Chapter 119: Extraordinary Bullet
After getting off the carriage, Zhou Ning followed the memory from his last visit and found Old Tyler, the underground market's administrator.
Donning the same white hard-shell mask as before, Zhou Ning silently followed him and once again arrived at that darkened room.
By the time Zhou Ning entered, many of the gathering's members were already present. Just like last time, the ominous Scales of Misfortune sat at the center of the table.
With his prior experience, Zhou Ning didn't sit near the far end between the 9 and 10 o'clock positions like before. Instead, he confidently took a seat on the sofa at the 6 o'clock position.
Thanks to his now intermediate-level Observation Haki, Zhou Ning sharply noticed that most of the participants were the same as the last time. The young man who sold him the Devil Fruit was here too—right beside him—and easy to recognize. He had disguised himself as a Devil Fruit again, sporting a deer head and not even bothering with a mask this time.
"So it's you?" The deer-headed man immediately recognized Zhou Ning and greeted him in a friendly tone. He seemed quite satisfied with their previous transaction.
Meeting the round, deer-like eyes of the man, Zhou Ning forced a smile. This felt so damn weird!
As a subdued silence filled the air, time ticked by. Before long, the same silver-masked middle-aged man stepped into the center and began to speak:
"Time's up. No need to wait for latecomers. As usual, we'll begin trading from the 12 o'clock position."
As soon as he finished, someone at 12 o'clock spoke eagerly—it was a man with a hood pulled low over his face. "I need a large amount of standard Superpower Potions. The more the better. I'll trade with Veckta."
Standard Superpower Potions? Zhou Ning was slightly taken aback.
In the Apocalypse Game, there were four types of Supernatural or Superpower Potions: Low-Grade, Standard, Limit, and the never-before-seen Divine-Grade variety.
The difference between Standard and Limit wasn't that great—Limit Potions had a higher chance of awakening better powers and a greater success rate, with virtually zero risk of death on failure.
Standard Potions, on the other hand, carried about an 8% death rate upon failure. As a result, not many people chose them, and they were rarely seen on the market.
Especially after Zhou Ning had bought up a massive stock of Starlight Reagent materials, most of it had been used to make Limit Potions, making Standard Potions even scarcer.
After a brief silence, a short man at the 8 o'clock position responded in a deliberately lowered voice, "I might be able to provide a batch of Standard Superpower Potions, but they're a bit risky. Are you sure it won't be a problem?"
The hooded man gave a deep chuckle. "It won't be a problem. The ones taking these potions aren't afraid of death…"
His voice abruptly cut off, as if he regretted leaking something important.
Not afraid of death? Could it be… this hooded man was buying the potions for players?
A possibility flickered in Zhou Ning's mind.
If true, that was quite alarming. To figure out player secrets this quickly—this was some serious efficiency.
In the Bryston Kingdom, only the official forces or a few top extraordinary factions could move that fast.
But for now, it was only a guess. Zhou Ning watched the deal unfold without showing any emotion. In the end, the two agreed on a price of 65 Vecktas per potion, with the exchange set for after the gathering.
Next up was the deer-headed man. This time, he was looking to buy a sword-type weapon with extraordinary properties, offering up to 800 Vecktas.
Unfortunately, no one could meet his request. Weapons with extraordinary abilities were rare to begin with, and sword-specific ones even rarer.
Sighing in disappointment, the deer-headed man sat back down.
A few more trades took place—some successful, others not. A supernatural item called the "Voodoo Wooden Spear," which caused plague on contact, sold for 400 Vecktas. Another item, the "Everburning Lantern," priced at 1,200 Vecktas, once again failed to attract any interest.
Then it was Zhou Ning's turn.
He walked up to the Balance and smiled. "Today, I'm offering a rare item called the Devil Fruit. I believe some of you have heard of its effects—eating it grants the user powerful, unique abilities."
"800 Vecktas, or an equivalent value in supernatural firearms or rare alchemy recipes."
As mentioned earlier, most of the participants were the same as last time, so no one asked many questions. Bids started coming in immediately:
"800 Vecktas."
"900 Vecktas," a man in a blue mask offered.
"1000 Vecktas," came another offer.
The bidding escalated quickly. Within moments, the price had reached 1050 Vectas, not far off from last time's sale.
What disappointed Zhou Ning, however, was that no offer particularly excited him. One person did offer a very rare alchemy blueprint, but it was in applied alchemy—something Zhou Ning couldn't use at all.
The bidding lasted a little longer before the energy started dying down. Just then, a middle-aged man at the 10 o'clock position made a proposal that piqued Zhou Ning's interest:
"I don't have a supernatural firearm, but I can offer you a single extraordinary bullet."
"In a sense, it's a defective round. The material is extremely pure mithril."
"This bullet can't be fired normally, but when loaded into a revolver's cylinder, it's automatically skipped during firing. However, the next bullet fired after it will carry a special effect—freeze, burn, stun, and so on. Of course, there's also a chance it'll be a dud."
"It also works for disinfecting. If you heat it up, it can burn out toxins and stop bleeding—but it's going to hurt like hell."
"If you're willing, I'll trade this bullet for the Devil Fruit and add 400 Vecktas on top."
Sounds powerful… My Colt M1873 revolver holds 10 rounds. With this taking up one slot, I'd still have 9. In theory, that means one extraordinary bullet per ten shots.
But that's not quite accurate. For me, this bullet is even more valuable.
The revolvers in this world are somewhat primitive. When the cylinder is in position, two locking latches hold it in place. They only disengage when the hammer is partially cocked.
But the pistols I brought from the simulator—late 19th to early 20th century models—don't work that way.
With my Firearms knowledge specialty, I understand firearm mechanics perfectly. I can manually rotate the cylinder when it's open and essentially game the system, ensuring about one-third of my shots are enhanced.
That's the power of technology.
Zhou Ning was instantly tempted. After thinking for a moment, he looked at the pudgy middle-aged man. "450 Vecktas. I want the cash."
"Deal," the man agreed without hesitation.
They both placed their items on the Balance for appraisal. The side with the bullet and cash weighed much heavier.
The middle-aged man didn't seem to care. He happily tucked the Devil Fruit away like a treasured prize. Both parties were quite satisfied with the exchange.
Having secured the deal, Zhou Ning carefully put away the bullet, his mood lifted.
Even though the bullet cost him the equivalent of 600 Vecktas in value, it was now his second extraordinary item in this world—a bullet that significantly boosted his combat effectiveness.
After that, Zhou Ning refrained from participating in further trades and remained a silent observer until the end.
Perhaps it was due to the arrival of the players, but tonight's gathering featured quite a few treasures.
One standout was a piece of extremely rare [Fire Dragon Bone], which Zhou Ning recalled was a class-advancement material for the rare caster class, Blazing Fire Warlock.
The item caused quite a commotion and eventually sold for a high price of 1,400 Vecktas to a mysterious buyer.
The deer-headed man also made another purchase, spending 150 Vecktas on a warrior's skill book.
The gathering continued until the end. After being led out by an attendant through a secret passage, Zhou Ning didn't head straight home. Instead, he patiently waited nearby.
Eventually, his eyes lit up when he spotted a gloomy middle-aged man and a short man emerging from another alley.
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