Chapter 63
Choi Yeonseung spoke in a disapproving manner from the back seat.
“Being a hunter isn’t a privilege.”
“It is. What are you talking about? We’re?modern-day?nobles.”
“Master. Can I hit him?”
“Leave it. Someone will eventually beat him up if he keeps this up.”
“......”
Whittaker was speechless. They were so blunt...
‘Wait. Master?’
He didn’t quite understand why Odaigon called Choi Yeonseung his master. Even so, Whittaker didn’t bother asking. After all, people had diverse tastes.
“So, Moneymaker. When will we arrive at this exciting place?”
“First... To the club...”
“Are you planning on going to the club and telling them you’re a hunter to get special treatment?”
“Can’t I do that?”
“Let’s do something else.”
“I know a producer. If you want to appear on a show...”
“Pass.”
Whittaker’s mind spun at Choi Yeonseung’s attitude, which was becoming increasingly crooked. Where should he take a man who was only interested in raids?
“... Ah. How about Chinatown?”
“Chinatown? What’s in there?”
“A black market.”
“?”
The great invasion put the whole world in turmoil, so the evil god constellations invaded the countries that were still standing. In this chaotic time, people rushed off to other countries! Under such circumstances, other?factions?naturally?grew—criminal organizations included.
From the mafia to other syndicates, the power of those previously powerless enormously developed amid the chaos. They earned huge amounts of money every time they successfully smuggled various items, including dungeon monster materials. Dungeons were trees that gave money not only to hunters but to them as well.
During that process, Chinatown’s black market was created by a large number of Chinese hunters that came over after the great invasion!
“The black market’s left alone?”
Whittaker grinned at Choi Yeonseung’s question. He finally got his interest!
“The government doesn’t mind it as long as it doesn’t leak overseas. All organizations that do business in the black market are law-abiding.”
“Doesn’t Dragon Industry rule this city? Can’t they manage this?”
“Dragon Industry can’t beat everyone just by controlling them. They also operate beyond the city and are very careful.”
Despite being handled by a criminal organization, the black market was a legitimate business that had ventured into various raid-related industries on the surface. Behind the scenes, they secretly bought dungeon items and conducted shady dealings. They also offered various bribes to politicians, businesses, and other big clans…
“We benefit from the black market as well since we can easily get suspicious items from it.”
Hunters couldn’t take all the items they had brought out of a dungeon. The government had to check them first. If deemed dangerous or suspicious, the item would get banned. However, humanity’s greed knew no bounds! Countless people wanted such items.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says it will probably be overflowing with evil god constellations’ followers.]
‘I was thinking the same thing.’
Where desires overflowed, there would be evil god constellations. They would drool over such prey!
‘That being said, I’m not sure if buying something here would anger Gyeongryong hyung.’
Considering his personality, it didn’t seem like he would like it that much.
***
The black market was surprisingly lively. It had stalls on the roadside and merchants of various nationalities talking with excitement.
“Hey, young man. Are you a hunter by any chance? If so, then this product is the best for people like you!”
“What is it?”
Looking at Choi Yeonseung, the old merchant grinned while pointing at a piece of meat.
“You expect me to give a direct answer to that? Don’t be tactless. I guarantee this meat is good for magic power and energy. It starts with ‘k’ and ends in ‘ken’.”
“A kraken?”
“Uhuh. I didn’t say that.”
Choi Yeonseung stared at the unidentified meat. The kraken was a C+ or higher monster. It wasn’t so rare that getting its parts was impossible, but its meat was perplexing enough to be sold here.
[You have the ‘Advanced Abyss Cooking’ skill.]
[You've identified the meat's origin.]
“ Isn’t this the meat of a horned chicken, not kraken meat?”
Horned chickens were F-grade monsters. They were common and easy to kill, so there were high supplies of it. However, their meat was famously dirty and tasteless. It would’ve been much more popular if it tasted good. The old merchant was taken aback by Choi Yeonseung’s words.
“No. What do you mean?”
“I guess I’m right.”
“Keep saying that, and I’ll call someone!”
Hearing the conversation flustered Whittaker. He swiftly interjected.
“It’s fine. We’re not buying it.”
He cut off the conversation and dragged Choi Yeonseung away.
“Why are you arguing with the owner of?a worthless stall? Half of these things are either a scam or useless.”
Rare items were the ones popular on the black market, not monster meat. The only ones that bought such things were eccentric people who believed in false rumors like eating monster meat made one healthier, gave them a longer life, etc.
“Useless? You can still say that despite already having seen me cook?” Choi Yeonseung asked, seemingly wondering what Whittaker was talking about.
“Ah...” At that moment, Whittaker remembered Choi Yeonseung’s dish. He had an amazing skill that allowed him to cook monster meat! Whittaker couldn’t stop himself from gulping and blushing.
Choi Yeonseung smiled.
“I-I guess not. Monsters can be cooked...”
“I wish I could buy useful ingredients.”
“Can’t you buy it later? There’s this auction house...”
The items openly sold at the stalls weren’t dangerous or rare. They wouldn’t put the merchants in trouble in the event of a crackdown. The really rare items were only available at the secret auction house.
“Ordinary hunters apparently can’t even enter a place like that. They need connections,” Whittaker boasted as he shrugged.
However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t have much interest in weapons or magic books.
“I’ll look for more ingredients.”
“No! I’m serious! There could even be a martial arts book in there!”
“Are you sure?”
“Those aren’t popular, but...”
“......”
Choi Yeonseung felt a bit sad.
“Then I’ll just go get ingredients.”
“......”
“Moneymaker. If you keep complaining, I won’t give you any of my dishes.”
“N-No. When did I ever do such a thing?”
Whittaker quickly changed stances. He certainly wanted to eat Choi Yeonseung’s dishes again. He just couldn't seem to figure out what Choi Yeonseung's secret was!
‘How can he make such delicious dishes with ingredients like that?’
Horned chicken meat.
Wild boar pork.
Poisonous bull beef.
They were all cheap ingredients from F and E-grade monsters, yet Choi Yeonseung looked satisfied as he chose them. The vendors he bought from were honestly impressed. He didn’t just choose randomly. He picked the ones with the highest quality!
“Why are you only getting meat?”
“... What are you talking about? They‘re all different types of meat, aren’t they?”
Choi Yeonseung was serious. He?lacked variety in recipes since the Abyss’ environment didn’t allow him to cook a wide variety of dishes.
“Why are you even so angry—wait. Why should I be the one buying them?” Whittaker asked with a puzzled expression. He was the one paying for the meat!
“What? Moneymaker. Can’t you afford these?”
“That’s not the problem here!”
Considering how much a B-grade hunter earned, there was no way he couldn’t afford these. The ingredients here were a thousand dollars at most, which was incredibly cheap for dungeon items!
“If you really want to get to know me, then you should at least do this much.”
“Aha. Master, it’s a friendship fee.”
“Where did you learn that?”
Choi Yeonseung chatted with Odaigon while buying ingredients. Whittaker found it unfair, but he silently did as Choi Yeonseung asked for now. He'd definitely get closer to that man!
***
“Is that him?” A red-eyed hunter muttered while looking at Choi Yeonseung.
The other hunters nodded.
“How dare that bastard insult our master?”
“Let’s wash away the insults with his blood!”
“Let’s wash away the insults with his blood!”
These hunters had a contract with the constellation, ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood.’?In most countries, signing a contract with an evil god constellation was a serious crime, but there was still a steady stream of people contracting with them.
Unlike with other constellations, they could easily and quickly gain strength from evil god constellations. Such conditions were naturally tempting! Being chosen by normal constellations was difficult when living their own lives. That made it hard to resist the evil god constellations’ temptations when it came.
During the great invasion a few decades ago, the evil god constellations openly fought?and forced themselves in.. Now, they were working behind the scenes.
“If I kill this bastard, Master?will give me power.”
“If I kill this bastard, Master will give me power!”
Choi Yeonseung wasn’t famous yet. He played in the UHC qualifiers, but that was it. He had also entered the Icarus clan and displayed his skills, but the only ones that witnessed them were its members. However, Choi Yeonseung’s name was famous among the household members of the ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood.’?Angered by his insults, the “Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ put a bounty on Choi Yeonseung.
-I command my household members! Bring me that bastard’s life!
The household members had to obey the constellation’s every order! While determining where Choi Yeonseung was, Choi Yeonseung suddenly appeared at the Chinatown black market. In response, the constellation’s household members quickly gathered.
***
“Have you bought everything you need? Can I take you to the place I know now?”
“Yes, yes. You’ve worked hard.”
Choi Yeonseung tightly compressed the ingredients and put them in his space pocket. He then appeased Whittaker. This person seemed to be on the verge of pouting. Whittaker meandered down the alleyways, entered the basement of an old-fashioned building, and knocked on the door.
‘Oh. This magic is no joke.’
“Master. They used formidable magic here,” Odaigon whispered, seemingly sensing it too. It was likely a defense mechanism against external attacks. It even had an alarm that would go off the moment an intruder?entered the?shield...
“Uhum. Uhum.”
“Who is it?”
“Whittaker Moneymaker.”
Whittaker held out a decent-looking gold leaf card. The employee nodded after checking the intricate stamp pattern on it.
“I’ll show you in. Make sure to follow the rules.”
Whittaker looked at Choi Yeonseung and said, “Feel free to act as you please inside.”
“What are the rules?”
“Don’t talk about this place outside, don’t snitch if caught, don’t make a fuss inside... They’re essentially just basic etiquette.”
Choi Yeonseung found it a bit ridiculous to talk about etiquette in an underground auction house, but he nodded anyway. The basement was surprisingly bright, wide, and designed for customers to enjoy themselves before the auction. It was like a luxurious casino. The three of them put on masks and headed inside. Other masked people were having a good time all over the place.
“It’ll be a while before the auction starts, so why don’t we play some roulette while waiting? As you can probably tell, I’m a roulette master. I’ve never lost.”
‘Isn’t this place too generous to him?’
Choi Yeonseung naturally became suspicious of Whittaker’s words, and his suspicion proved true.
***
“The Icarus clan hunter is here.”
“Treat him with care. Don’t cause him trouble for no reason.”
“Understood.”
The clan that ran the auction house was a group of hunters who immigrated from China after the great invasion. Not all hunters were given preferential treatment. The Chinese government demanded absolute loyalty from its hunters. Those who were disloyal were harshly suppressed. Hence, it wasn’t surprising that the hunters they persecuted left the country amid the great invasion’s chaos. Moreover, despite already being in the United States, they remained extremely careful.
The Mount Hua Sect clan thoroughly observed their surroundings as they conducted their activities. To survive, it was only wise to take such precautions.
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