Moyan, Shut Up

"Yo, playing games, huh?"

Sid grinned. He looked at the stall owner before him, the mysterious goods, the incomprehensible Rainbow Fruit, and the heavyweight rhetorical question. The owner's simple, "It's very expensive, do you want to buy it?" carried an air of disdain (though Sid was just overthinking it), making him grit his teeth in annoyance.

This was the most common market tactic!

First, pique your strong emotions, keep them guessing, then seize the opportunity to push their wares, selling worthless items for prices far exceeding their actual value.

Sid had seen this kind of thing countless times, so his heart remained unmoved. Coupled with his fierce appearance, he looked like he could flip the stall at any moment.

"Tell me what you're selling first," he said with a smile. "Let me see what kind of treasure it is that can fetch such an astronomical price?"

Gong Qiying glanced around, cupped the box, and said, "I've been sitting here all morning, and you're the first person to ask the price. Here, open it yourself."

The box was thrust into Sid's hands, and he froze for a second.

This... the tactic seemed different from what he had imagined.

Generally, this kind of tactic was like the classic Construction Turtle scam: the seller would first fabricate a bizarre story, then casually mention they only wanted to make a little money, and if the buyer seemed genuinely interested, they'd sell it cheap, etc., while actually selling it at a price far above the normal rate.

He glanced at Gong Qiying and tentatively said, "I'm opening it, okay?"

"Go ahead,"

"I'm really opening it, okay?"

"Go on, go on,"

"Aren't you going to stop me?"

"Are you sick?"

Gong Qiying looked up at the old man before him. He looked quite sharp and capable, so why was he acting like an idiot?

Sid had a feeling he had misunderstood Gong Qiying, but at this point, he could only stubbornly continue to open the box.

Let me see what amazing thing is inside this box!

As soon as the box was opened a crack, a Seven-Colored Light immediately spilled out. It was a rainbow.

Immediately after, an indescribable fragrance flowed out. It was an extremely sweet scent; just one whiff made one feel like they were immersed in honey. The desire to "eat, eat, eat" surged madly in their hearts!

At some point, a crowd had gathered around Sid, drooling as they urged him to open the box.

What on earth was inside? Sid swallowed, and with a flick of his wrist, opened the box.

And the thing inside was again different from what he had imagined.

The contents looked like a piece of mashed fruit, only half the size of a fist, as if it had been hastily torn from the main body of the fruit. Its surface shimmered with flowing light, the seven-colored rainbow seeming to be the color of the fruit itself.

"What, what is this?" Sid asked, unable to suppress his drool. If not for his strong self-control, he would have taken a bite by now.

"I told you, a small piece of Rainbow Fruit," Gong Qiying stood up and raised his voice to the onlookers. "This is the fruit from the giant plant deep within Food Paradise!"

"What, it's that plant?! That area is full of monsters, how could anyone get past them?"

"All the veteran adventurers I know died on the way. The closer you get to that plant, the stronger the monsters become!"

"I remember the fruit looking round. You're not lying to us, are you?"

Gong Qiying shrugged. "Believe it or not. I barely managed to bypass the ferocious monsters. Just as I was about to pick the fruit, I was discovered. Before I died, I managed to grab this small piece from the fruit."

"I believe you," Sid said, snapping the box shut. The aroma vanished instantly. He was afraid he couldn't control himself. "May I ask, what are the effects of this fruit?"

He automatically used polite language.

"What's the point if you don't buy it?"

"I'll buy it!"

Sid declared with great presence. "May I have a word in private? It's not convenient here."

"Alright," Gong Qiying nodded. But at this moment, the onlookers were unhappy.

"Trying to hog it all for yourself, how selfish! What about adventurer's virtues!"

"Yeah, what's wrong with talking about it here?"

Sid calmly looked at the noisy crowd and snapped his fingers.

Instantly, all sound within a five-hundred-meter radius disappeared.

High-Level Mass Silence? Gong Qiying looked at him with interest. It seemed this old man had quite a background.

"This way, please." Only Sid and Gong Qiying could still speak. The sensation was quite peculiar.

The crowd automatically made way for them. This was not voluntary, but Sid was controlling them.

The three of them walked all the way into the Adventurer's Guild. The guild staff looked terrified upon seeing Sid and quickly called for the person in charge.

The person in charge was also startled. However, just as he was about to say something, Sid silenced him as well.

It wasn't until Sid and Gong Qiying entered the reception room on the third floor that the noise downstairs resumed.

The receptionist asked curiously, "What is that big shot doing? And who is the person beside him?"

The person in charge gave a wry smile.

"How could we possibly understand the thoughts of Branch Master Sid?"

In the luxuriously decorated reception room, Gina served hot tea to the two men and quietly retreated behind Sid.

"Please allow me to introduce myself belatedly," Sid said, clasping his hands together in the Ikari Commander's signature pose. "My name is Sid. I am one of the branch presidents of the Adventurer's Guild and will soon be taking over the guild's branch in Bed City."

He smiled and continued, "You can also call me 'Moyan' Sid. Before retiring from my adventuring career, I managed to reach Gold rank, which is one of the few things this old body is proud of."

Gong Qiying opposite him indeed showed a "shocked" expression. He quickly extended his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Mareda. I'm just an ordinary adventurer. I never expected to meet someone as important as you."

The shock was fake.

Today was Gong Qiying's third day out of the underground city. He had only just begun to understand the common sense of this world and had no idea what the status of an "Adventurer's Guild branch president" truly was.

However, seeing how proud Sid looked, he decided to play along and flatter the man. The effect was quite good.

Three days ago, Sithran had gathered the magic materials according to his request and delivered them into the underground city. As payment, Gong Qiying had once again taught her hand-in-hand how to use the shield thrust.

As soon as Sithran left, he immediately set about performing the Corpse Rebirth Technique.

As for where the corpse came from?

It was Jack's.

Not long ago, Jack's body was suddenly delivered into the underground city by a group of people wearing church attire. They performed a simple ritual that Gong Qiying didn't understand, and then they left.

On the principle of not wasting anything, he used Jack's corpse for his rebirth.

The Corpse Rebirth Technique was truly miraculous. Jack's body was melted into a mass of flesh and blood. When Gong Qiying's soul entered, it immediately transformed into his appearance from his previous life.

However, influenced by something, his appearance also bore some resemblance to a well-nourished Godwyn. In the end, he looked more like the people of this world, with only his black hair and black eyes appearing somewhat rare.

With a body, he immediately tried to see if he could leave the underground city. The result was surprising; he could indeed leave!

Moreover, his absolute control over the Sain Underground City was still intact!

For the next few days, he wandered the outside world as if he were playing, cramming knowledge about this otherworld.

As for why he was setting up a stall in the marketplace, that was another reason.

"I have retired now. I'm just an ordinary old man," Sid said, very satisfied with Gong Qiying's reaction.

He asked with a smile that was not without seriousness:

"How much do you plan to sell this Rainbow Fruit for?"

(Returning to the underground city plot soon~)

Returning to the underground city plot soon~