I walked through the underground street.
First, I needed to sell the monster corpses I had on me to get some money.
Yes… money.
I had been extremely poor in my previous life, so I wanted to experience what it felt like to be rich in this one.
I stopped in front of one of the shops. The sign above it read: Monster Corpses.
I pushed the door open and went inside.
The interior was a small room. In the corner sat a desk, with a man seated behind it. When I entered, he turned toward me, his eyes sweeping over me from head to toe before he spoke.
"Kid, we don't give out charity here. Go look somewhere else."
Great… now they saw me as a beggar.
I walked toward him, ignoring his harsh words."I'm not here to beg. I want to sell some corpses."
I didn't blame him. As long as I was suppressing my presence, I looked like nothing more than an ordinary young man.
"If you're here to waste my time, I suggest you leave before I kick your ass out of this place."
I rolled my eyes at his words, then removed the storage ring from my finger and tossed it to him."You can take a look inside."
He was still suspicious, but he did as I said. He sent a bit of his essence into the ring and checked its contents.
In the next moment, his expression changed, a hint of surprise flashing across his face."Oh… you're not lying."
I extended my hand toward him."You can give it back now."
The hostility in my voice was clear.
The man complied and returned the ring."Alright, my little friend. Don't be mad about my earlier mistake."
Then he stood up and gestured for me to follow him."Now, let's go evaluate what you've got."
I followed him into a room connected to the office. Unlike the cramped office, this room was extremely spacious—more like a warehouse.
I saw several people dragging massive corpses around, while others were cutting them apart, extracting useful materials before storing them in special containers.
The man pointed to an empty area."You can take them out here."
At his words, I sent my essence into the ring. Five corpses of second-rank monsters appeared in front of us. They were in relatively good condition—I had killed them all in a single strike.
Unfortunately, the ring couldn't hold any more. Otherwise, I would have brought extra.
The man walked among them, inspecting each one carefully. In the end, he stopped in front of a corpse that resembled a giant centipede, about three meters long.
"All second-rank, and in good condition. I won't ask how you obtained them—that would go against black market rules."
He stepped toward me and extended his hand for a handshake."I'll give you forty-five thousand points for the five."
Points were the currency of this world. To make it simpler, one point was roughly equal to one dollar.
I looked at his hand without taking it.
What did he think I was? An idiot?Forty-five thousand for five near-perfect second-rank corpses? Nonsense.
"Seventy-five thousand," I said, looking straight at his face as it stiffened.
"Come on. We both know forty-five thousand is a fair price. I still need to process them before making any profit."
I ignored him and let him keep talking to himself.
When he realized I wasn't listening, he ground his teeth."Fine. Fifty thousand. I added a full five thousand."
"You know, I could just take them and find another place to sell. After all, even top-tier adventurers don't bring in corpses in this kind of condition."
Veins popped out on his forehead.
"Fifty-three thousand… final offer."
"Sixty thousand. I won't accept anything less."
I raised my hand for a handshake, a faintly amused smile on my face.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally shook my hand."Fine. Let's leave them here and head back to the office."
We returned the same way we came.
Did I trick him? Of course not.
Sixty thousand was their real value. He had just tried to squeeze extra profit when he saw me as an inexperienced kid.
Back in the office, he took his seat while I sat in the chair across from him.
"So, do you have a black card, or do you need one?"
Black cards were similar to bank cards, but they only worked within the black market. If you wanted to withdraw the money later, you'd have to go to a specific place to transfer it to a regular bank account.
"No, I don't have one."
"Alright. That'll cost you one thousand points."
I rolled my eyes."Fine."
He took a black card from the drawer, placed it on a scanner connected to the computer, pressed a few buttons, then picked it up and handed it to me.
"Here you go. Fifty-nine thousand points."
I took the card and stood up to leave, but he stopped me before I reached the door.
"Wait a moment."
I looked at him over my shoulder."What?"
"If you head left from here and pass three shops, you'll find a place that sells armor—and clothes, though they're a bit pricey. Nearby, there's also a public bath. You should go take a look."
He said that while gesturing at my miserable state.
I sighed, left the shop, and headed left, following his advice.
"Finally… I'll get some relief."
.....
Hot water enveloped my body as I washed away the dirt and blood. Most of my wounds had already healed completely, without leaving even a trace on my pale skin. That was one of the results of the experiments conducted on me.
Fast healing… perfect healing.
As I relaxed in the hot bath, my thoughts drifted to my next step.
Verifying the name Astroweild.
To do that, I needed an information broker. I had one person in mind, but I didn't know whether he was around at this stage of the story or not.
There was nothing to lose by checking. If he wasn't here, I could always settle for someone else.
.....
After bathing and changing into the clothes I bought—a black shirt, trousers, and dark shoes—that alone cost me 1,500 points… they really squeeze every last point out of you in this place.
I also bought a communication device. It was similar to a phone from my previous life, but far more advanced. Since I purchased it along with contact information registered under another person's name, it cost me 4,000 points.
I sighed as I thought about those numbers. In my previous life, I could live for half a year with that amount. And now… I spent it in an instant.
Things had really changed.
I arrived at another door, opened it, and went inside.
The interior looked like a tavern, but far better than the one on the surface. Many mysterious individuals sat at the tables—some with their heads covered in cloaks, others wearing masks.
They were information brokers.
I walked up to the bartender and asked,"Is Red Eye here?"
I expected the answer to be no.
But contrary to my expectations, he pointed toward a table in the corner."He's over there."
At the table sat a person wrapped in a cloak that covered his entire body, focused on the mug of beer in his hand. I walked over, pulled out the chair across from him, and sat down.
"Red Eye?" I asked.
He lifted his head and looked at me. I saw his lips curl into a smile beneath the hood as he replied in a cheerful tone,
"In the flesh."