Chapter 32 The Black Market of Lindong City
With Hua Jingyishu, a local expert, and aboard a West Asia branch aircraft carrier, Xiaobai and his group swaggered into Lindong City this time.
First, we found a hotel in the central area to stay in. Hua Jingyishu chose the most luxurious suite and ordered a table of high-end food and drinks.
I thought everyone was hungry and that the food and drinks would be very popular, but to my surprise, everyone sat still for a while, and only started to use their knives and forks after Bo Yiyan tasted the food for everyone.
After everyone took a bite, Mina bluntly said, "What ingredients are used to make these dishes? They are a million miles inferior to the food made by Madam!"
Upon hearing the word "Madam," Xiaobai's expression immediately darkened. Matt glared at her, trying to salvage the situation: "The words 'color,' 'fragrance,' and 'taste' at least include 'color,' making it look green and yellow."
“But isn’t the essence of food about ‘taste’? Just like a woman, if she has beauty and a good figure but no wisdom, it’s hard for people to like her,” Bo Yi said.
Hua Jingyishu was dumbfounded when he heard their conversation. The food on the table was the most luxurious in the hotel, and he had even tasted the dish closest to him.
This is made by blanching tender shoots of radish and then seasoning them with salt. The cooking time is just right, which retains the crispness of the radish shoots while removing their bitterness. Why are these people not satisfied?
“This whole table of food is tasteless. Mao Li, hurry up and contribute your stock, otherwise we won’t be able to swallow any of this food.” Bo Yiyan looked at Mao Li.
As soon as he said this, everyone turned to look at him, their gazes so intense they seemed to be roasting him alive.
Mao Li shrank back slightly, but finally reluctantly took out a plate of dumplings. This was a plate that Zuo Shan had made a lot of, and he had secretly kept as a souvenir.
Although reluctant to part with it, chestnuts are rationally defined as food that exists to meet the body's need for calories.
Since everyone wanted to eat, even though he himself couldn't enjoy the food, he still offered it to them.
He still harbored a small hope that perhaps after finishing this plate of dumplings, Zuo Shan would regain his senses and make more dumplings for everyone.
After taking out the dumplings, Mao Li also took out a pair of chopsticks and gave a pair to everyone. Even Hua Jingyi was given a pair of chopsticks.
The Huajing family has retained some of the traditions of the ancient Han people. Although the lowest level of people rely on nutrient solutions to survive, people like Huajing Yishu can occasionally have a big meal on holidays, so he knows how to use chopsticks.
Seeing everyone grabbing dumplings with their chopsticks, he subconsciously grabbed one too, even though he had never seen this kind of food before.
His upbringing over the years had taught him to always savor his words slowly and deliberately when facing high-ranking officials. These were people he couldn't afford to offend, so he habitually began to appreciate them carefully.
After he fully savored the flavor of the dumpling, he was so impressed by its aroma that he almost exclaimed out loud. He didn't even know how he managed to swallow the rest of the dumpling.
In short, by the time he came to his senses, even the last bits of food in his mouth had been cleaned up by his tongue.
When I mustered up the courage to ask for another of these delicious dumplings, all that was left in front of me was an empty plate.
Mina smacked her lips and said, "It was too little. It was gone before I could even taste it. Sigh! I wish I were with the young master so I could enjoy a feast every day."
Matt couldn't help but kick her hard under the table. Why did she have to bring up such a sore spot? The adults were so worried about the lady and the young master, but she just had to hit a nerve.
Mina realized she had said something inappropriate, so she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, and then, to avoid embarrassment, she quickly picked up some food from the table and stuffed it into her mouth.
Although the taste was much worse, it was still better than the boiled vegetables and hard, dry roasted meat they ate before they met the lady.
Matt had lost his appetite and went to another bedroom to begin practicing his mental trap.
With his current abilities, searching the entire city of Lin Dong would be a piece of cake.
But there are too many people coming and going in this city. If he were to search them one by one, even if he had the strongest mental strength, he would be exhausted.
So he first searched for the four offices that Hanako Kazuki had mentioned.
These four offices share a unified architectural style, featuring two-story buildings surrounded by pavilions, rockeries, and small bridges, with well-maintained landscaping.
Matt searched the entire office area and staff break room, but couldn't find Qiu Jichuan, the head of the Lindong branch.
“He’s not at the office. Where else could he possibly be?” Matt asked.
"I don't know either. I only know that Qiu Jichuan resells crystal cores in private. I guess he probably goes to the black market in Lindong City often?"
"Because the price of crystal cores there is higher than the official purchase price, many ability users who return from the zombie hunting grounds will take their crystal cores there to sell," Hua Jingyi said.
"Alright, let's go to the black market then." Xiaobai didn't want to waste any more time and made the final decision.
Hua Jingyi led the way, and the group soon arrived at the entrance to the black market. The place looked like a small alley with walls on both sides.
But as you walk deeper into the alley, there are two gray stones embedded in the left-hand partition wall. Hua Jingyi tapped one of the stones a few times, and the stone disappeared, revealing a small window.
A fierce-looking middle-aged man stood at the window and announced, "The admission fee has increased to 1,000 contribution points per person."
Hua Jingyi quickly tapped his forehead, brought up the green pass virtual screen, selected the 3D payment code, and said, "There are six of us in total."
The man took the barcode scanner, swiped 6,000 contribution points from his account, handed him six identical white-faced masks, and then another stone disappeared, revealing a passage that could accommodate one person at a time.
Hua Jingyi fell from a tree, put on a mask, and walked into the passage.
Xiao Bai and his five companions followed behind him, all wearing masks as they went inside.
After walking down about fifty steps, the passage disappeared, and a wide underground street appeared in front of you, lined with many shops on both sides.
The overhead lights illuminated the entire underground street as if it were daytime, and the cries of vendors along the street rose and fell. People strolled in small groups, chatting and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere.
It wasn't until this point that Hanako Ichiki couldn't help but complain: "This black market owner is too heartless. I remember the last time I came here, the entrance fee was only 600 points. In just over a year, it has almost doubled."
Since arriving on Silverwing Star, Xiaobai and his companions haven't made any purchases, so they naturally don't know the purchasing power of contribution points. However, since it can make Hua Jingyi feel the pinch, this currency system must be quite valuable.
The purpose of this trip was to find Qiu Jichuan, so as soon as Matt entered, he carefully released his mental net.
However, when his mental net touched a few small two-story buildings on the street, it encountered a defensive barrier.
The barrier's level isn't high; with his current seventh-level spiritual power, he should be able to break through it with a bit of effort.
But since they were only there to find someone, there was no need to offend the mastermind behind the black market, so he made mental markings on the corners of these small two-story buildings.
Matt shared his findings with everyone and then suggested, "I think we should focus our investigation on those small two-story buildings."
"Brother Shu, which shops here trade in large quantities of crystal cores?" Bo Yiyan asked.
Hanakage Itsuki took out a black market map and pointed to two places on it. Matt compared the two buildings he had marked and found that one of the two shops Hanakage Itsuki pointed to was located there.
"All rivers run into the sea? Heh, that's quite a grand name for this shop!" Bo Yi said sarcastically.
It was a small black market. The shops not only had arrogant names, but they also had barriers to prevent peeping. By all accounts, the transactions inside must have been shady.
"Let's go to his house and take a look!" Xiaobai said.
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