The next morning, the atmosphere on the Trash-Dragon was buzzing with rare excitement. Even Ember temporarily set aside weapon maintenance, Teron stopped rotating metal scraps, and Celeste couldn't sit still.
Their first stop was the grocery market located near the center of the Trash-Dragon. It was essentially a series of old ship compartments connected by makeshift bridges, forming a labyrinth of stalls.
The scene was noisy, bustling, and full of life. Light from flickering neon signs cut through streams of smoke rising from stalls grilling food of questionable origin.
Never before had the ramshackle market of the Trash-Dragon station been so lively and crowded. Non-human collectives and extraordinary individual beings had gathered in unprecedented numbers. From creatures with peculiar shapes to sentient weather phenomena, all jostled within. The smells of machine oil, food, and hundreds of unfamiliar Essences mingled together.
The stalls now sold all sorts of things the Black Storm crew rarely saw before.
"Magical Components" Stall: Sold all kinds of ancient magical tools, from staves containing magic essences to outdated spellbooks. The stall owner was an old robot, whose master was likely a "Versatile Carver" with a penchant for magic.
"Scrap Essence" Stall: Sold used, mid-quality Essence fragments or unclassified Essences, meant for amateur carvers or those with few credit points. Celeste was drawn to a light green Essence that emitted a feeling of "curiosity," but Ember pulled her along.
"Universal Energy Drink" Bar: A makeshift bar where hunters and merchants gathered. Ember stopped to buy some information from the bartender about the security situation near the A.G.R.A. sector.
Nearby was a makeshift workshop within the "Galactic Scrap Market." Countless Essence Prisms were arranged in crystal boxes around it, emitting a jumble of colors and emotions.
On their way to the A.G.R.A. sector, they stopped by Old Man Garv's workshop.
Old Man Garv belonged to a race with a more intuitive, innate ability to assimilate and use Essence Prisms compared to humans. They could communicate through changes in the light patterns on their bodies, similar to Teron, a fairly friendly neighbor.
Old Man Garv was a talented but quite grumpy carver. When they entered the workshop, they found Garv busy crafting something. They heard only:
Garv took a deep breath. "This time it will definitely work! A Dream-Catcher Lamp! Everyone will want one!"
He focused on the crystal cage. "Now, little one, dream of a lamp... a lamp that can be lit by beautiful dreams themselves, emitting a warm and gentle light!"
Then...
"Your turn!" Garv urged the Mirror Casting entity.
The Mirror Casting entity shuddered, trying to capture the image from the dream. But because the dream was unstable, the reflected copy it created also fluctuated violently. The image of the lamp in the air wavered, distorted; the body of the lamp became crooked, the bulb misshapen.
The Dream Speaker shivered. It tried hard, and a faint image of a classic oil lamp with warm yellow light appeared. But because Garv hadn't paid enough "scrap memories" to sustain it, the dream wasn't clear, the light flickered, occasionally flashing with a cold blue gleam.
And suddenly, a "BOOM!" echoed from a stall, accompanied by billowing black smoke and a stream of curses.
Old Man Garv, his face smudged with soot, stepped out of the smoke, roaring: "Useless! You said this Fire Essence was stable?! I almost became barbecue!"
Another mechanic, equally grimy, retorted: "It's because you overcharged the energy! My regulator is the best... ahem... aside from that minor explosion!"
Seeing this, the group had no choice but to leave the workshop and continue into the market.
Teron was fascinated by a stall selling "junk memories" stored in broken hard drives; he stood still for hours "reading" the remaining lines of code.
Celeste whispered to a lost and frightened Stardust Wisp on the roof of a stall, helping it find its way back.
Ember showed remarkable patience, scanning the stalls with the sharp eye of an expert, occasionally stopping to buy genuinely good components at a cheap price.
"The Unstable Light Emporium": Specialized in cheap Light Essences of... unpredictable quality. Flashlights made from these might be bright one moment, flickering non-stop the next, or emitting a weird pink light.
"Homemade Anti-Gravity Engine Workshop": A chaotic workshop where an old robot woman was trying to combine a Gravity Essence with an old engine. A screw shot out from a weld, whizzing past Ember's head. Ember, with a cold expression, picked up the screw and threw it back.
"Granny Iko, control your scrap pile better." Granny Iko: (Laughing heartily) "Sorry, sorry! But look, it's almost done! It will fly... or at least bounce really high!"
"Family Recipe Essence Pharmacy" Stall: A young man chattered about the "cure-all" properties of a lumpy brown Essence mixture. Teron, after scanning it, displayed a line of text right in front of the guy: "Warning: Mixture contains 70% impurities, 15% alien bacteria, and 0% curative ability. Recommendation: Discard."
The young man flushed red, muttering: "Heartless machine..."