Federal Calendar 7708, October 21st, deep into the night.

On this core street within the Gray Zone, which should have been the most bustling, two individuals dressed in vastly different styles appeared.

The slightly older middle-aged man wore a modern Federation-style white trench coat, projecting an aura of cleanliness and steadiness.

Walking beside him, his companion was dressed in a set of traditional attire from the Eastern Star Domain: a complexly styled gray robe, wide sleeves, a pure white belt inlaid with jade, black cloth-style long boots, paired with the young man’s strange bun tied at the back of his head.

These two completely opposite styles of dress made the pair walking side-by-side appear extremely disjointed, as if different times and spaces had overlapped and intertwined.

“Huh? The Gray Zone is unusually quiet tonight?” the young man wearing the traditional Eastern Star Domain gray robe voiced his question.

“It seems a big shot has helped us clear the area in advance. That saves us a bit of trouble,” his companion guessed beside him.

The one making this guess was a middle-aged man with a weathered face, wearing a common white trench coat from the Federation market. His wind-and-frost-beaten face still faintly carried an unshakeable look of bitterness.

Interestingly, it was this middle-aged man who first offered the reasonable guess, yet his eyes never stopped scanning the surroundings, trying to spot any hint of discordance on this excessively quiet street.

“Do you want me to cast a divination for you? You seem quite tense,” the young man in the gray robe, noticing his companion’s vigilance, asked.

“Brother Gu, I’d appreciate it. It’s best to be cautious in all things,” the weathered man nodded in agreement.

This middle-aged man with a weathered face, who appeared older, actually addressed the young man beside him as “brother.”

Hearing this, the young man in the gray robe chuckled softly. Already accustomed to his companion’s ways, he deftly pulled out a small tortoise shell from his robe.

Immediately after, this “young man” retrieved three copper coins with rust spots from his robe, of the outer-round, inner-square variety.

These three coin-like artifacts were a currency unique to the Eastern Star Domain in the past and one of the oldest currencies in the history of the Eastern Star Domain.

The young man placed the three rust-spotted copper coins he had just retrieved into the tortoise shell, then cradled the shell in both hands and shook it symbolically a few times.

A series of “clinking and clattering” sounds came from the oil-glossed tortoise shell.

Afterward, he poured the coins from the shell onto his palm.

The young man stared at the three copper coins laid out in order on his palm, a reassuring smile appearing on his face.

“Qian, prosperous. The superior man has good fortune.”

“Don’t worry, little Taylor, it’s an auspicious hexagram.”

“The hexagram tells me we just need to be a bit humble later, and things will go smoothly.”

Hearing his companion’s words, the weathered middle-aged man finally withdrew his somewhat vigilant gaze and let out a sigh of relief, appearing to place great trust in his companion’s words.

“I understand. It seems a truly significant figure has indeed come…” the weathered middle-aged man nodded.

As the weathered man’s words fell, the two also reached their destination for this trip—the old weapons shop at the end of the street.

The two men with completely different styles of dress exchanged a glance, then pushed open the door of this weapons shop…

After waiting for what felt like an eternity under Old George’s anxious gaze, Loren finally met the person behind him.

Two individuals with rather different aesthetics walked side-by-side into the weapons shop.

Upon entering, both men’s pupils contracted sharply.

The weathered-looking middle-aged man was the first to greet Loren.

Having been rooted in the Radiant Flow Star Domain for a long time, the two had almost simultaneously recognized Loren the moment they entered.

Nowadays, within the Radiant Flow Star Domain, any organization with even a slight focus on intelligence regarded this newly arrived Interstellar Hunter with the highest degree of wariness.

A Rule-Based Psychic who acted with madness and could seriously injure a Legendary-tier opponent head-on was considered a major figure anywhere…

“Mr. Loren, hello. First time meeting. Let me introduce myself. Taylor, the owner behind this weapons shop.”

After politely introducing himself to Loren, the weathered middle-aged man pointed to his companion, who was currently spacing out beside him, and introduced:

“My business partner, from the distant Eastern Star Domain, Gu Lan.”

After Taylor finished introducing the two of them, seeing his companion still lost in thought, he silently facepalmed and blatantly nudged the other with his elbow.

Taylor’s movements seemed extremely practiced;
clearly, he was long accustomed to his partner’s occasional bouts of spacing out.

At this moment, the young man in the gray robe seemed to snap out of a dream, slightly bowing his head as he spoke:

“You… hello! Mr. Loren…”

“First time meeting! I was somewhat discourteous…”

Loren glanced at the oddly dressed young man who even seemed nervous talking to him, inexplicably finding the other somewhat amusing.

What a strange pair. The Radiant Flow Star Domain really doesn’t have many normal people…

“Gentlemen, let’s talk business,” Loren said with a nod and a smile, appearing harmless.

“Of course! That’s precisely why we came,” Taylor quickly responded.

Though he didn’t know what was happening, his intuition told him he’d better take over the negotiation rights with Loren.

He had a feeling his partner was acting a bit strange tonight.

Not the usual occasional spacing-out issue, but more like he was hiding a trace of fear…

Hearing this, Loren smiled and handed the white metal canister in his hand to the man with the inherently weathered demeanor.

“In that case, inspect the goods first. I hope you are a respected scientist who can understand its value, Mr. Taylor.”

Taylor carefully took the white sealed metal canister with both hands, saying to Loren with extreme confidence:

“Don’t underestimate me, Mr. Loren.”

“Don’t let my somewhat unorthodox appearance fool you. I am a man who earned his doctorate from one of the top three Mecha universities in the Central Star Domain, specializing in Mecha development and applied research.”

“I’ve been coveting Dark Matter Quantum Coating for a long time…”

Upon hearing the other’s self-aggrandizement, Loren silently grumbled internally, Mr. Taylor, I didn’t ask you that…

Loren, who came from the Slums and only knew how to fight, smash, rob, and burn, clearly felt a certain degree of academic discrimination towards the man before him.

“Ahem, Taylor, you should remain humble,” a voice of reminder suddenly came from beside Taylor.

Gu Lan, who had remained silent since greeting Loren, reminded his companion at the opportune moment.

Hearing his companion’s reminder, Taylor’s expression froze.

Oh no! I got too happy obtaining something I’ve long pursued and became a bit carried away…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep