In a cramped room somewhere in Morandi Town's Underground Black Street.
Clammy moisture seeped from the stone walls, and the fluorite lamp cast mottled shadows across the homeless Rono's face.
He stood in the corner, watching the trafficker hold up a magnifying glass and repeatedly examine the cup-headed woman. The lens moved back and forth over her porcelain-white skin, then he turned and signaled his underlings to flip through a dog-eared racial compendium, comparing page after page as his brows knit tighter and tighter.
"It's not even in the common compendiums..." The trafficker smacked his lips, surprise in his voice while his eyes grew brighter. "Her head is vessel-shaped, her body resembles a human's, and her skin even has a glazed sheen..."
Though he did not know what race she belonged to, if she was absent from the common compendiums, then she had to be from a rare race!
"Bring out the rare-race compendiums." The trafficker waved a hand behind him.
At those words, a bright gleam shot into Rono's eyes.
They were even bringing out the rare compendiums? Then the price...
His clenched fingers tightened unconsciously, his knuckles turning white, the grime beneath his nails pressed even deeper into the creases.
A moment later, an underling brought over several thick volumes with blackened covers. They flipped through them with a rustle for a long while, but ultimately shook their heads. The trafficker's expression gradually became strange. His fingertips lightly tapped the tabletop, the rhythm growing faster and faster.
Seeing this, Rono's heart began pounding wildly beyond his control.
The longer they searched, the rarer she was.
And the rarer she was, the more she was worth!
Forcing down his surging emotions, Rono looked at the cup-headed woman lying unconscious on the bed. A trace of guilt flashed through his