Chapter 559

Afterward, Qin Hao extended his divine sense into the jade slip.

Inside was a star map. Most of its area was dark, with only a few winding thin lines glowing.

That was a route to avoid the patrols of the Chaos Enforcement Bureau.

The route's endpoint pointed to a grey sector with no designation.

It was marked with three words: 【Ghost Market Entrance】.

Old Four.

Qin Hao projected the star map data.

"Adjust the course, go here. Since we're going to be rats in this dark forest, we need to check out the rat's nest."

Qin Si's eyes flashed with countless data streams.

"Calculation complete, distance is three hundred standard jump units. The region's rules are chaotic; our disguise layer would appear normal there."

Qin Zheng controlled the bloated, bulky form of the Yanhuang Universe, its tail engines spewing murky yellow light.

The starship turned and dove into deeper darkness.

A few days later.

Ghost Market Entrance is neither a planet nor a continent.

It is an ultra-gigantic biological skeleton floating in the void.

The skeleton stretches three million light-years long, with various starships and microcosms docked between its ribs.

Here there are no guards, only chaotic gravitational waves and noisy wide-band broadcasts.

The Yanhuang Universe slipped into a gap beneath a rib.

Qin Hao brought only Qin Zheng; their consciousnesses manifested as two itinerant merchants clad in isolation cloaks, stepping onto the platform at the skeleton's hub.

The platform floor was paved with some kind of high-strength carapace, emitting a crisp impact when stepped on.

The stalls on either side were bloodier than those seen at the regular port before.

Someone was selling freshly cut law-lines, the severed ends still dripping golden energy fluid.

Someone was peddling live stars,

compressed into force-field cages only the size of a fist, wildly striking the walls.

Qin Hao walked straight ahead without glancing sideways, heading for a hemispherical building at the center.

An auction was being held there.

The detection device at the entrance scanned Qin Hao's forged ID.

【K-779, Environmental Regulation Unit.】

【Access granted.】

The gate slid open.

Inside, the light was dim, with only a few dozen seats scattered about.

Qin Hao found a corner and sat down.

The armrests had bidding screens.

The auctioneer on stage was a mechanical lifeform with six arms, each gripping a law-hammer.

"Next item."

The mechanical voice had no inflection.

"An unknown substance extracted from an ancient corpse, a material harder than the cosmic crystal wall, its internal structure cannot be analyzed, but it can shield against any form of rule detection."

A black tray was pushed forward.

On the tray lay a fragment.

Only the size of a fingernail, its edges extremely irregular, like a shard broken off some kind of mirror surface.

It presented an absolute gray-white.

Thud.

Qin Hao's heart jumped violently.

This was not a physiological reaction.

It was the system.

The system panel, which had been playing dead since Xuan Du left and usually only reacted when absorbing energy, now popped up without any warning.

There were no textual prompts.

The entire field of vision turned into a blinding red.

The panel was vibrating.

Qin Hao felt a burning sensation in his chest, that heat penetrating his consciousness body and directly affecting the depths of his soul.

It wanted that thing.

That thirst almost reached out a hand from Qin Hao's throat.

Qin Hao pressed his chest, forcibly suppressing that agitation.

He looked toward the stage.

The auctioneer raised the law-hammer.

"Starting bid, five hundred regulation coins. Although we don't know its specific use, it's still good as a core for armor."

The hall fell silent.

Five hundred regulation coins is no small sum; it could buy a low-tier universe.

No one was willing to pay for a fragment of unknown purpose.

"Five hundred."

In the front row, a liquid creature made entirely of mercury raised its placard.

Qin Hao placed his finger on the bidding screen.

He must stay calm.

If one shows excessive desire for something in a place like this, it will only attract sharks.

"501."

Qin Hao entered a number.

The liquid creature turned its head and glanced at the corner where Qin Hao stood.

It had no facial features, only a smooth surface that reflected the shadow beneath Qin Hao's cloak.

"600."

The liquid creature raised the price again.

"601."

Qin Hao added only ten.

He wanted to appear as a scavenging pauper, not a hunter determined to win.

"1,000."

The liquid creature seemed impatient and raised the price outright.

Qin Hao's finger stopped.

He was calculating.

In his account, the money earned from selling the Blue Universe residue plus his original reserves totaled only about three thousand.

That item might be just a toy to the liquid creature, but to him it was a matter of life.

"1,010."

Qin Hao pressed the button again.

The chair beneath the liquid creature creaked.

It turned, and a wave of thought directly pierced toward him.

"Friend, I'm from the Flowing Silver Guild, give me some face."

It was a threat.

Qin Hao gave no reply, only pointed at the auctioneer on the stage.

The auctioneer's mechanical eye flashed red, staring at the liquid creature.

Here, violating the auction rules results in immediate disassembly.

The liquid creature withdrew the thought wave and let out a cold snort.

"1,500."

That was already a premium.

It seemed to be doing it just for pride.

Qin Hao weighed his options in his mind.

If he kept inching up, the other side might keep matching bids for the sake of face.

He needed to hurt it in one go, making it feel the deal wasn't worth it.

"3,000."

Qin Hao went all in.

After entering the number, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

He wore the swagger of a newly rich man with money to burn.

All eyes in the hall converged on him.

"3,000 rule coins for a fragment?"

Crazy.

The liquid creature's body rippled, clearly choked by that price.

It assessed the fragment's value and ultimately did not raise its placard.

"3,000 for one time."

"3,000 for two times."

"3,000 for three times."

Thud.

The Rule Hammer fell.

"Sold. Buyer K-779, please proceed to the backstage for settlement."

Qin Hao stood up.

Cold sweat, though nonexistent, seeped from his palm beneath the cloak.

The system panel's red alarm continued flashing, and the burning sensation grew stronger.

The backstage was a fully sealed compartment.

The six-armed auctioneer pushed the tray in front of Qin Hao.

"Money and goods settled."

Qin Hao transferred all the remaining balance from his account.

Now, he was truly broke down to his underwear.

But he didn't care.

The instant his finger touched the gray‑white fragment.

Heh.

A sound like an electrical overload boom rang in Qin Hao's mind.

That fragment wasn't picked up.

It melted outright.

The solid turned into a gray‑white data stream, which slipped along Qin Hao's finger and pierced into his body.

The auctioneer's six arms halted simultaneously.

All the mechanical eyes focused on Qin Hao's hand.

"Item delivered."

The mechanical voice remained cold, as if it hadn't seen the strange scene just now.

At the Ghost Market entrance, don't ask what shouldn't be asked.

Qin Hao withdrew his hand; his palm was empty.

"Go."

He barked low at Qin Zheng.

The two quickly left the auction hall, passed through the crowded corridor, and returned to the docking point of the Yanhuang Universe.

The hatch closed.

The isolation shield rose.

Returned to the Core Hall.

Qin Hao slumped onto the throne.

The red warning box that had been flickering in view vanished.

In its place appeared rows upon rows of golden code never seen before.

【System integrity increased: 0.01%】

【Module loading…】

【Detected fragment of Truth Sequence, performing logical alignment.】

Qin Hao stared at the 0.01% figure.

Just a piece the size of a fingernail could boost it that much?

And what is this Truth Sequence?

"Dad, your energy reading is soaring!"