"We're just here to buy some intelligence," Shiller explained. "We're both regular people without any superpowers. Otherwise, your energy alarm would have gone off by now, right?"
"Come on, humans! The reason your alarm isn't going off is usually because your power level exceeds the alarm's upper limit. You can't fool me, get moving! The Metal Market doesn't welcome you!"
"Well, I suddenly remembered—I'm not an ordinary person, I'm a mutant, and this guy here is a magician. Can we go in now?"
The four-horned antelopes took a step back again. If this place were bigger, they might have been in the Andromeda Galaxy by now.
"Listen, this is a rare Order Market where everyone can buy whatever they want without worrying about being robbed or killed. But if a massive attack breaks out, our reputation will be utterly ruined. So, you..."
"We promise not to cause any trouble. I know the reputation of the human race isn't great in this regard, but other than trusting our promise, it seems you don't have any other options. After all, if we tried to force our way in, you couldn't stop us."
The leading antelope sighed and said, "Alright. By the way, what's your relationship with Magneto?"
"No relationship at all, not all mutants are under his leadership. Of course, we also have no connection with the Supreme Magician, so you don't have to worry about him dropping by."
The antelopes seemed relieved, but it was more a form of helpless resignation. Shiller and Constantine quickly left the little room and swaggered towards the market entrance.
Not even at the market entrance yet, Constantine pulled a diamond-shaped gemstone from his trench coat, waved it at Shiller, and said, "The energy here is quite magical, it's not as intense but more peaceful and quiet, and better to use. If all energy were like this, it would be a magician's paradise."
Shiller frowned at him and asked, "Where did you steal that from?"
"Just now. I grabbed it from a cabinet while those antelopes weren't paying attention. Being small has its perks, right?"
"Who was it that just said, 'If there's a criminal inclination, I'll cuff them myself'?" Shiller raised an eyebrow and commented.
"That was just hypothetical," Constantine shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, if you must do it, I could always keep an extra pair of cuffs as a souvenir, right?"
Shiller couldn't be bothered with him. Together, they went through the market gate and soon found themselves amidst a bustling alien market: flying and swimming creatures all gathered together. The space thousands of meters above the planet was filled with various spacecraft. Most of the crafts had been converted into small stalls, jam-packed with merchandise.
Constantine started loudly wandering about. He didn't let anything with energy fluctuations escape his notice, checking out items whether he bought them or not, often negotiating outrageously. Sometimes, while he haggled, things would end up in his hands, and many merchants wouldn't realize he was gone until he had disappeared into the crowd.
"If Batman knew he hired a thief like this, he'd definitely praise his own wise decision," Shiller said.
"Sigh, same thief, but Bruce Baby treats me worse than that cat," Constantine shook his head and said. "If he could ever see the good in me, I wouldn't steal his antique vases whenever I visited Wayne Manor."
"Didn't Alfred chase you with a broom?"
"That's a joke, how fast do you think I run?" Constantine raised the gemstone high and said, "That old housekeeper is pretty good, but can't even rank among those who've chased me. After all, I only took a few antique vases, not his liver or kidneys."
As he was engrossed in admiring the gemstone, he suddenly bumped into someone on his left. Turning his head, he seemed to have bumped into a tall, blue-skinned woman, a rare two-legged creature in the crowded market. But it was only a slight bump, and she walked past him without even a glance.
"Did you see that person just now?" Constantine turned to look for Shiller, only to find he was already gone. Standing by a stall, he looked around but saw nothing, so he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a small compass, following the needle as he headed off.
Shiller had already noticed the woman. Since a two-legged creature was too conspicuous here, he saw them from a distance. While Constantine was still talking, he had already hidden behind a stall vendor's car.
Passing in front of him, besides the blue-skinned woman, were a tall man wearing a helmet and a seemingly unremarkable young man.
"Magneto and Professor X?" Shiller frowned, "How did those two end up here? And more importantly, why doesn't their age match?"
The helmet-wearing Magneto had a head full of silver hair, yet Professor X looked very young. Mystique doesn't age, so her exact age was indiscernible. Shiller immediately realized: this Magneto must be from another universe.
"But why are they at the Centaur market? Could it be that Magneto just wanted to bring young Charles here to relive old times? However, their past wasn't all that harmonious. So what are they doing?"
Shiller watched them for a while but didn't dare to get too close. Although Professor X doesn't easily use his full-map scan, Magneto's senses are quite keen, being too close might lead to discovery.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Constantine's voice suddenly appeared behind him.
"A few guys from Earth." Shiller said, "You've heard of Magneto and Professor X, right?"
Constantine immediately sucked in a breath, then said with a forced smile, "I just remembered the pipes at home need fixing, I better go back..."
He'd barely taken two steps before Shiller pointed a gun at him again, saying with the same forced smile, "Magneto and Professor X might not kill you, but I can't promise the same for myself."
Constantine put on a bitter face. He knew it would be like this, Batman knows just how to hit him where it hurts.
Actually, Constantine wasn't really afraid of those flashy enemies, even ones like Magneto and Professor X. He was confident he could get away unscathed. What he feared was someone like Shiller, who was straightforward—getting shot in the head would be surely fatal, and in this universe, there's no devil willing to dig a bullet out of his head just to steal his soul.
"Alright, what do you plan to do?" Constantine asked, "Don't forget our main mission here. If we don't complete it, Batman might banish me to the edge of the universe."
"That doesn't conflict." Shiller glanced over there, then said, "Do you have any puppet or doppelganger-like skills? The kind that doesn't read brainwaves or exist within a magnetic field would be best."
Constantine, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, knelt down and pulled out a small paper figure from his pocket, placing it on the ground. He flicked the lighter in his hand, and with a "whoosh," a flame appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, a person who looked exactly like him appeared in the clearing and immediately came to life.
The two looked and acted identically, indistinguishable from which was alive. The doppelganger quickly blended into the crowd, while Constantine and Shiller followed behind him.
"The energy here is indeed nice, not like the devils on our side, who insist on mixing poison into the energy, making you want to vomit your stomach out." Constantine sighed, "I haven't used such pure and calm power in years."
"Haven't you been here before?"
"I have, but I usually don't use magic methods to solve problems." Constantine shook his head, "After all, no matter which universe, dealing with devils is never a good thing."
Shiller snorted, not believing a word Constantine said. Borrow money from here and you can disappear into another world where no devil can find you; Constantine would definitely borrow it. Just wonder which universe's Demon God had bad luck.
Constantine's doppelganger quickly caught up with the Magneto trio. Being covert enough, he could get very close and soon overheard their conversation.
"... As you can see, after the battle with the Three Great Empires, we severely weakened their strength. You can hardly see any of their people in the cosmos, especially in places like Centaurus, which are left unregulated. Compared to your universe, our universe has fewer constraints and is much more open."
"But it's still quite lively here," Magneto said, "I've been to Centaurus a few times before but never stayed long because it was so chaotic."
"My God." After hearing this, Constantine exclaimed, "Is this the tone Magneto should have? Why is the one I met crazily fierce? What's their relationship?"
Shiller squinted at Constantine—this guy clearly had come to this world before and possibly even encountered Magneto, maybe even faced off with him?
While thinking about these things, Shiller noticed Mystique standing far away at the entrance. Though too far to see the expression clearly, from her body language, it seemed like she was just speechless.
Magneto and Charles chatted in a shop less than ten square meters for fifteen minutes. Aside from the first couple of sentences about business, they mostly rambled, driving Constantine numb to it.
"So, you're watching them just to hear them reminisce about some bullshit bullet angle on a beach from 40 years ago?"
Shiller sighed, "Forget it; they're just shopping. Let's get back to business."
They were about to leave when the two men happened to come out of the shop just then, and Constantine's doppelganger stood very close to the entrance.
Shiller suddenly felt a bit tense because being so close could get him discovered. But then he saw Constantine standing there in a daze for some unknown reason.
"Constantine? Constantine???" Shiller called him twice, but seeing no response, he gave him a push.
"Oh, crap!" Constantine snapped out of it and cursed, "Why did no one ever tell me young Professor X is so damn hot?! My God, I thought Bruce was the hottest with his blue eyes! Didn't expect... What were they talking about again? Bullet angle? Is he a military enthusiast? I'm just the same! We'd have a lot to talk about! Plus, I have an exclusive hair care recipe! I'm one of the rare non-bald Brits! Oh, isn't he British too? Where's he from? West London? Must be. He has the face of a gentleman! I happen to know a bit about musicals. And that Magneto? Haha, an ignorant German who only talks about dull topics like physics, how boring! I'm not like that at all..."
Shiller had to muster all his willpower to resist pulling the trigger. He took a deep breath and said, "Stop looking, he's not yours no matter how much you look. Let's get going, back to work!"