Despite the Vanguard raid topside, the black market was still fully operational down below, merchants screaming prices over the noise of grinding machinery.
Zen walked directly to a high-end tech scavenger stall.
"I need a GE-700 burner drone," Zen told the merchant, leaning over the glass counter. "Military-grade encryption, completely scrubbed serial numbers, and a localized signal cloaker."
The merchant raised a scarred eyebrow. "That's heavy Vanguard hardware, kid. That will run you fifty thousand credits. Upfront."
Zen didn't flinch. He tapped his public terminal against the payment scanner. Thanks to Nyx's massive, unsolicited donation to his Ghost Scrapper account yesterday, the credits cleared instantly with a cheerful chime.
The merchant's eyes widened, but he silently handed over a small, sleek silver box.
"Now the weapon," Valeria said, pulling him by the jacket toward a weapons dealer in the back corner of the market.
