The Black Market

What It Is

The Black Market is a hidden part of New Vance City that exists below the streets. It is controlled by the Shadow Syndicate. There are no signs, maps, or official entrances. People find it through word of mouth, trusted contacts, or direct guidance.

It is not one fixed place. Sections open, close, and move over time. A market that exists this month may be gone the next. Because of this, people talk about the Black Market as if it is one location, but in reality it is many small sites spread through the underground.

People go there because the surface cannot provide everything. The Citadel Council bans many items. Other factions control supply through force or price. The Black Market fills those gaps.

Where It Is and How You Get In

The Black Market uses old tunnels, service corridors, subway lines, and collapsed basements. It runs under several districts at once. There is no safe or clean route through it.

Entrances are hidden in abandoned buildings, dry wells, locked doors, and broken elevators. Some can only be seen with special lights or tools. Most people cannot enter without help. First-time visitors usually need a fixer or Syndicate contact to guide them.

Once inside, the underground feels cramped and busy. Corridors are narrow. Larger rooms act as meeting spots or trade areas. Power cables run openly along walls and ceilings. Generators run at all hours. Screens show fake ads, broken camera feeds, or scrambled data. The noise never fully stops.

How Trade Works

There is no single currency. People trade with chips, water credits, fuel, weapons, parts, medicine, or favors. If someone has nothing to trade, they may offer labor or information.

Everything sold here carries risk. Items may be stolen, damaged, unstable, or traced. Buyers accept this because they have no other option.

What You Can Buy

Medicine
The most sought-after item is Z-Virus Antigen. Official supplies are tightly controlled. In the Black Market, doses come from stolen shipments or illegal labs. Prices are high. Quality varies. For infected people, it is often the only chance to survive.

Other stalls sell combat drugs, focus boosters, and chemicals that hide symptoms during scans. Some work. Some cause long-term harm.

Cybernetics
Workshops modify bodies using stolen or reused parts. Many implants are custom-built. Some work well. Others fail later. Many include hidden control hooks so the seller can exploit the buyer in the future.

Memory Services
Technicians can erase memories, alter them, or copy experiences. The process is dangerous. Brain damage is common. People still do it to hide crimes, forget trauma, or sell experiences for money.

Weapons and Tools
Buyers can find basic knives and pistols or advanced gear stolen from faction patrols. Gunsmiths customize weapons for close fighting. Software sellers provide tools to shut down drones, cameras, or security systems. Identity forgers sell fake papers, tags, and biometric data.

Services

The Black Market is as much about services as goods.

• Smugglers move people and cargo through guarded areas.

• Information brokers sell patrol routes and internal faction disputes.

• Fixers connect clients to mercenaries, doctors, or transport.

• Brokers arrange contracts and take a cut.

Every deal can go wrong. People accept this because no legal alternative exists.

Shadow Syndicate Control

The Shadow Syndicate controls the Black Market. They do not run every stall, but nothing important happens without their approval.

They rule through fixers and enforcers, not public leaders. Each controls a section of the tunnels. Orders move through favors, threats, and information.

Their rules are simple:

1. Major deals pay a cut.

2. No large firefights inside the tunnels.

3. Do not attack Syndicate personnel or assets.

4. Do not expose routes or entrances to the surface.

People who break these rules disappear. Sometimes bodies are found. Often they are not.

Security

Security is constant.

Visible guards watch main corridors. They carry weapons designed for tight spaces and use tech that interferes with cameras and scanners. Hidden systems track movement through sensors and hacked devices.

Violence happens, but it is controlled. Small threats and quick punishments are preferred. Large displays are avoided unless necessary.

Danger

The Black Market is not safe. New visitors are often scammed. Data theft is common. Some shops deliberately install faulty implants to gain leverage later. Many vendors answer directly to Syndicate fixers.

There is no law here. Survival depends on caution, contacts, and usefulness.

Relationship With Other Factions

Citadel Council
Publicly condemns the Black Market and raids it when possible. Privately, individual officials use it to get banned items. Their real issue is not crime, but loss of control.

Solar Guardians
Lose power cells and equipment to theft. Their patrols are easy to track underground. Some Guardians secretly buy medicine or weapons the faction refuses to supply.

Hydro Hegemony
Controls water through pricing and force. When people cannot pay, they turn to illegal taps sold through the Market. The Hegemony responds with quiet killings but avoids open war underground.

Gear Rats and Raiders
Sell stolen parts and captured goods. Buy weapons, drugs, and information. Their presence makes the Market dangerous, but also useful as neutral ground.

Silent Walkers and Cult Groups
Occasionally send agents to buy chemicals, bodies, or data. No one likes dealing with them, but money is money.

Why It Matters

The Black Market exists because the surface fails people. It is dangerous, unfair, and brutal, but it works. Shutting it down would cripple trade, medicine, and movement across the city.

Above ground, factions argue about order. Below ground, people survive.