[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 583: Trade Positions (3)

“What the… these are all insane.”

After checking the list of possible trading methods, Yeongwoo’s eyes lit up.

If a 3rd-grade permit gave benefits like these, then getting beaten up by the gatekeeper was suddenly no big deal.

And right then, Jeonggu—whose mouth was open wide as he stared at the list—slowly turned his head toward Kejen.

“But… hey, Kejen.”

–Huh? What.

“Which of these have you experienced…?”

A very sharp question.

Come to think of it, before pulling up this list, Kejen had said it himself.

That he’d never gotten a 3rd-grade permit before, so all he ever experienced was how the other party had pre-set the room layout and trapped him.

–Uh… well.

Kejen lifted his gaze to empty air, as if recalling a painful memory.

Then he pointed his finger at two particular trading types in the list—

Stone-Throwing and Tag.

–Both are garbage when you’re on the receiving end. There’s a difference though…

Kejen made a throwing motion with his arm.

FWIP!

–Remember how the gatekeeper threw the badge earlier? Stone-Throwing trades work exactly like that.

Yeongwoo tilted his head.

“So basically you can attack someone by throwing items?”

–Yeah. If there’s a huge martial-skill gap, it’s extremely effective. Even if not, you can still observe how the opponent reacts when catching the item—then decide whether to fight or not.

In other words, if you intend to cause a trading accident but don’t want to take big risks, Stone-Throwing isn’t a bad option.

–You both exit through a single point in the center. So if the opponent looks strong, you can let them leave first. If we’re stronger, we block the exit first.

“But the reverse could happen too. The opponent could block the exit. We’re not the only potential villains here.”

–Of course. Still, the advantage of Stone-Throwing is that it always leaves at least some escape route.

“Then Tag is basically an open declaration of ‘let’s fight,’ huh?”

–If you have exceptional mobility, there’s almost nothing better than Tag. And also…

“What else?”

–Think about it. It’s a method where you obtain the item without physical contact. So technically, you don’t even need to use violence.

“But the person whose item you took won’t just sit still.”

–If they pick a fight, then we decide how to respond. If they don’t, then it becomes a bloodless trade.

Well—strictly speaking, a bloodless robbery.

–If you want a truly clean deal, just secure the item first via Tag, place the payment at their original spot, then head for the exit.

“Not bad. If we leave payment behind, the opponent won’t be as motivated to attack recklessly.”

–Right. And we even get to set the price.

“If you’ve been hit with Tag before… what item did they take from you? You’re alive now, so I guess you didn’t fight?”

At those words, Kejen’s expression darkened.

–Some knights with an unfamiliar emblem. They snatched my item through Tag, and dropped a sack where they had been.

He knew it was a scam the moment he saw it, but there were too many of them to chase.

“So… you picked it up?”

–What else could I do? You only get one life.

“What was inside the sack?”

–A single 1,000-karma coin.

“You’re kidding.”

–This is why, in the Black Sector, power is everything. If you’re weak, you get screwed over endlessly.

That was why Kejen had brought “the fist” with him this time—

The head of the Strongarm Renaissance Robbers Gang, Jeong Yeongwoo07.

“Well, Tag does seem like the most advantageous. More than anything, we can confirm the buyer brought real money.”

But Jeonggu added anxiously.

“The catch is… a fight will almost definitely break out.”

“That part’s up to me. We can just say we picked Tag to verify if they brought proper payment.”

In that case, as long as both sides acted correctly, a theoretically “bloodless trade” was possible.

“Ah, wait.”

Something occurred to Yeongwoo, and he looked toward Kejen.

“When we set the trade method, that only applies when we are the sellers, right?”

–Yeah. Katangdal ingots are popular, but we have too many of them. The bigger the deal, the more people want to use their own territory.

Meaning: sometimes, they would be the ones entering the opponent’s trade zone.

“So we could get hit with Tag ourselves.”

–Exactly. That’s why I told you to study these methods carefully. If we end up on the receiving end, we need to respond instantly.

Then Kejen glanced somewhere past the jade-green wall.

–Let’s set the method and list the goods. We’ve got an imperial seal to find.

“Alright, let’s go with Tag then.”

As soon as Yeongwoo selected Tag, all other options vanished.

FWASH!

[Tag]

| Trade: Upon the opponent’s entry, their payment or goods are transmitted to you.

| Exit: The exit portal appears at the point farthest from both traders.

「You have selected Tag as your trade method.」

「Please register the goods for sale.」

A blue square appeared on the floor next to Yeongwoo’s bed.

“What’s this?”

–Ownership verification. The Black Sector checks for fraudulent listings.

Then another system message popped up.

「For oversized items, tap your entry permit three times.」

That must be for listing heavy machinery or something gigantic like a ship.

But since they were selling Katangdal ingots, they just had to place them in the square.

–Kiiik!

The golden goblin opened the spatial pouch and began stacking ingots onto the square.

The item count updated in real time.

BEEP!

[Katangdal Ingot: 25]

Each one worth 1 billion.

In the Black Sector’s pricing, that was 1.5 billion each—25 ingots total.

–Crazy. There aren’t many people who can buy this in one go.

Seeing the pile, Kejen involuntarily licked his lips.

–We can enable both bulk sale and partial sale. Check both options and watch the situation.

“And while that’s happening, we go look for the seal? But won’t carrying both the seal and these ingots be dangerous?”

–If we list the seal as a trade item too, it’ll be held in temporary safekeeping whenever we go out to sell the ingots.

“And if we die while selling the ingots?”

–Heh. Then the Black Sector eats the seal.

“What a monstrous business this Black Sector is…”

Once the verification ended, the blue square vanished along with the ingots.

「Registration complete.」

「Would you like to allow partial sales? Please set minimum and maximum quantity.」

Yeongwoo entered minimum 5, maximum 25.

Immediately, an identification code appeared on the back of his entry permit.

“Looks like we’re done.”

–Now we just wait for a buyer. You’ll get an alert.

Kejen headed toward the exit.

–Grab your gear and follow me. Time to move to my hideout.

* * *

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

The Black Sector.

A colossal underworld marketplace packed with criminals.

When Yeongwoo was lying in the recovery room, he couldn’t grasp the true scale of this world.

He had only seen a big lake and a giant black cliff standing where a city wall should be.

But now…

“Holy crap… all of these are criminals?”

The recovery room was inside a small clinic in the middle of a city district, and stepping out meant stepping directly into a street bustling with thousands of criminals.

One-eyed, four-eyed, golems, rat-men—every species you'd see in the universe mingled here, all going about their business.

And the party was now one of the many.

–Ahh… feels like coming home.

Standing in the middle of the villain-packed street, Kejen spread his arms and inhaled deeply.

Yeongwoo, on the other hand, pulled his stealth cloak over his head.

“At this rate, there must be tons of pickpockets…”

But the professional thief, Kejen, shook his head.

–Shows how little you know. There are tons of pickpockets, but wearing a cloak like that makes you stand out more, so you become an easier target.

And right then, a three-eyed goblin walking past Yeongwoo bumped into his invisible shoulder.

–Ugh! The hell?

Many criminals nearby turned their heads toward the commotion.

“Damn it, he’s right.”

Yeongwoo removed the cloak, realizing it drew attention.

“But I should still hide my weapons. Someone sharp might recognize them.”

He covered Aratubank and Bastard with the cloak.

Kejen nodded.

–At least you’ve got some sense. Follow me.

STEP

With no signs or markers, Kejen walked confidently through the maze-like district.

“How the hell do you know where you’re going?”

–By the position of public buildings. Look carefully and you’ll see that even identical clinics have different wall colors.

“Couldn’t they just… make signs or hand out maps?”

–They do this to block government infiltrators. Makes it harder for them to navigate.

“Wait—government sends spies in here?”

–Sometimes, yeah. To catch long-time fugitives. Also for covert operations.

Yeongwoo blinked.

“But if the spy stays long enough, wouldn’t they eventually learn the layout?”

–Don’t worry. They die before that. If you’re not a real criminal, you stand out eventually.

As Kejen dropped that grim line, he turned sharply into another path.

–Heading to the East Free Trade Zone. There’s always street-trade fights happening there, so stay alert.

“What? Aren’t we looking for the seal? Why go somewhere with fights?”

–My hideout’s nearby. Rent’s cheap.

Just then, a massive arch with a glowing portal came into view.

“What now… there’s a portal inside the city?”

–Without it, you can’t traverse a city this huge. Anyway, once inside, don’t get caught in any fights. Stick behind me.

“Yeah, I’m not fighting without money on the line. Let’s go.”

Yeongwoo checked the concealed mythic weapons and stepped into the portal.

SWISH.

A moment of disorientation—then a totally different district appeared.

Run-down. Slum-like.

And simultaneously—

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

A huge explosion erupted ahead, dust flying everywhere.

“What the—?!”

Kejen sprinted into the dust cloud.

–What do you think?! Daily life here! Looks like a street-trade accident! Stay on me!

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Terrified, Jeonggu ran ahead of Yeongwoo, desperate not to be left behind.

Meanwhile Yeongwoo—

“What is this…”

Amid the thick dust, the silhouettes of what looked like over a hundred criminals were tangled in a brawl.

Then—

“…Huh?”

He heard a strangely familiar voice among the chaos.

He perked up his ears.

–You cowardly ruffians! Halt!

He knew that voice, but couldn’t place it immediately.

As he stepped closer—

FWOOSH!

A powerful gust blew the dust aside, revealing an owl-bear flying through the air.

“…What?”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

It was none other than Amana, guardian of the Sacred Planet of Sutral—his fellow candidate from the planetary promotion exam.

“What the hell is she doing here?”

Kejen had said government spies always stand out.

Now Yeongwoo understood exactly what that meant.

In a den of criminals, Amana—a beacon of virtue—was impossibly conspicuous.

Not because of her feathers, but because every line she shouted was painfully wholesome.

–You shameless crooks! How dare you come without payment when you promised to buy something!

As she dove downward after someone, Yeongwoo shouted.

“Hey! Amana! One more move and you’ll get killed!”

But nobody could hear him in the chaos.

At that moment, Kejen ran back and grabbed Yeongwoo’s arm.

–You lunatic! Why are you standing here?! Move!

Kejen risked his life returning because without Yeongwoo, the seal trade would fail.

But Yeongwoo had already thrown off the cloak covering the Bastard and Aratubank.

“I have to catch her.”

–Who? Who the hell are you chasing in this war zone?!

“A moron I know. She’s too righteous to survive here.”

Kejen shook his head.

–Forget her. Can’t help it. Soon criminals from the nearby residential districts will join the fight.

But Yeongwoo had a reason he couldn’t leave her.

“No. I can’t. I have a Court Mandate quest. If she dies here, I can never finish it.”

–What? A Court Mandate?

While Kejen gaped, Yeongwoo pulled up the long-standing quest.

FLASH!

[Planetary Court] “Balanced Fate”

Mission Reunite with the following three individuals: (0/3)

-Aldo, the second prince of Doatel

-Amana, the guardian of Sacred Sutral

-Taru, the last hope of Pigot

Special Must use a family-owned spaceship.

Reward Adjustment of karma score guaranteed by the Planetary Court.

“Wow… She must’ve racked up a lot of merit. Figures she’d run into me in a place like this.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]