Have you had enough, Miss Vampire? It's time to get down to business.

Rachel nodded and said:

"Miles met with 'Mole Paine' this morning and spent two gold coins to find out the location of the local black market."

The so-called "Mole Paine" is an illegal superhuman in Gordon City who is not very powerful but has many connections. He can be regarded as a small local tyrant... This person has another identity, that is, an informant of the Holy Light Church. He usually keeps an eye on the movements of those more dangerous illegal superhumans for the church.

The news that Miles and his crew were looking for "John the Cleanup Man" was revealed to Richard and Rachel by "Mole Paine".

"Then, Miles didn't go directly to the black market. Instead, he spent quite a bit of time wandering the streets of Gordon City. He was quite cautious, suddenly changing direction several times and even disguising himself... If Richard and I hadn't placed a 'surveillance bug' next to him, we might have lost him."

"As expected of a member of 'The Ferryman'."

Captain Ronin narrowed her eyes slightly:

"Oh, yes. I contacted the diocesan headquarters this morning and asked Bishop Helm to help me check the details of those three people.

"What we can confirm at this point is that Miles is a Level 3 Shadow Origin Transcendent. He's been with the Ferryman for three years and is a relatively senior member... As for the other two, there's not much information available. We're probably either new to the Ferryman or helpers Miles brought in from outside the organization."

"The ferryman..."

Rachel fiddled with the ends of her dark green hair, looking a little worried:

"This guy has quite a background. It seems we need to be more cautious... Captain, Richard is the only one keeping an eye on Miles now. I'm a little worried."

"It just so happens that the target Lor and I were tracking is dead. How about we join you and keep an eye on Miles?" Just then, Vivian suggested, "Captain, what do you think?"

…Well said, Vivian!

Lor silently gave her a thumbs up in his heart.

If nothing unexpected happens, Isabella will soon come into contact with Miles, so I'm a little worried... If I join them, it will be much easier to do things secretly later.

"Well, this is indeed safer."

Captain Luo Nina thought for a moment and said with a smile:

"But what I say doesn't count... Don't forget, we all have to follow Captain Joyce's orders today, so we still have to ask him for his opinion on the final arrangements."

Hello.

My dear captain... you have already said that it would be safer to send two more people to follow Miles. Does Senior Joyce dare to object?

Lor complained in his heart.

But then again...

Miles, the "Ferryman" of Tier 3 strength, was indeed a rather dangerous character. Under these circumstances, it was perfectly natural for Captain Roninna to simply relinquish command, even postponing her trip to the Holy City.

But she didn't.

It can be seen that she really trusts Joyce.

18. Sense of Disharmony

In the western district of Gordon City, there is an ordinary underground market.

Many cities have similar facilities, which have the advantage of being warm in winter and cool in summer and not affected by the weather.

However, Gordon City is not a big city, so the area of ​​this underground market is not large, covering only a few hundred square meters, and there are only dozens of shops and stalls.

Although there are many kinds of things sold here, most of them are just daily necessities needed by ordinary people and there is nothing special about them.

...Of course, that's just on the surface.

People who know certain "tricks" can find many special things here.

For example, supernatural materials that should be strictly controlled, dangerous spells and props that should not fall into the hands of ordinary people, as well as certain special knowledge and intelligence... and so on.

That’s right, this is where the “black market” is located.

Such places exist in most cities, and to some extent are tacitly allowed to exist by the "three major sources".

As the saying goes, it is better to open up than to block.

No matter where in the world, many illegal supernatural beings emerge every year. Most of the time, their potential is naturally awakened after coming into contact with supernatural powers.

These guys are not all evil, and now that they have awakened their abilities, they will inevitably have a demand for corresponding resources and knowledge, which cannot be prevented... If the road is blocked too much, it will force some of them to take risks.

It would be better to leave a relatively controllable backdoor for them.

Furthermore, even those within legitimate organizations sometimes had to use gray channels. Therefore, as long as it didn't involve overly dangerous supernatural items or forbidden knowledge, the three major righteous organizations would turn a blind eye to the existence of the black market.

"I want white pepper from the North."

Miles, a member of the Ferryman and a third-level Shadow Origin Transcendent, came to a spice stall and whispered. This was the black market code he had learned from a local illegal Transcendent earlier.

No matter where they are, illegal supernatural beings are always short of money.

Therefore, it is very easy to get information from them, just spending a few gold coins.

"You're joking, sir. How can pepper be grown in the North?" the stall owner said with a smile.

"If pepper from the south is transported north and left in the freezing cold for an entire winter, doesn't it become a product of the north?" Miles said slowly, speaking in code. "The low temperature and dryness make the spice's flavor even more intense."

"Looks like you're a connoisseur." The stall owner smiled knowingly and stood up. "But we don't have the item you want here. You'll need to go to the warehouse... Please follow me."

Miles followed closely behind and came to a secluded and deserted corner on the edge of the underground market.

"What do you want?" the black market merchant went straight to the point.

"Intelligence," Miles replied.

As he spoke, he took out two gold coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the other person's hand.

"You're paying me a confidentiality fee before I even ask a question? You're quite tactful." The black marketeer nodded, his words and expression clearly showing a lot more respect. "Go ahead, what do you want to ask?"

“I want to know two things:

"First, the whereabouts of 'John the Cleaner'. He should be quite famous among the illegal supernaturals in your Gordon City. You must know him.

"Second, has anyone recently heard of or seen the 'Blazing Sun Nova' charm or the item called 'Evil-Avoiding Scarecrow'? If so, when and where did they hear of it?

"Three...Have any vampires appeared in Gordon City recently?"

The reason for asking the last two questions was that Miles' "introducer" had told him a lot about the "Mr. 32" at the tea party.

Mr. No. 32 had purchased several items at the tea party. Among them, the more special ones, which were almost impossible to obtain through regular black market channels, were the "Blazing Sun Nova" talisman and the "Evil-avoiding Scarecrow".

In addition, he also sold information about the vampires to "Ms. No. 8" at the tea party.

For the time being, these are all clues related to John, the Cleanup Man.

“There are still many questions…”

The black market merchant frowned, thought carefully for a moment, and replied:

"As for John the Concierge, as far as I know, no one has seen him in over a month. He's probably either dead or has left Gordon City... If you want to know, I can make a list of people who had dealings with John the Concierge before he disappeared."

As he spoke, he took out a notebook from his pocket, quickly wrote down a few names and addresses, then tore off the entire sheet of paper and handed it to Miles.

"Ah."

The latter glanced at the list and found that most of the people on it were people he had already checked. According to the plan, Della would meet with several of them today.

"As for the second question... uh, 'Blazing Sun Nova', isn't it the fifth-tier divine spell of the Church of Holy Light? That kind of high-end stuff isn't something we little bastards can get our hands on, and I've never heard of anyone having it... 'Evil-Avoiding Scarecrow', I do know. See that fortune teller near the market entrance? He sells it there, but honestly, it's all a scam, completely useless..."

It seems that this black market merchant knows nothing.

Miles remained calm, waiting for him to finish, and then continued to ask:

"So, what about the vampires?"

"I've heard of the vampires... Last month, there was a fire in the city, and a playboy named Victor Monroe was burned to death. He was active at night and had strange behavior. Several people disappeared after attending his dinner parties.

"Some speculate that this person is actually a vampire, but the truth is probably only known by the church... After the fire, the exorcists went to investigate."

"Fire?" Miles pressed. "What day exactly?"

"Uh, I remember..."

The date mentioned by the black market merchant was exactly the day before the last tea party!

Could it be that the information about this vampire clan was sold to "Ms. 8" by John, the cleanup man?

It's possible... Although Victor Monroe died before the tea party, if his body wasn't completely burned, it's still possible to extract the "blood of the True Ancestor" from it. This is most likely the purpose of "Ms. No. 8"'s bounty on the vampire...

But, I always feel a sense of disharmony.

Miles frowned, feeling that he might have overlooked some important possibility... but for a moment, he couldn't figure out what it was.

There is a vague feeling in my heart.

Perhaps I made a serious mistake in this matter.

To be on the safe side, maybe I should reunite with Della and Marcel and review the existing intelligence...

Thinking of this, Miles lowered the brim of his hat, took out a few gold coins again and paid them to the black market merchant.

At the same time he said:

"Thank you for the information... By the way, I want to remind you that these gold coins I gave you are coated with poison. Once in contact, they will seep into your skin. Without an antidote, you will die in three days."

"W-what?!" The black market merchant was dumbfounded, and the gold coins in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

"Don't be nervous. I'll leave this city in three days. Before I go, I'll leave the antidote at your stall... Of course, that assumes I'm safe during this time.

"So you'd better watch your mouth and not tell anyone about me or the questions I just asked you. Pray that I won't be entangled by the church or other forces."

Having said that, Miles turned around and left without looking back, joining the crowd in the market.

Just at this time……

A young girl with elegant manners and light steps walked slowly towards me.

"I have information that might interest you... If you want to know, follow me."

As she passed Miles, she whispered in an almost imperceptible voice.

During the process, she did not stop and did not look at Miles.

"But before that, you must first deal with the 'bugs' released by the church... You are being watched, haven't you noticed, Mr. Ferryman?"

19. The target escaped!

Are these “bugs” released by the church?

Miles appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was already in turmoil.

Who was that girl who just passed by me?

Not only does she know what I'm looking for, she also knows that I'm the "ferryman"... and, from what she said, I've been followed by people from the Holy Light Church?

This shouldn't be the case. I've been very cautious today. If someone was following me, I should have been able to detect it... Unless, the other party is using some extraordinary means to monitor my every move from a considerable distance!

insect……

"Surveillance Bug"?

Miles remembered.

It is said that this is a kind of insect with telepathic abilities, which can transmit its vision to the operator, making it very suitable for tasks such as reconnaissance and surveillance... The queen of these surveillance insects, or the "queen", is controlled and contained in the holy city. Therefore, their entire population can only obey the orders of the church.

Church branches in certain areas are equipped with one or two "surveillance bugs" to be used as a kind of extraordinary prop.

"So, there's a 'surveillance bug' following me right now? The exorcists in this small town are pretty capable, aren't they? They noticed me so quickly and started to be on guard?"

Miles thought.

He remained calm and nonchalant as he continued to move slowly among the crowd in the underground market.

At the same time, he concentrated all his energy and felt the extraordinary power around him... Soon, he caught a trace of extremely weak spiritual power that was difficult to detect unless he actively searched for it.

...It's really a surveillance bug.

Now that we know it, it's easy.

Miles quickly glanced around, confirmed his surroundings, and then the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

The next moment, amid the exclamations of passers-by, his figure suddenly disappeared!

Into the shadows!

As a third-level "Shadow" root transcendent, Miles has the ability to merge with the shadows.

In this relatively dim underground market, the thing that is most abundant is shadows.