Episode 8
#5 Black Market (2)
The first place I headed to in the black market was the currency exchange.
First thing you do in the black market is exchange cash for tokens right away.
This place is crawling with thieves, and lugging around a wad of cash is a pain.
Of course, tokens weren't completely safe from thieves either, but they were much safer than cash because they had their own tracking device and you couldn't cash them back in without an ID code.
The place was packed with people like me, looking to swap their cash. I waited in line for like ten minutes.
Finally, it was my turn.
I placed the money bag on the table.
A woman in sunglasses behind the counter looked up.
“Changing all of it?”
“Yes.”
“Denomination?”
“Ten mediums, thirty smalls.”
I swapped the whole 130 million won I brought for tokens.
The woman took the cash and ran it through a counting machine. She kept pulling out bills to check for fakes.
Those sunglasses weren't just for show. They were some kind of artifact that blocked mental skills – worth a fortune, probably tens or hundreds of millions of won.
I wasn't a loan shark, was I? Was she trying to pass off some counterfeit bills on me? The thought crossed my mind, but everything checked out, and she handed over the tokens.
“The identification code is C-198.”
I grabbed the tokens and headed out of the exchange.
Money changed, time to check out the real black market.
The stalls near the entrance were hawking the usual hunter stuff you'd find anywhere.
Everything from surprisingly effective recovery potions – who knows what's in that – to the usual weapons and armor you'd find in any gear shop.
All pretty normal-looking stuff, not exactly what you'd expect from a 'black market.' So why bother coming here and paying extra?
Because the way they got their hands on this stuff was shady as hell.
I saw some guy pick up a piece of armor with someone's blood still on it, and I internally cringed.
That's gotta be stolen. Looted off a dead or injured hunter. Should've gone to the family, but someone pocketed it.
Only Awakeners can go through the gate. What happens in the gate, stays in the gate. That saying's around for a reason.
Families can't even get inside, so they can't claim what's rightfully theirs.
That's how this crap ends up here.
They feed the families some BS story and line their own pockets.
I'd dealt with this kind of stuff plenty of times before.
The memory hit me, and I got moving, fast.
Further in, the stalls started looking more like what you'd expect from a black market.
The vibe was totally different.
It was dead quiet here, not like that other alley that still felt… alive.
But I was used to this.
I pulled my cap down lower. Time to focus.
I checked out the stalls. These guys weren't like the others, openly displaying their goods and haggling. This was way more secretive.
Some stalls were even walled off.
The place I was looking for was even deeper in, past all this.
I took one step down the path leading there, and some guy blocked me.
"You lost or something?"
He looked me up and down, smirked, like I was some rookie who didn't belong. I just said,
"Oh yeah? Even if I was sent here?"
"By who?"
"Baek."
His eyebrows shot up. Like, how the hell do you know that name?
Name still carries weight, good.
"He said there was a fixer here who could help me out."
He still looked suspicious as hell, but I held my head high.
He didn't look happy about it, but he stepped aside.
Baek Dosan. If I was Seolrokjin's lapdog, this guy was his attack dog.
He wasn't under Seolrokjin's thumb yet, but he'd be his loyal mutt soon enough.
Not many people knew that name, though.
So he let me pass.
Cell phones were jammed here, so he couldn't exactly call around and check my story.
It was a lie that'd fall apart in a few hours, but a few hours was all I needed.
This place wasn't just stalls crammed together. It was down a long hallway, totally walled off.
Meaning, it was the real hidden part of the black market.
I finally got there.
And who's waiting for me? A guy with curly hair and these huge, round glasses – straight out of a cartoon.
“Oh, a customer.”
He looked like he was trying to be the 'mad scientist' type. Seriously weird taste.
It was Gold, the 'Doctor,' from back in the day.
This nutjob, a total gearhead, insisted everyone call him 'Doctor.' Probably never even finished school, but when it came to machines, he knew his stuff.
"What can I do for ya?"
"I need this thing off."
I tapped my ID tag.
His eyes lit up.
"Ooh, interesting. That's the new 3rd-gen collar, isn't it?"
"It's an ID tag, not a collar."
"That's what non-Awakeners call it. The government calls it a leash. Keeps you from running wild, lets them yank you back in line."
He was right. I shrugged.
"It's a pain in the ass, but the government put it there. You know what happens if I take this off, kid?"
"I'm guessing my real name's gonna be mud."
He grinned. Still saw me as a rookie, but whatever. I was a rookie, technically.
"I heard you guys handle the… after-effects, too."
"That'll cost extra."
"I'm ready to be a criminal, but I don't want to be a total ghost."
He chuckled.
"Yeah, well, problem. The guy who usually handles that is out."
"Anything off the rack works."
I was gonna be switching IDs anyway. One wouldn't cut it for what I had planned.
"Even if it's a different race?"
"Hmm, that's a problem…"
Damn.
"I can give you something temporary, but you gotta come back in a week."
A week. Plenty of time for them to figure out I was lying. Maybe dropping Baek's name was a mistake?
But without that lie, I wouldn't have even gotten in.
Anyway, gotta get this damn tag – or collar, whatever – off.
"This way."
He led me into a back room. Place was full of what looked like torture devices, and in the middle, this metal chair that looked like something out of a nightmare.
It was all twisted metal, like a bunch of snakes, with chains for your wrists and ankles.
Still tacky as hell.
That was just the Doc's messed-up style.
First time I was here, I was shaking, thinking Seolrokjin was gonna torture me to death.
"Have a seat."
I sat down, quick.
"You're not freaking out. Most people lose it the first time they see this."
"They're just wimps."
"Heh, I like you."
He wheeled over this machine from the corner.
Thing looked ancient, all rusty with wires hanging out.
The blade on the end was covered in… something. Blood? Rust? Hard to tell.
It looked way worse than last time. Probably 'cause I wasn't here on Seolrokjin's orders.
I frowned, and he coughed, grabbed a rag, and wiped the blade.
"You gonna disinfect that?"
"It won't touch your skin."
"And if it does?"
"Up to date on your tetanus shots?"
I gave him a look, and he just looked awkward.
"It looks like crap, but it's top-of-the-line."
Yeah, right. I almost said it, but the damn thing was pretty advanced.
He pushed his goggles up, got behind the machine, and started hitting a bunch of buttons.
The blade started spinning like crazy.
Shit.
I couldn't help but swear.
"Don't look."
He told me not to look, but I couldn't. Even knowing what was coming, it was hard to watch that thing get closer to my neck.
One slip, and I was a goner.
Awakeners with skin-hardening powers, they'd be fine. Me? With my crappy ability? I was screwed.
I clenched my jaw.
Just get it over with.
I sounded like a kid at the dentist. Just get it over with, please.
I was sweating bullets, but the Doc was just calmly stripping wires and pulling things apart.
Tick, tick. He peeled back the covering, and this weird noise started up. He jammed a signal blocker in there, quick.
Cut the signal to headquarters before it could go out.
Halfway there. Now just to get this damn collar off.
Oh, shit.
I squeezed my eyes shut as the blade came closer.
