Bargain Hunting in the Trading Zone

The first update of the day is here. Let me see everyone's energy—rush forward, and I'll add more updates! I'm going all out for this first week of recommendations!

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This announcement was repeated three times, and the reincarnators around Gao Xu suddenly erupted into a frenzy of discussion.

The trading zone he had teleported into was one of the most crowded areas in the space. It was bustling and noisy, filled with people asking about goods, haggling, trading favors, and cursing when deals fell through—it was many times more chaotic than a wet market on Earth.

Precisely because of this, while buying things here was fine, gathering information was nearly impossible. Thus, as soon as that shocking announcement rang out, the crowd surged toward the nearest teleportation points.

The entire trading zone was square-shaped, with teleportation points located at the midpoints and vertices of the four sides to allow travel to other regions. Gao Xu had just emerged from one. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick, and he dodged in time; otherwise, given the sheer volume of people, he would have had no choice but to accept his bad luck if some unreasonable reincarnator had plowed into him.

In the space, aside from special venues like fighting pits and arenas, private combat was strictly prohibited. In reality, throwing a punch wouldn't cause any damage, but since reincarnators couldn't pass through each other, pushing and shoving were inevitable when it got crowded.

Watching the trading zone, which had held at least several hundred people, become empty—with even many sellers hastily packing up their stalls to follow the crowd—Gao Xu couldn't help but reveal a smile.

This was exactly what he wanted; such an optimal time for shopping was hard to find even with a lantern!

Number 27384? That should be Mr. Yi. I didn't expect them to actually defeat the Red Ghost King. It seems my small effort was quite useful... As he strolled past the dazzling array of stalls, Gao Xu pondered the announcement. He naturally knew why the other reincarnators were so excited: since the Great Cleansing, the first-tier boss had automatically changed twice, meaning no one had cleared the stage for at least six months!

This was actually not surprising. The Great Cleansing was the most terrifying event in the Main God Space. Although Gao Xu hadn't experienced it personally, he had learned quite a bit about it through word of mouth.

It was said that the moment the Great Cleansing erupted, all reincarnators in the space were forcibly sent into a plot world to undergo an ultra-high-difficulty mission. The most twisted part was that the difficulty of the mission varied greatly depending on the strength of the reincarnator.

To put it bluntly, the stronger the reincarnator, the higher the chance of death!

Because of this, the fourth and fifth-tier reincarnators had been almost entirely wiped out, while some weaker first, second, and third-tier reincarnators had luckily survived.

However, ninety-nine percent of those who survived were the bottom-feeders. Even after several months of growth, they weren't strong enough to challenge the stage boss, which was why there had been such a long period without anyone advancing. If Number 27384 really was Mr. Yi, then he had certainly made a huge splash this time. With the Worker Alliance established, great things could be expected!

Gao Xu was still mulling this over when a call request suddenly came through his emblem. Seeing the caller's number, he felt certain of who it was, connected, and laughed, "Mr. Yi, congratulations!"

"Haha, little friend Gao, congratulations to you as well!" Mr. Yi's hearty laughter came from the other side. After a few pleasantries, his tone softened and became extremely solemn. "If not for your guidance and help, we would never have succeeded. Although great kindness need not be thanked in words, a proper gesture is still necessary. When you return to your private space, check your incoming mail. I cannot shortchange you on the information fee; that would break the rules. As for why Abbot Zhixiu appeared, you must explain that clearly when we meet...!"

Gao Xu had already received the notification for a new email. Not knowing the contents yet, he didn't hypocritically decline. After thanking him and chatting for a while longer, they agreed on a time to meet and terminated the call.

From Mr. Yi's words, Gao Xu learned that at the most critical moment, Abbot Zhixiu of the Jade Buddha Temple had appeared at the Blood Pool and dealt the fatal blow to the Red Ghost King. Mr. Yi clearly understood that the appearance of this plot character was closely linked to Gao Xu.

After this matter was settled, Gao Xu focused on his shopping. His goal was unique items like the Monster-Eating Insect. These items didn't have a set price in points in their descriptions, making them hard to value; reincarnators with a keen eye could often snag a great bargain.

Of course, unique items were hard to come by. Most reincarnators were shrewd and understood the principle of hoarding rare goods, preferring to hold onto them rather than sell them cheaply.

Perhaps it wasn't selling them "cheaply," but rather that the offers didn't match their internal valuation, so they were unwilling to sell unless they were in a desperate situation and urgently needed points.

This depended on the buyer's luck. In his previous life, Gao Xu had once had a stroke of good luck, buying a unique item from the Trails series, an "Orbment," for 2,000 points. It was severely damaged and could only embed one crystal circuit.

Who would have thought that during a battle in a doll workshop, Gao Xu accidentally saved a plot character? After maxing out their favorability, he repaired the Orbment and discovered it was actually a top-tier item with a chain length of 5. Relying on it to dominate for a time was what eventually led to him obtaining the "Seven Kill True Interpretation."

However, such things were rare. Even if Gao Xu bought a semi-broken Orbment now, it didn't mean it would have a chain length of 5, let alone 6 or 7, after being repaired. It entirely depended on one's luck.

After walking a large circle, Gao Xu stopped at a stall and pointed to a round bead, asking, "What's the price for the Thunder Fire Bead?"

The stall owner's body was shrouded in white mist, making their height and features impossible to discern, though their limb movements were unimpeded. In the trading zone, one could pay a certain amount of points to hide their appearance to avoid disputes after transactions, so over ninety percent of reincarnators were shrouded in mist, and Gao Xu was no exception.

The item Gao Xu was asking about was the very same Thunder Fire Bead that Tang Mei'er had used against him in the Hidden Dragon Cave—a unique hidden weapon from the Heavenly Tolerance Sect in the Jian Xia Qing Yuan world.

A neutral, stiff voice answered him, clearly processed: "600 points each, no haggling."

"A bit expensive," Gao Xu muttered, then pointed to another dry, withered vine. "What about this Thousand Gold Vine?"

"1,000 points. Since you recognize it, you should know this is a combat recovery potion that can also cure poison. The price isn't high!" The stall owner's voice sounded surprised, clearly startled by Gao Xu's knowledge.

One had to know that most reincarnators judged the value of an item by touching it to get its information. It was rare to see someone like Gao Xu who could accurately name an item just by looking at its appearance, unless the other party also spent all their time in the Jian Xia Qing Yuan world...

Thinking of this, the stall owner's voice became more enthusiastic. He began to actively introduce his goods and tried to probe Gao Xu's background in a roundabout way.

Gao Xu handled the stall owner with ease. When he spoke of the dangers and opportunities on the Song-Jin Battlefield, the stall owner nodded repeatedly in empathy, and the relationship between the two was quickly bridged.

When Gao Xu felt the time was right, he pointed to an inconspicuous mask in the corner and asked, "Brother, how much for this thing?"

The stall owner glanced at the mask, waved his hand with some resentment, and just as he was about to say something, he thought better of it, swallowed his words, and held up three fingers. "300 points."

Gao Xu wore a strange expression. He crouched down and touched the mask, and the information immediately appeared.

Disguise Mask (Scholar): Blue-tier prop, inferior quality, unique item from the Jian Xia Qing Yuan series world. A mask used for the art of disguise. After use, it can change one's appearance and clothing into that of an extremely ordinary scholar. However, as the saying goes, "a scholar is useless," so this mask provides no stat bonuses. The duration is a maximum of 60 minutes. After removing the mask, one must wait at least 2 hours before using it again. Usage count: 20/20.

"This item... is it for attending a masquerade ball?" Gao Xu wore a look of amused frustration. Although the stall owner couldn't see it, his tone clearly conveyed it.

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you!" The stall owner's head drooped, and he sighed. "I went to great lengths to get this damn thing. I don't know why it's so trashy; it's completely useless. Damn my luck! Fine, as long as you buy one other thing from me, I'll give you this broken mask as a gift, just so I don't have to look at it and get annoyed!"

"Alright, straightforward! Making friends opens up more paths, and I've always been duty-bound to share a friend's troubles!" Gao Xu gave a thumbs up, praising him while tucking the Disguise Mask and a Thunder Fire Bead into his pocket. He transferred 800 points, they exchanged numbers, and the two parted ways with reluctant waves...