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Chen Qi glanced at his wallet, which was far from affluent.
Making money! Making money is the ultimate rule!
At this rate, even the cost of fuel to set sail would be a problem.
Unknowingly, dazzling light had pierced through the night, and shone on his face through the window.
"The lighthouse, have we finally arrived..."
Chen Qi glanced at the still-evolving Water Elf Number One and walked out of the bedroom.
In the distance, atop the massive lighthouse, a lighthouse keeper with a brown beard and a hooked nose aimed a searchlight in his direction.
Chen Qi took out his restaurant boat's professional license and his pass obtained from Maro Town from his backpack card and aimed them towards the lighthouse.
The lighthouse keeper's mouth curved slightly upward, as he shook the lantern in his hand:
"Welcome to Black Mine City, welcome to the city of the night~"
Black Mine City always welcomes the young, especially those who strive at sea, cheap yet good use, and valuable, too.
Chen Qi moored his houseboat at the port and disembarked.
Unlike Moonstone City, Black Mine City had no walls, and walking further inwards brought one into the residential areas of the city.
The first impression the island city gave was one of filth and disarray.
The ground was covered with sewage and dead fish were everywhere, and the air carried a scent of coal slag due to the mining industry.
Despite the abysmally poor environment, Black Mine City was undeniably the largest city in the Crack Sea, the launching point of many people's dreams and the place where countless have lost everything.
Even now, at midnight, the city was still brightly lit.
Workers, adventurers, Hunters, ladies, traveling merchants, the navy...
Rather, many people enjoyed the atmosphere of the night, which was much livelier than the day in Black Mine City.
After registering his mid-sized boat, Chen Qi headed into the city.
The moment he walked onto the street, a man and a woman, both with Ghost Fire Fish tattoos, eyed him.
"This city is really troublesome..."
Chen Qi drew the Collectors' Gun and strapped it to his waist to display his dangerousness.
And unlike Moonstone City, the powers that ruled over this city had shifted from gangs to a combination of pirate groups and large corporations.
The navy maintained basic law and order in Black Mine City, but all they could really do was maintain a semblance of security.
In Moonstone City, you wouldn't be targeted by a burly black man at night as long as you didn't enter dangerous areas.
But in Black Mine City, if you were a newbie, just bending on the street could lead to a slap on the butt by some crack-headed character.
This was Black Mine City, a city of naïve folk customs.
For the inexperienced, it was a place where you were a plump sheep ready for slaughter.
"I remember, there should be a black market managed by the Blood Blade Pirate Group here..."
Chen Qi made his way along the streets and, after a few twists and turns, arrived at the Blood Blade Pirate Group-managed 'Shell Great Marketplace'.
Under the dim streetlights, his shadow stretched long on the ground.
According to forum data, the black market managed by the Blood Blade Pirate Group saw the least amount of violence and was the most concerned with customer privacy.
At the same time, it was also the biggest weapon dealing black market.
If a newbie wanted to deal in weapons, this was the best black market in Black Mine City.
And he happened to have a large quantity of weapons of dubious origins.
Moreover, Chen Qi remembered there was a special patron with Sea Beast disease here, from whom you could obtain specially taboo creations.
"Deal in business, make money!"
Chen Qi donned his Hunter's clothing and covered his face to prevent being recognized.
Then, excitedly he pushed open an iron door. It creaked slightly and the wide world behind the door gradually revealed itself.
Smoky air swirled around while various stalls intertwined, forming a busy and chaotic marketplace.
In the dim light, a dazzling array of goods was on display, from antiques and jewels to rare medicinal herbs, and even high-powered weapons—everything was there.
The vendors were busy at their own corners, some whispering to one another, others haggling with customers, their faces showing an indescribable expression of a sharp business acumen, mixed with an underhandedness expected in the underworld.
The moment he entered the marketplace, a greasy, portly merchant came over and greeted him with a squeezed-out smile:
"Guest? Are you interested in buying Ghost Fire oil? This is a top-quality weapon coating, all imported from the Black Blood Empire. You might not know, but this stuff can even injure the overlords of the near seas. Five grams, originally priced at fifty thousand Shell Coins, but for you, I'm only asking twenty thousand."
You're sure it's not imported from me, and besides, isn't this price a bit too high? You've marked it up by at least five times... Chen Qi took a glance at the Ghost Fire oil in the fat merchant's hand and cut to the chase:
"Not interested, I'm here to sell weapons."
"Selling weapons?"
The fat merchant glanced at the Collector's Gun at Chen Qi's waist and chuckled:
"If it's the gun at your waist, we might be interested, but of course, you wouldn't want to sell that. If it's ordinary merchandise, you can try selling it at the stalls inside."
The ordinary vendors can't take weapons from Bei Country Meteorological Bureau... Chen Qi immediately responded:
"No, I have a lot of weapons and items to sell, I want to go underground to complete this deal. If it's possible, could you tell your boss, Chameleon?"
Chameleon, the boss of this black market, a volatile Third-tier Transcendent, was also a weapon merchant from the Blade Phase.
Upon hearing Chameleon's name, the fat merchant immediately broke into a sweat:
"Chameleon, Chameleon, that, guest, please don't mention our boss's name. He just went through a breakup, and the day before yesterday he got swindled out of twenty million by Jin Li, the big merchant of the Ice Demon Pirate Group..."
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