Everyone's impression of Jing Shu went up another level as they watched her organize her things. They all realized she really might have come here for a vacation. She barely carried any weapons, yet she brought a full set of cooking gear, and her obsession with food was almost disturbing.
The night was torture. The rhythmic snoring of the men, the distant rumble of thunder through the thin walls, and the muffled noises from the couples upstairs all drilled into her head without fail. Even with earplugs jammed tight into her ears, she couldn't sleep a wink. Instead, she kept stimulating her illusion ability to stay half-awake and practiced with the Cube Space the entire night. By the time the first light touched the grime on the windows, her mind felt dazed and heavy.
By six in the morning, Jing Shu dragged herself up for her shift, dark circles visible under her eyes. By the time the group finished a quick breakfast and reached the arena, she was so sleepy she almost face-planted into the dirt.
After one miserable night in that place, everyone realized how noisy and dangerous it was upstairs. Those people not only gossiped endlessly, but they also kept eyeing their supplies with hungry, calculating looks. In a lawless America, the only reason they hadn't attacked was because they had judged the risk too high. Jing Shu's group had guns, took turns keeping watch, and had Tank; a serious deterrent all on his own. Still, they couldn't just start killing people for staring too long. That would only alert others to their presence.
"Let's just stay in the underground Black Market," Snake suggested. "It's safer. We will have private rooms, better security, and if things go south, it will be easier to make a breakout."
No one argued with him. Moving their gear again was a pain, but it beat getting robbed in their sleep.
As B-rank mercenaries, they were eligible to rent a small two-story unit in the Black Market. It was made of bare concrete, but it was still hundreds of times better than the filth of the slums. Best of all, Jing Shu got her own private room.
"Finally, I can eat in peace," she thought, feeling a wave of relief.
As for earthquakes?
"I refuse to believe I will be that unlucky. The Black Market isn't going to collapse, right? I traveled all over in my last life during the third year and never got buried alive. There's no way my luck is going to tank just because I came to America. Besides, we're only staying for, what, ten days? Once the mission is done, we're out."
She comforted herself with that thought as she checked the sturdy concrete walls. Anything was better than going back to the slums.
"It's a hundred Black Market coins a day," Tank said, counting out the currency. "I will deduct it from what we made selling those guns yesterday."
Everyone was satisfied with the new place. Even Xiao Hei looked like he had reached the peak of his life. Living in the underground Black Market had been his dream for years, and Jing Shu's team made it happen on day two.
"Hey, Goat was right. You guys really are something," he said with a wide grin.
After moving in for the second time, the group kept their weapons on them at all times and headed straight for the arena; the only place connected to the nobles' district above.
To upgrade from B-rank to S-rank, they needed to accumulate thirty thousand Black Market coins. Most mercenary missions here paid between two hundred and two thousand coins, with rare ones spiking to three or even eight thousand like the one they completed yesterday. And most of those missions took time; lots of it.
In short, ranking up was hard. The Black Market had a few A+ mercenary teams, but not a single S-rank one. Word was, a team had almost made it last month, but they had failed their mission and got completely wiped out.
The other shortcut to advancement was through the arena; fighting to entertain the nobles.
There were life-or-death duels and all sorts of other match types, depending entirely on what the nobles wanted to see.
Half-asleep, Jing Shu followed the group inside the massive structure and finally understood just how small and insignificant life could feel in front of the powerful.
"Surprised?" Xiao Hei asked, grinning at their reactions. "Didn't expect this many people, huh? The arena is split into three sections. One is for mercenaries fighting each other, with different environments simulated for the matches. Another is for one-on-one brawls on the stage. And the last one is for combat pets."
He beckoned them to follow him toward a large counter. "Come on, I will show you where to sign up. I know this place like the back of my hand. The nobles post requests here and offer bounties in Black Market coins. Once two teams accept the same request, they're scheduled for a match. Some fights end with one side dead, others when one side can't get up. Sometimes the nobles even demand cruel, creative ways to torture the other side. You only get full payment if you meet their conditions."
And the nobles themselves place bets. They gamble on which team or fighter will win. If they like you, they might throw in extra rewards to motivate you, or ask you to do weird stuff in the arena just to satisfy their sick tastes.
Anyway, apart from missions, this is the fastest way to earn money. Team matches count toward your total coins too. The only fights that don't count are between pets, since nobles see them as low-class entertainment for commoners.
After Xiao Hei's rundown, Jing Shu's team finally understood the arena's twisted system. Basically, the nobles had absolute power and used it however they wanted. It was the perfect example of "money makes you god."
"Oh, right," Xiao Hei added as they reached the entrance. "Anyone who enters the arena, whether to fight or to watch, has to pay two Black Market coins. It's packed every day. Even the jobless mercs come here. There's nothing else to do anyway."
Tank paid twelve coins for the team, and they finally stepped inside officially.
"If you're lucky, you can even bet on the pet fights," Xiao Hei said, glancing at the smaller ring. "We commoners can only bet on those. The noble-only matches are off-limits."
Jing Shu rubbed her chin and glanced at Xiao Dou, her fat hen, who looked downright miserable in her miniature armor. The bird was lying flat on the ground like she refused to move an inch.
"Looks like you're my ticket to getting rich today," Jing Shu muttered.
Xiao Hei led them to register at a small window.
While waiting, Jing Shu frowned at the list of arena bounties and finally understood why no teams were cheating the system by fighting each other for easy wins.
One posting read:
Bals: "Reward: 2,000 Black Market coins. Victory condition: cut off every opponent's arm."
Joel: "Reward: 1,000 Black Market coins. Victory condition: no weapons allowed. Knock out all the opponent's teeth."
At least these didn't require killing. The more extreme ones demanded total annihilation of the other team and paid much higher; but those were life-or-death matches.
Still, the payouts were tempting. Every reward on the board was way higher than the usual mission rates, and team victories counted toward their ranking total. No wonder so many people risked it.
The higher the risk, the higher the reward. In just a few minutes, you could earn more than a week's worth of missions.
Jing Shu cracked her fingers and did some quick math, wondering just how much they would have to win this month to pay off what they owed.