When it was around 2 pm, Osho woke up and sat up in his bed.
He looked at the time and tilted his head.
’4 hours left. Alright then.’ He stood up and started preparing.
He knew how to get into the black market now. However, there were still a few issues he needed to solve if he wanted to use his ability effectively and earn money while also keeping his identity hidden.
When it came to customers, he wasn’t too worried. After all, the black market was a place that offered all sorts of services, Beast Evolution being one of them. There would always be desperate rich people who wanted to try their luck, some of them going to known entities that dabble in those types of things, or some bold ones trying the newer arrivals to see if they had struck gold.
Osho intended to be that gold.
But again, there were some issues. The main issue was the issue of materials. If Osho’s ability could tell him the name of the materials needed as well as their direction, then things would be easier. But they simply told him the directions, meaning that he couldn’t tell any potential customers to buy a specific item since Osho didn’t know the name of said item.
However, this could be solved somewhat easily.
It wasn’t his style, but he intended to do things fairly upfront. But not too upfront. For starters, he needed to create a persona. After all, moving through the black market with your real identity is just asking for trouble. The black market knows this, so they always bring in the option to hide one’s identity when they enter, something Osho intended to take advantage of.
Whenever one entered the black market for the first time, they could either be a buyer or a seller. Though to be fair, one could be both without any repercussions.
Anyway, Osho was gonna be a seller which would get him a stall. Once that was done, he would move around and observe potential targets.
He wouldn’t approach them directly as doing so would automatically put him in a disadvantageous position when it comes to interacting. He needed them to come to him.
When he managed to spot a target, he’d quietly leave hints for them to come to where his stall would be.
Well, that was the general theme anyway, it was going to be far more intricate than that.
When it was 5:20, Osho set out. Despite his reluctance, he had to leave Gale at home. He didn’t like it, and neither did the bird, but he had no way of keeping Gale hidden as he didn’t have a beast space. It would be a simple thing to track him through his beast, so he couldn’t take the risk.
It was the first time Gale genuinely threw a fuss as he didn’t want to be left behind. Osho could feel the bird’s tumultuous emotions and fear of being abandoned, which kinda cut through his heart like a blade, but again, it was necessary.
He spent a good half hour placating Gale enough for him to finally call down and stay put. Osho made sure to put a bunch of food for him so that he wouldn’t get hungry.
With that finished, he opened his wardrobe and brought out a suitcase at the bottom.
After comforting Gale for a little bit and telling him to stay put no matter what, he left his apartment and took a taxi.
As the taxi drove, he looked out the window with a myriad of thoughts running through his mind. Despite Thema lm, he maintained his calm.
Soon, the taxi arrived near the Littleton Lounge which was inside a large hotel called the Hydra.
Osho calmly walked towards it, suitcase in hand. When he reached the entrance, he didn’t go straight through and instead made a beeline towards one of the guards at the entrance.
The heavily built man stared at him questioningly and Osho just stared back at him before saying.
"266, Severus, 6 pm." Hearing this, there was no change in the expression of the guard. Instead, he just nodded and turned around without a word.
Osho followed him as they entered the building. They went through a few places before finally arriving at the lounge.
It was quite tastefully decorated with high ceilings with appealing lights hanging and comfortable but aesthetic chairs around. There was also a bar with well-made barstools and a single bartender behind it. A bartender which Osho almost immediately noticed was blind.
The guard went behind the counter and whispered something to the bartender who just nodded and pressed something under the table. As a result, a portion of the floor behind the counter suddenly opened up to reveal a staircase leading down.
The guard gestured for Osho to go down and he nodded.
He started walking down the staircase, and for a good 5 minutes, there was nothing but darkness. At some point, though, a door suddenly appeared by his side and he didn’t hesitate to enter. It was a simple changing room.
It wasn’t too big or too small and had a simple black mask on a chair not too far away.
Osho stripped and opened the suitcase to reveal a neat suit which he promptly put on. Then he put on the mask and felt it automatically adjust to his face, which felt pretty cool if he had to admit it.
Once he was dressed, two buttons suddenly appeared on the wall. One had an S on it and another had a S. He chose the S.
The moment he did so, the door opened again and he walked out. However, he was no longer on the staircase. Instead, he found himself inside another room. This time, it was larger than the changing room but was quite empty. The only thing it had was a tablet that sat on a plain table.
Osho walked to the tablet and picked it up. The first thing he saw was a bar asking him what services his stall would offer.
When he put in Beast Evolution, he was then asked what he wanted to name the store as well as what his alias would be.
Choosing to be a bit cheesy, he named it the Limitless Stall. As for his alias, he chose the name Maven.
After that, a selection of items appeared on the screen with the tab asking him what he wanted.
A lot of the things cost money, but some things were free, and he picked those first.
He picked a mixing bowl, mortal and pestle, large and small pots, knives and chopping boards, a stove, and some other things.
If anyone else saw this, they’d think he was opening a cookery. But no, these were things he needed for evolving beasts.
When he finished, he pressed enter. Then came the option of decorating the stall. This time, almost all of the options cost a staggering sum, and the only free things were the basics like chairs, a waiting room, and a sign for the stall.
He picked all these things. Then he was asked if he wanted flyers or business cards, to which he picked the latter.
He then designed the cards. Once all of this was done, he was asked if he wanted to make any changes. He picked no.
A few seconds later, another door opened and he walked through it. It revealed a long corridor which he started walking through.
Eventually, he reached the other end and found himself inside another room. But the difference was that this room was actually his stall which everything he’d requested being inside. Moreover, there was an opening that allowed him to see outside. He saw a bunch of stalls opposite and besides him with different names.
Beyond that, he caught observed the entirety of the black market.
They were in a large underground space that should have no way beeb possible to fit under the Citadel without facing some heavy repercussions. Osho suspected that it wasn’t actually under the Citadel but that he had been teleported here at some point. Possibly not long after he started down the initial staircase.
The place was massive, and he could spot some high-rise buildings here and there.
Another thing to note was the heavy presence of guards. Each of them wore a suit and a mask similar to Osho. However, their masks were golden, and each of them gave off a suffocating Aura.
It was 6 on the dot, and he could see clients moving out and about. He intended to be finished by 9, so he had three hours to succeed.
He wasn’t too certain he would succeed on his first night, but he would give it his all.
’Sheesh, it’s been a while since I did something . I hope I’m not too rusty.’ He hummed as he reminisced a little before stepping outside.
Time to go find some clients.