"Phew."
Duke thought it over briefly before deciding to take on this big deal. "This is worth a ten-silver-dragon contract... But I have to say this in advance, Mr. Rony: you'll have to pay the full amount upfront. Even if we sold this shop, we couldn't scrape together the sky-high price of twenty-seven gold dragons."
He pulled a contract he had prepared long ago from his waist pouch.
Black words on white paper, its spirituality extraordinary.
When he first launched his purchasing service, he had bought a contract specifically to use as a gimmick and demonstrate his honesty, not because he truly intended to use it—after all, the money earned from purchasing a single spirit card wasn't worth expending a contract for.
Now, it had finally found its use.
"Fine, but you must buy them from the United Card Shop. Only there can your safety be guaranteed, so no one will keep an eye on you... I don't want my money to go down the drain. If I weren't tied up with other matters, I really wouldn't feel comfortable entrusting this purchase to a half-grown child." Rony signed his name on the contract Duke had produced.
Whether the name was real or fake did not matter. The contract was equivalent to a wondrous spirit card, possessing an inviolable binding force.
Duke quickly signed his name as well.
The contract then scattered into countless glimmers and vanished into the air. Duke and Rony both felt a spiritual force winding around them, but the sensation soon faded.
They each swiped their Dragon Spirit Cards, and the twenty-seven gold dragons were transferred over.
Duke reached out and shook Rony's hand. "I'll set out for Chen Jiao City as soon as possible. Mr. Rony, you just need to wait at home."
"Keep it secret. Remember, keep it secret. Otherwise, all I'll lose is a few gold dragons, but you might get robbed—or even lose your life... Snakehead Town lies on the Federation's border. It isn't exactly safe."
"Don't worry. I understand."
Fortune was found amid danger, and besides, this was only a purchasing job.
A single contract was enough to guarantee that Rony had not come with malicious intent. Otherwise, the spiritual power within the contract would directly annihilate the party harboring ill intentions.
As long as Rony meant no harm, Duke only needed to be careful, and no one would set their sights on this deal.
After sending Rony off, Sally asked curiously, "Boss, what spirit card did he want you to purchase?"
"Just an Illusion Card. It's worth two gold dragons, and the shop can earn five silver dragons as the purchasing fee... If only someone came every day asking us to purchase spirit cards." Duke smiled.
Sally smiled as well. "Getting even one spirit card to purchase every now and then is pretty good. Now you don't have to worry about competition from Best's Card Repair Shop anymore."
"True enough."
Not long afterward, Steve returned from making a delivery and brought some news. "Boss, it's not good news. When I was making a delivery, I ran into Bob from Best's Card Repair Shop. Guess what he was doing? He was actually out canvassing the streets with people too. Could this affect our shop? Don't let him steal all our customers."
"Bob is canvassing the streets too?" Duke was not surprised. "It's fine. It's just normal commercial competition."
"Are you really sure it's fine?" Sally was a little worried.
Duke reassured her, "Not only is it fine, it's actually good news. Best would only copy our home-visit service after feeling threatened. That shows Best's Card Repair Shop hasn't been doing well these past few days. We'll keep working as usual. Little Sam's Card Shop has over twenty years of good reputation—that's our sure-fire trump card."
Best's Card Repair Shop's move did not concern Duke in the slightest.
He rested for a night, as usual reading quite a few newly purchased books to expand Xiao Yi's database and help her evolve.
The next morning, he hurried to the station and boarded a Black Beetle Car bound for Chen Jiao City.
After arriving in Chen Jiao City without incident, he did not even have time to rest before hurrying to the wholesale market, the Scrap Card Station, and other places, buying or scavenging all sorts of materials for repairing cards.
"This Dragon Spirit Card is severely damaged, but Xiao Yi determined that part of its internal energy circuitry remains relatively intact. It can be cut out and used as splicing material."
"This Illumination Card is practically scrap. It has no usable value."
"This Massage Card looks damaged, but through the master's senses, Xiao Yi determined that it can be restored with a little repair."
With Xiao Yi's judgment combined with Duke's senses, scavenging discarded cards at the Scrap Card Station was practically a journey with no obstacles.
Most of the discarded cards he picked out had value for reuse, and he rarely made a misjudgment. Every now and then, he even found a pleasant surprise—a spirit card that could be restored. This was also the confidence behind Duke's ability to run Little Sam's Card Shop well. When it came to cutting costs, he was even better than Old Sam.
What could Best possibly use to compete with him?
After selecting the discarded cards and paying the Scrap Card Station a small sum, Duke headed straight for his next destination: the United Card Shop.
The United Card Shop was an official enterprise of the Seven Towers Federation, roughly comparable to a Xinhua Bookstore. Its products were certainly more expensive than those sold by other card shops, but it did an excellent job of keeping information confidential.
As soon as Duke entered, he selected ten Arcane Cards.
"Twenty-seven gold dragons." The card clerk reported the price with a smile.
"I'm buying ten at once. Give me a discount. How about twenty-five gold dragons?"
"Sorry, the United Card Shop doesn't haggle."
"There's no such thing as a shop that doesn't haggle. I've bought plenty of spirit cards at the United Card Shop. I'll pay twenty-five gold dragons right now." Duke felt not the slightest bit embarrassed about bargaining.
Running a small factory before crossing over had long since honed him.
The card clerk said awkwardly, "Sorry, our United Card Shop really doesn't haggle."
"How could that be? Call your supervisor over. I'll discuss the price with them... How about this: twenty-six gold dragons. Your employees must have access to discounted prices. Give me a discount, and from now on I'll come straight to you whenever I visit... I specialize in running errands for people to buy cards. I definitely won't be making few purchases in the future."
After several rounds of verbal sparring, the card clerk finally relented. "Then twenty-six gold dragons it is. Remember to come to me for your cards in the future."
"Don't worry. I'll be back in a few days!"
After swiping his Dragon Spirit Card, he exchanged a few jokes with the card clerk, Carlya, then tucked the ten spirit cards into a pocket close to his body before walking casually out of the United Card Shop.
He did not act cautiously, merely keeping a secret eye out.
Only after confirming that no one was watching him did Duke board a tram, moving as fast as he appeared slow. Once he returned to the small hotel where he was staying, he finally let out a deep breath. This era was no law-abiding society. Murders and robberies happened often, and the culprits were rarely found. Carrying ten valuable Arcane Cards, he had no choice but to be a little careful.
"Everything was worth it. One purchasing job earned me a net profit of one and a half gold dragons—enough to match three months of running the shop!" If he could make a few more deals like this, he would be able to scrape together enough money for a spirit root.
"Still, I must never take on a deal where the other party refuses to sign a contract, in case someone sets a trap for me."
"If I seriously run Little Sam's Card Shop, and occasionally scavenge some discarded spirit cards from the Scrap Card Station to repair, I can still earn enough resources for my cultivation."
"And it's safer, too."
After all, this was a supernatural world. No amount of caution could ever be excessive.
Before you continue