"I'll bring Billy and Nekomata and meet up with you in the square near Ballet Twins Tower. See you then."
After finishing the maintenance on her weapon, Anby slid her blade back into its sheath with a crisp click.
Once they had agreed to meet at six in the evening, she rose and left with her usual clean efficiency.
As a Proxy, the maintenance and preparation of her gear was nowhere near as simple as Fang Wen had imagined.
When entering a Hollow, you had to be fully prepared.
Watching Anby leave, Fang Wen climbed off the sofa as well.
"There's still some time left. I should make a few more preparations too." He checked his phone. There were still more than two hours before the appointed time.
"Alright."
After leaving the video store, Fang Wen headed straight for the nearest black market he knew.
There was no question that prices at the black market would be heavily marked up, but he couldn't exactly enter a Hollow barehanded, could he?
He did have a pistol on him, but that was really only suitable for dealing with human enemies. Against the notoriously high-defense Ethereals, it would be a bit lacking.
And he didn't even have much ammunition—just two magazines.
[Completed "The Strange Letter"]
[Reward: Dennies x30,000, Nicole Affection +1, current Affection 35]
[New mission accepted]
[Main Quest: Save the Great Hacker Rain]
[Details: This may be the closest you ever come to the mastermind behind the scenes, but no matter what, you surely won't refuse.]
[Time Limit: Save Rain within 12 hours, or the quest fails and the current main quest disappears.]
[Reward: Dennies x100,000, Nicole and Belle's Affection +?, panel status update.]
So that odd mission really did have a follow-up. It had even turned into a main quest.
The time limit also made the urgency of the mission obvious, which matched Fang Wen's earlier assumptions perfectly.
What would happen in twelve hours?
What kind of event would make a main quest disappear?
In truth, Fang Wen already had the answer.
And before entering the Hollow, even the slightest increase in strength could become the key to saving the mission—and his teammates.
So Fang Wen immediately used up all his remaining draws without hesitation.
One from himself, one from Phaethon, two from Astra Yao, and one from Qingyi.
[Drew duplicate skill — Communication Beginner (White)]
[Communication Beginner (White) → Socializing Proficiency (Green)]
[Socializing Proficiency (Green): So you're the social butterfly they were talking about? (The speed at which you gain favorability through conversation increases)]
Panel, you bastard. You're the social butterfly.
[Drew target "Phaethon" skill — Careful Budgeting (White)]
[Careful Budgeting (White): Calling it stingy would be rude. (You can always buy what you want for 5% below the listed price.)]
Given Zhe and Belle's current financial situation, Fang Wen suddenly felt that drawing this skill made perfect sense.
After all, ever since their main account got banned last month, they'd only had the video store's income to rely on—while also having one power-hungry monstrosity to feed.
[Drew target "Astra Yao" skill — Animal Affinity (Green)]
[Animal Affinity (Green): They're all your wings~ (You can always win over animals faster.)]
Certified fit to sit at the same table as Zhu Yuan's Plant Affinity.
[Drew target "Astra Yao" skill — Vigorous Energy (Green)]
[Vigorous Energy (Green): Want to know Astra Yao's secret to working four jobs a day? She only needs six hours of sleep. (Energy recovery speed increases by 20%.)]
This skill was unexpectedly useful.
At the very least, he didn't have to worry about getting drowsy from exhaustion in the Hollow tonight.
[Drew target "Qingyi" skill — Multithreading (Blue)]
[Multithreading (Blue): You can effortlessly focus on multiple things at once.]
Another special skill.
After several days of drawing skills, Fang Wen had noticed that special skills showed up about as often as ordinary skills—if not more often.
Ordinary skills were mostly straightforward technical ones.
Firearms. Fighting.
Special skills, on the other hand, were a lot more unrestrained. Most of the time, you couldn't understand them without reading the description.
But they were more interesting too.
He had no doubt that one day he might draw something like Never-Limp Golden Spear or Fortune's Chosen Son.
At that point, he might actually soar straight into the heavens.
After several turns and twists, Fang Wen arrived beside an unremarkable alley in Guangying Plaza, then walked in without hesitation.
At the deepest bend of the alley was a door nearly indistinguishable from the wall itself. Fang Wen put on the mask he had bought on the way and knocked.
Three long, one short. Three short, one long.
This black market's code knock had also come from Qingyi.
She had bought things here before.
The door opened inward soundlessly.
A withered old man sat inside, examining him.
Fang Wen handed over a ten-thousand-denny bill in cash.
The old man took the cash, then passed him a wide black robe and an invitation card.
The robe was to conceal his identity. The invitation card was required for entry into the black market.
Fang Wen's Clear Senses told him that this old man was not nearly as simple as he looked.
Just like in the novels, the gatekeeper of a black market might very well be the strongest person in the entire place.
Fang Wen could not sense the slightest bit of aura leaking from him, yet his eyes could see him clearly.
And within the world of Clear Senses, the man was only a faint outline, as if he might vanish into hiding at any moment.
A terrifyingly strong assassin.
That was Fang Wen's guess.
"The black market closes at eight. You have four hours. When you leave, use a different hidden exit. Remember that."
"Don't even think about causing trouble in Janus Black Market. That's your warning," the old man rasped.
Fang Wen nodded. He had only come to look for a suitable weapon. He had no other unnecessary intentions.
And for a place with such a powerful figure guarding it to open a black market practically across from Guangying Plaza and the Janus Branch, its backing clearly had to be substantial.
And the people entering and leaving it were no ordinary crowd.
Proxies, Hollow raiders, and Proxies-for-hire lurking in the shadows of the Inter-Knot were the regular customers here.
The only ones even remotely tied to normal New Eridu society were lawless gang members and arrogant noble scions. It was, in every sense, a den of dragons and snakes—dangerous and chaotic.
The old man's warning to leave through another exit was also meant to reduce incidents of black-market ambushes.
Naturally, that was for the sake of preserving Janus Black Market's reputation on the Inter-Knot.
After all, a black market that couldn't even protect its customers would only see its traffic dwindle.
The thought passed through Fang Wen's mind in a flash. By then, the old man had already led him to an elevator farther inside.
As the elevator doors slid shut, Fang Wen took a deep breath and reminded himself:
No matter what he saw, he mustn't show fear. Or anger.
This was his first time visiting this black market.
Everything he knew about black markets before this had come from the Inter-Knot and from chatting with Qingyi.
The elevator quickly arrived at some unknown floor.
When the doors opened, two guards checked the invitation card the old man had given him, then handed him an identity token.
The token bore a number—2792.
That meant Fang Wen was the 2,792nd person to enter today.
By the same logic, it also meant he would leave in some determined order through a designated exit.
Of course, Fang Wen couldn't rule out the existence of other entrances. He could see people converging from other directions to undergo inspection.
But the volume of traffic still exceeded his expectations.
Still, he hid his surprise beneath the mask and strode confidently toward the street ahead.
The moment he crossed the threshold, Fang Wen felt as though he had stepped into the wrong place entirely.
This was nothing like the decayed, gloomy environment he had imagined.
The entire black market was displayed openly before him. Warm air conditioning kept the temperature at a comfortable twenty-seven degrees Celsius. Soft lighting illuminated the entire street, and Fang Wen could see all the way to the end.
Even so, the place was astonishingly large. By rough estimate, the street had to be at least six or seven hundred meters long.
And instead of roadside stalls, nearly everything here was proper, named storefronts.
The place was bustling with traffic and noise.
And you call this a black market?
For a moment, Fang Wen felt as though he had somehow wandered back into the shopping streets of his previous life.
Closest to him was an old-looking shop called Yihe Hall. Through its clear glass window, Fang Wen saw that it sold syringes, herbal medicines, and all sorts of bottles and jars.
He just had no idea what was inside those little bottles or what the reagents were used for.
A dozen meters farther down, right next to Yihe Hall, stood a store with an unmistakably futuristic design.
Fang Wen saw the weapons displayed inside, arranged neatly on silver-white counters.
At the entrance hung a giant screen, currently playing footage of a Proxy wielding a weapon while fighting in a Hollow.
After a blinding flash, the Ethereals in front of the Proxy were blasted so thoroughly that not even scraps remained. The aftershock had even punched a sizable hole through the building behind them.
The edges of the hole still carried traces of soot from the burn.
It was practically a showcase for how high technology had changed combat.
Marcel Group High-End Individual Weapon Sales Store (Janus Branch)
When Fang Wen saw the store's name, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Isn't Marcel Group supposed to make Bangboo?!
And who came up with this name? It's absurd!
At that moment, another line rolled across the display above:
Grand Opening! 20% Off Storewide! Membership Card = 50% Off! Recharge and Get 50% Cashback! Limited Time Only—15 Days!
That familiar vibe nearly pierced him straight through on the spot.
Damn it, whoever came up with that slogan is an absolute genius.
But unfortunately, looking at the prices that started in the tens of millions of Dennies, Fang Wen respectfully declined.
After watching yet another customer stop at the door, stare for a long time, and then leave, the Dragon-thiren girl inside the shop asked the Bangboo beside her with a resentful look,
"Xiao-Seven, do you really think this is going to work?"
"That was already the 217th customer today who walked off."
The Bangboo being questioned swayed its round body.
"Miss, please trust Marcel Group's finest cutting-edge technology. This is absolutely not something those ordinary black market merchants can compare with."
"I know that, but…" The dragon-thiren girl covered her face helplessly. "Your pricing is making me lose my mind. A single-man portable laser cannon for one hundred and fifty million Dennies? We sell that to the military for only ten million!"
"So I already gave them huge discounts. They can get it for sixty million or even less. And they still aren't bowing in gratitude?!"
Watching the Bangboo righteously justify itself, the dragon-thiren girl felt only despair.
At this rate, the group's goal of breaking into Janus District's largest black market would go up in smoke.
And their rivals certainly wouldn't miss such a golden chance.
The more Fang Wen wandered, the more pleasantly surprised he became. There was far more here than he had expected. He also noticed that some stores were buying Hollow materials from customers—whether crystals or various supplies retrieved from inside.
That, at least, gave him some insight into the near-three-thousand headcount he had just seen.
A large portion of those people were probably Hollow looters coming here to fence their goods. The number of actual shoppers was likely far smaller than he had imagined.
Some people, unable to reach a satisfactory deal, simply found an empty patch of floor and started setting up a stall on the spot.
When patrols passed by, however, they had to pay for a temporary occupation permit.
Fang Wen also visited several weapon shops. There were indeed many kinds of weapons, and the sort of guns he wanted could be found in several models—but his funds were too meager. Even the cheapest ether-compatible spear cost fifty million. That was far beyond what he could afford.
As the meeting time drew closer and closer, Fang Wen's pace quickened.
Then suddenly, at a roadside stall, he spotted an entirely silver spear. Its shaft was pitted and scarred, clearly something the Hollow raider in front of him had dug out of some Hollow ruin.
"The appearance isn't great," Fang Wen remarked.
"Enough talk. Two million flat. Buy it or leave it."
"Oh? Two million for an ordinary non-ether weapon? Do I look stupid to you?"
"One million. I'll take it for that."
"You—! No. At one million I might as well just sell it to the weapon shop across the street."
Fang Wen smiled faintly. If the man was saying that, then he had almost certainly already checked the shop's offer.
And for a weapon that needed repair and wasn't even ether-compatible—or so it appeared—it simply wouldn't fetch much there.
Then his heart gave a sudden throb.
Was this really not an ether weapon?
Closing his eyes, he activated Clear Senses. He could still perceive a faint trace of ether energy wrapped around the spear's body, slowly fading.
That could be normal for a non-ether weapon taken out of a Hollow. But it was also normal for an ether weapon whose power source had been depleted. Which one it was would require further distinction.
Qingyi had told him before that the power source of ether weapons was connected to a device called a W-Engine. W-Engines not only provided energy for ether weapons but could also amplify the weapon's power through the Proxy's ether resonance.
That was the greatest difference between ordinary weapons and ether weapons.
So at the very least, an ether weapon should have a slot for a modified W-Engine module.
That module was what powered the weapon—a miniature W-Engine core.
What he sensed surprised him: this spear really did have such a slot. It had simply been struck in battle, deforming the entire housing, and the slot itself was hidden beneath the surface of the shaft, which was why he had missed it at first glance.
It really was an ether weapon?!
Then there was no more to discuss. He had to have it.
Even if he had to call in favors later to get it repaired, it would still be far better than buying a brand-new spear.
But outwardly, he remained calm and continued haggling.
Several onlookers gathered, but after realizing the argument was over a damaged spear that wasn't even supposedly ether-capable, they lost interest and drifted away.
"Then let it rot in your hands."
Seeing that both soft and hard bargaining had failed, Fang Wen gave a cold laugh and turned to leave.
His objective had already been accomplished.
Quite a few people had gathered during the bargaining, but not one of them had made an offer. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't let the only person who had shown interest walk away.
"You—wait! Don't go! The price is negotiable!"
Fang Wen looked back with a sneer, then snorted and kept walking, all while casually glancing over the other stalls, applying pressure.
"Three million! No, two million! Two million, alright?!"
"Stop, stop! One million, then! One million!"
The Hollow raider's expression twisted several times before he finally gave in.
Better than selling it to a weapon shop for two hundred thousand—or letting it gather dust forever.
"And include the scraps I looked at earlier. Agree, and I buy. Refuse, and forget it."
Fang Wen smiled as he turned back.
"You—fine! Deal!"
Gritting his teeth, the man accepted the offer.
And Fang Wen's greedy attitude had also reassured him: the spear probably really was just an ordinary weapon, at most with somewhat unusual materials.
That at least comforted the raider a little.
As for those scraps, together they were worth barely over a hundred thousand. Hardly worth mentioning.
Joy rose in Fang Wen's chest. This time he had definitely scored a huge bargain.
"I'm only paying this million because the material's unusual. I just hope it won't disappoint me," Fang Wen muttered to himself.
"Yes, yes, it definitely won't disappoint," the Hollow raider said, gnashing his teeth inside while keeping his face perfectly neutral.
"Hmph. I'll take your word for it."
Fang Wen picked up the spear. It felt icy cold in his hands, the tip gleaming with a single point of chill light. Even with the shaft badly damaged, its lethality had not diminished in the least.
He estimated the weapon weighed forty to fifty jin. For his current self, that was still a little too much.
Though he had no intention of actually using this spear today anyway.
With the spear slung over his back and the bag in hand, Fang Wen said nothing more and turned toward the exit.
His purpose in coming to the black market had already been fulfilled. As for tonight's mission, he planned to make do with an ordinary spear first.
One reason was that this one needed repairs. Another was that he still lacked the strength to wield it properly.
After leaving the black market, Fang Wen carefully checked his surroundings with his senses, then deliberately took a route meant to shake any possible followers. Only after confirming no one was tailing him did he turn and enter a normal weapons store.
He spent two hundred thousand on an industrially forged spear and bought two carrying cases along with it.
Judging purely by appearance, this ordinary spear actually looked far better than the ether weapon he had just bought for one million.
At twenty jin, its weight was perfect for him right now—not so heavy as to burden him, but not light enough to feel flimsy either.
Fang Wen understood this spear was only a temporary measure. A few intense battles might be enough to ruin it.
But an ether weapon was different.
At that thought, Fang Wen smiled and gently patted the silver spear wrapped in cloth.
As long as its ether energy remained sufficient and the damage wasn't too severe, an ether weapon could even repair itself.
Of course, that still required a W-Engine to provide the ether power.
He suspected that the previous owner's W-Engine module had most likely shattered inside the slot.
And the spear and its former master had probably gone through a truly catastrophic battle before the end.
Fang Wen found himself drifting into thought.
"Since you've already endured destruction and shattering…"
"Then I'll call you Starshatter."
-------
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