"What the hell?!" Qin Siyang nearly jumped. "A deposit?! A hundred silver coins, too?! This is robbery! Even your Zhao Family's Black Market isn't this shady!"
Remembering the twenty silver coins he had just spent at Johnny's Tavern, Qin Siyang felt that everywhere in Sigma District demanded money. Its prices were far more outrageous than those in the Safe Zone!
Shan En shrugged helplessly. "Can't be helped. His place is one of the entrances to the Underground City, and he's one of its gatekeepers. Everyone he lets in is recorded inside. If someone he admits causes serious trouble or ruins something important, the gatekeeper who let them in suffers too. It's a system of collective liability for the people responsible."
Qin Siyang was even more confused. "Didn't you say the Underground City had no order? How come people still get held accountable?"
"Having no order and having someone in charge aren't mutually exclusive."
Shan En explained, "In the Underground City, little things have no rules, but someone handles the big things. Just like in a place like Zone 14121, nobody might care if you kill someone in the street. But try touching the United Government's disc carapace warehouse or assassinating a district chief, and see whether anyone comes after you."
"The Underground City is the same. The difference is that its administrators aren't any one person, but the countless Sequence Ability Users who live and do business here. Cross certain lines, and you have to pay the price! The gatekeepers are the first filter, and the first link in the chain of responsibility!"
Qin Siyang's head began to ache from listening. He sighed irritably. "...What a colossal pain!"
He hadn't brought nearly that many silver coins. Left with no choice, he took out a Storage Box and tossed it sourly