The tavern was dimly lit, and the air smelled of strong liquor mixed with machine oil.
A few customers sat scattered around several metal tables, most of them dressed as mercenaries.
Behind the bar stood a burly humanoid with dark gray skin, wiping a glass with a filthy rag.
When he saw Xu Feng enter, his hands paused, and his gaze lingered on Little Black behind Xu Feng for two seconds.
Then he looked away and continued wiping the glass.
Everyone who noticed Xu Feng entering at nearly the same time fell silent, eyeing Little Black behind him curiously.
"Isn't that one of those Spirit Pivot models that were popular tens of thousands of years ago?"
"Looks like it, but it's been heavily modified. You don't see many of those."
"A guard puppet like that would sell for at least fifty thousand crystals, right?"
"Heh, fifty thousand? This is the frontier. Take it to just about any major planet, and it'd fetch at least this much."
"Eighty thousand?"
"Eight hundred thousand!"
"What?!!"
"An old-model junk puppet can sell for that much?"
"You don't know shit. That's called an antique. It has collectible value, understand? Ever heard of an antique premium? Read more spirit slips."
"Damn, then this guy... must have quite a background."
"Hard to say. Let's wait and see."
Ignoring their hushed chatter, Xu Feng walked straight to the bar and tossed out ten pieces of Crystal Currency.
"I'm looking for some information."
After making a circuit of the city, he had gotten a rough idea of where this Crystal Currency came from.
It was a currency issued by the Star Soul Hall, made from scraps of an energy ore. After reworking them, the Star Soul Hall engraved them with a special restriction rune.
The ore was easy to