Chapter 359: Chapter 359
Everyone’s perception of Jing Shu rose to a new level; she might as well have been on vacation. She hardly brought any weapons but did bring plenty of dining equipment, exhibiting an unusual fixation on food.
The snoring and thunderous noises, along with the periodic strange sounds from multiple pairs of men and women upstairs, penetrated Jing Shu’s mind relentlessly. Even with earplugs, Jing Shu couldn’t sleep all night. Instead, she continually stimulated her Illusion Technique, which left her head muddled, and practiced the Magic Cube all night.
At six o’clock, with dark circles under her eyes, Jing Shu was up for duty. By the time her group had eaten their dry rations for breakfast and headed to the Duel Arena, she was so exhausted she could barely stand.
After a horrendous night’s experience, she realized the people upstairs were numerous and noisy, and they occasionally eyed her group’s luggage and supplies. In the lawless United States, these people refrained from attacking only because they weighed the risks and concluded they couldn’t defeat Jing Shu’s well-armed team, who also stood guard at night. Not to mention, Tan Ke posed a significant threat. Surely, our group can’t just kill someone for looking at me too intently in a crowd, right? The main concern was to avoid startling their potential enemies. Googlᴇ search 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵
We should just stay in the Underground Black Market, she thought. Not only does it offer private rooms, but it also ensures privacy. After completing the mission, we can just break out forcefully when escaping.
To avoid trouble, everyone moved to the Underground Black Market.
The type of accommodation B-level mercenaries could rent in the Underground Black Market was a basic two-story unit, vastly superior to the civilian cave outside. Most importantly, Jing Shu got a private room, significantly enhancing her privacy. Finally, I can eat without any reservations!
As for earthquakes? I refuse to believe our luck is so bad that the Underground Black Market would collapse. In my previous life, during the third year, I traveled to so many places and was fortunate enough never to be buried; surely my luck won’t worsen just because I’m in the United States this time. Besides, we’re only staying for about ten days. Once the mission is completed, we’ll make a quick escape.
Jing Shu comforted herself with these thoughts. She really didn’t want to stay in the civilian cave outside any longer.
"The cost is 100 Black Market Coins a day. I will deduct it from the Black Market Coins we made from yesterday’s arms sales," Tan Ke said.
The team was quite satisfied with their new accommodation, including Little Black. He felt like he had reached the pinnacle of his existence; residing in the Underground Black Market had always been his dream. Surprisingly, Jing Shu’s team fulfilled this dream the very next day. "Hey, Sheep said you guys are powerful and capable, and Sheep was right," Little Black chimed in.
After settling into their new home for the second time, they carried their firearms at all times and headed to the Duel Arena in the Underground Black Market, the only link to the upper-level Nobles’ residences.
To upgrade from B-level to S-level mercenaries, one had to accumulate 30,000 Black Market Coins. The mercenary missions in the Underground Black Market mostly offered rewards ranging from 200 to 2,000 Black Market Coins, rarely seeing a jump from 1,000 to 3,000, and then up to 8,000 like yesterday. Furthermore, the timeframe for completing these missions tended to be longer.
Advancing further was challenging. Currently, there were several A+ level Mercenary Teams in the Underground Black Market, yet no S-level ones. However, it was rumored that a month ago, a team was on the verge of breaking into the S-level after completing their mission, but unfortunately, they were wiped out due to the mission’s failure.
Another method of promotion was dueling. Duels were conducted according to the Nobles’ whims—some were fights to the death, others different types of contests, all tailored to the Nobles’ preferences.
Dully following the others, Jing Shu stepped into the Duel Arena. Only then did she truly understand the insignificance of life and the stark difference in status between people.
"Hey, shocked to see such a crowd, aren’t you?" Little Black began, "The Duel Arena has three zones: one for mercenary duels which can simulate various environments, another is a traditional fighting ring for face-to-face combat, and the last one is for duels between battle pets."
"Hey, follow me, I’ll take you to register. I’m quite familiar with this place; Nobles will post duel requests and offer Black Market Coins as bounties. If two Mercenary Teams accept, they will be scheduled to duel. Some fights are to the death, others until one party can no longer stand, and even some where Nobles demand various cruel methods to torture their opponents. Only by fulfilling the Nobles’ demands can the full reward be claimed," he explained.
"The Nobles issuing tasks can act as bookmakers, betting with other Nobles on which Mercenary Team or individual will win. If you’re lucky enough and a Noble favors you, they might increase the bounty, asking you to give your all, or demand you do bizarre acts in the arena to satisfy their various desires," he continued.
"Apart from tasks within the Black Market, the Duel Arena is the fastest way to earn Black Market Coins. Team matches also count towards the accumulation of Black Market Coins, but duels between battle pets don’t count, as the Nobles consider this beneath them, mere entertainment, like a casino for us commoners," he added.
With Little Black’s detailed introduction, Jing Shu and her companions gained some understanding of the rules of the Duel Arena. It vividly demonstrated the saying ’money is omnipotent.’
"However, anyone entering the Duel Arena, whether to watch or to participate, must pay 2 Black Market Coins. The Duel Arena attracts all the idle people of the Underground Black Market, including unofficial mercenaries, because, it seems, aside from watching the matches, there isn’t much else to do," he remarked.
With that, Tan Ke paid 12 Black Market Coins, and the group formally entered the Duel Arena.
"Besides, if we’re lucky betting on battle pets, we could win a few Black Market Coins each day too. Unfortunately, only Nobles can place bets on the mercenary duels," he noted.
Jing Shu stroked her chin, looking over Fat Chicken, who wore armor and seemed quite reluctant. He wanted to lie down as soon as they arrived—every step seemed a burden. It looks like earning Black Market Coins today will depend on Fat Chicken!
Little Black led the group to register.
Jing Shu frowned as she viewed the bounty requirements for mercenary duels in the Duel Arena, which also cleared up some of her confusion about why Mercenary Teams didn’t just collude to boost each other’s ranks by repeatedly accepting and completing easy challenges against one another.
Bales: "2,000 Black Market Coins bounty, the team that cuts off all opponents’ arms will win."
Joel: "1,000 Black Market Coins bounty, no weapons allowed, knocking out all of an opponent’s teeth secures victory."
Of course, these tasks were at least not lethal. There were more extreme ones, demanding all opponents’ lives, and those were priced much higher, essentially amounting to a fight to the death.
However, compared to other ways of earning, these rewards were quite high. The Black Market Coin bounties offered were very tempting. Since team victories counted towards rank promotion, many were drawn to the high-risk duels.
The higher the risk, the greater the reward; in just a few minutes, one could earn more Black Market Coins than from tasks issued by the Black Market, making it easier to earn coins and promote their team’s rank.