Chapter 206: Melar

"Not here?"

In the empty alley, Yun Mu looked around with a hint of surprise.

In the memories of her predecessor, this place should have been guarded at all times.

As long as one spoke the password to them, one could be led into the Black Market.

Yet at this moment, there was not a single person here.

"What is it?"

Seeing her stop, Dunn turned his face, covered by a Grey Iron Mask, toward her.

"They're gone."

Yun Mu turned to look at Dunn and explained the reason for her stopping.

"I see, is this the place?"

Dunn walked casually through the alley, his eyes hidden beneath the Mask seemingly searching for something.

Soon, he stopped and locked his gaze on a corner of the alley.

"Look here."

Dunn called Yun Mu over and pointed with his finger to the spot he had just been looking at.

There, in the Shadow of the alley wall corner, was a pattern of a Gold Frost Coin carved by a Blade.

"This should be the pattern for the Black Market, right?" Looking at the slightly surprised Yun Mu, Dunn asked her casually.

"This, I'm not entirely sure... but it probably is," Yun Mu said with some uncertainty.

After all, her predecessor had only visited the Black Market a few times and could not be considered a regular; she really didn't know about the Black Market's patterns.

"It doesn't matter; whether it is or not, we'll know once we test it."

Dunn looked at the dust-covered rag in the corner below the pattern, and without minding the dirt, he flipped it away in one motion.

The scene of dust scattering that she had imagined did not occur; after the rag was lifted, a dark brown wooden trapdoor appeared before the two of them.

"It seems this is the place, alright."

"Let's go."

Dunn gripped the handle on the trapdoor and pulled upward, revealing a stairwell leading to the lower level from behind the trapdoor.

Not locked? Yun Mu followed behind Dunn, lost in thought.

They descended the stairs, and in the stairwell passage, Yun Mu looked at the walls on both sides with some surprise: "There's actually another entrance here; I didn't even know."

When her predecessor first entered the Black Market, she did not take this route.

No, rather, every time she entered the Black Market, the route taken was completely different.

Those guides, while not resorting to blindfolding people, would deliberately circle around randomly within a certain area.

This resulted in her predecessor having no idea where the entrance to the Black Market was, even after having been there a few times.

She only knew to meet the Black Market people here, say the password, and be led to the Black Market.

"Nothing to be surprised about."

Dunn walked in front of her, looking like an experienced hand.

"No matter which city it is in, the Black Market generally has many entrances."

"The places provided for newcomers to enter and exit are certainly different from those for regulars."

"Since those people used to guard here, it means there should be an entrance here as well."

"Then—"

"Heh, wanting to ask why they aren't here right now?" Before Yun Mu could finish, Dunn chuckled first and said, "Because the Black Market has many entrances."

"Usually, to avoid being wiped out in one go, they choose to open only a portion of the entrances at a time and rotate them irregularly."

"That's about how it is."

Pausing, Dunn continued: "However, regular rotation doesn't mean the original entrances are sealed off; behavior like leaving a mark specifically for regulars, just like that one, is still quite common."

"Is that why the trapdoor wasn't locked?" Yun Mu realized suddenly.

"But, Mr. Dunn, aren't you from the Church? Why are you so familiar with this?" She looked at him with some curiosity.

And she didn't know if it was her imagination, but she felt this person seemed quite enthusiastic.

It was not like the cold, icy demeanor he had when they first met.

Could he be a closet extrovert? Yun Mu thought to herself, slightly critical.

"You aren't thinking of something rude, are you... Never mind."

Shaking his head, Dunn explained to her: "It's just due to work reasons that I often deal with these types of people; it doesn't really count as being that familiar."

"Before entering the Black Market, put this on first."

Dunn took out a Grey Iron Mask of the same style as the one on his face from somewhere and handed it to Yun Mu.

"This is?"

Taking the Mask from his hand, Yun Mu didn't think too much and put it directly on her face.

"This is a Mask I made myself; combined with the ability of a Faceless One, it can accomplish many things," Dunn explained to her casually.

"For example, like this."

He snapped his fingers, and Yun Mu immediately felt the Mask on her face constantly changing, as if it were adapting to her size.

Soon, as if it had been custom-made for her, this Grey Iron Mask fit her face perfectly.

"Besides this, it also has the function of changing one's face, though that won't be needed for the time being on the upcoming journey."

"After all, in the Black Market, those who expose their true faces casually are even more suspicious."

"Let's go."

Dunn led Yun Mu to continue downward, and soon, a wooden door wrapped in sheet metal appeared before the two of them.

"Clang, clang, clang."

Dunn used his hand to grasp the iron ring above the door, lightly knocking twice on the small window of the wooden door.

After waiting for a brief moment, a low male voice sounded from behind the door.

"Silver light."

"Blooming in the golden and silver cup amidst the moonlight." Yun Mu immediately followed up with the code.

"."

"That is the old version of the code, but I will still count it as you passing."

The small window above the wooden door opened, and an eye silently observed the two people from behind the door.

After about two or three seconds, "The two of you, please come in."

Creak.

The wooden door was pulled open from behind, and a man wearing a black robe and an eyepatch over one eye looked at the two with a slightly vigilant expression.

"The new version of the code is, silver light, shining upon the moonlight on the lake, remember it." The man looked at Yun Mu and said in a low tone.

He placed his hand on the gun handle at his waist, looking like he could draw his gun and shoot at any moment, and warned the two: "Although you might be acquaintances, I will state this in advance: do not cause trouble here."

"That is all, hurry and go in."

Moving his hand away from the pistol's grip, the man urged the two with an impatient look.

"Wait a moment."

Dunn suddenly spoke at this time, and he was seen taking two Gold Frost Coins from his bosom and placing them into the man's hand.

"I would like to ask, do you know where in the Black Market one can process an Identity Card?" "The kind that can be obtained today, preferably."

"."

The man looked at Dunn in silence, just when Yun Mu thought the other party was going to refuse.

"Processing an Identity Card?"

"This business is not easy to do."

Calmly putting away the two Gold Frost Coins, the man took a cigarette from his bosom and silently lit it.

"After going in, keep walking straight, and after reaching the end, there is an entrance to the sewer on the right; crawl in and find a guy there called One-Eared Rat, he can process an Identity Card for you."

Pausing, the man felt the texture of the Gold Frost Coins in his pocket with his fingers and added: "Tell him that One-Eyed Cat recommended you."

Good grief, One-Eyed Cat, One-Eared Rat, what kind of strange nicknames are these, Yun Mu complained in her heart.

The two left the entrance where they had entered the Black Market, and then followed One-Eyed Cat's instructions, walking straight along the road.

There were many people in the Black Market; just while entering the Black Market, Yun Mu saw nearly thirty or more people on the small path before her eyes.

However, everyone was hiding their faces, so no one could see anyone else's appearance.

One could only roughly judge their gender and build.

But in fact, this was already enough to observe a lot of information.

"There are so many Supernaturals."

While walking forward, Yun Mu used her Blood Perception ability to investigate the flow of people within the Black Market.

On average, for about every five people, there appeared to be one who was a Supernatural.

However, most were not of a high rank; the vast majority were Apprentices, while those of Elite level were few and far between.

As for Experts and Masters above that, one could not even find a shadow of them.

Thinking about it, it made sense; if Experts and Masters were that common, the Supernatural Guard of Frostfall City would not have only Leinuode as a Third-tier Expert professional.

The things those people were selling... Yun Mu activated her Appraisal Eye, taking advantage of the time spent walking to casually glance at the stalls on both sides of the road.

Do not misunderstand, she was not trying to pick up bargains like the protagonists in various novels, she was just looking around casually.

After all, truly good things are generally not sold here.

The plots in novels are, in the end, just novels.

The reality of the situation is often... 【Old Demon-Slaying Blade】

【A pile of meaningless trash】

【Coins disguised as antiques】

【An erotic novel that makes one blush】

【Black silk stockings said to have been worn by a Church nun】

Hey wait, did something strange get mixed in?

"We're here."

Walking to the end of this road, the two looked at the ground on the right side.

Sure enough, there was a manhole cover leading to the sewer there.

The surroundings seemed to have no one around... Yun Mu skillfully flipped open the manhole cover and quickly slid down along the ladder.

"It seems this Miss Yun is also not simple," Dunn thought to himself with a sigh upon seeing her skillful manner.

Crawling into the sewer along the ladder, he casually moved the manhole cover above his head back to its original position.

"Welcome, two guests who do not take the usual path."

In the sewer, inside a room that had clearly been renovated, a middle-aged man missing his left ear, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, spoke to Yun Mu and Dunn in a tone that could not be considered very good.

And besides this man, there was another guest in the room whom Yun Mu had not expected.

That was a Young Girl with long black hair just like her; the other party was wearing a wooden cat mask on her face, dressed in a set of light leather armor convenient for movement, plus a plush coat for warmth.

Most importantly, in the other party's blood, there was a scent she was very familiar with—the Scarlet Curse! Yun Mu wanted to tell Dunn about this discovery, but the two were in the room at the moment, so it was not easy to speak.

Therefore, she could only temporarily pretend that nothing had happened and keep this matter in her heart.

"Let's observe first and see what she came here to do," Yun Mu thought in her heart.

"Are you One-Eared Rat?" Dunn had by now arrived in front of the middle-aged man, sitting on the chair in front of the room's counter with a very familiar air as he spoke.

"Who recommended you come here?" The middle-aged man did not answer Dunn's question, but instead asked him in return.

"It was One-Eyed Cat who recommended we come here; he said you could handle Identity Cards here." Dunn answered without any hesitation, and pulled a money bag filled with Gold Frost Coins from his bosom, placing it on the tabletop.

"Money is not an issue."

"It's just that we need them urgently, the sooner the better."

"."

The middle-aged man looked at the money bag on the table, his gaze instantly becoming much softer, and he said: "Two hours; I can provide you with Identity Cards that even the Guards won't be able to find any issues with, along with background information."

"Whatever requirements you have, you can put them forward to me."

"Very good!" Dunn nodded with satisfaction; seeing that he was about to discuss the various details of the identities with the other party, Yun Mu hurriedly reached out and tugged at the corner of his clothes.

"Hm?" Dunn looked at her with some confusion.

"Regarding the details of the identities, we need to discuss them; could you wait a moment?" Ignoring Dunn's confused expression, Yun Mu looked at the middle-aged man with only one ear and said.

"Of course, no problem." The middle-aged man agreed readily.

Although that was what he said, he still silently put away the money bag that had been placed on the table.

We aren't planning on running away, are we... Yun Mu thought, feeling somewhat speechless.

She tugged at Dunn and ran to the corner of the room.

Before she could speak, Dunn took the initiative to snap his fingers.

"Now no one will be able to eavesdrop on our conversation."

"So, is there something you stopped me for?" He looked at Yun Mu and asked.

"That Young Girl has the aura of the Scarlet Curse on her," Yun Mu explained to Dunn.

She did not look at the other party, nor did she use her hand to point; after all, although Dunn said no one could eavesdrop on their conversation, she figured their actions could still be observed.

To guard against any potential alertness, it was better for her to be careful.

"Scarlet Curse, I see..."

"It seems the plan will have to be slightly altered." After hearing Yun Mu's explanation, Dunn muttered in a low voice.

"I will continue to talk business with that boss; you help me keep an eye on that Young Girl. Although doing this doesn't fit a gentleman's behavior at all, I hope that if the other party leaves halfway through, you can quietly follow her?"

"I have no problem with that." Without too much hesitation, Yun Mu immediately nodded and agreed.

"Very good."

Pausing, Dunn instructed: "Don't be careless. Although the other party is only an Apprentice-rank Transcendental, it involves the Scarlet Curse after all, so it is better to be cautious."

"If any accidents occur, retreat immediately; your life is more important than the clue."

"Mm, I know."

Yun Mu nodded, then used her Eye of Appraisal to look at that Young Girl.

【Meilaer】

PS: This Meilaer appeared once in the previous text.

Uh, although I guess most people have forgotten her.

(End of chapter)