Chapter 148 Ghost Market
The alley was dark and filled with ghosts. If other ghosts passed by at this time, they would subconsciously avoid that place.
The entrance to the alley was filled with black robes, which largely concealed what was going on inside, but a pink pig's head could be vaguely seen between the fluttering hems of the robes.
"Eat slowly, there's more."
The adorable pink pig rubbed Qiao Song affectionately. In just over ten minutes, the little guy had grown two or three times bigger because of the abundant food. At this moment, he still had an uneaten leg in his mouth, chewing it with a crunching sound.
A group of ghosts were kneeling on the ground, trembling all over. The red light in the lanterns around them was shrinking. They seemed to have never felt the fear of pigs so clearly. They were all shaking like sieves.
The one who was shaking the most happened to be missing a leg.
The legs that were cut off by the chainsaw became snacks for the piglets.
【Piggy Bank that likes to stay up late】
This was the prop that Yin Yin gave to Qiao Song during the Hearse Entertainment. This pig can devour ghosts in exchange for soul coins, and has an effect similar to a small soul vending machine.
Qiao Song prefers to explore the value of ghosts to the greatest extent, so he rarely destroys the bodies directly.
But there are too many ghosts in the ghost market, and she doesn't need one or two. This place will be closed in 8 hours, so she has to act quickly and intimidate them.
"Why are you so scared? Most of the parts sold on the street stalls are from human bodies. If you are prepared to eat humans, you should also be prepared to be eaten."
The one with a broken leg watched as his younger brothers were chewed alive by five or six of them, and heard the special effects sound of pigs eating. He was so scared that he dared not resist. He just put his head on the ground, leaning tightly against his shaking hands, without even the courage to raise his head.
"We are the ones who are blind and don't know the real man. You, you are a big ghost and you are very generous."
Qiao Song didn't use any skills the whole time. It seemed that he just took out a tool from the toolbox, and he broke his leg inexplicably, and completely consumed his leg.
There was a very faint smell of incense on the toolbox.
That is not something that ordinary players can have, but rather it is an item that only very special ghosts can possess.
They can't afford to offend any of the shrines or anyone who has any aura of this kind.
Qiao Song: "Why, aren't you still looking for soul coins from me? This is indeed my first time in the ghost market, and I didn't even know there is a protection fee here."
Although the protection fee sounds like a lie.
The vendors were surrounded by ghosts, yet they were still able to sell expensive items so calmly. It was obvious that they were protected by some kind of rules or special forces.
And this kind of force definitely has nothing to do with this group of ghosts who only dare to cower on the side and follow strange faces.
"We deserve to die. We are greedy—" the ghost said as he slapped himself.
Qiao Song took out a stack of brand new soul coins and patted his face first: "Don't be nervous. If I wanted to feed you to pigs, I would have done so long ago. I'm not a devil. Since you said I don't understand the market, then there should be a real manager in this market. If I want to open a store here, who should I look for?"
It feels a bit strange to be slapped in the face by money.
The ghost subconsciously sniffed the rich aroma on the soul coin. For ghosts, this money can be swallowed directly, but it is not as fragrant and pure as food energy.
But these guys are just little hooligans at the market, and they have been hungry for who knows how long.
Swallowing his saliva, he whispered: "To open a store here, you first need a license."
Qiao Song's expression changed slightly: "Which kind of license? From the Alliance?"
Seeing that she knew, the ghost breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, it is a license issued by the Ghost Alliance, but in recent years, the performance of Zootopia has not been very good, and fewer licenses have been issued. There are few empty shops in the ghost market now, and most of them are old shops that are transferring to each other."
"If you really want to open a new store here, you can go and look at the old stores that are not doing very well."
By using both soft and hard tactics, Qiao Song finally got the information he wanted.
There are three rules for players to pass the Ghost Market: do not discover your identity; complete a transaction; knock on a door.
You can pass the level by choosing one of the three. If you want a higher rating and a chance to draw an S-level blind box, you naturally have to complete these three as much as possible.
Qiao Song has already completed the second requirement. As for the first one, as long as she performs steadily, few ghosts will associate her with a human.
No human being would be so afraid of ghosts that they would feed them to pigs as food. This is like an antelope on the grassland suddenly putting on a lion's skin and going to fight with hyenas.
How could a hyena that has been beaten like a grandson dare to go up to the lion and grab its skin and say, "You are a sheep in disguise!"
Regardless of whether Qiao Song is a human player or not, these ghosts dare not doubt her. The ghost leg chewed in the pink pig's mouth is the best proof.
Qiao Song unfolded the soul coin in his hand into a small fan, fanning it from time to time and patting the ghost head lying on the ground.
"I'm new here, and I don't really know the rules. How about you introduce me to someone?"
The ghost with a broken leg immediately swallowed his saliva, mainly because the soul coins in Qiao Song's hand were too tempting, and also because the reason why he and his younger brother always did this kind of work was because they had no money.
But he is familiar with the ghost market!
I immediately told him everything I knew about those shops.
The business model of the ghost market is very simple. Small traders set up stalls outside. The supply of goods is unstable and the liquidity is strong, but there are many customers and no storefront fees.
Although the fixed shops on both sides of the street seem to be doing bad business, they actually have a very stable supply of goods and consumer groups.
"Other copies sometimes ship materials here, make finished items, and then ship them away. The big stores around here do this business, but they don't pay much attention to buying and selling ghost food."
For example, things like canned brain and eyeballs may look bloody and scary at first glance, and the supply is in short supply, but in fact most ghosts just look and don't buy them. The main purpose is to make them drool and enjoy the fragrance in the air for free.
If you come across something you bought but don’t eat, you can try following along to see if you can get it for free.
Selling these at a stall is no different from selling charcoal-grilled braised pork feet on the roadside in the human world.
But at least when humans are greedy, they still have wages, but when ghosts are greedy, they can only rob.
After all, the standards for recruiting NPCs in a dungeon are extraordinary. They must have a skill, otherwise they will just be beaten up by other players when they enter, which will reduce the casualty rate of the dungeon, so most ghosts are actually very poor.
"Stop, you're getting off track. I'm not in the mood to listen to you complain about your miserable employment history in the underworld. I'm giving you two choices now."
Qiao Song placed a stack of soul coins in his palm and picked up two cans that he had bought at a street stall.
These are the things that the ghosts on earth want most.
"First, go find out about the administrators in this market and give me feedback. Second, go show me which stores around here are about to close down and transfer as described above."
The ghost with a broken leg hesitated, "But this is against the rules. When we came into the ghost market, we were told by the administrator to do our best to hunt down the living people here."
There are many individual visitors in the ghost market, and the administrator lets in so many ghosts with no money to spend, not to create an atmosphere.
Qiao Song stopped tapping the can and squinted at him, "So the ghost market has been open so many times, but no one has been caught alive?"
The ghost stammered, "Every ten days or half a month, we can still catch one or two unlucky guys occasionally."
This also indirectly reflects that there are indeed not many players entering the S-level copy. It is possible that Xin Yue and the others have almost monopolized most of the safe clearance spots in this copy.
But they should not be eligible to draw blind boxes, otherwise the outside world would pay attention to this game, instead of being like it is now, where there may be only four or five living people in the entire ghost market, and they are all in a group.
The third requirement is to knock on the door, so no matter which store you enter here, it should be very dangerous.
After entering, you have to reach a special transaction, and Xin Yue and the others forcibly transfer the ownership of the blind box props through this transaction method.
Qiao Song didn't blindly let these ghosts test the news of the store just to pretend to be ghosts who wanted to do business.
She really wanted to establish a small base here.
Since Xin Yue and her friends can complete transactions here stably and over a long period of time, it means that it is not impossible for shop players here to intervene. It just depends on the method.
There is a lot of versatility here.
"I will go to the store to discuss business myself, and you will be responsible for helping me get information. If you do well, you will get the food you dream of without robbing. If you do not do well, you will become pig feed. Do you understand?"
The joy that just appeared on the broken-legged ghost's face was quickly scared away by the pink pig in the corner.
Qiao Song was gently nudged twice by the piggy bank. He turned sideways and patted its head: "What's wrong? Are you still not full?"
The piggy bank is a prop used at night and has a certain warning function. When he suddenly came to her, Qiao Song felt that something might be happening.
The pink pig grunted twice, and Qiao Song understood the meaning of his prop.
She immediately took out a handful of nails.
After one round in the Paper-Zha Town, she not only gained a shrine, but her soul power also underwent a qualitative transformation. Although she did not have the fancy skill effects of other players, her original basic tools were now more lethal.
[Soul power screw, with powerful positioning effect]
"Every ghost, show me your arms. No hands? If you don't have hands, show me your legs."
"If you don't have any, get out of this team and become pig feed."
Just like stamping a quarantine certificate, Qiao Song hammered the silver nails into the torso of each ghost.
Somehow, through the power of the shrine to gather souls, she could feel that the ghosts in front of her were under her surveillance. As long as she did not leave the game, this induction would not be disconnected for the time being.
The ghost with a broken leg was rewarded by Qiao Song with a cheap can of food. After eating it, the leg quickly grew back.
He was the tallest one among them. He said his name was Dali, but he couldn't remember his exact name. Because he was the strongest, he became the leader of the ghosts.
He once had a dream of going ashore.
Only those ghosts with special skills can be organized and have the qualifications to be permanent residents in special copies.
For example, the owner of a street stall in the ghost market and the owner of a physical store nearby.
"I've heard that some of these NPCs are from other dungeons. If you need anything, Boss Qiao, I'll have my brothers go find them one by one and mark a map for you."
Looking at the flattering expression on Dali's face, Qiao Song immediately knew that this guy was deliberately selling information and making conditions with her.
She took a thousand dollars in loose change and didn't really let these guys work for nothing.
"I am not short of soul coins. If you complete the tasks assigned to you, I will not treat you unfairly. On the contrary, each of you has a nail planted by me in your body. If you do something you shouldn't do, you know the consequences."
The little pig next to her happened to burp at this time, and then came over and rubbed against Qiao Song, as if to remind her.
Qiao Song nodded. These ghosts, who were forced to take off their black robes to conceal the noise in the alley, quickly divided up the soul coins and immediately went to look for their own robes.
Of course, the ghosts all held lanterns in their hands, but the red light in the lanterns flickered, showing that these guys were not calm.
If it weren't for the obvious stench coming from their bodies, many other tourists passing by the ghost market would probably doubt whether these guys were alive.
Qiao Song did not ask why ghosts also carried lanterns, otherwise it would immediately expose the fact that they were not living people.
But the black robe can be taken off, but the lantern cannot be too far away from him. This is enough to show that there may be something wrong with this street itself.
There is only one environment that can force ghosts and human players to be in a state of forced survival at the same time.
Foggy area on infinite highway.
In addition, the thin layer of mist that covered the dead end when there were no lanterns shining in it further confirmed this speculation.
The Ghost Market should be different from other dungeon games. There is not even a complete barrier to isolate the fog?
Qiao Song put on his black robe and picked up the human skin lantern.
The streets were busier than before.
The number of ghosts in the ghost market has increased significantly. Although everyone is wearing black robes and carrying lanterns, it can be seen that more taller ghosts have appeared.
The tall here refers to a height of nearly two or three meters.
Qiao Song looked at a rhino head with sharp horns on its head that was almost piercing the black robe passing by him. He felt that the black robe's effect of concealing the aura seemed to still be very obvious on the NPC with an animal head.
The noisy markets around here became more orderly as more tourists came.
They are tall and look like guests from Zootopia. They are walking in the center of the pedestrian street, wearing the same black robes and human skin lanterns, but they look much more imposing.
Most of the ghosts were huddled on the sides of the road, whispering to each other from time to time.
"Isn't Zootopia busy with the celebration? Why are there so many of them this time?"
"I heard that the celebrations cost too much, so they came to the ghost market to do business."
"Oh my god, those shop owners are going to make a lot of money again this time."
"Not every store makes that much money. Haven't you noticed that 50% of the stores in the ghost market have new owners? These days, members of the Twelve Committees are at risk of being replaced. If these ghosts stand on the wrong side, they will be purged."
"You can say this kind of thing outside, so just shut up!"
"Don't worry, we little brats don't even have the qualifications to stand in line."
Qiao Song stood behind the team wearing a robe. After listening for a few times, he slowly walked to both sides of the street.
We can't completely rely on those street urchins to gather information, because those guys only bully the weak and fear the strong. The level of the alien NPCs in Zootopia is far beyond that of ordinary ghosts. As the ghost market becomes more and more lively, human players will find it even more difficult to move forward.
Qiao Song prepared to complete the third task first, knocking on the door.
She had seen the special door symbol that Xin Yue gave her. It was a pattern similar to tea leaves and teacups. Qiao Song had passed by this store before, but because she didn't know the specific way to exchange props, whether it was by entering the door or the steps after entering, she didn't rush in, but chose to find a suitable store door herself.
The stalls in the ghost market are full of bloody food, but the same is not true for the shops. The decorations of each shop vary. There are elegant teahouses, straightforward butcher shops, and even bloody meat dessert shops with gorgeous packaging.
When Qiao Song passed by a deserted hair salon, he was even stuffed with a blood-red flyer.
"The scholarship scissors from the East, the blood and flesh watered the long hair."
"One thousand soul coins will give you a second ghost life as an ordinary ghost!"
What the hell is this hair salon slogan?
Qiao Song took a look at the decoration of the store, which was shabby and deserted.
It's somewhat in line with what the guy with the broken leg said before, that it's the kind of store that's going to go bankrupt and be transferred.
She was tempted, but still acted as if she was not interested and was about to leave: "What a messed up advertising slogan. They can't even explain the specific use of one thousand soul coins, and they also say ghosts are reborn. Isn't this just false advertising to cheat people out of money?"
As soon as she opened her mouth, the person handing out flyers immediately became anxious: "No, sir, our store can help ordinary ghosts who have not awakened special abilities have the opportunity to awaken a second profession. You also want to be a long-term NPC in the dungeon and have a stable job, right?"
The more Qiao Song listened, the more he felt something was not right.
How come everyone has become a ghost? There is still a need to take an exam to get a job.
She asked tentatively, "Are you talking about the twelve-committee organization?"
The one who was about to show off his eloquence and attract customers to spend money was silent for a moment: "That, that's not even at that level."
Any business’s publicity is exaggerated, but if the fraud happens to be brought to the attention of the Twelve Committees, she will not survive.
Seeing that Qiao Song seemed to be turning around and leaving, the clerk suddenly became anxious. If she didn't generate some sales, she would have to transfer her shop before the next ghost market opened.
The female ghost immediately shouted, selling at a rapid speed: "As long as you have professional skills, you can also find a job in ordinary dungeons, and become a permanent NPC with a stable income. Don't you really want to consider coming to our store to spend money? As long as you can complete a consumption..."
Qiao Song suddenly turned around and said, "Aren't you a hair salon? Why are you developing a second skill for me? Are you going to give me a job as a hairdresser, just like the players?"
Qiao Song has always been curious about the skill composition of ghosts.
For the NPCs she has met so far who have clearly stated that they were once players, she can tell what their occupation was when they were still alive based on their skills.
Compared to drunkards, cartoonists, etc.
This has led Qiao Song to always wonder whether the ghosts in most of the dungeons on the Infinite Highway were originally made up of dead players?
But the numbers don't match. The number of players is far less than that of ghosts, and the local ghosts can form a specific ecosystem, just like modern human society, with their own relatives, friends, and memories.
But Xiao Ni's experience made her doubt the authenticity of her memory.
This is a good opportunity to try out how the ghost's skills are developed.
"We can help you achieve your goals during the hairdressing process. If it doesn't work, we'll refund your money! Are you sure you don't want to give it a try?"
The man handing out flyers, seeing that she seemed to be willing to enter the store, immediately tried to grab Qiao Song with his cold, pale hands, but was quickly dodged.
Although there is a black robe to isolate them, the body temperature of humans is still different from that of ghosts. For example, the smell of corruption coming from the body and the obviously different body shapes of the residents of Zootopia are all things that the black robe cannot completely cover up.
"If I'm interested, I'll watch it myself. Don't bother me."
The clerk laughed dryly and walked to the glass door. Although he was polite and tried to attract customers, he did not take the initiative to help her open the door.
"Please knock on the door and come in. As our first customer tonight, we will give you a 20% discount."
Qiao Song stood at the door of the store without moving.
The salesgirl's lips felt a little dry.
"A 20% discount is really not expensive. After all, developing skills is not an easy thing. How about a 40% discount? We do hair care and our business is all about repeat customers. We have to rely on you to bring in new customers."
As she spoke, the human-skin lanterns hanging from the colorful curling strips at the door of the barber shop flickered.
Qiao Song knew that this guy was nervous.
The clerk's eyes were fixed on the human skin lantern in Qiao Song's hand.
The light from the calm lantern didn't even change, which made her feel a little confused.
Is it a perception error? But this guy in a black robe shouldn't be the real...
While the clerk was thinking, Qiao Song suddenly laughed: "Okay, it's rare that the ghost market is open, of course I have to go shopping more."
She raised her hand and knocked on the glass door in front of her.
[Ding——Task 3: Knock on the door of a store, completed.]
[Ding——Mission 1: Don’t let the ghosts discover your identity as a human. Failed.]
Qiao Song didn't say a word after entering the hair salon. The shop was dark, which was consistent with the setting that the business was bad and it was about to go bankrupt.
From the moment she knocked on the door and entered the store, it was like entering a vortex that swallowed up all the light. Even the human skin lantern could not illuminate the environment inside the store.
There were light footsteps behind me, and the female clerk came in, but her attitude was completely different from before.
"You are very calm. This is the first time I have seen a human player so courageous."
The glass door was closed at some point, and perhaps even locked.
In the pitch-dark shop, the sound of people biting nails could be heard.
The female clerk who was soliciting customers had taken off her black robe, and the enthusiasm she had pretended before had completely disappeared. She was gnawing on her blood-stained fingers with a crazy look on her face, as if she had been hungry for many days and suddenly tricked a living person into the store. She was so excited that she was a little out of control.
Qiao Song only felt that she was mumbling something, as if she had bitten her tongue in a hurry, and her mouth was full of blood.
"You're so good at hiding that you haven't been discovered for so long. That's great. They don't know about it. This way I can have you all to myself."
The sound of swallowing saliva was so loud that it almost drowned out the system prompt in Qiao Song's ear.
[Ding——You have triggered the limited-time escape game——the gift of the hair salon. 】
[Hairdressing is expensive, please spend wisely]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
