Cargo

With his business interrupted like this, Lai Er's attempt to make money was a failure. After all, even if the burly man had a sharp head, it was hard to believe that Visas' Corpse Pieces would actually have toes. So Lai Er could only laugh awkwardly and slink away, while the burly man watched Lai Er's retreating figure thoughtfully.

After leaving the burly man, Lai Er didn't immediately go looking for his next easy target. Instead, he turned into a small alley and, only when he realized no one was following him, opened the cloth bag again to look at the two severed Broken Finger still inside.

... That's strange. Did he remember wrong? He clearly remembers that he only has one Broken Finger.

In the black market, fake body parts from Visas are considered relatively valuable counterfeits. They aren't something you can just make by chopping off some unlucky guy's finger; there are production costs involved. The value of different body parts varies, with fingers being the most valuable—they're practically the hard currency of fake body parts.

The reason is simple: this is the part that people are most likely to believe and try.

After all, if it were other parts, such as the heart or eyes, the cost of trial and error would be too high. We can't really cut out the heart and gouge out the eyes for a body part whose authenticity cannot be confirmed, can we?

But fingers are different. Even if the buyers suspect that they might be fake, the thought of gaining immense power if they succeed and only losing a finger if they fail is clearly acceptable to many shrewd gamblers.

Therefore, fingers are in high demand and short supply among Black Market Merchant. Lai Er is not a particularly high-ranking Black Market Merchant, and it's already quite impressive that he managed to acquire a Broken Finger after all these years.

So... where did this other one come from?

Lai Er held the two fingers up to his eyes and examined them closely, but he couldn't see any difference, not even which one was his original one.

"This is unbelievable," Lai Er said in a low voice. "It can't possibly be real, can it?"

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he immediately dismissed it.

For counterfeiters, it's a skill to convince someone that they're selling genuine goods, but to convince yourself that you're selling genuine goods, especially something as sophisticated as Visas' Corpse Pieces, is simply the biggest idiot in the world.

So after thinking for a long time, Lai Er could only think of the possibility that a competitor might have accidentally put the wrong item in the order when he was buying from headquarters last time... Anyway, that was the only possibility he could think of.

Lai Er then put away the two Broken Finger, and then couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

After all, he was so close to selling the finger, really so close. The burly man with the pointed head clearly believed him completely; as long as he took out the Broken Finger, the money would be his. Such a good deal, and he missed it because he scared himself.

I wonder when I'll meet the next easy target like this.

Thinking of this, Lai Er couldn't help but sigh heavily.

As mentioned before, Lai Er is not a particularly high-ranking Black Market Merchant, and the competition in this industry is so fierce that it can be considered a sunset industry.

After all, the more people who were deceived in the past, the fewer people will be deceived in the future, especially since competitors occasionally come up with some big tricks, making their sales environment even more difficult.

Take the Visas' Corpse Pieces for example. About a hundred years ago, a colleague with a vivid imagination suddenly came up with the idea of making a lot of "Visas hooks" and selling them in a small county town. The target was not the slightly knowledgeable fat sheep, but the completely ignorant common people in the lower market. They told them that after accepting the hook, they could obtain the supreme "unyielding" power.

Such a foolish lie actually convinced a lot of people, with over a hundred people turning their knives on their own brothers because of it, almost causing the small county to be wiped out.

Hundreds of people were deceived. This number is neither small nor large, but the impact was extremely negative, and the news spread throughout the country in a very short time.

After all, in the past, most people who were tricked into cutting off a finger would just grit their teeth and accept their fate, but when hundreds of people were tricked into castrating themselves, it was impossible to cover it up. As a result, Visas' Corpse Pieces were very difficult to sell for the next twenty years. In fact, anyone who claimed to be Black Market Merchant selling body parts would be beaten up without saying a word.

In other words, that colleague, single-handedly, successfully caused countless others to suffer.

When Lai Er first heard about this, he was filled with emotion, wondering why that colleague couldn't be him. If given the chance, he would definitely not hesitate to do it.

Because he really wanted money, he was willing to do anything to get it.

For example... tonight.

Lai Er looked up at the sky, calculating in his mind when night would fall.

He's planning something big tonight.

So Lai Er stopped looking for new prey and instead curled up in the alley to conserve his energy, waiting for night to fall.

But what he didn't know was that a pair of eyes were watching him silently from across several streets.

As night fell, Lai Er opened his eyes. When he felt that it was about time, he nimbly got up and took out a black bell from his backpack.

He held the bell above his head and shook it gently. As the clear and melodious bell rang, Lai Er's body gradually became ethereal.

Alright, we can get started now.

Lai Er put away the bell and strode forward, but made almost no sound, like a cat at night.

So Lai Er came to the edge of town and waited in an empty house.

Before long, he saw a huge convoy slowly approaching under the moonlight and immediately held his breath.

They arrived as expected; the intelligence was accurate.

Lai Er thought to himself silently.

The carriages in the convoy had no markings, and the only companions were a few guards dressed in black robes. In this border region, such a setup was practically inviting robbery.

Lai Er knew that no one would dare to rob them, because the short swords worn by the guards under their black robes were engraved with the Rhine emblem.

Yes, this is the Rhine Church's caravan, but it's the kind of caravan that can't be openly displayed.

After the convoy stopped, several guards stretched and walked out, and Lai Er could still hear their conversation.

"Damn it, we've finally arrived."

"It's torture to be stuck with such a huge pile of treasures and not be able to touch them."

"Haha, the mission is complete anyway, now we can leave it to those guys. Go get some rest."

"Who is the Father here again?"

"Valens".

"It was that slut! Oh, my sword can't hold back any longer."

"Keep your voice down! We can't reveal our identities!"

"Understood, Captain."

Lai Er watched the guards leave laughing and joking, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Those were Rhine Knight; if they caught him, he would be in deep trouble. As a Black Market Merchant, he knew all too well what kind of people these well-dressed Rhine Knight really were.

Once he was sure they were far away, Lai Er immediately jumped out of the house and ran quickly toward the convoy, without making a sound.

This convoy is his target for tonight.

There are three ways for Black Market Merchant to expand their product lists. The first is to purchase directly from headquarters, such as fake body parts from Visas and a range of contraband from various churches. The second is to manufacture them themselves; many Black Market Merchant are also excellent potion makers. However, neither of these options is very suitable for Lai Er, because his level is too low and he has too little money. He can't buy anything of value at headquarters, and he can't make potions himself. Even the lubricant and aphrodisiacs he sells are fake.

Therefore, he could only rely on the third method to obtain goods, which is also the most common method used by low-level Black Market Merchant —stealing.

They can steal from their peers or from the church, whether it's orthodox or Esoteric Sect.

Of course, the more valuable something is, the more difficult it is to steal, and with his abilities, he would never have dared to touch Rhine's goods under normal circumstances.

But tonight is an exception.

Lai Er quickly arrived at the largest carriage, looked at the lock on the carriage door, and immediately took out a short wand from his pocket and aimed it at the lock.

After silently reciting the incantation, the lock clicked open, and Lai Er immediately revealed an expression of ecstatic joy.

As expected! The Rhine Church didn't dare use their standard equipment, so it seems that what's being transported in this carriage is indeed not something legitimate!

On the surface, the Four Great Orthodox Churches, which claim to be righteous, have been cracking down on Black Market Merchant and goods, and forbidding their followers from using those contraband items. However, this does not mean that they themselves do not use them. They even directly engage in trade with the higher-ups of the Esoteric Sect to prevent black market merchants from profiting from the price difference.

However, Rhine would never bring this kind of trade to the forefront. That's why they wouldn't use their own equipment, precisely to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

This gave a half-baked mage like Lai Er an opportunity, as he opened the lock using only the most basic lock-picking magic.

Come on, come on! Let me see what's inside!

Shadow Binding Furnace, Dream Dust, or Joy Beans?

Lai Er opened the carriage door while recalling the high-priced commodities in his mind.

Then his expression froze.

Lai Er saw countless eyes, which almost made him scream. He thought he had been tricked into believing that the Rhine Knight were waiting for him inside.

But he soon discovered that it wasn't; the people in the carriage... were children.

Countless children, both boys and girls, were there. Their hands were bound and their mouths were gagged. They were crammed into the small carriage like pigs, staring at Lai Er with terrified eyes.

Lai Er looked inside and saw that many children had fainted, their fates unknown.

Good heavens, this is the Rhine cargo.

Lai Er had always known that the Rhine Church collected children all over the world for use in mines, brothels, and as a reserve of Father, but he never expected to stumble upon it.

"Tsk tsk." Lai Er cursed under his breath, "What a fucking unlucky guy."

After cursing, he planned to close the shop. He couldn't sell these children anyway, so he could only hurry to the next vehicle to see what was inside.

If they're all kids, then his trip tonight was a waste.

Just as he was about to close the door, a little boy rushed up, blocked the door with his shoulder, and looked at him with pleading eyes.

What the hell? You want me to let you out?

Stop dreaming, I have serious business to attend to!

Lai Er immediately kicked the boy, trying to kick him away and lock the door, but the boy held on tightly, shaking his head excitedly and making "woof woof" sounds, as if trying to say something. The other children also came to their senses and pushed forward desperately, which made Lai Er panic.

If these kids cause a big fuss, not only will he be unable to do anything, but he will also definitely be discovered by those Rhine Knights!

Damn it, can't you guys have a little bit of a helpful spirit?! Don't drag me into this!

Lai Er hardened his heart and pulled out a dagger, stabbing the child at the top of the door hard in the shoulder.

Blood splattered all over Lai Er, and the child fell backward in pain. Lai Er seized the opportunity and immediately locked the door.

Darkness swiftly devoured the children's hopes, but Lai Er remained unmoved, slamming the door shut behind him.

Just as the door was about to close, Lai Er saw the stabbed child looking at him with desperate eyes, which made his heart skip a beat for no reason.

But he still closed the door and quickly put the lock back on.

Everything fell silent.

Lai Er took a deep breath, expelling the strange feeling from his mind, and then muttered, "Don't blame me, it was Rhine who sold you out," as he ran towards the back of the carriage.

He didn't have that much time to waste. The reason he was able to succeed so easily tonight was entirely because something happened at Wildfire, and then the Northern Bishop of Rhine and his Knight order suddenly died, causing some chaos in the management of the Northern Church, which allowed him to take advantage of the situation.

If we miss this opportunity, who knows when we'll get another one?

With that thought in mind, Lai Er quickly rushed to the back of the carriage.

He didn't believe that such a large convoy was carrying only children; there must be other things as well. If he could find even one or two of those things, his trip tonight wouldn't have been in vain.

But with so many carriages locked, how could he possibly know which one contained something?

Lai Er was getting impatient, but just then, he suddenly noticed that the carriage in front of him was open, and that it wasn't filled with children, but with cargo.

After a slight pause, Lai Er immediately rushed over.

Once he boarded the train, he discovered it was full of goods, with boxes upon boxes of extremely valuable Dream Dust and Joy Beans.

More than half of them were opened, which clearly means someone had been here!

At that moment, Lai Er seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head, seeing a person dressed the same as him in the distance, but with their face covered, looking at him and carrying the goods in their hands.

Fellow travelers?!

Upon noticing Lai Er looking over, the man waved his wand triumphantly.

Then came a deafening roar, and countless guards rushed out in shock, all turning to look at the only open carriage and Lai Er standing inside.