"There's no need to hide anything between you and me,"
"Let's lay it out directly."
"If you're here to cause trouble,"
"I'll accept that."
"But if you're talking about cooperation,"
"Then show your sincerity."
At this moment, the Grandmaster could no longer sit still. In all his many years of life, he had never encountered someone like this on Sakaar. This was the first time he had met someone so slick and evasive.
Talking with Blaine took far too much effort. Both of them kept circling around the point, neither willing to lower their guard.
Growing impatient, the Grandmaster decided to speak plainly. After all, this was his territory—how could he not be arrogant and domineering, with the bearing of a ruler?
"Since you're being straightforward,"
"I'll be straightforward as well."
"I did come for a reason,"
"And for nothing else but two things."
"Oh? Is there really something in this garbage dump of Sakaar that could make your heart flutter?"
Now the Grandmaster was genuinely curious. Leaving everything else aside, nearly all novel, mysterious, and valuable treasures on Sakaar were already in his possession. If the other party was searching for something, then it certainly wouldn't be simple.
"The first thing—the star core."
Blaine didn't waste words and went straight to the point.
"Star core? What is that supposed to be?"
"I've never heard of it."
Seeing the immediate denial, Blaine wasn't surprised. After all, in this vast universe, star cores went by many different names, and the term itself was ancient. It was perfectly normal not to recognize it by name.
So Blaine directly took out the two fifth-level star cores given to him by the Kree star's female president. These two star cores appeared to be several billion years old, roughly the same age as the Milky Way's sun.
Because of long-term exposure, these fifth-level star cores were not as heavy as the one Blaine had smashed out of a planet or meteorite. They could easily be held in one hand.
The moment the star cores appeared, the Grandmaster's eyes lit up.
Just as the Collector had said, star cores were a form of hard currency in the universe, equivalent to gemstones on Earth. No matter where you went, you never had to worry about them not being accepted.
However, fifth-level star cores were extremely rare, and this was already the highest level Blaine could currently produce. Such high-purity fifth-level star cores were exceptionally precious.
Naturally, the Grandmaster had never come into contact with something like this before. As he himself said, Sakaar was merely a garbage transfer station—nothing but trash everywhere.
Even if the Grandmaster didn't know, if the Xandar's female president hadn't personally told Blaine, he wouldn't have believed that this garbage dump could contain a tenth-level star core.
So when Blaine produced the fifth-level star cores, the Grandmaster immediately became excited. He recognized what they were, but had never seen such purity before.
"This… this is—"
"Don't worry, it's not for you."
Before the Grandmaster could finish speaking, Blaine immediately put the star cores back into the Hunter Space.
When they appeared, the Grandmaster's gaze had locked onto them, his hand almost stretching out toward Blaine as if he were about to pounce.
"Ahem, ahem."
"Uh… that…"
"Friends come from afar—"
"Anyone who enters is a guest. Tell me, what can I do for you?"
"Just say the word. I'll do my best."
To cover his embarrassment, the Grandmaster coughed a few times and changed his tone completely.
"I already said it,"
"I came to Sakaar for this first."
Blaine didn't mock him and continued speaking calmly.
"Oh? There's something like that on Sakaar?"
Hearing Blaine's words, the Grandmaster was also puzzled. He had ruled Sakaar for hundreds of years and had never heard of such a thing.
"That's not a funny joke."
"I've been on Sakaar for centuries, and I've never heard of anything purer than what you just took out."
Hearing this, Blaine frowned slightly. Through his mind-reading ability, he could tell the Grandmaster wasn't lying. That meant even the Grandmaster didn't know the location of the tenth-level star core. It seemed that the first objective would have to be searched for slowly on his own.
"However—"
"If Your Excellency is willing to hand over those two treasures just now,"
"I can mobilize all the people of Sakaar,"
"And use all my strength to help you find it."
Perhaps seeing that Blaine was about to abandon the matter, the Grandmaster hurriedly added this condition. Blaine might not care anymore, but the Grandmaster certainly did. He had never seen something of such purity in most of his life—he absolutely had to get his hands on it.
Blaine found it amusing. You don't even know where it is, yet you still want to help me find it? Once I activate Hawkeye, circling Sakaar a few times would be far more efficient than relying on you.
At this moment, Blaine felt as if he had made a mistake. It was like an ordinary person standing in a train station holding up tens of thousands in cash, shouting that he had money, then stuffing it into his pocket and boarding the train—clearly just asking to be robbed.
Suddenly, Blaine understood an old saying: don't fear thieves stealing—fear thieves remembering.
"Th-that… what do you think of this?"
Sensing Blaine's lack of interest, the Grandmaster raised the stakes again. After speaking, he glanced at the two beauties who had followed them inside earlier.
"These two are new,"
"They were specially smuggled here."
"Top-grade goods, my lord."
"How about I give them to you as servants?"
"I'm not greedy—just one of them will do."
Afraid Blaine wouldn't understand, the Grandmaster spelled it out clearly: two beauties in exchange for a fifth-level star core.
When the Grandmaster pointed at them, Blaine followed his finger with his eyes. The two beauties smiled faintly in response.
Blaine's mood was stirred once again, the heat he had just barely suppressed surging back up. He felt as if he needed to pull out two frozen magic arrows and hold them in his hands again.
No wonder it was said that heroes fell for beauties, and beauties brought disaster.
Blaine couldn't understand it. He had encountered countless stunning women before, yet he had never lost composure like this—not even stuttering.
But today, merely looking at them and catching their fragrance made him feel unable to endure it. It was truly unbelievable.
In terms of appearance, Gali was definitely above them. In terms of figure, Blaine had seen many who surpassed them—Natasha, the Scarlet Witch, even the top massage therapist in Washington's pedicure district were no worse.
Yet strangely, Blaine could remain calm in front of others, even retreat unscathed when faced with temptation. So why was it that today, just from their looks and scent, he felt so shaken?
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