Chapter 9: Go On, Drain Me Dry!

Lin Ye pushed his phone to the middle of the long table. If the Mysterious Merchant agreed, he could complete the payment on the spot.

Shen Qingyue looked at the payment screen, then at the Sequence 0 Sovereign across the table, a being capable of driving countless supernaturals mad and twisting them beyond recognition.

She silently edged behind Lin Ye and buried her face against his back again.

This time, it was entirely out of embarrassment.

She was even beginning to wonder whether she’d followed him through that door because she hadn’t sobered up, or because he hadn’t.

The Mysterious Merchant regarded the phone on the table. For a long time, no sound came from the bottomless darkness beneath his hood.

He had witnessed countless kinds of transactions. People had offered lifespan, memories, souls, and futures, yet this was the first time anyone had presented him with a payment code.

“What do you think?”

Lin Ye shrank back at the question and retrieved his phone, muttering, “If you don’t take it, you don’t take it. It isn’t against the law to ask. You’ve run this shop for years; your payment methods should keep up with the times.”

Shen Qingyue buried her face farther against his back and discreetly pinched the hem of his clothes, suggesting he might want to say less.

Lin Ye finally returned his attention to the matter at hand. He felt his pockets and looked down at himself, growing more troubled the longer he thought.

Old Wang didn’t want money.

His phone probably wasn’t worth anything either.

His clothes were custom-made in the Upper City, but trying to exchange them for contained artifacts with an evil god sounded even less promising than scanning a payment code.

As for anything else, he really had nothing.

Shen Qingyue finally lifted her face a little from behind him. “Young Master Lin, didn’t you just say you were so poor all you had left was money?” she reminded him quietly.

“That’s why I’m worried,” he said, entirely unapologetic. “For the first time, I’ve discovered that having money you can’t spend feels worse than having none.”

Chin in hand, he stared at the table and mentally reviewed what he possessed. No equipment, no materials, no active skills. The only thing he’d truly brought from the game seemed to be the max-level character itself.

His fingers suddenly stopped.

Stats.

Right, his stats!

His strength, constitution, spirit, and resistance were all still maxed out. If the shop could trade in lifespan, luck, and even more abstract things, surely stats, which were also part of him, could be used as payment?

They were maxed out anyway.

Attributes were the one thing a max-level account had in abundance. What did losing a little matter? Even if Old Wang had a bigger appetite and took more, he could easily afford it.

The worry vanished from Lin Ye’s eyes. He snapped his fingers, instantly energized again.

“Old Wang, I remember you accept anything here, right? Lifespan, luck, spirit, memory, even the future—you can put a price on all of them. Since cash won’t do, take it from me.”

He leaned back and patted his chest, sounding as generous as if he were treating a friend to dinner. “Lifespan, luck, constitution, spirit—take whatever’s valuable. Don’t stand on ceremony or try to save me anything. We’ve known each other so long that haggling over every little bit would just make things awkward.”

The Mysterious Merchant gave a faint laugh.

He had seen too many customers like this.

When they first sat at the long table, they always thought they had plenty to spare.

The young believed their lifespan inexhaustible, the lucky believed fortune would always favor them, and the strong were convinced losing a little power wouldn’t matter.

Only after a transaction did they understand that some prices were precious precisely because, once lost, they could never be recovered.

“Very well,” the Mysterious Merchant said calmly. “If a guest is willing to pay with something of himself, I naturally won’t refuse.”

He raised a hand, and three objects shrouded in dim light appeared above the table, floating quietly before Lin Ye.

“These are three A-rank contained artifacts. They are—”

The merchant had barely raised his first finger, before the introduction had even begun, when Lin Ye moved so fast that an afterimage lingered in his chair.

The next moment, all three artifacts disappeared into his system inventory.

Lin Ye settled back into his seat and casually patted his pocket, eyes shining. “All right, no need to explain. I’ll figure them out myself later.”

“Only three? Old Wang, I have to say, you can’t be so stingy in business. I just gave you a long shopping list, and you bring out three things? That doesn’t even count as a sample pack.”

Shen Qingyue stared at his pocket. “Young Master Lin, those are three A-rank contained artifacts.”

“I know.”

“The whole of Skyvault Academy has only one. If the Bureau finds one, it has to seal off the area, send specialists to assess it, and only then decide who will contain it.”

“That’s why I say Old Wang is stingy.” Lin Ye explained in earnest. “He has so many at home, and he still has to introduce these three one by one, as if it were some huge deal. That’s the worst kind of shopkeeper: plenty of stock but a tight fist.”

Shen Qingyue opened her mouth, unable to decide where to begin correcting him.

Across the table, the robed figure still held the same pose.

The finger raised to introduce the first artifact was still in the air, but all three objects were already in Lin Ye’s pocket.

Then the Mysterious Merchant drew a deep breath.

The small gesture made Shen Qingyue’s recently relaxed nerves tighten again.

She could scarcely imagine Lin Ye driving a Sequence 0 Sovereign to take a deep breath.

The merchant finally lowered his finger. His voice remained level, though it carried a barely perceptible change. “You want all three artifacts?”

Lin Ye guarded his pocket and looked at him warily. “They’re already in my pocket. You’re not going to back out, are you? Doesn’t the Mysterious Shop refuse credit and returns?”

“I am merely reminding you.” The merchant folded his hands on the table again. “If you take all three, do you know how high a price you must pay?”

“Take it. Don’t hold back.” Reassured that there would be no return, Lin Ye moved his chair forward a little. “Take as much as you can. Don’t be embarrassed just because you know me. I don’t like owing debts, especially not to shops.”

“Whatever you think three A-rank items are worth, deduct that much. If you take extra, I’ll call it supporting an old friend’s business. If you take less, that’s a discount for a loyal customer.”

The Mysterious Merchant watched him quietly. “Once the price is collected, the transaction cannot be undone.”

“I know, I know.” Lin Ye waved a hand. “Why are you so long-winded today? It’s not like I can’t afford it. I may not have any equipment on me, but I’ve got stats to spare. Take as much as you want until you’re satisfied. If that isn’t enough, take a couple more draws. I promise I won’t complain.”

A soft chuckle came from beneath the hood.

“Very well.”

Somehow, the words carried a faint hint of pity.

Shen Qingyue heard the change and grew even more uneasy. She peered out from behind Lin Ye and caught his sleeve.

He gently removed her hand and placed it back on the chair’s armrest. “Sit tight. Don’t faint before he starts taking payment from me. It’d make our side look bad.”

She wanted to say more, but the Mysterious Merchant had already raised his hand.

A finger covered by a black sleeve pointed across the table toward Lin Ye.

His voice was soft, yet carried clearly to every corner of the hall.

“Deprivation.”

Lin Ye cooperatively closed his eyes, relaxed his shoulders, and rested both hands on the armrests, presenting himself for the procedure.

The hall fell silent.

Shen Qingyue held her breath, looking back and forth between Lin Ye and the merchant.

She’d expected some terrible sight to accompany the taking of the price, but nothing happened. No burst of power, no scream of pain; Lin Ye’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

Ten seconds passed. The merchant’s hand was still raised.

Twenty seconds passed. His finger still pointed at Lin Ye.

After a full thirty seconds, neither of them had changed position. The merchant seemed frozen at the moment he’d uttered “Deprivation,” while Lin Ye’s eyelids twitched, as if he were growing impatient.

At last Lin Ye opened his eyes. He looked down at his body, then brought up his attribute panel and carefully examined it from top to bottom.

Every stat remained exactly where it had been. Not one had changed.

He checked again, then looked up in confusion at the Mysterious Merchant, whose finger was still pointed at him.

“Old Wang, done taking it?”

For the first time, intense emotion broke through in the merchant’s voice.

“How is that possible…?”