Lords of the Old Ones? I thought it was a speed bump.

Chapter 10 The Underground Black Market

Regarding the gold coins I obtained from the dungeon.

Although Lin Jue felt he could cash in on it at any time when he first got it.

But upon closer reflection, I realized that this thing wasn't as easy to convert into cash as I had imagined.

First, to avoid the recovery of gold involving illegal activities such as theft.

Reputable gold shops typically require customers to provide clear proof of provenance during transactions.

Ke Linjue's gold was dropped from an underground city in another dimension; there's no reasonable source for it.

If it's identified as illegal gold, the transaction might not go through and you might even attract the attention of security personnel, which would be a huge problem.

Lin Jue's current situation cannot withstand scrutiny at all; his basement is connected to an alternate dimension.

In this situation, Lin Jue naturally thought of another place to sell his money... the black market.

With the appearance of ominous things like "The Door of the Old Days", "The Demon of Order", and "The Syndrome of Imagination" one after another.

In recent years, the five major global federations have been in turmoil, with many villages, towns, and even cities at risk of being destroyed at any time due to attacks by the demons of order or outbreaks of delusions.

Because of the possibility of various unforeseen circumstances, many strategic materials were included in the federal government's control list early on.

Many supplies are unavailable not only to ordinary people, but even to the wealthy.

But where there is demand, there is a market, and many underground trading venues that operate outside of government management, namely the "black market," have emerged.

Although Lin Jue had never been there, he had heard some of his fellow workers at the dock mention the "black market."

It is said that you can buy anything there as long as you have money, and of course, you can also sell anything.

Furthermore, buyers never care whether the goods are legal or not when they purchase them.

As long as the goods are genuine, it doesn't matter where they come from.

Considering that Lin Jue may sell hundreds or thousands of gold coins in the future.

Compared to gold shops that require proof of origin, gold shops are also subject to scrutiny by sheriffs at any time.

Obviously, it would be much easier to cash out this gold on the black market.

However, exchanging money on the black market is not without risk, as prices there are highly volatile.

If you rashly show up at their door, you'll easily be taken advantage of and fleeced.

Just then, Lin Jue heard that Li Qiang had gone to the black market, saying that he went to buy some medicines that were not available on the market for a coworker.

Considering that he had been involved in the docks for many years, had connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, and possessed his own backing, Lin Jue made the request.

As expected, Li Qiang quickly understood the other party's meaning after seeing the gold coin.

He took the coin, weighed it in his hand, and nodded after confirming the weight was right.

"It's not difficult to liquidate gold, but even if you find the right middleman, the price is usually only 80% of the market price. Are you sure you want to go?"

Lin Jue nodded without hesitation upon hearing this, after all, it was probably much better than he had imagined.

Seeing Lin Jue's resolute expression, Li Qiang didn't say anything more, but gestured for him to come with him.

As night fell, the two got into Li Qiang's car and slowly drove towards the outskirts of Baigang City.

Before long, the vehicle stopped in an abandoned industrial park.

The two entered one of the dilapidated abandoned buildings.

An indescribable smell quickly filled the air.

The rusty smell, the damp musty smell, the cheap tobacco.

There was also some strange medicinal smell mixed together, sticky and making my nose feel very uncomfortable.

A moment later, Li Qiang pushed open the rusty iron door at the end of the corridor.

The "black market," which had been the subject of much speculation, finally appeared before Lin Jue.

It was a small shop that was unexpectedly large, and the interior was much cleaner than the exterior.

However, the dilapidated ceiling still exposed pipes and cables, and a fluorescent light tube hung in mid-air, emitting a pale white light.

Behind a waist-high counter stood a man in a black leather jacket. The light shone on his profile, making his expression inscrutable.

Seeing that it was Li Qiang who walked in, the man withdrew his hand from under the counter and greeted him:

"Brother Qiang, what would you like to get today?"

"I brought my cousin along to ship the goods." Li Qiang pointed at Jiang Zheng with his thumb and laughed.

"This young man just came from the countryside and is a bit short on cash, so please look after him."

The man behind the counter smiled, revealing a row of uneven, black teeth, and nodded, saying:

"Since it's someone brought by Brother Qiang, the price is naturally fair... Let's take a look at the goods."

Lin Jue slowly walked forward and laid out five flat gold coins in a row on the counter.

The gold coin had been hammered beforehand, making it look rather unsightly, and the patterns on it had already been smoothed out.

Despite seeing so much heavy gold, the man showed no sign of greed.

He reached out and picked up a gold coin, weighed it in his hand, then put on his special monocular magnifying glass to examine it, and said:

"The weight is just right, and the condition is good, but it's too new... It must have been a burial item dug out of some grave, the kind that's hardly ever been circulated."

Lin Jue remained silent upon hearing this, instead adopting a mysterious and inscrutable demeanor.

This black market boss was clearly an expert; the more an outsider says in front of an expert, the more mistakes they make.

The best way to avoid being figured out by the other party is to simply say nothing and let them guess.

Seeing that the young man didn't respond, the black market boss didn't care and continued to inspect the batch of gold coins.

A few minutes later, he put down the pile of testing tools in his hand and asked carefully:

"Since you're Brother Qiang's cousin, how about 25,000 yuan per coin?"

Previously, Li Qiang had given a percentage of about 80% of the market price, so this gold coin was worth 30,000 yuan according to the market price.

From this perspective, the price of 25,000 per coin offered by the black market vendor is indeed a relatively favorable price.

However, Lin Jue was too lazy to care about this difference; all he wanted was for convenience in making a move.

After handing over five gold coins, the corresponding amount was quickly transferred to the bank card.

Seeing the six-figure balance displayed on his card, Lin Jue immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Now I can buy whatever I want without having to be stingy anymore.

A short while later, the two who had completed the transaction walked out of the dimly lit convenience store.

Just as they drove back to the dock, Lin Jue was about to say goodbye and leave.

Li Qiang suddenly grabbed his arm and earnestly advised him:

"Xiaolin, although life is full of ups and downs, you should always be upright and honest. You... you understand what I mean, right?"

Throughout the journey, Li Qiang never inquired about the origin of Lin Jue's batch of gold coins.

But there's really no need to ask; anyone with a brain knows this thing is definitely of dubious origin.

Otherwise, there would be no need to come to the black market to sell at a lower price; you could just find a legitimate gold shop to handle it.

Lin Jue naturally knew what Li Qiang was worried about, so he nodded first, then shook his head and said:

"Brother Qiang, you know I've always been an upright person, so you can rest assured."

"That's true, but you... never mind, as long as you can handle it yourself, I'll take care of you."

Li Qiang obviously wanted to say something more, but then he thought about it and realized that this guy's sanity was only 0.

What's the point of talking to someone in this state? To put it dramatically, if he killed someone one day, he wouldn't be executed; at most, he'd be thrown into a mental hospital.

Left with no other choice, Li Qiang could only choose to trust Lin Jue this once, believing that he wouldn't get into deeper trouble.

And so, as Lin Jue rode away from the dock on his "anti-theft MK2" with a bountiful harvest.

Instead of driving home along the familiar road, he headed towards the bustling town street.

The wheels of the steel bicycle creaked and groaned as they rolled on the road.

This also indicates that tonight will most likely be a sleepless night, after all, Lin Jue's leveling time... has only just begun.