Sullen felt the money was well spent as he rode his little motorcycle to Byrd Street in the North District, saving him more than half an hour compared to taking the intercity train.

He parked his bike in a parking lot watched over by a local small gang and then headed to the underground Shadow Alley.

The Shadow Alley's black market not only sold various illicit alchemical materials but was also the information hub of the outer city.

Here, one could find a lot of information about Professionals, as well as some prominent, yet discreet, masters of various professions.

Having been here many times, Sullen was familiar with the place and went straight to the information shop that posted commissioned tasks.

...

Passing by the notice board, Sullen glanced at it.

The original owner's "Missing Person Notice" was still hanging there, and the reward had even increased, with clues now worth 200,000 Lisos.

Ever since he learned from Reina that there was no "Leijiadi" family of the original owner in the inner city, he always felt something was off about this wanted order.

Who exactly was after the original owner?

Sullen looked at the method of collecting the reward above, which pointed to a Professional information merchant's tavern.

Although he could follow this lead and trace it back to find out who was offering the reward, it wasn't necessary.

No need to think about it, following this vine would lead to small fish, then big fish, then sharks, and eventually, it would trigger a landmine. Investigating a huge organization (family) would only alert the person behind the reward.

If it weren't for being implicated by the wanted order, Sullen had no interest in the original owner's past.

What he needed to do now was to be as low-key as possible, to make the person behind the scenes think that the original owner was dead, and for this wanted order to gather dust on its own.

Sullen didn't look at his wanted order anymore and glanced at the familiar red notice at the top of the list.

It was still the same woman with a million-Liso reward, but now her bounty had increased to two million.

"Still haven't been caught, this woman is really amazing. What did she do..."

Sullen looked at it with a strange glint in his eyes, pondering something.

After last month's auction, he happened to witness this mysterious woman being surrounded and hunted down by a group of Umbrella Organization people.

To escape under those circumstances was indeed quite astonishing.

After all, in the eyes of outer city people, especially gangsters, the inner city "Umbrella Organization" was a mysterious organization that was impossible to resist. Legend has it that this organization has an intelligence network spread throughout Old Lingdun, countless high-level Professionals, the most advanced technological equipment... and even, someone around you might be their outsourced temporary worker.

Being targeted by them meant certain death.

Sullen thought this organization was a bit like the CIA or KGB from his previous life.

It was best not to get involved with them if he could help it.

...

Before long, Sullen walked out of the information shop, his brow slightly furrowed.

A "master-level craftsman" who could handle dark gold materials in the outer city... was not easy to find. The information merchant also gave a vague reply, saying that he would inquire first and contact him when there was news.

After all, such a person could get a good position in the inner city with their skills and wouldn't be short of money. Unless there were special circumstances, no master would come to the outer city to make a living.

However, Sullen couldn't wait.

Mixing with gangs, one couldn't be sure who would come first, an accident or tomorrow. He urgently needed to refine the Eight-Armed Spider God Spear as soon as possible.

"Could it be that I really have to go to the inner city to find one?"

If it were before, Sullen had no choice but to wait. As an unregistered person, he couldn't go to the inner city at all. But now it was different. He knew Reina, and he also had a little friendship with Fatty Charlie. Maybe he could find a master-level craftsman through connections.

However, he didn't want to use this method unless absolutely necessary.

Not to mention that the Eight-Armed Spider God Spear's suitable profession was already very picky, the body capacity value required for a plant-type equipment made of dark gold materials must be extremely high. How could an ordinary outer city gang member equip it?

Rats have rat paths. Gang members are still better off going through black market channels, although there are still risks, it's definitely better than being exposed to the light.

Thinking about it, Sullen came to "Rosen's Alchemy Shop," the bespectacled old man was cleaning up his cramped little shop.

Refining a plant-type equipment also required some other materials. Now that he had money, he might as well prepare the other materials first.

The old man heard the sound of the copper bell at the door and greeted the entering guest, "Welcome, esteemed guest, what do you need?"

Sullen took out the list of materials and read it aloud: "I need thirty milliliters of 'Qianman Orchid's juice', three kilograms of 'Water Ghost Copper', two hundred grams of 'Stone Heart Ghost's heart powder', 'Colorless Solvent'..."

The old man looked at the list, his gray eyebrows raised, and said with a slight surprise: "Oh, these are all very high-level materials. It's not easy to gather them all at once... Let me calculate, these materials will probably cost 300,000 Lisos. If you need them very urgently, the price may be 20,000 more."

After a pause, he said: "A deposit of 50,000, and you can get these materials in five days at the latest."

Sullen: "No problem."

Since he couldn't find a craftsman, it didn't matter if the materials were delayed for a few days.

Although he had lowered the brim of his hat very low, he felt that the old man must have recognized him. After all, he had come to buy materials many times, and these shrewd bosses were always very accurate in judging people.

At this time, Sullen thought of something and casually asked, "Excuse me, do you know where I can contact a master-level craftsman?"

The bosses of the black market had very wide connections, maybe he could find out some useful information.

"You want to find a master-level craftsman?"

The old man didn't seem too surprised, he glanced at him and pondered for a moment: "Well... in the outer city, that's a bit difficult."

Hearing this, Sullen's expression froze, and he realized that the old man's tone was not quite right.

"A bit difficult" was not impossible!

A strange look flashed across Sullen's face, and he asked again: "If you can provide valuable information, according to the rules, I can pay a corresponding reward for my question."

The old man glanced at him, didn't answer, but asked back: "Do you have a very high-level plant-type equipment that needs to be forged?"

Obviously, it wasn't just a matter of money.

"Yes."

Hearing this, Sullen knew there was a chance, and didn't show any unpleasant doubt.

Hearing this, the old man said: "There is indeed a regular customer in my shop who is at least proficient in 'expert-level' forging techniques. I can help you ask, but you have to tell me what you want to forge first. I can also tell him to see if that gentleman is interested in accepting the forging commission."

At least an "expert"?

That was very likely a "master"!

Black market shop owners rarely misjudge people, and it was definitely reliable for him to say this.

Sullen was overjoyed when he heard this, he didn't expect to get a useful clue by asking casually.

He didn't directly talk about the commission, but cautiously asked: "Is that 'gentleman' you mentioned... reliable?"

The old man said with certainty: "Of course. That gentleman has a very deep relationship with the organizers of the black market. If you have reached a commission transaction before, I can even vouch for him."

"Good!"

Hearing the old man's words, Sullen had no more worries.

He said directly: "I have the golden blueprint Eight-Armed Spider God Spear and a set of dark gold main materials, so I need a master craftsman who can guarantee the success of the refining."

He took the blueprint at the auction last time, the old man recognized him, he must also know that the blueprint was in his hands, there was no need to hide it. Besides, the old man dared to say he would vouch for him, this matter was settled. A black market boss of a fixed shop vouching for him was a considerable weight.

"Oh... dark gold materials? No wonder you need a master craftsman..."

The old man showed a surprised expression when he heard this.

It wasn't that he had never seen good materials, but he was very curious about where a half-professional who needed to forge a Tier 1 plant-type equipment got such high-level cursed materials.

But he also followed the rules and didn't ask too much, and said: "I'll help you ask, that gentleman always comes to the shop a few times a month to buy materials, but I'm not sure when I'll get the news."

Sullen nodded: "Thank you, I will come often recently. If that gentleman is really confident in forging this plant-type equipment, please be sure to let him offer the commission conditions. Even if it is slightly higher than the market price, it is acceptable."

It was not easy to find a master craftsman in the outer city, even if he was ripped off, he would accept it.

Fortunately, he had money now, so he had the confidence to say this.

The old man: "I can't guarantee this. That gentleman has a very strange temperament, he will only forge alchemical items that he is interested in..."

Sullen tactfully took out a stack of not-too-thick banknotes and pushed it on the table: "I'm counting on you."

The old man didn't say much for the sake of the money, "I'll do my best."

...

After Sullen left the black market, it wasn't long before a middle-aged man in a windbreaker happened to visit "Gerson's Alchemy Shop".

The old man looked at the middle-aged man, recognized him, and greeted him warmly: "Mr. Hei, what materials do you need today?"

"Give me a copy of all the materials on the list."

The man in the windbreaker handed out the list and said lightly: "By the way, has the shop received any rare cursed materials recently?"

"We have received some. I'll get them for you to take a look."

This gentleman came to buy some materials every month, the old man didn't waste any words, and took out some rare materials from his storage ring that he had received from wasteland hunters and colleagues. These materials were very high-level, not the primary materials displayed in the shop, there were Tier 2, even Tier 3... high-level goods.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Hei. There is something that you might be interested in, a customer needs to forge a plant-type equipment with dark gold materials, and commissioned me to find a craftsman who can refine it..."