Chapter 47: Finally Obtaining Crucial Intelligence

The explosion in the black market tore through the tranquility like a clap of thunder, unmasking countless perils lurking in the shadows.

Amidst the chaos, the team members grew even more vigilant. Sun Yue cast a sharp gaze and whispered, "It is the Black Serpent Gang. They are fighting over the Source Crystals!" Chen Qiang said in a deep voice, "It seems the waters of this black market run much deeper than we imagined." Chu Feng put away the note and issued a calm and collected command, "Let us get out of here first." Well-trained, the squad quickly evacuated the center of the explosion, slipping deeper into the black market.

Following the hints on the note, they threaded through a maze of alleys and arrived before a dilapidated house hidden in the shadows.

The air around the building was exceptionally heavy, faintly glowing with shimmering runic lights, clearly guarded by powerful defensive spell-inscriptions.

After careful observation, Sun Yue lowered his voice and said, "At least third-tier defensive spell-inscriptions, and there are hidden sentries. It seems this Graybeard will not be easy to deal with."

Chu Feng furrowed his brow, struggling inwardly.

Intelligence was of paramount importance, but he had long since heard of Graybeard's reputation. The man was greedy and cunning, stopping at nothing for profit.

The adventure squad had limited resources. If Graybeard extorted them heavily, their subsequent operations would become exceedingly difficult.

"Captain, what should we do?" Pan Yue sensed Chu Feng's hesitation.

Chu Feng took a deep breath. "We go in."

The team members sprang into action swiftly. Sun Yue vanished into the night like a ghost, while Chen Qiang stood before the group like a solid wall.

Liu Yong pulled out specialized tools and began analyzing the structure of the defensive spell-inscriptions.

Once everything was ready, Chu Feng and Pan Yue exchanged glances, nodding in tacit understanding as they walked toward the weathered wooden door.

Chu Feng gently pushed the door open, and a wave of decaying air rushed over them. Behind the door lay a gloomy corridor leading into an unknown depth.

"Be careful," Chu Feng whispered, stepping inside first.

Pan Yue followed closely behind, their figures vanishing into the darkness and leaving only the tightly closed wooden door and the faint sound of breathing lingering outside...

The dim and damp corridor felt like the throat of a giant beast, swallowing the light.

Chu Feng and Pan Yue groped their way forward cautiously. The air was thick with a musty odor and a faint smell of blood, causing a creeping sense of unease.

At the end of the corridor was a spacious room. Flickering, yellowish lamplight illuminated a figure seated behind a massive wooden desk.

That man was none other than Graybeard. Short and plump, his face was lined with wrinkles, and his beard grew in wild, unkempt tufts. His small eyes glittered shrewdly like those of a crafty rat.

The desk before him was piled with miscellaneous items radiating bizarre auras.

"Welcome, you two," Graybeard's raspy voice broke the silence, carrying a trace of imperceptible mockery. "It seems you did your homework well to find this place."

Chu Feng wasted no time on pleasantries and got straight to the point. "We want the intelligence in your possession, as well as the key items required to advance to an intermediate spell-inscriber."

Graybeard grinned, revealing two rows of yellowed teeth. He extended a stubby finger and pointed at a box on the desk. "The intelligence and the items are right here. However, as for the price..." He drew out his words deliberately, his eyes sweeping over Chu Feng and Pan Yue like a viper's, "...it will cost one hundred high-tier Source Crystals, or an equivalent value in spell-inscription resources."

At these words, Pan Yue drew a sharp breath. She widened her eyes in disbelief; high-tier Source Crystals were immensely valuable, and one hundred of them was simply an astronomical figure.

Chu Feng's expression also darkened. Their squad had racked their brains and risked their lives just to scrape together a few low-tier Source Crystals; they could never produce such a quantity.

An oppressive atmosphere blanketed the room, as if the air had frozen solid.

Pan Yue cast an anxious look at Chu Feng, but she held her tongue, knowing that at this moment, all decisions rested solely on him.

Just then, Sun Yue walked in, holding a peculiarly shaped metal fragment that pulsed with a faint blue light.

"Captain, I found this thing on one of those guys from the Black Serpent Gang earlier. It seems a bit unusual."

Graybeard's previously murky eyes suddenly flashed with greedy light at the sight of the metal fragment, and his slouching posture tilted slightly forward.

"This... Where did you get this thing?" His voice trembled slightly.

Keenly catching Graybeard's reaction, Chu Feng felt a surge in his heart. He instantly realized that the value of this metal fragment might far exceed his imagination.

Maintaining his composure, he took back the fragment and fixed a sharp gaze on Graybeard, speaking with unwavering firmness. "Will this suffice? Along with all the Source Crystals we currently have on us."

Graybeard fell silent. His eyes darted back and forth between the metal fragment and Chu Feng, his facial expressions shifting unpredictably as if he were locked in an intense internal struggle.

Chu Feng's heart leapt to his throat.

Sensing Chu Feng's slightly tense frame, Pan Yue stepped to his side. Almost brushing against his ear, she spoke in an exceptionally gentle tone, "I believe in you. You will definitely succeed."

Pan Yue's warm breath brushed gently against Chu Feng's ear like a feather. That declaration of "I believe in you" acted like an instant shot of adrenaline, driving away his tension and anxiety.

He turned his head, his gaze meeting Pan Yue's. Her clear eyes were filled with trust and support, shining like a beacon that illuminated his path forward.

A strange current pulsed between the two of them. In the dim room, the air grew intimate and thick, their mutual affection quietly sprouting like vines, all the more precious on the edge of life and death.

Chu Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions deep within his heart. He turned his gaze back, his eyes sharpening like a blade as he stared directly at Graybeard, a confident curve touching the corner of his mouth. "It seems the value of this item is far greater than you imagined."

Graybeard remained silent, his cunning eyes sweeping back and forth between the metal fragment and Chu Feng like an old fox calculating its prey.

Just as he was hesitating, a low voice suddenly echoed, "Captain, I found something interesting." Liu Yong walked in from somewhere, holding a remote-control-like device with indicator lights flashing faintly.

"This thing..." Liu Yong pointed toward an inconspicuous mechanism in the corner of the room. "If triggered, the defense system of this room will be temporarily paralyzed. Furthermore, I can sense that this mechanism is connected to the house itself. In other words, this is far more than just an ordinary trap."

Hearing this, Chu Feng looked back at Graybeard, his tone growing even sterner. "Now, not only do we have what you want, but we also hold the key that can make you lose everything. Do you still insist on your price?"

Graybeard's expression finally shifted. His eyes widened, the greed in their depths replaced by terror.

He knew he had truly run into a tough opponent this time.

Taking a deep breath, he rasped in a hoarse voice, "Fine, you win! The intelligence and the advancement items are yours, but this fragment must stay with me!"

The corners of Chu Feng's mouth lifted slightly in a triumphant smile. "Deal!"

The transaction concluded, Graybeard tossed an archaic box to Chu Feng. Inside lay a roll of parchment and a crystal emitting a soft glow.

Chu Feng caught the box, a flash of joy crossing his eyes.

At that exact moment, a crisp "click" echoed from the corner of the room. Following the sound, the group saw a faint blue light flicker once at the mechanism before plunging back into stillness.

Pan Yue walked up to Chu Feng, gently tugged at his sleeve, and whispered, "Let's leave. I keep feeling like something is wrong here."

Chu Feng nodded; he harbored an inexplicable premonition that something was about to happen.

He put away the box and turned to leave.

However, the instant he turned, his peripheral vision seemed to catch a strange, eerie smile lingering on the corner of Graybeard's mouth...

The weathered wooden door closed behind Chu Feng with a creak, resembling a ravenous beast snapping its greedy jaws shut.

The team members held their breath in suspense, only relaxing their taut nerves once they confirmed their safe evacuation.

Pan Yue could not wait to open the box. Under the dim lamplight, the parchment scroll exuded an ancient and mysterious aura, while the crystal rested quietly at the bottom of the box like a star containing infinite energy, emitting a gentle radiance and instilling an inexplicable sense of power.

"Fantastic!" Sun Yue was the first to leap up, waving his fist in excitement with an irrepressible joy blooming across his face. "We are finally going to advance to intermediate spell-inscribers!" Even Chen Qiang rarely smiled; his stern face softened considerably in the light. "When we get back this time, we must thoroughly improve our strength." Liu Yong silently inspected the instrument in his hand, seemingly studying the energy fluctuations of the crystal, a look of satisfaction gracing his features as well.

Pan Yue unrolled the parchment scroll and read through its contents carefully. Astonishment gradually crept onto her face. "This... This actually records the origin and evolutionary path of spell-inscriptions!" She raised her head.

"It seems our squad is finally taking off!" Sun Yue rubbed his hands, eager to leave the black market and embrace a brand-new beginning.

The others nodded in agreement, knowing full well that the challenges ahead would be even more arduous.

They tidied up their equipment and prepared to embark on the return journey.

However, upon reaching the exit of the black market, they found that the usually bustling streets were eerily quiet.

A few dim oil lamps flickered, casting elongated and stretched shadows across the surroundings, while an unsettling sense of oppression filled the air.

Several black-market administrators dressed in black uniforms, embroidered with ferocious black serpent crests on their chests, stood at the ready. Holding spell-inscription weapons of bizarre designs, they scanned the incoming and outgoing pedestrians with cold gazes.

"Halt!" The leader of the administrators stopped them in a low, chilling voice. His viper-like eyes locked onto Chu Feng and his companions as if trying to pierce right through them. "Routine inspection of the black market. Everyone, submit to a search!"

Pan Yue instinctively tightened her grip on her weapon, her breathing turning slightly rapid as she sensed the encroaching danger.

Chu Feng's gaze tightened. Without a word, he slowly rested his hand on the hilt of the blade at his waist.