He Qing and Duan Chenhui entered the auction hall, where He Qing glanced around at the various people passing by. There were burly men with scars and one-eyed folks—tough-looking individuals everywhere.

This place was currently ruled by someone called “Black Shark,” and just by the name, you could tell he wasn’t to be trifled with.

After walking for a while, Duan Chenhui leaned down and said, “Put on your mask.”

He Qing touched his face and smiled as he put on the mask. “Mr. Duan, beauty is just flesh and bones.”

“It’s beauty first,” Duan Chenhui retorted. He scanned the surroundings, wondering if He Qing realized he was already being watched by these dangerous people.

He Qing didn’t really care, and those gazes meant little to him. He fiddled with his prayer beads and found his seat, calmly sitting down. “Why should Mr. Duan be so concerned?”

“For our safety,” Duan Chenhui replied as he took the seat beside him.

“…” He Qing thought for a moment and figured he had a point. A little while later, more people filed in, including a rather rotund man who sat next to him.

He Qing glanced at the man before turning his gaze back to the front, but the man, feeling overly sensitive, suddenly barked, “What are you looking at?! You think I’m some fat pig, huh?!”

The nearby people immediately turned their heads to watch the drama unfold.

Duan Chenhui’s hand twitched, ready to act, but He Qing pressed it down with his own. He turned to the man and said calmly, “Does this gentleman happen to know the Federal Marshal?”

“What?! What are you talking about?!” The man jumped up, practically bristling with fury.

He Qing smiled and continued, “You have a blessed face, one that resembles that of the Marshal.”

Duan Chenhui glanced at his own hand, which had been pressed down. The sensation was a bit novel—he wasn’t used to being the one held back. He turned his head to look at He Qing, feeling as though this version of him was a bit unfamiliar. He Qing and “Mr. He” gave off completely different impressions, though not entirely dissimilar.

Duan Chenhui thought about it. He Qing’s cold, sparse room probably aligned best with his true nature.

“I don’t know any Marshal!” The man glanced between He Qing and Duan, unsure if he was being complimented or mocked, but after a moment, he sat back down.

The crowd, having hoped for a scene, turned away disappointed.

He Qing looked back at Duan Chenhui with a smile and whispered, “You’re still the more impressive one, Mr. Duan.”

Duan Chenhui raised an eyebrow. The Federal Marshal had only ever lost to him in battle, so he grudgingly forgave He Qing’s little stunt of sneaking off to the border.

A little while later, the auction began. He Qing pulled out two buckets of snacks. “Mr. Duan, want some?”

Duan Chenhui looked down—it was popcorn! A vein throbbed on his forehead. He Qing truly didn’t have a shred of tension. This was an underground auction, not some concert or movie. Lowering his voice, he said, “This isn’t a theater.”

“But will you eat?” He Qing pushed the bucket forward, recalling his classmate’s recommendation.

Duan Chenhui stared at the popcorn for a moment before accepting it. “…Sure.” Though it was far from romantic.

He Qing popped a piece into his mouth. Onstage, the auctioneer dramatically unveiled the first item. “The first lot is the Heart of the Mermaid! Starting bid: one million credits! It is said that whoever possesses the Heart of the Mermaid can have all their wishes granted!”

He Qing was startled and quickly looked at the item again, thinking it might be a real heart. But it turned out to be just a blue gemstone. He wasn’t interested in jewels unless they were spirit stones. Still, the auctioneer had quite the flair, and the gem sold for a high price.

Following that came ship cores, mechs, unknown substances, and herbs.

Eventually, they even brought out several exotic beasts and Zerg specimens. He Qing finally understood that this underground auction truly sold everything.

“Do they trade people here as well?” He Qing asked Duan Chenhui.

Duan nodded. “Occasionally, yes. Not just humans—there are beings from all races.”

He Qing nodded, deciding not to ask further.

After those items, the auction finally moved to the stone He Qing had been waiting for. He could feel the spiritual energy coming from it—it was indeed the spirit stone he wanted. He glanced at Duan Chenhui beside him, knowing that with Duan present, it was undoubtedly his target.

Sure enough, after the auctioneer gave an enthusiastic introduction, Duan Chenhui raised his paddle. Since most people didn’t understand the true value of the stone, Duan secured it for a moderate price.

He Qing could only watch as the spirit stone flew into Duan Chenhui’s possession.

Sun Tu snickered in his mind, [Are you afraid he’ll find out you’re the one who stole the egg? I heard Duan Chenhui’s parents were killed by the Zerg.]

He Qing said nothing, and Sun Tu, bored by the lack of reaction, went silent.

A while later, the mysterious map was brought out.

“Next is the mysterious map! It shows the location where the previous gemstone was found. Starting bid: two million credits!”

He Qing’s eyes lit up—so the map was connected to the spirit stone! He quickly raised his paddle. Despite being a mere map, many others vied for it. He Qing had to raise his bid several times.

Duan Chenhui glanced at him. “You seem very interested in adventures. I never would’ve guessed.”

He Qing smiled. “Fortune favors the bold.”

Duan Chenhui chuckled. “You always seem to show up in the most unexpected places. I’m surprised.”

“…” He Qing fell silent. Was the general bringing up old grudges again? “I’ll focus on buying this map first. Are you interested in joining, Mr. Duan? If not, I’ll go alone.”

“I’m interested,” Duan replied bluntly, thwarting He Qing’s hopes.

He Qing fiddled with his prayer beads. “It seems fate has brought us together again.”

Duan Chenhui smiled. “I think so too.”

He Qing quietly bid for the map and, after a tense back-and-forth, won it for a high price. After the auction ended, they went backstage to complete the transactions, acquiring the spirit stone and the map.

He Qing opened the map and found a set of coordinates pointing to a newly discovered planet, along with a path charting the planet’s surface.

“What planet is this?” He Qing couldn’t tell.

Duan Chenhui glanced at it and frowned. “It’s a newly discovered planet. Its danger level is unknown.”

“You’re right,” a voice interrupted as a group approached them.

He Qing looked up and saw the leader wearing all black, with a large, toothy shark emblem on one side of his clothing.

He Qing counted the shark’s rows of teeth. Quite realistic. This must be the infamous Black Shark—Tang Ke, the ruler of this underground arena.

“Ah, Mr. Tang,” He Qing greeted, holding up the map. “Are you planning to take it back?”

“No, no,” Tang Ke smiled, the scar under his eye twitching slightly. “I was just wondering if you’re interested in teaming up?”

He Qing turned to look at Duan Chenhui. He wouldn’t mind, but Duan, as a general of the empire, might face accusations of colluding with enemies if he worked with someone like Black Shark.

Duan Chenhui’s lips curved slightly. “Since fate has brought us together, let’s team up. This planet hasn’t been discovered by either the Federation or the Empire yet, has it?”

“They don’t know about it yet,” Tang Ke’s smile deepened. “If we find energy stones and medicinal plants, we could even cooperate in selling them to both sides.”

“Perfect,” Duan replied with a smile.

“When do you plan to leave, Mr. Tang?” He Qing thought to himself, Is this what they call playing both sides? Duan’s intentions were likely to take down Black Shark and bring the planet under the Empire’s control.

Tang Ke observed them. “We’ll meet here in three days. I’ll gather a few more people.”

“Very well. See you then. We’ll inform our team,” Duan said, giving the group a quick scan.

He Qing nodded calmly, though he was now wondering, Who exactly are the general’s teammates?

After bidding farewell to the mysterious Black Shark, He Qing followed Duan Chenhui down the busy street. “Where are your teammates, Mr. Duan?”

“They’re staying at an inn nearby. This way.” Duan Chenhui smiled, leading the way and notifying the others.

He Qing smiled back, following him into the inn. Inns were great places to gather information. The moment he entered, he recognized some familiar faces—namely, Qiao Yi and Yang Fan, both disguised.

Yang Fan wasn’t surprising, but why was his mentor here too?

Qiao Yi waved them over, “Captain, over here. Let’s go upstairs and talk.”

Duan Chenhui nodded, leading them upstairs. Once they were seated, he introduced He Qing to the group. Only Qiao Yi knew He Qing’s true identity; the others found his mask rather peculiar.

Qiao Yi grinned. “Captain, this external recruit of yours looks pretty familiar.”

He Qing remained calm. “The pharmacist here also looks quite familiar.”

Duan Chenhui sat down, glancing at the two of them. “Pharmacist Qiao, it seems you know Mr. He? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“…” Qiao Yi’s back prickled with sweat as he quickly changed the subject. “Haha, I just thought the mask looked familiar. By the way, we’ve gathered some information about that planet. It’s said to have herbs that can cure Zerg toxins—definitely worth the trip.”

He Qing instinctively sat closer to Duan Chenhui. “If we find it, we’ll collect all of them.”

“We can’t just harvest them all,” said Dr. Qin, another bio-researcher, shaking his head. “We need to leave some seeds.”

“Trust me, these plants can’t be cultivated artificially. Once they leave that environment, they’ll wither,” He Qing explained as he toyed with his prayer beads. Spirit plants grew slowly, and if the surrounding spirit stones were depleted, they would die.

“That’s strange? Worth researching then,” Dr. Qin nodded. “We’ll see when we get there.”

Another subordinate of Duan’s reported, “Captain, I’ve notified our people. If they make a move, we won’t hesitate to act.”

“Good. Everyone, get some rest. We’re meeting Black Shark in three days,” Duan instructed.

“Yes, sir,” Duan’s team gradually dispersed.

It was then that He Qing realized he didn’t have a room. He turned to look at Duan Chenhui.

Duan looked back at him and asked, “Mr. He, are you an Enigma?”

“??” He Qing blinked in confusion. When had he changed genders? He had always been an Omega! This misunderstanding was huge.

“There’s a rumor that many Enigmas disguise themselves as Omegas using their natural beauty to attract Alphas,” Duan Chenhui said, his tone ambiguous. “Though we’re both Enigmas, it seems our tastes differ.”

He Qing realized that clearing up this misunderstanding would be impossible… but perhaps being mistaken for an Enigma had its advantages. It certainly explained away the identity clash, so he decided to go along with it.

“Indeed,” He Qing removed his mask, revealing his flawless face. “I’ve recently evolved into an Enigma.”

After all, Enigmas had mating cycles, much like Omegas, so it wasn’t easy to tell them apart.

Duan Chenhui stared at his excessively beautiful face before suddenly turning away. “I’ll go take a shower. Since that’s the case, you’ll have to share a room with me tonight.”

He Qing held onto his prayer beads and silently recited his sutras. It seems the general has been a little… shocked. Amitabha.