Alien world

Chapter 1694, Section 327: The Black Market of Liberty City

"Then it's up to you, Bean. You'll be in charge of following Mr. Skeleton King."

"Yes, Lord Annan."

Annan watched Skeleton King and Bean walk into the portal. The investigation was no longer a concern, but what about the banquet?
Let's put it on hold for now, and wait for the Benitez family to come again, or...

In the end, Annan decided to proceed with the banquet that evening.

With the Benitez family attacked, they probably won't be able to find time to come to Liberty City again anytime soon, and the old patriarch and the others can't possibly wait in Liberty City for two or three months.

The real problem is that the attack also interrupted the "truth" that Annan desperately needed.

So was it really an accident...?
The immediate priority was to contact the Benitez family and learn about the situation there.

Annan believed that with the Skeleton King's intervention, the truth would inevitably come to light, but distant solutions couldn't quench immediate thirst; he needed to know the situation now.

At this moment, an official suggested in a low voice, "Why don't we go to the black market and ask?"
The black market is a magical place; it exists in any town and is a common occurrence.

Whether it's tax evasion, avoiding official oversight, or secretly engaging in illegal trade and intelligence-gathering activities, there's always a service to meet the demand.

The Montreal Hills have Black Hat Street, and Liberty City is no exception.

Logically speaking, given Annan's influence and control over Liberty City, such an underground organization should not be possible—but here's the problem: the actual controller of the black market is Ingrid, the Minister of Finance of Liberty City.

After all, where there is light, there will also be darkness. Rather than allowing forces of dubious origin to harbor their evil deeds and creating a power vacuum right under our noses, it is better to keep things in our own hands.

Ingrid's approach was to turn a blind eye to minor offenses, while playing the long game for those who broke the law and lured in bigger fish, and turning cunning villains into fertilizer for the Otherworld Tree.

The downside is that the underground black market in Liberty City has lost some of its charm, but the upside is that there's no more double-crossing. You no longer have to worry about bringing your treasures to the black market only to have them stolen and you sold.

Despite its name, the underground black market is actually a market converted from the underground wine cellar where the "Fine Wine Lady" stored her wine. All sorts of goods are sold here, many of which cannot be found outside, such as limited edition models, autographed magic stones, crystal glasses, etc. In addition, there is information selling... as well as a corner called "Annan Reeves Supporters Club".

This place sells items related to Annam: portraits of Annam, models of Annam, things that Annam used...

If Annan were to stumble upon the black market one day, he would surely feel as if he were returning home—he would discover all sorts of little items that he always inexplicably lost.

The bad news is that Annan really did come to the black market, and he was personally led by Ingrid, the "Lord of the Black Market".

The good news is, this place really feels like home.

Wearing a cloak, Annan followed Ingrid closely to an auction hall that had been converted from a storage room.

The auction was ongoing, with many people sitting in the hall, arriving and leaving at any moment. If there was anything distinctive about them… it was that they all concealed their identities.

He's the same way, so it's alright...

As Annan and Ingrid sat down in their empty seats, a woman's voice rang out: "I bet 7 gold nars!"

Then, another woman's voice rang out: "8 gold nars!"

"9 gold coins, I really need it!"

"10 gold nars, I'll lend them to you after I've used them up."

"Deal." The woman stopped bidding, and the deal was struck.

It seemed that the item being auctioned was really important. Annan craned his neck, but unfortunately, the person in front of him blocked most of his view.

"Anyone else bidding?" the auctioneer shouted. When no one responded, he began the countdown.

"Three, two... one, congratulations to this lady for winning the bid for Annan Reeves's socks for 10 gold dollars!"

Annan, who had been watching the spectacle, suddenly became the person involved, his eyes widening: "Mine...?" "There are no fakes at the auction."

Annan suddenly realized that a pair of socks had indeed gone missing a few days ago... and they were right here!

"Those are my favorite socks with little yellow flowers on them!"

There are bad guys in the city lord's mansion...

How could they do this?

"Is there anything wrong?"

Annan's face quickly darkened: "My city lord's mansion is riddled with holes, things are constantly going missing, and you still say such things with such a calm expression. You have absolutely no respect for me..."

"They have paid their taxes."

Annan's icy expression melted away as if it had been exposed to the blazing sun: "Then it's alright, tithe?"

"Ah."

"A little too little..."

"The agreed-upon commercial tax is this much. If the black market tax is too high, people will build their own black markets because they won't make a profit."

"I'm not talking about taxes, it's that the quantity sold is a bit small."

10 gold is indeed a lot, but at the rate I lose things, how many days would it take me to sell 10 gold? If I'm going to sell, I'll sell a big one!
"No, people aren't stupid. Nobody will believe that I can sell a dozen pairs of your socks a day."

The simplest example: Where did all those socks that Annan had worn come from? He couldn't possibly change a pair every hour, could he?

Annan really thought so. If all else failed, he could have Evelyn write a short story for "Voice of Freedom" or "Zhiyin" magazine, something like "Annan Reeves' quirk: he changes his socks every hour." It would be profitable, not shameful at all.

However, Ingrid rejected this idea: "A large backlog of goods will cause commodities to depreciate rapidly, turning a seller's market into a buyer's market. It's like a price war; once prices go down, it's hard for them to come up again."

Annan nodded.

The lady who won the Annamite yellow flower socks for 10 gold nars happily went to collect her prize, and the lady who had previously stepped aside stood up with her.

What are they going to do with their socks? It's hard to guess.

"Today's twelfth lot is a blanket used by Annam."

Annan leaned to the side and asked in a low voice, "Is today's auction my private session?"

"It just happened."

Annan was skeptical, so he craned his neck to look at the blanket the auctioneer was showing. Hmm... it looked familiar... it seemed to be the one Brino Jana had worn a couple of days ago?
"Has the Janna family been facing any difficulties lately?"

"No, they are very popular in the city, and there has been a baby boom in the tribe. Why do you ask that?"

"Just asking..."

In any case, seeing his own things being auctioned off was quite a strange situation... especially since Ingrid was still explaining the rules of the market to him: "Look, it's like this blanket that suddenly appeared in front of you, because your things have already been sold before, and the price is more than half off."

Ingrid's words shattered Annan's dream of self-sufficiency.

"Five gold coins, anyone else bidding? The socks are only two small pairs, but this blanket will give you a complete feeling of being wrapped up—" the auctioneer coaxed enthusiastically.

(End of this chapter)