Black Gold Corridor

Ryan's return was a timely rain; if he hadn't come back, Gagnor was about to go to the Raven Inn himself.

On the way to the slums, Gagnor noticed that Ryan's gait was a bit strange, as if he was trying to avoid pulling on a wound, so he couldn't help but ask, "Are you injured?"

"Yeah, just a minor injury," Ryan said.

"Where did you deliver the letter?"

Ryan: "County of Presto, the road was a bit rough..."

The two arrived at Raven Street.

Compared to his first visit, Gagnor's treatment had changed significantly.

The Gray Hawk Mercenary Group's emblem and Ryan by his side made those sneaky fellows wisely withdraw their malicious gazes.

But at the same time, the beggars who had previously ignored Gagnor became much more enthusiastic, gathering around in groups of twos and threes: "Apothecary, please, have mercy!"

"Honorable sir, I missed the Church's breakfast. For Mosa's sake, could you give me a few pieces of bran bread?"

"I don't want copper coins, and I don't want bread. I just want Nightshade Nettle leaves. It's been so long since I've tasted it... Apothecary, I'm sure this won't be difficult for generous you, right?"

Gagnor was completely indifferent to these beggars, while Ryan gave alms to some and ignored others.

"Don't you ever give alms?" Ryan asked.

Gagnor: "If helping doesn't bring about change, I usually don't offer help."

Ryan was silent for a moment: "That makes sense."

"Why do you give alms to some people?" Gagnor asked.

"Because I know them, I used to live here," Ryan said, pointing to a lame vagrant in the distance, a hint of reminiscence flashing across his face. "That person, I used to steal with him when I was a kid."

"Later, we understood a principle: if you steal money from a kind nun, the worst that can happen is being scolded. But if you dare to reach into Loha's pocket, you'll at least lose a leg..."

Ryan recounted the past intermittently until the two turned a corner and saw a dilapidated inn.

The Raven Inn.

As the sign stated, this was indeed an inn, with many guests staying and dining there. The air was filled with the smell of cheap ale, and bran bread crumbs were everywhere.

But when Ryan entered the inn, walked up to a waiter in the corner, and took out a level four thief's badge, the waiter immediately stepped aside, revealing a narrow, dimly lit passage.

Ryan entered the passage familiarly, with Gagnor following closely behind.

The passage spiraled downwards. They walked along it for a while, and the view gradually brightened, and the sounds of conversation became clearer.

After passing through the passage and another small room, Gagnor arrived at a rather long corridor. There were many stalls in the corridor, and dozens of people were gathered around these stalls in groups of twos and threes, chatting, making it even livelier than the inn above.

"This is the Black Gold Corridor," Ryan said.

Gagnor noticed that some people here were wearing masks or hoods: "Should I also conceal my identity?"

Ryan: "If you're here to trade Mosa Follower slaves, concealing your identity is undoubtedly a wise choice, but if you're just selling a level two Bloodsail Pirates badge, there's no need."

Gagnor: "I'm a little curious, why can Bloodsail Pirates badges be exchanged for money here?"

Ryan simply said: "Almost every Bloodsail Pirate with a name is on the County of Dibuto's wanted list."

Gagnor nodded, understanding roughly.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see the 'middleman'."

Following behind Ryan, Gagnor soon saw a person completely wrapped up in the corner of the Black Gold Corridor, with a robe, hood, and a mask that only revealed their eyes, making it impossible to even tell their gender.

"What kind of service do you need?" the middleman asked, sitting in front of the stall. Their voice was also very peculiar, sounding like it had no regional or gender characteristics.

Gagnor took out the three Bloodsail Pirates badges.

Like most identity badges, the front of the Bloodsail Pirates badge had the logo, and the back had detailed identity information.

The middleman took the three badges. They only glanced at two of them before putting them down: "You can sell these two badges to the scavengers at the Raven Inn. I don't take junk."

Their gaze lingered slightly on the "Water Elemental" badge.

Then they closed their eyes and slowly ran their index finger over the badge, as if sensing something.

After a moment, they opened their eyes: "Can you tell me how he died?"

Ryan interjected: "I think you should know that asking for information in the Black Gold Corridor usually costs money."

The middleman said indifferently: "You don't have to answer. I'm just curious. This Bloodsail Pirate nicknamed 'Water Elemental' was originally a radical sea plunderer, until he received a prophecy claiming that he would die in a storm. From then on, he stayed away from the storm-prone sea and ran ashore to do evil."

After a pause, they asked: "So, he went back on the ship?"

Gagnor simply said: "No."

The middleman nodded, asked no further questions, and then took out a money bag and handed it over: "Sixty silver coins."

Gagnor counted it, and it was indeed sixty silver coins. He immediately accepted it happily, getting rid of the imminent personal financial crisis.

Ryan then said: "My friend is here for the first time, please give him a transaction certificate."

The middleman took out a piece of hard paper printed with patterns and handed it to Gagnor.

Gagnor took it in his hand and looked at it, feeling it was a bit like an invoice, and didn't understand what it was for.

Ryan explained: "If the transaction amount reaches fifty silver coins and you pay a five silver coin handling fee to the Thieves' Guild, you can receive a Black Gold Certificate and freely enter and exit the black market. Otherwise, I may have to bring you in every time."

As he spoke, he walked straight to a stall and put up a sign.

The sign read: Buying all kinds of information long-term.

Gagnor stared blankly. "This is your stall?"

"Strictly speaking, it's the mercenary group's stall, but it's my shift today," Ryan said. "I have to work now, so feel free to wander around... By the way, I get the feeling you never have to work. Every time I look for you, you're free. Are all apothecaries like that?"

"I'm just good at time management," Gagnor shrugged.

"Alright."

Gagnor wandered around the Black Gold Corridor for a while.

In general, they sold everything here. Some were legal or gray market goods, but most were contraband, such as stolen goods, banned religious books, Black Magic books, restricted potions, counterfeit money, criminal contracts, smuggled goods, and so on.

Besides stolen goods, the most common commodity was probably Nightshade Nettle leaf products.

Nightshade Nettle leaf is restricted by the Church, lords, and the Apothecary Guild. The only Nightshade Nettle leaf product that can be obtained through legitimate channels is Pain Relief Potion.

But this was the black market, so Nightshade Nettle leaf products were not only common but also came in a wide variety of forms: candy, desserts, tobacco... the list goes on.

A stall called "Potent Potions Expert" caught Gagnor's attention.

The stall owner wore a mask, but seemed to be a woman from her figure. Seeing Gagnor approach, she asked, "Buying or selling?"