Black Market

"Captain, where are we going now?" Huang Xiaowen asked.

"The Black Market."

Ling Chu said Auston's diary had mentioned it. The first time he received information about a soul artifact and found the Nautilus's informant had been at the Black Market.

It seemed the Black Market was a good place to buy intelligence.

The group slowly made their way down the street. Ling Chu quickly noticed that while this place looked chaotic on the surface, it was not completely without rules.

The streets near the harbor mostly catered to sailors. Taverns, inns, weapon shops, and fences were the most common, while the farther inland they went, the more varied the roadside businesses became.

The walls were plastered with notices for hiring, purchasing goods, and bounties. Some bounties did not even have names, only crudely drawn faces with rewards ranging from several hundred to several thousand Sea Shells written beneath them.

Some people even stood at intersections soliciting customers, shouting that they could arrange fake identities, handle goods of unknown origin, and even help locate missing sailors.

Since people were doing all that, the Black Market certainly would not be hard to find. It was simply unlikely that anyone would hang up a sign reading "Black Market Entrance" right outside.

Ling Chu observed for a while before finally settling her gaze on a thriving tavern by the street.

It was not far from the docks, yet it had more customers than all the surrounding establishments combined. Most of those coming and going were seafaring merchants and Pirates.

Places like this, full of people and loose tongues, were ideal for gathering information.

Ling Chu went in first.

The tavern reeked of cheap liquor, sweat, and tobacco.

Several bare-chested Pirates were arm-wrestling around a table while those nearby shouted themselves hoarse as they