Chapter Thirteen: Opening the Door to a New World

Opening the "Eerie Black Market," Chen Ye noticed that the information flow had significantly diminished, with only a few scattered pages remaining. A casual scroll revealed the end almost immediately. The total number of listings didn’t even reach a hundred.

Since the Crimson Countdown event had only recently occurred, it appeared that the scope of information accessible via the Crimson Phone was limited solely to Linjiang City. The eerie phenomena from other parts of the world were not included—this was essentially an isolated instance.

Every player within Linjiang City was like a novice just entering the beginner’s village. In this early stage of exploration, naturally, few players had acquired items worth trading on the black market.

“Bai Chen actually has items listed here?” Chen Ye casually browsed for a moment and suddenly his gaze landed on a familiar name. Wasn’t this Bai Chen, the top-ranked player on the leaderboard? And yet, he had placed an item on the black market?

According to the function of the "Eerie Black Market," players could directly list their items, publishing their demands. Other players could upload photos of items they owned to the trading interface and send trade requests. Of course, whether or not a trade occurred depended on the players—they might accept, reject, or simply ignore the proposal.

Besides the trading window, there was a chat box. If disputes arose over the trade’s content and both parties agreed, a temporary conversation feature could be activated. Whether it was bargaining or deceit, that was the players’ business.

The left side of the trading interface automatically scanned item information, ensuring no one bought counterfeit goods. But beyond the data, players had to rely on their own experience to judge an item’s worth and whether it was worth exchanging.

Chen Ye’s eyes flickered as he opened Bai Chen’s trading interface. The screen revealed a cup filled with thick, crimson blood. The liquid seemed almost alive, crawling darkly within the cup. Suddenly, a grotesque eye emerged slowly from the cup’s rim, its pale eyeball staring lifelessly like a dead fish. It seemed to possess some form of vitality.

“Bloody Mary: A signature beverage from Blue Mountain Café. Those who drink it experience a unique sensation, opening a gateway to a new world where one can see what ordinary people cannot see and hear what ordinary people cannot hear.”

[Trade requirement: a characteristic item with a professional trait that can enhance physical fitness.]

The viewing count of the trade had already surpassed one hundred thousand. Yet, no one had successfully traded with Bai Chen.

Clearly, Bai Chen’s demand was high. He required a characteristic item with a professional trait, with a fixed condition—boosting physical fitness.

Chen Ye quickly deduced Bai Chen’s trading preferences: “The top-ranked Bai Chen must have obtained at least one, perhaps two or three characteristic items. The extra trait he’s trying to trade can’t yet be used; it’s extremely risky.”

“The Bloody Mary trait appears related to spiritual vision, enabling the user to perceive the spirit world...”

“During the beta test, it was rumored that Eerie Era would introduce a spirit world dungeon, a parallel realm perfectly corresponding to this gateway to a new world.”

“But the spirit world isn’t something that can be opened casually; it requires a sufficiently strong mental fortitude. Players in the early stages, without other traits, would be courting death to recklessly engage with Bloody Mary’s trait.”

“Looking across the entire Eerie Era, the items players currently hold pale in comparison to the value of Bloody Mary...”

“Successful exchange won’t be easy.”

“Moreover, since Bai Chen wants to trade for a physical fitness trait, it’s likely tied to his profession, perhaps aiming to deepen or fuse his abilities...”

“But there’s another possibility.”

“Physical fitness traits tend to have strong general applicability. If it’s a beginner-level trait, new players might safely absorb it.”

Of course, Chen Ye did not casually criticize Bai Chen for listing his trait information. While it did reveal some personal details, it also opened opportunities for cooperation and advancement.

At this early stage, quickly securing resources could grant a player a rolling advantage—whether in surviving crises or expanding resource control later, this edge was valuable.

The core gameplay of Eerie Era was collecting various traits. In resource-driven games, wisely leveraging one’s chips to snowball quickly enhanced competitiveness.

Chen Ye closed Bai Chen’s trade window. He himself carried nothing but some roasted chestnuts. A player of Bai Chen’s caliber, already mastering traits, would hardly lack basic survival materials.

Thus, even if Chen Ye could obtain such a trait, he couldn’t absorb it yet and wouldn’t waste time trying.

Other trade listings were unimpressive, mostly basic items like biscuits and water. The luckier players had secured survival necessities exceeding their own needs.

At this stage, survival materials were incredibly valuable—almost as precious as life itself. The items exchanged held endless possibilities.

However, these players’ appetites were large, often demanding items related to traits in their requests.

Even inexperienced players understood what this meant. Despite high view counts, very few were willing to trade—mostly because they lacked trait items. Even if they had some, they generally hoarded them, trading only in dire situations.

Some listings were completely empty, only posting conditions and demands, requiring negotiation through chat to finalize trades.

Chen Ye had no time to inquire one by one. He simply activated the Crimson Phone’s camera and snapped a photo of his roasted chestnuts.

The Crimson Phone lagged for a moment...

[Loading item information...]

[Item: Grandma’s Roasted Chestnuts]

[Category: Consumable/Food]

[Function: Highly satiating; quickly restores internal energy when eaten. Part of the gluttony trait series, slight enhancement of physical capabilities upon consumption.]

Opening the "Eerie Black Market," Chen Ye clicked “Post Item” in the center and listed Grandma’s roasted chestnuts, noting that he wanted items related to cooking in exchange.

“Ding ding ding!”

Almost instantly, a flood of trade requests popped up on his phone!

[Player ‘Matchstick Boy’ requests to trade with ‘Matchsticks!’]

[Player ‘The Nothing Man’ requests to trade with ‘Stones!’]

[Player ‘White Sock Kid’ requests to trade with ‘Original Flavor!’]

[...]

Chen Ye stared at these requests, dumbfounded.

What on earth were these things?

Not to mention ‘matchsticks’ and ‘stones’—they were just trash picked off the street.

And ‘original flavor’—he had no idea what that was!

Curious, Chen Ye searched the "Wind, Flowers, Snow, Moon" forum post for answers and finally discovered the truth.

Suddenly, it felt as if he had truly opened a gateway to a new world.