Peaceful Trade (Five Thousand Words)

It's a strange feeling. Why am I so angry?

Xiao Xiao admitted that a sudden urge to kill had indeed surged into his heart just now.

However, his ability to Mind Burst meant that he was almost never caught up in sudden emotions. So, even if such emotions inexplicably welled up in his heart, he would think about where these emotions came from before they could affect his behavior. Then, he would slowly understand his psychological changes at that moment and feel a deep sense of helplessness.

This feeling came on suddenly; she didn't like the man Bai Cheng was "comforting."

In fact, I really disliked the man's lack of self-respect.

But there was one thing he admired: this man, no matter what he encountered, still had the will to save himself.

He may be foolish, greedy, or even repulsive, but such a person, after suffering such a great betrayal and blow, still harbors a desire to save himself, believing that he is ill and hoping to receive guidance so that he can make a comeback.

This spirit of self-preservation is one of the most precious qualities in the world.

But is that all there is to it that makes me angry?

Not entirely. Xiao Xiao also pondered for a long time in a state of Mind Burst before he understood himself. Perhaps what angered him the most was Bai Cheng's manipulation of the will of this man who was not yet at the critical point of distortion. This was a way of teasing and playing with the emotions, will, and even fate of the natives by using his abilities and insight into the world from the perspective of a stranger.

Because outsiders want to earn points, they don't mind sending one or two people who are close to the critical point into the aberration.

In this way, you can easily earn points.

In fact, this kind of thing is not uncommon. He did the same thing when he first met Little Four.

I wasn't as angry back then as I am now.

What is the reason?

A deep sigh rose in Xiao Xiao's heart, "Perhaps it's a feeling of shared sorrow, like the fox mourning the death of its kin..."

"Because I now know some of the things that happened in the past, and can even occasionally see these outsiders from the perspective of the indigenous people, it's become very difficult for me to put myself in their shoes and see the fate of ordinary people who are being manipulated by them..."

"... and a sense of resistance arose subconsciously in my heart?"

"..."

"..."

While analyzing these thoughts in his mind, Xiao Xiao naturally didn't show it on his face, and simply waited calmly.

Lin Bo and his envoys, however, were taken aback by what they heard.

At first, Lin Bo's advice to Xiao Xiao not to kill someone upon first meeting was somewhat joking, not a genuine warning. After all, Chairman Xiao wasn't crazy; how could he possibly want to kill someone upon first meeting? But unexpectedly, after just meeting the other party and before even discussing any serious business, Xiao Xiao actually revealed a hint of wanting to kill someone... and it didn't seem like a joke.

What kind of special hobby is this?

Smiling on the surface, but secretly plotting to kill the other party. It seems our journey has been fraught with danger at every turn.

Lin Bo's back hair stood on end, and the envoys subconsciously moved a little further away from Xiao Xiao.

"Chairman Xiao has been waiting for a long time..."

At this moment, the psychologist, or rather, Bai Cheng, the stranger from Night's End City, returned with a smile. He seemed to be in a very good mood and extended his hand to Xiao Xiao again, saying, "It is truly an honor that someone of your status is willing to wait for me."

"You're too kind."

Xiao Xiao smiled and shook hands with him, saying, "After all, there are other things I need to trouble you with."

"I already know, let's go back and talk."

Seeing Xiao Xiao's politeness, Bai Cheng smiled happily and invited Xiao Xiao and the others to return with him.

Lin Bo watched the two shake hands so politely, while Bai Cheng looked relaxed, though his expression suggested he was suffering from constipation.

"This person is trying to kill you..."

He looked at Bai Cheng, thinking to himself, "Should I tell him? After all, we can be considered friends in name only..."

"President Xiao, please sit down. Divine Envoy Lin, please sit down as well."

Back on the second floor of the free psychological counseling room, Bai Cheng hung up a "Closed for Business" sign downstairs and waved to the male owner of the villa next door to help keep an eye on things. From the man's bewildered expression, Xiao Xiao could tell that Bai Cheng had bought him and made him his puppet or slave, who would obey his every word.

"We've made a fool of ourselves in front of Chairman Xiao, but nobody has too many points, and this is the only way we can slowly earn them."

Bai Cheng smiled and said, "Although it's not much, as long as it's income, it's still a happy thing."

"We're from a small town, not as big as Black Gate City. We earn points little by little, and we certainly don't know how to spend them. Look at Mr. Chen, who's guarding the gate for me. He's one of the few puppets I bought in Night's End City. Even these points are just because I accidentally fell for his wife, and she accidentally fell for me."

"We were truly in love, but our relationship was exposed when we were caught cheating on each other."

"To avoid trouble for everyone, I spent some points to buy this Mr. Chen."

"From that moment on, whenever I missed Mrs. Chen, I would ask Mr. Chen to stand guard at the bedroom door for me."

"If anything happens at the clinic, we can have him come and help keep an eye on things."

"There's nothing we can do; we just don't have enough points."

"We're really struggling to make ends meet..."

"..."

Lin Bo and the others exchanged glances, feeling a strange sense of unease.

On this kind of topic, is it better to agree or disagree?

Xiao Xiao didn't even consider what he said, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Can you help me get the Unquenched Heart?"

Seeing that Xiao Xiao's expression remained calm and unchanged no matter what he heard, Bai Cheng gave up on trying to probe him. When Xiao Xiao asked about this crucial matter, Bai Cheng smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, it should be said that in Night's End City, only I can help Chairman Xiao obtain the Unquenched Heart, and that is without Chairman Xiao being extorted by our Night's End City companions."

Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow and asked, "How do I take it?"

"It's very simple..."

Bai Cheng brought out the tea, but only Xiao Xiao and Lin Bo received some. Little Four and Lin Bo's envoy did not. Despite the dissatisfied looks from those people, he remained calm and explained, "The Unquenched Heart currently in the Taboo Museum in Night's End City. It costs 30,005 points and is Class A. For us in Night's End City, this is considered a top-tier item."

"However, since none of the strangers in Night's End City have a particular need for it yet, we haven't exchanged it."

"But because of the different cities and different levels of authority, if you want it, you can only do it through me."

"..."

As he spoke, he pushed the computer on his desk toward Xiao Xiao, inviting him to look at the documents.

Xiao Xiao and the others immediately focused their attention, and their hearts stirred slightly.

[Special Forbidden Thing: Unquenched Heart]

[Danger Level: Class A]

[Exchange Amount: 30005 points]

[Description: A special heart born from the abyss, covered with an inextinguishable flame. When someone possesses it, they will clearly feel the taste of purgatory, and may even fall deeply in love with this taste, willingly remaining in purgatory.]

[Note: What sees further than the eyes is the heart.]

[...]

"It does exist."

"But why does this introduction sound so strange?"

The moment Xiao Xiao saw this introduction, these two points came to mind.

The Unquenched Heart was indeed in Night's End City, and it was currently unclaimed. This meant that the guy named Bai Cheng wasn't lying. Since the Unquenched Heart was on the exchange list, he could exchange for it at any time and give it to me. The problem was that Night's End City was already trying to extort money from me with this item, so why was they letting it remain on the exchange list?

"Aren't you curious why our president hasn't gotten rid of this thing yet?"

Bai Cheng smiled and glanced at Xiao Xiao, then explained automatically, "Because it's too expensive, over 30,000 points. Our Night's End City is a bit special. Under the influence of the guild leader, everyone is a miser... except for me, of course... those guys value every point more than their lives. They're not willing to take any risks, afraid that you won't want it, so they don't dare to redeem it in advance."

"After all, once you redeem this thing, you can't return it."

"Moreover, if it were something else, I might be able to keep it for myself, but this thing seems very dangerous just from the description. It does contain some special elements, and after exchanging for it, it will not only fail to help me improve my strength, but will also become a huge burden. Of course, the premise for our cooperation is precisely because these stingy guys dare not offer their investment in advance."

"..."

As he spoke, his expression became excited and eager. He asked, "So, Chairman Xiao?"

"Give me 50,000 points, and I'll help you redeem them."

"A live transaction, you take the Unquenched Heart and leave..."

"..."

"Etc..."

It was Lin Bo who interrupted first, and Xiao Xiao also frowned slightly.

"Fifty thousand?"

"It Mingming shows 30,005 points..."

"..."

"Yes..."

Bai Cheng said frankly, "I have to earn something myself, right? You give me 50,000 points, and I'll help you exchange for the Unquenched Heart. I'll keep the remaining 19,995 points for myself. That's not unreasonable, is it?... After all, the guild leader wants 150,000 from you!"

Seeing his composure, Xiao Xiao couldn't think of a rebuttal for a moment.

Lin Bo was a little nervous. He glanced at Bai Cheng, then at Xiao Xiao, and couldn't help but secretly kick Bai Cheng's foot.

"How did it become 50,000?"

"Didn't we agree on 40,000? You keep 5,000 as your commission, and I'll keep 4,995 as my brokerage fee..."

"..."

Bai Cheng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized and said to Xiao Xiao, "By the way, you have to give me 54,995 points."

"And his agent too!"

"..."

Lin Bo, betrayed to his face, paled slightly and awkwardly explained to Xiao Xiao:

"I can lower the agency fee..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao let out a slow sigh, glanced at Lin Bo silently, and then looked at Bai Cheng.

After a quick mental analysis, he didn't try to negotiate the price with the other party, but instead slowly said:

"Then why do I need to transfer it to you in advance?"

"Why can't you exchange it in advance and trade it directly with me?"

"..."

Lin Bo blinked, somewhat surprised. "He actually agreed to this price directly?"

Bai Cheng was also stunned for a moment, then looked at Xiao Xiao and said, "President Xiao, it's because I'm really poor too..."

"Not everyone can earn hundreds of thousands of points like you. I've been carefully saving for years, and I've only managed to accumulate less than 10,000 points. So even if I wanted to help you redeem them first, it's simply impossible for me..."

"Think about it carefully. It's perfectly reasonable for me to accept over 10,000 points as payment..."

"After all, this was something our guild leader initially planned to use to blackmail you. That guy would kill for a single point, and after my private deal with you, he lost over ten thousand points. I wonder how furious he must be. Just considering the risk I took, twenty thousand points isn't much, is it? This deal is very reliable for you..."

"..."

"Doesn't your president have the power to restrain you?"

Xiao Xiao remained noncommittal, simply smiling and looking him in the eyes, saying, "You still dare to offend him and secretly make a deal with me?"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Bai Cheng's eyes widened as he said, "If you trade with him, even if he earns 100,000 points, I won't get a share. But if you trade with me, even though you only earn 19,000, all 19,000 points are mine... Although he can indeed restrain me, I didn't shirk my responsibilities when fighting against the aberrant things, nor did I disobey orders and hide when encountering external invasions. What can he do?"

"If you push me too far, I'll file a complaint against him with the City Will!"

"..."

Xiao Xiao found it intriguing. "You can file complaints here?"

As the president of the association, I've never heard of someone being able to get a complaint from their own subordinates.

"Of course..."

Bai Cheng said, "When the City Will appears, just complain to him directly. What can he do to me?"

Xiao Xiao was even more surprised. "Your City Will can manifest itself?"

The outsiders in Black Gate City also knew of the existence of the City Will, but it was more of a general term. At least, Xiao Xiao had sensed the existence of the City Will, even felt its gaze and saw its flesh and blood. However, he intuitively found that the City Will that Bai Cheng mentioned was different from what he had said, and the way to communicate with it was also different.

"The City Will can sometimes manifest itself in a visible and understandable way..."

Lin Bo, busy beside him, whispered a reminder: "Sometimes it will suddenly turn into someone next to you, and sometimes it will appear in your mind through mental projection. But the smaller the city, the easier it is to encounter. In a big city like Black Gate City, the chance of encountering it is actually very small... You can think of it as the probability of you encountering the village chief in a village is always greater than the probability of you encountering the mayor, right?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao had a vague idea in his mind, but he couldn't show his suspicion on his face.

He smiled gently at Bai Cheng and said, "No matter what, make sure I gave you 50,000 points... 5,499.5."

"So you'll hand over the Unquenched Heart to me?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Bo, Little Four, and several envoys from Dante Organization all became somewhat nervous.

50,000 points...

In the entire circle of strangers, how many dare to use the unit "ten thousand" to count points?

In particular, 54,995...

Rounding it up, it's already 100,000!

And those who have reached the 100,000-point mark, aren't they all legendary figures?

Bai Cheng was also slightly moved; in fact, his body visibly trembled slightly. Xiao Xiao, the discerning observer, could even detect the slight dilation of his pupils. He practically rubbed his hands together excitedly, trying to remain calm, and looked at Xiao Xiao with utmost sincerity, saying, "President Xiao, you have to believe in yourself..."

"You are the one who defeated the Hell Organization, and even killed hundreds of Hell Organization members in one fell swoop. You are the mysterious Collectors transformed Black Gate City into a forbidden zone of Hell, and a very well-known dog lover in the entire Outlander community..."

"Think about it, how bold would I have to be to lie to you?"

"..."

"..."

Everyone present looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

It seems that what he said makes sense...

But that's almost 100,000 points after all...

Even Lin Bo was getting increasingly nervous and couldn't help but say to Bai Cheng, "I can actually waive my brokerage fee... unless you take it from your commission... However, if we're going to do a deal, it's definitely better for everyone to be honest and straightforward!"

"I've had my share of complaints about your Night's End City, but it's not a deep-seated grudge..."

"..."

Bai Cheng's eyes narrowed with laughter, then he suddenly changed his attitude, leaning back slightly as he looked at Xiao Xiao and said:

"Of course I'm sitting here with sincerity, but the decision still has to be made by Chairman Xiao."

"Right now, our Night's End City guild leader and other members don't know that Guild Leader Xiao has already arrived in Night's End City. If they did, they would probably immediately realize how important this item is to Guild Leader Xiao, and might even grit their teeth and pool their money to buy that heart. And if it's their turn to bid, they'd have to bid at least 150,000 points..."

"I saved Chairman Xiao 100,000 points in one go. Isn't that a good deal?"

"..."

Looking into his eyes, one could even sense his subtle expectation and faint smile; Xiao Xiao appeared very relaxed.

At least in other people's eyes, Xiao Xiao seemed to have nodded without even thinking about it:

"OK..."

"Shall I transfer the points to you right now?"