After parking the shared electric scooter, Lin Guang walked into the mall and checked the guide at the entrance.
The first three floors of the mall sold Gray Inferior Grade and White Common Grade Spirit Beasts, which were sufficient for most ordinary Spirit Masters, while the fourth floor and above required a Combat Spirit Master's ID to enter, and even sold Blue Elite Grade Spirit Beasts, though they were usually high-level and unobtainable for novice Spirit Masters.
Compared to the bustling entrance and elevators, a rather peculiar scene unfolded on the right side of the mall; despite having elevators and clear entrances there, only a few scattered people were walking in that direction.
This was an illusion array set up by a Mental-type Spirit Beast, capable of deceiving ordinary people and electronic devices; only those who could resist the illusion and see through the truth could discover the area covered by the array.
Generally, to open a business, the threshold couldn't be set too high; a Two-Star Spirit Master or a One-Star Spirit Tool was enough to see through the mist, which was why Lin Guang had asked Ouyang Wei for the military's unique 'admission ticket'.
The person who greeted Lin Guang was a robust man, completely hidden under a trench coat, with a mask on his face and a badge bearing the logo of Afu's Premium Spirit Beasts pinned to his chest.
"Young man, what are you looking to buy?"
"..."
Lin Guang really wanted to switch to a beautiful and sweet-voiced young lady, but then he remembered this was an underground black market—who would work here if they were a decent person?—so he gave up on that idea.
After a pause, Lin Guang listed all the types of Spirit Beasts he had tried to contract at the Beast Rearing Base, down to their species and attributes.
"Are there any rare Spirit Beasts, besides the ones I just mentioned?"
The masked man fell silent. Just as Lin Guang thought the other party was bewildered by the long list of names, he replied in a deep voice, "There are."
"There are?"
Lin Guang was slightly stunned.
"On the first basement level, there are Spirit Beasts you might want."
"Then let's go down and take a look."
Following behind the masked man, Lin Guang descended the stairs and arrived at the first basement level.
The moment he reached the end of the stairs, he blinked, taking a moment to adjust to the lighting.
The space was unexpectedly vast, a stretch of darkness where only the neon signs of a few shops provided the sole light source in the dimness.
It was hard to imagine how this underground area was originally planned or if the surrounding buildings were at risk of sinking, but the dim and eerie atmosphere here, where even faces a few meters away were barely visible, was clearly intentionally adjusted.
A few scattered figures stood not far away, their forms shrouded in dark gray cloaks.
Several more gazes shifted over, but upon seeing Lin Guang's age and the silver secret key he had deliberately pinned to his chest, they quickly retracted their attention.
Lin Guang smiled faintly.
A Spirit Master's senses, no matter what, were sharper than an ordinary person's, so they would surely notice his chest, and combined with his intentionally revealed youthful appearance...
A student who appeared to have no money entering the black market with a military Spirit Master's card would naturally be categorized as a potential easy mark.
Leaving aside whether he was truly broke or feigning it, if he were to be scammed, having his elders come knocking would be no laughing matter.
The fact that the black market could exist here indicated it adhered to enough rules; the gray area was not a true lawless zone, and the special cards issued to retired military Spirit Masters were proof of that.
And without sufficient profit incentives, who would want to do anything to a minor and a student?
Following behind the masked man, Lin Guang walked forward, surveying the goods around him.
Unlike the bright and glamorous mall above, the environment of the underground black market was not good; after all, most of the customers here had been out in the wilderness and wouldn't care about such things, and the shops were happy to save on these maintenance costs—the smells of rust, fresh blood, and excrement rushed into Lin Guang's nostrils, vying for attention and doing a tap dance inside.
Lin Guang naturally knew why.
The Spirit Beasts here were often captured in the wilderness outside the city; not only were they wild and hard to tame, but they often sustained some injuries during capture, and bleeding was normal.
Following the faint whines and purrs, he directed his gaze to the alloy cages on either side.
Sure enough.
The Iron-Backed Wolf on his left had incomplete iron plates on its back, revealing gruesome wounds, breathing heavily, its eyes cloudy and dull.
The Fire-Tailed Fox on his right was curled up in the corner of a wire cage, the flames on its tail dim and lifeless, as if they could extinguish at any moment, and a blood-stained bandage was roughly tied around its left hind leg.
Looking around, almost none of the Spirit Beasts in the cages were completely unharmed, only differing in the severity of their injuries.
Most of the Spirit Beasts here were captured from the wilderness, but there were also some protected areas in the wilderness specifically established to cultivate certain rare Spirit Beasts and prevent over-exploitation; capturing from there was naturally considered poaching, and thus not something that could be done openly.
The masked man picked up the walkie-talkie hanging from his chest: "Number 130... Wood Ether Shards... Stimulant."
Number 130?
Lin Guang calculated the numbers on the nearest cages and looked in the direction of Number 130, which was exactly his direction of travel.
He saw several cloaked figures surrounding a giant Apple Turtle; its hard shell was covered in cracks, and the apple tree on its shell bore traces of fire damage, with not a single leaf remaining. The cloaked figures whispered to each other, finally shaking their heads and dispersing, their movements swift and decisive.
As he passed this cage, Lin Guang's gaze swept over it, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Because on its head, which was retracted into its shell, was tied a very old-looking bow.
It had an owner... or rather, it once had an owner.
Seeing this, Lin Guang couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Young man, are you pitying them?"
The masked man said hoarsely, "I advise you not to have any unrealistic ideas."
"No, it's just a shame you've raised such easy-to-care-for species to the brink of death. With an easily learned skill like 【Sunny Day】 for Plant-type Spirit Beasts, or simply buying a UV lamp and regularly shining it, the condition of many Plant-type Spirit Beasts could improve by at least twenty percent."
This level of knowledge was known to anyone with a bit of experience; they simply didn't care about the lives of low-grade Spirit Beasts.
Lin Guang composed his expression, shaking his head slightly, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes as he sharply commented, "If the quality of your goods is this poor, how can you expect people to trust you and become repeat customers?"
"I feel like you couldn't even keep a cactus alive."
"..."
The masked man paused, clearly choked up, and after a moment of silence, continued walking forward: "There's not much we can do; if we turn on the lights here, many old customers would be uncomfortable."
"But you have a point; if they die, we're stuck with them. I'll suggest it to the higher-ups."