The skeleton-like man's face twitched at Joe's words.
"What? Don’t touch him?"
"Yes."
"Haha… Don’t get ahead of yourself just because you made your name known these days… Mind your business, you’re just in charge of the security of this place, you ain’t Crime Firm director."
"First of all… That's not what I meant. I'm saying that you shouldn't touch that person carelessly."
The skeleton-like man frowned as if he didn't understand.
Joe closed the gap between the skeleton-like man and whispered something in his ears.
Soon, the eyes of the skeleton-like man got bigger and he quickly turned to look at Oliver again.
"…Are… Are you Dave?"
"Yes, I’m Dave Wright."
As Oliver answered, the skeleton-like man beckoned his men to move away and offered a sincere apology with an attitude that was 180 degrees different from what he showed earlier.
"I’m EXTREMELY SORRY, Mr. Dave. I've been on the edge because something unpleasant happened in this market. I'm so sorry."
Oliver responded politely to his polite attitude.
"No, I'm sorry if I caused you any inconvenience."
The skeleton-like man looked at Oliver strangely.
He felt something awkward as if he was looking at an unfamiliar creature.
The skeleton-like man briefly organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.
"…My name is Vinny, a drug dealer. If you need any drugs, please come and see me. Pilgaret, drug potions, cannabis, banned cigarettes, stimulants, painkillers, even rare Eastern opium poppies……"
"Yes, then, can you answer my previous question?"
Oliver asked persistently, thinking that it would be fine this time since they made up.
But that seemed to be Oliver's own illusion.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can tell you about that. We don't know much about the place where they make [Gift], and we're barely making a deal with them… I can't give information carelessly. Because they can cut off the transaction unilaterally if they felt offended."
"Um, then, it can't be helped."
Oliver was disappointed but he quickly accepted it.
There was a seriousness in Vinny's words, and Oliver realized that he didn't want to stir up anyone's livelihood here.
Oliver hoped he would find out soon, but since it wasn't urgent, he decided to take his time.
Vinny advised Oliver as if he knew what Oliver was thinking.
"Just in case, you better not ask at other stores."
Vinny said, pointing to other drugstores.
Like Vinny’s, there were small stores in the form of retail stores, and there were also wholesalers who handled large amounts of products.
The shopkeepers ranged from pale women to fat men to foreigners wearing turbans. There was a dangerous atmosphere altogether.
"They might look kind, but in the back, they're pretty fierce. Everyone is already snarling at each other to secure things, so they are pretty sensitive. So please don't bother them. They might misunderstand like me….. There's a saying, Curiosity killed the cat, right?"
"If I can satisfy my curiosity, does it matter if a cat dies?"
Oliver asked because he was really curious – like a cat to quench his curiosity.
However, as if something was misunderstood, the expressions of some people, including Vinny, hardened awkwardly.
They even felt a little chilling sensation.
There seemed to be something wrong with the flow of the conversation, so Oliver hurriedly concluded.
"Um, I see, anyway. I won't make a fuss."
Vinny nodded.
Then, a man who appeared to be a subordinate whispered in his ear and suddenly Vinny opened his mouth.
"Ah, Mr. Dave. May I call you Mr. Dave?”
"Yes."
"Well, can you tell me why you're investigating [Gift]?"
"Um… As I said earlier, it's a little hard to tell because it's personal."
Vinny shrugged his shoulders.
"…Well, I can sell you one if you want.”
"Didn't you say it was sold out earlier?”
"It did not include my share."
"I see. So, can you sell it?"
Vinny reached deep into his shabby coat and took out the items.
After searching a few times, he took out a cigarette pack.
It was not a ready-made cigarette pack seen in the Joseph Family in the past, but a cigarette pack with its own logo and words like Murphy's magic wine.
‘Um, were they thinking of making a brand?’
"How much is it?"
"Money? Well… It’s fine. I'll give it to you as a present, take this as an apology for my rudeness earlier."
Oliver shook his head.
"No, I made a mistake, so it's okay…. I heard it's 300,000 for one piece. If I consider the shortage of supplies… Would 7 million be enough?”
Oliver asked, forcing a bundle of money out of the mouth of the glutton bag.
Although Vinny tried to refuse, he was compelled to accept the bundle of money when he looked into Oliver's eyes for a moment.
"…Yes."
"Thank you. Thank you for your kindness."
Oliver bowed politely and put Pilgaret [Gift] in his pocket.
It was a painful expenditure now that there was already a lot to buy, but nevertheless, he had no regrets.
It was like a souvenir
"Um, Mr. Joe. Thank you for your help."
Oliver, who finished his business with Vinny, greeted Joe, who accepted his greeting.
“Just call me Joe like you did before. And by the way…”
Joe looked over at Oliver.
"You've changed a lot"
"Changed?"
Oliver looked at himself, wondering what had changed.
"Oh, you mean the clothes. I think that's the same for Joe."
"I just wore it because I had to work here.”
"Work?"
"I was hired as a black market security guard and goods guard for the contamination zone."
"Oh, I see…You’re a member of a fighter crew, is this okay?"
"Fighter Crew is not a tight place, so it doesn't matter….. Are you here to buy drugs?”
"Yes, but I also have something else to buy."
"something else?"
"A big tank, some surgical tools, and a few corpses."
"Corpse?"
"Yes… I heard I can get it at the black market, do they sell it here?”
"……."
Joe looked around in silence.
"Uh, can you wait an hour?”
"An hour? I don't mind, but why?”
"I got used to this place while working as a security guard. I'm leaving work in an hour, so I can help you if you don't mind."
Oliver did not refuse the unexpected kindness.
Except for shops that were under the direct administration of the Crime Firm, most places required bargaining skills, and Oliver thought it would be helpful if Joe was there.
Of course, bargaining was fun, but this time he did not want to take a chance.
There was quite a lot to buy and above all, he did not want to risk it while buying special and important things like corpses.
He wanted to get help if he could.
"I'll take the offer, thanks, Joe.”
"All right, I'll see you here in an hour."
"Um… By the way, can I ask you why you're helping me?”
"…Let's meet again and talk."
Joe answered after remaining silent for a moment, and Oliver agreed.
As time passed, Oliver spent his time exploring the black market.
Located deep underground in a small museum in District R, the black market was not much different from the gray market on the surface – only on the surface.
The black market was more guarded than the gray market, and the atmosphere was somewhat more cautious.
Merchants were like competitors and showed vigilance to the merchants nearby, and there were even some who had hostility.
Nevertheless, nothing much happened because they were conscious of someone – and it seemed like the someone was the Crime Firm.
The decisive difference between Gray Market and Black Market was that the percentage of shops under the direct management of the Crime Firm was higher
Directly managed stores traded more drugs than tenants renting in the black market, and further they also handled raw materials for drugs.
In addition, it also handled personal firearms such as guns, allowing a small number of people such as Solvers and gangsters to visit, adding to the heavy atmosphere of the black market.
Oliver thought it wouldn't be different from the gray market because it was a place with a low ranking among the black markets, but it didn't seem to be the case.
The black market and the gray market were similar, but they had distinct differences.
However, the direct management store was relatively out of Oliver’s interest, so he looked around where the tenants were.
In addition to drugs, they also sold herbs, animal bones, claws, human body parts, and even plant seeds.
Oliver felt the urge to buy some, but he decided to endure it because he had a lot of items to buy.
A large amount of money came in, but nevertheless, he thought he should not waste it carelessly.
This part was especially emphasized by Kent, so it had to be followed.
Although Solvers appeared to be doing well financially, the work wasn't regular and the body was their only source of income, so if that source of income got injured, they would be in serious trouble.
As a result, Oliver planned to save the least amount of money possible.
The hour passed as Oliver looked around like that, and soon Oliver met Joe, who was dressed in a suit that was different from the one that Oliver saw the first time.
"Were you waiting?”
"Yes, you told me to wait for you."
Joe nodded silently and asked.
"What do you want to buy first?"
"Um, a big tank, big enough to lay down a whole barrel or a person. The material should be made of special non-corrosive steel made by William Heavy Industries."
"That's a little hard to get."
What Joe said was true. A tank or barrel capable of laying down a whole person could be obtained if it was searched well in the general market, but it was a separate story if it had to be made from the non-corrosive steel made by William Heavy Industries.
Although not always, corrosion-resistant steel was only used for special industrial or military purposes and was not easy to see in the market.
Even if seen, mostly a pot or a frying pan at best.
Oliver had to make a custom order to get such an item, and in that case, it could attract unnecessary attention.
That was why Oliver looked it up on the black market according to Glyph's diary.
"Well, how about this, Sir? Isn’t this plenty enough?"
Said a merchant who was selling various experimental instruments, containers, and suspicious tools on one side of the market.
What he said was true.
When Oliver tapped it, the material seemed to be a proper object, and it was more than enough in size.
It was high enough to stack three people.
"Yes, I'd like this. The quality is good."
"We pay a lot of attention to quality, Sir. Since Joe brought you here, we paid extra attention. What else do you need, Sir? If you want anything else, it’s best to buy it in a single place, Sir."
The owner of the place asked skillfully, showing his experience in the field.
Oliver also decided that it would be better to buy it here at once, so he started ordering products with relatively low importance.
Abdominal retractor to open the stomach, tongs to take out the intestines, scalpels, saws, hammers, storage bags, deboning machine to remove the bones and flesh, and special welding machine to put the flesh back together.
In addition, he also ordered a large amount of preservative fluid needed for preservative treatment, a coating solution to firmly reinforce bones, and special paints, and powder to customize the appearance of the Corpse doll like a human.
The store owner was enthusiastic enough to stop by the store next door and bought things that were not in the store for Oliver.
Oliver, of course, had to spend a little more money in return, but it wasn't too bad.
Thanks to that, he saved time and energy, so it seemed good enough.
"What? Are they setting up a lab somewhere?"
The person passing by said when he saw Oliver's order.
As expected, Oliver's orders piled up one by one, forming a small mountain.
It costs as much as the size and number of items.
He would have been in big trouble if he hadn't taken Edith Rock's job.
"Here you go."
"Wow… Thank you, Sir."
The shopkeeper exclaimed as he collected the pile of money from Oliver.
The black market was an unconditional cash business, so the store owner skillfully counted the money.
"One, two,. .. Ah! It’s perfect. It's just the right amount."
Said the shopkeeper.
Oliver had already spent a handful of the money he received as a reward, but it was not a waste.
Rather, he was only looking forward to the fact that he could finally make a Corpse doll with this.
"By the way, sir. Can you take all of these? It's a bit expensive here, but we also have a place that delivers things. What do you think? Do you want me to introduce it to you?"
Hearing the shopkeeper's suggestion Oliver politely declined.
"No, thank you. There's a way to take it.”
"You can take it on your own?"
"Yes, Big Mouth."
Oliver said, taking the Big Mouth out of the bare leather case on his waist.
The folded Big Mouth swelled like bread dough as usual.
Like the scene at the Gray Market, all the customers in the Black Market looked this way in unison, surprised to see Big Mouth.
Big Mouth seemed to stand out everywhere.
Oliver personally hated drawing attention, but he couldn't help it, so he pretended not to know and ordered Big Mouth.
"Big Mouth, can you swallow it if you don't mind?"
"Gruuuu….Kku-ku…"
Big Mouth made a sulky sound.
It was like asking if he had been called after a long time just to work, and it folded its arms as if angry, which made it seem more lively for a glutton bag.
Everyone around Oliver, including Knuckle Joe, looked at the figure curiously.
Not wanting to attract any more attention Oliver took out 10,000 to finish the work quickly.
"Sorry for making you work. I'll give you this first, so can't you?"
Big Mouth, who saw the 10,000 tried to reach out but soon pulled back and folded its arms.
It meant it was still angry.
Oliver pulled out some more cash.
"I'll give you another 10,000 after work."
"Gruuuu"
Eventually, the glutton bag seemed relieved of its anger, and it began to eat Oliver's purchase.
It took the big tank vertically like a hot dog and swallowed it, and other items were grabbed in a lump and stuffed into its mouth.
Both [Child] and Big Mouth had a very great appetite, and after slurping 10,000 for dessert, Big Mouth crouched again.
Oliver folded the cloth-like glutton bag and put it back into the leather case.
"Now all I have to do is buy Corpses."
"…you can't buy the corpse right away, you have to order it.”
"Is that so?"
"Corpses are dangerous to handle and difficult to store…. Are you fine with just any corpse?”
Oliver shook his head.
"I want the corpse of a Warlock who specializes in handling corpses, and a corpse with medical knowledge."
"Then, it would cost at least 60 ~ 70 million minimum. That’s the basic price for Professional corpses, no matter how bad they are."
60 million, 70 million.
It was a pretty big sum, and Oliver did not need one, he needed three or five at least.
Then it would easily exceed 300 million roughly, and it was already over budget.
Oliver understood what people meant when they said that money was hard to earn but easy to spend.
He thought maybe he should drastically revise his plan.
"I'll tell you where to order and how to use it, so you can bargain on your own."
"Oh, thank you."
"It's nothing. Follow me."
Joe took the lead again, but before he could move Oliver called him and asked.
"Um, Joe."
"What?"
"Thank you for your help. But I haven't received an answer yet, why are you helping me? Can you tell me?"
Joe thought for a moment and replied.
"…I'd like to ask you a favor, too.”
(To be Continued)
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