New Century Warriors

Chapter 3. On Attempts to Increase Motherhood

This is a dark alley.

Lei Ye lingered near the entrance for a long time, sighing repeatedly.

He repeatedly examined himself and found that the number of mothers had not changed.

It was a failure, a complete failure.

I didn't earn a single penny, but I lost over five thousand yuan.

He was chased for three miles with a hammer, and his leg was almost broken.

Mom didn't get it done either.

"What did I do?"

Honestly, Lei Ye felt that there was nothing wrong with him, so he couldn't understand it.

The nun was absolutely insane yesterday. If he hadn't desperately escaped to the central area where law enforcement officers were patrolling, Raino felt he would have been killed by her.

To avoid her, Raino didn't even dare to return to his rented hotel and hid under a bridge for the entire night.

What grudge or hatred could there be...?

So when taking action today, Lei Ye was much more cautious and chose the safest option from his notebook.

The alleyway might sound like a chaotic place, but it's actually just an ordinary commercial street. It's located in a shaded area some distance from the city center, with compact buildings and dark alleyways. Itinerant merchants who travel between cities and even countries bring goods that are not permitted by the empire to sell here, such as unorthodox but effective potions, powerful magical artifacts that require regulation, and... slaves.

Lei Ye hesitated to go in not because he was worried about the security inside, but because he really didn't have much money left. He hadn't saved much money to begin with, and after the fundraising, he was penniless. Lei Ye was filled with grief and indignation, unable to understand why he, as a transmigrator, had ended up in such a sorry state.

At this rate, when will we finally defeat the Demon King?

After much hesitation, Raino decided to go in and take a look. As a veteran anime fan, Raino knew that this kind of place was the easiest place to find "goodies". As long as you are the protagonist, even if you don't have much money, you can still encounter super beautiful girls with blonde hair, blue eyes, slim waist, long legs and explosive fighting power in the slave market. Moreover, due to various strange reasons, they are priced very cheaply and have even fallen to such a state, yet they can still miraculously maintain their virginity and wait to be rescued.

When he first transmigrated, Lei Ye had come to the alleyway once with this in mind. Unfortunately, he hadn't adjusted his mindset yet. The first slave he saw upon entering was a winged child being processed. The bloody sight terrified the newcomer Lei Ye, who immediately turned and ran away, never to return.

Many years have passed, and this place has changed dramatically.

The intense smell of blood was gone, replaced by blue bricks paving the muddy road. At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary commercial street, except that it was a little darker.

The slave trade still exists, and it's no longer concealed at all. Lei Ye saw people chained to the door, some wrapped in rags and others wearing very revealing clothes, with wooden plaques bearing simple personal information hanging on their chests. At a glance, it was clear that they were being displayed as sample slaves.

It's already like this now.

Lei Ye strolled around the dark alley, quickly fixing his gaze on a slave with cat ears.

"...And catgirls too."

With a broader perspective, even a catgirl can be a girl.

The cat was dressed in very simple clothes, which showed that it was not the kind of slave that was dragged out to flaunt its charms.

But there were marks on his body from being beaten; it was truly pitiful.

"Do you want to come home with me? I may not be able to give you a particularly luxurious life, but I can definitely provide you with a place to live and meals. The things I need you to do are also very simple... We can talk about that later." Lei Ye took a step forward and began to try to get closer to him.

The cat-eared demi-human glanced at Raino twice, then retracted its ears.

"Come closer."

Lei Ye moved even closer.

Seeing this, the cat-eared demi-human tilted its head and quietly raised its right hand.

"Come closer, Lao Wu, Lao Wu~ I'll tell you whether I want to go home with you, Lao Wu, Lao Wu~"

For some reason, I suddenly have a bad feeling...

Forget it.

Raino silently stepped back, losing interest in this cat-like demi-human.

And you rabbit-eared demi-human behind me, don't be all smiles and watch the show. Although I'm not interested in you, I know a guy who also writes novels, so you'd better not fall into his hands.

Let's wander around some more.

Actually, there was another slave who caught my eye immediately.

Not far from the entrance to the dark alley stood a slender and tall beauty. She was not only as beautiful as Loya, but also dressed in very gorgeous clothes. Her soft, long ears silently indicated her noble status as a high elf.

As expected of elves, they are so elegant that they don't seem like slaves at all.

After wandering around twice, Lei Ye had gotten used to the atmosphere of the dark alley. After making up his mind, he walked directly towards the elf lady and looked at the wooden plaque on her chest.

Don't ask questions this time, just look at the information and then go ask the slave trader about the price.

"Wood Elf, two hundred years old, reason for enslavement: multiple marriage frauds... Hmm?"

I seem to have seen some strange words that shouldn't appear in this world of swords and magic.

Looking up, I met the elf's somewhat disdainful gaze.

"Don't buy it," she suddenly said.

"...What?"

Lei Ye thought he had misheard, but the Wood Elf had indeed said "Don't buy," and she looked impatient at Lei Ye's blank expression.

"I told you not to buy it. Look at your shabby appearance, you're probably just driven by lust and will go bankrupt trying to buy a nice woman. What am I supposed to eat if I go back with you? Don't buy it."

Following the wood elf's gaze, Lei Ye looked down and saw his clothes, which were now filthy from playing with the orphanage children yesterday.

"You dare talk to me like that?! Is your mother a wholesaler like me?!"

Raiye instantly turned red.

"Where's the boss! Boss! Come out here!"

The small door opened, and a round, middle-aged man emerged from the dimly lit room. He was dressed in a tuxedo and wore a ridiculous long hat, with a fawning face that screamed "I'm a shrewd businessman."

"Coming, coming—what's wrong, sir? Oh dear... I'm so sorry," the slave trader said, glancing at the elf at the door with an expression that suggested he knew what had happened. He rubbed his hands together and chuckled. "My slaves are outspoken, please don't take offense. But I think for some customers, that kind of personality is actually a selling point."

What a load of bullshit selling points!

At least for Lei Ye, he really couldn't stand someone with such a displeased expression and a shrill voice, which reminded him of when he first met Luo Ya.

Furthermore, the words "marriage fraud" written on the sign also made Lei Ye very concerned.

What exactly does the term "marriage fraud" mean?

Ask around and see.

"Well... it's a long story, but if you're interested, I'll explain it to you. You know about the assassination of the king of the neighboring country a while ago, right? The prince was young, so the young queen is now ruling in his place. The first thing she did after taking office was to amend many laws, especially the marriage law. Now, as long as you register for marriage, everything owned by the couple immediately becomes joint property. As a result, not long after... many wealthy businessmen were swindled out of huge sums of money, and that country is now in chaos."

Lei Ye was taken aback, and when he looked at the wood elf again, he subconsciously took a half step back.

Is this still another world? Where did I end up?

"However, wealthy people are usually not just rich; they also have many friends, like me. We are happy to help each other solve problems..."

The slave trader said with a smile.

...Rayno could understand how this elf, dressed in fine clothes, had become a slave.

The gratitude eased a lot of the guilt I felt for buying slaves.

However, I'd better not take this one; I feel like there's a risk of losing money if I bring it back.

"Are there any other slaves? Not so unique... something more ordinary would be fine," Raino thought for a moment and added, "If all goes well, we might be able to cooperate long-term."

"Then you've come to the right person. I have the most complete selection of slaves on this street. What kind of slave are you looking for? Do you have any requirements regarding race, physique, or gender?"

Lei Ye only gave two words.

"Motherhood."

In response, the slave trader snapped his fingers, signaling Raiye to come in.

Entering through the small door, one finds a rather empty and dimly lit room, devoid of furniture or anything of the sort, yet filled with people. The slave trader walks straight to a corner and points to a pale-skinned woman covered in whip marks.

"How about this one?"

...She was indeed very maternal; Raiye immediately noticed her enormous breasts, which were second only to Anrashi's.

But he had marks on his body from being whipped; it was pitiful.

But those things don't have a direct relationship with motherhood, do they?

Lei Ye silently complained in his heart and picked up the wooden sign on her chest.

"A citizen of the Ed Empire, 24 years old, enslaved for theft."

The Ed Empire... which country is that again?

Lei Ye is currently in the strongest and largest country in the human faction—the Frey Empire. The surrounding countries are also powerful, but far inferior, each with its own shortcomings. For example, the Ed Empire, although it has rich land and mineral resources, has extremely low productivity. Another example is the Celia, which is good in many ways but has a very small territory. Recently, it has also experienced chaos such as the assassination of its king and the major changes in the laws, and it will only decline in the future.

That explains why these slaves all look like foreigners.

"How much would a slave like this cost?"

"Only three small gold coins are needed."

"Let me convert it... That's 30,000 yuan? Oh wow, buying a person for such a low price?"

"Because they're Edians."

Back then, the winged slave that scared Lei Ye away cost thirty large gold coins, which is equivalent to three million RMB. Lei Ye really couldn't afford it. He never expected that three years later, the price of slaves would be so much cheaper.

This price really appealed to Raino.

Let's buy one and take it home to bond, and see if we can add more layers.

It's true that we don't have enough money, but this is a back alley where people buy and sell. We can just sell the equipment we don't need to scrape together some money.

Lei Ye reached out to touch his storage bag.

I didn't touch it.

Looking down, I realized that the storage bag that had been hanging on my waist was gone.

"Um?"

Looking further back, a dirty little foot was using the gaps between its toes to pull Lei Ye's storage bag back.

"Um??"

Lei Ye stared in disbelief, but the slave trader reacted faster, punching the woman in the stomach and catching the storage bag that fell from the sky, handing it back to Lei Ye.

"I'm so sorry! My slave has caused you trouble again. Please rest assured, I'll begin re-education right now. Also, I'll give you a satisfactory discount later. Be kind!"

The slave trader pulled out a leather whip from somewhere and lashed the woman, Ed, making her spin like a top.

Mr. Lei is kind-hearted, and he would definitely try to dissuade people from doing such things if he saw them.

But this time, I'll let it slide; I'll just draw it then.

Lei Ye checked the contents of the storage bag with lingering fear, and after confirming that nothing was missing, he put it into his chest pocket.

...Let's go home for today. The slaves here are not quite the slaves he imagined.

But the moment he turned his head, Raino froze.

Standing at the door was a very unique slave. What immediately caught the eye was her silver hair, so smooth and beautiful, like fine snowflakes falling on her shoulders. Then came her rather plain, thick, high-necked black coat, which completely covered her petite but not quite loli-like figure. To put it simply, her fashion sense was hard to judge; it was the kind of outfit a chuunibyou, otaku-ish high school girl would wear. But Lei Ye just couldn't take his eyes off her. Perhaps it was because her sculpted, exquisitely cold face was breathtakingly beautiful, or perhaps it was because her deep, captivating purplish-gray eyes staring at him.

I don’t know if it’s because goddesses really exist, but the people in this other world are all exceptionally beautiful, with an extremely high level of attractiveness, to the point that Raino is no longer surprised by them.

However, this reminded Raino of the amazing sight he had seen when he first met the elf.

Calm down, Lei Ye. You're here to buy slave mothers, economically, in large quantities, wholesale. Don't let lust get the better of you.

It's impossible!

Just asking... just a quick question...

"How much is this slave?"

Lei Ye pointed at the man.

The slave trader, who was enjoying his cigarette, turned around and was startled.

"Who? Huh? Who's this?"

...Weren't they slaves?

That's right, I didn't see her when I came in, and she didn't have a name tag on her chest either.

Is this ridiculous...?

Lei Ye lowered his head and strode out, quickening his pace to escape the dark alley. From any perspective, his search for his mother today had been a complete failure.

"Crazy Little Lei Teacher?"

A cool, clear voice, but the tone was not cold.

Five words froze Lei Ye in place.

"I'm so heartbroken... I've been looking forward to meeting my favorite author, but the first thing he said when we finally met was that he thought I was a slave and wanted to buy me. When I was reading his book, I always thought that the person who wrote such words must be a handsome, polite and interesting person. Why would he say such disgusting things?"

As she spoke, she bent down and leaned closer, with a slightly teasing expression, and gently poked Lei Ye's side with her elbow.

"Since we're already here—Mr. Kuang Xiaolei, could you please sign an autograph for your female fans?"

What!

Lei Ye finally snapped out of his daze, followed by a surge of ecstasy.

Wow, is Hillius so efficient? The book was only approved yesterday, and female fans are already coming to ask for autographs today?

Kids, it's not just men who have female fans when it comes to writing books.

Even though a man is still a woman, he is still a woman.

Thinking about all this, Lei Ye had already taken out a pen from his storage bag. He looked up at the other person, but didn't see her take out anything that Lei Ye could sign.

She gently nudged Lei Ye's outstretched hand, signaling him to put the pen back, and then quietly slipped a small knife into his hand.

She then rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender, fair wrists, which were covered in scars.

"Holy crap!" Lei Ye exclaimed in surprise, taking a half-step back.

"Don't rush, it's not time yet," the girl strode forward, pressing closer. "Today is a memorable first meeting, please sign your autograph first!"

Raino stared intently at the new and old, red and white scars on the girl's wrist. He was truly shocked. How could there be a landmine girl who could modify her knife in this other world?

He thought he might be able to ask his pastor mother for help to heal the female fan's injuries.

But before that, let's do some simple processing first.

Raino took out a magic scroll from his storage bag. This scroll contained healing magic, which even Raino, who was not good at magic, could use at will.

Although he hadn't had a chance to use it yet, Lei Ye clumsily rolled the scroll around the other person's wrist, unaware that the other person was staring intently at him.

Just as he was pondering how to proceed with the next step of the conversation.

"No, I really can't stand it anymore!"

A fragrant breeze wafted over and she bumped into Lei Ye's arms.

"Mr. Kuang Xiaolei, your books are so good! Please let's go out!"