A gem the size of a pigeon's egg, radiating brilliant, dazzling purple light and more beautiful and eye-catching than any diamond, floated quietly at the center of the opened Orb.
Tivan stared at the dazzling Power Stone, utterly enraptured. His hands clenched into fists as he exclaimed excitedly.
"Beautiful! Unparalleled!"
Seeing the radiant Power Stone, Star-Lord recovered from his earlier shock and remembered the true purpose of their trip. He turned to Tivan and interrupted his reverie.
"The goods have been inspected. Time to pay up!"
Though Tivan was displeased at being interrupted by Star-Lord, the Power Stone was already in his hands, and he would have plenty of time to admire it later. Reluctantly shifting his gaze away from the Power Stone, Tivan asked somewhat distractedly.
"How would you like to be paid?"
Star-Lord rolled his eyes and said irritably.
"What do you think? Cash, obviously!"
Interstellar mercenaries only accepted cash. Bank transfers could be frozen at any time, so aside from very small transactions, mercenary jobs were settled in cash.
Not to mention that Star-Lord had originally planned to rob them anyway. If he did not take cash, the funds would be frozen the moment he turned around.
Tivan also knew he had asked a stupid question and immediately nodded.
"No problem!"
Tivan then turned and walked toward a table not far away. He failed to notice that Karina, the slave girl standing behind him, was staring fixedly at the Power Stone on the console, her feet slowly inching forward.
Tivan reached the table and pulled open a drawer, revealing a box packed full of black cards.
For large transactions in the Milky Way, cash was not paper currency, but black cards made from various rare materials, similar to gold coins. Their value, however, was far greater than