Chapter 74

"Indeed, I had a nightmare..." Wang Ge said with a smile, but his pale face and the cold sweat on his forehead seemed to tell a different story.

"Alright, it's fine." Wang Fei comforted Wang Ge, trying to divert his attention. She playfully pinched his ear and said, "Hurry up and switch sides, Brother. You fell asleep after cleaning just one ear. Look at what time it is now!"

"Ah, I'm sorry..." Wang Ge looked at the time and quickly lifted his head from Wang Fei's lap. He hadn't realized he had slept for two hours. He subconsciously said, "Is your leg sore..."

But halfway through his sentence, Wang Ge suddenly realized that his sister had no sensation in her legs. Saying this would hurt her.

He became anxious, not knowing how to make amends. However, Wang Fei, seeing his awkward expression, smiled and said, "Hehe, Brother, I never noticed before, but the lack of sensation in my legs has this benefit. They don't get sore or numb, so you can sleep on them as long as you want in the future!"

Wang Ge felt a pang of sadness but didn't know how to respond. He could only force a more natural smile, "Then let me switch sides and keep sleeping!"

After saying this, Wang Ge switched to the other side and lay on Wang Fei's lap, allowing her to clean his other ear.

However, this time, Wang Ge was wide awake. Although he had a nightmare, his sister seemed to have a natural healing touch. Just one sentence from her had fully revived him.

When he calmed down and focused, Wang Ge felt the gentleness of Wang Fei's movements, the love they conveyed, and the warm, fragrant breath on his ear...

It was like—his mother's scent.

A new black market store had opened in Black City, named "Brothers." The name "Brothers" paired with "black market store" seemed somewhat unconventional, but the store's owner was even more unconventional, being a well-known cripple.

In Black City, there were several black market stores, each with its own background or a powerful figure behind it.

So, a few days after Brothers opened, someone came to cause trouble.

"White tile!" Bai Mao threw a mahjong tile, looking depressed. "Boss, our store is new and has no reputation. We haven't made a single sale yet. This isn't good..."

"Pong!" Xiao Bian called out happily.

"You can pong that?" Bai Mao rolled his eyes and then tentatively asked Juan Mao, "Boss, should we do some promotions or advertising?"

"You idiot!" Xiao Bian mocked, "We're a black market store! Promotions? Advertising? Do you think you're Walmart?"

"Then what should we do?" Bai Mao countered.

"Three bars!" Xiao Bian said while shaking his head. "If I knew what to do, I wouldn't be playing mahjong with you. But I know promotions won't work. Our inventory is limited. If you do a promotion, we'll be out of stock in no time."

"We can't get more inventory, and I suspect other black market stores are colluding against us," Lun Tai said, shaking his big round head. "Right now, we only rely on Da Wang for supplies. The others who promised us goods have all backed out..."

"Even if someone wants to buy, they won't dare to be the first," Bei Tai, with a square head, said. "New stores have no credibility. No one will do the first business with us. Boss, don't play that tile..."

"Hey, hey, hey—" The other three players were unhappy and accused Bei Tai, "Which tiles are you looking at?"

Juan Mao gave Bei Tai a dirty look and still played the tile that Bei Tai had tried to stop. As expected, Lun Tai claimed it, grinning widely and pointing at Bei Tai, "Good boy, trying to betray your own team, huh!"

"There is an opportunity, though..." Juan Mao, not minding the tile being claimed, frowned and said, "Have you heard of the 'Black Market Auction'?"

"No..." The four subordinates shook their heads like dials.

"...The Black Market Auction is a large auction held periodically by all the black market stores on Meteor Street," Juan Mao said, unconsciously touching the tiles with his trembling fingers. This was his way of trying to regain his sense of touch, even though he always touched the wrong tiles, he felt a gradual return of sensation:

"It happens every quarter, three months, and is a grand black market event in the entire Mountain City base. Whether we're in the black market or those high-ranking officials, everyone attends the Black Market Auction.

"Each black market store prepares valuable items in advance, hoping to get a good price at the auction. The store whose item sells for the highest price gains a lot of prestige and fame.

"Sometimes, items that no one cares about in daily life can fetch high prices at the auction. It's unpredictable.

"So, the Black Market Auction is also a time when black market stores compete secretly. For our Brothers store to gain a reputation quickly, the best way is to stand out at the Black Market Auction."

"Great opportunity, Boss!" The four subordinates were excited, but then they heard a mocking voice from outside the door:

"Think you can participate in the Black Market Auction?"

"Who!" Bai Mao, Xiao Bian, Lun Tai, and Bei Tai, the four mainstays under Juan Mao, pushed the mahjong tiles and stood up, glaring at the person at the door.

A tall, thin man stood there. Although tall, he was very slender, looking like a fishing rod that had been bitten by a fish.

He was called a fishing rod bitten by a fish because he was hunched over, with his hands in his pockets, resembling a heavy smoker.

But under his messy, curly hair, he had small, crazy eyes that looked like a mad dog ready to bite anyone.

Recognizing who it was, the four, who had been aggressive a moment ago, became timid. Most people in Meteor Street knew this man, a professional hitman nicknamed Mad Dog.

Professional hitmen usually take jobs for money, hitting whoever they're paid to hit. But Mad Dog's nickname came from his tendency to attack anyone associated with the target, even passersby.

If Mad Dog were a low-level life form, it would be different, but he was a Level 9 life form.

Even if the four of them attacked together, it would be futile. Normally, Juan Mao could stand up to him, but now...

"Mad Dog, what are you doing here?" Juan Mao slowly stood up, supporting himself on the mahjong table, not out of arrogance but due to his weak limbs.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! This is a black market store! What do you think I'm here for?" Mad Dog sneered, looking Juan Mao up and down, and grinned, "Hey, Juan Mao, what's wrong? Overindulging and turning into a weak shrimp?"

"You—what are you talking about!" The four immediately turned red with anger. Though they were afraid, they couldn't tolerate Mad Dog insulting their boss.

"Shut up." Juan Mao slowly waved his hand, "In business, we need to be friendly and make money."

The four, though eager to fight Mad Dog, fell silent upon hearing Juan Mao's words. His words weren't just about business but also the unwritten rules of the black market.

If a black market store attacked a customer, no one would dare to buy from them, regardless of the reason.

Juan Mao's fingers trembled as he pinched them, feeling an overwhelming sense of despair. Even clenching his fists was so difficult...

"Mad Dog, what do you want to buy?" Juan Mao asked through gritted teeth.

"Haha, good, Juan Mao, you're playing the part of a turtle!" Mad Dog taunted. Seeing that Juan Mao wasn't taking the bait, he changed his approach, "I want to buy a Bugman. Do you have any?"

"Bugman?" Juan Mao frowned, "What do you need a Bugman for?"

"What's it to you? Can I use it as a girlfriend?" Mad Dog arrogantly poked Juan Mao's chest with two fingers, "Hurry up, do you have any or not?"

Wang Ge's face turned pale, and his body swayed involuntarily. If he hadn't braced himself on the mahjong table, he would have fallen.

"No," Juan Mao said, his forehead veins throbbing with suppressed anger, but his face twisted as if he were about to cry.

"No?" Mad Dog sneered, raising his voice, "No this, no that, what kind of black market store are you running?"

Of course, he knew that Brothers couldn't have Bugmen or Bugbears, as none of the black market stores on Meteor Street had them in stock.

Bugmen, though low-level, move in groups and are hard to capture. Bugbears, though solitary, are extremely powerful, even a Level 9 life form like him would flee at the sight of one.

Bugmen and Bugbears were useless to him. Today, he was hired to cause trouble.

He thought he had the upper hand, but as he spoke, a sudden gust of wind startled him.

Damn, someone is ambushing me!

Mad Dog quickly turned and swung a punch at the source of the wind. However, it was a massive, dark object. His punch did no damage and instead, he was knocked to the ground with a loud thud.