The Cavern Bazaar

Chapter 30: The Cavern Market

Snap!

As the game pod lid slowly opened, the nutrient fluid that enveloped his body drained through the surrounding holes. Qin Ye, exiting the virtual interface, slammed his fist onto the controller beside him.

"What kind of trash game has a one-hour cooldown?"

Thinking of how he was about to kill the level 10 Rage Worm, only to be swarmed and killed by a sudden spawn of Blood Corpses, Qin Ye couldn't help but curse again.

He stood up from the pod and walked to the sofa, sitting down to open his bank account and initiate a transfer.

There were three transfers in total.

They were sent to the captains of the three squads who had helped him with the finishing blows.

From now on, if he wanted to continue receiving help with finishing blows, trust was paramount. He didn't want to cut off his future avenues for this.

Despite his complaints, after experiencing it firsthand, he had completely fallen in love with the game.

The ultra-high degree of freedom, the 100% realistic scene modeling and physical feedback, the infinitely large exploration map… Among these advantages, what made him most addicted were the infinitely expandable ability combinations and the attribute feedback after upgrading and strengthening.

The physical prowess of leaping several meters high and shattering stones with a single punch was a joy he couldn't experience in reality.

But thinking about the biggest drawback—that death in the game leads to a resurrection cooldown—he couldn't help but curse inwardly.

This setting, in his opinion, was purely a marketing tactic by the Moon Eclipse Clan to create artificial scarcity. It was completely unnecessary and just served to annoy players.

After completing the transfers, he walked into the bathroom to wash up, changed his clothes, and walked out of his room.

What greeted him was a magnificent and spectacular underground space. Burning energy torches hung from the rock walls above, illuminating the underground world.

He could see intelligent beings of various forms moving about.

Green-skinned Steel-Bone Beastmen, Abyssal Fishmen with gill-like patterns on their faces, Obsidian Men whose bodies were composed of rock… A motley crew. Besides humans like him, there were also a large number of alien races.

These alien races were all beings who had fled to Earth from other worlds.

Their worlds had all been invaded by some mysterious force, causing their worlds to face a crisis of collapse. Only a very small number of their people managed to tear through space and escape.

Among these fleeing forces, the strongest were the Moon Eclipse Clan.

According to the descriptions of the first Moon Eclipse Clan members who arrived on Earth, when their world was on the verge of collapse, they activated eighteen teleportation spatial channels connecting to different worlds, escaping to various destinations.

One group came to Earth.

This group of Moon Eclipse Clan members was also the only alien force that relocated to the Moon after arriving on Earth, establishing a new city there.

The underground space he was currently in was called the Cavern Market. It was located on the border of Human Federation territory and served as a place for the Human Federation and alien races to exchange intelligence, resources, and technology. It was managed by an allied council formed by various races.

There were eleven similar trading centers on Earth.

He was a D-rank Administrator for the Human Federation in the Cavern Market. One of his responsibilities was to patrol District D of the Cavern Market and resolve issues encountered between races.

Although they were all intelligent beings, the different customs born from different living environments and cultures made this place a mixed bag, often erupting in conflicts and disputes.

"Get out of the way, you're blocking the path!"

Just then, a force struck him from behind, pushing Qin Ye to the side.

Staggering a couple of steps before regaining his balance, Qin Ye turned his head and saw a Stone Giant, over three meters tall, walk past him without looking back, heading towards the trading area.

"You bastard, do you know who I am?!"

The Stone Giant heard him and abruptly turned around, glaring at Qin Ye with its two large eyes, like black gemstones.

Upon seeing the D-rank Administrator insignia on Qin Ye's chest, the Stone Giant's fierce expression instantly turned amiable.

"My deepest apologies, esteemed Administrator. Please do not take it personally."

A humble apology came from the translator around the Stone Giant's neck.

"If I catch you causing trouble again, I'll put you on the blacklist, and you won't be allowed into the Cavern Market anymore."

Amidst the Stone Giant's continuous apologies, Qin Ye walked into the market, beginning his day's patrol.

The entire market resembled a complex maze, divided into eight trading districts. He was responsible for District D.

"Earth Spirit Stone from Mogu World, can be used for all devices requiring charging. Ultra-long endurance, one is better than six."

"Fast-Growing Grass, a specialty from Underworld. It can grow even in polluted land and matures every 68 days. You'll never have to worry about food and drink again after buying it."

"Spirit Breaking Shield produced in Mysterious Cave World. This is the last Spirit Breaking Shield. Carrying it can defend against unexpected attacks, with automatic defense. It can save your life in critical moments."

As he walked along, stalls manned by merchants of various races lined the path, their calls to sell their wares incessant.

Qin Ye stopped in front of a stall.

The stall owner was a green-skinned dwarf wearing an iron helmet, on which lights flashed intermittently. Its height barely reached Qin Ye's chest. It was adorned with numerous props carved with green runes.

"Old Hei, haven't been causing trouble lately, have you?"

"How could I? We Green Spirit Clan love peace the most." A sharp voice came from the translator on the green-skinned dwarf's neck.

Hearing this, Qin Ye couldn't help but roll his eyes.

The Green Spirit Clan, despite appearing frail, were extremely belligerent. They were one of the alien races that gave him the most headaches in the trading district he managed.

At this moment, he squatted down and picked up a glowing green stone from the stall, examining it closely.

"What is this? I haven't seen you sell it before."

Facing the inquiry, the green-skinned dwarf immediately pointed to the green gem and introduced it:

"This is one of our clan's cutting-edge core technologies. We call it the Spirit Energy Bomb. It's made by altering the internal structure of an Energy Stone, and its power is immense. We wouldn't be selling it if we weren't on the verge of starvation."

Qin Ye was startled upon hearing this:

"Isn't this thing dangerous?"

"No, we naturally abide by the rules of the trading market. We absolutely wouldn't bring dangerous items into the market. This Spirit Energy Bomb is made from the lowest-grade spirit stones and won't detonate on its own. You need to first imprint it with your consciousness, and then trigger it with your consciousness after throwing it to cause the internal structure to break and explode."

Relieved by the explanation, Qin Ye relaxed.

"How much does this sell for?"

"100 Earth Coin."

The 100 Earth Coin the green-skinned dwarf mentioned was not the currency commonly used within the Human Federation.

The Earth Coin originated over 200 years ago, established by the Moon Eclipse Clan, Human Federation, Great Barbarian Tribe, and other alien forces as a new form of currency. It is the universal currency among all races on Earth, and resources and technology can be purchased from various races using Earth Coin.

The currency within the Human Federation is called Credit Coin, used only internally.

"Can the technology be transferred?" Qin Ye asked the crucial question.

Before serving as a D-rank Administrator, he had worked at the Federation's Science and Technology Institute as an alien technology analyst.

Dispatched by the Human Federation to the underground trading market, his job, besides maintaining the stable operation of the trading area, was also to find important technologies for the Human Federation.

"As long as you pay, the technology is not a problem."

"I need to test its power first before deciding whether to buy. Here are 100 Earth Coin."

As he spoke, Qin Ye pulled out a silver card from his pocket.

The display screen on the front of the card had a numerical input box.

Qin Ye entered '100' into the box and swiped it across the machine at the green-skinned dwarf's stall.

Beep!

With a crisp electronic sound, the machine displayed a payment completion notification.

(End of this chapter)