Chapter 1 The Black Market Auction

Not long after, the auction began.

The black market auction was quite interesting, a bit like a drive-in movie from Suren's previous life.

The "Shadow Alley" black market was built into pipes along the cliff face, with a dark rock wall opposite.

The black market organizers had somehow created a projection on that rock wall. Information about the auction items was displayed like "slides," visible to everyone on every level and in every shop of the black market.

There was no auctioneer; only the item descriptions and the constantly changing prices.

Famous guns, famous swords, ancient relics, cursed objects, alchemical codices... all high-quality items.

Suren watched from his shop, feeling a mix of envy and helplessness.

He wanted to buy so much, but with auction items routinely costing tens or hundreds of thousands, his current finances would only allow him to buy one, and that would drain his savings.

It wasn't just the inner city that was full of rich people; the top-tier professionals in the outer city were also quite wealthy.

…

"Forget it... I'll just wait for the blueprints,"

Suren consoled himself, resisting the urge to bid on a particularly impressive famous gun.

Just then, an item appeared that caused the price to skyrocket.

It was a single sheet of what looked like a notebook page, the image blurred to obscure the text.

The item description read: "Authentic page from Sir Isaac's Alchemical Manuscript."

A common Black Iron implant cost around 100,000 Lisos.

This single page instantly soared to over two million, making Suren's eyes widen. "There are a lot of rich people in the outer city..."

In the end, the manuscript was bought by a mysterious buyer for over three million.

Even at that, it was a bargain. In an inner city auction, it would likely fetch four to five million.

As the item appeared, the two black trench coat figures Suren had met earlier were sitting in an inconspicuous shop.

The man looked at the manuscript and seemed to recognize it. "Boss, isn't that the one that was stolen from the Duncan family's vault?"

The woman, looking unfazed, replied, "Probably."

The man's expression turned grim. This was a case that was giving their Umbrella organization a headache, and the suspect hadn't been caught. "Damn it, that brazen thief is selling stolen goods here."

The woman was nonchalant, her gaze fixed on the projection. "What did you expect? What else would be sold in a black market? Just watch, don't get so excited. We're not here to find thieves. Finding the one who escaped from the lab is what's important..."

"Okay."

The young man shrugged noncommittally.

He looked at the manuscript and suddenly remembered something. "Boss, I heard that Chuck from the Knights of the Cross found a copy of the [Isaac Alchemical Manuscript] outside the city. Is that true? Rumor has it that it might be one of the five books that recorded divine-level alchemy."

The woman said, "Probably true. Otherwise, the Oliver Consortium wouldn't have gone to such lengths to steal it. Heh, they didn't get the manuscript, and they lost a powerful [Sealed Artifact]..."

The young man asked, "Boss, do you think... the manuscript might be back in Chuck's hands?"

The woman shook her head. "Unlikely. Once the news got out, Chuck would know he couldn't protect it. He's a smart man, he wouldn't keep such a dangerous thing around. The manuscript should be really lost..."

"Okay."

"Whoa... that's the inner city defense force's latest military-grade mechanical prosthesis! Damn, who leaked that restricted tech to the market!"

"Damn... that 'Cursed Object' is powerful. You could sell it for more to a buyer in the inner city. Oh, it's probably stolen!"

"Oh, my god, the 'Special Recovery Potions' that were stolen from Nason Merchant Group..."

"..."

The young man seemed to be attending a black market auction for the first time, and he was repeatedly shocked by the high-quality goods.

The woman seemed unfazed, watching calmly.

Then, a "Cursed Material from a Mutant Abomination" appeared at the auction, and the young man seemed to remember something.

"Boss, the outer city security bureau has reported several serious 'Sewer Monster Incidents' recently. Looking at the corpses, the monsters seem to be mutated breeds that have never been seen before. Is this a sign of something bad?"

"Mutant monsters in the sewers? Heh... probably a lab leak. Some residue got into the sewers. Those guys in the Black Tower always do crazy experiments. These accidents happen all the time. You haven't been with the organization long enough. When you have been around longer and have enough clearance to access some high-level confidential files, you won't be surprised..."

"Ah... do you think the person I was ordered to find this time is related to some secret experiments in the Tower?"

"Did you forget the confidentiality agreement?"

"..."

The two mysterious figures whispered in the shop.

The auction continued.

…

Suren watched the projection, sighing from time to time.

A Silver-grade implant and a blueprint had been auctioned off, but they were both for close-combat fighters and didn't suit his profession.

Of course, suitability was one thing; the price was another.

Suren had received over 200,000 Lisos in compensation from the tenement building incident, plus some of his own savings, bringing him to almost 400,000.

He thought that would be enough to buy an implant blueprint, but as he watched the auction prices rise, he became less optimistic.

A Silver blueprint had already appeared. The following items would only be better and more expensive.

Could a legendary "Gold blueprint" appear?

Suren thought he would have to go home empty-handed, but then, an extremely rare blueprint appeared.

The projection showed a blueprint with no detailed description. The image showed eight spider legs, and the marked name was [Eight-Armed Spider God Spear (Gold)].

The source was an "ancient blueprint" found by a wasteland hunting group in ruins outside the city; a unique item.

Starting price: 300,000 Lisos.

The item's appearance immediately caused an uproar in the black market.

"A Gold blueprint?"

"That's rare. Even the inner city auction house doesn't see a Gold blueprint more than once a year..."

"Heh, too bad. It's high quality, but probably no one will bid on it."

"..."

The black market organizers would have verified the blueprint. No one doubted its authenticity.

But after reading the description, almost everyone thought it was unlikely to sell for a good price.

…

At the same time, in a small shop in the corner, the two "Umbrella" figures saw the item.

The man looked at the projection in surprise. "A 'Gold blueprint'? How can there be such a good thing in the outer city?"

The aloof woman took another look but shook her head. "It is a high-grade blueprint, but it's not very practical. Spider-form alchemical implants are too complex to control, requiring extremely high skill and concentration. It's difficult for most professionals."

After a pause, she added, "Besides, the more complex the implant, the more demanding the materials and the higher the requirements for alchemy. Minor flaws can easily cause a high failure rate, which defeats the purpose. Similar things have appeared in inner city auctions. It's fine as a collectible, but the practical value is low."

Hearing this, the man felt pity. "But... it's from ancient ruins. It should be extraordinary, right?"

"Implants that reach the Gold grade are extraordinary. Once finished, the power will far exceed same-level implants. But..."

The woman agreed.

She changed the subject. "Perhaps some rare ancient professionals could make full use of this implant. But now... probably not a single first-tier professional in Old Lingdun can multitask to control eight arms."

Hearing this, the man understood. "No wonder... the auction house probably knows they can't sell this chicken-rib blueprint for a good price in the inner city, so they're trying it out at the black market auction."

…

Almost everyone else in the black market thought little of the Gold blueprint, and few were interested. But in Gerson's Alchemy Shop, someone couldn't take their eyes off it.

"High skill, high difficulty control... high movement speed, climbing ability, poison needle mechanism..."

Suren squinted, looking at the image on the projection, muttering something.

He didn't know that the alchemical blueprint was useless in other people's eyes, but the moment he saw it, he immediately realized that it was the alchemical implant that best suited his Puppet Master profession.

After reading some of the descriptions, Suren felt that this was definitely custom-made for him.

Controlling eight spider arms was difficult for others, but for Suren, who had awakened the [Multitasking] Puppet Master ability, multitasking with eight limbs was not impossible with practice!

Suren thought, "Having this eight-armed implant means I'll have ten arms. The number of puppets I can control in the future won't be limited to just my hands..."

Looking at the blueprint, he could already foresee himself controlling ten or even more puppets at the same time.

With this implant and his Puppet Master profession, he alone would be an army!

Moreover, the blueprint said that the implant had super high movement and climbing abilities. He could fight and run; it was the perfect combination.

Eight-armed climbing was the reason for its high skill requirement.

This implant was a perfect fit for Suren!

However, as much as he liked it, Suren's eyes twitched slightly when he saw the auction price. "The starting price is 300,000..."

He had never seen a Gold blueprint auction, but he estimated that the final price would be at least one million.

After transmigrating for so long, Suren felt poor for the first time.

A common finished Black Iron alchemical implant cost around 100,000. This blueprint started at 300,000, not to mention the cost of materials. The finished [Eight-Armed Spider God Spear] would be a daunting expense.

However, blueprints were rare, especially ones that suited him.

If he missed it this time, he didn't know when he'd have another chance.

The item was listed, but no one bid for a long time.

Suren reined in his thoughts and raised his paddle for the first time. "300,000!"

…

Implant blueprints were strategic materials and the items that factions and financial groups most liked to collect.

Logically, the appearance of such a "unique" blueprint at an auction would cause a scramble.

But the Gold blueprint was not as popular as the earlier Silver blueprint.

Suren understood after a moment's thought.

The implant required too much of the body's attributes. Most professions were not suitable. Ordinary people couldn't use it at all!

If it wasn't practical, it was just a dusty collectible.

Someone in the inner city might spend hundreds of thousands on a collectible, but there were no such extravagant people in the outer city.

Seeing that the price was not rising too quickly, Suren breathed a sigh of relief.

But... the auction price quickly broke 400,000.

That was the total amount of cash Suren had.

Then, 450,000, 500,000...

Suren looked at the blueprint, a look of determination in his eyes.

Then, he turned his attention to the bespectacled old man who was buried in his book in Rosen's Alchemy Shop and asked, "Boss, do you buy cursed materials and finished implants here?"

"Yes."

The old man glanced at Suren and nodded.

…

Finally, after several rounds of bidding, Suren grit his teeth and shouted the high price of "800,000," finally winning the blueprint.

The cost was that he sold almost all of the loot from killing "Iron Head" Ivan, "Silver Arm" Dick, and the others from the tenement building.

An alchemical implant blueprint, and he was penniless.

ps. Brothers, next week's recommendation is crucial and will determine the book's fate. Please don't hoard chapters and vote. If you can, please give a small reward~ Thank you, everyone.