Hunt Begins

Kyle left the private reception room with a calm expression. In his pocket were an exchange card holding 10.021 million Sakaar credits, the exchange manager’s business card, and a small note Anli had secretly slipped to him.

As it happened, Bai Bo had also finished settling the value of that entire sack of junk with the receptionist. Clutching his newfound fortune as if it were precious gold, he emerged from the service counter and secretly waved a claw at Kyle. "Mr. Kyle, here!"

Kyle walked over. Bai Bo tugged at his pant leg with a claw and urged him in a low voice, "Quick, let’s get out of here."

"Hm?" Kyle looked around in surprise and immediately understood.

Several aliens in the Exchange Hall’s waiting area were subtly watching them from their seats. Among them was the Big-Eyed Alien that had followed the two of them in the outer district earlier.

After leaving the Exchange Building with Bai Bo, Kyle asked in surprise, "Didn’t you say robbery wasn’t allowed in the city?"

"Robbery isn’t allowed. But that Big-Eyed Alien belongs to a criminal group. Some of its alien members have racial talents and are very hard to deal with. Once they pick a target, they carry out ambushes or thefts in the outer district, where guard patrols are weaker." Bai Bo was extremely cautious, his eyes glowing faintly green in the night as he entered a state of alert.

He had not exchanged away the High-Pressure Laser Gun. It was still strapped to his thin, scrawny back as a weapon for defense and counterattack.

"That’s simple. We just stay in the inner district and don’t go out," Kyle suggested.

"What did you say? I already told you how expensive hotels in the inner district are. And there’s a curfew after midnight." Bai Bo shrank his neck and covered his bulging money pouch, saying weakly, "Don’t get any ideas about my money."

"How much did that pile of junk sell for?" Kyle asked curiously.

Bai Bo lowered his voice with great satisfaction. "There was quite a bit of good stuff. It got me over seventy thousand Sakaar credits."

Scavengers risked their lives venturing into the wilderness, yet the average daily income per person was less than ten thousand Sakaar credits. More than seventy thousand was practically money falling from the sky.

Kyle fell silent. He had ten million on him, and before leaving Earth, Howard had rushed to make three finished pieces of krypton gold, all of which Kyle had brought with him.

Thirty million…

Seeing an upscale hotel near the Central Building, Kyle did not think much of it. He grabbed Bai Bo from beside him with his left hand and headed toward it.

"Mr. Kyle, what are you trying to do?! Don’t go over there!" Bai Bo let out a despairing wail and struggled constantly in Kyle’s grasp, helplessly watching as Kyle carried him through the hotel entrance.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Would you like a room…" The long-necked alien receptionist was startled. It looked at Kyle, then at Bai Bo, who was rolling his eyes and nearly passing out in Kyle’s hand.

"A suite with two rooms," Kyle said calmly.

Hearing that, Bai Bo jolted and groaned miserably, "No! Just treat me like a pet and get a single room!"

The receptionist nodded respectfully. "We charge by the week here. Two-room suites are available for one hundred thousand or fifty thousand. Single rooms are thirty thousand or twenty thousand. Our prices are fair."

Bai Bo’s heart trembled. Those prices were cutting straight into his flesh!

Kyle remained calm and nodded. "The one hundred thousand option."

"It’s over, it’s over." Bai Bo despaired, clutching his money pouch tightly.

Kyle secretly chuckled and took out his exchange card to pay. The confirming beeps sounded beside his ear, and Bai Bo was completely stunned.

After collecting the room key, Kyle carried the stiff-bodied Bai Bo into the elevator and went upstairs.

Outside the hotel entrance, the Big-Eyed Alien was equally dumbfounded and could only watch the two enter an inner-district hotel.

He had originally planned to gather several capable members and try something in a familiar part of the outer district. He had never expected his targets to simply stay in the inner district.

"Damn it! Their earnings in the wilderness today were actually that huge. They got carried away and checked into an inner-district residence—that should have been my money!" The Big-Eyed Alien gritted its teeth and muttered furiously, unwilling to accept it.

The inner district was near the Grandmaster’s residence, and dense guard patrol ships filled the sky. Anyone who dared act in the inner district was sent to the Duel Arena for a fight to the death.

With a helpless sigh, the Big-Eyed Alien could only leave the street outside the hotel. A little later, the entire city would be under curfew.

It failed to notice the pair of sharp, cold eyes at a fifth-floor hotel window watching it leave.

Inside the main room of the two-room suite on the hotel’s fifth floor.

"Mr. Kyle, I really never expected you to be so rich." Bai Bo was still in a dreamlike state, sitting on the comfortable carpeted floor and looking up with glittering eyes at Kyle, who stood by the window.

"We’ll talk tomorrow. Tomorrow, you still need to be my guide and help me thoroughly explore and understand Sakaar." Kyle spoke coldly, returned to his own bedroom, and shut the door behind him.

"Where exactly did this guy come from? He’s powerful, generous with money, just… a little cold." Bai Bo propped up his chin and offered his assessment.

In the spacious room, Kyle tossed his backpack beside the bed, quickly removed his hooded leather jacket and jeans, then waved his left hand and drew an Item Card, materializing its contents.

In the blink of an eye, a one-piece black skintight uniform—the Combat Uniform made in the same style as Captain America’s during World War II—lay quietly spread across the bed.

"Old friend, it’s been a long time." Kyle sighed softly. Ever since he had acquired Venom, this Combat Uniform made by Howard had remained sealed away as a card in Card Space. He had not expected it to come in handy again.

He picked up the Combat Uniform and began putting it on. From the neck down, he was soon wrapped in the skintight suit, his Perfect Physique revealing smooth, sculpted muscle lines.

"No mask." Kyle touched his smooth chin, then seemed to remember something. With another thought, he drew a card, and a beast-shaped black helmet materialized in his hand.

This was the Black Panther helmet component, forged entirely from vibranium, that King T’Chaka had given him as a gift when Kyle had left.

As one of Wakanda’s royal inheritances, the Black Panther suit was not something to be given away lightly. By gifting such a crucial helmet component, T’Chaka had been pushing the boundaries of defying his ancestors, showing just how deep his sincerity ran.

Kyle had originally treated it as a collectible. Now, it happened to complete his old Combat Uniform, piecing together a full set of physical Combat Suit.

Both shared a dark color scheme. With the Black Panther helmet and black Combat Suit worn together, he looked as though he had adopted a more savage style.

Kyle adjusted his appearance in the room’s mirror, then opened the window. Bracing a hand against the frame, he flipped outward and leaped lightly into the open air.

Stealth activated! Climbing activated!

With a silent thought, Kyle stood upside down like a spider on the outer wall of the hotel tower. He ran swiftly upward, reached the rooftop railing, and stopped. Turning around, he stood tall and looked down arrogantly at Sakaar’s vast, dazzling main-city streets.

Like a lone wolf, he searched for prey in the darkness.