novelsite Chapter 051 Black Market
Chapter 051 Black Market
On August 5th, in the year 294 of Genesis, at 11 PM.
Accompanied by a long mechanical siren, the swarm of police drones, which had been hovering 100 meters in the air and slowly patrolling back and forth, descended onto the street on time.
Inside the rope hotel, the parasites knelt on the ground, their upper bodies hanging from ropes.
With my eyes closed, I forced myself to fall asleep as quickly as possible under the flashing red and blue lights.
Lu Chen, who was one of them a few days ago, was one of them.
As for today—Lu Chen thought he would be invited by Yu to stay overnight and spend the night on the floor of the apartment.
Or perhaps he would politely say goodbye to Yu and go to the Rope Hotel to meet Zhao Jie.
But everything that happened today seems to confirm the saying: plans can't keep up with changes.
Lu Chen followed Yu westward from the city gate, passing Yu's apartment along the way, and walked for quite a while.
Finally, just before 23 PM, I arrived at the outside of a huge, unassuming iron gate.
What happened next was completely unexpected by Lu Chen.
In Lu Chen's understanding, the black market should refer to an "unregulated" trading market, or even one that is suspected of being illegal.
However, as the two stood outside the iron gate, a very familiar mechanical voice rang in Lu Chen's ears.
"Scan pupil information."
...
"Scavenger: No. 18-172-9101"
"Recovered: No. 9527"
"Not carrying controlled weapons."
"Approved."
As the mechanical voice finished broadcasting, the iron gate slowly rose from the bottom up.
The two walked inside, and the iron gate slowly descended until it slammed to the ground with a thud, closing completely.
Lu Chen didn't rush inside.
He stopped in place, subconsciously looking at the iron gate behind him, then looked at Yu with a hint of confusion.
Yu took a deep breath, adjusted her mask, and tightened the collar of her trench coat.
Once Lu Chen understood and concealed his face, Yu Cai walked inside while lowering his voice and saying, "The black market also belongs to the City of Time."
"It's not called the 'black market' because it's unregulated or involved in illegal transactions."
"It's because of the black market's opening hours—from 22 PM to 8 AM the next morning."
"It would be more accurate to call it a 'night market' rather than a black market."
As they spoke, the two descended the steps and entered the semi-submerged interior.
Lu Chen's gaze involuntarily turned to look ahead.
—It is a long street.
The street is 5 or 6 meters wide, with 1 meter on each side, and is occupied by two rows of simple stalls.
The goods displayed on the stalls were also incredibly diverse and varied.
There are electronic components whose function is not immediately apparent;
There is a special metal that gleams with an unusual light;
There are various types of medicines available in capsule, tablet, and liquid forms;
There were loose cigarettes and various kinds of alcoholic beverages in glass bottles, with only the bottom left.
Of course, there are also various tools that have been clearly used and show considerable wear and tear—such as ropes, short shovels, and chains.
Lu Chen simply treated it as something novel and did not develop any desire to make a purchase.
They didn't even have the inclination to stop and crouch down to take a look.
It wasn't until we walked nearly a hundred meters that the previously dimly lit street suddenly opened up.
The street stalls that used to line both sides of the street have disappeared.
Instead, rows of shops appeared.
Unlike the groceries sold at street stalls, which are often of mixed quality and variety, the goods in these shops are visibly neat and orderly.
The first shop on the left emitted countless cold glints, and its shelves were filled with all kinds of daggers and short blades.
There were no other goods, only brand new blades.
The first shop on the right sells excavation tools.
—An entrenching tool, a long-handled shovel, and a short hoe.
All of them have black plastic handles, clearly indicating that they were produced in the same factory.
Or perhaps it was a workshop.
...
As you continue walking in, every shop is in a similar condition.
—Sell only the same type of product, or at least the same kind of product.
The flashlight vendors only sell flashlights of various sizes and lengths.
The telescope sellers only offer telescopes of different price points and levels of precision.
The backpack store only had various backpacks on its shelves.
Even items of the same category—such as ropes and chains—would never appear in the same shop.
"Department store?"
Thinking this, Lu Chen continued walking inside.
As the two ventured deeper into the street, the shops on both sides began to display different styles.
—There are shops selling mechanical prosthetics, with shelves full of metal human legs and right arms.
Shops selling "exoskeletons" suspend complex metal devices in mid-air with thin ropes.
Next up was a shop with a Red Cross sign.
"Mechanical prostheses and exoskeletons can be installed or replaced here."
"The surgery is not cheap, and the risks are not low either."
Yu's soft voice reached his ears, causing Lu Chen to subconsciously swallow.
Mechanical prosthetics.
Exoskeleton.
The former will replace the original limb, while the latter will be directly embedded in the flesh!
Coming from the "backward" year of 2025, Lu Chen still found it somewhat difficult to accept such an "advanced" method of body modification.
Further inside, there are more than a dozen shops selling car-related items.
Lu Chen recognized the parts, such as headlights, wheels, forklift discs, and calipers.
What's less familiar are the guardrails with serrated edges and spikes, and the wire mesh railings installed at the windows.
There were also two or three shops that were completely empty inside.
Yu told Lu Chen that these shops sell vehicle repair and modification services.
Once you've arranged a time with them and paid a deposit, they'll bring the necessary tools and components and head directly to the parking lot inside the city gate to repair and modify your vehicle on-site.
...
As you walk to the deepest part of the street, the lights dim slightly.
What came into Lu Chen's view were two rows of heavily guarded weapon shops, with black robots patrolling back and forth.
—They possessed cold weapons, such as machetes, rapiers, composite bows, and composite crossbows.
Of course, there are also firearms, such as guns and bombs.
"Let's take a look at the weapons first."
Upon reaching a shop, Yu finally stopped, whispered something, and then went inside first.
Lu Chen followed closely behind.
Upon entering the store, one sees that the walls throughout the shop are filled with various types of handguns.
They were all handguns.
A large portion of them were revolvers of different models and sizes.
Lu Chen didn't know much about revolvers.
The largest one was visible, measuring over 30 centimeters in length, and its entire body shimmered with a silvery-white light.
The smallest is only half the size of a palm, extremely tiny.
"Someone who came from police academy must have handled a gun before, right?"
When Yu Ru asked this question, Lu Chen slowly nodded.
My gaze then fell to the innermost part of the shop, where several rows of black pistols hung in the middle of the wall.
"I have practiced target shooting with standard firearms."
"Mostly pistols, Type 54, Type 64, Type 77, and Type 92."
"The rifles include the Type 95, the Type 95-1, and the Type 79 submachine gun."
...
"After joining the company, I was assigned a Type 92-G machine."
"I haven't practiced it much, so it's not as smooth as the 77-style or 92-style."
"During a special training session before graduation, I also practiced with the Type 88 sniper rifle, and my results were decent."