"By the way, how long has it been since you last fed them?" Kleya asked, looking at the hungry Thunderstripe Snow Foxes, who were still crying.
Chu Tian could only laugh awkwardly and said, "About a day and a night, mainly because I forgot, and I don't really know how to take care of pets."
Kleya gave Chu Tian a disapproving look and then called one of her maids to bring a bunch of meat and a large can of milk.
After feeding the two Thunderstripe Snow Foxes until they were full, Kleya picked one of them up and looked at Chu Tian. "Are you sure you want to give them to me? A wild Thunderstripe Snow Fox cub like this would cost more than 15 million credits."
Chu Tian shrugged nonchalantly and said, "You can keep them and take care of them. After all, I don't really know how to look after pets."
"Alright, I'll keep one. Actually, raising these is no different from raising kittens or puppies. If you really can't handle it, you can sell it on the black market. It should fetch at least 10 million credits," Kleya said, taking the other cub from Chu Tian.
Hearing Kleya's words, Chu Tian felt that it might not be that difficult after all. He gave Kleya a pile of meat and milk, and then stuffed the Thunderstripe Snow Foxes, who would eat and sleep, back into the metal sphere. He then left Gold Jade Pavilion.
Chu Tian used the internal communication of the mercenary group to contact Hong Shang and Nota. They were both planning to meet up with Chu Tian in the black market.
Hong Shang needed to process the materials on her body as well as the Thunderstripe Snow Fox cubs, while Nota had to find someone to repair his weapons and equipment, as the wear and tear in battles was quite significant.
The three of them met up at the black market.
"Chu Tian, I heard that Kleya called you over. Did you get your face fixed, and is your equipment ready?" Nota asked with some confusion.
Chu Tian nodded and showed Nota the Grim Reaper Set.
Nota chuckled, "Kleya's taste is as unique as ever, huh? I guess our equipment is going to be delayed."
"Aren't you worried? There are so many materials involved," Chu Tian asked in surprise.
Nata replied, "Not really. What if Kleya's luck shines through, and she succeeds? Plus, did Kleya even charge you for this?"
Chu Tian shook his head, saying, "No, she didn't."
"Well, there you go. Kleya is actually a good person, and she doesn't easily craft equipment for others. Even though all the mercenaries in Base 3 say she's a scam in equipment crafting, Kleya always tries to make equipment with unlimited upgrade potential. Although the success rate is extremely low, I advise you to give her a bunch of materials every time you come back from a mission. It will be beneficial for you in the long run."
Taking note of what Nota said, Chu Tian thought it was a good idea. After all, he could easily hunt E-rank beasts now, and the materials from them weren't too expensive, unless it was something rare.
The three of them arrived at the vicinity of the black market. Nota put on a silver mask from his spatial bag, completely concealing his face, making it impossible to detect his talent level without the assistance of the system.
Similarly, Hong Shang had prepared by wearing a red cloak that covered her entire body. While it couldn't hide her talent level, it made it impossible to see her appearance.
Seeing this, Chu Tian also didn't hesitate and put on the Grim Reaper cloak. He pulled up the hood, and the three of them walked into the black market.
Despite its name, the black market was more like a large trading market. However, the quality of the goods varied, and newcomers would often end up paying a high price for low-quality items.
Additionally, the black market attracted mercenaries and even Federation soldiers who wanted to quickly sell the materials they obtained from missions. It was often faster than going through the formal channels to get paid.
Chu Tian had a good amount of materials with him, and with his talent hidden, he appeared no different from an ordinary person.
In the black market, those who wore top-notch equipment but had no talent aura were either experts or super experts. After all, the entrance to the black market had a special device that prevented anyone without a talent from entering.
The three of them parted ways at the entrance to the black market, and Chu Tian headed straight for the material store he had previously deceived.
Walking into the shop, the owner, who had been prepared to deceive him earlier, was sitting at the counter counting her earnings. When she saw Chu Tian enter, she quickly put on a sweet smile.
"Hello, dear customer! Are you looking to buy equipment or materials? Don't judge my shop by its size; we have a wide variety of items," the shop owner said, reaching for the list of item categories to show Chu Tian.
Chu Tian waved his hand, lowering his voice as if it was hoarse, and said, "I have a batch of materials to sell. Take a look and give me a price."
With that, he displayed a mountain-like pile of materials, including various E-rank and D-rank beast materials, in front of the shop owner. He decided not to sell the materials obtained from the C-rank beasts he had killed, as he planned to use them for Kleya to practice.
The reason for this was that Chu Tian had a bold idea. He wanted to enter the Skysen Family's Skysen Battle Academy to replicate talents and learn powerful martial techniques from the system.
After all, apart from the Federation Central Base and the Federation Battle Academies, the Skysen Battle Academy was the best place to nurture talents.
However, the Skysen Battle Academy had very limited annual enrollment, with only twenty slots available globally. Even fewer slots were allocated to the Chu family, with only ten positions.
To be accepted into the Skysen Battle Academy, one had to be among the best of the best.
"So many materials! I'm afraid there are over a thousand E-rank beast materials and hundreds of D-rank ones. How about I give you five million for all of them? What do you think?" The shop owner couldn't gauge Chu Tian's background, so she offered a slightly higher price compared to other places.
However, Chu Tian knew that even though the materials were priced lower on the black market compared to the regular market, the shop owner's offer was still low. He sneered and said, "Isn't that a bit too low? Don't try to deceive me."
"Well, I've already given you the highest price. You can't expect me to make no profit at all, can you?" The shop owner replied with a somewhat aggrieved expression.
Chu Tian looked at the mature and beautiful shop owner and couldn't come up with anything else. He reluctantly agreed to her price.
After receiving the money, Chu Tian prepared to leave. However, the shop owner, Wang Lingshan, called out to him.
"I'm Wang Lingshan. Can I leave you a contact? If you have more materials in the future, you can sell them to me, and I promise to buy them for one percent more than the market purchase price. What do you think?" Wang Lingshan said and handed over her electronic business card.
Chu Tian accepted the transparent card, and as soon as his fingers made contact, all the information appeared.
Putting the card away, Chu Tian left the shop without looking back.
As he walked away, Wang Lingshan mumbled to herself with lingering fear, "I can't believe that person is actually Chu Tian, that powerhouse who's almost on par with a B-rank talent martial artist."