In an inconspicuous corner of the black market, a makeshift stall stood casually erected, with a dirt mound right behind it.

Zhang Hao and his two dark-skinned brothers sat by the edge of the mound.

Zhang Hao looked about forty years old, while his two dark-skinned brothers also appeared quite aged. The three of them sat together, looking like farmers from the last era scraping a living from the earth.

They radiated a simple and honest air, with mature appearances, the furrows in their brows etched with signs of hardship.

Nowadays, having a piece of land to farm is a privilege of the elite—a high-class entertainment of returning to nature.

The lower class feeds on synthetic meat and vegetables, 3D-printed by factory machines according to programmed instructions.

Every piece of meat and vegetable has uniform textures, sparing customers the trouble of picking and choosing, the vacuum-sealed packaging flaunts an absurdly long shelf life, and each is labeled with no additives or side effects, assuring safe consumption.

Zhang Hao held a cigarette between his index finger and thumb, took a deep drag, and asked, "Hasn't that kid from the cremation plant been around for a while?"

Dark-faced Brother 1: "Yeah, he hasn't come by."

Zhang Hao frowned, "Hasn't the cremation plant received any Calamity Corpses lately?"

Dark-faced Brother 1: "It has, he went to the cremation plant a couple of days ago, counted, and there are vehicles transporting Calamity Corpses in every day on average."

Dark-faced Brother 1 pointed his finger at Dark-faced Brother 2, who silently nodded.

Zhang Hao took another drag of his cigarette, "Unlucky, no Black Core burned out?"

Dark-faced Brother 1 shook his head again, "He followed the kid a while, used the detector, and it showed residual values."

Dark-faced Brother 2 kept nodding.

Zhang Hao's brow furrowed deeply as he spoke in a low voice, "Having residual values means a Black Core emerged, but it's not on him. That kid passed it to someone else. Is anyone else collecting Black Core in Zone 9?"

Just as Dark-faced Brother 1 started to speak, Zhang Hao, irritated, growled with wide eyes, "Stop speaking for him. Can't he speak for himself? Let him talk."

Dark-faced Brother 1 made an "oh" sound.

Dark-faced Brother 2, who was poking ants with a stick while keeping his head down, had to speak. He seemed a bit troubled, threw away the stick, and ants were scattered all around his feet.

"A new kid at the cremation plant, the values are very high," Dark-faced Brother 2 replied, a bit stammeringly, looking up.

Zhang Hao understood, feeling slightly relieved yet puzzled, "If no one else is collecting Black Core, why would the new kid at the cremation plant hold the Black Core himself and not sell it to us for money?"

Dark-faced Brother 1, whose thinking wasn't deep, hesitated at the words and asked uncertainly, "Did that kid discover the secret of the Black Core?"

Dark-faced Brother 2's face remained expressionless, as he picked up the stick and scraped off the ant carcass sticking to it.

He licked his finger, and blandly uttered four words, "Kill him, I'll go."

Zhang Hao was considering it, but before he could make sense of it, he saw the stall laid out on the ground getting soiled by several pairs of muddy soles.

"I asked around, you're the only ones collecting Black Core in the black market, right?"

Qian Hao stood on the stall, looking at the three of them, asking bluntly.

Several henchmen behind him, all carrying short knives or iron rods, stood haphazardly, their expressions exuding the menacing presence unique to gang thugs.

Zhang Hao stood and walked over, his wrinkled face scrunched into a chrysanthemum-like smile, "That's me. Are you here to sell Black Core?"

Dark-faced Brother 1 sensed the tension, quickly following, while Dark-faced Brother 2 expressionlessly focused on poking ants with his stick.

Qian Hao sneered, "Sell? No, no, no, you misunderstood. We're here to buy Black Core. How much do you have? We'll take it all."

People nearby looked over, surprised and curious.

Zhang Hao's heart sank, cautiously asking, "Why do you want Black Core?"

Before Qian Hao could answer, an impatient henchman behind him shouted, "Our boss wants something, why so much nonsense? Just take out everything you've got."

After the henchman cursed him out, Qian Hao looked at the silent middle-aged man in front of him, slightly furrowing his brows, one hand reaching for the dagger at his waist, the other gently patting the man's shoulder.

"Relax, you won't get shortchanged. We'll buy everything you got at eighty percent of your cost."

In Qian Hao's dictionary, eighty percent was a generous high price.

Zhang Hao realized these goons weren't like the curious ones from before—they were here to snatch the Black Core outright.

Meaning, these people knew the secret of the Black Core, or rather, their boss behind them knew?

Seeing Zhang Hao staying silent, Qian Hao's face darkened immediately, his grip on Zhang Hao's shoulder tightened, bruising through the clothes.

"You're not going to tell me you're not selling to us, are you?" Qian Hao asked in a sinister tone.

Zhang Hao's face contorted in pain, instinctively lowering his posture, gesturing with a hidden hand to stop Dark-faced Brother 1 from stepping forward.

He bowed his head, reluctantly smiling, "Wouldn't dare, we'll sell everything to you."

Qian Hao loosened his fingers, "Where's the stuff? Bring it out."

Zhang Hao said, "The stuff is at our place, tell you what, same time tomorrow, we'll bring all the Black Core here, you bring the money."

Qian Hao raised an eyebrow, sneering, "You're not lying and planning to run, are you?"

Zhang Hao shook his head vigorously, "We're just Blank People, can't leave Zone 9, and it's just overnight, we're not dumb, we know we can't escape."

Qian Hao seemed convinced, "Fine, just overnight, we'll be back this time tomorrow."

After saying that, Qian Hao and his men left.

Shortly after, Zhang Hao and his brothers couldn't even care for their stall, sneaking away from the black market.

Not far away, from a dark corner, Qian Hao coldly watched the direction the three men left, quietly following with his crew.

What Qian Hao didn't know, Huang Mao and Red Hair, recently deceased, would have found this scene familiar.

20 minutes later.

Underneath a secluded riverside bridge arch.

The ground lay littered with bodies, each visage frozen in fear and distortion, particularly with eye sockets shattered, white goo oozing like tofu, turning the hollows bone-chillingly pale.

Qian Hao lay dying on the ground, a stick rooted in his right eye socket, with ant carcasses still clinging to the stick.

The fight had happened too quickly; in a single breath, everyone Qian Hao brought was dead, leaving only him, with his eye gouged out.

Too terrifying.

This was not gang level, nor the level of black market merchants' combat prowess.

Qian Hao found it difficult to assess the opponent's strength, for he'd never encountered someone killing with such brutal yet effortless grace.

The Cyan Wolf Gang had some Martial Artists, but mostly of the first or second rank. Boss Zheng was already their top third-rank Martial Artist.

Beyond that, Qian Hao hadn't seen anyone. With such power, who would bother with gangs?

However, the black-faced man who had threaded eyes with a tree branch—his exposed strength at that moment might even surpass Boss Zheng's.

Qian Hao couldn't comprehend why such a fierce individual would reside in the bleak black market, gathering worthless Black Core.

Why keep such a low profile? Aren't you afraid people with no eyes would crash into the iron board and find death?

Zhang Hao squatted in front of Qian Hao, his farmer-like smile falling in front of Qian Hao's remaining eye, chilling him to the core.

"I know you have a lot of questions."

"Don't ask, save your time, your life isn't long. You just need to answer my questions."

Qian Hao gritted his teeth tightly; despite the fear, he wouldn't utter a word knowing he was doomed to die.

Zhang Hao seemed to guess Qian Hao's thoughts, his next calmly spoken words horrified Qian Hao to his core.

He said, "If you don't speak, I'll keep you alive. Don't worry, I'm quite skilled, I'll ensure while ants eat half your heart, lungs, you'll be clear-headed enough to talk to me."

When the chest was split open, and the first ant crawled over his heart, Qian Hao finally broke down.

"Who sent you to collect Black Core?"

"Bin, it was Bin who sent us."

"Why does Bin want Black Core?"

"I don't know, Bin didn't say, I really don't know, ah, don't let it eat me, it hurts, it hurts—"

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