Black Market

Captain Kai was a pretty decent man. He was probably afraid Suren would take the wrong path, so he explained everything in great detail.

However, Kai did not know that Suren's awakened talent was not the Grade D Eagle Eye, but dual Grade S talents. Nor did he know that Suren did not intend to advance into an ordinary profession. He already had the Rune Anomaly Puppet, a Gold Rank Job Advancement Material with an extremely high compatibility rating, and intended to advance into the rare profession of Abomination Puppeteer.

Therefore, those job advancement recommendations suited for ordinary people did not apply to Suren.

Just as Kai had said, when choosing Alchemical Implants, only those highly compatible with one's profession and talents could make combat power achieve an effect greater than one plus one.

Melee Types chose implants that enhanced the body, Assassin Classes chose ones that enhanced agility, while caster types chose all sorts that improved casting efficiency.

But Suren himself was following a profession path that developed both technique and agility. Augment Armor had broad applicability for him, but finding something with high compatibility was difficult.

For now, apart from the Silver Rank Thousand Kill Wings implant, which had relatively high compatibility, the Black Iron Implants he could access somewhat "wasted" his innate attributes.

But he thought, what if there was something even more compatible?

Suren did not dwell on that issue for long.

There was no need to rush about the Alchemical Implant Blueprint for now, since that was something he would face only after becoming a professional.

First, he had to make some preparations for his own Job Advancement.

Advancing into a "professional" required not only a specialized Job Advancement Material, but also various items for setting up a conversion array. Things like Magic Crystals, Stibnite, and mercury salts, as well as powdered metal mediums such as red copper and gold.

After a night of fussing around, the clamor of Green Street gradually faded.

As the liveliest nightlife district in South City District, dawn, when the city awakened, was when night began here.

It was worth mentioning that the underground city had neither sun nor moon. The signs distinguishing day from night were the city's fog and lights.

When night fell, fog would blanket the entire city, and the light towers installed by the Municipal Office would be extinguished to conserve energy. During the day, the fog dispersed and the lights illuminated the streets.

6:55 in the morning.

The Cross Society members on Green Street were still indulging in soft embraces, while Suren had already gone out.

Because large numbers of steam boilers operated in the city's factories, smoke and dust from burning coal gave the fog a faint gray tint, while a heavy smell lingered in the air.

There were still five minutes until the city train departed, and not many pedestrians were on the street.

Suren had changed into a long black coat. His bowler hat concealed most of his face as he squeezed into the queue waiting for the train. A breeze slipped into his collar, carrying a faint chill.

"Ding-a-ling~"

Not long after, following a crisp chime of copper bells, the rail steam train came rumbling in.

Like taking a bus in his previous life, Suren squeezed aboard with the crowd.

When it arrived at the station, he got off.

Bird District in North City District lay at the intersection of the four city districts. The X-shaped junction where two main streets crossed was also the boundary between the territories of three gangs. It belonged to none of the three major gangs, and even the North City Public Security Office could not extend its reach there. It was an ungoverned zone where all kinds of forces were tangled together.

Beneath that intersection was an inconspicuous alley leading underground—Shadow Alley.

Belowground was a professionals' black market named after that alley.

A network of underground pipes extended in all directions there, connecting to Old Lindun's complex sewer system. Even if large forces surrounded and purged the place, those inside could scatter and escape through the sewer network.

Thus, because of its unique geography, this place had gradually become the Outer City's largest underground black market.

Shadow Alley was where Wilderness Hunters and Explorers liked to gather. They brought their gains from hunting in the wilderness outside the city to sell here: Cursed Materials, ancient Alchemy scrolls, ores, rare Cursed Objects, and many strange ancient Alchemical Products.

It was also the supernatural market most favored by Outer City professionals, because there were many goods here that were rarely seen on the market—or could not be bought elsewhere at all.

Here, as long as one had money, the black market shopkeepers could always satisfy them.

Many valuable things that could not see the light of day, such as stolen goods cleared out by thieves and loot taken through murder and robbery, could be found in certain inconspicuous little shops in Shadow Alley.

Famous guns, swords, high-grade potions, Alchemical Bullets, steam machinery, Alchemy blueprints, even military-modified prosthetics leaked from the Inner City, advanced Alchemy materials available only to nobles, and top-secret intelligence.

Everything could be found here.

Things that could not see the light always hid in dark corners.

A dim gas lamp stood only every ten meters or so, leaving the passage poorly lit.

Suren walked through a long underground passage, descending roughly one or two hundred meters before arriving at a massive chasm beneath the earth.

This Shadow Alley was not a flat street district, but a three-dimensional complex of buildings.

Ancient sewer pipes were arranged neatly along the rock walls. Beyond their ends lay endless darkness leading deep underground, to places unknown. People had used the pipes to construct small shops with steel frames. Like the Hanging Temple from Suren's previous life, people moved about using crude steel stairways and bridges.

Suren stood at the entrance to the district, looking at the pitch-black Endless Abyss before him. A trace of contemplation flashed through his eyes.

Without lingering, he headed straight toward the shop street.

His boots clanged against the steel-plated walkway.

Perhaps because it was still early, Shadow Alley had only just opened and there were not many customers.

Suren looked around.

Most of these shops were only a few square meters in size. Materials hung outside their doors to indicate what they sold. A few had small signs written in charcoal hanging at the entrance: "Black Witch's Alchemy Materials Shop," "Starlight Bookstore," and "Giant Machinery Shop."

Interestingly, Suren actually saw his own "missing person notice" on a notice board along the street.

No, more accurately, it belonged to the original owner of this body.

Although it was not labeled as a wanted notice, the photograph stated that anyone who provided clues would receive one hundred thousand Liso. That was already the reward price for a Grade B Fugitive.

It was quite tempting.

This was a notice board for posting requests to purchase materials. Half of it was filled with all sorts of material requests, along with coded transaction addresses.

Only people who frequented the black market knew what those codes meant.

The other half was for intelligence brokers to exchange information. Like the classified ads section of a newspaper, it was densely packed with all kinds of missing person notices, bounties, and transaction codes.

Aberk, the Grade A Fugitive known as "Shadow Scorpion" who had died in the fighting arena yesterday, was also listed near the top. However, a red X had now been drawn across his photograph.

Suren only glanced at it and did not look further.

The wanted person on the board was the brown-haired youth Fick Regardie. What did that have to do with Baldhead Suren?

A person's appearance reflected their heart. With a different soul inhabiting the body, both his temperament and features had become increasingly different from those of the original owner.

He did not think Bounty Hunters could find him based on that photograph alone.

Besides the fixed shops, Shadow Alley also had antique dealers who called themselves Wilderness Hunters on both sides of its narrow roads.

They casually spread out a rag, placed a few items on it, and claimed they were ancient treasures recovered from some ruin or another.

It gave Suren the feeling of wandering through the Panjiayuan Antique Market from his previous life. All kinds of strange objects looked quite convincing, but with a glance from the All-Seeing Eye, they were all "fakes"!

Although he had the All-Seeing Eye, Suren did not think he could come here and strike it rich, so he did not waste time identifying those fakes one by one.

Supernatural Items all possessed highly distinctive energy fluctuations. Especially Cursed Materials—even an amateur could sense that such things were extraordinary.

Moreover, Alchemists were an exceptionally knowledgeable profession. It could be said that nearly every wilderness hunting team had an "appraiser" proficient in archaeology and mysticism.

It was possible for one person to overlook something, but for everyone to overlook it? The possibility was nearly zero.

There were good things in the black market, but they definitely came at a corresponding price. There was no need to hunt for overlooked bargains yourself. If you sincerely wanted to buy something, just ask the shopkeeper directly, and he would mysteriously bring out the good stuff not displayed on the counter.

After all, his wanted notice was still hanging on the wall, so Suren had no intention of wandering around the market.

His purpose in coming to the black market this time was to buy some array materials for Job Advancement.

Kai had previously told him that Rosen's Alchemy Shop had a good reputation and high-quality goods.

After walking for a few minutes, he found that inconspicuous little shop in a corner of the market.

An antique copper bell hung by the entrance, and the narrow doorway was so cramped that anyone entering would inevitably bump into it.

With a jingle, the owner knew a customer had arrived.

The shop was tiny. Glass counters lined three sides, while the walls were covered with dense grids of cabinets. Even the air overhead was filled with ropes suspending various sample materials.

Hearing the bell, an elderly man wearing glasses popped up from behind the counter, where he had been sorting materials. "Customer, what materials do you need to buy?"

Suren glanced at him, did not waste words, and took out a list. "I need six White Crystals, thirty grams—"

But as soon as he began, the old man looked startled, as though he had misheard. "You want White Crystals?"

Suren asked, "What, you don't have any in your shop?"

The old man explained, "No, honored customer, that's not what I mean. I'm saying that advancing into a 'professional' does not require high-purity crystals at all. Ordinary Yellow Crystals are enough."

The shop owner sold Alchemy materials, so he naturally knew that anyone buying crystals was most likely setting up an Alchemical conversion array for Job Advancement.

He sold dozens of crystal portions each month. More than ninety-five percent of his customers bought impure Yellow Crystals, while a small number purchased Blue Crystals of relatively higher purity.

As for high-purity White Crystals? No one in the Outer City had any use for such high-end items.

Not only were they expensive, using such advanced materials to set up an ordinary job advancement conversion array was pure waste.

So he had assumed that this customer before him had misspoken.

"Thank you for your kind suggestion, but I am certain that I need six White Crystals."

Suren spoke in a low voice.

It was not because he lacked knowledge. On the contrary, he had already learned quite a bit of basic Alchemy knowledge and knew that he had to use these materials.

For an ordinary Job Advancement ritual, impure Yellow Crystals were indeed enough.

But the Rune Anomaly Puppet Job Advancement Material in his possession was Gold Rank, so he needed equally high-grade materials to set up the conversion array if he wanted any chance of succeeding.

"Oh, I see."

The old man gave him a look and said no more.

He took out some items from the Storage Ring he wore close to his body and introduced them. "By chance, I bought several pieces from a group of Wilderness Hunters yesterday. I had planned to sell them to a large Inner City merchant association, but since you want them, I'll sell them to you. However, the price is not cheap. The six pieces come to twelve thousand Liso."

Suren looked at the six palm-sized, crystal-clear stones on the tray and nodded in satisfaction.

Although he lacked the ability to assess purity, the All-Seeing Eye showed that these were high-purity White Crystals.

The old man asked again, "What else do you need?"

"Fifteen grams of Snowflake Stibnite, eighty milliliters of Grade IV or higher Mercury Salt Liquid, eight portions of Refined Red Copper Powder, two hundred grams of Lizard Powder aged at least thirty years, Green Glow Crystals—"

Suren did not hide anything and directly listed the materials he needed.

He knew very well that there was no need to conceal his purpose.

These material merchants sold countless materials and were exceptionally shrewd. The moment he spoke, they could already guess what he intended.

If he split up the purchases among different shops, the chance of being noticed would only be greater.

"They're all high-grade materials. If you went to other shops, you might not be able to gather them all at once. Luckily, I still have some stock of everything in my shop."

The old man muttered this, clearly guessing that the customer before him intended to set up a very advanced conversion array.

However, professional merchants would not pry into a customer's secrets. That was the rule of the black market.

Without wasting words, he took out each material, weighed them on a scale, then quoted the price. "Forty-two thousand Liso in total."

Hearing the quote, Suren expressionlessly took out the reward money that had barely warmed in his hands. "Here is the money. Please count it."

Only a few hours earlier, Kai had told him that when he had undergone Job Advancement himself, he had spent eight thousand Liso on array materials.

Suren, on the other hand, had now spent five times that amount.

But the good news was that everything was ready now. He could undergo Job Advancement.