After the recent incident, the alley seemed as if nothing had happened. Both buyers and sellers remained focused on their own affairs.

It seemed that the bloody event just now was something they were accustomed to.

Jiang Kai cautiously walked deeper into the alley.

The dark alley was full of uncertainties; you could never be sure if the person you were dealing with was a scammer or even a desperado.

The more you were in such a place, the more you couldn't show any sign of fear!

***

After wandering for another hour, it was already very late, and there were significantly fewer people in the dark alley.

Jiang Kai tried hard to recall every stall.

He noticed that the masked woman at the northwest corner of the first intersection had completed at least three transactions, but each involved lengthy bargaining with the buyers.

Her goods were probably fine, but she liked to be clever with pricing.

About ten meters down the eastern fork of the intersection, there was a young red-haired woman who didn't look Chinese. She sold several units of Nuclear Soil, and the buyer, wearing a uniform under a black coat, seemed to be from the River City military.

In the western fork, a bald man had many people in front of his stall. He seemed to be from some guild and spoke loudly and confidently with buyers.

***

After hours of observation and selection, Jiang Kai finally set his sights on an elderly seller in his sixties.

The old man had graying hair, was less than 1.7 meters tall, thin, and had a cold expression, looking not very approachable.

His stall was at the deepest part of the middle fork of the intersection, in a poor location.

However, Jiang Kai remembered that he had seen at least five groups of buyers complete transactions with him, each deal concluded very quickly.

The buyers and seller seemed to communicate almost with just a glance, completing transactions in no time.

Clearly, those buyers were regulars, indicating a high level of trust between them.

In a place like the dark alley, having regular customers indirectly proved his good reputation and fair pricing.

Most importantly, the seller's age made Jiang Kai quite satisfied.

In his sixties, he might be the person Jiang Kai was looking for!

Let's check it out!

By now, it was already midnight, and the number of people in the dark alley had dwindled significantly.

The old man noticed Jiang Kai stopping in front of his stall. There were no other customers, but he didn't show any enthusiasm, merely casting a cold glance at Jiang Kai without speaking.

Faced with such an unenthusiastic seller, Jiang Kai had to take the initiative. He looked at the syringes on the stall and asked, "Old man, what class change materials do you have here?"

Hearing Jiang Kai's question, the old man frowned slightly, showing a hint of displeasure.

Jiang Kai noticed the change in the old man's expression and felt puzzled.

The stall clearly had empty syringes, which were class change materials, so why was it inappropriate to ask about them?

However, Jiang Kai quickly realized he had overlooked something.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Currently, in China, there are ten major career paths. Seven years ago, a soldier's class change material appeared in the official exchange, selling for 35 million Alliance Coins.

Soldier class change materials weren't even the most expensive. Eleven years ago, a "Martial Apprentice" class change material sold for an astonishing 51 million.

Not to mention combat professions like soldiers and martial apprentices, even professions slightly related to combat, like Barefoot Doctor and Executioner, had class change materials priced in the high seven figures!

Smuggler was in a league of its own, as it allowed carrying an extra fifty percent weight, with class change materials priced between 2 to 3 million.

The prices for class change materials for Gourmet, Ascetic Monk, and Feng Shui Master ranged from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

Only the "useless" professions like Beggar and Drunkard had the lowest class change material prices, costing just ten to twenty thousand Alliance Coins, a somewhat acceptable price.

If a seller had a rare class change material, it would be wealth enough to threaten his personal safety!

His casual question earlier was akin to asking, "How much money do you have on you?"

In the dark alley, you could observe others, but probing into someone's background was a very dangerous move!

Understanding why the seller was displeased, Jiang Kai quickly said, "I'm sorry, I misspoke. I meant no harm."

The old man glanced at Jiang Kai, his displeasure slightly easing, and said indifferently, "You seem to be new to the dark alley, so I won't hold it against you."

Jiang Kai frowned, wondering how the old man knew it was his first time in the dark alley.

Seeing Jiang Kai's confusion, the old man snorted, "No need to pretend. I've been in the dark alley for thirty years. The old buyers here all know. I noticed you and your friends as soon as you came in. Unfamiliar faces, cautious—it's obvious it's your first time here. I just didn't expect you to have the patience to wander around for over four hours.

However, choosing my stall at least shows that those four hours weren't wasted."

Jiang Kai didn't refute; the old man's insight was indeed sharp.

"Old man, what's the cheapest class change material you have?"

The old man replied indifferently, "Beggar for eighteen thousand, Drunkard for eight thousand. If it's cheaper than that, you should consider whether the other party is trying to scam you."

Eight thousand... even the cheapest Drunkard costs eight thousand!

This price was slightly lower than the official exchange, making the seller's quote reasonable.

In "Calling," the Drunkard profession was already a very useless one. Who would want a drunkard who couldn't tell north from south in their team, potentially causing a wipeout?

And in "Calling," the penalty for each death was quite severe.

Awkwardly, the old man's quote was about five percent lower than the exchange, but even for the cheapest Drunkard profession, Jiang Kai still didn't have enough money, even with all he had saved and borrowed!

Seeing Jiang Kai's troubled expression, the old man sneered, "If you don't even have eight thousand, I can tell you that even if you wander until dawn, you won't be able to buy any class change materials."

With that, the old man ignored Jiang Kai and closed his eyes to rest.

After an unknown amount of time, when the old man opened his eyes, he was surprised to find the young man still hadn't left.

He frowned, "You're still here?"

Jiang Kai looked up at the old man, "Old man, do you have anything cheaper?"

"I heard there's something called... 'Incomplete' material!"

The old man frowned slightly, looking at Jiang Kai in surprise.

Incomplete materials, officially known as "Destiny Class Change Materials," were more commonly referred to as "Incomplete" class change materials.

These only appeared at the very beginning when humans first logged into "Calling."

At the start of "Calling," facing powerful monsters, it was difficult for humans to obtain class change materials, and pioneering progress was exceptionally slow.

Fortunately, "Calling" provided humans with a "Beginner's Gift," and people found hundreds of "Destiny Class Change Materials" in the initial activity area.

Unfortunately, after using the Destiny materials, people discovered that these materials were different from regular class change materials. Regular initial class change materials consisted of three components, while Destiny materials had only one.

Using regular class change materials had a one hundred percent success rate, but among the 380 recorded uses of Destiny materials, there were only five successful cases!

Disappointingly, although the profession after using Destiny materials was theoretically random, the five successful users only ended up with very useless professions.

Moreover, once Destiny materials were used, it was as if normal class change materials had been used, and regardless of success, a second initial class change was not possible.

Given the extremely low success rate and disappointing class change results, Destiny materials quickly became unwanted.

Fifty years later, no one even mentioned them anymore.

After so many years, when the young man in front of him brought up this forgotten name again, the old man couldn't help but be surprised.

"Do you know what Incomplete materials are?"

"I know!" Jiang Kai said eagerly, "Do you have them?"

The old man spoke, scrutinizing the young man in front of him once more.

Despite the young man's efforts to remain calm, it was clear he was actually quite anxious.

But one thing was certain: this kid was definitely not stupid!

He spent four hours just observing sellers, showing remarkable patience!

And from his reaction, it was evident he came prepared.

Seeing the young man's persistence, the old man said indifferently, "Incomplete materials are a gamble where the returns are far below the odds! Only a fool would choose to gamble!"

"I know!" Jiang Kai knew this well, but still insisted on asking.

"And you still want to buy?"

"I do!"

The old man's smile carried a hint of mockery, "Oh, maybe I misjudged you. I thought you were cautious, but it turns out you're a complete gambler!"

Jiang Kai smiled wryly, "Perhaps."

The old man pondered for a moment and then said indifferently, "So, you chose my stall not because you thought I had a good reputation, but because you thought my age made it more likely that I had Incomplete materials."

Jiang Kai shook his head, "No, I weighed both conditions."

The old man chuckled, "You must be about to participate in the Newcomer Trial. You don't look like a rich kid; most people like you would choose to sell their Newcomer Trial Certificate. Not only are you not selling it, but interestingly, you also want to invest more to buy Incomplete materials. You don't plan to use Incomplete materials to compete with those who spend tens of thousands, even millions, for that one-tenth chance, do you?

If that's the case, I can only say you're the dumbest person I've ever met! Though I need money, I don't want to harm anyone."

The old man glanced at Jiang Kai, seeing he had no intention of leaving, and thought the kid probably wouldn't give up. He shook his head and said, "It's getting late, and I'm tired. Time to pack up and leave."

With that, he bent down, wrapped the black cloth on the ground casually, and prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Jiang Kai was anxious.

The old man hadn't directly said he didn't have Incomplete materials, which gave him a glimmer of hope.

Incomplete materials only appeared at the beginning of "Calling," and their quantity was limited. Fifty years had passed, and considering the hundreds used initially, only a few might remain today!

He had to change the old man's mind, and now, he only had one sentence left.

Just as the old man finished packing and took a few steps away, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

The voice was slightly trembling, yet it seemed to muster all its strength, incredibly firm!

"Destiny is born from the heavens, but life is ruled by me. A slim chance to fight against the heavens!"

The old man's footsteps suddenly halted in the distance.

This wasn't the first time he had heard this sentence. When he obtained the Destiny materials, it was precisely this sentence he saw in the material's description!