Black Market

The hazy night silently swallowed and exhaled darkness as an abandoned warehouse district near the harbor quietly came alive with the dusk.

The warehouses had originally belonged to a goblin merchant, who had leased the place to temporarily store goods brought in by merchant ships from various regions.

However, the goblin's innate greed eventually led him to make a grave mistake:

In pursuit of greater profits, he had secretly attempted to transport and store prohibited items related to evil gods here.

The matter was exposed, and he was reported by his competitors—fellow goblins.

When it came to matters involving evil gods, the major churches held greater enforcement authority than Greenport's governing officials, and their approach could be summed up in one sentence:

Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty escape.

The report was filed in the morning. The warehouses were blown to smithereens that afternoon.

Within a few hours, the church forces sent to destroy the forbidden items related to evil gods had reduced the entire warehouse district to ruins with combat techniques, magic, and divine spells.

The offending goblin had a keen nose for danger. The moment he sensed something was wrong, he bought a supreme VVVIP ticket on the nearest goblin airship and decisively fled Greenport, avoiding capture.

However, the ownership of the warehouse district under his name became a complete mess. The deed was still in the hands of the goblin who had run away, so no one could take it over.

As time passed, the area was gradually abandoned and slowly forgotten by the city.

A corner that drew little attention naturally became a gathering place for all kinds of illegal traders.

When Pete and Rena, dressed in gray robes, entered the abandoned warehouse district, all sorts of strange smells filled the air—moldy grain, rotting fruits and vegetables, the sour stench of vagrants, and an indescribably pungent odor that assaulted their nostrils.

If the smell of the alley outside Rena's tavern was merely a little strange on ordinary days, then the stench of the abandoned warehouse black market was enough to make people physically nauseous.

Pete could not help retching. He hurriedly cast Purify Breath on both himself and Rena.

"Ugh... Don't they find this place disgusting?"

After retching to drive the lingering memory of that smell from his mind, Pete, who had never experienced anything like this before, complained.

The black market in the Lower District was not only a gathering place for illegal traders. Some vagrants who had lost their homes and were unable to work also lived here.

The presence of those vagrants had made Greenport Police Station lose all interest in managing the area.

Rather than drive begging vagrants off the streets all day, it was better to let them gather in one place and wait to die. Naturally, the officers at the station who were just coasting through their days preferred fewer troubles.

This happened to provide the black market with a natural layer of protection.

After passing through the vagrants' "defense line" at the outskirts of the black market, they entered its true trading area.

Figures moved in every direction. Like Pete and Rena, people wore shabby robes or oversized hoods that concealed their faces, everyone trying to hide their identities and movements.

This place was unlike the trade market that divided Greenport's Upper and Lower Districts, where vendors enthusiastically introduced their wares and eagerly solicited passing customers, making the place bustling and lively at all hours;

On the contrary, the black market felt oppressive.

Merchants of unknown identity laid out the items they intended to sell on cloths beside them. If someone took a fancy to an item, they would approach and speak in low voices. Once they agreed on a price, money changed hands for goods.

Aside from the buyer and seller, no third person would ever know the details of their conversation.

Pete surveyed the black market stalls.

It was the first time both he and Rena had come to the black market.

Besides ordinary goods such as weapons, armor, artworks, gemstones, materials, and magic scrolls of unverifiable authenticity,

There were also people selling information and intelligence, posting or accepting commissions, and issuing bounties. Pete even saw more unusual "goods":

At the southeastern corner of the black market was a noticeably more spacious area. Three men without robes were either squatting or sitting beside an iron cage roughly one meter high and several meters long and wide.

Inside the cramped cage, several young women wore brown leather collars around their necks. Restricted by the cage's height, they had no choice but to remain kneeling with their heads lowered.

From time to time, someone would walk over and exchange a few words with the three men before taking out a purse and producing a dozen or so copper coins. The men would then open the cage door with lewd grins, drag out one of the women, fasten an iron chain to her collar, and let the customer lead her toward a dim little corner behind the cage.

"Tch!"

"I'd only heard about it before. I never thought the Bloodfang Gang really was this utterly insane!" Rena cursed angrily under her breath.

"Those men are Bloodfang Gang members too?" Pete frowned.

In a black market where everyone was doing their utmost to conceal their identity, those men openly displayed themselves without a care. There was only one possibility:

They were unafraid of anyone learning their true identities. They had nothing to fear!

Rena gave a quiet hum. "They have tattoos of bloody fangs on their bodies. That's the Bloodfang Gang's distinctive mark."

"And what's with those women?"

"The Bloodfang Gang runs quite a few casinos and clubs in the Lower District. I've heard that if the female attendants there don't perform well or fail to meet their targets, the Bloodfang Gang punishes them in all kinds of ways."

"For example... dragging them to the black market and forcing them to serve customers..."

Pete understood.

In Greenport, transactions involving special services were legal, but only if both parties consented.

Judging by the fear and terror on the faces of those collared women when they were dragged from the iron cage, they clearly had not consented.

"They're completely lawless."

Pete knew that the Lower District gangs held considerable power in Greenport, but he had not expected the Bloodfang Gang to commit such evil to this extent.

In the border town where Pete had grown up, there were sometimes conflicts between nobles and commoners, but they had all remained within the bounds of order.

But what the Bloodfang Gang was doing had clearly crossed the line.

The Bloodfang Gang obviously did not care much about Greenport's laws. Or rather, in the chaotic Lower District where crime ran rampant, they had their own set of "rules" to replace the law.

Pete had originally thought that to resolve Rena's troubles, all he needed to do was develop the God of Knowledge's faith in Greenport, recruit enough people, and gain enough strength. Once the Bloodfang Gang knew that Rena had people backing her too and was not someone to provoke, they would naturally stop causing trouble at the tavern.

But seeing the Bloodfang Gang's lawless conduct gave Pete a premonition:

This matter was probably not going to be resolved so easily.

If it had been the old Pete, the one who drifted through life waiting to die, he might have backed down and prepared to cower once he realized how thorny the situation was.

But now, with the God of Knowledge behind him, Pete had confidence.

Pete gently tugged Rena's hand. "Don't rush. This isn't the time to confront them head-on. Don't forget why we came here."

"Once we've grown strong enough, we'll deal with them!"