Chapter 16: Nightmare, Section 7

Even though Kurokami had already imagined the chaos on Silver Star, he still hadn’t anticipated it to be this extreme. When they arrived at the interstellar market, they were utterly stunned by what they saw. Everywhere they looked, there was a sea of people. The interstellar market on Silver Star was built using the most advanced market models in the universe—featuring thousands of square meters of exhibition space and nearly a hundred halls, each equipped with countless display crystals. There should have been no room for congestion. Yet now, almost every hall was packed with people of various races. They crowded around the display crystals, their eyes red from strain as they frantically searched for information. At first glance, the crowd resembled a swarm of black ants.

“Oh, this is fucking absurd,” Xue Tong sneered with a laugh, placing a hand on Baroka’s shoulder. “Big guy, it’s your turn now. With your size, you’ll make it easier for us to clear a path. You won’t refuse, right?”

“Hehe,” Baroka scratched the back of his head and smiled foolishly before turning his gaze toward Kurokami. If Kurokami really wanted to go in, he wouldn’t hold back. Though the crowd was huge, Baroka’s physique wasn’t something to be underestimated—creating a path through it would be a piece of cake.

But it seemed Kurokami also disliked such an environment. After a quick glance, he showed a disgusted expression and waved his hand. “I’m not going in. Baroka, you and Xue Tong go. I’m giving you two hours. I want to know just how chaotic things have become, how many factions are involved, and how much they already know. After that, come to the Creek Merchant Guild to see me.”

“Understood, boss,” Xue Tong replied cheerfully before turning and disappearing into the crowd with Baroka.

To be honest, Kurokami hated noisy, chaotic scenes the most. So he didn’t want to stay even for a moment. As soon as Xue Tong and Baroka left, he turned around and headed to the Creek Merchant Guild with Sulei and Lily.

The distance from the market to the Creek Merchant Guild wasn’t far. Soon, they saw the familiar spired building, along with its beautiful white feather emblem.

“This?” Kurokami pointed at the emblem, his face showing confusion.

“It’s the emblem of the Creek Merchant Guild,” replied the young girl Sulei quickly. “President Koko made it. He said since we’ve moved our headquarters here, we need to use the guild’s name. Remaining unknown isn’t good for the guild’s development.”
“Hehe. Not bad.” Blackhair laughed. “It seems Koko has done well in Silver Star. Now he’s even created an emblem. Isn’t he afraid that becoming too prominent will attract the attention of Silver Star’s government?”
“Mr. Blackhair, you don’t know. During the time you were on Hell Star, the Creek Merchant Guild had already established a solid foundation. Now 70% of Silver Star’s government officials are under their control, so they’re not as weak as before. With the groundwork left by Baroka, they also control many underground forces. In an area of three hundred kilometers around here, they hold absolute power.”
“I see…” Blackhair grew increasingly satisfied. “Good, very good. Koko is indeed a shrewd guy—he didn’t waste the resources I gave him. I can’t wait now. Come on, let’s see what gift Koko has prepared for us this time.”
With that, Blackhair didn’t delay any longer and headed straight inside the guild.
The interior of the guild was huge; just the entrance hall covered hundreds of square meters. Yet Blackhair couldn’t enter smoothly. Due to the recent tense situation, the guild had deployed a large number of guards, most of whom had never seen Blackhair before. As soon as they arrived at the entrance, they were thoroughly searched. About thirty Lan Giant guards surrounded them tightly, looking extremely vigilant as if facing a great threat.
Facing such unfriendly treatment, Blackhair simply smiled indifferently and casually spread his arms, allowing them to search every inch of his clothes. But when it came to Lily and Sulei beside him, he became displeased.
“Bang!!” One of the Lan Giants’ huge hands was suddenly grabbed by Blackhair. Then his impatient voice was heard: “Go call Koko out. This isn’t your business.”
“Dare you!! How dare you call out the president’s name?” The innocent Lan Giant guards flew into a rage and drew their weapons—things similar to clubs, thick and large, over two meters long. Blackhair had no doubt they could easily crush granite in a several-meter radius with those weapons.

Lily’s reaction was equally swift. Before those clubs could be fully drawn, a blue light suddenly appeared in her hand. Immediately afterward, her slender figure performed a somersault and reached the edge of the encirclement. Raising her hand, she ordered, “Everyone, crouch down and don’t move!”
Oh, my god. Everyone gasped in shock when they saw the weapon in her hand.
It was a small blue pistol—elegant in design, as delicate as a work of art. Yet the faint blue glow at its muzzle sent chills down everyone’s spine, for they noticed a hint of purple hidden within that blue light.
A Amethyst High-Explosive Pistol!!
What Lily held was one of the most advanced individual weapons available to humans today. Its delicate appearance couldn’t conceal its terrifying nature. Everyone knew that Amethyst weapons were the most dangerous. Though the pistol seemed small, its bullets could easily blow any enemy in its path to pieces, leaving not even a corpse behind.
As the guards stared in awe, anxious shouts finally came from inside the guild hall.
“Stop it! All of you, stop right now!! If you move again, I’ll deduct your salaries for next month!!! No, next month, the month after that, and the month after that too!!!”
Along with this urgent voice, a small figure suddenly rushed out of the hall, scrambling forward and starting to punch and kick the foolish Lan Giant guards.
Could it be Koko?
“Hehe, what kind of show is this, Koko? After not seeing each other for so long, is this your way of intimidating me?” Blackhair laughed as he stepped forward, grabbed the tiny Ganluo Starling, and picked him up. His affectionate manner suggested he was meeting an old comrade after years apart.
And in fact, it was somewhat true. Without Koko’s constant support, Blackhair would never have built up such a large influence. From their first meeting, they had developed a deep mutual understanding, though it was largely based on mutual benefit. Still, Blackhair was very grateful to this small Ganluo Starling.
“Ah… Blackhair, please let me go…” Caught in Blackhair’s arms, Koko panicked. He wasn’t like ordinary humans—he was unusually small in stature. Although Blackhair merely wanted to show affection, for him it felt like being held by an adult, an unbearable discomfort.

The Lan Giant guards around saw this scene and were all stunned, standing there like a bunch of wooden stakes. It wasn’t until Keko shouted at them again that they seemed to understand something and immediately scattered. Their embarrassed appearance was as if countless wild beasts were chasing them.
“Hehe, I’m sorry, Black Hair. They’re my newly recruited subordinates; they haven’t received much training and don’t recognize you. Please bear with them.” Although Keko was apologizing, his face couldn’t hide his pride.
The Lan Giants were a race renowned for their formidable combat skills in the universe. Even a Ganluo Starling would have been looked down upon if they tried to associate with them before. Now, he had brought in over thirty of them at will—wasn’t that proof of the growth of his own power? Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel proud of his past heroic deeds.
The Ganluo Starlings, a race that had always been discriminated against, could now truly hold their heads high under his leadership.
“It doesn’t matter,” Black Hair shrugged. “I didn’t come here to chat. You know, I have a lot of things to do right now. Let’s not waste each other’s time.”
“Haha, of course.” Keko forced a laugh. He led everyone to his room. “But since you’ve come all this way, we should at least show some courtesy. I’ve reserved a room at Paradise Nightclub for tonight—let’s have some fun. You don’t know, the Silver Star forces have gotten involved too much lately, and Paradise Nightclub has introduced quite a few new attractions.”
“Stop it. You know I don’t like these social events,” Black Hair said, unimpressed. He took the red wine handed to him by Lily and lazily leaned back on the sofa in the room.
“Then tell me, what do you want me to do this time?”
At these words, Keko’s expression darkened. With a grim face, he pressed a button on the table. A section of the wall beside the room suddenly lit up, revealing a pattern— a map of the Silver Star city area.
A cold glint flashed in Black Hair’s eyes as he immediately noticed that many strange dots had appeared in the territory he had originally established. Though he didn’t know what they meant, it was obvious they weren’t good signs.

“You see, we’re in a terrible predicament now.” Koko’s voice was soft, but clear. “Silver Star is no longer what it used to be. Since I started mining Centimsi ore, in less than a week, our territory has turned into this. The intervention of powerful forces has turned this place into a mess of everything. Even the government has lost its normal functions. Now, this place has long become a battleground for various forces. We’re just the prizes for the victors in that battle.”
“Prizes!?” Heiwa sneered coldly and stood up. He walked to the map, studied it for a long time, then suddenly drained the red wine in his hand.
“Then let’s see what exactly these prizes are. I’ve come all this way; I suppose I should get some prizes as well…”
Yuri noticed that Heiwa’s eyes suddenly displayed a light she had never seen before.
It was the light of ambition.