"A Hutt?" Amir confirmed.
"Yes, Zaku the Hutt is the ruler of this district. Even the Dead Hand has to pay him a lot of money every year," Koxi explained.
Amir nodded.
The assassin droid bringing the item here—was it on Nurul's instructions, or was it the droid's own decision?
Or perhaps the assassin droid had betrayed Nurul, or was even working for the Hutt from the start.
There was no time to think it through. Amir wanted to order the spider droid to discharge electricity before the assassin droid entered the palace. But before he could act, a robed figure rushed out from a nearby alley, wrapped up even tighter than Amir.
The figure charged straight at the assassin droid, throwing a rope that wrapped around the droid's body.
Because it was near the palace, the assassin droid had relaxed its guard somewhat. Caught by the rope, it lost its balance, and the box in its hand fell.
The robed figure executed a slide tackle, caught the box, and ran off without looking back.
The assassin droid writhed frantically, trying to break free from the rope. Its one free arm raised, firing toward the robber, but its aim was completely off.
The robber even had the mood to look back at the assassin droid. Even from a distance, Amir could sense the provocation and mockery he conveyed.
32 made to chase after him, but Amir had already started to act.
From the moment he saw the scene, Amir had used the Force to manipulate the situation.
The box held tightly in the robber's hand suddenly popped open its latch, completely ignored by the thief. The contents were instantly exposed.
The assassin droid saw this, its circuits filled with confusion, but unable to determine the cause, it could only attribute it to coincidence.
But what happened next could not be explained by coincidence.
Inside the box was indeed the object Amir had seen in Joan's records: a slab-like object resembling a circuit board.
Calling it a circuit board was a stretch; it looked more like a crystal, but its exterior was covered by a mechanical device. In some exposed areas, it looked like circuits for energy flow.
Crystals again.
Amir felt more and more the magical nature of crystals in this world.
Not only were there Kyber crystals that could resonate with the Force, but there were also crystals used for energy, technology, and even carrying souls...
Just like the one before him.
Amir sensed a certain consciousness within it.
However, compared to a Force Ghost, this cluster of consciousness was chaotic and incomplete, like a damaged program running in a strange way.
The moment Amir opened the box, it awakened.
Amir immediately used the Force to control it, but he felt strong resistance from within.
Ultimately, Amir prevailed, firmly controlling the crystal slab in mid-air and rapidly pulling it toward himself.
The robed robber who had intercepted the box realized something was wrong after just two steps. His arrogant demeanor vanished instantly. He hurriedly looked down; the box was open, and he only held half of it. The other half dragged on the ground, and the contents were long gone.
Looking up, he saw an object flying away into the distance. It was a slab-like object, flying straight into the hand of a masked person on a nearby roof. Standing next to this person was a droid that looked tough to deal with, and a child.
What kind of strange combination was this? He had never heard of them!
However, he had seen that mask before!
He couldn't recall exactly who it was, but whoever it was, he had to snatch that artifact back.
This item had a high price on it. He had accidentally overheard the conversation between Zaku the Hutt and the assassin droid, which gave him this opportunity. As long as he got his hands on it, it would be a massive fortune.
But the person on the roof just glanced down at him, then turned and left. The assassin droid, having just broken free from the chains, immediately turned and aimed its gun in Amir's direction. But in the next second, it was enveloped by a massive electric current, paralyzed on the ground in an instant.
The person under the robe was startled. When he recovered and recalled everything that had just happened, he suddenly lost the desire—or rather, the courage—to chase after them.
Walking slowly to the assassin droid, he squot down. At this moment, the assassin droid's vocalizer was murmuring.
"Sirdan..."
Right, he remembered now. That masked man was called Sirdan!
Meanwhile, on a rooftop somewhere, a male humanoid with indescribable looks slowly opened his eyes and shivered. Where did his trench coat go? It was a bit chilly...
Amir held the crystal slab, sensing it as he walked.
From within, he indeed sensed something akin to a soul, but it wasn't active. Aside from the resistance he felt when controlling it with the Force, there was no other reaction.
Finding nothing more, Amir sent a communication request to Joan.
It connected instantly.
"Where is the item?" Joan asked directly.
"I got it. The one here should be the real deal," Amir said.
"Okay." Joan responded. She moved the box she was carrying to her front and tried to open it while running.
Unlike the box the assassin droid took, the one in her hand was a safe, requiring some effort to open.
Finally, unable to crack it, Joan used brute force. Previously, she might have worried about damaging the contents, but now, a fake wasn't worth careful protection.
She gripped both sides of the box with her hands. Under immense force, the box began to deform from the seal. After twisting to a certain degree, the internal mechanism was finally destroyed, and the box unlocked automatically.
Then Joan saw a portable holographic projector. Such projectors were common; people usually used them to record images or information.
There was only this one thing in the box.
Joan pulled out the projector, slowed her pace, and turned around.
After waiting for a few seconds, the two Imperial Inquisitors caught up, panting heavily.
Varela had noticed Joan's actions earlier. Seeing a projector in the safe, she was very surprised, but judging by Joan's reaction, she seemed to have expected it.
"Is the thing inside fake?" Varela asked.
"Yes, the real one is with Amir." With that, Joan looked at the Imperial Inquisitors.
At this moment, the Fifth Brother and the Seventh Sister were also staring at the damaged box in Joan's hand.
"Stop chasing." Joan took out the holographic projector from the box. "There's only this thing. No so-called artifact."
The two instantly felt like they had been played for fools.
"Nurul!" The Fifth Brother gripped his lightsaber in anger.
Immediately, he looked at the three people in front of him, his anger intensifying.
"Nurul might have already run away with the item. Are you sure you're not going to chase him?" Joan said mockingly.
Although the Fifth Brother wanted to kill the three people in front of him, the fear of failing the mission suppressed his desire. Dealing with these three wouldn't be an easy task.
What was frustrating was that, until now, he hadn't even seen their faces clearly.
"I will make you pay!" After leaving a threat, the Fifth Brother and the Seventh Sister turned and left.
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