651: Chapter 651: The Problem Lies with This City (A Big Chapter Asking for Monthly Passes) 651: Chapter 651: The Problem Lies with This City (A Big Chapter Asking for Monthly Passes) Click—
The tightly closed door opened, and He Ao walked into the house carrying his sleeping granddaughter.
The mont he entered the living room, a pop-up appeared on He Ao’s wristband.
This was the wristband connecting to the ho’s security system.
Cito had purchased the security system for the house back when he was the deputy director.
Nearly twenty years had passed since this system was first installed.
Most parts of the system were outdated and damaged, patched up haphazardly with second-hand parts Cito had scavenged from the market.
“Eve, take over the security system of this house,” He Ao instructed as he hooked the door with his foot and gently closed it.
“Okay, connecting,” Eve’s voice sounded in He Ao’s ear, “Connection successful.”
Imdiately after, the screeching sound of the door locking echoed behind He Ao, “Alert mode activated; doors and windows are all closed; all sensor devices are functioning well; no signs of damage or intrusion detected.”
Hearing Eve’s words, He Ao let out a relieved sigh and carefully carried his granddaughter deeper into the house.
Although Eve’s existence could not improve the original outdated hardware’s capabilities, she could enhance the overall sensitivity and response capability of the entire system by using more advanced AI algorithm computations.
Fortunately, the security system Cito had purchased was from a small factory which, despite having poorly optimized software, did not restrict user access to external mainfras.
If he had purchased a system from a large corporation like Trison, any access with non-Trison hardware or software would have caused the security system to lock itself.
This self-lock chanism was ostensibly for user safety, but hoowners, after their security system locked, wouldn’t even be able to open their own doors.
Of course, the fundantal reason for this self-lock chanism was not just safety considerations but also a significant desire to corral users into the corporation’s ecosystem, forcing them to continue purchasing matching devices and software service subscriptions from the corporation.
But Cito hadn’t thought that far at the ti; he hadn’t even intended to purchase a security system, but the small factory was closing down and offered a promotion with extrely low prices, which is why he bought the system.
After acquiring it, he realized the company’s system was actually very good—even worth the original price—but unfortunately, the small company still went out of business.
“Eve, help look up all information about a ‘black market’ where gangs can be hired to kill,” He Ao whispered to the AI as he reached the door of the innermost bedroom, holding his granddaughter.
“Sure, searching for you now.”
As Eve’s voice rang in He Ao’s ear, he walked toward the innermost room.
“Based on your keywords, I have retrieved 157,500 records.
After filtering these records, I have found 1,732 valid entries.
The brief summary of these entries is as follows,”
After a brief pause, Eve’s voice sounded again,
“‘Black market’ is a colloquial term for an underground trading private network.
This network cannot be found through search engines or indexing thods on the surface web; it is only accessible through specific end-user terminal software that connects via encrypted links.
“The main function of the black market is to act as an online ‘trading market.’ Black market operators do not issue or execute tasks but rather allow users to post and carry out tasks themselves.
“Currently, there are many similar private networks operating within the Federation’s Dark Web, but the ‘black market’ is the largest and possibly the oldest.
“According to so sources, the black market can provide access services in all cities of the Federation.
“However, less than fifty cities can effectively post or accept commissions on the ‘black market,’ and fewer than thirty have a large user base that allows for smooth ‘transactions.’ Not included are the Federation’s top thirty major cities.”
While listening to Eve’s explanation, He Ao carefully pushed open the bedroom door in front of him, gently placed Jia Xi on the bed, took off her shoes, and covered her with a thin blanket.
After completing those tasks, he finally had ti to sort through the information Eve had just shared.
It seed that this ‘black market’ was actually an exchange platform for the underground world.
The things being traded were most likely prohibited by Federation law.
In reality, most Federation cities had similar platforms—corporates or other employers and those involved in dirty work in the underground world needed a communication channel to facilitate dealings untouched by the light of day.
In Dawn City, corporates and major gangs communicated directly, controlling the entire underground world through the gangs.
In Vitland, communication was indirect via an ‘Interdiary’ like Heish.
In places like Rock City and Lin City, which were previously controlled by a single group, the underground world often fell directly under the control of corporates, blurring the lines between light and dark.
Different cities had different dynamics.
And this ‘black market’ platform, being able to exist for so many years, probably also served as a communication channel between the light and dark sides within the core service cities it operated in—or perhaps it was even established and controlled by so corporates.
He Ao stood up and looked around the room.
The room belonged to his son during his childhood; on the wall beside the bed hung a large electronic Paper Book display.
This type of display wasn’t high resolution, intended only for posters or simple paintings.
Users could switch to whatever images they preferred.
At the mont, the display showed a cool cha poster.
It wasn’t Jia Xi who had put it there, but Cito’s son Kavi, who had put up this last poster before graduating from university.
Kavi wasn’t a particularly rowdy child from childhood to adulthood, though he did have periods of teenage rebellion and argunts with Cito, but most of the ti, he was quiet.
He Ao turned his head to look at the opposite wall, where there was a small desk and a modest bookshelf.
From a young age, Kavi’s hobby was reading, but paper books were a costly ‘luxury’ in the Federation—Cito saved for a long ti to collect this small bookshelf of books for his son.
Whenever he had extra money, he would set so aside to buy a book for his son, enjoying the excited and joyful expression on his face when he received it.
Of course, when Kavi argued with him, he would also swear with his wife that he would never buy another book for that brat again.
He Ao walked over to the desk and sat down in the chair against the wall.
His gaze swept over the old tal toys on the desk, the upright bookend, and the yellowed books leaning against it.
He took out a book that was standing in the corner, his wrinkled and aged hand touching the wrinkled hardcover, and asked in a soft voice,
“Is there any way to get permission to enter the ‘black market’?”
“According to the information retrieved,”
Eve replied, “There are currently two thods to obtain entrance permission to the black market.
One is through an Introducer who knows old mbers to contact soone or a group known as ‘Drawer’ to purchase a terminal and registration number for the black market,
“The other is to buy an account from soone who already has a black market account.
However, black market accounts are tied to devices, and the trade of accounts can only be conducted through the trade of devices.
The black market doesn’t restrict account trading, but the sa person cannot purchase another account registration number from ‘Drawer’.”
Two thods, either register a new account or buy soone else’s.
Hearing Eve’s words, He Ao pondered for a mont and asked,
“Have you identified anyone likely to sell a black market account or who could ‘introduce’ newcors?”
“There are five individuals clearly indicating on the net their willingness to sell their accounts, each in different cities, and fifteen individuals who have also expressed their ability to ‘compensate’ for introducing people to ‘Drawer’,”
Eve replied, “But based on the associated accounts and past information of these twenty individuals, there is a more than 50% probability they are scamrs posing under the guise of the black market.”
It appeared that genuine mbers of the black market who exposed themselves on the surface internet were few, so scamrs could masquerade using the black market’s na.
Most people in the underground world didn’t actually need the ‘black market’; they just had to follow the orders of their boss or gang leader.
The true clients who need the black market to accept or issue commissions are only the leadership of gangs, lone operatives, or those with certain financial resources or conglorates.
In other words, although the black market has a wide coverage, the number of users should be small, and most of them are core users.
These users basically have their own small social circles or their own channels.
They don’t lack petty cash and don’t need to “absorb new mbers” or sell accounts to make money on the surface internet.
As a result, real black market users tend not to expose themselves.
Perhaps to avoid drawing attention, the black market operators may also be consciously clearing information about the black market on the surface internet.
It seems that to get an account for the black market, one would still have to find a way to start on the outskirts of Saint Joen City.
After all, since Vite could be hired for homicide and often uses the black market, this proves that Saint Joen City is likely one of the thirty cities where the black market can “trade” smoothly.
That ans there shouldn’t be a lack of black market users in this city itself.
However, He Ao had not given up searching for information on the internet.
Placing the book he held on the tabletop, he spoke softly,
“Dig deeper for information on the black market, and then try to contact those twenty people anonymously to see if we can obtain any useful information.
Even if they are scamrs, they need to have sothing substantial to dare to scam.”
“Understood.”
Eve responded, then her voice gradually faded into silence.
He Ao turned his gaze to the book in his hands.
In fact, even without an account or deeper information about the black market, He Ao could still infer so information from the characteristics of the “black market”.
The ‘commissioners’ active in the black market are nothing more than corporate organizations and so temporary commissioners who enter the black market through certain channels.
The ‘commission issuer’ from Vite’s mory who commissioned him to start a fire was a regular custor, that is, soone who often issues commissions.
Most normal people do not have so many enemies they want to kill; only conglorates or related large organizations would have a continuous stream of targets they wish to eliminate and keep issuing tasks.
They are also the ones with enough money to pay for the commissions.
Moreover, this conglorate or organization has significant interests in Saint Joen City, hence they have so many enemies there.
Regrettably, Vite’s chaotic thoughts did not offer more obvious and accurate information.
However, everything requires soone to act.
It would be possible to find so people from the Eagle Claw Gang later on and ask them for related information.
Through the line of the Eagle Claw Gang, perhaps the identity of the ‘commission issuer’ behind Vite can be narrowed down further.
He Ao did not place all his hopes on the “black market” lead.
Because from the information sensed from Vite, it seed that Vite was very familiar with that ‘commission issuer,’ familiar enough that it didn’t seem like they were just ‘net friends’ separated by the network.
Therefore, the ‘commission’ coming from the black market to Vite might not have actually gone through the black market.
After all, the information passing through the black market platform would be known to the platform.
In terms of confidentiality, no online platform is as reliable as offline communication.
Vite’s first reaction to think of the black market might just be because that commissioner is from ‘black market’.
Actually, He Ao, whose thoughts were influenced by Vite, initially thought that the ‘black market’ was just an offline underground market.
Of course, all this information still requires further investigation to trace the clues.
Even if the commissioner communicated with Vite offline, they would still not only look for Vite as an ‘executor’.
The person could still be active on the black market website.
He Ao gathered his thoughts and focused his attention on the book in his hands.
This book was not on the bookshelf but was on a book stand on the desk.
Kavi had a habit of casually placing books he had looked through but hadn’t finished reading on the desk.
In Cito’s mory, a few months ago, this book was not on the desk.
The first ti Cito temporarily placed Jia Xi in his care, Kavi had stayed here for a few days.
At that ti, Cito had set up a little bed for Jia Xi, and Kavi had slept in this childhood room.
He Ao opened the cover of the book.
This book was very old; its pages were already sowhat yellowed.
It was a volu of ghost and monster legends that Cito had picked up for his son at an old book market.
It was probably about twenty or thirty years old.
The main content of the book dealt with urban legends or bizarre wilderness tales.
There are many markings and notes made by Kavi inside the book; he enjoyed recording his thought process in his own books.
Of course, most of these thoughts were simple and superficial.
Indeed, most of the content in this book could only be considered a collection of fantasy stories.
To He Ao, who had actual wilderness survival experience, most of the content in this book seed to be a city dweller’s ‘speculation’ about the wilderness, much of it not aligned with reality.
However, amid the ssy stories, there were so bizarre yet genuinely likely-from-the-wilderness tales.
Like the story He Ao had just flipped to.
This story was about a deep valley in the wilderness, filled with lush forests that seed bursting with life, but any animal that ca near the valley mutated into mad, twisted creatures.
In fact, this was actually a story about a polluted area.
Places filled with inexplicable pollution are quite common in the wilderness.
He Ao took interest in this story because this page had been folded by Kavi.
He Ao unfolded the corner and saw a row of sowhat disordered handwriting underneath.
[Why do polluted monsters exist?]
[Why do people think these monsters naturally exist?]
[I never saw such things while studying in Dawn City.]
[Or is it that Dawn City also has them, and I just never noticed?]
[According to the Pollution Cleaning Departnt’s records, the northwestern part of the city, where my father resides, this area nearby has the least amount of pollution outbreaks.
What’s here?]
[Jia Xi should be safe staying with my father.]
The handwriting stopped abruptly here,
He Ao turned to the next page.
At the sa location of the fold, there was a line of handwriting even fresher than the previous ones:
[We need to leave as soon as possible.]
[There’s a problem with this city.]
A month before he disappeared, Kavi had visited Cito.
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