Chapter 3158

The line of sight turned from the north to the west of the street, a few birds flew across the skyline, and a tall clock tower stood in the gray mist in the distance. The height of this clock tower was not as high as the "Belinder Big Ben" in Moon Bay, but the clock tower itself seemed to be surrounded in the center of the city in this island city.

"Time Wheel City - City Zhong Ta, because of the maintenance of local watchmakers, this clock tower is known as the most standard and punctual clock in the world."

The temperature in the city in the bay was obviously much colder than in Tobesk in the inland. After taking in the city skyline, Xia De tidied up his scarf—the Year-End Festival gift from Yiluna two years ago, and then walked toward the city clock tower with his hands in his pockets:

"A brand-new city, a brand-new adventure, a brand-new journey."

【And a brand-new witch.】

"She" said with a smile, and Xia De didn't refute, but the pendant on his neck didn't heat up.

He didn't have any urgent matters to deal with in this city for the time being, nor did he have any acquaintances from the past to visit, so today, besides familiarizing himself with the environment on the island, the only itinerary was to take a look at the local black market, and the news about the black market was also provided by Silvia.

Because it was far away from the two major kingdoms, the number of sorcerers in the Lagson Principality was relatively large, and the safety of the island and port cities made people who wandered in the gray area feel quite at ease, so the local sorcerer black market was quite prosperous.

The black market Silvia introduced to Xia De was the largest and oldest black market in the local area—the Zhong Ta. The location of this black market was directly under the city clock tower. According to Silvia, she very much suspected that one of the operators of the black market was the local Orthodox Church.

Fatumonster City is located on the coastline in the south of the island. Due to the existence of the snow mountain in the center of the island, it is difficult for the city to expand north and south, so the current city presents a shuttle-shaped flat shape from east to west.

Victoria Street is located in the northeast of the city, and there is a very long distance from here to the clock tower in the city center.

But Xia De was here with the intention of sightseeing today, so he didn't take a carriage, but measured the veins of this strange city with his own legs.

Several rivers originating from the snow mountain on the island run through the city from north to south, but the flow of these rivers is generally not large, so the rivers existing in the city did not divide the urban area into pieces.

Fatumonster City is generally divided into five districts. The dock area in the south of the city was formed due to its geographical location, and the industrial area in the northwest of the city has expanded rapidly in recent years relying on high-quality iron ore.

The remaining three districts of the city are the core urban area and the East City and West City on the two wings. These places are the main activity places for citizens, and when Xia De left the St. Victoria Street located in the East District, he confirmed that the local architecture uses black metal as decoration and decoration means as a city feature, rather than just the style of Victoria Street.

And the meaning of the name "Time Wheel City" also became more obvious after Xia De left the residential block.

All kinds of watch shops were stuffed into almost every street Xia De passed by. On the huge black gears hanging with the signs were engraved the names of "Jimmy's Pocket Watch Shop"; a series of brass-colored gears bit each other and continued to rotate, piecing together the letters of "Old Henry's Clock Shop".

Xia De even saw a pocket watch as tall as a person placed in the window of a shop on the street. The dial of that pocket watch was composed of hundreds of metal pieces, and it would flip inward every hour, and then form a brand-new dial pattern.

Merchants from all over the world came to this island for the exquisite handmade clocks and watches of "Time Wheel City," so although the island was isolated in the bay, there were people from all over the Old Continent in the city.

Now that the Year-End Festival had just passed, it was the season to pick up goods for the New Year. Xia De could be considered to have come to this city when it was busiest, but this also happened to cover up his northern appearance.

Walking and looking, Xia De found that pocket watches seemed to be the standard configuration for every decent person in this city, and pocket watch chains could be seen on almost everyone. He even really walked into a shop on the street, thinking about buying a few beautiful pocket watches to put at home to fill the scene, but then gave up this idea because it made him feel like he had betrayed Adele's pocket watch:

"I'll have to wait until next month to see Adele again."

When he finally arrived at the city center of Fatumonster City, it happened to be lunchtime. Xia De found a restaurant nearby to eat. Before getting the menu, he guessed that most of them were fish meals, and he was not surprised after seeing the menu.

It is still the mid-winter season now. For a city on an island where snow mountains occupy most of the area, fresh meat and vegetables are indeed impossible to be too common.

As for the taste of the Lagson Principality, compared with the many cities in the Karsenrik United Kingdom that Xia De had visited, it was similar but also different. The food here was a bit saltier, but the taste of fish food was also more delicious because of this salty taste.

The local specialty food recommended by the waiter to Xia De was a meal called "Golden Grilled Fish." This slightly expensive "famous dish" was made by the chef cutting a part of these six kinds of fish—cod, flounder, bass, salmon, sea bream, and eel—and then reassembling them into a whole fish before cooking.

It is said that different chefs have different insights into choosing the varieties of fish for cooking.

Xia De ordered this dish out of curiosity, but after this dish appeared in front of him, he very much doubted that the fish on the plate was actually some brand-new variety mutated after being polluted by supernatural power.

The smell of "Golden Grilled Fish" was actually not bad, but its appearance could even be compared with the Karsenrik delicacy "Fish Head Pie." Xia De endured the nausea and tasted a few bites of fish from different parts in the spirit of not wasting, although the chef's craftsmanship was indeed very good, he felt that he would definitely not go to order this kind of "delicacy" again:

"It's no wonder Little Miya doesn't like eating fish... with what kind of mentality did the chef create such a recipe?"

Then he went to think about bringing the cat to taste the taste here next time.

However, the drink called "Deep Algae Tea" provided by the restaurant was quite good. This tea drink was brewed with a small amount of deep-sea blue algae mixed with black tea and pure snow water from the snow mountain, and the color turned light purple after adding lemon juice.

Therefore, it not only tasted like the outsider's taste, but the color was also very much to his liking.

After finishing lunch, Xia De officially headed to the "Zhong Ta Black Market." Although the black market was underground, the entrance was not in the sewer pipe.

According to the information provided by Silvia, Xia De first circled the "Clock Square" between the city clock tower and the city hall to familiarize himself with the environment, then left the square, drilled into the alley behind the clock tower, and found the "Trout Tavern" opened in the alley.

This tavern is located in the core urban area and has three floors, so although it is located in the alley, the business looks quite good.

The third floor of the tavern provides accommodation services, and the other two floors are filled with tables. After entering the door, Xia De walked directly to the counter, knocked on the table board to signal the bartender to look over, and then said:

"Give me a glass of ale, iced with snow mountain water."

"Guest, it's winter now, are you sure you want iced ale?"

"Of course, although I am an outsider, I heard from the locals when I traveled to the foot of the snow mountain a few days ago that you have to drink iced ale in winter to be satisfied."

The bartender then confirmed:

"I am also from a tribe at the foot of the snow mountain. I don't know which one you met?"

This was confirming the introduction relationship after the secret signal was matched, so Xia De said:

"The other party calls himself 'Uncle Quete who guides fate'."

Saying this, he gave 3 Oer coins as a deposit for the first visit, and the bartender nodded:

"That's good, please come this way."

He signaled other bartenders to temporarily take over his position, then led Xia De to the second floor of the tavern, but after turning into a small private room, he came to the garbage alley behind the tavern from the stairs on the side of the tavern.

Two rough-looking men were guarding a warehouse in the alley. Both sides confirmed their identities, and Xia De got another mask. After walking into the warehouse, the trapdoor was opened, and Xia De went down the stairs, soon reaching an open underground circular hall.

Gas lamps illuminated this place, but there was almost no sound of speaking in the hall. The small blackboards hanging on the walls were written with the names of items available for trade in the black market, and about twenty people were standing by the wall checking the contents of those blackboards.

However, Xia De didn't approach the blackboard immediately. The bartender who led the way brought him to the counter on the left side of the entrance and turned to leave. A row of round stools was placed outside the long counter, and at this time, two sorcerers were sitting there talking to the different "bartenders" inside the counter in low voices.

Seeing Xia De also sit down, the man behind the counter who had a Fifth-Ring level and wore a black formal suit received him.

Compared with the black market manager or bartender, this man with a refined mustache and black short hair combed meticulously looked more like a butler of some great noble:

"First time here? The Zhong Ta Black Market is an inverted tower underground. The top floor is the first floor where we are. This place does relic business, the second floor sells books and knowledge, the third floor is alchemy, magic potions, and material trading, and the fourth floor is manpower hiring, capital lending, and event commission."

"The fifth floor only receives important guests. If your transaction frequency here is high enough and your performance is worth trusting, you can become an important guest."

He pointed to the position of the downward stairs:

"Don't disturb others here. If you see something you like, find the manager of each floor to explain. When leaving, just walk the way you came. In addition, the local black market has unified rules, any consignment business is 7 out of 100, and if it is a high-value item, it can be negotiated separately."

These rules are not much different from the black markets in other cities, and the "Zhong Ta Black Market" appears to be a black market that integrates multiple single functionalities, and such a scale of business is impossible without the participation of the church.

Xia De finished listening to the rules, and according to the process of arriving at every brand-new city, he opened his mouth and asked:

"Can I hang long-term commissions? I collect coin-type relics long-term. In addition, if there is stock, I want to buy it now."

?? PS: Seeking votes! Today is the last day of this month!

? I will add more chapters at the beginning of next month. The author is currently looking for a job, revising papers, and preparing for graduation defense, so I won't delay daily updates, but adding more chapters might not be very frequent.

? (End of chapter)