike Jingke, which focuses on the civilian service market, Raqi is involved in the security market.

John had seen some screenshots while browsing the black market news and illegal radio programs.

Their products include not only search beasts, defense dogs, supersonic bat drones, and other strange mechanical monsters but also humanoid security robots of different specifications, supplied not only to the government as additional street police force but also leased or sold to clients lacking a sense of security like private militaries.

John had encountered those security robots and had a rough time with them.

He put away his thoughts and looked at Ticket Clip, who was smiling.

"You know more than I imagined. Who taught you? Are there professional training courses for street scams now?"

"Ha, sharp-tongued indeed, there are. I'm just pulling the solo customers. Someone's investing in promoting robot competitions, maybe Bone Shards. I'm a part of the street marketing for the backstage financiers."

Ticket Clip seemed to honestly reveal everything, which oddly proved that the idea might indeed make money.

John still shook his head.

"But you're out of luck, buddy. I've been spending heavily lately, not a dime in my pocket."

"No problem, big guy. I've seen you box. Interested in joining man vs. machine combat? Every time you win against a qualified hunk of metal, you'll earn a lot of money."

"..."

John gave him a meaningful glance.

"You get a commission for this too?"

"Of course!"

He grinned, revealing a mouth full of gold teeth.

[New contact created - Ticket Clip]

A gold-bordered Separation Chip was tossed by John onto the passenger seat, inside was an invitation to the mechanized boxing league.

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