"2,300? Fewer again this time?" After roughly tallying the High-Energy Crystals he had exchanged, Jiu Ming raised an eyebrow slightly. He did not mind taking a small loss, but being treated like a sucker was another matter...
"Things haven't been peaceful lately, so naturally the exchange rate has dropped." The scar-faced man chewed gum as usual. "Put it this way—you know about those spore incidents, right?"
Not wanting to lose Jiu Ming as a "regular customer," the scar-faced man brought him into a private room and began explaining.
"Didn't they say it had already been contained?"
"You read the newspapers?" The scar-faced man wore a strange expression. How could someone who could bring out Advanced High-Energy Crystals know nothing about the inside story?
"Although it's been contained, it isn't over. Those spores can only be called a warning sign."
"A warning sign?"
"There might be an Exotic Beast tide this year." The scar-faced man stopped beating around the bush and said it outright. As he spoke, he let out a long breath. "Whenever this happens, High-Energy Crystals become important strategic resources, and the gap in exchange rates grows. Even if you exchange them through legitimate channels, the rate won't be very high."
"Mm, I see. Do you have any small-scale activation devices here?"
"What do you need that for?" A trace of oddness flashed over the scar-faced man's face as he stared at Jiu Ming, utterly baffled. "Lately, I've heard that someone's been asking around the black market for that kind of contraband... How small do you need it?"
"You actually have them here?" Jiu Ming had always thought this place was just a shady shop for exchanging High-Energy Crystals.
"That depends on how small you need it." The scar-faced man shrugged, his gaze drifting as though he was thinking