Chapter 609 - 381: Black Market

Chapter 609: Chapter 381: Black Market

Han Ning shook his head.

"I don’t want to join any organization for now. Let’s try another approach. We cooperate. You provide me with your organization’s official intelligence on some of the ’Loose Cultivators’ in Ludao City, and I’ll go find them myself."

"If I run into any evil types, we’ll split the loot sixty-forty. I get sixty percent, you get forty. How does that sound?"

’Joining an official organization would undoubtedly bring all sorts of trouble his way, and his freedom would be restricted. That was something Han Ning could not tolerate.’

"This..."

Xie Mingke’s slender hands held her coffee cup as she fell silent.

Han Ning understood what she was thinking. Even if it was a covert partnership, leaking official intelligence was a serious crime.

They had only met by chance, their relationship maintained solely by a Spiritual Contract. It was only normal for her to feel conflicted.

But Han Ning didn’t want to wait any longer.

’Every minute, every hour, every day that was wasted, the probability of Yin Yi, Fei Lin, Little Fatty Silkworm, and Huaimiao being in danger would increase.’

"First, tell me about any black markets where independent cultivators gather. I refuse to believe a place like Ludao City doesn’t have them."

In truth, he wasn’t entirely sure, but based on the novels he had read and some situations in the Purple Crystal World, it was highly likely such places existed.

"All underground black markets require a referral and a special token to enter. Mr. Han, without a token, you won’t be able to get in."

"Just tell me the location. You don’t need to worry about the rest."

"The Blue Bay Bar in the southern district. Saturday and Sunday nights, from midnight to 4 AM. You need to find the waiter wearing badge number 099, show him the token, and state your purpose."

"The Foreign Affairs Team has destroyed most of the black markets. As far as we know, this is the largest one remaining. There might be some other small or medium-sized ones in the city, but our informants haven’t sent back any detailed intelligence."

Xie Mingke replied.

"Got it. Please think over what I asked you as soon as possible. Well then... I’ll be leaving."

His objective achieved, Han Ning had no intention of staying any longer.

「At the same time.」

In a three-story, self-built house in one of Ludao City’s urban villages.

"Joker bomb!"

In the smoke-filled room, a middle-aged man with a greasy face slammed his last two cards down on the table.

Seeing the stunned expressions on his two companions’ faces, he let out a satisfied sigh. Then, with a SSSSLURP, he took a deep drag from the cigarette in his mouth and blew a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling.

"Brother Zhang!"

Just then, a tall, skinny delinquent with short green hair walked into the room. He hurried to the middle-aged man’s side and whispered in his ear.

"Hm?"

After hearing what his underling said, Brother Zhang spoke to his two companions.

"You guys play on. I have to step out for a bit."

With that, he led his underling to a secluded spot outside the building, tossed him a cigarette, and said flatly,

"Tell me everything, in detail."

The underling recounted everything that had happened at Li Lu’s villa that night.

"Brother Zhang, the Corpse Puppet that infiltrated Li Lu’s house is dead. According to the intel from the Puppet Master, the one who killed it was most likely one of Li Lu’s colleagues."

"A colleague?"

"Yeah... based on my analysis, it’s very likely the person who survived the attack from Li Lu’s wraith. They’re probably the same person."

"Heh, who would’ve thought a simple sacrificial ritual would cause so many damn problems," Brother Zhang sneered.

"Brother Zhang, what do we do? Boss Chen’s deadline is getting closer and closer, and now the Foreign Affairs Team is on our case. At this rate, I’m afraid we won’t be able to meet his requirements."

The underling carefully watched Brother Zhang’s expression, his tone filled with worry.

"Fucking hell."

Brother Zhang cursed under his breath in the local dialect, his eyes darkening.

"Damn it, it was his own damn Soul-Sucking Monster that wasn’t strong enough to kill Li Lu and her group, and now I have to clean up his mess. What fucking bad luck!"

Cursing was one thing, but after half a minute, Brother Zhang’s expression calmed.

He narrowed his eyes, looked into the distance, and said coldly, "Since that kid could withstand the Soul-Sucking Monster’s attack, it means he’s an Extraordinary Being at the very least. An Extraordinary Being’s Spirituality is at least five times greater than an ordinary person’s."

"Go check if he’s with the Foreign Affairs Team. If not, make him disappear from the face of the earth as soon as possible."

"Definitely not. If he was with the Foreign Affairs Team, he wouldn’t have been taken in for questioning."

"Then what are you waiting for? Tomorrow morning, 4 AM, bring your tools, meet at the usual spot. Go get some rest and prepare."

"Understood!"

The night was as cool as water.

After a busy evening, feeding Frost Jade some regular dog food and having his panel absorb two bottles of low-quality Spiritual Energy Liquid, Han Ning finally climbed into his soft bed.

"Woof~"

Frost Jade was extremely attached to his master, lying on the bed with Han Ning and snuggling up close to his side like a fluffy stuffed toy.

Egg Pancake, inhabiting the body of a pet snake, was coiled in front of a tablet, studying a map of Ludao City.

Today was Friday, so the black market at the Blue Bay Bar wasn’t open.

Lying on the Simmons mattress, Han Ning held his phone, scrolling through Xie Mingke’s social media feed.

Judging from her daily posts, they were mostly pictures of scenery and promotional tasks arranged by her school. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

’Her students would never in a million years guess that their teacher was actually an Assassin hiding in the Darkness.’

He thought for a moment, then sent Xie Mingke a message: "Are you asleep? I need you to do me another favor."