Phantom Objects Finally Have Grades
Hearing Hom's words, Feng Xue frowned, because he felt that this rule was very unreasonable.
After all, given the consumption level of this Landfill Area, most of the residents here should have already escaped the poverty line and have enough money to spread rumors, hearsay, and even Weird Tale. For these people, simple knowledge is not actually that scarce; what they lack more are suitable Phantom Object.
In addition, regardless of whether the items sold or not, the daily rent of 20,000 towers must be paid for setting up a stall. Unless there is a large number of Phantom Object for sale, it is basically equivalent to losing money.
Why do so many online games and Infinite Flow novels add a player-run marketplace to their public auctions, in addition to those by the system and the main god? Isn't it because marketplaces offer more flexibility?
However, bartering is prohibited here, which makes Feng Xue wonder if someone is actively controlling the circulation of Phantom Object.
Seemingly sensing Feng Xue's thoughts, or perhaps having seen similar guests before, Hom, after confirming that Feng Xue wasn't daydreaming, immediately spoke up:
"Actually, if you just want to barter, there are special consignment shops here. You can leave information about your Phantom Object and the items you need in the shop, and the shopkeeper will contact the buyer when the corresponding items appear."
"As for those who set up stalls here... most of them are professional merchants who know some Manufacturing Type Tag holders who are unwilling to join forces but have a need to sell their goods. These items are basically used by those Manufacturing Type Tag holders for practice. Most of them are just the lowest-level blank goods, and some even have negative effects. But occasionally, some items with special elements will appear, and certain conditions must be met to activate their power."
"They set up stalls partly to gain commercial Tag, and partly to see if anyone is trying to sell them authentication-related Tag, or if they're just some sucker who thinks they have a great eye for quality."
"Of course, if you can accurately judge the quality of a Phantom Object, you can still find good stuff at the stalls. So, as I said before, the Black Market is a place that tests your eye. All transactions here are not protected by contracts; whether you make a profit or a loss is only known to the two parties involved."
Hearing what she said, Feng Xue understood a little, but instead of going to the storefront immediately, she wandered around the surrounding stalls.
For no other reason than to get a general idea of the basic pricing for Phantom Object.
He understood, of course, that the prices quoted by roadside vendors were inflated, but even if they were, he could still compare them with the goods sold in storefronts, which would at least prevent him from being too passive when it came to selling his goods.
After wandering around for a couple of hours and asking about prices a few times, Feng Xue had a better idea of what was going on before finally finding a shop with a "weapons shop" sign and walking over.
The shops in the Black Market were basically just display cases with the entrance sealed off and windows that allowed the staff to peek out halfway. They had no intention of letting customers into the shop. This kind of structure reminded Feng Xue of the family-run milk tea shops and ice cream shops before she traveled back in time.
"Welcome! How may I help you?"
The shop assistant was a beautiful woman who looked a bit older but had a mature charm. However, considering that people usually choose younger staff when hiring a receptionist, Feng Xue guessed that this woman was actually a greasy middle-aged man.
Of course, this wasn't really important. After making a habitual assessment, Feng Xue immediately took out a large cloth bag and placed the weapons she had previously seized from the three members of the Shamate on the table.
The shop assistant glanced at the three weapons and said casually:
"Three common-quality Phantom Object: Nail Head Hammer and a hand axe, each worth 20,000. The hunting rifle is a ranged weapon, so I'll offer it to you for 35,000. That'll make a total of 75,000. How about that?"
As they were talking, the shop assistant seemed to be about to withdraw money, but Feng Xue reached out and placed her hand on the hunting rifle:
"Boss, wait a minute? The Nail Head Hammer and hand axe are fine at this price, but this Double-barreled Hunting Rifle isn't just any ordinary quality, is it? It has the special effect of using anything smaller than its caliber as bullets, and it can also be used as a cutting melee weapon. It can't possibly be just ordinary quality, can it?"
After wandering around, Feng Xue had roughly learned that South District generally divides Phantom Object into four levels: Miscellaneous Item, ordinary, fine, and excellent. There should be more above that, but he didn't see any on the stalls. The only item that was supposedly an "excellent" boxing glove was priced at a high price of 1.8 million.
However, this classification does not seem to be based on hard indicators such as the number of elements, but rather on a vague classification based on the abilities of the Phantom Object.
Miscellaneous Item are basically useless things, like his Infinite Salt, the pink remote control toy for Chen Xiyao, and the Fat Tongue Toffee in his pocket. They're basically at that level. It's not that they're completely useless, and they can perform well when paired with some special Phantom Object, but most of the time they're not very useful. They're priced at around ten thousand, and consumables are even cheaper, maybe three or four thousand at most. They're not even as valuable as some False Thing.
Ordinary items, aside from the characteristics common to Phantom Object, are basically no different from real items. Nail Head Hammer and hand axes belong to this category. Apart from their inherent sharpness and Tag, they have no extraordinary power and cannot acquire any Tag. Their prices are roughly between 20,000 and 50,000. Armor items are more expensive, but will not exceed 100,000.
The "Excellent" cards are much better, possessing a combination of practicality and versatility, or even being associated with a specific Tag. Their prices are often in the hundreds of thousands. For example, Feng Xue's cards like "Sealed Golden Cabinet" and "Physical Clone" are generally considered "Fine Grade." In particular, the "Physical Clone" card could easily sell for 500,000 to 600,000.
As for the "Excellent" grade, those are top-tier items, with a starting price of a million. Simply possessing them can significantly enhance the holder's abilities (in all aspects). For example, Feng Xue's Boots of Silence, despite only increasing movement speed and accelerating injury recovery out of combat, are definitely worthy of this standard and could easily sell for over a million. After all, even a gauntlet that "can shatter rocks" and "slightly increases strength" can sell for 1.8 million!
Upon hearing Feng Xue's words, the shopkeeper paused slightly as he took out his money, seemingly realizing that Feng Xue wasn't some novice who didn't understand the function of capturing weapons. However, he didn't intend to back down, simply saying:
"Although it ignores ammunition replenishment, its actual power is just so-so, and it can only load two rounds at a time. As for being a melee weapon, its only advantage is its [sharpness]. It's the same as using an Ordinary Grade knife. If a gunman is caught in close combat, it's completely unrealistic to expect him to fight back with this feature..."
As the shopkeeper spoke, he met Feng Xue's earnest eyes. Based on his years of experience as a street vendor, he knew she was the type to leave immediately if he didn't give her a fair price. After a moment's thought, he finally offered a relatively reasonable quote.
"150,000... Hmm, with the remaining two items, I'll give you a maximum of 200,000, no more!"