Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 316 Subway
Shi Fei looked down at the poster in his hand, with a strange expression on his face. The poster was densely printed with various promotional information:

Fruit Sale! Fresh imported oranges, $8/lb!
Fresh Meat Sale! Premium Beef, $2/lb!
Frozen Vegetables Sale! Mixed Vegetable Packs, $2/Bag!
Toilet paper and laundry detergent are on sale for a limited time! Buy one, get one free!

There are discounts on groceries on Saturday, please come to the store for more details!

Shi Fei looked at the promotional information and felt a little dazed for a moment, as if he was standing in front of a shelf in a supermarket, holding an ordinary promotional leaflet in his hand.

He raised his head and looked at the white man, a smile on his face: "You guys are still doing promotions in the black market?"

The white man shrugged and said, "What black market? This is a free market! How about making money? Not shabby!"

A free market naturally has free prices!

This is his subtext.

The black market adopts marketing strategies to better lock in customers, maintain market liquidity, meet customer needs, and increase black market sales.

Nothing wrong!

Shi Fei returned the promotional flyer to the white man and said, "It's indeed cheaper than the above, but I don't need it now!"

"Then don't cause trouble!" The sturdy white man took the promotional leaflet and said with a slight warning.

"As long as you don't force me to buy or sell, I won't cause any trouble." Shi Fei said neither softly nor harshly.

The burly white man didn't say anything else, just nodded, then sat back at his small table and continued smoking his cigar.

However, his eyes were always fixed on Shi Fei, as if he was secretly observing every move of this stranger.

Shi Fei ignored his gaze and continued to stroll in the black market. He soon discovered that the scale of the black market was much larger than he had imagined.

In addition to the dazzling array of shops, a part of the area has been transformed into a warehouse and logistics center. People who buy a lot can even enjoy door-to-door delivery services. It is really outrageous that the gang has developed to this point.

He originally wanted to buy two pounds of oranges and bring them to George.

After all, if you go out and don’t bring anyone oranges, how can you have the nerve to be someone’s “back view”?
But even on the black market, oranges are very expensive.

It is well known that fresh fruits and vegetables in Goff are more expensive than meat, sometimes several times more expensive. The poor can only afford meat, and it is no joke.

It’s not that Shi Fei couldn’t afford oranges, but George was not worth two kilograms of oranges.

From some people's casual chat, Shi Fei learned that the Black Fin Gang had recently introduced several high-end marketing talents from abroad, which made the black market so prosperous.

These talents not only brought advanced marketing strategies, but also optimized logistics and customer service, making the black market business flourish.

After strolling around, Shi Fei followed the guide signs in the black market and returned to the ground. The arrow-marked signs on the ground were designed to be considerate, as they were designed to prevent people from finding their way out.

I guess those high-end marketing talents must come from a big country in the East, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't have gotten to this point.

After reaching the ground, just as the sky was getting light, Shi Fei saw the Dark Knight in the sky, who disappeared without a trace like a nocturnal animal. With the disappearance of the Dark Knight, the whole city seemed to have been activated and came alive in an instant.

It was only six or seven in the morning, but suddenly countless cars and pedestrians appeared on the streets. The sound of whistles, noise, and footsteps intertwined together, making Goff City quickly bustling.

The bustling scene formed a sharp contrast with the dark, deserted streets just a dozen minutes ago.

Shi Fei was preparing to go back along the street and passed by an abandoned subway entrance. Suddenly, he heard a faint laugh coming from the subway entrance.

The laughter was crazy and hollow, like the whisper of a ghost coming from deep underground, with an unsettling sense of weirdness.

Passersby did not hear the laughter, or if they heard it they pretended not to hear it. Shi Fei listened for a while at the side of the subway entrance and then entered the subway entrance.

The subway system in Goff City began in 1904, initially built in phases by private companies and later by the government-led IND system. In those days, subways were still a new thing, and many people believed that operating subways could make a lot of money.

As a result, subway stations in Goff City sprang up like mushrooms after a rain, with lines crisscrossing like a huge underground spider web.

As time went on, many subway companies went bankrupt due to line adjustments, technological upgrades or insufficient passenger flow, and were unable to recover their costs. They were eventually forced to be acquired by the government and re-plan their lines.

After the replanning, many subway stations were abandoned. For example, only one subway station that was dozens of meters adjacent to each other was kept in use, and the rest were closed and gradually forgotten by people.

These abandoned subway stations are usually located deep underground, with their entrances either blocked or hidden in the corners of the city, making them difficult to find.

They naturally became temporary shelters for homeless people to avoid the cold and rain, and also became gathering places for drug addicts, gang members and marginalized people. Coupled with the huge subway system and limited police patrols, these abandoned areas quickly became "lawless places."

In the eyes of many people, abandoned subway stations are very dangerous. If ordinary people break in, they may be robbed, attacked, or even worse. Unless the people who enter have a fixed route, they can buy and sell some "flour" or other contraband.

As soon as Shi Fei entered the subway entrance, he was hit by a strong smell of feces and urine. Apparently, no one cleaned the place, and there was no public toilet.

There are piles of garbage and excrement everywhere in the corners. After a hundred years of fermentation, the subway station smells like an old and dirty toilet, which is disgusting.

Shi Fei held his breath, frowning slightly, but he did not stop. He followed the crazy laughter and continued to walk deeper.

He first passed through a dark corridor. There was no light in the corridor, only the faint sound of dripping water and the rustling of mice in the distance.

Groups of rats scurried past Shi Fei's feet, as if they were the masters of this place. In the corner of the corridor, someone was curled up, motionless, and it was unclear whether he was asleep or had lost his breath.

Shi Fei did not stop and continued forward. Soon, he came to a subway passage under dim lights.

On one side of the passage is an abandoned subway railway, with rusty rails that look like a forgotten giant snake. On the other side is a narrow walkway with all kinds of graffiti on the walls.

The graffiti was colorful, but full of repression and anger. Some of the graffiti were distorted human faces, some were bloody symbols, and some were scribbled words, such as "freedom", "resistance" and "destruction".

These graffiti were left by people who have nowhere to vent. In the dim light and pungent smell, they exude a suffocating sense of oppression, as if every stroke and every painting is telling of despair and madness.

(End of this chapter)