Underground Black Market
Wu La City is one of the seven major cities in the entire Gravel World.
When Gu Ding was teleported here, he had already changed his appearance.
Standing at 3.5 meters tall, with an incredibly robust physique, a face covered in stubble, and a deliberately left Scarface nearly five centimeters long on his left cheek, he looked extremely fierce.
Gu Ding deliberately dressed like this because Sea Emperor said his previous attire made him look too honest. Besides, Gu Ding liked to smile, and his previous smile gave off a kind of simple, honest impression, even more so than Bigge's.
The face he now possesses is a simulated representation specially generated by Sea Emperor. Even when expressionless, it exudes an aura of imposing authority. And when he smiles, it becomes even more chilling.
The reason for choosing this face is that the more people Gu Ding comes into contact with, the greater the chance that his identity will be exposed. And this face will make most strangers keep their distance from Gu Ding the moment they see him.
Moreover, a height of 3.5 meters is considered exceptional in this world, enough to make most of the local residents look up to him.
With that face and that height, to paraphrase a saying from Deep Sea Star, Gu Ding will likely have a long time before he makes any friends.
As the Sea Emperor had predicted, even the roadside vendors dared not approach him when he walked down the street.
After finding a hotel to stay in, Gu Ding began to examine the items he had obtained from the bottom of the Abyss Blood Pool.
Besides a large quantity of Crimson Blood Crystal and Violet Blood Crystal, the storage equipment also contained a large number of weapons, armor, and various other items.
The Sea Emperor had long ago categorized the items. The first category consisted of Violet Blood Crystal and Crimson Blood Crystal; the second category contained tens of thousands of storage equipment; the third category included weapons and armor; the fourth category contained various other ores; the fifth category contained various medicinal herbs; and the last category contained miscellaneous items, including some that were difficult to identify.
"The second and third categories must all be sold off. The fourth, fifth, and sixth categories can mostly be sold off as well, because they won't be of much use to you," the Sea Emperor stated his plan after his explanation.
"With so many items, the Auction House probably can't handle them all, right?" Gu Ding looked at the mountain of items and shook his head with a wry smile.
"So we won't go through Auction House, but rather the underground black market." The Sea Emperor's answer surprised Gu Ding. "One reason is that there are too many items; no single Auction House could possibly handle them all. Another reason is that you have quite a few weapons and armor here. Their distinctive appearance makes them easily recognizable if someone acquainted with the deceased sees them. Therefore, we can't auction them publicly, or it would cause unnecessary trouble."
"An underground black market?" Gu Ding was intrigued; he had never been to one before. "How do I get there?"
"No rush. There are seven underground black markets in this world, located in the seven main cities. We'll go there after they open tonight."
Late at night, guided by the Sea Emperor, Gu Ding found a place that looked like a tavern.
At the tavern entrance, two burly men stood, no less tall than Gu Ding, and equally fierce-looking.
Gu Ding walked up to the two men, but they blocked his way.
"Gu Ding, say the code: Heavenly King Covers Earth Tiger." The Sea Emperor's voice came quietly.
Gu Ding didn't hesitate at all, "The SkyNet covers the tiger of earth."
"Pagoda Suppresses River Demon!" A man on the left gave the signal, then took out a black robe and a dark gold mask from his Storage Space and handed them to Gu Ding.
"You look like a newcomer," the man on the right said after sizing up Gu Ding. "Turn right after you enter, go into the changing room, put on your robe and mask before entering the black market. Otherwise, we will not be responsible if your true identity is discovered."
Gu Ding took the two items, nodded, and then went inside and walked to his right.
"This entire corridor and the entire changing room are all equipped with restrictions; the designer certainly put some thought into it," the Sea Emperor said with a joking laugh.
Gu Ding entered an empty changing room, put on his robe, and then donned his mask. He turned the handle of the changing room, preparing to leave, when he noticed the entire room tremble and then sink downwards.
"Don't panic, the black market is underground. The elevator will transport you to the real entrance to the black market," the Sea Emperor explained.
The changing room-style elevator descended for more than ten minutes before Gu Ding felt the speed gradually slow down. After a while, a rumble was heard, and Gu Ding felt the elevator finally stop descending. The changing room door opened automatically, and Gu Ding stepped out.
This so-called underground black market was somewhat different from what Gu Ding had imagined. He thought it wouldn't be large, at most just like a market.
But in reality, this underground black market is a huge underground city, whose area is not much smaller than the main city above.
Moreover, the crowds flowed continuously, and various modes of transportation could be seen, seemingly without any restrictions.
Throughout the black market, lights of various colors could be seen everywhere, illuminating the entire underground world like a bustling market at night.
As another elevator descended, many people glanced in the direction of Gu Ding before quickly looking away.
Gu Ding walked towards the street not far away, while secretly communicating with the Sea Emperor. "Which way should we go now?"
"Go five blocks straight down this street, then turn left, go three blocks, then turn right four blocks. You'll see a huge tower-like structure." After saying that, the Sea Emperor immediately added, "Flying and running are not allowed in this underground black market. You can only walk there slowly."
"There are such strange rules?" Gu Ding muttered to himself.
"This rule was established to prevent theft from becoming difficult to apprehend. Thieves, once they have the goods, will usually flee if someone catches up, making them easy targets. As for those who don't flee after stealing, they will be caught quickly because the masks have numbers on them. Once reported by the victim, they will be discovered no matter where they hide."
Hearing this, Gu Ding had no choice but to obediently walk there. Along the way, there was a dazzling array of goods, but Gu Ding didn't find anything he wanted.
After more than half an hour, he finally arrived at the tower that the Sea Emperor had mentioned.
That tall tower was entirely black and appeared to be very old.
At the entrance stands a large gate made of cast black iron, over ten meters high, giving it a sense of solidity and weight.
In front of the gate, there were no guards, only two black stone sculptures.
The two stone sculptures were also over three meters tall, with bird heads, lion bodies, and a pair of slightly folded wings on their backs, and their bodies were covered with dense black scales.
The Sea Emperor recognized the two statues as Lion Sculpture Beast. "Gu Ding. Wait a minute."
Gu Ding, who was about to knock on the door, suddenly stopped and asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"
Just then, the two stone sculptures suddenly opened their eyes and came to life. Four eyes coldly stared at Gu Ding not far away.
"That's what I wanted to say. The Lion Sculpture Beast has the ability to petrify, and it used to be used by powerful individuals to guard gates. If anyone gets too close, they will be directly attacked by the Lion Sculpture Beast," the Sea Emperor explained. "These two before us are not weak; they possess the Combat Strength of Eighth Sequence True God. This is enough to show how powerful the people living in this mansion are."
The Lion Sculpture Beast on the left shook its wings and suddenly spoke in human language, "Human, this is not a place for you."
"I'm here to make a deal," Gu Ding stated his purpose directly.
"Only those invited by the master are qualified to trade with him." The Lion Sculpture Beast was clearly an intelligent being. "If you want to enter, produce your invitation!"
"I don't have an invitation," Gu Ding shook his head. "But if your master misses this deal, he'll likely regret it for a long time."
"Human, no matter what you say, we won't let you in. Leave now while we're still in a good mood, or we'll have to be ruthless!" The two Lion Sculpture Beast moved, completely blocking the gate. They glared at Gu Ding with menacing expressions, ready to attack at the slightest provocation.
"Since that's the case, I have no choice but to offend you..." Gu Ding said, gathering a massive amount of soul power, preparing to directly hypnotize the two Lion Sculpture Beasts and then enter them.
Unexpectedly, a deep male voice suddenly came from inside the Black Tower, "Let him in!"
Upon hearing the voice, the two Lion Sculpture Beasts were startled, but they immediately retreated, glared fiercely, and then transformed back into stone sculptures.
Gu Ding then strode forward and passed between the two Lion Sculpture Beasts.
As I approached the Black Iron Gate, just as I was about to push it open, I heard a loud rumble, and the gate opened automatically.
Once the gate was fully open, Gu Ding stepped inside. The moment he entered the Black Tower, the Black Iron Gate closed automatically.
Gu Ding looked around and realized that the interior of the Black Tower was much larger than he had imagined.
Inside the Black Tower, there were no lights, only torches burning brightly on the surrounding walls. The flickering flames made the interior of the Black Tower appear even darker and more mysterious.
"Go straight along these two pillars, that guy is at the very back." Sea Emperor communicated with Gu Ding through his consciousness. "He is a True God of the Ninth Sequence, so be careful."
Now, with his Combat Strength unleashed, Gu Ding's soul strength far surpasses that of Tenth Sequence True God in this world. He is not afraid of Ninth Sequence True God. He simply nodded slightly and continued walking forward.
He walked to the end of the road and finally saw the owner of the Black Tower.
He was a Middle-Aged Man with a noble air, dressed in a black tailcoat, wearing a hat, and holding a dark red cane in his left hand. He was sitting at a long table, slowly sipping his tea.
~~
[I really didn't want to tell everyone about my illness, because I'm not feeling well and there's no need to make everyone feel uncomfortable. But now it's affecting my updates, so I have to say it. The night before last, I had acute tonsillitis, and since then I've been completely hoarse. I took medication for two days thinking it would help, and yesterday the tonsil pain was a little better, but I developed an upper respiratory tract infection, and I started having a fever yesterday afternoon. For about nine hours that afternoon and evening, my head was foggy, and I only managed to type less than 500 words. This morning I took my temperature, and it was 38.3... The sore throat isn't affecting my writing, but the fever is causing dizziness, body aches, and sleepiness; my head is completely blank...] (To be continued~^~)