[Intergalactic: Online 11]

Tea smiled as she watched Creed eating with enthusiasm.

"As expected, the way to a man's heart is truly through his stomach," she whispered to Rea, who had given up and was now just eating her food quietly.

Once they were done, Creed placed the utensils calmly onto the plate and looked up to Tea with a serious face.

"Madam, this was the most delicious meal that I have ever had in my entire life," Creed said without blinking. Both Tea and Rea thought he was kidding, but Creed was completely serious.

He had never had much money in the real world, so cheap and instant meals were all he could usually afford. This was the first home-cooked meal that Creed had ever really had, and it had him on the verge of tears.

Rea saw the genuine expression on Creed's face and couldn't help but smile.

"Anything for my future son-in-law." Tea said with a smile.

"Stop now, Mother. We're not in that kind of relationship. Creed, you also need to tell her that..."

"Thank you, can I call you Mother?" Creed asked as he grabbed Rea's hands.

"Oh my, of course, you can!" Tea said with a wide smile.

"What's going on here? Creed, quit encouraging her behavior!" Rea said as she stood up and dragged Creed downstairs.

"Mother, I'll be back. Please put the leftovers in a lunch pack for me", Creed said as he was dragged down the stairs.

Rea shut the door behind them and stared daggers at Creed. "We don't have time to goof around. Horizon is probably searching for us as we speak", Rea said as she walked to a nearby desk and pulled out a local area map. The city was so massive that even residents needed maps if they planned on going to new areas.

"I know, but the food really was delicious, and your Mom is really nice. We should just get married and make her happy, so I can come over and eat."

Rea blushed as she looked over to Creed, standing behind her with a toothpick in his mouth.

"I told you, we don't have time for jokes right now. This is Horizon's headquarters." Rea said, pointing at a particular location on the map.

"We need to find someone on the inside to tell us what's going on," Rea said while pointing at a specific location on the map.

"I'm not joking, but let's talk about that later. Do you have any informants inside?" Creed asked while walking over to the duffle bag.

"I don't, but I know where we can find a Horizon employee who talks too much for his own good," Rea said as she shifted her finger to another location on the map.

"Perfect, then let's go pick him up. But first, I need to get a credit implant and a fake identity. Then I want to sell this stuff and buy some other stuff. Are there any black market vendors around here?" Creed asked as he rechecked the contents of the duffle bag.

Creed had kept the sniper rifle, two pistols, two assault rifles, a set of kevlar, and two combat knives. Other than that, Creed planned on selling everything else.

"There is one nearby. You should be able to buy a credit implant for cheap, but a fake identity will cost you, and you don't seem to have any money right now", Rea said with a smile as she felt that she had finally gotten the upper hand against Creed.

Creed turned around and scratched his head.

"How about spotting your future husband some credits?. After all, what's yours is mine, right?" Creed said with a smile as he walked over to Rea.

"That's in the future. You'll have to come up with your own plan for now...wait, what am I saying?!" Rea said as she felt her mind go empty. Between Creed and her mother, even she was starting to see him as her future husband.

Creed walked up to the map and marked the area she was pointing on the map.

"Let's get the implant first. We can discuss the rest later", Creed said as he put the map into the duffle bag and then took Rea by the hand and led her back upstairs.

"Mother, we're going out for a bit. We'll be back soon!" Creed said as he and Rea walked back upstairs.

"Alright, be safe!" Tea said with a smile from behind the bar counter as she waved them off. Pea returned and stood beside Tea. he looked at Creed for a moment but seemed to lose interest immediately as he turned around and walked back into the kitchen.

Rea grabbed two large cloaks that could cover their entire bodies and handed one over to Creed. They both wore the cloaks and then left the restaurant.

Outside, Creed looked up and still couldn't see what time of day it was because of the large mass of fused buildings blocking out the sky. The nearby street was dimly lit by old street lamps, giving the place a warm glow as dozens of people walked up and down the narrow road.

"This way..." Rea said as she pulled the cloak's hood over her head. Creed did the same and followed her quickly through the crowds for a few minutes until they reached what appeared to be a nightclub.

Rea spoke to the bouncer, who nodded his head and then let them through. However, instead of going upstairs where the raging club music was coming from, Creed and Rea headed through an inconspicuous door.

There, they ran into a group of large-built men in black suits playing what seemed to be a game of virtual cards. When the men noticed the new arrivals, they didn't seem surprised. However, one of them walked up to the two and put his hand out without speaking.

Rea placed what seemed to be a silver coin etched with the image of a hat onto the man's palm. The man inspected the coin and then asked Creed to open his bag. He searched Creed's duffle bag to make sure that each weapon had been properly disassembled before nodding his head

"You can go in," he said as he flipped the coin back to Rea and walked back to his card game.

Rea turned to Creed and gestured toward a set of stairs in the corner that led further underground. The two entered what seemed to be a cigar lounge with an automatic piano playing slow, sultry music.

The inside had a thin layer of smoke wafting around the air as the few finely dressed patrons enjoyed various drinks while having whispered conversations.

Rea and Creed walked up to the bar and sat on the stools. The barman noticed the two people wearing cloaks, and he walked up to them with a straight face.

"What will it be?" the barman asked casually.

"One credit implant and a new life," Rea responded hushedly.

"implants are cheap, but a new life will cost you..." the man said as he wiped the glass in his hands.

"How much?" Rea asked without beating around the bush.

"A thousand for the implant. Fifty thousand for a new life."

Creed thought it over and shook his head. A thousand credits for a credit implant was relatively cheap. However, fifty thousand for a fake identity was just highway robbery.

"We'll take just the implant for now," Creed said as he leaned in closer.

"We also have some wares we need to move," Creed whispered while gesturing to the duffle bag on his back.

The barman smiled and then glanced toward a door that led to a backroom.

"I only deal with sales. Purchasing is done in the other room", the man said with a nod.

Creed and Rea stood up and walked into the room that seemed to be a meeting area. Inside, a woman wore an alluring ref cocktail dress and sat casually on a couch with a long cigar between her fingers. Behind her were two handsome men dressed like classic butlers.

"Sellers?" asked the woman without looking up as she enjoyed the soft music.

Creed nodded and placed the duffle bag onto the ground.

One butler walked up to the bag and carefully looked through the weapons.

After about two minutes, he walked over to the woman and whispered something. The woman nodded her head with a smile.

"Five thousand for everything," She said casually.

Rea frowned when she heard this. She was up to date with the market prices of such weapons and knew that one assault rifle alone was close to five thousand credits. Everything in the bag was worth at least twenty thousand credits, so five thousand for everything was a bitter low ball offer.

"Take it or leave it," the woman said, closing all doors to negotiations.

"Hmm, how about a trade instead?" Creed said as he placed a list of items on the table. One butler picked it up and read through it before quickly whispering the contents to the woman.

The woman smiled as she finally looked over at Creed and Rea for the first time during their interaction.

"These compounds aren't too rare or expensive, but the types and quantities you've asked for are interesting. Now tell me, what exactly do you plan on doing with these?" she asked with a giggle.

"Nothing much, just an energy drink," Creed said while shrugging his shoulders.

The woman's giggle turned into full-blown laughter as she waved her hand.

"More like a poison drink. OK, it's a deal. These will be delivered in a few hours. For now, feel free to enjoy yourselves", she said as she instructed one of the butlers to lead them back to the lounge.