Before long, the two walked into a corner, where the signboard of a clothing store tucked away in the corner was flashing.
"The level of development here... is too low!" Yan Bai couldn't help but sigh. "Where we come from, if things developed like this, the person in charge would be dismissed."
"There's nothing we can do," Jintiao sighed softly. "On those planets ravaged by war, there are places even poorer than this. And in those areas covered by the Swarm Disaster, apart from the sound of insects flapping their wings, there is absolutely no one to be seen."
"Speaking of which... did you bring any money?" Yan Bai suddenly glanced at his phone, which displayed a clean "0".
"Didn't you get paid for your work before?" Jintiao asked curiously.
"You can't say that... I only just got this body myself, and I just registered my phone account." Yan Bai's voice was a little shy.
"As if I had a body before you..." Jintiao rolled her eyes. "Why don't you go ask Kafka for money? You're just running errands for them anyway."
"That's true..." Yan Bai pondered, then opened Kafka's chat and found that she had already transferred the money.
"Is this... a kind of premonition?" Jintiao's voice was full of surprise.
"Probably--" Yan Bai drew out the word as he walked into the shop.
"Hey? Wait for me!" Jintiao called out from behind, quickly catching up with Yan Bai.
"Hello, welcome!" The two entered the store and were greeted with a more enthusiastic welcome than at a vegetable market.
"The level of service at shops that sell high-end products is just different—" Jintiao exclaimed in amazement.
"Hey, don't say that," Yan Bai interjected, "It's not because they're uncivilized, it's because they haven't received a good education—"
"Alright, alright, stop reading! I was wrong, okay?" Jintiao interrupted Yan Bai's long-winded speech, half-jokingly saying, "This coat is nice, want to take a look?"
Yan Bai took the clothes from Jintiao and waved them in front of him. "Good taste, take them for now."
Jintiao picked up a bag from the side and put the coat she had just received into it. "Let's find another one and see what your taste is like?"
"Alright..." Yan Bai casually picked up one from the side. "How about this one?"
Jintiao took the clothes and scrutinized them carefully, but couldn't find anything praiseworthy about them. "Your taste... has it always been this bad?"
"What's wrong? Isn't it beautiful?" Yan Bai said innocently, "Doesn't this red and green color scheme look elegant?"
"Standing there, he looks like a traffic light..." Jintiao finally fell silent, speechless at the atrocity of the fashion sense. "It's a joke that this store can sell such strange clothes."
Jintiao looked around, picked out the coat that best suited her taste, packed it up, and paid for it.
"Two coats, a total of 800,000 Credits," the shop assistant replied after checking the code.
"Actually... it's quite expensive," Yan Bai whispered to Jintiao.
"We don't understand the luxury goods industry," Jintiao replied, turning her gaze to the sales clerk. "Pay by scanning the code."
The clerk handed over a barcode scanner, and the payment was completed with a simple swipe. "Thank you," the two said, then turned and left, leaving the clerk behind who was about to say "Welcome back next time."
"The vegetables should be ready soon, right? Shall we go over now?" As they walked out of the clothing store, Jintiao suddenly remembered the vegetables that had been forgotten at the stall and reminded Yan Bai.
"That's a good question indeed..." Yan Bai muttered to himself, handing the bag containing the coat to Jintiao: "Let's go take a look now, and settle the bill while we're at it."
A short while later, the two figures appeared in front of the stall. "Boss, is our food ready?" The boss glanced up, his eyes still carrying that rugged look. "This is it, pay up."
Yan Bai swiped his phone on the barcode scanner, picked up his bag, and left without looking back. Jintiao followed closely behind, leaving only the market swaying in the wind.
"Well? I've told you everything, aren't you going to tell me about your background?" After putting the coat and vegetables in the cargo hold, Yan Bai and Jintiao got into the driver's seat together, Jintiao teased him.
"My background? That might not be very interesting..." Yan Bai muttered to himself, "Do you want to hear the entire history of the Fansha Star civilization, or do you want to hear about my experiences as ' Yan Bai '?"
"I don't want you to carry the burden of the so-called 'whole world'." Jintiao shook her head. "You should just be Yan Bai."
"Oh... well, let me tell you about it then—" Yan Bai chuckled softly, "I'll tell you on the way."
The spaceship quickly took off, traversing among the stars of the universe. "I was born into a peasant family and suffered greatly from the oppression of landlords and the bourgeoisie in my childhood. Later, I joined the Kangbu Revolutionary Army and fought as a political commissar until the destruction of Fansha Star."
After listening to Yan Bai's account, there was a moment of silence in the driver's seat. Jintiao seemed to be thinking about something, moved her lips, but ultimately did not speak.
Soon, the spaceship returned to the Stellaron Hunters ' secret base. Yan Bai took a coat and some vegetables from the cargo hold and carried them toward the gate. Jintiao followed behind, a complex look flashing in his eyes. He ran a few steps and followed even closer.
The door slowly closed, leaving only the two figures in the long, narrow corridor.
"Do you remember... how long have we known each other?" Jintiao suddenly asked this question.
"About ten days, what's wrong?" Yan Bai was baffled by the question. Just as he turned around, he slammed heavily against the wall.
"That's strange... aren't all the doors here supposed to be automatic doors?" Yan Bai touched the spot where he had bumped into something, but the door still wouldn't open.
"It's nothing, it's just... I like you a little --" Yan Bai turned his head, and Jintiao's figure approached him step by step. Her originally clear blue and pink eyes were tinged with a murky purple, making her look somewhat sinister.
" Jintiao, calm down!" A rare hint of panic appeared in Yan Bai's eyes as he leaned closer to the door. A series of " Harmony " melodies rushed outwards and struck Jintiao, but both disappeared without a trace.
"It's no use. I already told Silver Wolf that none of us can get out before I give the signal!" In an instant, the purple Propagation mech appeared and began to release a purple gas into the surrounding area.
" Jintiao... wake up!" Seeing the approaching gas, Yan Bai instinctively covered his mouth and nose.
"Is what we're doing really okay?" Silver Wolf, who was closely monitoring the situation inside using the surveillance cameras, couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt about Yan Bai's predicament.
"Alright, stop looking at these. Let them handle it." Kafka turned off the monitor screen and sat down in front of Silver Wolf. "That's just how the script is written."