"Right now, I'm giving you another chance. Do you want to take you for a dical check-up?"
Yakumo figured if Li Zheng acted on his own, who knows what kind of trouble he'd cause. Rarely breaking her own rules, she offered him a choice once more.
In the past, if soone rejected her once, she'd be too lazy to bother again.
"Yes, yes, yes! Of course!"
Li Zheng nodded repeatedly, then he asked, puzzled, "Actually, you taking for a check-up is just a way to make so extra cash, right? Why don't I just give you the money directly, and you help out, doesn't that cut out the middleman?"
"You think I don't want to?"
Yakumo led Li Zheng down the street: "But I have official duties. Accepting gifts privately would count as taking bribes. Do you want to cost my job?"
"That serious?"
Li Zheng was surprised. Is the Outer City managed that strictly?
"Wait a minute, but isn't making extra cash through commissions still like taking bribes?"
It didn't seem any different, maybe even worse...
"Of course there's a difference."
Yakumo explained, "Taking you for a check-up is like a part-ti 'broker job' for . As a broker, isn't it normal to take a commission from the service? After all, I'm doing so work here."
"Well... it sort of makes sense?" Li Zheng couldn't shake the feeling that sothing in her explanation was off, "Wait, your main job is to welco newcors. Doesn't working as a broker during that ti count as neglecting your duties?"
"Yelan is my direct supervisor." Yakumo explained bluntly.
"And then?" Li Zheng was still confused.
"... He's my direct supervisor, so I just need his approval for leave. Don't you get it?"
"Got it!"
Li Zheng nodded vigorously, realizing it was just a form of using public resources for private gain.
It was just a disguised form of accepting bribes.
"Coincidentally, the place I'm taking you to is quite far, so any questions you have on the way, feel free to ask. If I can answer, I will." After a mont of silence, Yakumo spoke again, "But for information that I can't disclose or is more valuable, you'll need to pay a price, varying from one hundred to ten thousand White Crystal Coins, so think carefully before asking, don't waste my ti."
Having been in the Outer City for a short while, Li Zheng had already realized that it's a society dominated by money. As long as you have money, anything is possible.
A true demonstration of what it ans when they say: without money, you can't take a step forward.
Yakumo was considered generous, willing to answer a few questions for free.
Though it was mainly because she was about to earn so extra cash from him...
After thinking carefully for a mont, Li Zheng listed so questions and started asking: "The first question is, where should I go to exchange White Crystal Coins?"
"Hmm, I thought you'd first ask where the Terminal is."
Yakumo said this with so sarcasm, indicating that most people who co to the Outer City want to see the Matrix Terminal first.
"First off, you need to understand that even places where you exchange White Crystal Coins privately have differences."
"So places offer higher exchange rates, but the associated risk is also higher."
"Even though all dangerous items must be handed in once you enter the Outer City, you've seen from the conflict earlier, there are many ways to kill without weapons."
"So, if you find a black market for exchanging White Crystal Coins, be vigilant, don't exchange too much at one go under the sa faction, or you'll get targeted."
"In certain corners of the Outer City, you can find so corpses every day, most of which belong to people who were killed and robbed after displaying their wealth."
"Additionally, since you know there are private exchange points, it must be Delta... oh, that guy at the registration earlier, was it him who told you?"
Li Zheng nodded.
Yakumo continued, "Don't be fooled by his seemingly kind advice to keep your wealth hidden; this guy is very black-hearted. Do you believe if you look back right now, you'll see at least three faces that you saw outside the registration area?"
"!!!"
Li Zheng was startled by her words, restraining himself from turning to look.
"You're smart not to alert them, but you're also a bit stupid because you exchanged a single White Crystal Coin with Delta," Yakumo seed to shake her head, only her hood moving side to side could be seen: "To exchange a White Crystal Coin without hesitation when you first enter the Outer City shows you must have a lot of good stuff in your hands.
This ans when they rob, they'll hit you harder than others, so be ntally prepared."
"Aren't these actions violating regulations?" Li Zheng couldn't help asking. Aren't these officials afraid of being punished by the Terminal?
"Haha, as long as he doesn't do it himself, the Terminal has no reason to punish him." Yakumo scoffed at Delta's tactics, seeing them as lacking any sophistication, just like bandits, only daring to target the weak.
"Then how does he benefit... oh..." Li Zheng realized: "Those robbers spend what they loot at an official exchange window, and Delta legally takes a cut?"
"Exactly." Yakumo nodded.
"Doesn't anyone stop this sort of thing?" Li Zheng felt conflicted. He thought the rules in the Outer City would be more orderly, but it doesn't seem much better than the so-called Wilderness.
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