Unexpected Gains

"How is it, little brother Green? If you're interested, I can have Old Willy bring the things over right away." Old One-Eye asked eagerly. The Old Willy he mentioned was that friend of his.

Green nodded without hesitation. "The sooner he can come, the better. If he really has something I need, I'll definitely pay a fair price."

Old One-Eye laughed heartily, then immediately called a skinny young man in from outside the shop and sent him off to summon someone.

In less than half an hour, the skinny young man returned with a slovenly old man. The old man's eyes were cloudy, his body slightly hunched, and he carried a wine bottle in his hand.

The man's face was covered in wrinkles, and he looked extremely old. It was impossible to tell that he had once been a peak apprentice knight of the kingdom's knight order. Alcohol and illness had nearly destroyed him completely.

"Old Willy, my friend, this is Mr. Green Wilson, a generous and distinguished gentleman."

Old One-Eye immediately went up and embraced him, giving him a surreptitious wink as he began introducing Green.

Old Willy had already learned Green's identity from the skinny young man. He behaved quite appropriately, giving a slight bow before getting straight to the point and placing the leather case in his hand on the table.

It was an old-fashioned military case, probably issued to junior and mid-ranking officers of the knight order back in the day. Although it was quite well made, many years had passed and it had barely been maintained, leaving it extremely battered. Even the metal clasps on it had rusted. →

Because of his long-term alcoholism, Old Willy's hands trembled uncontrollably. He did his best to steady them as he opened the leather case, immediately revealing what was inside. It was packed to the brim with all kinds of fragments, most of them metal or ceramic. The fragments came in various sizes and were all pitch-black and inconspicuous, apparently the leftovers after being picked over countless times.

Green had no interest in the old drunk and had no intention of befriending him. He simply treated it as a business transaction and began inspecting the items in the case.

There were twenty-four fragments in total. As Green handled them one by one, delight gradually appeared on his face. A full third of the objects contained varying amounts of Psychic Energy. Moreover, Green could sense that the total amount of Psychic Energy was substantial, far beyond his expectations. A particularly broken metal disc seemed to be a component of some large magical artifact. It contained a huge amount of Psychic Energy, and merely touching it gave Green a faint tingling sensation, like a mild electric shock.

"What dense Psychic Energy! It contains several times more than that Wind Blade Bracelet. This really is an unexpected surprise." Green was ecstatic inside, but he continued to maintain a calm expression as he carefully finished inspecting everything in the case. He then looked again at Old Willy, whose expression was anxious yet hopeful. "These things aren't bad. How much do you want for them?"

Old Willy opened and closed his mouth, unsure how to answer. In his view, the entire case was full of worthless junk. But Old One-Eye had already warned him that the things were useful to Green. Even so, he was afraid that asking too much would scare away this sole buyer. After hesitating for a long while, he cautiously said, "Esteemed sir, I don't know what value these things hold for you or what use they might be, but I believe in the character of a noble. Please name your price. If it's acceptable, I'll agree."

Green secretly thought that this old drunk was cunning. He had started by flattering him with talk of noble character. Green did not care about that, but there was no need for him to push the price too low. Doing so would make Old One-Eye, the middleman, look bad.

Green pondered briefly before saying, "I'll take everything, including the leather case. Fifty gold pounds in total. How does that sound?"

A flicker of excitement passed through Old Willy's cloudy eyes. He glanced at Old One-Eye, and the two exchanged looks before nodding slightly.

Old One-Eye could tell that Green had offered that price partly to show him respect. He felt somewhat more favorably toward Green, though it was only the slightest bit of goodwill. The next time they did business, he certainly would not give up even a single gold pound because of it.

Half an hour later, Green returned to Wilson Castle in a carriage with the leather case. On the way, he eagerly opened the case and began absorbing the Psychic Energy.

Eight fragments in total provided Green with nearly one thousand one hundred Psychic Energy. The broken metal disc alone contained five hundred, almost half the total! Adding that to what he had left before, he now had a total of [1095] Psychic Energy. This left Green both excited and conflicted. With this much Psychic Energy, he would definitely unlock a new building.

According to the Graveyard's prompt and Green's current circumstances, he had several choices: upgrade the Town Hall, build the Magic Guild, or build the Zombie Crypt. There were also some other buildings available, but they would not help Green much, so he eliminated them immediately, leaving these three options.

But when he looked at the prices again, upgrading the Town Hall to level two required [2000] Psychic Energy. His excitement at obtaining so much Psychic Energy instantly cooled. He could only curl his lips helplessly and eliminate that choice, leaving just the [Magic Guild] and [Zombie Crypt].

If he built the Magic Guild, he would obviously obtain new magic, and there was a strong possibility that he would gain the Meditation Method Green urgently needed. Building the Zombie Crypt offered benefits that were no less impressive. The level-two unit Zombie and its Zombie variant, the Ghoul, would start with [6.8] combat power, surpassing the upgraded Gun Skeleton Soldier. They would be a fairly powerful melee unit, perfectly suited to fighting alongside the Gun Skeleton Soldiers.

Green still had not made up his mind by the time the carriage returned to Wilson Castle. In truth, he still leaned toward the latter option. Although the Meditation Method was important, its benefits would accumulate gradually, whereas building the [Zombie Crypt] would provide a genuine and immediate increase in his existing strength.

Green planned to return and consider it slowly, but as soon as he stepped down from the carriage, he saw a male servant running toward him. The servant seemed to have been waiting for him, and the moment he saw Green get out of the carriage, he hurried over.

Green furrowed his brows. When the male servant approached, he asked, "What is it?"

The servant quickly replied, "An hour ago, a lady came to visit you, my lord. She said she had arranged it with you long ago and had come to deliver something."

"Come to deliver something?" Green immediately thought of Elizabeth Franton, who had hurriedly left last time. "Could it be her?"

Green's heart stirred. If Elizabeth really had come to deliver the Meditation Method, then he would no longer need to agonize over the choice. He could simply give up on the Magic Guild and choose to build the Zombie Crypt.

Since Green was absent, the visitor had been shown to the castle's public reception room.

Green ordered a male servant to carry the leather case he had brought back up to the top floor. He then went to the reception room, coughed lightly, and walked inside.

To his surprise, the visitor was not Elizabeth Franton, but a mature woman in her early thirties. She was extremely beautiful, with a full and alluring figure, and wore the attire of a noblewoman's steward. Her bearing was dignified and elegant as she sat quietly in the reception room, waiting.

Green was certain that he did not know this woman, and he could not help but grow secretly vigilant. For just now, in the instant their gazes met, he had sensed that this seemingly beautiful and seductive woman was extraordinarily powerful—at the very least, she was in no way weaker than Doctor Wilkins. Moreover, she had killed countless people; her killing intent had condensed into something almost tangible.

Inside the reception room, Steward Laurence was accompanying her. The woman's bearing was extraordinary, and she had come to visit Green, so as one of Wilson Castle's unofficial masters, Steward Laurence naturally would not be discourteous. Now that he saw Green return, he rose to take his leave and conveniently closed the door behind him, leaving the entire reception room to Green and the woman.