Survival Game: Call Me an Honest Businessman

"Please make way."

A strange voice sounded from the side.

Li Zhi subconsciously stepped aside, and only after the cloaked treant brushed past her did she see what the outside of the teleportation array looked like.

This is an island.

The island is covered with jagged rocks, forming a flat, arc-shaped area.

It looks like a transportation hub.

There are flying boats and sailboats moored around, as well as various teleportation arrays.

The gold coin-marked teleportation array beneath Li Zhi's feet is one of them.

After exiting the teleportation array, I climbed up the only main road and passed a black tent.

Just then, a merchant wearing a cloak came out, and Li Zhi glanced at him a few more times.

However, her attention was soon drawn to the signpost next to the tent.

The route is clearly marked: Raw materials area, parts area, finished products area, semi-finished products area, customization area, and auction area.

Li Zhi followed the crowd uphill and soon arrived at the nearest raw material area.

It was very quiet inside.

There were hardly any customers; they were all merchants wearing cloaks.

They spoke in low voices, and beneath their cloaks, they seemed to be gesturing something.

She turned her head to look at another path: the parts/semi-finished products/finished products area.

The sounds of hammering and gears turning came from over there.

Most of the customers who came by airship or from other teleportation arrays went that way.

The quiet raw material area is the other extreme.

The noise was almost deafening.

Further up, you'll find the customization and auction areas.

Her main destination today is the raw materials area.

With a clear goal in mind, Li Zhi entered the raw material area, where the smells of metal, oil, charcoal, and wood chips filled his nostrils.

Here, raw materials are piled up like mountains, yet there are clear boundaries.

Customers and merchants selecting raw materials weave through these designated paths.

If someone stops by or selects raw materials, the owner of the materials will appear without them noticing.

They communicated in hushed tones, gesturing under their cloaks, and the transaction was completed.

As Li Zhi was observing silently, a tall, thin figure in a cloak brushed past her and walked to a raw material merchant not far away. The merchant whispered something to her, then pointed to the pile of raw materials and casually picked out a few of the smallest ores.

The tall, thin merchant raised his voice slightly: "I've already said, I want the full weight of green crystal!"

The raw material supplier sneered, "Newbie, you'd better lower your voice, or I'll make sure you can't buy anything in Black Iron Port."

As soon as the raw material supplier finished speaking, all the raw material suppliers looked over.

This includes merchants and customers who are selecting raw materials.

The silent, invisible gaze creates pressure.

The tall, thin businessman's straight back gradually began to hunch inwards.

But soon, he emphasized, "I am a member of the Scaled Clan."

Li Zhi's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he heard the raw material merchant sneer: "Even if a Starborn comes, they still have to abide by the rules of Black Iron Port. Little brat, before you entered Black Iron Port, didn't your elders tell you not to offend the merchants in the raw material area?"

The tall, thin businessman slowly lowered his head.

The raw material merchant snatched the few green crystals from his hand: "Believe me, from now on, no merchant from any raw material area will sell you anything. Get lost, you impolite junior from the Lin Clan."

The raw material area has returned to its previous relaxed and quiet state.

Only the tall, thin businessman stood alone in place.

It seems like she's processing her emotions.

Li Zhi glanced at it once and quickly looked away, but gradually became wary.

If the Wilderness Market is primitive and barbaric, then the raw materials area of ​​Black Iron Harbor is extremely xenophobic.

If you are not familiar with the rules here, you are very likely to suffer a great loss.

She had to find a way among these people in black robes of varying heights and builds to find a middleman who could speak the jargon and explain the rules.

However, when Li Zhi moved from the raw material area to the finished product area, he couldn't find a middleman who seemed reliable.

Two of them were people whose identities she was unsure of, and there was another one she had personally witnessed who brought a new merchant and picked out the green crystal that the tall, thin Scale Clan merchant had previously rejected.

Left with no other choice, Li Zhi had to go to the auction area first.

The auction area is built on the mountaintop.

It is a two-story, octagonal building that looks like it was constructed from transparent crystal.

Sunlight refracts on the sea surface, and the shimmering light is cut into varying shades of blue and green by the crystal surface.

Like a gemstone, it is crystal clear, yet not at all dazzling to the eyes.

The auction area was quite large, not what Li Zhi had imagined. An auctioneer stood on a platform, and people below were bidding against each other.

The auction area was divided into many small auction tables.

The auctioneer is the owner of the goods.

Unlike silent transactions in other areas, here auctioneers are required to introduce their items.

Customers can bid below.

After walking around the auction area, Li Zhi's eyes were opened wide.

She now understood why Beta said that the technology of this world might be far superior to that of Earth.

A crystal the size of a glass bead has the destructive power of an electromagnetic pulse bomb; throwing one can directly paralyze a power system.

If it were paired with a complete set of bronze guns, according to the auctioneer, even Qiyuan would be paralyzed.

Although Li Zhi still didn't know who Qi Yuan was.

Judging from the excitement of the customers holding up their signs, it must be something that's difficult to sell and not very popular.

After watching several auctions, Li Zhi noticed that the way merchants and customers traded was different.

Customers can bid freely, and transactions are conducted using standard currency, but merchants will hold up a black sign each time they bid.

The sign had a picture of a type of currency printed in the center.

It just so happens that this is the currency that Li Zhi saw merchants using when they traded in the raw materials area.

She speculated that the merchants here most likely had their own common currency.

The most likely place to exchange currency is in that inconspicuous little tent at the port.

Having basically figured out some of the rules of Black Iron Port, Li Zhi returned to the port and went into the small tent.

Inside the tent sat a wrinkled dwarf.

She wasn't wearing a cloak, her white hair was sparse, she wore a single mechanical eyeglass, and four prosthetic limbs emerged from behind her as she quickly assembled the parts on the table.

Hearing the noise, without even looking up, he asked, "How much?"

Li Zhi took out one thousand copper coins and placed them on the table.

The dwarf continued assembling the prosthetic limb, his wrinkled hand raising another lens and aiming it at Li Zhi.

The lens extends and retracts like a camera lens, rotating as if it were autofocusing.

Li Zhi, cloaked, remained motionless.

The dwarf asked hoarsely, "Are you exchanging money or looking for a middleman?"

Li Zhifu, moved by a sudden inspiration, cut off half of the pile of copper coins: "Senior, please give me your guidance."

The dwarf's hand holding the lens trembled, and the prosthetic limb, made of assembled parts, also began to shake. Soon after, he burst into loud laughter: "It's been a long time since I've seen such a poor yet so generous newcomer."

She jumped onto the worktable, shoved 500 copper coins into a bag, and then turned around and pulled out five dusty iron pieces from a drawer.

"Here you go, I'll be your middleman today."