Above the mage!

Chapter 481 Black Market
The seven-day Funeral Auction, an annual event in Black Sails, saw a proliferation of items that couldn't be openly sold in other regions, all operating without legal constraints.

The frequency of rare items appearing at auctions is far higher than at ordinary auctions. Coupled with the possibility of finding bargains that is almost non-existent at other auctions, it attracts high-ranking monks from all over the world every year, whether to participate in the auction, join in the fun, or have ulterior motives.

However, the number of people that can be accommodated at the Wrath of the Liberation auction venue is ultimately limited.

If there are no restrictions on who can enter, we will definitely miss out on many truly wealthy clients.

Therefore, the Wrath of the Liberation auction follows the classic ticket system, and only those with tickets can enter and participate in the auction.

A total of 800 tickets will be released for the auction.

Half of them will be distributed free of charge to the leaders of the various factions in Black Sails City.

The other half was put up for public sale at auction starting at the beginning of the year, with ten lots auctioned each day until they were sold out.

Yes, tickets for an auction must be obtained through an auction.
It sounds a bit far-fetched, but the truth is that everyone is buying into it, and demand exceeds supply.

According to the final calculations, the average selling price of this year's 400 tickets to the Anirtues auction was as high as 20 genie coins—the common currency of the Black Sails City.

The currencies of the Golden Flower Dynasty and the Holy Empire are the most reputable and widely accepted in the entire Mage Plane.

The currencies of these two countries are still valid even on other continents outside of Nolan.

Given that Black Sails City is geographically very close to the Plantagenet Dynasty, it is only natural to choose the Plantagenet Dynasty's currency as the common currency.

In other words, the organizers had already earned eight thousand gold coins from the tickets before the auction even started.

With commissions added in, the total revenue from a single Wrath of the Liberation auction can be astronomical.

Such a good thing only happens once a year, so you can imagine how many people are envious of this Funeral Auction.

Such a lucrative auction could not possibly be controlled by one person; even the pirate king Davy Jones would not dare to be so greedy.

In fact, the proceeds from the Anguish auction are shared by the best members of the Black Sails City gangs, pirates, and sea hunters, as well as the Gold Coin Hunters.

David Jones alone received 35% of the profits, while the Gold Coin Hunters received 15%.

The remaining 50% of the profits were to be divided equally among the remaining dozen or so factions through their own discussions.

While sharing the profits, they also shoulder the management and "security" responsibilities that the organizers should fulfill, maintaining order at the auction and preventing theft, malicious bidding, or even robbery on site.

The tickets for the auction were all sold out at the beginning of the year.

Even if Gaode has money right now, it will be difficult to find sellers who have tickets and are willing to sell them in a short period of time.

Therefore, Gaode never intended to collect individual tickets; instead, it aimed for the free tickets held by the local forces in Black Sails City.

The Embroidered Anchor Gang isn't considered a top-tier force in Black Sails City, and isn't among those who can share in the profits of the Anveh Festival auction. But they're not exactly nobodys either; they can still get a few complimentary tickets.

For Santos, one or two auction tickets are certainly not considered valuable items.

The same is true.

Upon hearing Gao De's request, Santos immediately waved his hand and shouted to the burly henchman standing at the door, "Go find Gigg and get a ticket to the Day of the Dead auction. Just say it's my idea."

The henchman on the left side of the door received the order, responded, and hurriedly left.

Santos smiled and poured another full glass of rum for God and Lanwen.

Lan Wen merely raised his glass and took a small sip, while Gao De, as before, downed his drink in one gulp.

The main component of alcohol is ethanol, which is a type of neurotoxin.

Therefore, the body's toxin metabolism ability enhanced by the [Primary Amber Body] will also be effective against rum.

Under the [Primary Azure Amber Body], even a true poison like alcohol can be quickly digested, metabolized, and excreted by the body of a high-level expert. As a "borderline" poison, a trace amount of toxin is even easier to metabolize.

Unless you drink continuously and in large quantities, alcohol at around 50 degrees is not much different from water at Gaode, and you can drink it directly.

Santos seemed quite impressed by Gao De's "generosity," saying, "Even in the City of Black Sails, there aren't many who can outdrink you."

"May I ask how you two are addressed?" Only then did Santos realize that he had not yet asked the two guests their names.

"Gaode." Gaode "tells the truth."

In this world, Yu Ming actually has no need to lie.

Because there are so many people with the same first name, what really matters is the last name.

A name plus the surname is a complete identity document. Whether it is to determine identity or to perform certain spells based on a name, it is impossible to do anything without knowing only the name.

Although for Gaode, the name "Gaode" actually includes both his surname and his given name.

But in this world, Gaode is just a name.

Without a surname, a given name is essentially equivalent to a more formal nickname, so there is no need to lie.

"Lan Wen." Lan Wen, standing to the side, was just as sparing with words as Gao De, only giving his own name.

Santos nodded slightly, not surprised at all. It would be abnormal if someone could act so casually in Black Sails City.

He then tentatively said, "Master Gaode, the cargo on the ship appears to be mostly from the polar regions. Extraordinary materials from the polar regions are quite rare. If the supply is stable, perhaps we can cooperate in the long term?"

His words were half true and half false.

The statement that "extraordinary materials from the Arctic are rare" is indeed true because there is currently no true Arctic kingdom in the entire Mage plane.

In this situation, the extraordinary materials in polar regions all come from individuals, and there is no mature industrial chain.

This has resulted in this type of extraordinary material not being widely available on the market. While it hasn't reached the point where scarcity drives up prices, it at least doesn't have to worry about sales.

Therefore, it seems reasonable for Santos to propose a long-term cooperation after seeing that Gaode's entire cargo ship came from the Arctic.

The problem is that when Santos said those words, [Perception Emotion+] was still locked onto Hawke's God, and clearly received an emotion from him that was roughly equivalent to "greed".

The younger brother's emotions can often reflect the "boss's" true thoughts.

However, there was no need for such roundabout methods. Gao De had never trusted the gang leaders of Black Sails City. "Leader Santos overestimates me. In fact, I went to great lengths to acquire this shipment of goods, just to make a profit. I brought it to Black Sails City to sell mainly because there are no customs duties here," Gao De politely declined.

A glint flashed in Santos's single eye, but he maintained his smile. "That's a real pity."

"Master Gaode wants tickets to the Anling Festival auction. Could it be that you have your eye on some treasure on the pre-arranged auction list?" he asked casually.

Gao De denied it outright, saying, "It's just that the timing was right, and I've long admired the Anling Festival auction. Since I'm already here, I just wanted to join in the fun. If I really had my eye on any treasures, why would I still be asking for tickets now?"

“That’s true, after all, there are only two days left until the Day of Remembrance auction.” Santos was convinced by God on this point and had no further doubts.

In the midst of a subtly awkward chat, the younger brother who had left earlier finally returned.

He strode into the room and placed a rolled-up object on the table.

It was a scroll tanned from the ink sac skin of a deep-sea cuttlefish, the leather having a dark purple sheen.

Santos handed the scroll to Gao De, "This is the ticket. One ticket allows you to bring one extra person in."

A list of auction items is also attached, though it only includes a portion of the items.

Since this list was set at the beginning of the year, and half a year has passed, there will definitely be many more auction items that were not listed on it.

Even during the Wrath of the Liberation auctions, temporary storage for auction is accepted, but items must meet certain quality and value requirements to be included in the auction.

Gao De thanked him, took the scroll, unfolded it, and took a look. A strong smell of aged whale wax wafted out.

At the very top of the scroll was a thin, transparent sheet about the size of a fingernail, shimmering with a faint blue light, as if a flickering, eerie blue flame was sealed inside.

It is the most famous extraordinary material in Black Sails City: Blue Flame Crystal.

Below the blue flame crystal was a catalog of auction items written in magical script, with each item marked with a starting price and a brief description.

Gaode is quite curious about the auction catalog, but it's clearly not the right time to take a closer look.

He glanced at it quickly, and after seeing that the Azus Feather Whistle tree species was indeed listed in the catalog, he rolled up the scroll again, put it in his pocket, and then raised the wine glass that Santos had filled again at some point, and drank it all in one gulp. "Thank you!"

“It’s a pleasure working with you,” Santos nodded.

Having achieved his goal, Gao De took his leave, and Santos had no objections.

As for the payment for half of the cargo, Santos will send people to check and count the cargo list provided by Gaode, and then calculate the amount after confirming that there are no errors.

As Gao De walked through the noisy hall of the Broken Bones Tavern again, he noticed that the men who had been shouting loudly in the center of the hall were still there.

They noticed that Gao De was coming out of Santos's room, and they all stopped talking and looked at him.

One particular gaze struck Gao De as particularly unusual.

But when he looked closely, he couldn't immediately tell which person's gaze was coming from.

After watching Gao De and Lan Wen leave the tavern and disappear from sight, Santos's smile vanished instantly, his gaze turned gloomy, and he sat in the leather chair, lost in thought.

After a long while, Santos suddenly spoke in a cold voice: "Report the news of the fat fish."

“Boss, according to Hawke, they can easily take down a Tier 3 throat-snatching badge. Although they were injured, their strength should not be underestimated. Even a fat fish has thorns. Should we report this?” Another person confirmed from the shadows in the room.

"A third-tier throat-grabbing gargoyle can be taken down by a third-ring mage with special combat expertise. Even a fourth-ring mage is just a minor character to that person. It mainly depends on whether they are worth that person's attention."

"Their goods may be valuable, but to that person, they're nothing."

"You misjudged him and were fooled by the illusion created by Gaode. He was very good at pretending, and even said that he was in a hurry to cash out, but that doesn't change the fact that such a young mage has a high-ranking mage at his beck and call. He must be of extremely high status."

"I suspect they're carrying a huge sum of money and are after that rare item that's newly listed for auction at the Wrath of the Goddess auction."

"Even if I guessed wrong, it doesn't matter. His principle has always been to kill the wrong person rather than miss an opportunity. As long as we don't cause him any trouble, it's fine."

Santos paused. "In Black Sails City, how many people can actually cause him trouble?"

“That’s right. Okay, I’ll go report right away.” The other person was immediately convinced.

After leaving the Broken Bones Tavern, God and Lanwen did not rush back to the port area, but went straight to the black market in the central city that Apache had introduced during their earlier chat.

Despite being called a black market, it's really just a street where you can set up stalls, somewhat like a vegetable market from my previous life, emphasizing freshness and down-to-earth appeal.

The streets and urban area of ​​Black Sails City are extremely complex, with dark alleys winding and turning, making it no easy task for the two newcomers to find the black market.

However, because their goal was clear, Gao De had already inquired with Hawke about the exact location and route to the black market on the way there.

Following the route they had inquired about, the two crossed several streets and noticed that there were more and more pedestrians on the road, so they knew they were almost there.

Soon, a continuous line of lights appeared ahead.

This is a street along a cliff, with spaces of varying depths carved into the cliff face on both sides. Some of these spaces are as large as a house, while others are as small as a tent.

In each cave, there is a fish oil lamp lit, a person sitting inside, and a cloth placed on the floor. In more elaborate caves, there may be shelves displaying various kinds of goods.

This is the stall, but unlike a traditional stall, it has a roof.

The lights from the numerous grottoes converge, illuminating the cliff face like faces covered with black cloths, with many eyes clasped together, creating a scene reminiscent of a black market.

Perhaps because the Anirtues auction is approaching, it is the time of year when Black Sails City is busiest, and it is much more bustling than Gaode Maps had imagined.

Indeed, this is the case. In normal times, these stalls would not be so densely packed, with gaps often in between.

Gao De and Lan Wen entered from the entrance, intending to stroll around, but ended up lingering for a long time in front of the first stall.

Because these stalls were openly filled with all sorts of legitimate and illegitimate items, including sea monster organs, magical materials, and forbidden potions.

You can even see severed staffs for sale, clearly spoils of war or stolen goods.

The stall owners all had sinister eyes, but they had nothing in common with each other.

Whether it's skin color, appearance, or clothing, they all come in all shapes and sizes, with no single style.

(End of this chapter)