Mystery: Death Singer

Two days later, in the evening, Edric deliberately left work early and, after careful disguise, took a public carriage to the dock area located beside the Hoy River.

During this time, he finally remembered why he remembered the names "Swain" and "Dragon Bar"—they represented the underground trading market in Tingen, where there might be some unexpected finds.

Of course, in this day and age, a Sequence 7 is already considered a mid-sequence Extraordinary. In Tingen, a city where Extraordinary beings are not very active, they are a rare find, as are potion ingredients.

Therefore, Edric didn't have high hopes of successfully buying the materials he needed when he went to the Dragon's Bar.

He simply thought, "Since I've already settled in Tingen, it would be strange not to come here at least once," and chose a sunny evening to broaden his horizons.

The Dragon Bar is quite famous in the dock area. Edric found the location by simply asking around, but he didn't go in right away. Instead, he subconsciously observed his surroundings.

Upon closer inspection, Edric immediately realized that something was amiss in the atmosphere.

Not only were there several men with automatic rifles searching for something nearby, but across from the bar, on the rooftop of a warehouse, a burly man with a long, thick rifle was also on guard.

Edric frowned slightly upon recognizing it as a high-pressure steam rifle, a hint of hesitation rising in his mind. He thought to himself that today was not a good day to go to a bar.

But since he was already there, Edric didn't want to waste the few pennies he had for the public carriage. He waited a little longer until the atmosphere became less tense and people started coming in and out before emerging from his hiding place.

As Edric pushed open the door, a cacophony of sounds flooded his ears. He glanced around the bar casually, then headed straight for a billiards room behind a boxing ring.

— Just before entering, Edric had sent Stone Spirit to roughly explore the map, so he knew where to go and how to get there, as if he were a regular customer.

The door to the billiard room was pushed open, and the two people who were chatting and laughing while playing billiards immediately fell silent. They frowned and looked at Edric, feeling that he was somewhat unfamiliar, but the expression on his face did not seem like that of a novice who was here for the first time.

Two or three seconds later, the two silently moved aside, revealing a secret door behind them.

Edric walked through several similar rooms before finally arriving at a place about the size of a lecture hall.

Here, some people set up stalls, their shelves piled high with bottles and jars, while others walk among them, examining, exchanging ideas, or comparing prices.

Edric glanced at the stalls and found them unremarkable to his spiritual sense; in other words, they were all, without exception, "health products."

Edric was not surprised by this situation. The fact that it could be organized into a market-like model proved that at least 90 percent of the people in this underground market were just "mystical enthusiasts," while the truly extraordinary ones made up only a very, very small percentage.

As Edric walked around, he found that the place truly lived up to its reputation; he could find many special materials that could be used in ritual magic, though only the most basic kind.

The surrounding crowd was constantly talking, and while the noise was slightly chaotic, it also made the market quite lively.

However, Edric did not waste much time at these stalls; he headed straight for the two rooms at the far end.

Even without Shi Ling's prior exploration, he was certain that truly extraordinary materials would not be traded in public, because even the cheapest Sequence Nine main ingredient was worth tens or even hundreds of pounds.

In an era when a weekly wage of one pound could support a large family, goods worth tens or hundreds of pounds were definitely precious enough to easily arouse the greed of discerning customers.

In a market for extraordinary materials, who are the true connoisseurs? The answer is undoubtedly the truly extraordinary.

So even for security reasons, Swain, the owner of the Dragon Bar, would set up a real, private trading venue, which would even be more helpful for him to keep track of who bought and sold real items, and what those items were.

Edric quickly reached the end of the trading market. He noticed that the door to one of the rooms was closed, indicating that someone was inside. He then went into another room whose door was ajar.

"Thump!"

As soon as he entered, the door was shut shut from the outside by a burly guard. Edric raised his eyes and looked around the room.

With the help of his spiritual vision, he was certain that besides himself, there was only one other person: a middle-aged, burly man who was chugging alcohol.

"Ugh~ Drinking is only fun when you drink it in big gulps!"

The middle-aged, burly man let out a hiccup, reluctantly put down the bottle, glanced at Edric with a slightly flushed face but clear eyes, and then asked hesitantly:

"You look a bit unfamiliar. Is there anything you'd like to buy, or anything you'd like to sell?"

Edric casually pulled up a chair, sat down, shrugged, and smiled:

"This is my first time here. Do you have a list? I'd like to take a look and see if there's anything I need."

"certainly."

The middle-aged man nodded slightly, then pulled a handwritten piece of white paper from under the table, handed it to Edric, and chuckled:

"The list contains things that can be obtained immediately. If the material you need isn't on the list, you can also post a task... I mean, a bounty."

"Thanks for reminding me."

Edric replied politely, then quickly glanced at the list in his hand.

The paper contained very little information, only a few extraordinary materials, all of which, judging from the price tags, were at the ninth level of the sequence. The ghost cat and spirit crystal he needed were not among them.

Unsurprised, Edric returned the list, shook his head with feigned regret, and said in a bitter tone:

"This is terrible. There's nothing I need on it. It seems like this trip to Tingen was a complete waste of time."

"Hey buddy, looks like you're not having the best luck. So, do you have anything you want to sell?"

The middle-aged man was not surprised at all. For someone visiting the underground market for the first time to want to buy the extraordinary materials they needed was as unbelievable as suddenly finding hundreds of gold pounds on the street.

Even among the materials on the list, there were two kinds of "good stuff" that they deliberately put in, specifically prepared for the cult members!