Saka Black Market

Chapter 167: Saka Black Market

After a night had passed, morning light rose over Sakaar’s sky, which was dotted with small wormholes.

In the markets and streets of the main city’s outer districts, alien residents of all kinds gradually became active. Yet, as if affected by some disturbance from the previous night, none of them seemed to have slept well, and they animatedly discussed the matter.

In a room on the fifth floor of the Starship Hotel in the main city’s inner district.

"Mr. Kyle! Mr. Kyle, it’s time to get up!"

At the first light of dawn, Bai Bo knocked on Kyle’s master bedroom door, its claws scraping sharply and gratingly against the metal panel.

The smart-operated door slowly opened. Kyle, dressed in plain pajamas and still bleary-eyed, filled the doorway with his tall frame. He yawned and asked, "Why are you making such a racket so early?"

"Mr. Kyle, were you really asleep last night? You didn’t notice anything unusual outside?" Bai Bo looked at Kyle in disbelief. It had faint dark circles beneath its eyes and looked utterly listless; even the texture of its white fur had worsened considerably.

"Last night?" At those words, a strange glimmer flickered in Kyle’s eyes. He calmly lied, "After I got back to my room and showered, I fell asleep pretty quickly. I was probably catching up on interstellar jet lag—I slept deeply. What happened?"

"Fine, I guess you were the only one in the entire city who got any sleep." Bai Bo spread its paws helplessly, then said seriously, "Late last night, someone caused trouble in Sakkar Main City. The city’s supervisory guards went crazy, flying Guard Ships all over the streets and claiming they were hunting a criminal."

"Catching criminals would’ve been one thing, but they chased them from the outer district into the inner district, from the main city’s south gate all the way to its north gate, keeping everyone up half the night." Bai Bo sighed miserably as it looked over its shoulder and swished its tail. "They practically wouldn’t let a bear sleep. My fur’s lost all its shine."

"Did they catch the criminal?" Kyle asked with mild interest.

"No. If they had, would the supervisory guards be issuing wanted posters for the criminal throughout the city first thing in the morning?" As Bai Bo spoke, it reached a paw into the small backpack strapped to its back and pulled out a wanted poster with a photograph.

Kyle took the poster and examined it. The photo used the bloodstained alley from last night, along with the Big-Eyed Alien’s corpse, as its backdrop. Its subjects were him, wearing the Black Panther helmet and Combat Suit, and the Dark Elf, whose entire body was concealed beneath a veil and cloak, revealing only a faint glimpse of her slender figure.

"The number-one criminal is the one wearing the beast-like mask. The reward is as high as one million. The woman beside him only has a reward of one hundred thousand—she’s basically an add-on."

Bai Bo wore a complicated expression as it stared directly at Kyle, as though trying to read something from his face. Both delighted and suspicious, it said, "That Big-Eyed Alien who opposed us last night was killed, and his two companions were severely injured. I heard they were sent to the Duel Arena after receiving treatment."

"Isn’t that a good thing?" Kyle smiled for some reason, handed the wanted poster back to Bai Bo, and said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "I’ll change clothes. Take me around Sakkar Main City later."

"At your service." Bai Bo obediently lowered its head, bowed, and raised a paw in a proper gentleman’s salute.

I wonder what terrifying figure from the stars he is. He’s vicious. Bai Bo patted its chest and let out a long breath. Anyone with even a little intelligence would know there was no way it could all be such a coincidence.

After the room door closed, Kyle turned around, his gaze falling on the Combat Suit and Black Panther helmet hanging from the clothes rack.

Those Guard Ships last night had been too troublesome. They possessed locking functions such as infrared and sonic detection. He had led them around the city for several laps, but in the end, he had only completely shaken them off by using Stealth and its built-in instant teleportation to escape half a mile away.

Without Venom, many things were far less convenient than before. Otherwise, a simple disguise combined with Stealth would have made it easy to shake off the Guard Ships’ pursuit.

"Venom…" Kyle murmured softly. Having symbiotically lived with Venom for so long, he had grown accustomed to its presence by his side. Now that they were separated, he truly felt a little unaccustomed to it.

After changing into a hooded leather jacket and jeans for going out, Kyle left with Bai Bo.

Bai Bo acted as his guide. Having witnessed both Kyle’s strength and wealth, it seemed intent on clinging to him, answering every one of Kyle’s questions without holding anything back.

After enjoying a uniquely flavored meal in the inner district, Bai Bo brought Kyle to the market at the boundary between the inner and outer districts.

"Don’t miss out as you pass by! From technological products of advanced civilizations to Gene Serum from ancient god races, we have everything!"

"Only 998! Take home an energy crystal gemstone from a Star Core!"

"Divine artifacts authenticated by elite scavenger experts! Massive clearance sale! Buy one and you’ve made a profit!"

The main market street, running through mountains of garbage, was bustling with activity. Dozens of private stalls of all sizes stretched as far as the eye could see. Well-dressed alien residents mingled with ragged scavengers, all browsing the wares with great interest.

Bai Bo explained to Kyle, "As the universe’s central garbage dump, Sakaar’s most important asset is resources. You could call this the largest miscellaneous black market in the entire universe. People come here every day to hunt for treasure."

"Isn’t this just like that exchange house?" Kyle asked in surprise.

"Of course not. The exchange house is run by masters. It’s reliable, sure, but they charge handling fees. And for certain items that aren’t in the known database—in other words, items that can’t be identified—they usually offer low prices." Bai Bo smiled. "That’s the charm of the black market. Here, you might pick up a priceless treasure for a low price—or end up with a pile of utterly useless alien junk."

Kyle understood. It was somewhat like Earth’s rough gemstone gambling and antique markets.

However, although they shared the same nature, the stalls in the Saka Black Market sold unknown items from all across the universe.

"They say treasure hunting in the black market requires sharp eyes and knowledge. But in reality, who possesses knowledge of the entire universe? Even the elders of the universe wouldn’t dare claim they could identify more than half the items in the black market. So, everyone who comes here is just hoping to trust their instincts and luck."

At this point, Bai Bo kindly reminded Kyle, "Most of the stallholders are scavengers looking to swindle someone out of money. They boast about their own goods. Looking is fine, but it’s best not to buy anything."

Kyle nodded. Seeing strange items from all over the universe and broadening his horizons was worthwhile enough.

Following the crowded, lively flow of people, Kyle and Bai Bo approached the first stall.

The stall was simply a thick black cloth spread over the ground, with more than a dozen strange and bizarre items of various sizes displayed on it. Its owner was a short old man with bare arms.

"Oh, isn’t this Bai Bo?" The old stallholder greeted it warmly, lifting a glowing, blackened fragment of bone. "You brought a customer? Let me introduce a new product—an ancient race’s Cranial Memory Crystal. Since you’re an old acquaintance, just one thousand…"

"Get lost. Don’t try to scam me with alien junk." Bai Bo snapped angrily.

Kyle’s expression remained calm as he stepped within three meters of the stall and fixed his gaze on its assorted merchandise, instinctively focusing his mind.

The next instant, something completely unexpected happened!