There was almost no one on the streets at night, except for two horse-drawn carriages parked in front of the Wisteria Chamber of Commerce store.
Zidi and her group did not go to the auction immediately, but entered the store first.
The magical girl was holding a slate with a large piece of text carved on it. The text was dense and messy, and it obviously required a special codebook to deconstruct it in order to obtain the real information hidden in it.
Zidi checked it three times and after confirming that it was correct, she placed the stone slab in the groove with great solemnity.
This is a column-shaped magical device specially used for communication.
The column is only half a person tall, with a round top and a groove in the center. A rectangular stone slab is placed in it and fits perfectly with the groove.
“Once you take this step, you can’t go back.” Zidi thought in her heart.
The hesitation is only for a moment.
The pearl foam is exhausted and the situation is critical. She must seek help from the Baizhen clan leader and get out of jail as soon as possible!
Zidi used her mind to control the pillar and began to instill mana with all her strength.
The magic device is activated, emitting streams of yellow light.
The brilliance condenses onto the stone slab, and the words on the surface of the stone slab move and turn into a blue stream of light, which is transported from the stone slab to the pillar.
The yellow light of the pillar immediately changed into blue light. The blue light suddenly rushed downwards and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.
"Information transmission...successful!" Zidi exhaled a breath and pushed open the door.
The door was guarded by Dilu dutifully.
Soon, Sandao and the store manager carried a small box and met Zidi.
The small box is filled with gold coins.
This is the money in the store.
With the funds, Zidi and others returned to the carriage.
The horse-drawn carriage was once again running through the dark, deserted streets.
Qiu, who was hidden on the roof, fell silently into the carriage.
The person in charge led Zidi, Dilu, and Sandao into the black market auction house. Not only was the journey smooth, there was also a special box.
Although the Wisteria Chamber of Commerce is dilapidated, it still has a good reputation. Although the person in charge is corrupt, he has strong connections and can enjoy a good life here.
The auction has started for a while, but there is a secret door behind the box, and no one knows that Zidi and others joined in the middle.
After Zidi sat down, a magic bottle was being auctioned.
This hanging bottle looks like it is made of brass. The bottom of the bottle is on top and the mouth of the bottle is downward. Water drops are constantly dripping from the mouth of the bottle.
"This is a fresh water bottle, made of high-grade silver. When left standing, it can absorb and transform the water element in the air, condensing fresh water. If we instill magic power or fill the bottle with water element crystals, we can make it produce a large amount of water.
Fresh water. If you have enough mana, the small hanging bottle can meet the fresh water needs of 200 people for a day. The starting price is 100 gold coins, and each auction price must not be less than 10 gold coins. The auction will begin below!"
As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, someone in the hall quoted: "110 gold."
“120 gold.”
“130 gold.”
“150 gold!”
Someone raised the price to 150 gold coins, and there was silence.
The auctioneer made a final decision and ended the auction.
The fresh water bottle was removed and replaced with an exquisite and compact compass.
“The next lot is a palm compass, silver grade...” The auctioneer spoke at a medium speed and spoke clearly.
Soon, the compass ended the transaction for 140 gold.
Followed by two pieces of silver-level armor, the auctioneer's tone became higher: "Sir, ladies, please pay attention, the magic sail below is as high as gold-level. Please allow me to solemnly introduce - the Feathered Serpent Sail!"
Two black iron level fighters came to the field carrying a large wooden box together.
They opened the wooden box, revealing a sail that was neatly folded in the wooden box and almost filled the wooden box.
The auctioneer went on to describe the area, length and width of the sail in detail, and the atmosphere in the venue became much more lively.
Finally, the Feathered Serpent Sail was sold for 980 gold coins.
When Zi Di saw this, she gradually became aware of it.
Overall, these prices are very reasonable.
Copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins are the main currencies, circulating among various continents, and playing a huge role in large and small trade.
As far as the Shengming Empire is concerned, the basic living expenses of ordinary people per year are between 5,000 and 30,000 copper coins, which is 0.5 to 3 gold coins. The housing prices in big cities are about 10,000 copper coins per square meter, which is 1 gold coin/m2. A barony
The annual income is around 4,800 gold coins.
The purchasing power of gold coins is very powerful.
As for the auction items, most of them are concentrated in the field of navigation. After all, Dull Knife City is a sea city, and the demand for navigation is very huge.
Zidi observed the auction items while listening to the information from the person in charge.
The black market auction is not hosted by one force, but is jointly organized by the city lord's mansion, the two major families and the Bengbu Chamber of Commerce.
The former two form the top level of Dull Knife City, while the latter has a greater background and is one of the six major chambers of commerce in the Shengming Empire.
It is naturally a good thing for Zidi that multiple forces jointly organize it.
Zidi also learned about the records of many auctions in the auction and the historical transaction prices of a large number of lots.
Generally speaking, this black market auction house is mid-range, and the highest grade of the auction item is gold level. Dull Knife City is not a big city after all, and the strongest person is the city lord, a gold level fighter.
From these auction records, Zidi also figured out the financial resources of her main opponents.
Excluding unexpected personnel, her main opponents are the city lord’s palace and people from the two major families.
Zidi’s main goal this time is to buy some alchemy materials to use in making maintainer puppets.
The materials required for the puppet include a lot of mid-range materials. It is difficult to collect enough of these materials in a short time in the market of Dull Knife City, but they can be obtained in one step at the auction.
Through the person in charge, she has already obtained the list of items for this auction. There is only a brief introduction on the list, and the material items are concentrated in the second half.
Zidi was not in a hurry and showed great patience. During the first half, she also repeatedly made quotations through magic devices.
Although she does not have a strong demand for these equipment or magic items, she needs to confuse the audience so that her opponents cannot easily see her shopping tendencies.
"Unexpectedly, there are elders from the Wisteria Chamber of Commerce in the Justice Pirates. No, even if they are not elders, they can get the Elder Token, which shows that the relationship between the two is not shallow." Captain Sea Dog also sneaked in. He
After moving out and cutting off Major General Qiao's name, he also got a box.
Because Zidi quoted prices at will and took the initiative to get involved in many auctions, Captain Sea Dog could not judge anything for a while and could only continue to observe quietly.
The first half of the auction ended quickly.
This kind of black market auction occurs at least once a month.
Entering the intermission period, people in the venue were whispering to each other. Some were talking about the auction items, some were reminiscing about old times and building relationships, and some were raising funds.
At the beginning of the second half, something unexpected happened.
The auctioneer announced: "Dear friends, please pay attention. Next, I will display a special item. This is a gold-level magic scroll, whose full name is the Alchemy Scroll of Ship Spirit Repair! Friends may not know much about this, so I
Let me introduce the origin of this item in detail.”
“The person who made it is not ordinary...”
With the auctioneer’s explanation, everyone’s attention was attracted.
Zidi was quite surprised: "It's actually the Ship Spirit Repair Scroll? It's still made by Tucker, it's unmistakable, it's exactly the same."
Captain Sea Dog snorted coldly: "This kind of scroll is specially supplied to the navy and the secret espionage department, but it will leak out, hateful empire worm!"
Tucker has signed a strict contract with the Empire and will not sell the goods to two companies.
The flow of such important war preparation materials to the external market is most likely due to corruption and secret operations by imperial personnel.
“The starting bid for this lot is 1,000 gold, and each increase in price is at least 50 gold. Now, the auction begins!” After a long narrative, the auctioneer announced the official auction.
There was silence for a short while before someone quoted: "1050 gold coins."
Soon, quotes came one after another, and the price was raised to 1350 gold.
Zidi also quoted a price, and she frowned at this moment.
She really wanted to get this alchemy scroll, but the funds at hand were limited, the main purpose had not been achieved, and she was already under pressure.
“1500 gold!” After a moment of hesitation, Zidi made the offer.
“Wisteria Chamber of Commerce bids 1,500 gold!” The auctioneer was stimulated and raised his voice.
Captain Sea Dog was surprised: "The Justice Pirates have such strong financial resources? During the day, they exchanged a ship spirit repair scroll from the empire, and now they want to buy another one. It seems that there is a ship spirit that really needs to be repaired!"
Zidi suddenly increased the price by 150 gold, which frightened everyone present.
On the one hand, although the scroll is gold-level, it is a one-time consumable, and 1500 gold is high enough. On the other hand, not everyone has a ship spirit, and even if there is a ship spirit, it may not be damaged. Chapter 2
In three aspects, the Ship Spirit Repair Scroll appeared in the market for the first time, and people still did not have a clear positioning and understanding of its value.
“1500 gold for the first time, 1500 gold for the second time.” The auctioneer started counting down.
Zidi’s heartbeat couldn’t help but accelerate slightly.
Ship Spirit Repair Scroll is of great benefit to the Justice Pirates. Zidi knows very well that 1,500 gold coins is a big profit!
"1500 gold coins for third place..." The auctioneer just raised the hammer when his eyes suddenly lit up, "The City Lord's Mansion bids 1550 gold coins!"
Zidi's complexion changed, and she immediately increased the price: "1,600 gold."
The city lord’s mansion followed the price again: “1650 gold.”
Zidi gritted her teeth: "1800 gold."
There was a wave of noise in the field.
The city lord's mansion followed the price again, with a tough attitude: "2000 gold!"
The person in charge changed his color and couldn't help but remind him: "Sir Elder, the other party is the chief steward of the City Lord's Mansion."
Zidi slightly clenched her fists and said in a hesitant tone: "2050 gold."
There was a burst of contemptuous laughter from the private room of the City Lord's Mansion: "2200 gold!"
The price is very high.
The hall was noisy and everyone was talking.
Normally, a gold-level weapon only costs about 1,600 gold.
An alchemy scroll can only be used once, and it is auctioned for 2,200 gold, which is very high. Unless there is a strong demand, it is obviously not cost-effective.
Zidi chose to give up.
She ordered the person in charge: "Check, who is selling this scroll? I would like to purchase it, and the price can be negotiated."
The person in charge wiped the sweat from his forehead and immediately exited the box.
At the same time, in another box, Captain Sea Dog sneered: "The City Lord's Palace bought it? Haha, do you dare to buy this kind of armament?"
Immediately, he made up his mind to report the matter.
The nature of this matter is so serious that even a gold-level city lord cannot handle it. He must spit out this alchemy scroll obediently.
But it is more difficult to check the source.
After all, one of the six major chambers of commerce is behind the black market.