Lancaster Street, St. Thomas Hospital.
Ye Qi found himself at the hospital not because he needed medical attention, but he was there to locate a fence, or the so-called Black Market Dealer. At the end of the day, Demon Hunters were humans too, they had normal human needs like sleep and food, they too needed money. Since the items that fell into the Demon Hunters' pockets during quest could not be sold over the normal merchant counter, they had to rely on a good Black Market Dealer—Of course, Ye Qi could suck it up and deal with Old Walter but that was no different from exposing his neck to a vampire. Therefore, unless there was no other better option, none of the Demon Hunters in that area would willingly go to Old Walter's!
This time Ye Qi was not there to sell but he needed to buy some powerful weapons in preparation for the upcoming quest– a workman must sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well, this adage from his old world Ye Qi still abided by. After all, for a C+ quest, Ye Qi doubted that a Revolver 500 would be enough. Of course, it would not be easy to get a powerful weapon from a Black Market Dealer. Even if Ye Qi had had several "happy trades" with the merchant, thing was not as simple as he would prefer it to be.
Thankfully, Ye Qi had managed to snag something that he did not hand over to Old Walter when he was down at the basement dealing with the Blood Doll. Even though he was unable to identify it due to his low Lore skill, it did not preclude him from knowing its immense worth. Vampire who saw themselves as superior to other races, loved to collect works of art to illustrate their high-society status, it was the same for these low level Blood Dolls as well. A type of person sharing this curious trait was the Black Market Dealer Ye Qi was going to visit, the person had a knack for collecting prized art pieces or antiques. Even though normally Ye Qi would drop a snide or two regarding this Black Market Dealer's interesting pastime, that day he was overjoyed that the man had such a curiosity to him!
To avoid the two cameras posted at the hospital entrance and lobby, Ye Qi climbed into the second floor of the building using the drain pipes by the walls of the main building. He jumped through the open window and slunk towards the corner room.
"Hey, Marley!"
As he pushed the door open, Ye Qi greeted the young man who was flipping through the magazine, "Training" happily. This young man by the name of Marley was the Black Market Dealer Ye Qi was planning to meet. Even though the young man's clothes was dishevelled, his face unshaven, and he looked barely a day over twenty five, Marley was undeniably the most powerful Black Market Dealer in the area.
"My dear Ye, I hope you have a good reason to appear in my room so sudden. I don't remember my secretary informing me I have an appointment so early in the morning!" The Black Market Dealer was obviously annoyed from being interrupted. He put the magazine down and stared at Ye Qi.
"Secretary? You're talking about that cute nurse who is flirting with her young John? I believe she is too deeply immersed in the cocktail of romance and young love to pay attention to her wonderful boss! But don't be said, come take a look because I have brought something good for you! Surely, it will turn your mood around!"
Ye Qi then dropped the item onto the table. It was a gold ring with a ruby stone. The originally grumpy Marley jumped from his seat with a speed that surprised even Ye Qi to grab at the ring. "Oh my god! Just look at that lustre, this feeling to the touch, it feels like the bouncy skin of a young lass! Yes, it is from the times of the Queen, wonderful! Praise the Queen for having such good taste in jewellery!"
Ye Qi was already immune to this change, where the normally unapproachable Black Market Dealer would become rather ecstatic when he was around pieces of art. Unlike the first few times when this happened, Ye Qi was not shocked, he merely smiled. This time even though Ye Qi's smile did not reach his eyes, it was meaningful. After all, the two excited cries from the Black Market Dealer meant that this ring had its value. It would help him greatly to secure a good weapon.
"Hear me out here, Marley. If you can get me some fine firearms, this ring is yours. You can slowly feel the young lass' touch all night even if you want to!" Ye Qi waved his hands before the man whose attention was still attracted to the ring. This obviously struck a nerve because Marley levelled a side-eye at Ye Qi, "You dirty rascal! Just what are you suggesting? Do you know what this is? This is a work of art! An enlightenment of soul personified! Never mind, you said you want firearms?"
It seemed like Marley's little slip of character had been fixed as he reverted to his usual manner to deal with Ye Qi. Any other person would have been startled by this Black Market Dealer's changes of character but Ye Qi continued to list his demands as if the whole scene did not even occur, "One T2 Rifle, ten magazines of armour penetrating bullets, one 'Flame God' Gatling Cannon, 6000 normal bullets, 10 72-style grenades, 10 flash grenades, One venomous snake rocket launcher, 3 rocket launcher ammo…"
"My god! Ye, are you trying to start a war?" Marley's hands shivered when he heard Ye Qi's request, and the ring almost fell to the floor. Then he shook his head, saying, "Impossible! Flame God, 72-style grenade and venomous snake are all military grade weapons, my feelers aren't that long. I can't help you get them even if I wanted to. Furthermore, this ring is definitely not worth that price!"
The last statement was key.
Ye Qi could not help but purse his lips scrutinizing this Black Market Dealer who was shaking his head, denying his requests. Even though Marley was better than Old Walter, it was really not by much. If conscience could be measured, the difference between the two would probably be less than one or two millimetres. According to Ye Qi's knowledge, it was Marley who supplied the local gangs with several Venomous Snake Rocket Launcher during their turf wars. If it was as the Dealer claimed, he was unable to get them even if he wanted to, could it be that the Venomous Snake Rocket Launchers that were used to almost level a skyscraper fell from the sky and dropped into the gangs' possession?
Ye Qi was quite familiar with the Black Market Dealer's game. It was a game as old as time, the "ritual" of business—to bargain.
"Is that so? Then, perhaps someone at West Street can help me."
Ye Qi swiped the ring while Marley was not paying attention and turned to leave.
West Street— It was the biggest underground market of the area. There, money was king. If you have enough money, you could hire someone who would be willing to help you assassinate a country's leader.
"Wait! Ye, my friend, I'm sure we can talk this out further…"
Just as Ye Qi placed his hand on the doorknob, Marley behind him said. Hearing that, Ye Qi's lips curved into a smile. With the smile still on his face, he turned around to face the pouting Marley, "Sure, let's talk this out…"
The talk ended half an hour later. Based on the smiles on both parties' faces, they had reached a mutually beneficial agreement.
Ye Qi was satisfied, he had managed to procure for himself all the firearms that he named other than Flame God and Venomous Snake. This was already way beyond Ye Qi's expectation. He went in hoping for only the T2 Rifles and flash grenades. The 72-style grenades were an unexpected reward. The grenade could cause shrapnel damage within a 15-meter radius of the explosion. It was also called the "Infantry Killer"! All soldiers of flesh and blood would be peppered into sieves if they were caught within the blast radius!
Furthermore, Marley even promised he would have the stock ready for pick up the next morning. This made Ye Qi's day. After all, due to the high level of his quest, the earlier, the more he prepared, the better. Even though Ye Qi could tell from Marley's smile, the other did not make a bad trade as well, if anything, he might have been taken advantage of, he did not mind.
After all, trading was giving what one doesn't need in exchange for what one needs. If both parties were satisfied, then the trade was successful.
"Then, I will wait for you at the promised location tomorrow morning… Marley, this is?"
After the trade was concluded, Ye Qi who was leaving caught his eyes on a statuette in one of the Black Market Dealer's cabinets. The statuette had a wolf body and snake tail and was about the size of a child's palm. When Ye Qi laid his eyes on the statuette, his heart skipped a beat. This was because he also had a similar statuette like it. It a birthday present was given to him by John the year before after he came back from a ghoul-hunting quest.
However, the statuette had something more than that to make Ye Qi react so curiously.