Soul Society is a neutral zone.
And the so-called neutral zones are actually gathering places for the original inhabitants of the World Battlefield. A large number of original inhabitants live here. They usually do not leave the neutral zones, and the chosen ones can obtain things in the neutral zones to enhance their strength, or find some missions and complete them to get rewards. Finally, to survive in the World Battlefield, supplies are essential. The neutral zone is the only place for trading.
As for the method of trading, it is hard to say. Usually, each neutral zone has its own rules.
The most important point is that in most neutral zones, killing is not allowed, or more precisely, killing may come at a terrible price.
Take Soul Society for example. It is said to be the place where souls remain after death. Numerous souls can choose to scatter and survive, or gather together to form new families and live together. Even many of these souls come from different worlds and different eras.
Basically, the lives of souls are not significantly different from when they were alive, which means...
Crime also exists in Soul Society.
Soul Society has eighty districts. Some districts have severe shortages of food and water, making them extremely chaotic and targets for theft and robbery. Large-scale brawls may also occur, and some people sell food and water as commodities for huge profits, or use it to exploit others. Therefore, to maintain order in Soul Society, Shinigami form guard patrols.
And the Shinigami patrol guards are not only effective for the inhabitants of Soul Society, but also for the chosen ones from various worlds.
It should be known that each of those Shinigami is a top-notch fighter, so the fate of those chosen ones who dare to cause trouble in Soul Society can naturally be imagined.
At the same time, because of such an environment, neutral zones hold very important significance in the early stages of the World Battlefield's opening.
Not all those who enter the World Battlefield have a certain self-preservation ability. While there are many worlds full of conflict, there are also many peaceful worlds. In the early stages of the World Battlefield's opening, to enhance one's strength, one either scavenges in ordinary areas or ventures into dangerous areas.
However, there is also a special situation, which is the neutral zone.
Neutral zones can be said to be a haven in the World Battlefield, a place of peace amidst chaos. And there are many ways to enhance one's strength in neutral zones.
However, this depends on luck. Neutral zones are not very common. Some areas do not have neutral zones, such as the apocalyptic ruins area. That place only has thugs and zombies, and there is no so-called neutral zone.
Of course, although neutral zones are very important in the early stages of the World Battlefield, their importance will gradually decrease with the passage of time. Moreover, neutral zones will also gradually become less safe, because the order in neutral zones is not absolute. When the strength of the chosen ones exceeds that of those responsible for maintaining order in the neutral zones, that so-called "safety" will naturally collapse.
...
About five days later, Bai Ye appeared in Soul Society.
Then...
Bai Ye found himself in an awkward situation.
For Bai Ye, the significance of a neutral zone was not great. In the early stages of the World Battlefield's opening, some people chose to stay in neutral zones mainly because of safety, and more importantly, their lack of strength.
Anyone with some strength would naturally go to dangerous areas or brave forbidden zones, as their strength would improve faster.
Therefore, Bai Ye's main purpose in coming to Soul Society was for supplies, and more directly, for food and water.
However, Soul Society has eighty districts, some of which are relatively prosperous, while others are very poor. The seventy-seventh district of Soul Society that appeared before Bai Ye was a poverty-stricken district!
After Bai Ye entered Soul Society, almost every original inhabitant who appeared before him looked hungry and ragged. The surrounding buildings were also simple wooden houses with thatched roofs.
In short, it exuded an aura of poverty!
Under such circumstances, obtaining food and water would definitely not be an easy task, unless Bai Ye resorted to violent plunder, which would come at the cost of being expelled or even killed by the Shinigami patrol guards.
"Do I have to be this unlucky?"
Bai Ye was also helpless. If he couldn't get supplies, his special trip to the neutral zone would be meaningless.
But just as Bai Ye was thinking this, he suddenly exclaimed "Eh?" and stopped in his tracks.
"No way?" Bai Ye looked at a sign on the side and exclaimed, "World Market?"
The World Market is a place specifically provided by neutral zones for the chosen ones to trade. Original inhabitants usually do not enter it and cannot enter it. As for what is not a "usual" situation? Like killing someone in Soul Society and being chased by the Shinigami patrol guards, trying to seek refuge in the market, is not feasible, because this is a special circumstance.
The reason for Bai Ye's surprise was that although the World Battlefield had been open for some time, forming a market in a neutral zone was still a difficult thing in Bai Ye's opinion. After all, it needed to reach a certain scale to be called a market, otherwise, it would at most be a street stall.
This made Bai Ye a little curious, and he walked towards the market.
Upon entering the market gate, Bai Ye found that there were not many people in the market, but it did have a certain scale. Looking up, there were about twenty to thirty stalls, and some people were casually browsing in front of the stalls or asking the stall owners for prices.
As Bai Ye walked past a stall, a man called out to him with a smile, "Young man, all good stuff, want to take a look?"
Bai Ye squatted down in front of the stall and asked, "What good stuff do you have?"
The stall owner immediately grinned and said, "What do you think of this? It's called a portable gigai, it can be used to enhance you during combat, and this is called a soul-悟 handguard, which can forcibly separate the body and soul for a period of time. And this is also something that can make the soul leave the body, but it's more advanced, called a gigai pill."
Bai Ye looked at the items pointed out by the stall owner and couldn't help but ask, "These are all things from Soul Society, right?"
"Yes." The stall owner nodded and lowered his voice, "Do you want Shinigami's things?"
Bai Ye was about to shake his head, his intention being to ask if there were items from dangerous areas or forbidden zones. To be precise, he wasn't interested in things obtained in neutral zones.
However, before Bai Ye could shake his head, the stall owner mysteriously pulled open his clothes.
...