You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

"You? A new face."

"Blackie's new henchman? What medicine do you want to buy from him? How much?"

"His surname is Yang. He hasn't been in contact with Brother Blackie for long."

Chen Yang smiled broadly, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly, but his eyes held the shrewdness of a shrewd businessman.

"I heard that Brother 'Old Ghost' has wide connections and gets the goods properly! I just want to get on his good side and make some extra money!"
"I'll check out the 'goods' first. Whatever has a reliable connection and makes quick money, that's what I'll follow the big shots for! I heard from Brother Blackie that different grades of goods have vastly different prices and effects? I need to see for myself before deciding which ones to stock, right?"

The scarred man squinted and questioned him about a few details that only those familiar with Blackie's small group would know, such as which gambling dens they frequented in which neighborhood, and what Blackie's wife's name was.

Chen Yang answered fluently and flawlessly. After all, those two drug slaves in the alley had practically spilled everything they knew about their superior, Blackie, just to save their own lives.

In the end, most of the suspicion in the scarred man's eyes dissipated, replaced by a bit more caution, but he no longer tried to stop him.

He waved.

"Take him inside, and make him behave!"

He signaled to his two men to escort Chen Yang away.

Walking through the half-collapsed workshop corridor, the thick dust underfoot made a soft, thumping sound. At the end of the corridor wasn't the dilapidated office I'd imagined, but a massive alloy door disguised as an old boiler plate, almost blending into the rusted walls!
A surveillance camera was mounted in a corner, its infrared beam flickering eerily. The scarred man spoke a few coded words into an inconspicuous intercom.

With a heavy click, the heavy metal mechanism slid open silently, revealing a brightly lit, marble-paved staircase leading downwards! The stark contrast between the intense cold light and the sudden switch between the inside and outside of the airtight door forced Chen Yang, who had just entered, to squint slightly.

Behind the door was a completely different world! A smooth, sleek metal ceiling hung overhead, and bright fluorescent lights illuminated the passageway down to the smallest detail. The walls were covered in high-grade sound-absorbing materials, and the floor was polished gray artificial marble.

The air circulation system emits a low, steady hum, and the purified fresh air completely isolates the rotten, fishy smell from the outside.

The rooms on both sides of the corridor are separated by thick, explosion-proof glass. They are not warehouses, but are arranged as extremely modern offices, and even have a small gym and a monitoring center!
White-collar workers in smart suits move about inside, working in front of their screens, creating a quiet yet busy scene that contrasts magically with the dilapidated abandoned factory outside.

This is not some filthy den at all; it is clearly a well-equipped and well-funded modern company headquarters!
The person leading him had an almost imperceptible air of arrogance on his face.

They walked until they reached a heavy mahogany door at the end of the passage. The scarred man knocked gently.

"Enter."

A slightly hoarse but unusually steady middle-aged male voice came through.

The door was pushed open.

An office spanning a full hundred square meters, decorated with an almost extravagant level of luxury, came into view! Huge floor-to-ceiling glass walls faced the boundless darkness outside, and underfoot was a soft Persian handmade wool carpet. In the center stood a large mahogany carved desk exuding a dark wood fragrance and an equally impressive sectional sofa.

Huge electronic screens are embedded in the surrounding walls, displaying market data and monitoring footage.

A middle-aged man around fifty years old, with a very short and neat buzz cut, a stocky build, but sharp eyes like a hungry wolf, was sitting in a large executive chair. He did not have a scholarly air about him. He was wearing a dark velvet Tang suit that was very well-tailored, and he was twirling a string of shiny, dark wood prayer beads between his fingers.

It was the master of this underground "kingdom"—Old Ghost, Du Zhenxiong.

The scarred man respectfully stepped aside.

"Boss, the person has been brought."

Du Zhenxiong slightly raised his eyelids, his narrow eyes devoid of any warmth, his gaze like invisible hooks, scrutinizing Chen Yang from head to toe without any attempt to hide it, without saying a word.

Before he could speak, Chen Yang bowed slightly, his smile perfectly timed.

"Hello, Mr. Du! I've long heard that you have connections everywhere! Today, I've shamelessly asked Brother Hei to make the connection and dared to come here, just to see the 'real stuff' you have here! The journey here has been truly eye-opening, I'm impressed! I'm impressed!"

He deliberately exuded a mixture of reverent awe and merchant greed.

"sit."

Du Zhenxiong finally spoke, his voice low but carrying the oppressive aura of a superior, and pointed to the sofa.

"Why would Blackie send money to a complete stranger like you instead of coming himself?"

"Please forgive me, Mr. Du."

Chen Yang sat down casually but with a dignified air, exuding a touch of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).

"Blackie has run into a little trouble and suffered a setback. He and his brothers dare not make any rash moves for the time being. It seems that someone in the city is trying to trick us, and things are getting tense."

But he was thinking about his business deal with Boss Du and didn't dare to be negligent. He was also afraid of missing the opportunity, so he sent me on a trip to deliver his sincerity and the order.

Blackie instructed that whatever "hidden treasures" Boss Du had, they shouldn't hold back! We'd buy as much high-quality stuff as we had the money for! Cash transactions!

He patted the seemingly ordinary black travel bag beside him.

"How much money do you have, and how much stock do you want to buy?"

Du Zhenxiong paused slightly as he twirled the prayer beads, a playful smile curving his lips, as if he thought this newcomer had quite the appetite.

"Young man, you've got quite the nerve. Nothing here is 'cheap'."

"Mr. Du is joking!"

Chen Yang smiled broadly, leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and conveyed a tacit, eager expression.

"In our line of work, there are no cheap goods. Expensive means the product is authentic and effective! As long as the product is strong enough to take down a big opponent, we'll sell everything we own to make it work!"

Blackie specifically asked me to come over because he wanted to know how much of Boss Du's highest-grade "red soup" product, or even the more potent special-supply product... was in stock? And whether he could take on a long-term order.

"Want to take on a long-term project?"

Du Zhenxiong finally became interested, and the scrutiny in his eyes lessened in his wariness and became more of a businessman's consideration and assessment.

"Aren't you afraid of trying to get rich overnight and choking on your own?"

"Hey, fortune favors the bold!"

Chen Yang's smile became even more "sincere".

"Besides, with Boss Du's foundation, do you think I'll be able to make a living here for long? Following Boss Du is a sure way to make money!"

Staring at Chen Yang for a good ten seconds, assessing his audacity, tone, and the actual financial strength of the "Black Skin" gang he might represent, Old Ghost Du Zhenxiong finally slowly stood up. He slipped the Buddhist prayer beads onto his wrist. "Alright, kid, you've got guts!"
"Then I'll show you something new today! Come with me!"

He didn't bring anyone with him, and personally led Chen Yang to an inconspicuous wall in the corner of the office.

He reached out and seemingly casually pressed a few times on a complex pattern.

Silently, the entire wall slid to the side like a high-end elevator door, revealing a deeper, downward-extending metal passage that could only accommodate two people side by side!

A complex, intense, and icy odor, a mixture of disinfectant, blood, and the peculiar aroma of some alkaloid, burst forth like a venomous snake's tongue!

At the end of the passage was a thicker, silver-gray metal door marked with unidentified biological symbols. Du Zhenxiong stood in front of the retinal scanner beside the door, simultaneously pressing his palm print and entering a long, complex dynamic password.

The heavy sound of hydraulic start-up came from inside the gate as it slowly slid open.

The icy mist, carrying an increasingly intense mixed aura, rushed towards us!

Before me lay a massive underground space! Ten meters high and the size of a large stadium! Gone was the mixed style of offices and warehouses on the ground; this was the core warehouse of a professional laboratory! Dozens of rows of ultra-low temperature condensing cabinets, like giant metal tombstones, stood neatly arranged, gleaming with a ghostly blue light.

The central area consists of dozens of huge, stationary culture tanks cast from an unknown alloy, filled with strange liquids of various colors—turbid red "red soup," liquids with a ghostly green fluorescence, liquids as dark as ink, and even liquids that shimmer with a very faint silver-purple glow... The viscous liquids flow slowly within the tanks!

A low hum filled the air—the ceaseless operation of the refrigeration, circulation, and monitoring systems. The walls were covered with intricate wiring and conduits, and monitoring screens flashed various colored data.

Dozens of staff members, dressed in white protective suits and face masks that completely cover them from head to toe, moved like ants among the condensers, incubators, and various experimental instruments, recording data and operating equipment.

This is the core area for the transfer and storage of medicines!

Even with his iron will, Chen Yang was still taken aback by the massive scale of the underground medicine vault, a blend of technological sophistication and eeriness.

But the shock deep in his eyes was instantly replaced by an even more chilling coldness. That's right! Although the liquids in these cultivation tanks were all sorts of strange things, some clearly highly concentrated raw materials or semi-finished products, the peculiar fluctuations of life energy they emitted were...from the same source as the core source energy in the liquids in the potion jars at the Heavenly Dao Alliance stronghold!
This place is by no means a production base, but it is definitely an extremely important large-scale storage and transshipment hub! It may even be a node for some kind of diversion, reprocessing, or quality control of the drugs! And the connections behind this old devil Du Zhenxiong are much thicker and deeper than he imagined!

He could never be the top leader; he's more like a second- or even third-level agent who controls important "logistics" channels!
"how?"

Du Zhenxiong stood with his hands behind his back on the high platform at the entrance, looking down at the huge underground "pharmacy" that resembled a hellish arsenal, his tone filled with an arrogant sense of control.

"Is the 'goods' here good enough? Can they satisfy you, Boss Yang?"

He glanced at Chen Yang, his eyes filled with the shrewdness and scrutiny of a businessman.

"The treasures here are of different grades, and their effects are vastly different!"

Ordinary 'Bone-Inducing Water' is for the outer thugs, 'Red Soup' is for elite assassins; 'Ink Pool' can burn potential for a short time, resulting in a stronger burst of power; and the highest grade are the 'Frosty Pool' that shimmers with a ghostly light and the 'Star Marrow' that glows faintly, each drop is priceless, and can cultivate more than just brute force... Hehe... the little money you brought..."

Du Zhenxiong's gaze fell on Chen Yang's black travel bag, his expression clearly one of contempt and probing.

At the opportune moment, Chen Yang's face revealed an expression that was stimulated by the enormous shock, mixed with greed and a trace of unease. His throat even moved exaggeratedly, as if he were swallowing a mouthful of saliva with difficulty.

"Boss Du... you've truly... truly broadened my horizons!"

He pointed to the rows of culture tanks shimmering with an unusual light, his tone filled with "desire" but also with the regret of "being short of money."

“‘Frozen Pool’, ‘Star Marrow’… I’m afraid I can’t afford even a single drop of these peerless treasures with my meager resources! As for the most potent ‘Red Soup’, I think… I think that’s a long shot too!”

He gave a wry smile, as if he had the will but not the money.

"Blackie, you only told me these few names... I didn't expect the difference to be so big! Boss Du, take a look at these..."

He pointed to the largest number of blue or cloudy red tubes of basic concentrated medicine, which were stored in condensation on metal shelves.

"And these standard canned finished products..."

.

"How effective are these basic 'products'? How many...how many bottles would it take to take down a master who has practiced hard skills?"

Looking at the basic goods he pointed to, a barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashed across Du Zhenxiong's eyes, and the probing sharpness faded considerably.

It turns out that the buyers were too short-term or too low-level to afford anything beyond basic items.

But the smile on his face actually became more "friendly".

"Hehe, it's normal for young Boss Yang to be ambitious since he's just starting out in the industry!"

These basic ingredients are more than enough! For ordinary people, a few drops diluted with water will make them as strong as bulls! As for those with advanced skills... hehe, it depends on the dosage!
"If you pour a whole tube down his throat, even someone with an iron will would be forced to unleash all their brute force, turning them into a rabid dog that only knows how to bite! It just doesn't have the subtle, pervasive effect of those high-end products! Its advantage is that it's plentiful and filling!"

"That works!"

As if he had made up his mind, Chen Yang pointed to the basic blue concentrated medicines and the neatly labeled finished product cans stored in metal insulated boxes.

"Boss Du, these are the basic goods."

He glanced at the mountains of shelves.

I want as many as you have!

The cash I brought this time is only enough to buy five cases of concentrate tubes and ten cans of the finished product! Next time! Next time I'll definitely bring enough money to bother Boss Du with even better stuff!

"Haha, that's great!"

Seeing that Chen Yang's order was targeted and that he wasn't after high-end goods beyond his means, and that Chen Yang even hinted at a willingness to continue the cooperation, Du Zhenxiong's doubts were dispelled.

"Goods for cash! Bro!"

He beckoned to a subordinate next to him who was wearing protective clothing and seemed to be the on-site dispatcher.

"Bring Boss Yang five cases of 'Blue Ice' concentrate tubes and ten cans of 'Boiling Blood' finished product! The price will be 20% off today's market rate, just to make a friend!"

He specifically emphasized the 20% discount to show his "generosity".

The handover and inventory were completed quickly on site.

Chen Yang paid without hesitation—the disguised cash passed through the banknote detector without any issues. Five insulated boxes and ten sealed metal cans were packed and placed on a wheeled alloy shelf, pushed by two people in protective suits. (End of Chapter)