Soul Society is a neutral zone.
Neutral zones are essentially gathering places for the natives of the World Battlefield. Large numbers of natives reside here, and they typically do not leave. Those chosen can obtain items in neutral zones to enhance their strength, or find quests that offer rewards upon completion. Ultimately, to survive in the World Battlefield, supplies are indispensable, and neutral zones are the only places where trading can occur.
The methods of trading vary, and each neutral zone usually has its own rules.
Most importantly, in many neutral zones, combat is not permitted, or more accurately, engaging in combat can come at a terrible price.
Take Soul Society, for instance. It is said to be a place where souls linger after death. Many souls can choose to scatter and survive independently, or they can gather together to form new families and live as one. Indeed, many of these souls come from different worlds and different eras.
In essence, the lives of souls are not significantly different from when they were alive, which implies that...
Crime also exists in Soul Society.
Soul Society is divided into eighty districts. Some districts suffer from severe shortages of food and water, making them incredibly chaotic and targets for theft and robbery. This can also lead to large-scale brawls, with some individuals selling food and water as commodities for immense profit or to exploit others. Therefore, to maintain order in Soul Society, Shinigami form patrols to enforce the peace.
These Shinigami patrol squads are effective not only against the inhabitants of Soul Society but also against the chosen from various worlds.
It is important to remember that each of these Shinigami is a top-tier fighter. Thus, the fate of any chosen who dares to cause trouble within Soul Society can be easily imagined.
Concurrently, due to this environment, neutral zones hold significant importance during the initial stages of the World Battlefield's activation.
Not everyone who enters the World Battlefield possesses the ability to protect themselves. While many worlds are rife with conflict, peaceful worlds are also plentiful. In the early stages of the World Battlefield, to improve one's strength, one either scavenges for items in ordinary zones or ventures into dangerous areas.
However, there is also a special circumstance: neutral zones.
Neutral zones can be considered havens within the World Battlefield, places of tranquility amidst chaos. Furthermore, there are many ways to enhance one's strength within neutral zones.
However, this depends on luck, as neutral zones are not very common. Some regions do not have neutral zones at all. For example, the Ruined Wasteland area is a place inhabited only by thugs and zombies, with no so-called neutral zones.
Of course, although neutral zones are crucial in the early stages of the World Battlefield, their importance gradually diminishes over time. Moreover, neutral zones also become less safe. This is because the order in neutral zones is not absolute. When the strength of the chosen surpasses those responsible for maintaining order in the neutral zone, the so-called "safety" naturally collapses.
...
About five days later, Bai Ye appeared in Soul Society.
Then...
Bai Ye found himself in a rather awkward situation.
For Bai Ye, neutral zones held little significance. In the early stages of the World Battlefield, some individuals chose to linger in neutral zones primarily for safety, but more importantly, due to their lack of strength.
Anyone with some ability would naturally head to dangerous areas or brave forbidden zones for faster strength improvement.
Therefore, Bai Ye's main purpose in coming to Soul Society was for supplies, or more specifically, for food and water.
However, Soul Society has eighty districts, some of which are relatively prosperous, while others are extremely impoverished. The seventy-seventh district of Soul Society, which Bai Ye now found himself in, belonged to the impoverished areas!
Upon entering Soul Society, almost every native Bai Ye encountered was starving and clad in rags. The surrounding buildings were simple wooden huts with thatched roofs.
In summary, it was a place that exuded poverty!
Under these circumstances, obtaining food and water was certainly not an easy task, unless Bai Ye resorted to violent plunder, which would risk expulsion or even death by the Shinigami patrol squad.
"Do I have to be this unlucky?"
Bai Ye was also helpless. If he couldn't get supplies, his trip to the neutral zone would be meaningless.
But just as Bai Ye was thinking this, he suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" and stopped in his tracks.
"No way?" Bai Ye looked at a sign to his side, astonished. "World Market?"
The World Market is a place within neutral zones specifically provided for the chosen to trade. Natives typically do not enter it and are unable to do so. What constitutes an "unusual" situation? For instance, attempting to seek refuge within the market after killing someone in Soul Society and being pursued by the Shinigami patrol squad is not feasible, as this falls under special circumstances.
The reason for Bai Ye's astonishment was that although the World Battlefield had been active for some time, the establishment of a market in a neutral zone was, in Bai Ye's opinion, still a difficult undertaking. After all, a market requires a certain scale to be called such; otherwise, it would merely be street vendors.
This piqued Bai Ye's curiosity, and he naturally walked towards the market.
Upon entering the market gate, Bai Ye observed that the market was not crowded, but it did possess a certain scale. Looking up, he could see twenty to thirty stalls, with a sparse scattering of people browsing in front of stalls or inquiring about prices from vendors.
As Bai Ye passed a stall, a man called out to him with a smile, "Young man, all good stuff, want to take a look?"
Bai Ye approached the stall and crouched down, asking, "What good stuff do you have?"
The vendor immediately beamed and said, "What do you think of this? It's called a portable gigai. It can be used to enhance your abilities during combat. And this is called a soul-grasping glove, which can forcibly separate the flesh from the soul for a period. And this one also allows the soul to leave the body, but it's more advanced, called a soul-essence pill."
Looking at the items the vendor pointed out, Bai Ye remarked, "Are these all things from Soul Society?"
"Yes," the vendor nodded and lowered his voice. "Do you want something from the Shinigami?"
Bai Ye was about to shake his head. He meant to ask if there were items from dangerous areas or forbidden zones. To be precise, he wasn't interested in items obtained within neutral zones.
However, before Bai Ye could shake his head, the vendor mysteriously pulled open his clothes.
...