Chapter 60: Trade Center
The bridge connecting the main NEA headquarters to the Trade Center was a long, enclosed corridor of reinforced glass and brushed steel. Walking through it felt like crossing a border between two different worlds.
Behind Hide was the sterile, oppressive authority of the military structure. Ahead of him was the chaotic, undeniable pulse of raw capitalism.
He stepped off the bridge and onto the 15th floor of the Trade Center. The scale of it immediately made him pause.
The building didn’t just go down; it sprawled upward for another ten floors, a massive cylindrical atrium opening up in the center so you could see the different levels stacked above and below. The air was thick with the hum of a thousand simultaneous conversations, the clinking of hard credits, and the sharp scent of raw mana and polished metal.
Hundreds of workers, mostly young women in crisp, dark blue uniforms, moved efficiently between Exterminators of every rank.
Some Exterminators wore pristine with custom-forged armor that gleamed under the artificial lights, while others hauled massive sacks of beast parts, their gear still dripping with dark blood and dungeon grime.
Hide had barely taken three steps into the main reception area when one of the staff approached him.
She was pretty, with her hair pulled back into a severe but elegant bun, and a polite smile. "Welcome to the NEA Central Trade Center," she said, offering a slight bow. "Are you here for appraisal, purchase, or general inquiry?"
"Selling," Hide said simply.
"Understood. Right this way, please."
She led him away from the main thoroughfare to a quieter row of sleek, white benches lining a glass partition. "Please have a seat. I just need to process your registration before we proceed to the selling floors."
Hide sat. The woman pulled a thin, metallic pen from her pocket and tapped it against her wrist. A holographic screen projected upward, glowing with a soft blue light.
"May I have your identification proof, please?" she asked, her fingers hovering over the light-keys.
Hide reached into his pocket and placed the dark metallic badge Maddox had given him onto the bench between them.
The woman glanced at it.
Her fingers froze mid-air.
The polite smile slipped from her face for a fraction of a second as she stared at the heavy gunmetal hexagon. It was small, but the crest pressed into it carried a weight she clearly recognized. When she looked back up at Hide, the professional distance was gone, replaced by a sudden, rigid respect.
"Apologies, sir," she said, her voice dropping a notch in volume. "I didn’t realize... Let me update the system immediately." She tapped rapidly against the hologram. "As an Independent Operator, you are eligible for an immediate upgrade to a Premium Membership. Would you like me to process that for you today?"
Hide leaned back slightly. "What’s the difference?"
"A Basic Membership allows you access to the public auction floors, general appraisals, and standard vendor stalls," she explained quickly, eager to be helpful. "A Premium Membership grants you exclusive access to floors above the 20th. The transactions there are completely secure and anonymous. It is also where the country’s highest-tier equipment, rare skill books, and S-Rank artifact bids take place."
She pointed upward, toward the higher levels of the atrium. "Most high-ranking Exterminators prefer the Premium floors to avoid public scrutiny."
Hide considered it. Right now, he didn’t need anonymity. He just needed to turn a mountain of useless equipment’s in his inventory into usable cash. He didn’t have millions of credits to blow on S-Rank artifacts, nor did he want to draw the attention of the people who did.
"Basic is fine for now," Hide said.
The woman blinked, clearly surprised that someone with an Operator badge was opting for the lower floors, but she didn’t question him. "Of course. Your profile is active. Please, follow me."
She led him past the waiting area and down a wide, brightly lit corridor. On either side were heavy, soundproofed doors, ten on the left, ten on the right.
"These are the Selling Rooms," she explained, gesturing to the closed doors. "Here, your loot and equipment are placed into automated appraisal chambers. The system calculates the exact market value based on current supply and demand. Once the price is set, you can choose to liquidate it immediately to the NEA reserves, or..."
She paused as they reached the end of the corridor. The double doors slid open automatically, revealing a massive, cavernous room.
The walls weren’t walls—they were twenty massive digital screens, each stretching from the floor to the ceiling.
"...Or, you can place them on the open market boards," she finished.
The room was packed. Exterminators stood in clusters, staring up at the screens where thousands of items scrolled past in real-time. Prices flashed from green to red, numbers shifting rapidly as the supplies dwindled.
"The items available for public purchase are displayed here," the lady continued, speaking loud enough to be heard over the dull roar of the crowd. "This layout is mirrored on the four floors above us, though each floor specializes in different categories. Weapons on the 16th, armor on the 17th, consumables on the 18th, and raw materials and Calamity beast cores on the 19th."
She pointed toward a set of heavily guarded elevators at the far end of the room. "The 20th floor is the Bidding Room. That is where the Premium floors begin. Floors 21 through 25 operate on the same mechanism you see here, but exclusively for premium-grade objects."
Hide scanned the massive screens. It was a chaotic, beautiful system. He could dump his entire inventory in a matter of minutes and walk out a millionaire.
Hide nodded. "I’ll take a Selling Room."
"Right this way."
She ushered him into Room 4, a sterile, white cubic space containing nothing but a metallic table with a circular glass scanning bed built into the center. She bowed once and left him alone, the heavy door sealing shut behind her with a quiet hiss.
Hide walked up to the table.
He didn’t hesitate. He opened his system inventory and looked at the things he had before dumping all the useless things he had gotten from leveling up and as reward for clearing the Spot dungeon, of course, he didn’t touch the consumables.