Lower City District, Thirty-Third Cave.
As one of the caves in the Lower City District, Thirty-Third Cave is quite different from most others.
The main purpose of regular caves is to provide housing for impoverished people who lack credit points and can’t afford third-class air and sunlight taxes, but Thirty-Third Cave is not like that.
This cave was once an underground shelter left behind by a large corporation, transformed into one of the most bustling centers in the Lower City District.
Here, human trafficking, illegal trade, extraordinary knowledge, and spiritual creations are endless, casinos and clubs are commonplace, and there are even several life and death arenas where hundreds of gladiators fight daily.
It’s said that as long as a gladiator can win a hundred victories, Thirty-Third Cave will perform a spiritual transformation on them, making them a true Spiritual Ability User.
Unfortunately, very few gladiators manage to achieve a hundred victories, but the blood-boiling battles continue to attract countless spectators, including nobles from the Upper City District.
A modified large transport miner truck slowly stopped at the entrance to Thirty-Third Cave, and Lu Yan and Quentin stepped off the truck.
Lu Yan had already changed out of his conspicuous Magic Robe, and his casual short-sleeve attire blended into the crowd.
In contrast, Quentin, who followed beside Lu Yan, was tall and imposing, with a massive qilin arm on his right hand that matched the size of a waist, attracting both awe and envy from passersby.
In the cyber versions, spiritual mutation transformation symbolizes power and wealth; the more grotesque the mutation, the greater the fear it instills.
Quentin carried a silver-white encrypted box in his left hand, accustomed to the surrounding stares and showing no reaction.
Yet, his face still carried an indelible worry.
"Mr. Lu, can these things really be sold?"
As they approached the entrance of Thirty-Third Cave, Quentin asked Lu Yan with some apprehension.
Lu Yan gave Quentin an annoyed look: "I told you to try the drug yourself, but you refused. Now we’re almost there, and you start to worry.
If you’re really uncertain, then just turn around and leave."
Quentin was rendered speechless, his gaze shifting to the silver encrypted box in his hand.
The box appeared quite lavish externally, with intricate mechanical carvings giving it a high-tech creation vibe, suggesting it contained something precious from the Upper City District.
But only Quentin knew that this seemingly luxurious silver encrypted box had nothing to do with high-tech creations at all.
The box’s exterior was crafted by him, mimicking a luxury style from the Upper City District, using an outdated machine tool to manually shape it; even the encryption lock was scavenged from discarded materials.
As for the contents inside the encrypted box, it made Quentin’s heart uneasy.
Two days ago, Lu Yan suddenly imagined making and selling drug concoctions to fill the spiritual energy tax deficit.
Quentin initially thought Lu Yan had some precious spiritual energy secret formula, so he agreed immediately.
Little did he expect that for the next day and a half, Lu Yan would throw him into an underground drug factory, forcing him to repair the long-abandoned production line from scratch.
Moreover, Lu Yan squeezed over five thousand credit points out of him to buy a batch of materials.
When Quentin, after expending all his efforts, managed to restart the rust-covered production line, he was dumbfounded upon seeing the drug production process.
Both the operation of the production line and the raw materials indicated that the factory was producing regular steroid drugs.
This kind of stuff was everywhere in the Lower City District and was not considered anything new.
The original underground drug factory profited from making these because Jiulong Group used special means to evade the spiritual energy tax.
Without the burden of spiritual energy tax, the cost of these drugs was reduced, enabling the original drug factory to earn handsomely due to the price advantage.
Now, Lu Yan was burdened with high spiritual energy tax, yet still producing these cheap low-grade drugs, making Quentin doubt if Lu Yan could even recoup the material costs.
When the drug production was finished, Lu Yan even proactively asked Quentin to try them, claiming it could bring him closer to becoming a Spiritual Ability User.
Although Quentin greatly respected Lu Yan’s mysterious background and powerful means, he was unwilling to test the drugs himself.
He was very aware of the consequences of extensively using these poor-quality spiritual steroid drugs.
Cranial protrusions were considered a benign reaction; physical decay and intellectual decline were among the lethal negative effects, making Quentin, who aspired to become a Compiler, naturally unwilling to risk his life.
Seeing Quentin’s reaction, Lu Yan didn’t force him much but asked him to prepare a decent-looking encrypted box to pack the drugs into specially made disposable syringes for sale at Thirty-Third Cave.
Quentin was somewhat skeptical of this plan, but considering the huge spiritual energy tax amount on his back, he dutifully accompanied Lu Yan all the way here.
Upon reaching the entrance, two robust black men extended their hands to block the way.
Quentin’s expression remained unchanged as he raised his wrist’s personal terminal over the door, and two deduction notifications popped up afterward.
After completing the payment, the two black men stepped aside to let them through.
Lu Yan curiously glanced at the entrance: "It turns out entering Thirty-Third Cave requires credit points?"
But as Lu Yan stepped into Thirty-Third Cave, he immediately understood the reason.
Inside Thirty-Third Cave wafted sweet blissful neurological mist, in such high concentration that Lu Yan could see wisps of pink fog with the naked eye.
Looking up towards the sky, several massive ventilation ducts connected Thirty-Third Cave, from which the blissful neurological mist dispersed.
"Thirty-Third Cave is very close to the air transmission system of the Lower City District. Universal Giant Corporation periodically releases blissful neurological mist, and the few gangs managing Thirty-Third Cave take this opportunity to connect these ventilation ducts to the air transmission system.
Once the blissful neurological mist is released, utilizing the convenience of the ventilation ducts plus the enclosed space environment, Thirty-Third Cave can enjoy the highest concentration of blissful neurological mist, far stronger than the trash quality inhaled by millions on the surface.
Only fifty credit points per person are needed to inhale here all day long!"
Upon saying this, even Quentin couldn’t help but take a few deep breaths, showing a look of intoxication.
Around them, many were even more exaggerated than Quentin, some even lay directly in the passageways beside the entrance, taking huge gulps of mist, occasionally twitching to show they weren’t corpses.
Lu Yan’s mouth twitched as he kicked Quentin’s leg, interrupting his enjoyment.
Quentin quickly snapped out of his brief trance.
Surrounded by blissful neurological mist, the two strode into this bustling trade market.