Chapter 78: Underground Bazaar
"The materials for the Devil Fruit are extremely rare—at most, I can only make one every two days. Besides, I'm starting school the day after tomorrow, so I probably won't have time to visit the West Lin General Store again for a while," Zhou Ning said with a shrug.
He wasn't lying. Crafting Devil Fruits required a large amount of herbs, and the stock from the Golden Oak Herbal Shop was nowhere near enough. He had to control the production rate accordingly.
"I'll take all the Devil Fruits you make during this period. We'll trade once a week on Saturdays. I'll send someone to pick them up—is that okay?" Kien looked at Zhou Ning for confirmation.
"No problem," Zhou Ning nodded.
"Pleasure doing business," Kien extended a hand and shook Zhou Ning's.
In the end, after some negotiation, Zhou Ning and the Sunwatcher finalized a procurement agreement for a batch of Devil Fruits.
With a production cost of under 200 Vecktas, Zhou Ning sold each Devil Fruit for 700 Vecktas, pulling in a net profit of nearly 300%.
Such were the benefits of having a monopoly.
He wasn't being greedy either. In fact, Kien offering 700 had exceeded his expectations. No wonder players in the future would call him "Scales Bro"—he really did do business fairly.
From an NPC's perspective, the value of the Devil Fruit could only ever be measured against high-grade superpower elixirs of the same level. And even the top-tier ones only sold for around 600. So yes, he'd take a slight loss in the short term, but until he found a more reliable sales channel, this was good enough. In a few days, Zhou Ning planned to try his luck at a Supernatural Gathering.
Kien even paid a 500 Vecktas deposit upfront, bringing Zhou Ning's cash flow past the 2,000 Vecktas mark—a considerable amount of working capital.
After going over a few more transaction details, Kien suddenly shifted the topic, pulling an invitation from his coat and smiling.
"Wayne, this Sunday is Alan's coming-of-age ceremony. He'd like to invite you to the banquet. Will you be free?"
"I should be," Zhou Ning replied after a moment's thought.
After all, the chubby kid had shared hardships with him—Zhou Ning had a good impression of him. Plus, this would be a chance to familiarize himself with the nobles of the Bryston Kingdom. He still couldn't shake the image of that noble in blue he'd seen that night.
Seeing Zhou Ning accept the invitation, Kien smiled and said, "See you on Sunday then. Alan will be glad you're coming."
…
After leaving the West Lin General Store, Zhou Ning didn't return to his dorm right away. Instead, he caught a public carriage to the other end of the old district.
There, he arrived at a blacksmith shop called "Iron Furnace," a well-known place in the game.
He'd thought it over. Back in the Mirror World when he'd fought Elvis, he had lacked a decent, durable sword. While he typically fought at range, battles came in many forms. And in a game world, there were plenty of ways to restrict long-range attacks—for example, a type of water magic that caused memory loss, making people forget how to use ranged skills.
That meant it would be smart for Zhou Ning to carry a sword, just in case. If he found himself unable to fight at range and without a melee weapon, it could mean certain death.
Pushing open the doors of Iron Furnace, Zhou Ning touched the cash in his pocket and stepped inside.
The blacksmith's layout was exactly like in the game. Swords lined the left wall, the center glass cases displayed guns, bullets, and daggers, and spears stood along the right side.
"The weapons here are all so ordinary… they lack a certain… spirit," came the voice of Molly, once again emerging from his mind to complain.
Zhou Ning's mouth twitched slightly. He didn't bother responding—classic case of "why don't they just eat meat?"
Everyone knew these weapons lacked spirit. A weapon with spirit was at least Epic-grade. Why would that be on display here?
Scanning the left side, Zhou Ning didn't spot anything particularly good. Instead, a male clerk approached and politely asked:
"Sir, is there something in particular you're looking for?"
The store was run by Northerners, and the clerk seemed to be one as well—at least by appearance. Red hair, nearly two meters tall, and incredibly burly.
In Apocalypse, Northerners were most famous for two things: smithing and piracy. Of the game's three great Pirate Kings, two had Northern blood.
Zhou Ning thought for a moment before answering, "I'm looking for a one-handed sword, around 11 pounds. Something sturdy. Do you have any recommendations? Price isn't an issue."
The clerk nodded and led him forward, pointing to a one-handed sword hanging in a corner. "This sword was forged by Master Marrian himself, infused with a touch of meteoric iron. It's priced at 49 Vecktas and 9 Roshens. Would you like to try it?"
Almost 50 Vecktas… Zhou Ning was taken aback by the price. But since he had money now, it wasn't a burden.
He gave the clerk a slight nod. "Sure."
Taking the sword from the clerk, Zhou Ning gave it a few test swings and found it surprisingly well-balanced. A notification panel popped up:
Rare Item: Meteoric Iron Rapier
Rarity: Blue
Damage: 18–36
Attack Speed: Very Fast
Bonus: +2 Agility
"Rare item?" Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes and ran his fingers along the blade. The decision was made instantly. "I'll take it."
"Very good, sir. Please come this way to make the payment." Now that the sale was secured, the clerk's smile became noticeably more genuine as he led Zhou Ning to the counter.
After paying the painful sum of 50 Vecktas, Zhou Ning left Iron Furnace with the meteoric iron rapier in hand. A few streets later, he arrived at a downward staircase.
In the game, there was a large underground bazaar beneath this spot. The old district had several such staircases leading down. Most of the goods here were cheap herbs or materials, but the main draw was the weird and mysterious occult items. Many struggling old residents or collectors would sell antiques from various eras here.
The unidentified mystical item Zhou Ning had mentioned earlier had surfaced here.
Without hesitation, Zhou Ning descended the stairs.
Opening the door, a harsh wave of gaslight immediately filled his vision.
Once his eyes adjusted, Zhou Ning looked around. Just like in the game, a sizable underground market stretched before him. Countless stalls were crammed together in a chaotic maze, stretching nearly a kilometer in length. The bazaar would stay open until about 10 p.m., and this was the peak hour—people were streaming in from all directions.
The place was packed with young people, most drawn to the atmosphere of individuality and mystery. They wandered between stalls, pausing now and then to examine or debate items. It was lively.
Adjusting his hat, Zhou Ning stepped into the bazaar.
In his past life, that unknown mystical item hadn't shown up until some time after the game began. A noble from Bryston had bought it, and a player happened to witness the purchase and posted about it on the forums.
So Zhou Ning wasn't expecting it to appear tonight. This visit was more about taking a chance.
As a buyer, he didn't rush to find what he needed.
Instead, he drifted with the crowd. He had to admit, the occult atmosphere here was quite strong—moonstones, citrines, crosses, talismans—cheap and plentiful.
But from what Zhou Ning could see, none of them were actually useful.
One thing did catch his eye, though: the herbs at one of the stalls were surprisingly affordable. Especially Snakeweed, a key ingredient in crafting Felicity Elixirs, was even cheaper than at the Golden Oak shop after its 20% discount.
There wasn't much stock, but it was a pleasant surprise. Zhou Ning paid for the herbs, happily carrying a bag as he moved to the next stall.
Soon, he stopped in front of a vendor selling old books.
He had just spotted a familiar name among the covers—Wendegoon.
The legendary alchemist who had created Puppet Alchemy.