The fight on one side had just concluded. A battered flight vehicle approached from a distance, hovering near the two-two mark in the air. Yang Ying glanced up slightly and saw a complex insignia painted on the underside of the craft.

Pipinav, standing nearby, pointed to the emblem and turned to Yang Ying, saying, "That's the Enforcement Squad. Only the elite among us Baant people can join them. Judging by that insignia, the incoming unit should be the Third Team."

Yang Ying nodded, watching as the flight vehicle's hatch opened and a dozen or so Octopods jumped down onto the street, immediately surrounding both the Songstar people and the Kustarians. Yang Ying observed them closely and noted that all these Octopods had mastered psychic power, with strength at least equivalent to Earth's Middle-Tier Psions. The leader was dressed differently from the others and was, surprisingly, a Master-level expert!

Seeing him, Pipinav’s eyes lit up, and he said to Yang Ying with a touch of pride, "Esteemed guest, look at this. We have fourteen such Enforcement Squads on this island alone. Becoming a member of the Enforcement Squad on our planet Baant is extremely difficult. Those with only First-Level strength are relegated to menial tasks on the periphery. To officially join a team, one must possess at least Second-Level psychic power. Yet, even if a Second-Level expert cultivates to their peak, they can only compete for the position of Deputy Captain. Captain-level remains an unreachable dream, as only Third-Level super-experts can become Captains."

"Is the leader the Captain?" Yang Ying subtly gestured forward, his expression utterly calm.

Since entering the Galaxy, Earth's established system for ranking power had become obsolete, needing to align with Galactic standards. Apprentices from the Psion Monastery were considered First-Level in the Galaxy; all formal Psions, from Low-Tier up to Quasi-Master, were classified as Second-Level; Master-level experts constituted the Third-Level.

At this moment, Pipinav was unaware that a stronger, peak Master stood beside him. Hearing Yang Ying's question, he excitedly replied, "Yes, I hadn't expected to run into the Captain of the Third Team today. It must be because the parties involved in this conflict are the Songstar people and the Kustarians."

As he spoke, he adopted a secretive look, lowering his voice, "Esteemed guest, this clash today was actually mild. Both sides only exhibited Second-Level strength. Last month, we had a conflict between Third-Level super-experts. Heavens above, can you imagine two Captain-level figures battling within the city? I was far off to the side and witnessed that fight. I stake my reputation on it, the scene was truly terrifying; it scared me right out of my wits, and I fled. I heard that in the end, it was the legendary Chief Captain, a peak Third-Level powerhouse, who personally intervened to capture those two... super-experts?"

Pipinav sighed, "If only I hadn't run away! If I could have seen that incredibly mysterious Chief Captain with my own eyes, what's a little bit of risk?" His tone was laced with genuine regret.

Upon hearing Pipinav’s words, Katarina let out a silver-bell laugh and glanced toward Yang Ying. She wasn't proficient in the Songstar language, but she understood the general meaning: "Sir, if he knew you were on the same tier as that Chief Captain, his eyeballs would probably pop right out of his head!"

Yang Ying smiled without a word. Pipinav, however, didn't understand Katarina and simply acted as if he hadn't heard anything.

By now, the leader of the Enforcement Squad had clarified the situation. After hearing the two Songstar individuals recount the battle, he suspected a hidden expert had interfered—someone whose power allowed over a dozen Second-Level psychics in the vicinity to remain oblivious. The intervening individual must possess at least Third-Level strength?

The Enforcement Captain scanned the crowd of onlookers. His gaze paused briefly when it fell upon Yang Ying and his group; it was the first time he had ever seen Humans on the planet Baant, finding them exceedingly unfamiliar. But the pause was brief, and he quickly shifted his eyes away.

After looking around, he still couldn't pinpoint who had acted. He decided to let it go. In his view, disputes involving Second-Level combatants shouldn't be complicated by involving Third-Level figures.

He gave a few instructions to his squad members, loaded the two Songstar people and the group of Kustarians on the ground into the flight vehicle, seized surveillance footage from the street, and called several clerks from nearby shops to serve as witnesses. They all boarded the craft and returned in the direction they had come from.

Seeing them depart, Pipinav rubbed his hands together. "Esteemed guests, the trouble is past; shall we continue our progress?"

The group spent the afternoon shopping, visiting over a hundred stores. Yang Ying spent approximately four million Songstar Credits in total. While this figure didn't seem immense when calculated in Songstar Credits, it translated to six hundred million Earth currency. However, Yang Ying didn't seem to care. The unique aquatic specialty goods of Baant were eye-opening and utterly unseen on Earth, making them worth far more than that monetary value. If he brought a ship full of this cargo back to Earth for auction, not only would he recoup all these expenses, but he could easily multiply his investment several dozen times!

Seeing the Yang Ying party's generous spending, Pipinav became energized, growing increasingly excited the more they shopped. His mouth never stopped chattering, spewing forth compliments that flowed like a continuous river and surged like the unchecked torrent of the Yellow River.

Yang Ying knew that as a broker, Pipinav was bound to earn a commission. He would receive a corresponding kickback no matter how much they bought. But why fuss over such a small matter? Profit driving motivation—that was perfectly normal.

During their shopping spree, Yang Ying also acquired a great deal of electronic literature detailing the customs and conditions of various regions in the Orion Arm—travelogues by explorers and adventurers, official tourist guides published by different races, complete with illustrations and extensive holographic videos. He even found many highly detailed star-domain maps!

These were exactly what Yang Ying urgently needed, arriving like timely aid in the snow; they couldn't have been more opportune.

That evening, Yang Ying and his group checked into the International Hotel in Baant's Benne district. The accommodations were exceptionally luxurious to host alien guests. Katarina and Yang Ying shared a room; she was quite taken with the rippling water patterns displayed on the hotel walls, a distinct feature of the planet.

The next day, the group continued their market exploration, moving from the east side to the west side. They returned to the hotel only when the sun set.

On the third day, Pipinav suggested, "Esteemed guests, would you like to visit the Trade Center?"

Located in the center of Baant's Dini city, the Trade Center was the exclusive venue for monumental transactions. Large-scale resource trading or items with extremely high unit prices were only sold there. It accepted only large orders; anyone short on funds would find the trip pointless. However, after two days of observation, Pipinav was certain that Yang Ying's party was flush with cash and fully qualified to enter the Trade Center.

"Very well, lead the way."

Yang Ying's group had essentially explored the entire city over the past two days and had already planned to visit the Trade Center. Pipinav’s spontaneous suggestion suited him perfectly.

The group entered the Trade Center building and noticed the atmosphere was indeed different. Far fewer people moved about compared to outside. Pipinav explained on the side, "The first floor of the Trade Center provides information consultation; the floors above house the various shops. We can check the information terminals first; anything sold here can be located on those terminals. If you don't mind not seeing the physical item, you can even finalize all transactions directly through the terminal."

Several Octopods approached them. They clearly recognized Pipinav, greeting him in the Baant language before glancing over at Yang Ying's side.

Pipinav exchanged greetings with them and then translated into the Songstar language for Yang Ying, "They are brokers like me. They are envious that I found a major client."

The brokers, overhearing this, switched to the Songstar language: "If we had known, we would have gone to the landing pad to grab clients directly. Waiting here all day, we only get customers who have already found a broker—it's so inefficient."

"Going to the landing pad means exposure to sun and rain, and you might not land a big client; you could work all day and achieve nothing. Here in the Trade Center, the environment is comfortable, and once you secure a client, it’s a big one. Don't envy me," Pipinav retorted.

"That makes sense," several brokers conceded, nodding. After bidding farewell, they turned and left.

Long after they were out of earshot, Yang Ying commented to Pipinav, "What you said was quite clever; you managed to instantly dissuade them from trying to steal your business."

Pipinav turned back with a smile. "Esteemed guest truly has sharp eyes; nothing escapes you. These fellows are inherently lazy by nature. If they find a reason they can rationalize, they will rest easy without exerting themselves. But to achieve great things, that attitude won't do."

He led Yang Ying's party through the ground-floor lobby to a corridor lined with over twenty closed doors.

"Many major clients dislike others watching them select goods, so the information terminals are placed in private rooms," Pipinav said, stepping forward to open one door. "Esteemed guest, please."

Yang Ying and the others stepped inside. The room was about fifty square meters, featuring a holographic projector in the center. A dozen screens floated in the air, scrolling through data on various commodities.

Pipinav briefly explained how to use the information terminal; it was uncomplicated, relying on simple touch operation. After listening, Yang Ying approached and grabbed a screen to begin interacting. He first switched the language setting to Songstar, then started flipping through the information. Item after item drifted past his eyes, usually accompanied by a brief descriptive text in Songstar characters.

The phantom agents dispersed to various corners of the room, standing silently. Katarina moved to Yang Ying's side; as she wasn't skilled at reading Songstar script, she didn't look at the data but merely stayed close to him.

Occasionally, Yang Ying would see something promising and turn to ask for her opinion, and she would respond based on her own intuition.