black market
City X is a chaotically governed city. Aside from the vast, heavily guarded Wuke R&D base in the city center, the rest of the city is divided among several factions, each vying for dominance. After years of territorial disputes, City X has achieved a delicate balance. On a daily basis, the leaders of the various factions often dine and drink together, with no overt clashes.
The black market was created under this kind of balance, with the five gangs jointly sending people to manage and collect taxes, so the order has been relatively good in the past two years. But the black market is still a black market, and all kinds of people are mixed together. So when Xi Ze proposed to go, Yu Sheng asked to go together.
"Why didn't you train with Gary today?" Caesar asked, "The mission is getting closer, you can't slack off."
"I was injured when I was fighting with Gary yesterday. The wound hasn't healed yet. I'm afraid it will break and bleed again during training and attract other people's attention." Yu Sheng shook his bandaged elbow.
Caesar sighed to himself that he had been so busy and distracted lately that he hadn't even noticed Yu Sheng's injury in time. Fortunately, in addition to Haydn's custom mecha, he had already built four military-model mechas, which should fetch a good price on the black market. With funds, he wouldn't have to be so busy.
The two of them disguised themselves and headed towards the black market according to the address they had inquired about. This black market, of course, couldn't be as wealthy and grand as the Zeus Market. At best, it was just a large-scale market with stalls, bustling with people, making Yu Sheng feel like he was back in his hometown, buying vegetables at the market.
"Hey! Two little brothers, you have to pay before entering this treasure market." At the entrance, Yu Sheng and Xize were stopped by two smiling young men.
Yu Sheng took a casual glance and saw that the two seemingly harmless young men had faintly bulging muscles and upright postures, which showed that they were martial artists.
Caesar knew the rules of paying to enter when he asked for the address, so of course he didn't resist. He asked politely, "How much should I pay?"
A young man replied, "If you're only buying and not selling, it's ten silver stars per person. If you want to sell something, it's one gold star per person."
Damn, it’s worthy of being called the black market, it’s really shady! Yu Sheng thought.
Caesar swiftly took out two gold coins, and the young man immediately let him go.
The two of them wandered around the black market and discovered that apart from some smuggled items not found on the market, most of the items here were actually very common. However, since most people in City X were illegal immigrants, they were not eligible to buy items that were easily available elsewhere. So when Yu Sheng saw someone actually setting up a stall to sell a kind of vegetable from another place, it was not surprising.
Of course, Yu Sheng stole a glance at the price of the vegetables and secretly swallowed his saliva. Isn't this too expensive? Ten times more expensive than the supermarket in H City!
"It seems there are no good seats left." Yu Sheng looked around, "We came too late, there are only a few stalls left in the corner."
"Let's go there." Caesar squeezed his storage bag tightly. "Don't worry, we won't have trouble selling it."
The two of them had carved out a small stall in the corner, a rather desolate space compared to the other stalls. They sat on a small bench, enjoying the cool breeze. Caesar took out a mecha buckle and placed it in front of his feet.
More than ten minutes passed, and aside from a bird that had landed while searching for food, no living creatures visited their stall. Even that bird pecked at the mecha buckle with its beak, finding it too stiff to peck, and flew away in disgust.
"Is it because our mecha button is too inconspicuous?" Yu Sheng wondered, "Why hasn't anyone even asked about it?"
"They don't know what's good." Caesar said calmly, "Just wait, someone who knows will come to our door."
Xi Ze was so confident, Yu Sheng couldn't help but feel bad. The two of them spent the entire morning guarding their stall, braving the wind. At noon, Yu Sheng went to buy some special ingredients, and when he returned, he was practically in tears. Their stall had customers!
"What can I do for you?" Caesar asked calmly, as if he didn't notice the hideous scar on the visitor's face.
"What do you have here?" The customer observed Caesar with interest. "It seems that there is only one item?"
Caesar remained calm, "I only sell mechas. Do you want them?"
"A real mecha?" The man's eyes flashed with surprise. He took the mecha in his hand and examined it. "You can get a mecha and are willing to sell it?"
"It's genuine." Xi Ze saw Yu Sheng coming back and said to him, "Give me the storage bag. You put some biscuits in it this morning, right?"
"Hungry? Let's eat first." Yu Sheng was amused to see Caesar eager to eat. He handed Caesar some water and biscuits, then turned to the scarred man who had been observing them. "Hello, would you like to buy a mecha?"
"I..." Scarface stared at the mecha button hesitantly, "What kind of mecha is this? I don't want something too low-end."
Yu Sheng thought this customer had so many questions, so he forced a smile and said, "You might be disappointed. We only sell low-end military-type mechas."
Scarface was stunned for a moment, then stood up and looked at Yu Sheng in disbelief, his eyes shining. "What? Military model? Are you kidding?"
Yu Sheng was really impatient this time. "What's so funny about this? Military mechas can't fool people. How about I take you to a hidden open space to take a look?"
Scarface agreed, and Yu Sheng followed Scarface away.
When Scarface returned, he was in a state of extreme excitement, circling restlessly in place while using his communicator to make a call, "Hello? Second Brother! Quick! Bring all the money in my safe to the black market! Yes, all of it! I'm not crazy! I haven't been scammed! Why are you talking so much nonsense? Hurry up!"
After hanging up the call, Scarface looked at Yu Sheng and Caesar with a smile, "Two little brothers, the price of this mecha..."
"Three hundred thousand gold coins." Xi Ze's words startled Yu Sheng. Wasn't that a ridiculously high price? But considering the vegetables had increased tenfold in price...it didn't seem unacceptable.
Scarface froze for a moment. "Uh, little brother, this price is really... How about this? I'm Kuchi, the boss of District 1 in X City. If you want to do business in my territory, I'll give you the green light! How about giving me a discount?"
Caesar blinked and smiled at Scarface, "Okay, but I have one condition."
"You tell me!" Scarface was immediately delighted when he heard that there was a way. "Even if it means picking stars, I can satisfy you!"
"I want to find a job at the Wuke R&D base. Can you help me find out?" Caesar asked.
Scarface's face immediately became troubled as soon as these words were spoken. "Central District... We usually don't mess with the Central District. Little brother, are you new here? In City X, have you ever heard the saying, 'It's better to kill the boss of District 5 than to enter the research and development center?'"
"Then we'll have no choice but to not lower the price." Caesar said with a smile.
"Oh! Stop it! Forget it," Scarface said helplessly, "You really don't know your place... How about this, tonight at midnight, come to this black market, I'll show you something and you'll know how to be scared." After that, Scarface gave Yu Sheng and Caesar a magnetic card, "With this, you can come in."
Yu Sheng and Nishizawa exchanged a glance, and Yu Sheng took the card and said, "Thank you. Let's wait until after tonight to decide whether to lower the price."
"Alas." Scarface waved his hand, glanced at the mecha button reluctantly, and then turned to leave. Before leaving, he looked at Yu Sheng and Xi Ze as if he were looking at two idiot lambs.
At midnight, Yu Sheng and Xi Ze appeared at the entrance of the black market on time.
The black market at this time was a stark contrast to the daytime. The security guards at the entrance had been replaced by casually dressed young men, now armed with guns and wearing stern black uniforms. The cool lighting illuminated the newly renovated hall, crystal-carved tables, and a central platform. Beautiful young men and women in transparent clothing danced seductively, but there was no intense, piercing music, only gentle desire.
Night is the world after the disguise is torn off.
At a glance, Yu Sheng spotted several cages on the crystal table. Inside the cages were naked orcs. The sellers were smiling and bargaining with the buyers, while the orcs inside the cages lay numbly, as if they were not the ones being traded.
"Are you here?" Just as Xi Ze and Yu Sheng were secretly sizing up the place, Scarface noticed them, walked over quickly, and said to them, "These are all ordinary goods... follow me."
Yu Sheng and Xi Ze exchanged a glance and followed at the same time. They walked through the winding alleys and passed through a corridor guarded by fighters, and finally arrived at their destination.
"The goods here are all shipped from the Wuke R&D base." Scarface lowered his voice. "The middle-aged man with the mustache is in charge of trading. He takes one item out of the base every two weeks."
"One?" Yu Sheng felt that this quantifier was a bit strange.
"Yes, one." Scarface stopped talking and glanced around the small hall. "The bosses from all five districts are here."
After saying that, Yu Sheng and Xi Ze looked at the middle-aged man with a mustache. He was talking to a hot mature woman. They didn't know what they were talking about. He was frowning deeply and shaking his head continuously.
"Hey, Kuchi's here?" A middle-aged woman sitting on a recliner tapped the armrest with her index finger, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes wrinkling. "Who are these two people?"
Scarface gestured for Yu Sheng and Caesar to stand behind him, then said to the middle-aged woman with a smile, "I'm here to give you all a surprise."
"Tsk—everyone knows you guys in District One are broke, what surprises can you possibly give us?" said a man as skinny as a monkey. "We in District Four don't need your crap."
Scarface laughed heartily twice, not angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "That's great. Wait, don't try to snatch the 'trash' from us!"
"Alright, alright, stop arguing," the middle-aged woman said, "Now that everyone's here, let's ask Mr. Mu Li to start the business!"
Mr. Mu Li—the man with the mustache—walked leisurely to the center of the small hall and clapped his hands twice. Then, someone came in carrying a basket. Yu Sheng keenly heard the soft, childlike sobs coming from the basket, and he frowned, whispering to Caesar beside him, "The cargo is a child."
Caesar also frowned, "Let's see first."
"It's good stuff this time." The man with the mustache picked up the child in the basket with a bag. Yu Sheng clearly saw that the eyes of the people around him became fanatical, but the man with the scar on his face sighed almost inaudibly.
The man with the mustache took out a needle from his pocket and quickly pricked the sobbing child's fingertip. Red blood oozed out and slowly flowed into drops, which was particularly glaring against the child's delicate and fair skin.
The breathing in the small hall became heavier again. The skinny monkey, the boss of District 4, could no longer hold back and stood up from his seat. "How much is the offer this time?!"
"Don't be impatient." The man with the mustache smiled and took a tissue to gently wipe the blood from the child's fingertips. "This is the first time we've cultivated pure red blood. The price..."
"The price is negotiable!" The burly man watching from the side also spoke up, "In District Two, the last thing we lack is money!"
"Foolish." A merciless sneer escaped the mature woman's mouth. "Mr. Mu Li, you want more than just money, right? My District 5 has the best energy development site in all of X City. Mr. Mu Li, would you consider it?"
"You!" The boss of District Two was furious. "This time! Don't even think about snatching it from me!"
Yu Sheng had been shocked beyond words when he saw the glaring blood color, and it took him a long time to recover. He turned to look at Xi Ze and found that Xi Ze was also unable to hide his emotions. The expressions of both of them were seen by the scarred face standing next to them.
But Scarface didn't think much about it. After all, when he saw such goods for the first time, he was even more out of control than these two young kids.
"This cargo is a blue beast. You should be familiar with blue beasts, right?" Scarface explained to Yu Sheng and Caesar in a low voice, "Since the construction of the Wuke R&D base, we've brought in cargo once every two weeks, but including this time, there have only been three blue beasts, and the first two were not pure."
"What does impure mean?" Caesar asked.
"Even after the blood flows out, it will still be mixed with some blue." Scarface said, "The purer the blue beast, the greater the improvement in physical strength after eating it."
"Eat?!" This time, Yu Sheng and Xi Ze could no longer hide their voices and blurted out.
Their screams attracted the attention of the other people in the hall. Skinny Monkey rolled his eyes and said to Scarface, "The country bumpkin brought people who are really country bumpkins. They have no experience."
The boss of District 5 narrowed his eyes. "Kuch, have you forgotten the confidentiality agreement? These two people..."
"I promise, they won't leak any secrets!" Scarface said with a smile. "Please forgive me, everyone! These two guys have a source of military mechas, otherwise I wouldn't have brought them here!"
"Military mecha?!" The enthusiasm in the small hall reached a new level. Everyone stared at Yu Sheng and Xi Ze like hungry wolves looking at meat buns. "Are you serious?" asked the boss of District 5.
"Yes, we have a source of supply." Yu Sheng forced himself to calm down. "But we really haven't seen any blue beasts. Didn't they say that the blue beast tunnel exploded, and there are only four blue beasts left in the galaxy?"
"You don't know this, do you?" Hearing that Yu Sheng and Caesar had military mechas, the people in the small hall suddenly became much more polite. The boss of District 2 proudly introduced them to Yu Sheng, "These blue beasts are not purebred Blue Star blue beasts, but failed products developed by the Wuke Research and Development Base based on blue beast genes."
"A failure?" Caesar pressed. "Wasn't this one a success? Since it's already a pureblood, why not raise it and sell it? Wouldn't that be more profitable?"
"Huh? Raising them? Only those foolish nobles would do such a boring, wasteful thing." The District 2 boss laughed sarcastically. "If they knew that eating blue beasts could permanently improve their physical and mental strength, they wouldn't treat them like treasures! Tsk, I really want to taste those purebred blue beasts. If I could eat one, I might become one of the top 100 strongest people in the entire galaxy!"
"It's like this, little brother." The boss of District Five probably felt that the boss of District Two had a bad tone and was afraid of offending Yu Sheng and Xize, so he softened his tone and said, "At present, Wu Ke has not cultivated a perfect blue beast. Even if they are not eaten, they will not survive for more than seven days. So, eating them can be regarded as helping them to be free, right?" She looked so righteous, as if eating a living child was her pity.
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