Chapter 550 - 362: Chen
Things aren’t actually as bad as Bone Shards describes.
The information provided by the mission tips should be treated objectively.
[Faction Affinity] is dynamically changing, and looking back at the historical records, the relationship between John and Damascus has been consistently improving.
This small matter shouldn’t cause them to fall out.
John doesn’t think it will affect his relationships with friends either.
If Nando and Alonna need help, he would rush over without hesitation.
Plus, Bone Shards’ suspicion of Wanderers is personally motivated.
The Black Gold Gang and Damascus (Radiant Dust Farm) are both in the West District; if it weren’t for the gang wars diverting most of the firepower, the two factions would have clashed long ago.
Thoughts continuously swirled in John’s mind as Silver Rider 577 returned to Dan Street Apartment.
It was already late at night.
A few employees hadn’t come back yet.
The rebuild of the restaurant was more stimulating to them than John imagined.
After cleaning up the party waste, they started listing the materials needed for preparation, eager to open the business by tomorrow.
And so, John was left alone again in the apartment.
He opened the refrigerator, took out the prepared food, but the greasy smell from heating reminded him of dragging the charred bodies by hand a few hours ago, instantly losing his appetite and settling for two compressed energy bars before resting.
Another dreamless night passed, bringing morning.
The apartment remained empty.
John opened his messages to discover that the employees hadn’t returned at all; they enthusiastically set up a floor in the restaurant and directly headed for the East District black market.
Gerry left coordinates for the boss, suggesting that if he was interested, he should go there and meet them.
[Series Mission: Operator - Business Preparation]
[Reward: Discount]
Mission tips popped up.
"Damn, can’t you sit still?"
John grumbled, frowning as he made coffee at the bar.
Recently, missions related to restaurant management have been too frequent, which indirectly indicates that owning an enterprise in Eden City is more exhausting than being an Edge Walker.
This mission reward is something he’s never seen.
What is meant by a discount?
[Mission Objectives Update]
[Purchase bar equipment. (Not achieved)]
[Purchase kitchen facilities. (Not achieved)]
[Purchase restaurant furniture. (Not achieved)]
Looking at the information popping up, John suppressed his speculations and left the apartment.
He drove Silver Rider 577 across City Core Square, heading to the eastern part of the city.
Actually, aside from City Core Square, most of the physical commercial buildings in the city are in the East District.
Many companies, including Plato, have their headquarters and direct-sale stores set up there; the city’s best offline shopping area is also situated here.
Hovercar docks are found all over the rooftops of the buildings.
The intercity rail has seven stations, with steel dragons weaving through the glass curtain walls outside, making this the city’s most convenient public transport area.
However, there is no subway in the East District.
The underground parking lot and some subway stations were destroyed in several major terrorist attacks, and even after reconstruction, due to factional occupation and various complexities, the subway never resumed operation. Later, all walks of life gathered here, creating Eden City’s largest underground black market. Eventually, with Raphael’s rise, she became the underground queen of Eden City, recognized by all mercenaries as the top middleman.
While John reminisced, Silver Rider 577 had already passed the commercial buildings, as well as the usual entrances to the underground market.
An industrial district.
The industrial districts on Eden City’s east and west sides are mirror-set.
And each has a super skyscraper.
The East District’s building had been modified by Radiant Dust Farm.
The one here hasn’t changed; the cement-colored exterior is painted with a giant white code, surrounded by red signal lights, resembling a silent giant beast in the steel jungle.
John adjusted his posture as he sat in the driver’s seat, straightening the work jacket pressed under him.
The last time he ventured into the East District was for Edward’s brothers, stopping them on the road to kill a Plato executive, during which he acquired this jacket.
Months of fleeing made the jacket aged, with several cooling patches damaged by bullets, slightly reducing its auxiliary effects on Sianweistan.
When Scissors handed this custom gear to John, he mentioned ongoing free maintenance service.
But John never made that call, and now hasn’t got the contact information either.
Four months is enough time to have been expelled from Plato Company and potentially perished in some obscure city corner.
If Scissors is still alive, it means he has steadied himself within the company.
However, a seasoned corporate dog might not abide by the initial promise.
Referencing Jilead shows that without getting oneself cut raw and bloodied, fitting into that snug world is challenging.
During those minutes of drifting thoughts, the street scene outside the window changed again.
The commercial street and skyscraper factories were left behind, and low-rise red-brick houses flanked both sides, where a few unemployed individuals sat outside two- to three-story rental apartments.
The old goods market Gerry mentioned is here.
The East District underground market leans towards Edge Walkers, including weapons, gear, and magic puppet plugins, along with a slew of associated services like tattoo engraving and stimulants—the goods and services are quite rugged.
But in a slum a few kilometers away.
In front of John’s eyes, this region is another black market of the East District.
Edge Walkers are just one part of this enormous city, and more are ordinary people who need everything that can be found in this market—from a screw under your car seat to the compressor cooling core of the corporate dining hall refrigerator.