“Do you know each other?” Hammerhead noticed something off between the two and asked suspiciously.

“No. I just suddenly thought of a friend,” the man in gray retracted his gaze and replied perfunctorily. He had a mellifluous and deep voice.

“It seems you have more guests to entertain, so I won’t bother you much today. I just hope you’ll give due consideration to my proposal earlier.” With the presence of an outsider like Xiao Lin, the gray-robed man did not intend to talk any further, so he got up and took his leave.

Hammerhead did not insist for the man to stay and did not even get up. All he did was nod slightly and let the apprentice see the man off. Once the gray-robed man left, he turned his head and stared blankly at Xiao Lin and Ibeiya. His gaze lingered on Ibeiya’s body for a second or two before starting at Xiao Lin.

“You’re from there?”

Planet Norma’s locals had different ways of referring to Earthlings and Xiao Lin was used to it. He understood what Hammerhead meant and nodded at once, as he felt that there was no need to hide anything.

Hammerhead spoke in rather fluent Chinese, but did not show any sense of cordiality with Xiao Lin despite that. Instead, there was a hint of irony on his face and he sneered, “So you know him then?”

“Him?”

“My apprentice just told me that your friend has an orc son.”

“Oh, my apologies, I was just saying that to help your apprentice out of a troublesome situation. I hope you don’t mind. The truth is, I don’t know your father,” Xiao Lin apologized hurriedly.

Hammerhead’s expression turned rather seemed. He seemed to be both relieved and disgusted, but in the end, he just shook his head blankly. “I don’t like this kind of joke.”

Ibeiya could not help but mutter, “We’re your guests. Is this your way of showing hospitality? No wonder your business is so terrible!”

Hammerhead glanced at the cute girl and did not bat an eye at all. “I don’t know where you heard about me, but don’t you know that I have a rule here? I never do business with the likes of you!”

Xiao Lin frowned. “Do you hate us? Even though we had a war with the orcs a hundred years ago, don’t forget that our blood is also flowing in your own body!”

“Do you know who my father is?”

“I don’t.”

“Neither do I.”

Xiao Lin suddenly had a realization.

“My father abandoned me when I was very young, and my mother raised me until I was six before she left too. Fortunately, the orc blood in my bones helped me to depend on myself from the age of six.” Hammerhead seemed to be laughing self-deprecatingly. “Give me a reason to agree with you?”

Xiao Lin felt choked. Hammerhead seemed to be an orphan who was abandoned by his father and lost his mother when he was still young. Irrespective of his scumbag father’s reason for leaving, Xiao Lin secretly loathed the man.

“So please go back,” Hammer’s tone was firm and he was not joking.

Xiao Lin grinned bitterly and immediately found himself in a tight spot. He originally thought that the other party’s mixed-race status was a convenience, but it unexpectedly became a hindrance. Moreover, it seemed that the other party had inherited the orc’s stubbornness, so much so that money was unlikely to tempt him.

Ibeiya immediately switched to a pitiful look, then pursed her lips and sobbed. “You’re an orphan too? Sob, sob, that’s so pitiful. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lost control of my emotions. I just…couldn’t help but be reminded of myself when I was a kid…”

Although Hammerhead did not have a special liking for cute girls, Ibeiya’s words clearly resonated with him and he could not resist asking, “What happened to you when you were a kid?”

What followed was an exchange to compare who was worse off than the other. Xiao Lin heard Ibeiya’s childhood story before, and although he doubted its authenticity, he had to admit that any listener would be moved to tears after hearing it from Ibeiya’s mouth, especially when accompanied by her top-class acting.

To a certain extent, Ibeiya and Hammerhead were indeed similar. They were both mixed-race children who were orphaned when they were young and suffered lots of humiliation because of their blood.

Hammerhead remained expressionless, but Xiao Lin keenly noticed his slightly trembling hands and deduced that Hammerhead’s heart was not as calm as his expression suggested.

More than half an hour later, Ibeiya—who was about to finish—wiped her slightly red eyes and shifted the topic to Xiao Lin. “This uncle saved me when I was helpless. He’s a good man, and one good turn deserves another, don’t you think so?”

Hammerhead looked at Xiao Lin again in a similarly cold gaze, but he appeared much calmer and less hostile than before. He reminded Ibeiya tactfully, “He only has ulterior motives for you.”

The corners of Xiao Lin’s mouth twitched and he secretly lamented Hammerhead’s naïveté. To think that he actually believed Ibeiya’s words!

“No, I’m actually the one who’s seeking help from you. Please, please could you help me make spatial equipment?” Ibeiya’s acting had both young and old eating it all up.

“It’s fine if it’s for you.”

Hammerhead relented after a moment’s silence, but Xiao Lin felt that he was just looking for an excuse. It did not matter though, because for him, being able to obtain spatial equipment was the most satisfactory result. He quickly took out the starmetal, and after handing it over, could not help but remark worriedly, “I wonder if it’ll be enough.”

Hammerhead looked at the starmetal that was only the size of a nail. He made a surprising comment, “It’s not too small. I just need to appraise it to determine the quality of the ore itself.”

Xiao Lin wanted to tell him that the ore was 100% pure, but Hammerhead trusted his own judgment more. He immediately brought the starmetal into the inner room and asked them to wait.

Their wait lasted more than an hour, during which the apprentice came up to serve them tea and water. Ibeiya was getting a little impatient, but the apprentice quickly apologized and firmly prevented them from going in.

The tea there was very fragrant. After tasting a few sips, Xiao Lin recognized that it originated from their colony. Someone had brought tea plants from Earth to cultivate in Planet Norma, with the result being a tea that was more fragrant when harvested. He could not help but smile to himself, as Hammerhead was using the colony’s products despite showing disdain for Earthlings.

The inner room did not allow them to enter, but Xiao Lin closed his eyes for a while and could feel the magic fluctuations surging from within. It took another half an hour for Hammerhead to come out again, and there was a fatigued look in his brows.

“This is a hundred percent pure starmetal!” Hammerhead had a surprised and somewhat bewildered tone. All in all, his face looked at those his worldviews had been completely upended and he had seen a ghost.

“This is impossible! How can pure starmetal possibly exist!”

Xiao Lin stretched out his hand and said with a smile, “I wanted to ask you that too.”

“Where did you get this?”

“Ahem, I don’t think this should be any of your concern.”