Chapter 92: Information

Eren and Celeste walked out of the Salvationist’s Recruiting Booth twenty sunspores richer.

"Hahahahaha! That was so good!" Celeste chuckled.

Lacquer had been far too obvious in his desperation. Eren simply saw that thread and unravelled it, making him completely easy to manipulate. He didn’t even need the sunspores.

All around the Pitted Cavern, he saw a lot of other examinees still without a group of their own. They remained here, unable to traverse the Territories without the safety of a group behind them.

Some of them were pitiful, Eren observed. These were the people who had only surpassed the First Test purely through luck. They were weak, and therefore, not worth being added to a group.

These people were exactly who Lacquer and his group were targeting.

But there were a few, Eren reckoned, who stayed groupless simply because they could. They were smart in that regard. These were the people who would first observe everything around them, before making a decision to join a group.

Eren would have done the same if he were in their case.

There was no penalty in joining a group late. But there was all the risk in joining one too early.

Kaiser had told them that joining a group was easy. It required approval from both parties.

But if one wanted to leave a group, then only the Leader could give them that freedom. Joining a weak group early in the Test could doom them to failure even before they could use their abilities to its fullest.

They continued to walk some more, finding more recruitment booths and such.

Eventually, they happened upon a familiar chubby figure.

Pang Cai’s stalls were an entire district all on their own. There were stalls selling ingredients like cabbages, seaweeds, and potatoes. Some stalls focused on more mystical objects like the Skyward Herbs. And there were also some stalls that were focused on aiding people in exploring the Subterranean Burrows.

Eren and Celeste walked along Pang Cai’s Market District and saw things like ropes and ladders being sold en masse.

It seemed that not a lot of people could properly use their Primal Step so easily. So, they had to rely on mountain climbing gear to arm themselves.

"EREN! MY FRIEND!"

The scion of the Cai family’s boisterous voice echoed through the Pitted Cavern.

"You work quick, Pang Cai."

"Thank you, thank you. It’s simply natural for me to take advantage of my resources."

And by resources, he meant his lackeys. They manned his stalls, protected his wares, and even ventured out to the tunnels to harvest more materials. It was a perfectly, well-oiled machine.

Impressive that Pang Cai was able to do this just a few hours after the start of the Second Test.

Other groups had set up their own stalls, but not as big as that of Pang Cai’s. He worked quickly and with hastened efficiency.

"Oh and what do we have here? Another beautiful lady?" Pang Cai said, putting his attention towards Celeste. "You seem to attract lots of babes, my friend.

And like before, Pang Cai took Celeste’s hand and tried to kiss it. But instead of getting angry at him, Celeste turned towards Eren and gave him a look.

"Another beautiful lady?" she asked him. Then, she turned back to Pang Cai. "And also, we’ve met before."

"Have we? I must have been distracted then... anyway, have you found a Territory yet?"

"I have."

"Must be something good then? Perhaps I could buy some materials off of you..."

"Unless you want more potatoes."

"Ah... well, I won’t turn down a transaction, especially from you. But we do have a lot of stock of those already. Are you here to sell it?"

Eren then looked around. "Actually, I’m here to gather some information."

"Information," Pang Cai muttered with a smile on his face. "Most people think that the Cai family excels in bartering materials. But in truth, our best wares are always about information. What do you want to know?

If I know about it, I will give it to you for a price. And if I don’t, then I’ll have someone find out for me, for an even greater price. Sounds good?"

Eren nodded. "I want you to be on the lookout for unconquered Territories."

Pang Cai’s eyebrows slanted to the side. "Unconquered Territories, you say. Well, there’s a lot of that going on. Still lots of the Subterranean Burrows to be explored."

"I should have been more specific. Unsuccessful conquests is what I want to know about."

This surprised both Celeste and Pang Cai.

"You do know what you’re asking about, right? Unsuccessful conquests are unsuccessful for a reason. It could range from a lot of different ways.

It could be because the Territory terrain is too hard. It could be that the traps are too dangerous. It could be that the puzzles are too hard to solve."

Upon hearing that last part, Celeste’s eyes widened. She understood what Eren wanted to do.

"It could be anything," Eren said. "But that last part is best. If you hear about territories that are too hard to solve, then you tell me first."

Pang Cail looked at him for a brief second, before smiling with a knowing gaze. "Alright my friend. I will have my feelers out for any such information."

"I’ll give you the sunspores after its completion," Eren assured him.

"I somehow don’t doubt that," Pang Cai said.

After that conversation, Eren and Celeste returned to their Territory and reconvened with the rest of their group.

"So? What did you find out?" Tori asked. Her face was dirtied after digging around in the soil for potatoes.

"First of all, we can sell those potatoes for a pretty good price," said Celeste. "And we can buy a lot of what we need in the market back in the Pitted Cavern. As long as we have our sunspores, we can buy basically everything we need to sustain ourselves for a few days."

Eren then turned to the group. "Now, we just make ourselves richer."