Embarrassed by some of the goods here, the participants who enthusiastically hawked their wares, and the discount signs practically begging to be noticed,
Still marveling excitedly at the scene that looked like a shopping district from Ready Player One, Fang Ran realized that this place,
Whether its goods or its people, was subtly different from what he had imagined.
"So this is what a black market is like?"
"What else did you think it would be like?"
Apparently long accustomed to this place, Serica's wild and beautiful face remained calm beneath her sunglasses as she looked ahead and spoke lightly:
"Only selling weapons, equipment, or mysterious items, with everyone keeping a straight face and watching everyone else like strangers? Give me a break. That outdated era is long gone."
There was actually much more to black markets that Serica did not explain in detail.
For instance, shop owners here hired people to watch their stores, sold goods on consignment, rented out storefronts, opened branches, and competed commercially over whose Shield Generator sold better, using every trick they could think of both openly and behind the scenes.
They even ran advertisements in scenarios.
And those black market "bosses" were all remarkably capable. While busy improving all kinds of infrastructure in the underground streets, such as water, electricity, and networks, to create more ways to charge fees, they also spent every day thinking up new ways to expand their business operations.
On top of that, they had to compete with their peers for promising talents whose abilities could produce "best-selling products."
Of course, Fang Ran did not know any of that yet. Hearing Serica describe it as "outdated,"
He suddenly realized something.
Participants' lives were not limited to the things he knew about. Some focused on improving their strength through scenarios, while