Deep in the Living
Chapter 316 - 304: The Chamber of Commerce

Chapter 316: Chapter 304: The Chamber of Commerce

[Hell’s Commerce (Infernum Emporax)]

A special power flowing through True Hell, bears certain similarities to Hunger’s "Feast," both of which are organizations formed under the authorization of Hell’s will.

However, the scale of the Commerce is much smaller.

Though if merely considered by size, it could be categorized as a small force, no one dares to provoke the Commerce.

Rumors have it that some desperate outlaws once harbored the idea of robbing a Commerce that passed by, but they would very quickly disappear without trace.

When the Commerce begins its sales meeting, some would obtain as a gift some exquisite craftsmanship made from outlaw corpses with their purchased goods.

Any individual who chances upon the Commerce on the road can join in and trade.

The Commerce itself will also randomly stay in some medium to large cities to regroup, starting sales meeting for a day or several days.

The Commerce doesn’t accept any form of currency,

their merchandise is priced only by contribution to Hell, requiring one to contribute to Hell’s development to exchange goods from them.

Consequently, the goods they sell are mostly rare and exclusively sold by the Commerce.

Many of the raw materials come from the depths of the world and are then perfectly crafted by the Commerce’s exclusive blacksmiths, tailors, pharmacists, etc.

The items for sale are also branded with the Commerce’s mark - "Molten Gold Skull Scale".

Furthermore,

even if one goes to the Commerce empty-handed, it doesn’t mean they can only look and not buy. The Commerce gives every customer the chance to purchase goods, as long as they can assure the scales remain balanced.

That being the case,

once the news of the Commerce’s stay in a city spreads, a large number of Hell’s personnel will quickly flood in.

[Peraru]

A neutral city located along the coast, not belonging to any port nor providing any sea services, essentially serving as a transit station within Hell.

Those treasure hunters returning from the Dark Side, like Luo Di’s Crow Colt hunting team, would come here for transit services after a short stopover at Navel Port.

The city has a Spine service area; hunting teams can directly return to Nest City through the service area’s teleportation array, significantly reducing travel time.

Some Nest City personnel needing to go out to sea can also teleport to this city, and then start their journey to Navel Port.

Not just Spine.

Most forces have bases here, and the city itself has a relatively stable order; demons arriving here are protected, and one only needs to spend a little money to enjoy the basic services provided by the city.

The three-person squad also arrived at this city within a day.

From the crowded situation at the city gate, it was obvious that Hell’s Commerce had already stationed here.

"The Commerce has really stopped, that’s great! Does this mean there will be more goods to choose from?" Agatha’s eyes lit up; even if she didn’t have any needs this time, she thought about picking out a fine Hell item for Luo Di, to show this extra-hellish person the strength of Hell Weaponry.

Luo Di was curious, "What’s the difference between the Commerce stopping and it being on the move?"

"The Commerce’s decision to stop at a certain city isn’t planned but because the quantity of goods accumulated within surpasses the moving limit, necessitating a stop for extensive sales to lighten the caravan’s burden.

Therefore, the goods available for sale during the city stopover are more, and there are more opportunities, even certain discounts."

"Goods accumulated... I see."

The trio’s traveling style was quite unique.

Since Calen had no mount, she should have been riding with Agatha on a larger steel black pig capable of carrying more weight.

But the actual situation was different,

due to the last operation against Kuleon, where Calen disguised as crystal cargo wrapped in a backpack, he seemed to enjoy this feeling of being packed up.

Moreover, Luo Di also found out that Calen seemed to sleep a lot, up to 15 hours a day.

Packing him in a backpack also allowed him to fall asleep easily, like last time when they were on the way to Deep Swamp to find Kuleon, he was sleeping throughout the journey.

Therefore,

The movement of the trio adopted the same method as last time, packing Calen in the backpack and hanging it on the horseback. With the crystals subdued, Calen’s weight wouldn’t exceed 70kg, which doesn’t affect Crow Colt’s speed.

And so,

Two special mounts arrived at the city gate.

Many demons queuing up were attracted to such special mounts, and when they noticed the metal piping around Agatha’s neck, they showed wary expressions in turn.

"Monk..."

Even those who have achieved Demon Ascension moved aside to give way.

No need to queue, no need for inspection.

Passing quickly through the special passage at the side of the city gate with Monk’s identity, they smoothly entered the city, and Luo Di truly felt the convenience brought by the Monk status.

The city was equally abuzz with voices as demons belonging to different factions moved through the streets, with all sorts of mounts visible everywhere.

Some of these mounts were even larger than black pigs, and there was no need to worry about the excrement they produced, as there were numerous tumor citizens wandering the city who might absorb and decompose the waste as soon as it was excreted.

Unlike Navel Port,

The multi-racial neutral city had hygiene standards to uphold, and the tumor citizens living here were required to mask their own scent and allowed to excrete only in designated areas.

With the arrival of Hell’s Commerce,

Golden skulls could be seen decorating the streets and alleys of the city,

Either placed atop signposts,

On the crossbeams of some buildings,

Or above street lamps.

Flames burned within the eye sockets of the skulls, with golden tears flowing out from within.

They were of high value, yet no one dared to steal them.

These were the symbols of the Commerce Association, and one would arrive at the Association by following the direction of the golden skulls.

Agatha led the way at the front, constantly waving her hand to signal the two behind her to speed up, "We’ll go directly to the Commerce Association. If it’s a directed purchase of specific items, we’ll be done quickly, no need to stay overnight in the city."

"Mmm."

Luo Di had thought that if the Commerce Association were to stay in the city, they would requisition a section of the Commercial District.

But instead, they came to a deserted open space without any buildings in sight, not even a single shop.

The vast open space had but a single golden skull.

Only this skull was thirteen meters tall, with its mouth wide open, and it seemed as if one could hear some noises from the dark depths of its mouth.

Beside the mouth of the golden skull stood a skeleton.

Though it was purely skeletal, it felt alive.

Any demon approaching the golden skull was required to undergo a check in front of this skeleton.

"This is the entrance to the Commerce Association; the Association is set within the internal space of the golden skull.

Any customer wishing to proceed to the Commerce Association must undergo a ’contribution check’ at the entrance. If their contribution in Hell meets the standard, they can enter directly. If not, they must sign some kind of consumption contract, like Kuleon’s loans."

"Can you enter without contribution?"

"As long as your contribution is sufficient.

A contributor meeting the standards can bring up to two friends into the Commerce Association, which is perfect. Plus, I’m a regular customer, my iron rod was bought from the Association."

"Okay."

They joined the queue leading up to the mouth of the golden skull,

The skeleton in charge of the check, with its flaming eye sockets, watched the three without uttering a word, but Luo Di subconsciously extended his hand.

The hot phalange touched the back of Luo Di’s hand to verify the density of his blood’s contributions.

After which, a sharp protrusion on the tip of the phalange etched a Commerce Association mark on the back of Luo Di’s hand, representing the permission for this entry.

Agatha and Calen were subjected to the same process.

However, when the skeleton went to mark the back of Calen’s hand, it was blocked by the crystal there.

Then something odd happened.

The verifying skeleton suddenly raised its hand, indicating to the customers in the queue behind to not be hasty.

Afterward, it leaned its skeletal head out to whisper something to Calen, and etched on his hand a distinctive mark, shining in a golden hue.

When done, it bowed deeply.

"Calen, what’s going on?"

"Hmm, the skeleton said the President wants to see me and mentioned some kind of favorable policy. I think it should be advantageous for our team, so I agreed."

"Ah? The President?" Agatha’s breath thickened, "That shouldn’t need considering, let’s hurry! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ll go with Luo Di to select items; you handle your affairs, and we’ll meet outside the Commerce Association later."

"Oh, alright then."

One after the other, the three walked into the pitch-black maw of the skull.

Whir!

After a wave of spatial fluctuation.

Because of the different mark on his hand, Calen was transported to another place.

Luo Di and Agatha arrived inside the Commerce Association, a place completely different from what he had imagined, a view filled with gold and skulls.