Chapter 6 Black Market Merchants
Mingzhao returned to her sleeping husband's boat, took out two sheets of toilet paper, and carefully wrapped the two erotic magazines to prevent her hands from touching them directly.
Back on the island, I looked at the faded sign at the entrance of the service area.
Free trade zone.
Mingzhao couldn't help but rub her hands together excitedly. This was a great place; it seemed the god of luck had finally smiled upon her.
Upon entering the trade zone, the previously quiet environment suddenly became lively.
Just like attending a temple fair, rows of stalls were set up on both sides of the road, with vendors selling all sorts of strange and wonderful goods, including oddly shaped marine animals.
"Don't miss out! All kinds of freshly picked kelp, seaweed, seagrass, and sea grapes at cost price!"
"Take a look, have a look! Rare seashell specimens are on sale!"
"The owner has run away, so premium pearls are 50% off! Buy now and you'll make a profit!"
Mingzhao wasn't interested in any of these things. She squeezed through the crowded sea creatures until she finally broke free and arrived at a dilapidated stall that no one paid any attention to.
The stall owner was a fat, muscular sea lion wearing thick glasses.
It was engrossed in the comic book in its hands, ignoring passersby and naturally attracting no customers.
Mingzhao walked up to it and slapped two color magazines onto the stall.
Name your price.
The sea lion impatiently raised its head, but its eyes instantly widened.
"This...this is a special edition by Professor ****! A limited edition, where did you get it from!"
Its gaze toward Mingzhao instantly filled with adoration.
Mingzhao felt a chill run down his spine, realizing he was being treated like one of those weirdos.
"Don't worry about where it came from, just tell me if you want it or not, I'm in a hurry."
"Yes, yes, definitely! How about 10 Ocean Coins?"
Wow, this thing is really that valuable? Mingzhao was shocked. You know, 10 Ocean Coins can be exchanged for five ship upgrade cards, but this is definitely not the highest price that the Sea Lion can offer.
"Are you kidding me? These are all limited editions. Do you know how much effort I went through to get them? If you don't want to buy them, fine, don't waste my time."
After saying that, Mingzhao snatched the book back and turned to leave.
The sea lion immediately panicked, stood up quickly, and placed its front flippers on her shoulders.
"Don't go! How about 20...25 Ocean Coins? That's all the money I have left."
Mingzhao turned around, looked at the bookstall with a disgusted expression, and picked up a yellowed and curled-edge book called "Martial Arts Manual".
"I got ripped off selling this book for 25 Ocean Coins. I wouldn't have sold it at that price if I wasn't in a hurry."
The sea lion took the book and held it tightly to its chest. Mingzhao could see a look of happiness on its lion face, as if it was about to cry.
Mingzhao shook his head, feigning heartache, and left the sea lion's bookstall.
Next, Mingzhao went around in circles and finally found his destination at the very back of the free trade zone.
Unlike the market in front, this place was very deserted, with only a bored octopus lying inside, smoking with its tentacles.
"Boss Zhang, I have something to sell, a large item, you'll have to come with me."
The octopus vendor glanced at her lazily, took a couple more puffs of his cigarette, and waited for a long time before finally saying, "Lead the way."
Mingzhao breathed a sigh of relief, led the octopus to the beach, and pointed to the two-bedroom, one-living-room passenger ship.
"This is the ship. It's brand new. It's only been two days since it set sail. You can sell it as new."
Boss Zhang slowly moved onto the ship, his eight tentacles stretching out, suckers moving across various parts of the passenger ship, sometimes shaking his head and sometimes nodding.
"It's relatively new, but the facilities are very basic and the aesthetics are poor. This kind of thing isn't popular anymore. I'll give you 50 Ocean Coins at most."
"How about 70? 70, we'll close the deal immediately."
"55 at most, if you don't want it, then forget it."
"Okay, boss, give me 65, and I'll come to you for every boat I sell from now on."
Mr. Zhang looked at her suspiciously: "You have several ships to sell, why should I sell them to you?"
Mingzhao pretended to be anxious, "Boss Zhang, I don't like hearing you say that. Just ask anyone and they'll say they don't know the name of my Invincible Tyrannosaurus Rex. I have a steady stream of second-hand ship resources."
Perhaps it was Mingzhao's overly confident demeanor that made Boss Zhang stare at her for a long time before finally agreeing.
"Alright, I'll sell it to you for 65 this time. Come back to me if you have any new used ships in the future."
Mingzhao was relieved and went back with Boss Zhang to get the money.
Back at the scrap yard, after taking the money, she suddenly spotted something familiar in the pile of trash.
She took out two bottles of Wuliangye liquor that she had gotten from her sleeping husband.
"Mr. Zhang, I have two more bottles of good stuff here. I see you do business very efficiently, so I'll keep them as a gift for you."
Boss Zhang took the wine, opened the bottle cap, took a sniff, and instantly all eight tentacles stretched out, pouring the wine into his mouth.
Mingzhao said, "I suppose you don't need this broken machine, so I'll take it."
Mr. Zhang, who was so drunk he was oblivious to the world around him, casually waved her away.
Mingzhao walked to a place where Boss Zhang couldn't see him before he started laughing wildly.
This isn't some broken machine; it's an old, abandoned manufacturing table!
With a crafting table, you can make things using blueprints. Later in the game, many useful items can only be made using a crafting table.
In her previous life, she never got to own one until she died. She could only watch enviously as those who made a fortune using manufacturing stations made a living, and then buy finished products from them at high prices.
In this lifetime, such good fortune has finally come her way.
[Congratulations, player! You have acquired the profession [Black Market Merchant].]
Black Market Merchant: A black market merchant who moves between the sea dwellers and outsiders. There's nothing you can't buy, and nothing you can't sell. After assuming this profession, any skill, item, attribute, etc., can be used for trade. Players will also gain the qualification to form sea dweller trading groups.
!!
Mingzhao was overjoyed. This profession was incredibly useful. You see, the interests of ocean dwellers are different from those of humans. They have plenty of the resources that everyone else is fighting over, while the beautifully packaged snacks and trinkets from the human world are their favorite things.
Most importantly, you can earn Ocean Coins from them and use them to buy many legendary items.
Mingzhao, who had originally planned to leave, immediately turned back and grabbed every passerby and street vendor to join the group.
"French fries, chocolate, and cookies on sale today only, come check it out!"
"Auntie, your outfit is so beautiful! It would be even better with some jewelry. We all have some in our group. Shall I add you in?"
...
These marine inhabitants are much easier to fool than humans. Mingzhao talked until his throat was dry, and he managed to persuade almost all the marine inhabitants in the trade zone to join him.
Mingzhao beamed with joy as he looked at the Sea-Land Friendly Trade Group (178) at the top of the private chat area.
Are those 178 ocean dwellers? Those are glittering ocean coins!
Mingzhao first posted the 10 chocolates she brought from the supermarket in the group chat.
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