CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 31: CHASING THE LIGHT BLACK MARKET

"Three hundred thousand Bit?"

"That much?"

Lin Qi heard it and couldn’t help but gape. He didn’t expect the two sons of the White Feather Gang’s Deputy Gang Leader to be worth so much, or rather, that Deputy Gang Leader was too wealthy.

In the dazzling Chasing Light City, those who can rise to the top of a gang always have at least a dozen children, sometimes even dozens, fostering the idea of spreading branches and increasing blessings through offspring.

The reason for doing so is quite simple.

A martial artist can change fate; if even one child becomes a martial artist, it’s like winning a lottery.

Moreover, with more children, the family’s influence grows, gaining more resources. For someone who can reach the position of a Deputy Gang Leader in the White Feather Gang, they generally don’t care much about their children’s life or death, let alone offer a sky-high bounty.

Unless there is extreme talent for martial arts, but if that were the case, they would have already been sent to a key city high school for proper training and not out wandering in the wild.

Now that the White Feather Gang Deputy Leader is willing to spend three hundred thousand to post a bounty, it’s really quite unexpected.

"Yes, normally, they wouldn’t set such a high price. It is said that the White Feather Gang suspects that a faction is targeting them specifically, hijacking their goods." Qin Mu said with a smile, "This three hundred thousand, rather than finding the culprit, it’s more about finding that faction targeting the White Feather Gang and then eliminating them completely, since if they can be hijacked once in the wild, there will definitely be a second and third time, something the White Feather Gang absolutely cannot tolerate."

"Indeed." Lin Qi nodded in agreement.

He had indeed thought about it before.

Hijacking just once yielded over a hundred kilograms of blood essence rice, which is over forty thousand Bit. Compared to growing it himself, this was undoubtedly much quicker.

But this time was purely an accident; if he really tried to hijack, it would be suicidal.

Under normal circumstances, the six members of the White Feather Gang, when hijacked, would definitely use their smart watches to notify nearby members to immediately identify themselves, but those six wanted to keep the crocodile-toothed rhinoceros meat to themselves, so they blocked the smart watches to prevent any insider problems and benefits being snatched by others in the gang, giving Lin Qi and his group the opportunity.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be offering a bounty but would have directly attacked the White Feather Gang.

The White Feather Gang suspects that another gang might have done it is also for a reason.

Normally, the equipment that can block smart watch signals is not something an ordinary person can afford; it’s usually something only gangs can buy specifically for black market activities, so the White Feather Gang suspects it was done by a gang.

"Whatever gang it is, they’re pretty gutsy, even daring to hijack the White Feather Gang’s goods." Qin Mu said with a bit of admiration, "Even among many local gangs, the White Feather Gang is ranked in the top hundred. Although they don’t have any quasi-martial artists, they do have quite a few extreme apprentices. Without a certain level of strength, no gang would dare provoke them."

"Yeah." Lin Qi nodded repeatedly, with a look of "it’s none of my business." "I also wonder which gang is so powerful."

Though he knew early on that the White Feather Gang wasn’t to be trifled with, he didn’t realize they’d be this strong—having several extreme apprentices, each the equivalent of several Qin Mu-like figures; if discovered, they would surely die.

"Be careful when you head out recently, your new gang probably hasn’t been around long, steer clear of attracting the ire of other wild gangs, because if you go too far, even I won’t be able to protect you." Qin Mu nodded, then spoke in a low voice while looking at Lin Qi.

"Us? A gang?" Lin Qi was full of surprise when he heard Qin Mu say this.

"Isn’t it the Iron Shovel Gang? Or the Shovel Gang? The Gray Robe Gang?" Qin Mu asked curiously, "I usually see all of you wearing matching outfits, carrying alloy shovels, didn’t you all go out to the wild together yesterday?"

"Yeah, right! I didn’t expect Qin Mu to find out." Lin Qi nodded with a wry smile.

He didn’t expect that their group action would be interpreted by Qin Mu as forming a new gang. On second thought, it made sense; the so-called gangs in Chasing Light City are just a team assembled by the weak.

But such a misunderstanding from Qin Mu wasn’t bad; it meant that the actions of the players from the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall and many other players wouldn’t arouse suspicion among other vagabonds in the Abandoned Area, making it much easier to get things done.

"You little guys need to be careful in the wild, safety first. Don’t lose your life for a few Bits, or you end up with nothing." Qin Mu said, patting Lin Qi on the shoulder with a look of satisfaction.

"Live first, so that when you grow, maybe even this Abandoned Area will benefit."

After saying this, Qin Mu turned and left, hurrying to check out other places.

"Looks like selling those blood essence rice won’t be easy."

Lin Qi looked at the White Feather Gang members posting bounties everywhere on the street, understanding that it was impossible to sell those blood essence rice any time soon, or they would easily be suspected, especially since the death of the six White Feather Gang members was only suspected to be the work of another gang.

But if a vagabond suddenly starts selling large quantities of blood essence rice, it’s not hard to imagine that it would be connected to the death of those six White Feather Gang members.

However, crocodile-toothed rhinoceros meat isn’t easily sold either, because only martial artists can kill such a creature, not something a vagabond could procure.

"Looks like I’ll have to risk a trip to the Black Market." Lin Qi thought to himself, planning to disguise himself for a trip to the Black Market.

Chasing Light City is vast, home to millions, but due to the large number of vagabonds, there are many shady trading markets around the outskirts of the city.

These markets are managed by the large gangs in the outskirts, and though called markets, you’re actually trading with these gangs. Trading at these markets offers two major benefits.

The first rule is never to ask about the origin of the goods.

The second rule is never to ask about identities; everything is settled on the spot, and the transaction is complete.

Because of these two reasons, many undocumented vagabonds and gang members conduct private exchanges here, making goods and identities harder to trace. However, a significant drawback is that the selling prices of items are generally much lower, essentially paying for peace of mind.

Chasing Light City, Phosphorus Fire Trading Market.

Although the sky was already quite dark, with only a bright moon above, it was long past the time ordinary residents in Chasing Light City would be asleep. But the Phosphorus Fire Trading Market was brightly lit, bustling with people coming and going.

The Phosphorus Fire Trading Market is controlled by a major faction of the Half-Scale Race, and because they have been growing strong lately, the market has become even more bustling.

"Buying or selling?"

At the market’s front desk, a woman with golden vertical pupils, standing over two meters tall, with a long black tail swaying back and forth and a few scales on her cheeks, glanced at the petite figure of Lin Qi, who entered wearing a metal mask, her words full of indifference.

"Both buying and selling." Lin Qi was used to this and directly stated his request.

In a world where the strong are revered, many times, size is an outward expression of strength, even if now he has the stats of a normal person, his physique hasn’t changed at all.

"What are you buying? What are you selling?" the Half-Scale Race woman asked flatly.

"I want to buy a battery for a large tricycle and three sets of repair tools, second-hand ones will do." After speaking, Lin Qi put down the large metal box he was carrying on his back, "Inside are the crocodile-tooth rhino meat I’m selling."

"Crocodile-toothed Rhinoceros meat?" The Half-Scale Race woman looked at Lin Qi with some surprise, not expecting him to have such meat for sale.

Meat from wild monsters is a treasure for enhancing qi and blood; even martial artists eat this meat regularly to speed up their improvement. It’s always in high demand.

Ordinary people, even if they get it, would keep it to eat slowly themselves, since enhancing one’s own ability is fundamental.

"You can weigh it, if the price is right, I’ll sell it all." Lin Qi didn’t explain further, just opened the metal box.

The large metal box was full of meat Lin Qi had painstakingly cut from the crocodile-toothed rhinoceros. Originally, Lin Qi planned to bring people and push a large tricycle over to sell it, but considering the issue of concealing identity, it’s better to act alone.

Although the amount he can carry each time is small, it remains secretive.

As for having a player handle it, that would currently expose many pricing issues in the game, making it best if he manages it alone.

"It really is." The Half-Scale Race woman called over a Half-Scale Race guard as she looked at the lump of meat filled with intense energy, "Go weigh it."

A Half-Scale Race man wearing cyan battle armor walked up directly, lifting the large metal box with one hand as if it were a toy, effortlessly and casually, to weigh it.

"A6 level armor, is it?" Lin Qi looked enviously at the armor worn by the Half-Scale Race guard.

Armor differs from protective gear. The protective gear worn by Qin Mu and others offers only simple protection, while armor not only guards the entire body but also provides certain auxiliary functions, like Iron Man’s suit, enhancing the wearer’s strength and speed.

A6 level armor can give an Extreme Apprentice the strength and speed of an Extreme Quasi-Martial Artist, and it’s hard for Quasi-Martial Artists to harm A6 level armor.

"Not bad." The Half-Scale Race woman nodded, smiling, "Let me introduce myself; I’m Xia Ling. If you’re interested, it’s not like we in the Phosphorus Fire can’t sell this model of armor."

"How much is it?" Lin Qi asked curiously.

"Eight million bits for a new one, and if it’s second-hand, only six million will do." Xia Ling smiled, not minding whether Lin Qi could afford it or not.

"It’s a good item. If I have the chance in the future, I’ll consider it." Lin Qi looked at the heavily armored returning Half-Scale Race guard, knowing he couldn’t deny wanting one.

A good item that allows an Extreme Apprentice to suppress an Extreme Quasi-Martial Artist—having one would make confrontation with the entire White Feather Gang possible.

"The total weight is 167.3 kilograms," the Half-Scale Race guard reported.

"Over a hundred kilograms?" Xia Ling nodded and looked at Lin Qi, "How about this, little brother, the market price for one kilogram of crocodile-tooth rhino meat is 670 bits. You’ve brought a substantial amount. I can offer you 650 bits per kilogram, rounding it to 109,000 bits for the meat, how about it?"

"Deal." Lin Qi was a bit surprised by Xia Ling’s generous offer. Passing up on easy money would be foolish, and the weight was about what he estimated. "What about the things I want?"

"I’ll throw in three sets of repair tools for free, and as for the battery for the large tricycle, I’ll charge you 19,000 bits, how about it?" Xia Ling smiled, "If you agree, I can transfer 90,000 bits to you now, though if you want cash, that’s fine too."

"Cash, please, it’s more reliable for me." Lin Qi chose cash without hesitation, since electronic transfers are easier to trace, but cash cannot be tracked.

"Alright." Xia Ling nodded, glancing at the guard beside her, "Go fetch the goods and bits."

The Half-Scale Race guard went to get the items and bits for Lin Qi without any hesitation.

Only after Lin Qi left with everything did the Half-Scale Race guard beside Xia Ling speak up.

"Miss, the crocodile-toothed rhino meat is rare. Want me to go and check out where that kid’s coming from?" The Half-Scale Race guard’s gaze sharpened as he watched Lin Qi leave.