Chapter 206: Secret Gathering
After stepping out of the Yu-Gi-Oh card shop, Zhou Ning spotted two players peeking inside. When they saw him coming out, they moved closer, trying to strike up a conversation, clearly hoping to trigger some hidden quest.
This was just a case of reading too many online game novels and thinking they were the protagonist.
Zhou Ning gave them a polite smile, walked past them, and headed straight for the other end of the street.
For gatherings of Transcendents, one usually needed to conceal their identity. The last person who attended in a flashy manner—Wright Phillips—had been killed by Zhou Ning himself, and the grass on his grave was already waist-high. Out of caution, Zhou Ning had no intention of using his own carriage.
At this hour, the public carriages had already stopped running, so Zhou Ning found a hired cab at the street corner and paid a fare ten times higher than that of a public carriage. The horse's hooves clattered rhythmically as the cab made its way toward the old district.
This time of night was when Dakland's nightlife was just beginning.
From newspapers, magazines, and knowledge from his past life, Zhou Ning knew that entertainment in this world was relatively limited. Aside from the two activities common to both worlds—reading books and newspapers—there were playing weather cards, listening to opera, watching ball games, and… watching more ball games.
Bars and pleasure houses along the way were already open. Zhou Ning even spotted women wearing fake ears and dressed as elf or werewolf girls in revealing cosplay outfits, calling out to passersby.
There were also less pleasant sights. In certain streets of the old district, beside trash bins and under bridge piers, he saw traces of beggars and vagrants. They tried hard to stay hidden, shivering, because if the police found them, they might be beaten or even thrown into the poorhouse.
Before long, Zhou Ning arrived at the entrance to the underground market. Being a Saturday, there was already quite a crowd by the time he got there.
He hopped lightly out of the cab, flipped open his pocket watch, and saw that it was exactly 7 o'clock.
Following the flow of people into the underground market, Zhou Ning didn't head straight to the gathering venue. Instead, he found a quiet, deserted spot and put on the black hooded robe he had prepared in advance, then began wandering through the market.
Most of the goods here were worthless herbs or materials, but rare finds sometimes appeared.
For example, Zhou Ning had mentioned before that he'd come here searching for unknown wonders more than once, but Lady Luck had never favored him.
"You could buy some silver accessories with spiritual qualities—preferably mithril. Your mental strength should now be enough to craft some more powerful talismans," Molly suggested.
"Alright," Zhou Ning nodded.
In previous battles, he had tasted the benefits of using talismans. Molly might be terrible at card games, but her knowledge of mysticism and meteorology was top-notch.
Passing between the "Fortune-telling Hut" and a herb seller's stall, Zhou Ning found an occult shop along the aisle's edge. The place had cat's-eye stones, moonstones, rubies, and other rare minerals, with an impressively complete range.
On the stall, he spotted several pieces of silver-colored ore faintly glowing with a spiritual light.
This was mithril, a rare mineral from mines in the northwest—an excellent material for crafting mechanical puppets and talismans, and extremely expensive.
Following Molly's guidance, Zhou Ning quietly chose several high-quality pieces of mithril, moonstone, and malachite, and had the shopkeeper wrap them up.
After another circuit through the market, he bought a few ancient books but found nothing else of value, so he gave up.
By coincidence, at an old book stall, Zhou Ning encountered a middle-aged man who looked very much like Edwin. The man wore an ordinary white mask, a black hooded robe, and concealed his hands, face, and hair.
With such careful disguise, Zhou Ning couldn't be certain.
Following the same route as last time, Zhou Ning made his way to the market's interior and found the underground market's administrator, Old Taylor.
"You're in luck. This gathering is the largest we've had in years," Old Taylor said with a knowing smile. "This week, not only did an expedition team emerge from the Weather Tides, but a fleet also returned from the Sea of Mist, bringing back some extraordinary items. I hope you brought enough money."
Weather Tides… expedition team… then that man he saw must really have been Edwin, Zhou Ning thought silently.
Adjusting his black hood, Zhou Ning quietly followed him into the same dark room as before.
This time, the turnout was much bigger than last. Around twenty people were already seated in the dim hall, though half the chairs were still empty.
Scanning the room, Zhou Ning indeed spotted someone who could be Edwin at the 2 o'clock position. At 6:30, he also saw the conspicuous stag-headed man again—his new colleague, Kyle Robbins.
Glancing at the ominous scales on the table in the center, Zhou Ning casually chose a seat. Beside him was a young-looking nobleman wearing deep blue clothes under a black hooded cloak.
Casting a casual glance at the man, Zhou Ning suddenly froze. Using his aura-sight technique, he saw that the man's energy was pitch-black—a sign of imminent death.
Sensing Zhou Ning's gaze, the man seemed displeased and shot him a sharp glare.
Zhou Ning shook his head slightly and turned his attention elsewhere. To his surprise, including that nobleman, the stag-headed man at 6 o'clock, a fat man at 9 o'clock, and a woman at 12 o'clock—four people in total—had darkened auras. While they weren't on the brink of death, they were undoubtedly destined for misfortune.
What was going on here?
Zhou Ning couldn't help wondering again if he had the misfortune-detecting "death god elementary schooler" talent.
As time passed, by 8 o'clock almost everyone had arrived. Soon after, the owner of the Cursed Scales—a middle-aged man in a silver mask—stepped into the center and began to speak.
"The time has come. This secret gathering officially begins. May we share our knowledge, hope for the future, and together welcome the coming of the Transcendent Supernatural Era."
"As usual, we'll start at the 12 o'clock position," the silver-masked man said, sweeping his gaze around before returning to his seat.
A portly man at 12 o'clock stood and walked to the platform in the center. From under his cloak, he took out an iron box.
"This is an unknown wonder. It comes with a lock and countless keys—you can open it with any key, and each key leads to a different storage space. It's very effective for storing items. I want to trade it for 500 Vecktas or an equivalent value in spirit-enhancing potions."
Zhou Ning couldn't help raising an eyebrow. So exciting—the first auction item was an unknown wonder?
Still, compared to other wonders, its effect seemed rather limited—not something he urgently needed. And 500 Vecktas was a steep price.
"500!"
"600!"
To Zhou Ning's surprise, the seemingly unremarkable box ended up selling for 750 Vecktas, bought by the nobleman sitting beside him—setting the tone for this secret gathering.
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