Chapter 481 Black Market
The All Souls Day Auction, which lasted for seven full days, is an annual event in the City of Black Sails. In the absence of legal restrictions, many items that cannot be sold openly in other areas emerge one after another.
The appearance frequency of various rare objects is much higher than that in ordinary auctions. Coupled with the almost non-existent possibility of missing items in other auctions, it attracts high-level mages from all over the world to come to the auction every year, either to participate in the auction, to join in the fun, or to have other agendas.
It's just that the number of people that can be accommodated in the All Souls Day auction venue is limited after all.
If there are no restrictions on the number of visitors, you will definitely miss out on many big customers with real financial resources.
Therefore, the All Souls Day auction implements a classic ticket system, and only those with tickets can enter the auction to participate in the auction.
A total of 800 tickets will be released in an auction.
Half of them will be distributed free of charge to the leaders of the major forces in Black Sails City.
The other half was publicly sold at auction at the beginning of the year, with ten pieces being auctioned every day until they were sold out.
Yes, tickets for an auction must be obtained through auction.
It sounds a bit outrageous, but the fact is that everyone is very willing to buy it, and the supply exceeds demand.
According to final calculations, the average price of this year's 400 All Souls Day auction tickets was as high as 20 Plantagenet coins - the common currency of the City of Black Sails is also Plantagenet coins.
The currency of the Plantagenet Dynasty and the currency of the Holy Empire have the highest credibility and recognition in the entire mage plane.
The currencies of these two countries can still be used even in other continents outside the Norland continent.
The City of Black Sails is geographically very close to the Plantagenet Dynasty, so it is natural and reasonable to choose the currency of the Plantagenet Dynasty as the universal currency.
In other words, before the auction even started, the organizer had already earned 8,000 gorse coins from the tickets.
Coupled with the commission, the total revenue from an All Souls Day auction is astronomical.
Such a good thing happens only once a year. You can imagine how many people will be jealous of this Easter auction.
Such a hugely profitable auction is naturally impossible to be in the hands of one person. Even the pirate king Davy Jones would not dare to be so greedy.
In fact, the proceeds from the All Souls Day auction were shared by the best of the three major forces, the Black Sail City gang, the pirates, and the sea hunters, and the gold coin hunter group.
Among them, Davy Jones alone enjoys 35% of the income, and the gold coin hunter group shares 15% of the income.
The remaining 50% of the income will be divided equally among the remaining dozen or so forces.
While sharing the profits, they also shoulder the management and "security" responsibilities of the organizer, maintaining order at the auction site and preventing on-site theft, malicious bidding, and even robbery.
All the tickets for the auction have been sold out at the beginning of the year.
Even if Gaode has money at the moment, it will be difficult to find a seller who has tickets and is willing to sell in a short period of time.
Hence, Gothe never thought about collecting loose tickets from the beginning, but went for the gift tickets in the hands of the local forces in Black Sails City.
The Embroidered Anchor Gang is not considered a top force among the gangs in Black Sails City, and is not among those who can share the proceeds of the Soul's Day Auction. However, it is not the kind of unknown bastards, and they can still get a few free tickets.
For Santos, one or two auction tickets are definitely not considered valuable.
This is also true.
After hearing Gothe's request, Santos immediately waved his hand and shouted to the burly boy standing at the door, "Go to Jig to get a ticket for the All Souls Festival auction, just say it's what I want."
The boy on the left side of the door received the order, responded, and left in a hurry.
Santos smiled and poured another full glass of rum for Gothe and Lanvin.
Lan Wen just raised his glass and took a sip, but Gao De drank it all in one gulp as before.
The main component of alcohol is ethanol, and ethanol itself is a type of neurotoxin.
Hence, the body's ability to metabolize toxins improved by [Elementary Green Amber Body] is also effective for rum.
Under [Elementary Green Amber Body], Gothe's body can quickly digest and metabolize even real poisons. Alcohol, a "sideline" poison and a trace toxin, is a piece of cake to metabolize.
Unless you are drinking continuously, alcohol with a concentration of about 50% is not much different from water in Gaode and you can drink it directly.
Face Gothe's "generousness", Santos seemed to appreciate it, "Even in the city of black sails, there are few people who can drink more than you."
"I wonder what you call them?" Only then did Santos remember that he had not asked the names of the two guests.
「高德.」高德 "tell the truth".
In this world, there is no need to lie about names.
Because there are so many people with the same name, what really matters is the last name after it.
First name + surname is a complete proof of identity. Whether it is to determine the identity or to cast certain spells through the name, it is impossible to start if only the first name is mastered.
Although for Gaode, the word "Gaode" actually includes both his surname and his first name.
But in this world, Gaode is just a name.
In the absence of a surname, a given name is essentially equivalent to a more formal nickname, so there is no need to lie.
"Lan Wen." Lan Wen on the side was also as virtuous as he was, sparing words like gold, and only gave out his own name.
Santos nodded slightly, not surprised by this. It would be abnormal if he could be so careless in the City of Black Sails.
He turned to tentatively and said: "Master Gaode, I think the goods on the ship are basically produced in the polar regions. Extraordinary materials in the polar regions have always been rare. If the supply of goods is stable, maybe we can cooperate for a long time?"
He said what he said was half true and half false.
It is true that there are not many extraordinary materials in the polar regions because there is currently no true polar kingdom in the entire mage plane.
In this case, the extraordinary materials in the polar regions all come from individuals and there is no mature industrial chain.
This has led to the fact that this type of extraordinary materials have never been large in the market. Although it has not reached the point where it is rare and expensive, at least it can be said that it is easy to sell.
So, after seeing that a whole shipment of Gaode's goods came from the polar regions, it seemed reasonable for Santos to propose long-term cooperation.
But the problem is that when Santos said this, [Perception Emotion+] was still locked on Hawke's Gothic, and it was obvious that he received an emotion from him that was roughly equivalent to "greed".
The younger brother's emotions can often reflect the true thoughts of the "boss".
But there is no need to go through these twists and turns. God has no trust in the gang leader of Black Sails City.
"Chief Santos overestimated me. In fact, I spent a lot of effort to acquire this shipment of goods, which is to make a price difference. The main reason for bringing it to the City of Black Sails for sale is that there is no need to pay customs duties here." Gao De declined.
There was a flash of light in Santos's single eye, but he still kept a smile on his face, "That's a pity."
"Mage Gaode wants the tickets for the All Souls Day auction. Could it be that he is looking at a treasure on the established auction list?" He asked nonchalantly.
Gaode denied it flatly, "It's just that the time was just right, and the famous name of the All Souls' Day auction that I have admired for a long time came here to join in the fun. If I really wanted to see some treasure, why would I still be asking for tickets now."
In the midst of the subtle chat, the younger brother who left earlier finally came back.
He quickly walked into the room and placed a rolled-up thing on the table.
It was a scroll tanned with the ink sac skin of deep-sea cuttlefish, and the leather had a dark purple sheen.
Santos handed the scroll to Gothe, "This is the ticket. One ticket can bring one additional person in.
There is also a list of auction items attached, of course, only part of the auction items.
Because of this list It was set at the beginning of the year. In the past six months, there will definitely be many more auction items that are not listed on it.
Even during the Easter Auction, temporary storage auctions will be accepted, but the quality and value must meet certain requirements before they will be allowed to be put into the auction. "
Gaude thanked him, took the scroll, unfolded it and took a look. The smell of old spermaceti came to his face.
The top of the scroll is a transparent sheet about the size of a fingernail, glowing with a faint blue light, and a dancing blue flame seems to be sealed inside.
It is the most famous extraordinary material in Black Sail City, blue flame crystal.
Under the blue flame crystal, there is a list of auction items written in magic words, with each item marked with a starting price and a brief introduction.
Gaode is quite curious about the auction list, but obviously now is not the time to take a closer look.
He took a quick glance, and after seeing that the Azus Feather Whistle tree species was indeed listed on the list, he rerolled the scroll and put it in his arms. He then raised the wine glass that Santos had filled again at some point and drank it all in one gulp. "Thank you!"
"Happy cooperation." Santos nodded.
The purpose of this trip has been achieved, Gothe chose to say goodbye and leave, and Santos had no objection.
As for the transaction payment for the half-cargo cargo, Santos needs to send personnel to check and count the cargo list provided by AutoNavi, and then calculate it after confirming that it is correct.
Passing through the noisy hall of the Broken Bone Tavern again, Gothe noticed that the men who were shouting loudly in the middle of the hall were still there at this moment.
They noticed Gothe walking out of Santos' room, and they all stopped communicating and looked at him.
There was a look in it that made Gothe feel particularly different.
Just when he looked carefully, he couldn't tell who the look came from.
Watching Gothe and Lanwen leave the tavern, after the figures disappeared, the smile on Santos' face disappeared instantly, his eyes became gloomy, and he sat on the leather chair not knowing what he was thinking.
After a long time, Santos suddenly said in a cold voice: "Report the news about the fat fish."
“Boss, according to what Hawke said, they can easily win the third-level garrote medal. Although they are injured, their strength cannot be underestimated. Even the fat fish has thorns. Do we still need to report this?” Another person confirmed in the shadows in the room.
"A third-level garrote medal can be obtained by a third-level mage with special combat expertise, and even a fourth-level mage is just a small role for that person. It mainly depends on whether they are worth the shot."
"Although their goods are of high value, to that person, they are nothing."
"That's because you misjudged it and were deceived by the illusion made by Gothe. He pretended to be very similar, and even said that he was eager to cash out, but this can't change the fact that for such a young mage, he must have a very high status to have a high-level mage at his command."
"It doesn't matter if I guess wrong. That person's rule has always been to kill the wrong person rather than miss, as long as it doesn't cause him trouble."
Santos paused, "How many people can cause him trouble in the City of Black Sails?"
"That's it. Okay, I'll report it right away." The other person was instantly convinced.
After leaving the Bone Broken Tavern, Gothe and Lanvin were not in a hurry to return to the port area, but went straight to the black market in the middle city that Apache had introduced during their previous chat.
It is said to be a black market, but it is actually a street where stalls can be set up. It is somewhat similar to the vegetable market in the previous life. The main thing is a fresh and down-to-earth place.
The distribution of streets and urban areas in Black Sails City is extremely complicated, and the dark alleys are even more twisted. It is not easy for the two newcomers to find the black market.
However, because the goal was clear, Gothe had already inquired with Hawke about the specific location and route of the black market on the way here.
Following the route they had inquired about, the two passed through several streets and found that there were more and more pedestrians on the road, so they knew they were almost there.
Soon, a series of lights appeared in front of us.
This is a street facing a cliff. The cliffs on both sides have been carved out with spaces of varying depths. The larger ones may be as big as a house, while the smaller ones may be as big as a tent.
In every grotto, there is a fish oil lamp, a person is sitting inside, and a piece of cloth is placed. In some cases, it may be a shelf, with various goods placed on it.
This is a stall. Compared with the traditional stall, it has an extra roof.
The lights in the many grottoes gathered together, reflecting the cliff like faces covered with black cloth. Many eyes were intertwined, and it felt like a black market.
Perhaps it is because the All Souls Day auction is approaching. It is the time of year when the Black Sail City has the largest flow of people. This place is much more prosperous than Gothe thought.
This is also true. In normal times, these stalls would not be so densely packed, and there would often be gaps in between.
Gaode and Lan Wen entered from the entrance and prepared to stroll all the way, but ended up staying in front of the first stall for a long time.
Because these stalls were filled with all kinds of formal and informal items including sea beast organs, spell materials, and forbidden potions, so openly.
You can even see severed staffs for sale, which look like trophies or stolen goods.
The stall owners all have sinister eyes, but there are no similarities in other aspects.
No matter the skin color, appearance or dress, there are all kinds of people, and there is no unified style.
(End of this chapter)