In this kind of second-hand market, many items don't have a fixed value.
Prices fluctuated, often determined by the whims of the seller and the buyer.
Different items held different values in the minds of different people.
Something that might be worthless to one seller could be worth a fortune to someone else.
The act of using hand gestures to indicate price was often a way of guessing how much the buyer valued the item.
If Arthur had thought that five fingers meant five hundred, five thousand, or even fifty thousand, the seller wouldn't have shown any particular reaction and would have simply taken the money.
Arthur's decision to spend ten Units on a stone with drawings probably made the seller think he was a fool.
However, in Arthur's eyes, finding such a treasure at such a low price made him marvel at the seller's lack of insight.
In truth, both of them felt like they had made a profit.
Peter was somewhat puzzled as he looked at Arthur and asked, "Why did you spend money on a rock?"
"One man's trash is another man's treasure," Arthur said, clearly pleased with his bargain. His cryptic response left Peter completely confused.
"What language is that?"
"It's from a great nation!" Arthur chuckled and said, "Tell you what, we don't need to stick together. Let's set a time and meet up later."
"I was thinking the same thing. Shopping together is inefficient," Peter agreed and tapped his earpiece. "Stay in touch!"
"Got it."
With that, the two went their separate ways— Peter went to buy what he needed, and Arthur, like a busy bee, buzzed around the market in search of hidden treasures.
By the end of the day, Arthur wasn't in the best mood.
It wasn't that he hadn't found good stuff. In fact, he had. But the problem was— he didn't have enough money!
Not every item could be bought at a bargain, and not every seller was as insecure as the first one.
For example, one stone slab that was sold for ten Units by the first seller was priced at ten thousand by another seller, who refused to budge.
Arthur was left frustrated. All the money he had was borrowed from Peter— which was a total of just five thousand Units.
After failing to negotiate a lower price, Arthur had no choice but to walk away in defeat.
By now, night had fallen, but none of the vendors seemed eager to pack up. Lights illuminated the entire city, giving it a completely different vibe from the daytime.
Arthur exhaled softly, taking stock of his loot stored in his Disassembler Space.
He had one stone slab recording *The Eye of Horus*, of Purple Grade.
Two books on genetics, supposedly handwritten by some master. Arthur had no idea who this person was, but the books were also of Purple Grade.
These cost him a total of five hundred Units.
Two hundred and fifty each…
There was also a necklace of unknown origin, with an unremarkable, diamond-shaped stone pendant. It, too, was Purple Grade and had cost Arthur three hundred Units.
Additionally, Arthur's Disassembler Space now held a two-handed sword from Asgard and… a helmet once worn by Thanos.
Yes, Thanos' helmet!
The helmet had been deformed, likely during a fierce battle where someone had given the Mad Titan a good whack on his purple head.
Eventually, the helmet had been discarded, and after passing through many hands, it ended up with this vendor.
Arthur had spent a painful one thousand Units on the helmet, but its evaluation level was also at the Purple Grade! If this item hadn't been worn by Thanos himself, Arthur would never have bought it.
But considering the potential *Battle Soul* he might get from Disassembling it, there was no way he could let it go.
However, this left him with less than a thousand Units to his name.
Arthur had also tried to find a star map of Earth in the market but to no avail.
Many vendors didn't even know where Earth was, leaving Arthur somewhat frustrated as he realized that obtaining a star map wouldn't be easy.
With most of his money spent and the items he needed to purchase, he was about to meet up with Peter. But after only a few steps, an overwhelming sense of danger surged through him.
It felt like a massive disaster was about to strike. Instinctively, he glanced up at the sky and saw it ablaze with lights.
"Wait, those aren't lights— they're warships!" Arthur's eyes widened in shock.
At that moment, Star-Lord's voice came through his communicator. "Instructor, something seems off. Did you see what's in the sky?"
"Unless I'm blind!" Arthur frowned. "But we can't—"
Before he could finish, explosions erupted in the sky, and the city's alarm blared urgently.
"What can't we do?" Star-Lord's voice came again.
Arthur exhaled deeply. "Never mind. Let's meet up as quickly as possible!"
Peter agreed and temporarily cut the connection.
The streets had already descended into chaos. Buyers were looking around in confusion, while vendors frantically packed up their goods.
This, in turn, reminded the confused buyers that something big was happening. Hailing from all corners of the universe, they quickly shed their polite facades and began looting.
Arthur's expression darkened as the chaos spiraled out of control.
The city's defense forces clearly weren't prepared for such widespread disorder, and they had bigger problems to worry about— the massive warship above was about to unleash havoc.
But before that could happen, Arthur noticed someone approaching him. Looking up, he saw a hulking figure from some unknown planet standing before him, muscles bulging and a vicious grin on his face.
Swinging a weapon that resembled a giant mace, the Abomination roared, "Hand over anything valuable!"
Arthur nodded, but his hand had already drawn a gun. Three quick shots hit the alien's head.
The bullets, infused with colorless energy, packed a tremendous punch, obliterating the alien's head entirely!
Before Arthur could take the alien's weapon, the chaos escalated further. In a matter of moments, Arthur found himself struggling to move through the thickening turmoil.
"Damn it!!!" Arthur gritted his teeth. "Why is there chaos everywhere I go? Am I some kind of bad luck charm?"
As the thought crossed his mind, a towering figure over three meters tall suddenly appeared beside him.
"Mind control!" Arthur commanded mentally.
The hulking bald Abomination roared in response, clenching his fists and slamming them into the ground with tremendous force!
The impact sent shockwaves through the area, and Arthur leaped onto the Abomination's shoulder as the ground quaked violently, knocking people off their feet.
Without hesitation, the massive Abomination jumped into the air, soaring over a hundred meters before crashing back down to the ground with a deafening roar.