Chapter 105. France's Black Market (1)
France's Black Market was truly worth seeing.
True to France's reputation as a land of art, everyday items from Gangho and paintings that would normally only be sold at the Gukmubon Item Exchange were being traded in abundance.
"Good heavens. To see this here."
I spotted a scroll by Wang Xizhi, one of Gangho's most celebrated calligraphers, and my eyes lit up.
"Translate. How much is this?"
"How much is it?"
"How much does it cost?"
Omar and Kim Han-yang translated into French simultaneously.
"What are you? You filthy Gypsy."
"Ugh. You look just like my factory boss. I'll gut you."
Omar and Kim Han-yang grabbed each other by the collar.
"Ahem. Kim Han-yang does the translating here."
"Boss!"
"Omar, go buy everything I told you."
"Yes."
"Good for you. You Gypsy."
"Just you wait."
Watching the two of them, it seed that despite being mbers of the sa organization, they didn't know each other.
That ant the Black Market organization with the crescent moon tattoos was operating on a considerable scale.
Kim Han-yang finished translating and bargaining, then handed Wang Xizhi's scroll.
"I got it cheap. They gave a discount since I'm a Black Market mber."
"And?"
"……Pardon?"
"Are you telling to carry it around myself?"
"Ah. I'm sorry."
Kim Han-yang had been fishing for praise but got scolded instead, and his face fell.
"I'll go buy a bag."
"Trying to run?"
"No. You're welco to co with ."
He bought a large bag, slung it over his shoulder, and carefully placed the scroll inside.
We wandered around looking at the goods.
Taking a closer look, the disappointnt was greater than the scale warranted.
Nothing among the weapons caught my eye, and the poisonous herbs and dicinal herbs were nothing special either.
There was one unusual thing, however.
Chocolate.
"Why are they selling chocolate here?"
"That's not chocolate."
"Then what is it?"
"It's drugs."
What?
"They put drugs inside the chocolate and sell it."
‘How dare they tamper with sacred chocolate!’
"Shall I buy you one? The taste is incredible."
"Shut it."
"……It's sothing you can only get here."
Kim Han-yang pointed at the chocolate with a look of longing.
I forgot about the drug-laced chocolate and asked sothing else.
"Is this all there is?"
"The important items are traded separately."
"How do I get to buy them?"
"There's an auction house—a specially managed area. Just trust and follow."
Kim Han-yang stepped forward with a triumphant expression, but—
Thwack!
I smacked him on the back of the head, and he stared at with an aggrieved look.
"You should have told about that sooner."
"I'm sorry……."
"No matter how I look at it, Omar is still better."
"I'll work harder!"
As though a competitive fire had been lit in him, flas began burning in his eyes.
We headed to a corner of the market where so rough-looking n stood.
When Kim Han-yang showed them the tattoo on his collarbone, a path opened up.
It was a door leading underground.
"It's dark, so please be careful on your way down."
Kim Han-yang had properly taken on the role of guide.
I followed him down, and a wide underground space ca into view.
"Quite large in scale, isn't it?"
"It is."
"France's Black Market—the auctions in particular are firmly controlled by the Ferrand Family. This is a secret, so I'm telling you as a special favour."
Ferrand—I'd heard that sowhere.
"Ah, Lucien Ferrand!"
"Yes. That climber is one of them too."
He was the French climber who had been defeated by Park Je-hwang in the Super Climber K competition.
"It looks like the auction has started."
Following his guidance, I took a seat sowhere in the middle.
"I'll interpret the auction items for you in real ti as they co up."
"Good."
Sure enough, the items coming out at the secret auction were of higher quality than those on the floor above.
Most of what was being traded was artwork, but since I already had Wang Xizhi's scroll, I had no further desire for art pieces.
About 2 hours passed like that, and the auction was nearing its end.
Kim Han-yang kept interpreting.
He showed remarkable talent.
He had been translating every single word spoken at the auction without missing a beat, nonstop.
‘This guy—maybe it wasn't for nothing that Gukmubon assigned him to Bo-reum.’
Anyway, perhaps because I hadn't told him to stop.
He had been translating non-stop for 2 hours, and his voice had grown hoarse, as though his mouth was completely parched.
"Ahem. M-may I step away to drink so water?"
"There's an item coming up."
"Yes……. This is the last item. It's a Spiritual dicine from the Murim Tower. According to the appraisal, it raises internal energy and heals internal injuries."
It was a Spiritual dicine contained in a gourd-shaped bottle about the size of a forearm.
Wait? That item is—?
My eyes went wide.
"Han-yang."
"Yes? Um, my na is Han-yang, not—"
"Shut up. We need to buy that."
"That Spiritual dicine?"
"Right. Bid."
"When even better Spiritual dicines were coming up earlier, you didn't move a muscle……."
"Just bid already! If we miss that, I'll kill you."
Kim Han-yang raised his hand.
The bidding started at 400 million.
"500 million."
"600 million!"
"700 million!"
A bidding war broke out.
The money I had was 1.1 billion.
The price kept climbing and I grew anxious.
"900 million!"
Fortunately, it was won at 900 million.
Kim Han-yang took the bag over, handed over the cash, and ca back with the Spiritual dicine.
"Wow, to get hold of sothing this rare."
I stroked the bottle and walked out of the auction hall.
"Is that Spiritual dicine really that extraordinary?"
"Not really. It's called Cheong Ji-hwan—it's nothing too special."
I tipped the Spiritual dicine into my mouth and smiled at him.
【Cheong Ji-hwan has been consud. dicine becos poison. The Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art's poison and internal energy increase.】
"You just swallowed it that easily……."
"Han-yang. Take off your jacket."
"Pardon?"
I pulled off Kim Han-yang's jacket, carefully wrapped the gourd bottle in it, and put it into his bag.
The real treasure was the bottle.
‘Green Soul Vessel.’
If you fill this bottle with water infused with spiritual energy and leave it for exactly 7 days, the water transforms into a gentle Spiritual dicine called ‘Green Soul Water’.
It had potency on its own, but when used in brewing dicine, it was a treasure among treasures—it greatly amplified the effects of elixir pills.
The only difficulty was that you needed to obtain water infused with spiritual energy.
But that wasn't an issue for .
In my poison herb field, there was a stream running with rich spiritual energy dissolved into it.
"Aah. I'm in a good mood today."
I grinned broadly, and Kim Han-yang sidled up to and asked quietly,
"Um. I did pretty well today, didn't I?"
"You want to be released?"
"No, not exactly—not necessarily, but……. Hehe."
Fwt—!
"Kgh!"
I launched a Piercing Needle, and he doubled over clutching his groin.
"I've embedded a Piercing Needle in your groin. It will slowly work its way in, and in 1 week, you'll lose the use of that part forever."
"……!"
"I'll watch your behaviour for 1 week and decide whether to remove it or not. Keep putting in as much effort as you did today."
"Boss!"
"Let's go to the hotel. I'll book you a separate room—wait there and attend to my needs."
Kim Han-yang looked back and forth between his groin and , let out a deep sigh, got up, and shouldered the bag.
On the way to the parking lot, I asked him,
"Is this all the auctions there are?"
"No. Today's was just the basic one—there's a proper one opening in 2 weeks."
"What is it?"
"There's an auction held once a year, and items from all across Europe, not just France, gather here."
Oh. Really?
That was welco news.
"On this scale, in all of Europe it only compares to what opens in London."
My mouth watered.
‘What kind of extraordinary items would be there.’
"You can find everything! Items, people—you can buy anything."
"You buy and sell people?"
"……Ah."
Kim Han-yang clapped a hand over his mouth, realising he'd misspoken.
"You filthy scoundrel—did you sell people here too?"
"I, I really only handled the supply side! I didn't sell them at the auction itself!"
"That's the sa thing!"
"……."
Kim Han-yang—the way this guy speaks doesn't sit right with at all.
It's as if lying is ingrained into his very bones.
I scowled and asked him,
"So you can participate too? Like today?"
Kim Han-yang shook his head.
"It's difficult for as well. I really only handled supply, and……. Only people with considerable authority in the Black Market, or those with enormous wealth, can participate."
"Why can't you?"
"I lack the authority. You need at least 3 crescent moons."
Kim Han-yang scratched his head.
I asked him again,
"What's the standard of wealth needed to participate?"
"You'd probably need at least 50 billion won. You'd need to prove your balance, or show an item of equivalent value."
Hmm. ‘Seems like there might be a way.’
"And there's another thod as well."
"What is it?"
"Never mind."
"Tch!"
When I furrowed my brow, he answered imdiately.
"P-participating as a seller! Of course, you'd need to have extraordinary items that the auction house would approve for sale. But that's impossible, so…… I didn't ntion it……."
Kim Han-yang wore a wronged expression.
In a casual, offhand tone, I said to him,
"So then, Kim Han-yang, you don't have much use anymore?"
"Does that an you'll let go……. N-no! Don't tell you're saying that to an you'll—"
"Kim Han-yang, prove your value. Demonstrate to clearly that your survival is worth more than the evil you've committed."
"……!"
"That is your only way to live."
Kim Han-yang was thrown into great turmoil.
Just then.
"Boss!"
Omar ca running with his bag.
‘Ah, I'd forgotten about this one.’
"Are we heading ho? Omar will take you."
"Excuse . Where do you think you're cutting in? I'm the one escorting him."
"Hey! You're dead."
I asked Omar,
"Did you get everything I told you to?"
"Got about a third of it."
Really?
It was a result I hadn't expected.
When I made a surprised expression, Kim Han-yang cut in,
"Wh-what did you get?"
"That's none of your business."
"This bastard……."
A good idea ca to mind.
"Kim Han-yang, Omar."
"Yes."
"Yes! Boss."
"Both of you—go get the things I ntioned."
"Pardon?"
"Yes!"
"Don't fight, get along and get them together. Omar, you converted the gold ingots to cash, right? I'll give you that money plus this cash bag—use that to buy them. If it's not enough, this guy still has money in his account, so withdraw from that."
"Boss Kim Tae-yang!"
"What?"
I looked at Kim Han-yang with cold eyes.
He seed to recall what I'd said to him just monts before, and he lowered his head.
"……Never mind."
"Tomorrow evening, sa ti, let's et here. Kim Han-yang. Give the car keys."
With an expression like the world was crumbling, Kim Han-yang handed the car keys, then scowled at Omar.
"Boss, look—I get all of it, fine. But still, how am I supposed to team up with this Gypsy of all people—"
I handed Kim Han-yang's office pistol to Omar.
"Omar, you're in charge. If this con man tries to run or doesn't listen, shoot him."
"For real?"
Kim Han-yang imdiately protested.
"B-Boss! Murder is illegal!"
"But human trafficking isn't?"
"……."
Kim Han-yang fell silent, and Omar frowned and said,
"Human trafficking? This bastard's truly rotten! A real piece of work!"
Omar took the pistol in hand and imdiately aid it at Kim Han-yang.
"Hey! What do you think you're—"
"You're glaring at the Boss right now?"
Omar pressed the muzzle against Kim Han-yang's forehead and berated him.
"Hey, put that gun down. It's loaded with live rounds, you know."
"Using informal speech now?"
"P-please be careful."
I suppressed a laugh, loaded Omar's and Kim Han-yang's bags into the car, and set off.
The sight of the two of them in the rear-view mirror was a spectacle.
Omar jabbed Kim Han-yang repeatedly, and Kim Han-yang couldn't move a muscle.
【Omar is delighted, saying he's finally getting back at the humiliation he suffered at the K-Factory. 1,000 Happiness】
As soon as I returned to the hotel, I entered the poison herb field.
I couldn't bear to wait to test the newly acquired Green Soul Vessel.
The Green Soul Vessel was sothing I had only ever seen in my past life—I'd never managed to get my hands on it.
It was an item that had been in the second treasure vault of Wunbo Trading House when I visited on the 34th floor.
At the ti, a fight had broken out at Wunbo Trading House, and in the chaos, several items had been destroyed.
It was only after the fact, when I reviewed the records, that I learned the Green Soul Vessel had been among the destroyed items—and how I had beaten myself up over it.
Of course, once I climb to the 35th floor, I might be able to obtain one—but a treasure like the Green Soul Vessel, the more the better.
I filled the Green Soul Vessel to the brim with the clear spring water flowing through the poison herb field.
The Green Soul Vessel holds the energy of Earth.
I figured that leaving it anywhere in the poison herb field would let it absorb spiritual energy to the full.
"In 1 week, I'll have the Green Soul Water."
The Green Soul Vessel, and even the Three-Extres Refining Furnace on top of that.
My body trembled with anticipation at the thought of what extraordinary elixir pills and decoctions would co to be.
* * *
[Republic of Korea]
At the Olympic Main Stadium, where the Super Climber K competition had been held, a single banner was hung.
It was none other than the banner that had been unfurled from the advertisent balloon at the mont Murim Alliance Leader Park Je-hwang claid victory—the very one the Poison Demon had cut down and sent falling.
A group of people hung the banner and had their photos taken.
They had apparently invited journalists in advance, as caras were rolling.
With all eyes gathered—
From among the people, one figure erged wearing a deeply pulled-down hat and a mask.
She removed the hat and mask in front of the caras.
"I-it's Chief Han!"
Chief Han, who had gone into hiding, had returned.
She took the microphone and read aloud what she had prepared.
"Our citizens know very well that the Super Climber K competition was rigged, and that the President and his grandson Park Je-hwang are without qualification!"
Chief Han's voice carried weight.
"An unqualified president and his grandson have mocked and trampled upon the Republic of Korea. Because of their greed, our nation has lost its heroes!"
Her emotions rising, she began to choke up.
"Here, in this place, we, the citizens, cry out. President Park Jae-yeol, step down!"
"Step down!"
"Arrest the unqualified Park Je-hwang!"
"Arrest him!"
The caras flashed incessantly, capturing both those crying out together with her and the banner hung behind them.
Across the banner, a thick red strikethrough had been sprayed in crimson, and golden letters were written over it,
[Winner! Hero of the Republic of Korea, Murim Alliance Leader——The True Hero!]
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