Bai Bo and Anli

The challengers who had advanced to the final four were escorted by guards back to the Duel Arena’s Underground Prison.

The alien spectators gradually rose from their seats and filed out, still wanting more.

Kyle watched the Tentacle Child until its figure disappeared through the underground entrance of the arena, only then snapping out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Kyle, we should be leaving too." Bai Bo tugged at his clothes and called out.

"Bai Bo, is there any way for me to meet the challengers in the arena’s Underground Prison?" Kyle looked at Bai Bo and asked casually.

"Meet the challengers? I can’t help you with that." Bai Bo spread his hands helplessly and explained, "Calling them ‘challengers’ is just a nicer way to put it for outsiders. In truth, they’re merely the lowest-class criminals and slaves on Planet Sakaar, all belonging to the Grandmaster as his personal property. Unless someone is close to the Grandmaster, no one can come into contact with the challengers."

It looked like he would have to find another way…

Kyle sighed inwardly, but his face remained as calm as ever, revealing no excessive concern. He rose from his seat and said, "Let’s go. We’ll come back in three days."

Bai Bo froze for a moment, then broke into a playful grin. "Mr. Kyle, you’ve fallen for the Champion’s Match too, haven’t you? I told you, Planet Sakaar is far too boring. Once you come here, no one can resist the Champion’s Match."

Kyle nodded lightly. Though his focus differed from Bai Bo’s, he was indeed very interested in the Champion’s Match.

The two left with the last group of spectators. Behind them remained the silent, empty interstellar Duel Arena, along with the dazzlingly colored bloodstains and alien corpses scattered across the grounds.

After leaving the arena’s main entrance with Bai Bo, Kyle was about to return to the hotel when, after only a few steps across the plaza, the hum of a spaceship engine suddenly sounded overhead.

"The seller of that lousy axe is here. Maybe she thinks you’re an easy mark and wants to rip you off again," Bai Bo said in a lowered voice.

Kyle looked up. Sure enough, it was Anli’s personal spacecraft, marked by its prominent pink pattern as it hurriedly came to a stop above them.

The smart door opened, and Anli’s younger brother poked his little pink head out of the cabin. Smiling down at Kyle, he said, "Mr. Kyle, my sister would like to invite you for afternoon tea."

Before Kyle could respond, Bai Bo crossed his arms beside him, his tail swishing back and forth as he gave a mildly displeased snort.

As though he had heard something, Anli’s younger brother turned back and listened, then continued with a smile, "My sister said Mr. Bai Bo must also honor her invitation and come together with Mr. Kyle."

"Now that’s more like it." Bai Bo nodded haughtily.

Kyle glanced at him and reminded him coldly, "I haven’t agreed yet."

Bai Bo immediately drooped his ears and urged, "Mr. Kyle, didn’t you say you wanted to get close to the challengers? A little scavenger like me can’t manage that, but Anli, the receptionist, might be able to. She works for the Grandmaster, so she may be able to make it happen."

At that, Kyle’s eyes lit up. He looked meaningfully at Bai Bo, who lowered his head under the pressure and fell silent.

"Not bad." After a moment of silence, Kyle smiled for no apparent reason, gaining a new understanding of Bai Bo.

Bai Bo was a clever creature too. Although Kyle had not revealed much of his thoughts or urgency earlier, Bai Bo had still read between the lines and taken the initiative to offer advice, paving the way for him.

If they had previously merely shared a client-and-guide relationship, Bai Bo was now openly showing his desire to latch onto Kyle.

"Let’s go." Kyle spoke, signaling Bai Bo to follow as he headed first toward the stairs lowered from the spacecraft.

Only then did Bai Bo finally let out a relieved breath. He wiped the sweat from the fur on his forehead with a paw and happily scampered after Kyle.

Sakaar Interstellar Restaurant, tenth floor.

Because it was near the inner district where the Grandmaster lived, no building was permitted to exceed half the height of the Central Building. Under those strict regulations, the tenth floor was already the greatest height only those with connections could build.

Inside the restaurant’s tenth-floor hall, Bai Bo sat in a two-person cushioned booth, staring lifelessly at Anli’s younger brother across the table, who had his head lowered as he wolfed down food from his plate. Bai Bo sighed from the bottom of his heart. "It’s rare to visit an interstellar restaurant, so why did I have to come with some brat? Could this get any less romantic?"

"That calculating woman actually pulled this stunt." Bai Bo resentfully glanced toward the front, where Kyle and Anli sat at another two-person booth roughly ten meters away, their conversation completely inaudible from here.

"Fine. For the sake of the food, I’ll forgive you this once." Bai Bo sighed. His gaze fell upon the feast spread across the table, and he rolled up his sleeves with his paws before grabbing a massive drumstick and stuffing it into his mouth, moving no slower than Anli’s younger brother.

At that moment, Kyle and Anli were seated beside a window on the restaurant’s tenth floor. The brilliant light refracted by small wormholes in the sky reflected against the glass, and through the floor-to-ceiling window, they could overlook half of Sakkar Main City.

Anli was no longer wearing her work uniform. Instead, she had changed into a luxurious long dress. Her features and appearance closely resembled those of a young human woman, with only her pink skin revealing that she was not human.

She had clearly dressed up with great care, wearing exquisite earrings and a necklace, her waist-length twin ponytails tied neatly behind her. To Kyle, her pink skin did not seem out of place at all, instead carrying a faint alien charm.

Of course, Kyle was merely appreciating her appearance and had no other colored thoughts. Star-Lord, with his peculiar tastes, might like this sort.

"Mr. Kyle, you must have arrived on this planet not long ago, right?" Anli asked softly.

"Yes. I arrived about two days ago." Kyle nodded, with no intention of hiding it.

"No wonder you’re traveling with a scavenger. When you first arrive on Planet Sakaar, it’s very necessary to have a local guide." Anli smiled lightly and said with feeling, "My parents’ generation came to Sakaar, so my younger brother Xiao Di and I have lived on this planet ever since we were born."

Kyle’s heart stirred, and he went straight to the point. "You’ve lived here for so long, and you work at one of the Grandmaster’s exchange centers. What is your relationship with the Grandmaster like?"

"The Grandmaster…" Anli hesitated. She glanced around, then lowered her voice with awe and apprehension. "No one would dare say they have a good relationship with the Grandmaster. This planet was developed and ruled by the Grandmaster. This building, Sakkar Main City, even people like us—all of it could be said to belong to the Grandmaster."

"The Grandmaster is an extraordinary cosmic elder who enjoys collecting rare items and powerful creatures from across the universe. His moods are unpredictable, and he acts entirely according to his whims."

Anli paused, thinking before she said, "In all this time, I’ve seen the Grandmaster in person fewer than five times. Usually, he appears as a holographic projection, maintaining the dignity and distance of a god."