The truck rolled forward, and Jing Shu's mouth gradually fell open as she looked around. This really was like a small city carved straight out of a mountain. Qian Duoduo's stone garden wasn't any worse, but this underground city had its own kind of badass charm.
For one thing, the stone garden had been built block by block with stone, while this place had been dug directly into the solid mountain itself. The structures that used to be part of a massive warehouse had now been transformed into rows of light steel houses. They were almost indistinguishable from the villas above ground. The environment wasn't bad either.
"Hey, this is the new city built by those hundreds of damned middle-class families. They literally moved their homes down here," Xiao Hei said, his voice echoing over the engine. "Yeah, it's damp during the rainy season, but at least there's no rain beating down on you. This place is the most badass spot in Sacramento. What is even crazier is that the underground black market has two levels. The noble families live on the top floor, while this one is where mercenaries and commoners mix. They say the first floor is 'heaven' itself, but unfortunately, I have never been in."
Jing Shu nodded. Voices echoed loudly against the stone walls, but the vast space didn't feel oppressive. The ceiling was at least ten meters high, a jagged expanse of rock that loomed overhead, and above that was another layer. Still, it felt dangerous. The earthquake was still shaking everything. Even inside the mountain, the tremors never stopped, sending fine plumes of dust drifting down from the heights. If the ceiling ever collapsed, everyone below would be buried alive. This underground black market wasn't just shady; it was risky as hell.
The truck rolled into the parking lot and paid one black market coin, the local currency down here. Beyond that was a sprawl of packed houses, and the noise from the crowd was deafening. People shouted in rapid-fire English that Jing Shu, a hopeless student, couldn't understand. Everyone was armed with something: machetes, pistols, axes, hammers, or shotguns. Some even wore reinforced leather armor or dirty bulletproof vests. The groups of two or three clustered together were clearly mercenaries.
Stalls lined the market, their goods displayed on rickety tables or blankets. Nobody cared about race here. Chinese, Mexican, Black, and White all mingled in the dim light. Some stalls sold weapons, some sold food, and some even sold slaves. It's basically a roaring open-air bazaar.
"Alright, boys, get your eating tools ready. Time to show what you're made of. Out here, you have got to act like the meanest sons of bitches around. Fierce, fiercer, fiercest!" Xiao Hei bared his teeth and made a vicious face.
Jing Shu just watched him.
"In the black market, you can't just pull a gun or a weapon on someone. Fighting and killing aren't allowed. But if there's a dispute, as long as you put down the coins, you can challenge and kill anyone. The survivor takes everything the other side owned. Of course, if you don't want to be challenged, just pay double and you will be safe. Damn vampire rules. You can keep challenging someone until they're broke, but if they have got nothing left, what is the point? Vampires, the lot of them."
Jing Shu picked up her cooking pot, then thought better of it. She quickly swapped it out for the gear she had painstakingly chosen for this trip. With her strength, the best option was a spiked mace; it was intimidating and dangerous at first glance. Anyone would think twice before messing with her. But carrying that giant club around everywhere was way too much trouble, especially since she couldn't stash it in the Cube Space.
So instead, she slung a multi-shot crossbow on her back, strapped a steel machete behind her, and tucked a pistol at her waist. It looked a little mismatched, but at least her combat power was obvious. In a place like this, she wasn't taking chances. She even put on a bulletproof helmet.
Ding. Your Chinese Auntie has logged in.
Tank's gear was even more over-the-top. He carried a giant shield and wore a thick bulletproof vest, lugging around a heavy machine gun with ease. He dragged two massive iron balls across the ground, the grating noise making everyone wince. People turned to glare, but the moment they saw Tank's towering two-meter frame, his bulging muscles, and all those guns strapped to him, their anger fizzled out instantly.
Monkey and Snake Spirit were much simpler. Aside from their pistols, Jing Shu didn't spot any other weapons. Their real trump cards were likely hidden. As for Ling Ling, she had a sniper rifle and an assault rifle, along with her custom gloves and a monocle. Female assassin was the first phrase that popped into Jing Shu's head.
The dimly lit market hummed with activity. Ling Ling's stylish, cute look drew plenty of greedy and lusty stares, but when she casually leveled her rifle at them and mimed a "bang bang" gesture, those gazes quickly vanished.
"Hey, if you want to kill someone here, you had better do it through a duel," Xiao Hei warned. "If you kill outside of a duel, the black market keeps the victim's belongings, and you will be punished by the nobles. Unless, of course, you cough up enough coins. At the end of the day, if you have got money, you can do whatever the hell you want."
Rules were just shackles for the poor.
"The black market doesn't care what power you belong to. As long as you complete missions, you can be a mercenary. You can be a spy from another country and nobody will bat an eye. But you have got to show real strength at all times. There's an old Chinese saying about 'playing the pig to eat the tiger,' but it doesn't work here. Because down here, it's not just tigers and elephants; they're also swarms of ants ready to strip you to the bone." Xiao Hei explained this cheerfully while trading words in English with a few vendors.
"Hey, buddy, today's slaves—where did you snatch them from?"
"Damn, you heartless maggot, still selling bug-based food?"
Jing Shu took in the market with curiosity. Compared to the slums, this place was better off, but everyone carried weapons. Not far ahead, a fight broke out and quickly escalated into a duel, overseen by the market guards. One man hurled an axe, splitting his opponent's skull open in an instant. The fight lasted only a few seconds. The victor stripped the dead man of everything, even his bloodied clothes, while guards dragged the corpse away.
Xiao Hei leaned close and whispered, "They feed the corpses to poultry. Those heartless maggots even serve human meat in the cafeteria, though they claim it's rat meat. I once saw a finger, nails and all. And get this: there's a new wine called Freshly Squeezed Human Blood Juice. It's blood from these corpses mixed with alcohol. Tastes pretty good, or so I have heard. If you are lucky, you will even get some meat chunks in it. Next time, I will take you guys to try it."
Jing Shu silently thanked Yang Yang for insisting they bring their own food. She had wondered before, in a food-rich country like America, why they still needed to pack their own supplies. Couldn't they just raid places along the way and live off war spoils? Now, she understood. Down here, the bottom feeders ate anything, while only the top enjoyed endless luxuries.
===
"Playing pig to eat the tiger" (扮猪吃虎 / bān zhū chī hǔ) is a Chinese idiom that literally means pretend to be a pig in order to eat the tiger.
It describes a strategy of hiding one's true strength, intelligence, or intentions by appearing weak, harmless, or foolish, only to strike when the opponent underestimates you.
Pig (猪): In Chinese culture, pigs are seen as clumsy, harmless, and unintelligent.
Tiger (虎): Represents strength, fierceness, and dominance.
The idea is paradoxical: a "pig" could never defeat a tiger—but if the pig is only pretending, it can lure the tiger into lowering its guard, then reveal its hidden power.