Shopping Spree, Bai Style

 Lucas thought he had won.

That smug, golden-eyed grin, the lazy confidence oozing off him—Ava could already tell he was enjoying himself too much.

Too bad she wasn't here for fun.

As the traders cleared out and the auctioneer handed Lucas his newly purchased mystery case, Ava crossed her arms.

"Alright, Bai," she said. "If you want me to keep doing this, I have some conditions."

Lucas raised a brow, amused. "You're negotiating with me?"

Ava smirked. "What, afraid?"

Lucas chuckled. "Not at all. Let's hear it, Trouble."

Ava held up a finger. "One—I get first pick on any tech we bring in. If I can make it better, I keep it until I'm done."

Lucas tilted his head. "Fair."

Ava held up another finger. "Two—I want materials. Not just whatever junk we pull out of ruins—I mean real supplies and Tools. Clean circuits, working power cells, reinforced alloys. I don't want to waste time fixing trash if we can get better."

Lucas exhaled slowly. "That'll cost me."

Ava shrugged. "That's not my problem."

Lucas studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "Fine. But if I'm paying for premium materials, I expect premium results."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Moving on." She held up a third finger. "Three—I want access to information. If you know something that affects me, I don't want to hear it secondhand."

Lucas grinned. "Now that's an interesting request."

Ava met his gaze, dead serious. "I don't like being blindsided, Bai."

Lucas considered that. Then—to her surprise—he nodded.

"Alright," he murmured. "You drive a hard bargain. But I like a challenge."

Ava smirked. "Good. Because I'm not planning to make this easy for you."

Lucas laughed, shaking his head. "Fine, beauty, pick what you want."

Ava froze.

The traders around them raised their eyebrows. Some smirked.

Lucas was unfazed.

Ava slowly turned her head. "What did you just call me?"

Lucas's grin widened. "What, don't like compliments?"

Ava inhaled sharply. "I don't like being called things in front of people who might stab me later."

Lucas leaned in slightly, voice low, amused. "Relax. It's just good business. People treat value differently when they think it's personal."

Ava exhaled slowly.

Of course.

This wasn't flirting.

This was Bai controlling the narrative. Making her seem important to him, making people reconsider their approach.

Annoying. Smart.

But still annoying.

Ava rolled her shoulders, refocusing. "Whatever. Just buy me my damn tools."

Lucas chuckled. "As you wish."

Ava should have known that working with Lucas Bai meant walking straight into his schemes.

Because five minutes into their supply run, she realized two things:

Lucas Bai had an absurd amount of connections. He was absolutely refusing to use her real name.

The Black Market's trade district was bigger than she expected. Not just a few stalls and back-alley deals, but a full-fledged underground economy.

Weapons, armor, pre-apocalypse tech, even luxuries like real coffee and preserved food—if you had the right connections, you could get anything.

Lucas led the way, moving effortlessly through the crowd, his golden eyes assessing every vendor and their goods.

Ava, hood still up, followed close, her Blueprint System scanning everything in sight.

[Analyzing Inventory…]

[Advanced Toolset – 93% Functional]

[Reinforced Tactical Vest – Lightweight, High Durability]

[Prototype Energy Cells – Unstable Power Source]

Ava whistled under her breath. "Bai, this place has everything."

Lucas smirked. "Welcome to the real economy, Beauty."

Ava stiffened.

There it was again.

"Stop calling me that," she muttered.

Lucas ignored her completely, already approaching a weapons vendor.

The trader, a broad-shouldered man with burn scars along his arms, looked up. "Bai. Didn't expect you back so soon."

Lucas smiled lazily. "Needed a few things for my Beauty here."

Ava nearly choked.

The trader's gaze flicked to her, curious now. "Beauty, huh?"

Ava clenched her jaw. "That's not my—"

Lucas threw an arm around her shoulders, grinning. "You know how it is. Can't have my best asset running around without proper protection."

Ava wanted to kill him.

But the trader relaxed, the scrutiny fading.

Lucas was doing this on purpose.

Keeping her name out of circulation, making it seem like she was just another one of his investments—valuable, but not worth digging too deeply into.

Ava exhaled slowly. Fine. She'd play along.

For now.

She shrugged off his arm and pointed to the toolset on the table.

"I want that."

The trader grunted. "Expensive."

Lucas flicked a coin-sized token onto the table. "Done."

The trader barely hesitated before nodding. "Pleasure doing business."

Ava grabbed the tools, trying not to feel impressed.

Lucas turned to her, golden eyes glinting.

"See, Beauty? Isn't shopping with me fun?"

Ava smiled sweetly.

Then stepped on his foot.

Hard.

Lucas winced, but laughed.

Ava ran her fingers over a polished, high-grade multi-tool, the kind engineers used before the world turned into a disaster zone.

"Beautiful," she murmured.

Lucas, standing beside her, grinned. "Thank you, Beauty."

Ava shot him a deadpan look. "I was talking about the tools, Bai."

Lucas chuckled, unbothered. "So was I."

The vendor, an older woman with cybernetic fingers, watched the exchange with mild amusement.

"You two here to buy, or just flirt over the merchandise?"

Ava groaned. Lucas smirked.

"Buying," Ava snapped. "I need—"

She scanned the table, letting her Blueprint System highlight the best picks.

[Advanced Soldering Kit – 98% Efficiency]

[Micro-Welding Set – Precision Required]

[Tactical Repair Drone – Limited Power Supply]

Ava tapped the first two. "These."

Lucas, not even bothering to haggle, tossed another trade token onto the counter.

The vendor raised a brow. "No negotiating today?"

Lucas smiled. "I only argue over things that aren't worth it."

Ava muttered, "For once, we agree."

She grabbed the tools, already thinking of how much faster she could work with them.

Lucas watched her, golden eyes glinting. "You look like a kid in a candy store."

Ava rolled her eyes. "That's because you've been making me fix things with garbage until now."

Lucas grinned. "Consider this a reward, then."

Ava scoffed but didn't argue.

The second they left the vendor's stall, she was already mentally sorting through blueprints, piecing together what she could build with the new tools.

Lucas watched her, hands in his pockets, golden eyes too damn amused.

"You're quiet," he said. "Planning something dangerous?"

Ava snorted. "I don't need plans to be dangerous, Bai."

Lucas chuckled. "Fair. But I like knowing where my investments are going."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Relax, boss. You'll get your money's worth."

Lucas's smirk widened. "Oh, Beauty, I never doubted it."

Ava ignored him, adjusting the weight of her new gear.

With the advanced soldering kit and micro-welding set, she could finally fix and upgrade equipment properly.

The tactical repair drone? That was interesting.

It was old—probably pre-apocalypse military tech—but if she could modify it, she might be able to turn it into something useful.

Ava glanced at Lucas. "Alright, Bai. I got what I needed. Are we done?"

Lucas tilted his head, studying her. "You're not curious about the case?"

Ava's fingers twitched.

The mystery case he had overpaid for at the auction.

Her system had flagged it immediately, but she hadn't had the chance to crack it open yet.

Ava sighed. "Fine. Let's go home and see what you wasted twenty power cells on."

Lucas grinned. "That's the spirit."

And just like that, they were heading back.

Time to find out what they had really bought.