Chapter 44 Our Own Universe

44. Our World

"Let's put aside the fact that I have plenty of guns in my hands while you only have a few knives. Even if you were to actually kill me, do you seriously not plan on buying any more guns in the future? Please, I am a merchant; transactions are what matter most. What you intend to do with my guns is none of my business; we are simply engaged in a mutual supply of needs," Yuri said with a smile.

"Interesting." Scar tossed Vitaly aside with a single motion. "Bring out your guns and let me see them!"

Vitaly let out a sigh of relief, scrambling on all fours to hide behind Yuri while panting heavily.

Yuri patted his shoulder to signal that everything was under control, then pulled out a Type-21 assault rifle without its magazine, tossing it to Scar while speaking with practiced ease: "Gentlemen, allow me to proudly present to you—the Type-21 Assault Rifle! Built with a lightweight plastic structure, waterproof and dustproof, weighing a mere 1.7 kilograms, firing 5.56mm rounds from a standard 30-round magazine. If you're willing to pay a little extra, I can also provide a 50-round extended magazine..."

Scar picked up the assault rifle and let out a contemptuous laugh. "This is still a kinetic weapon? Kid, what century did you crawl out of?"

"Oh, a kinetic weapon." Mimicking Scar's expression, Yuri made a face, then picked up another Type-21 assault rifle, chambered a round with a sharp *clack*, and hardened his expression. "Care to bet that I can wipe out all of you in two seconds flat with this kinetic weapon?"

The several Bith immediately grew alert, and two of them even drew their blaster pistols.

Glancing at the weapons in their hands, Yuri let out a dry, amused chuckle. "Heh, DL-18. What a 'magnificent' blaster pistol. A rate of fire of 50 rounds per minute, a maximum range of 120 meters. If your finger gets tired, you might only manage to pull the trigger 20 times a minute, hah..."

Mid-sentence, he whirled around abruptly, aimed at the rock behind him, and squeezed the trigger!

*Rat-tat-tat-tat!!* A rapid stream of bullets instantly erupted, slamming into the rock within seconds and kicking up a cloud of dust. Caught up in the thrill, Yuri burst into loud laughter as he fired. "Hahahahaha!! A rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute, an effective range of 550 meters, adjustable between single-shot and full-auto modes! Hahahah!"

The gunfire ceased, leaving the rock pocked with countless holes. A moment later, with a heavy crunch, the entire surface layer of the rock face collapsed.

"Phew~~~ So, between an advanced blaster pistol and a backward kinetic weapon, I choose..." Yuri produced another magazine, slotted it into the weapon, and pulled the charging handle with a crisp *clack*. "The Type-21 assault rifle!"

With that, he tossed the loaded rifle directly to Scar. "One gun for 400 credits, a crate of ammo for 100 credits. If you buy ten guns at once, I'll throw in a crate of ammunition for free. Oh, and by the way, I only accept Galactic Credits, no Peggats."

Catching the rifle, Scar's expression turned frigid as he immediately raised it to aim straight at Yuri Orlov.

***

Yuri smiled faintly, lit a cigarette for himself, and said coolly, "You know, brother, right now there are twenty sniper rifles trained on your head. You can kill me, no problem, but your head... *boom!*"

He made an exploding gesture with his hand.

"You know, I'm just an ordinary merchant. We take what we need from each other, and this is a long-term business. Let's talk about the price instead," Yuri continued.

"I want ten guns and twenty crates of ammo!" Scar demanded.

"That will be a total of 5,900 credits [Note 1]. As agreed, I've only charged you for 19 crates of ammo," Yuri quoted the price instantly.

"I don't have that much money!" Scar's face twisted with ferocity.

"Well, nothing I can do then. This is a small business, no credit extended. If you don't have enough money, you can buy fewer guns. You know as well as I do that a single DL-18 blaster pistol costs 500 credits!" Yuri replied coldly. "And I'll be blunt: in terms of firepower and lethality, the DL-18 isn't even fit for the stage. Do you really think people like you could ever get your hands on fully automatic repeating blasters? Don't kid me."

Seething with anger, Scar raised the rifle in his hand slightly, but at that moment, Yuri made a hand gesture. A loud *bang* echoed through the air as a deep bullet hole abruptly appeared in a nearby rock.

Swallowing his humiliation and suppressing his rage, Scar clenched his teeth and said, "We're going to raid a spaceport tomorrow! Once we pull it off, I'll give you 7,000 credits!"

"What you do is none of my concern, but one thing is certain: you can't guarantee you'll make it back alive. Who am I supposed to collect my losses from if that happens?" Yuri said dismissively.

"Then what the hell do you want?"

"Ha!" Yuri laughed, reaching into the crate beneath him to pull one open. Nestled safely inside shock-absorbing bubble wrap were five thermal detonators!

"M-28 detonators! A direct lethal radius of 8 meters, with a theoretical maximum shrapnel kill radius of 42 meters! Now this is a fine piece of equipment for home, travel, and pillaging alike! Fifty credits a piece! I can give you two extra crates, but I'll have to charge interest. If you make it back alive, I want 8,000 credits."

"Deal!" A grim smile spread across Scar's face as he accepted on the spot. He pulled out a pouch of credit ingots, tossed them to Yuri, and jerked his chin at his men. "Move the gear!"

Once the Bith gang had departed, Yuri Orlov collapsed onto the ground as if completely drained of strength, and Vitaly hurriedly rushed over to help him up.

***

"This reminds me of when I was just starting out, Vitaly, my good brother. Hahahahaha..." Though sweat drenched his forehead, Yuri burst into a roar of excited laughter.

Vitaly sat down beside Yuri, lit a cigarette, placed it between Yuri's lips, and then lit one for himself. Exhaling a thick plume of smoke toward the sky, he said softly, "Yeah. After such a long hibernation, I've forgotten a lot of things from the past, yet they remain so vivid. I just feel like... well, heh..."

He trailed off, leaving his thought unfinished.

"Don't worry. This galaxy will be our world sooner or later," Yuri patted his brother's shoulder, exhaled a plume of smoke upward in the exact same manner, and smiled.

***

[Note 1]: Do not apply Earth's economic concepts to the *Star Wars* universe. Bear in mind that an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, over 2,000 meters in length, cost around 150 million credits to build, while a decent starship might cost only tens of thousands.

Compare that to the cost of an aircraft carrier on Earth, where a Ford-class carrier exceeds $10 billion.

Therefore, the purchasing power of a Galactic Credit roughly ranges from 50 to 1,000 times that of an Earth US dollar, sometimes even more absurdly high.

However, this cannot be generalized across the board. Due to uneven technological development within *Star Wars*, agricultural products are often far more expensive than industrial goods. Generally speaking, light industrial products are the cheapest, followed by heavy industry, while agricultural products offer the lowest cost-effectiveness.

So don't be surprised when you see people in *Star Wars* fighting and killing each other over just a few hundred credits, because those few hundred credits can genuinely buy you a great deal of things.