Chapter 137:


    Chapter 137


    The ck market, or the dark market.


    It is a term that refers to a ce where goods that are not permitted by the state and vite thew are bought and sold.


    The collectors’ business is huge.


    All kinds of things that do not exist in the worlde out of the worlds of thought, so naturally the market grew bigger.


    And naturally, the market could not contain all the by-products of the worlds of thought.


    The stronger the light, the darker the shadow it casts.


    The surplus goods from the worlds of thought that flowed out beyond the boundaries of thew increased as time passed.


    The result of people from the underworld who eyed them and reached out one by one to form a system was the current ck market.


    The collector ck market was, in a way, another collector business that had thergest stake in the world.


    The ck market was not visible to ordinary citizens, but in fact, it existed everywhere in any country.


    That was also true for Korea, which had good public order.


    “You’re going there now?”


    “Yes. I have something to deal with there starting today.”


    “What exactly is it?”


    “Information.”


    Kwon Jia frowned at the word information.


    “I was going to ignore it as much as possible, but I changed my mind after seeing that congressmane and say something today.”


    Yu-hyun’s goal was to prevent the end of the earth as a priority. Naturally, he had to sh with someone in order to achieve that goal.


    Usually, that target was a n. Or it could be a scavenger who was after Yu-hyun.


    “It’s a different story if people who are trying to interfere with us are not collectors but other bastards.”


    There was nothing more annoying than having troublemakers pop out from ces he didn’t care about.


    He had enough things to worry about already, but he hated it when weird people stuck to him.


    Kwon Jia nodded in agreement with Yu-hyun’s words.


    “Indeed, we might be in trouble if someone tries to interfere with us from an unexpected ce.”


    “Yes. I’m trying to get information to prevent that.”


    Even after the era of world integration, information was still power.


    The ck market sold all kinds of things. From things that were not allowed byw to things that others shunned, the range of goods was much more diverse than the market in the daylight.


    Especially, the information sold by the [Story Merchants] of the ck market was famous in the underworld for its uracy that rivaled the special agencies of the government.


    They had collectors with special abilities and multinational hacker groups, so what else could they do?


    What Yu-hyun was aiming for was also information.


    “But why do you have to go to the ck market? Can’t you get information elsewhere?”


    “That’s also a way, but there’s a drawback that someone might be tracking us from behind.”


    Yu-hyun wanted to prevent that from happening in advance.


    Meeting a story merchant in the ck market was surely a hassle, but it was a decision based on a more rational reason in the end.


    “So you asked me to guide you to the ck market.”


    “I know roughly where the ck market is, but I don’t know how to get there.”


    He could find out by kicking someone who knew, but that would take a lot of time and effort.


    Besides, there was a possibility of shing with the ck market side in the process.


    Yu-hyun knew of the existence of the ck market, but he didn’t know how to get there.


    After the apocalypse, they also became corrupted and scattered into small groups.


    He only had some conversations with people rted to that industry who he met by chance.


    “You must know, Ms. Jia. You’ve been there before, right?”


    “…Yeah. I’ve been there a lot.”


    “So please guide me. It’s all for our sake.


    “I know. Sigh. There’s no choice. Follow me.”


    Kwon Jia led Yu-hyun to a dark alleyway where no one could see them.


    “But, what exactly are you nning to do there? Are you just going to get some information?”


    “I’m trying to make a connection. It would be convenient to have someone who can provide me with regr information.”


    “Hmm. That’s a good idea. But I don’t know if there’s anyone trustworthy there. From what I know, the guys inside are either crazy or backstabbers.”


    “Well, I guess so. They’re living off illegal activities, so I don’t expect them to be reliable.”


    Of course, there were some who moved ording to trust. But that was a very rare case, and even then, they demanded a very high price.


    If it didn’t work out, he would have to choose from those verified people, but that was a risky thing.


    “This is the entrance.”


    “It looks like a cozy bar.”


    Inside the alleyway, there was a small pub with a dim light on.


    As they entered, the pub owner who was wiping a ss saw them and opened his mouth.


    “We’re not open yet.”


    “Buy us two sses of the fourth most expensive drink in the store.”


    “Oh, you’re those customers. Go over there. The password today is 2380.”


    “Alright.”


    Kwon Jia casually said and the owner pointed to a shabby door on one side.


    As they entered, there was another door inside.


    It was a very sturdy-looking metal door, different in quality from the shabby door they came in.


    Kwon Jia entered the password that the pub owner told him.


    Beep.


    As soon as he entered through the open door, Yu-hyun felt something brush past his body.


    Kwon Jia felt the same.


    “This is some kind of story that distorts space,” she said.


    “Yeah. It’s a creature that exists in the form of an ‘urban legend’.”


    The open door led to a spiral staircase that seemed to have no end.


    It was clean, without any rust, as if it had been well maintained.


    Yu-hyun and Kwon Jia went down. Despite the stairs looking quite long, they reached the bottom in five minutes.


    “This is it.”


    “I see.”


    At the end of the stairs, guided by Kwon Jia, there was a city filled with darkness and fog.


    Red and yellow fluorescent lights illuminated the whole city.


    People of all kinds, hiding their identities, bustled around among the small buildings that had no standard shape.


    “Cheapest price! Bottles with [Recovery Stories]!”


    “Selling [Red me Window Method] from another dimension!”


    “Buying text points! Best price! Check today’s rate!”


    People who set up stalls or hawked outside their shops shouted until their throats were sore.


    The market in the darkness was lively, contrary to its environment.


    Most people wore masks that had been specially treated.


    Those who came here were mostlywbreakers, so they deliberately hid their identities.


    Yu-hyun put on the sses he had prepared in advance.


    Kwon Jia also wore sses.


    It didn’t matter if they didn’t have masks, as long as they had some way to conceal their identities.


    To openly announce that they had entered this ce was no different from offering their necks to the hyenas.


    “Now that we’re inside, it’s easy. I’ll guide you from now on.”


    “Alright.”


    The two went deeper into the ck market.


    Yu-hyun looked around carefully as he walked, picking up information.


    He also kept his ears open, in case he could catch any rumors that might slip by.


    “I’ve only heard about it, but this is my first time actuallying here.”


    Yu-hyun was amazed by the fact that he was standing in this ck market.


    The ck market was a city.


    It was a separate world created by various [urban legends] gathering together.


    He wondered how people could think of doing business in such a ce. He thought humans were amazing.


    “I wonder what other countries are like.”


    “They’re nothing special. You’ll be disappointed if you expect too much. The ck market in Korea is much more developed than other countries. Of course, sometimes some ghostly thingse out.”


    “That’s scary.”


    In countries withrgend masses, the ck markets were not one but scattered. But Korea was small, so one ck market was enough.


    That’s why the ck market in Korea was muchrger than other countries.


    “Here we are.”


    The ce they arrived at was an area where story merchants who mainly sold information stayed.


    Unlike the messy appearance of the ck market that was made of rags, the inside was neatly divided into sections where goods were sold by category.


    The ce Yu-hyun came to was an area where those who mainly sold information showed up.


    It was called ‘Story Bundle’.


    “Wee. You’re not ordinary customers, are you?”


    As soon as they entered the shop, the owner, a story merchant, said that after seeing Yu-hyun and Kwon Jia.


    He couldn’t see their faces, but he could tell from their aura that they were not novices.


    Yu-hyun and Kwon Jia were acting as rich customers and their secretary. The owner asked Yu-hyun:


    “So, what kind of story do you want?”


    “I don’t have anything specific in mind. I just need something that can help me understand the current situation easily.”


    Yu-hyun spoke casually.


    The story merchant didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t expect much courtesy from the customers in this business.


    “Hmm. Well, that’s easy. The categories are already set, so you just have to look for yourself.”


    “Let me see.”


    “Please wait a moment.”


    The story merchant went to one side of the room and came back with arge album-like thing.


    “This has the information you are looking for. Just keep in mind that this is only a sample of the actual information, so it’s very limited.”


    “I see.”


    Yu-hyun opened the album and looked inside.


    The data was organized by time periods, since the categories were fixed.


    He didn’t need to dig into the past, so he focused on the most recent parts.


    Inside, there were brief descriptions of the basic situations of the events that happened recently, arranged neatly.


    “Hmm. This is interesting.”


    [What is this? The information is too scarce, even for a sample.]


    Baekryeon, who was watching quietly, couldn’t help but ask.


    ‘This is just a taste, like I said.’


    [A taste?]


    ‘Yeah. Think about it. If they give away all the information here, then people could just look at this and take it without buying anything. The taste prevents that. It only shows a glimpse of the information that the customer is looking for.’


    [Ah, I see. So it also increases the reliability of the information and makes them want more?]


    ‘Exactly.’


    There were many cases where fake information was sold as real in the ck market. It wouldn’t matter if they didn’t get caught, but they did and caused a lot of trouble.


    It wasn’t good for the illegal ck market to have idents like that often.


    So the story merchants agreed to introduce this method of ‘taste’.


    And since most of the information was shared among the merchants, it was almost like one giantpany running multiple shops.


    [So you’re going to pick a few from the taste?]


    ‘No way. Why would I do that? That’s a waste of money.’


    Yu-hyun smiled slyly. Baekryeon was confused and asked.


    [But you came here to buy information. Isn’t it natural to spend money then? Or are you going to use points instead?]


    ‘I don’t need to do that.’


    Yu-hyun read all the ‘taste’ information from the most recent data through the album.


    Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to find what they wanted with such basic information.


    They had to pay to get more detailed content.


    But Yu-hyun was different.


    [Lace’s Devil Fragment]


    The power of Lace that Yu-hyun possessed was activated.


    A cheat-like power that could analyze and develop any basic information given to him and make him know things that others didn’t.


    In Yu-hyun’s head, the ‘taste’ information was instantly restructured and transformed intoplete information.


    Like an old relic fragment that was restored as if time was reversed from its point.


    “Sir, how is it?”


    “Hmm. It’s not what I expected. I couldn’t find what I was looking for.”


    “Is that so?”


    Yu-hyun got up from his seat. Kwon Jia stood by his side, as if to assist him.


    “Come back next time.”


    “Yes. Have a nice day.”


    The owner didn’t seem to regret it. He didn’t know that Yu-hyun had figured out the rest of the information with just the samples.


    Even if he did, he wouldn’t believe it easily. How could anyone do that?


    Yu-hyun knew that, so he used his power and got the information he needed for free.


    [Wow. You are really…]


    Baekryeon muttered in awe.


    He had seen Yu-hyun’s feats many times before, but he always surprised him with new ways.


    [Is that guy for real? He got robbed blind and he doesn’t even know it? What a jerk.]


    ‘No. What do you mean jerk? Did I harm him in any way?’


    [You saw it for free!]


    ‘That’s obvious. It’s weird not to see it when you can. This ce is illegal anyway, what difference does it make if I do the same?’


    […Well, I guess so? After all, you’re ripping off criminals.]


    Anyway, he got all the information he needed. Yu-hyun told Kwon Jia that and was about to wander around the ck market.


    Huff huff!


    A man covered in a robe was running away, gasping for breath. Behind him, several big men were chasing him.


    “What’s that…?”


    “Don’t mind it. It’s not strange for fights to break out anytime and anywhere in the ck market.”


    Kwon Jia said that, but Yu-hyun couldn’t take his eyes off the robe that was fleeing.


    “Why is that?”


    “I think I found it.”


    “What?”


    “The reason why I came here.”


    The robe disappeared into an alley.


    Yu-hyun didn’t miss the brilliant silver book that floated above his head.