Old One-Eye's Basement (2)

Green selected several more items, all of which the Graveyard could sense contained Psychic Energy. There were thirteen in total, which left him somewhat disappointed. The Psychic Energy contained in these damaged magical items varied, and he roughly estimated that absorbing them all would yield only fifty or sixty units of Psychic Energy—enough to recruit a dozen or so skeleton soldiers. But it was still insufficient to unlock a new building, whether the Magic Guild or the crypt that produced zombies.

Green was disappointed, and One-Eyed Kerry Jin was disappointed too. He had thought a fat sheep had come along, and had even considered bundling up all the junk in the cellar and selling it off. Who would have guessed that Green would spend so long picking out only a dozen-odd items whose value was impossible to discern? There was a broken ancient sword, a shattered bronze mirror, a stone carving from a foreign race, and some stone pendants made of inferior material.

But old One-Eye was a true businessman. Even though he was somewhat disappointed, he still wore a genial smile. At least he had thirty-nine gold pounds going into his account.

With the money and goods exchanged, the three of them came up from the basement, only to see Cindy receiving a newly arrived customer.

It was a lecherous-looking middle-aged man dressed in leather armor, with a dagger and a grappling hook and rope hanging from his waist—a standard thief's getup. A cloth bag hung diagonally across his body, stuffed full of who knew what. Judging by the way Cindy was receiving him, it seemed to be his first visit. He was not here to buy anything, but to sell something.

There was also a woman on the other side of the reception room, around twenty years old, wearing a long noblewoman's dress. Judging solely by her features, she was only average-looking, but an alluring, coquettish charm naturally radiated from her. Even sitting ramrod straight, she could make people turn their heads. Green also noticed that the whites of her eyes had a faint bluish tinge. It was a sign of cultivating battle aura, and her level was not low; it was difficult to gauge her depth.

Just as Green was observing the woman, she seemed to sense it. She set down the coffee in her hand and turned to look over. Their eyes met, and Green's heart jolted. In that instant, he felt as if an incomparably dangerous primordial beast had fixed its gaze on him.

Green hurriedly looked away and swiftly labeled the woman extremely dangerous in his mind. She was the strongest person he had encountered to date. Even Doctor Wilkins, an Advanced Apprentice Mage, was far inferior to her.

Could this woman be Formal Rank? Green thought inwardly. His sense of urgency grew stronger. Powerful, strange phenomena had appeared in the city one after another, and now a mysterious woman who seemed to be Formal Rank had arrived. All of Landon City was filled with the oppressive feeling of a storm about to break.

"That woman's name is Elizabeth Franton. They say she's a noble young lady from Faerun City." Seeing Green's odd reaction, One-Eyed Kerry Jin lowered his voice and reminded him. It was not hard to hear the deep apprehension in his tone toward the woman named Elizabeth.

At the same time, Lola whispered gleefully, "That woman is incredibly powerful. She looks cold and aloof, yet she's captivated several famous noble young masters in the city. What was with you just now? Your eyes went completely straight. Don't tell me you were mesmerized. Though, come to think of it, whenever I see her, she's always surrounded by admirers guarding the flower. How come she came here alone for coffee today?"

Green rolled his eyes, but had already decided inwardly that, unless absolutely necessary, he would stay far away from this woman named Elizabeth.

At that moment, Cindy's exchange with the thief was not going smoothly. The thief seemed to want to sell something, but Cindy's offer did not satisfy him. Green also noticed that old One-Eye's expression turned strange when he saw the thief, and that he gave Cindy a signal. Cindy then lowered the price even more, her attitude turning cold and hard. It was obvious that the shop was throwing its weight around—take it or leave it.

The thief was no good person either. A vicious hatred flashed through his eyes, but wary of old One-Eye's fearsome reputation and the background of the shop, he swallowed his anger. Gritting his teeth, he snorted, "You have no sincerity. I'm not selling these treasures anymore." As he spoke, he began stuffing several items he had just laid before Cindy back into his cloth bag.

Green was just about to leave when he happened to pass by the thief. The thief, huffing angrily as he gathered his things, turned to leave and collided with Green by sheer bad luck, stumbling and nearly falling. Already in a foul mood, the thief opened his mouth to curse, but when he saw Green dressed like a nobleman and holding a magic staff, he lost his nerve and swallowed the words.

At that moment, Green wore a strange expression as he stared at the man dressed like a thief. He had accidentally brushed against the man's body just now, and a prompt from the Graveyard had unexpectedly appeared in his mind: Wild undead creature detected! Beneath it were two options: Battle \ Recruit. But the Psychic Energy required after Recruit was followed by a string of question marks.

Green let out an "Huh?" He had never encountered anything like this before. Besides, there was no way the man in front of him looked like an undead creature!

After steadying himself, the thief realized the other party was a nobleman. He held back his curse, apologized, and was about to continue out the door.

How could Green let him go? He immediately tried selecting Recruit, but nothing happened.

Green frowned. He did not choose Battle right away either. Ignoring the prompt issued by the Graveyard, he called out, "Hey! This gentleman, please wait."

The thief was slightly startled. No one had ever called him "sir" before. He turned around suspiciously, then confirmed that Green was calling him.

Green stopped the thief but did not bother with him. Instead, he went to old One-Eye's side and asked in a low voice, "Why won't you accept his goods? Is there serious trouble?"

Old One-Eye looked at Green in surprise, unsure why he had suddenly decided to meddle. But Green was a magic apprentice with the Wilson Family behind him, making him a high-quality customer, so their relationship had to be maintained. After pondering briefly, old One-Eye replied evasively, "The goods are fine. The person is the problem. He has no human scent." As he spoke, he pointed at his own nose, indicating that although he was blind in one eye, his sense of smell was sharper than a dog's.

An undead creature disguised as a living person? Green thought. He looked at old One-Eye with even greater respect, never imagining the man possessed such a skill. But old One-Eye feared that person; Green certainly did not. Besides, he could not simply ignore the warning from the Graveyard. He smiled and said, "In that case, I'd like to take a look at his goods. You don't mind, do you, old One-Eye?"

Old One-Eye was somewhat surprised. He had already warned Green that the other party was not a living person, but then suddenly realized that Green himself was a necromancer. Wasn't dealing with the dead precisely his line of work? He hurriedly waved his hand. "Not at all, not at all. Buying and selling is a free choice. We do honest business here; we wouldn't dare engage in the bully's trade."

"Then thank you." Green smiled and gave a slight nod before turning to face the counterfeit thief, who was almost out the door.

Green and old One-Eye had spoken in voices so low that only the two of them had heard. The thief still did not know that his disguise had been exposed.

Green took a few steps and came before the man, pointing at his bag. "I'll take everything you've got. But I didn't bring any cash on me. Come home with me."

The thief's eyes lit up, a flash of greedy, sinister malice passing through them. He immediately lowered his head, looking extremely humble, and nodded eagerly in agreement before following Green into the carriage outside.