Since Graces was going with her to the black market, Lu Xia didn’t have the butler accompany them. After all, the construction of No. 2 Institute still needed him to keep an eye on things.

The evening they were set to leave, Graces had the butler quickly prepare two cloaks.

Lu Xia was a little curious when she saw them. "What are these for?"

"The black market is full of shady characters. It’s best to be careful." As he spoke, Graces reached out to adjust her hood, its wide opening perfectly concealing Lu Xia’s face.

All anyone could see was her small, delicate chin.

The butler saw the two of them out, adding a word of caution. "You must be careful, and stay close to Graces."

"I will, don’t you worry. Just look after the house. We’ll be back later tonight." Lu Xia waved to the butler and followed Graces into the car.

Over the past two days, Graces’s condition seemed to have stabilized. The wound on his chest was healing well, and the hard scales hadn’t reappeared as long as he wasn’t in danger.

’She recalled the blood test from two days ago. It showed that Graces’s Beastification Gene had risen from under 30% to 65%.

So, if nothing else went wrong, it seemed that while his injury had been perilous, it had also been a blessing in disguise, activating the Beastification Gene within him.

The only thing was, Graces hadn’t yet learned to control the power that came with it.

For the past few days, Lu Xia had been replacing all of Graces’s drinking water with Spiritual Spring Water. It had played a major role in his rapid stabilization, since the water had healing and purifying properties.’

Lu Xia was lost in thought on the way to the black market. She only snapped out of it when they arrived at their destination and she followed Graces out of the car.

Her eyes fell upon a desolate, uninhabited patch of suburbia, completely overgrown with weeds.

Lu Xia looked around in surprise. "The black market is here?"

"The black market on the Imperial Star has eight entrances. This is just one of them, and it’s fairly close to the Toya Auction House. Stay close, and watch your step." As he finished speaking, he took Lu Xia’s hand.

Lu Xia was a little surprised by how much Graces knew about the black market. ’The butler once said the military conducted annual raids on the black market. Did Graces take part in one? Is that why he knows so much?’

As the thought occurred to her, she asked, "How do you know so much about this place?"

Graces reached out to adjust her hood again before replying in a soft voice, "The military had a mission here once. I led the team, that’s how I know."

"No wonder." Hearing this, Lu Xia didn’t press further. She wasn’t particularly interested in what kind of mission Graces had conducted here.

She followed Graces through a patch of chest-high grass and saw an entrance leading straight underground.

’If Graces hadn’t brought her here, she never would have known that this seemingly abandoned cellar was one of the eight entrances to the black market.’

"Once we’re inside, if anyone asks questions, let me do the talking. Don’t say a word. Females don’t normally come here."

After all, females were pampered and privileged. Even one without a powerful family background could live very well as long as she was willing to put in a little effort. Therefore, no female in her right mind would take the initiative to come to the black market.

Of course, if a female *did* appear in the black market, she would most likely fetch a very high price.

After passing through the narrow entrance, they found themselves in a brightly lit Underground City.

’If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she never would have imagined such a spectacular city could exist underground.’

"The black market only opens at night. It’s completely empty during the day," Graces explained in a low voice. As they passed a mask stall, he bought two plain, patternless white masks, handing one to Lu Xia and keeping the other.

Lu Xia took it without asking any questions and obediently put it on. ’Now, as long as she doesn’t take off her clothes or speak, no one will know she’s a female.’

"The Toya auction doesn’t start for another hour. Do you want to look around a bit?"

Lu Xia nodded. She was incredibly curious about this place.

Seeing her reaction, a faint smile touched Graces’s eyes as he led her by the hand deeper into the market.

If you didn’t know it was the black market, the bustling scene would make you think it was just a particularly lively night market.

The stalls on either side were selling all sorts of things—food, accessories, clothes, pets, and more. It was a dazzling, varied assortment.

Lu Xia followed Graces, stopping here and there, finding it all fascinating. Then they arrived at one particular stall, and she was stunned for a moment by what she saw.

Because brazenly displayed on the stall was the beauty cream developed by the No. 1 Institute!

’The beauty cream is being sold in the black market?’

Lu Xia tugged on Graces’s hand, but before she could even give him a signal, Graces was already asking, "How much for this beauty cream?"

"This one’s 5,999, that one’s 8,999," said the tall, cloaked Beastman sitting behind the stall. "This is all I’ve got, so buy it now if you want it. This stuff is the real deal, I don’t need to tell you how well it works. It’s sold out up top, and who knows how many people are still waiting to get their hands on it."

Just hearing the prices made Lu Xia want to shout, ’Are you serious?!’

’The official price for the 500ml version is 599, and he’s selling it for 5,999. The 1000ml is 899, and he’s selling it for 8,999. He must be making an absolute killing doing business like this!’

"Did you snap all of these up yourself?"

"Of course! My younger brother was chosen as a volunteer. I saw it with my own eyes—he used this stuff to completely heal the burn scars on his face. This was before it was even on the market. I just knew that once it was released, it would be a huge hit, so I had my whole family rush to buy it. But there are only so many of us, so this is all we got. Yeah, my price is a little steep, but think about it. The sooner you buy, the sooner you use it, the sooner you can enjoy it, and the sooner you’ll heal, right?"

’He was being surprisingly honest, but his prices were still outrageous.’

’Still, this encounter was a wake-up call for her. In the future, she’d have to implement purchase limits for new product releases.

As for the scalping, that would naturally resolve itself once production capacity increased. This guy was just making a quick buck while he could.’

’With that in mind, Lu Xia decided not to pursue the matter. The fact that he’d thought of this scheme was a skill in itself. There was no need to be ruthless about it.

Besides, the guy had bought the product with his own hard-earned money. She couldn’t really control how much he chose to resell it for.’

She curled a finger in Graces’s palm. He got the hint immediately and was about to lead her to another section of the market when a voice suddenly boomed from behind them. "Make way! Everyone, make way!"

The jangling of a camel’s bell followed the shout. Lu Xia looked toward the sound and saw a tall camel heading their way. It was pulling a cart that held a large iron cage. Inside sat a white-haired man in a black robe.

The man’s eyes were closed as he leaned against the bars of the cage. His face was pale, and on the back of the hand hanging at his side was a red birthmark shaped like a peach blossom.