Black Market

Captain Kai was a pretty decent person. He was probably afraid that Suren would take a wrong turn, so he explained everything in great detail.

However, Captain Kai didn't know that Suren's awakened talent wasn't the Grade D Eagle Eye, but an S-grade dual talent. Nor did he know that Suren wasn't planning to advance into an ordinary profession. He already had the highly compatible Gold Rank Job Advancement Material, the Rune Anomaly Puppet, and intended to take the rare profession of "Abomination Puppeteer."

Therefore, the job advancement advice suitable for ordinary people wasn't suitable for Suren.

As Kai had said, when choosing an Alchemical Implant, one had to pick something highly compatible with one's profession and talents to achieve the effect of one plus one being greater than two in combat power.

Melee Types should choose implants that enhanced the physical body, Assassin Classes should choose agility enhancements, and magic-based classes should choose various implants that improved spellcasting efficiency.

But Suren's profession followed a path of dual growth in technique and agility. Although he had a wide range of implants available to him, finding one with a high degree of compatibility would be difficult.

At present, aside from the Silver Rank Thousand Kill Wings implant, which had relatively high compatibility, the other Black Iron implants he could access all somewhat "wasted" his own attributes.

But he wondered, What if there's one that's even more compatible?

Suren didn't dwell on the matter.

There was no need to rush the Alchemical Implant Blueprint for now, because that was something he would have to deal with only after becoming a professional.

First, he had to make some preparations for his own "job advancement."

Advancing to the "professional" class required not only exclusive Job Advancement Materials, but also some things to set up the conversion array. For example, Magic Crystals, Stibnite, and Mercury Salt Liquid, along with various powdered metal mediums such as red copper and gold.

After a whole night of activity, the bustle of Green Street gradually faded away.

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

It was worth mentioning that the underground city had no sun or moon. The signs distinguishing day from night were the city's fog and lights.

When night fell, fog would spread throughout the entire city, and the Municipal Office's light beacons would shut down to save energy. During the day, the fog would disperse, and the lights would illuminate the streets.

6:55 in the morning.

The members of the Cross Society on Green Street were still lost in the pleasures of the flesh, while Suren had already gone out.

With numerous steam boilers operating in the city's factories, the smoke produced by burning coal gave the fog a faint gray tint, while the air was permeated with a thick odor.

The city train would depart in five minutes, and there weren't many pedestrians on the street.

Suren had changed into a large black overcoat. The bowler hat he wore covered most of his face, and he squeezed into the waiting line. A breeze slipped through his collar, bringing a faint chill.

"Ding-a-ling~"

Before long, after a crisp copper bell rang, a tram steam locomotive came chugging over.

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

He got off when it reached the station.

The Bird District in the North City District lay at the intersection of the four districts. The X-shaped junction formed by two major streets was also the boundary between the territories of three gangs. This place belonged to none of the three major gangs, and the North City Public Security Office couldn't extend its reach here either. It was a "no-man's-land," where all kinds of forces were deeply intertwined.

Beneath that crossroads was an inconspicuous little alley leading underground—the "Shadow Alley."

Beneath it was a professional black market named after the alley.

There were extensive underground passages connecting to Old Lindun's complicated sewer system. Even if a large force surrounded and raided the place, the people inside could still scatter and escape through the sewer network.

Thus, because of its unique geographical environment, this place had gradually become the largest underground black market in the Outer City.

"Shadow Alley" was the place most favored by Wilderness Hunters and Explorers. They brought the spoils they had hunted outside the city here to sell: Cursed Materials, ancient Alchemy tomes, ores, rare Cursed Objects, and all kinds of strange ancient Alchemical Products.

It was also the favorite Supernatural market of the Outer City's professionals, because it had many goods that weren't commonly seen on the market and might even be impossible to buy elsewhere.

Here, as long as you had money, the black-market shopkeepers could always satisfy you.

Many valuable things that couldn't see the light of day, such as stolen goods sold off by thieves and spoils from robbery and murder, could be found in some inconspicuous little shops in Shadow Alley.

Famous guns, swords, advanced potions, Alchemical Bullets, steam machinery, Alchemical Blueprints, even military-modified prosthetic limbs leaked from the Inner City, advanced Alchemical Materials that only nobles could enjoy, and top-secret intelligence.

You could find everything here.

Things that couldn't see the light of day were always hidden in dark corners.

There was only one dim gas lamp every ten meters, leaving the place poorly lit.

Suren walked through a long underground passage. After descending roughly one or two hundred meters, he finally arrived at a huge underground fissure.

This "Shadow Alley" wasn't a flat district, but a three-dimensional complex of buildings.

Ancient sewer pipes were neatly arranged along the rock walls, their ends leading into endless darkness whose destination deep underground was unknown. Relying on the pipes, people had built small shops with steel frames. It was like the "Hanging Temple" from Suren's previous life, with people traveling by means of crude steel staircases and bridges.

Suren stood at the entrance to the district, gazing at the endless black abyss before him. A thoughtful look flashed through his eyes.

Without wasting any more time, he headed straight for the row of shops.

His feet landed on the steel-plated walkway with clang after clang.

Perhaps because it was still early, Shadow Alley had only just opened and didn't have many customers.

Suren looked around.

Most of these shops were only a few square meters in size. Various materials hung outside, announcing what each shop sold. Occasionally, a shop would hang a small charcoal-written sign at its entrance: "Black Witch's Alchemy Materials Shop," "Starlight Bookstore," or "Giant Machinery Shop."

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

No—more precisely, it was the original owner's.

Although it wasn't written as a wanted poster, the photograph stated that anyone who provided information could receive one hundred thousand Liso. That was already the bounty for a Grade B Fugitive.

It was highly tempting.

This was a bulletin board for notices seeking materials. Half of it was filled with requests for various materials, along with coded addresses for transactions.

Only people who frequently mingled in the black market knew what those codes meant.

The other half was where information dealers exchanged intelligence. Like the classified-ad section of a newspaper, it was densely covered with various "missing-person notices," bounties, and transaction codes.

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

Suren only glanced at it and didn't look any further.

The wanted poster was for the brown-haired youth Fick Regardie. What did that have to do with the baldheaded Suren?

People's appearance reflected their hearts. After changing souls, his vessel had grown increasingly different from the original owner, both in temperament and facial features.

He didn't think bounty hunters would find him based on that photograph alone.

Apart from the permanent shops, the narrow roads of Shadow Alley were also lined with antique peddlers who claimed to be Wilderness Hunters.

They would casually spread out a rag, place a few items on it, and claim that they were ancient treasures recovered from some ruin or other.

This gave Suren the feeling of browsing the Panjiayuan Antique Market from his previous life. The various bizarre objects looked quite convincing, but with the All-Seeing Eye, they were all "fakes"!

Although he had the All-Seeing Eye, Suren didn't think he could come here to find hidden treasures, nor did he waste time identifying those fakes one by one.

Supernatural Items had extremely distinctive energy fluctuations. Cursed Materials in particular gave off an extraordinary feeling that even an outsider could sense.

Moreover, Alchemists were extremely learned professionals. It could be said that almost every Wilderness Hunters' team had an "appraiser" proficient in archaeology and the occult.

One person overlooking something was possible. Everyone overlooking it was virtually impossible.

There were good things in the black market, but you absolutely had to pay the corresponding price. There was no need to search for hidden treasures yourself. If you sincerely wanted to buy something, just ask the shopkeeper directly, and he would mysteriously produce good items that weren't displayed on the counter.

After all, his wanted poster was still hanging on the wall, so Suren had no intention of idly 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 excellent goods.

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

An antique copper bell hung at the entrance. The shop door was so narrow that anyone entering would inevitably brush against it.

When the bell jingled, the shopkeeper knew a customer had arrived.

The shop was very small. Three sides were lined with glass counters, while the walls were packed with small compartments. Even the air was filled with ropes suspending numerous samples of materials for display.

Hearing the bell, a bespectacled old man who had been sorting materials poked his head up from behind the counter. "What materials are you looking to buy, sir?"

Suren glanced at him, didn't bother with pleasantries, and took out his list of materials. "I need six White Crystals, thirty grams—"

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

Suren asked, "What's wrong? Your shop doesn't have any?"

The old man explained, "No, esteemed guest, that's not what I meant. I mean, advancing to become a 'professional' doesn't require high-purity crystals. Ordinary Yellow Crystals are enough."

The shopkeeper sold Alchemical Materials, so he naturally knew that anyone buying crystals was most likely preparing an Alchemical Conversion Array for job advancement.

He sold dozens of crystals every month. More than ninety-five percent of customers purchased impure Yellow Crystals, while a few bought higher-purity Blue Crystals.

As for high-purity White Crystals? No one in the Outer City had any use for such an advanced item.

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

Therefore, he had instinctively assumed that the customer in front of him had simply misspoken.

"Thank you for the kind suggestion, but I'm certain I need six White Crystals," Suren said solemnly.

It wasn't that he was ignorant. On the contrary, he already knew many Alchemy fundamentals and understood that he had to use these materials.

For an ordinary job advancement ritual, impure Yellow Crystals would indeed be enough.

But the Rune Anomaly Puppet in his possession was a Gold Rank Job Advancement Material, so he needed equally advanced materials to set up the conversion array if he wanted to advance successfully.

"Oh, I see."

The old man glanced at him and said no more.

He took the items from his personal Storage Ring and explained, "As it happens, I received several pieces from a group of Wilderness Hunters yesterday. I was planning to sell them to a major merchant guild in the Inner City, but I'll sell them to you if you want them. However, they won't be cheap. The six pieces will cost twelve thousand Liso in total."

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

Although he lacked the ability to appraise their purity, the All-Seeing Eye showed that their name was high-purity White Crystal.

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, and Green Glow Crystal."

Suren didn't hide anything. He directly recited the list of materials he needed.

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

These material merchants had sold too many materials and were extremely shrewd. The moment you opened your mouth, they could usually guess what you were planning.

If he bought everything from separate shops, he was actually more likely to attract attention.

"These are all very high-grade materials. You might not even be able to gather them all at once if you went to another shop. Fortunately, I still have some stock of everything here."

The old man muttered under his breath, clearly guessing that the customer before him intended to set up a highly advanced conversion array.

However, professional merchants never pried into their customers' secrets. That was the black market's rule.

He didn't waste words either. He took out the various materials one by one, weighed them on a scale, and then announced the price. "Forty-two thousand Liso in total."

As Suren listened to the quote, he expressionlessly took out the prize money that hadn't even warmed up in his hands. "Here's the money. Please count it."

Just a few hours ago, Kai had told him that when he advanced himself, he had spent eight thousand Liso on array materials.

Suren had now spent five times that amount.

The good news, however, was that everything was ready. He could advance now.