Transaction

Chapter 26: Transaction

Not long after.

Karl arrived at the stall again.

"Six portions of Soul Powder in total, twelve Black Stones. Uncle, you can just give me ten," Aya rubbed her hands, her small face flushed red.

Ten Black Stones was already the largest single transaction she had ever made since setting up her stall.

After deducting the cost of acquiring Soul Powder from others, she could earn nearly three Black Stones.

"Six portions?" Karl frowned slightly, crouched down to inspect the powder, his tone showing slight displeasure:

"Only this much?"

For the sake of the deceased stall owner Kolon, he had given her ample time to collect Soul Powder, yet she had only gathered six portions, far from his target.

"Uncle..." Aya's face turned pale, then she gritted her teeth and said:

"It's my incompetence, but if you give me some more time, I can definitely collect more Soul Powder."

"I'll stake my life on it!"

Karl looked up.

The other party hadn't made excuses for not collecting enough, but directly admitted her own inadequacy.

This was somewhat unexpected.

Anyone else would likely have said they had done their best, or that others didn't have any Soul Powder, and so on.

"One day."

Standing up, Karl spoke slowly:

"I'll give you one day. How much Soul Powder can you collect?"

"One day?" Aya lowered her head, thought for a moment, then replied:

"Twenty portions!"

"At least twenty portions. If Uncle is willing to lend me the capital, I can collect up to thirty portions."

"Alright," Karl nodded.

"Twenty portions it is. I'll come back at this time tomorrow. I hope you can collect as much as you've said."

Saying that, he took out the ten Black Stones he had exchanged and handed them over.

As for lending her the capital...

He had no such intention. Being willing to continue doing business with her was already the greatest goodwill Karl could offer at the moment.

"Thank you, Uncle."

Aya excitedly took the Black Stones and patted her shriveled chest vigorously:

"By tomorrow, I will definitely collect the full amount."

Karl didn't reply and turned to leave. At this point, no matter how much she promised, it wouldn't be as good as having the sufficient quantity tomorrow.

He also needed to gather supplies.

Twenty portions of Soul Powder required forty Black Stones. Exchanged for bread and preserved meat, it would take at least a cartload.

One trip wouldn't be enough.

Returning to Signo City, he called for a carriage to go to the market, bought a cartload of bread and preserved meat wholesale, and rushed back.

At the same time, he used the Divine Domain fragment to send them to Black City in batches and hide them.

"Huh?"

Karl's expression stiffened.

After crossing over multiple times and returning to Signo City, he discovered that he could no longer enter the Divine Domain fragment.

This made him panic.

The Divine Domain fragment and the other world were his greatest trump cards since his transmigration. Now, they were unusable?

Fortunately, after waiting for a moment, he felt a response from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

It wasn't unusable.

It was just that multiple crossings in a short period were also taxing for the Divine Domain fragment, requiring time to rest.

It couldn't be used for at least a day.

"It's good that it's usable, it's good that it's usable."

Karl breathed a sigh of relief.

"I didn't expect this limitation. Fortunately, it's not an emergency escape, otherwise, wouldn't that be disastrous?"

If it couldn't be used for a day, then he would wait a day. However, he definitely wouldn't be able to make it back in time for the appointment with Aya.

The next day.

Karl appeared at Laka Market.

"Uncle!"

The moment she saw him, Aya's face lit up with joy. With a "whoosh," she sprang up from the ground.

"You're here."

She didn't ask why Karl had stood her up yesterday or show any resentment. She was as enthusiastic as ever.

"Sorry."

Karl lowered his head slightly.

"I was held up yesterday and couldn't make it."

"It's fine," Aya waved her hand, her expression generous.

"I trust you, Uncle. If you really had no other choice, you wouldn't have broken your promise."

"It's good you came, Uncle. I ran around to a few more places yesterday and bought a total of thirty-two portions of Soul Powder."

"Thirty-two portions?" Karl's eyes flickered, his gaze pausing on Aya's arms as she gestured.

Her slender arms were covered in scars.

"Aya."

"Yes."

"Do you want Black Stone, or do you want food?" Karl spoke slowly.

"I have a batch of bread, cured meat, and some milk in the city that I can sell to you at a discount."

"But you'll need to come with me."

"Bread, cured meat, milk?" Aya swallowed subconsciously, hesitation in her eyes.

Compared to Black Stone, these items were more cost-effective at the market.

And if Karl really sold them at a discount, she could make a profit by reselling them.

"Uncle," Aya's eyes darted around. "Please wait a moment."

Saying that, she packed up the items on her stall, slung them over her back, and turned to run towards the back.

Somewhere in the ruins.

"I want Black Stone!"

A voice, belonging to a tall and sturdy person but sounding remarkably childish, rang out.

"Sister, the Black Stone is readily available. He wouldn't dare play any tricks at the market. Who knows what we'll encounter if we go out with him?"

"Xiao Nan is right," a hoarse voice followed.

"Earning money steadily is better than anything. There's no shortage of people getting robbed and murdered in Black City."

"But..." Aya struggled. "The Month of Severe Winter is almost here. If we don't have enough supplies, it'll be hard for us to get through. Besides, I've been at the market for so long, and the money I've earned isn't even enough for the stall fee. This is an opportunity."

"Do you know him?" From the darkness, a staggering old man emerged and asked.

"Do you know who he is?"

"Why can he get so much food? Why do you trust him? Have you considered the consequences?"

The old man pressed with relentless questions.

"I don't know his character," Aya shook her head, her expression serious.

"But Uncle Kolong once said that this person always gets good things that others can't, and his identity is very mysterious. Someone like that shouldn't be short on money, and I don't have anything worth his effort."

"What if..." the old man paused, tapping his cane. "What if?"

"I want to take a gamble," Aya's eyes were determined.

"If he really has a large amount of food, I can get on his good side, and there will be many benefits in the future."

"If I'm tricked..."

"Then I'll have lost the bet. I'll accept the consequences!"

"You..." the old man was furious.

"I shouldn't have let you buy Kolong's stall in the first place. With your skills, you could have lived a stable life mining."

"Live?" Aya's face showed bitterness.

"It's just surviving. Mining day and night, what's the difference from an animal? I don't want to be an animal my whole life."

"Sister." The burly youth stepped forward.

"I'll go with you."

*

*

*

Karl didn't wait long before Aya returned, accompanied by a large man wrapped up tightly.

"Uncle."

Aya smiled.

"If there's a lot of food, I'm afraid I can't carry it all myself, so I found a companion."

"Mm."

Karl nodded slowly.

It was normal for the other party to be cautious, and he didn't feel any threat from the large man.

"Let's go!"

He turned around, signaling for the other person to follow.

Snowflakes still fell in the city, and the black snow piled up thicker on the ground, with sparse, scattered footprints visible on the road.

A short while later.

"It's inside."

Karl gestured towards the wooden house ahead.

Just as Aya was about to step forward, the burly man beside her reached out to stop her. The burly man then cautiously approached the wooden house door.

Creak...

The wooden door opened.

Mountains of bread, meat strips, and barrels of fresh milk greeted their eyes, freezing the burly man in place.

Aya's body tensed. Although her face showed no expression, the nails of her ten fingers dug into her flesh, drawing blood, yet she felt no pain.

It's real!

They really had a way to get so much food!

Karl's expression remained unchanged. Whether for convenient trading or future development, he needed an agent here. Aya, with her lack of background, was just right.