I became the king of villains in the game

Chen Lun bought two buns and a cup of coffee at the café downstairs, making do with them for breakfast.

He crumpled the empty paper wrapper, tossed it into a trash can, and walked straight into the bookstore he had visited yesterday.

The old man looked a little stunned when he heard the door open.

He probably hadn't expected Chen Lun to turn up so early in the morning to read.

"Good morning, Mr. Tau... Taut?"

Chen Lun remembered that was what Mrs. Caroline had called him yesterday.

"Yes, Taut."

The old man pursed his lips and adjusted his glasses.

"Morning, kid."

After greeting him, the old man took the hefty tome he had been reading yesterday from the drawer behind the counter.

Chen Lun couldn't be bothered with the rude old fellow.

Everyone else calls me sir, you know.

He walked to the back, intending to start there. He had already checked everything upstairs yesterday and hoped he would find something today.

Time passed.

The sun rose in the east, climbed overhead at noon, then sank toward the western horizon at dusk.

"Ah..."

Chen Lun set down a biography and sighed helplessly.

He had flipped through every book on the ground floor and still found nothing. Fortunately, he didn't have to read them all; opening each one and flipping through a few pages was enough to tell.

If no notification popped up, it was definitely just an ordinary book.

The old man glanced at Chen Lun.

"Looking for a book?"

Chen Lun nodded in acknowledgment.

"Yes."

After answering offhandedly, he prepared to leave.

There was no explaining his search for books containing transcendent knowledge to this old man. But as he reached the door, his attention suddenly fell on the hefty tome in the man's hands.

Wait, could that be one?

"What sort of book are you looking for? Tell me. I know every book here inside out."

As Taut spoke, a hint of pride appeared on his face.

Seeing how confident he was, Chen Lun asked:

"Do you have any old books that look like they've been around for a while, or strange books with mysterious content...?"

Chen Lun knew that ordinary bookstores like this generally didn't carry transcendent knowledge.

Even if they did, it would only be very low-level knowledge.

If an ordinary person accidentally read high-level transcendent knowledge, their Sanity could very likely drop to zero, causing them to die or lose control and ultimately trigger a terrible disturbance.

So if there really were any high-level transcendent knowledge here, the Containment Bureau would have confiscated it long ago.

Most transcendent knowledge circulating among the public had "slipped through the net," but it was limited to knowledge of the lower Sequences.

Even if ordinary people accidentally read it, it wouldn't cause a major incident of mystical contamination. At most, they would find the books strange, their contents cryptic and obscure.

Only those who truly understood them could draw out the mystical transcendent knowledge within and step through the gateway into the world of transcendents.

"No!"

The old man shook his head and flatly denied it.

Chen Lun was speechless. Is this old fellow messing with me?

"Mr. Taut, could I take a look at the book you're holding?"

"No."

The old man refused.

"..."

"Mr. Taut, if I like the book, I'll pay for it."

Chen Lun looked utterly sincere.

Taut looked up at him and removed his glasses.

"I acquired this book a few years ago, but it's all about graveyards and tombs. I was planning to use it to choose and design my own future burial place..."

"Just let me take a look."

"Ten Silver Crowns."

Smack!

Chen Lun slapped a Gold Pound directly onto the counter.

"Hey, you're a rich kid!"

Taut grinned and handed over the hefty tome.

[You have discovered a mystical book of the Earth Faction!]

["Collection of Tomb Art Appreciation" (progress: 4%)]

[Through careful reading, you have gained 20 experience points.]

[You have discovered transcendent pathway knowledge (complete)!]

[Earth Faction, Sequence 9: Tomb Raider]

Chapter 45: Chen Lun, the patriarch of tomb raiders

It really is a mystical book!?

Chen Lun was surprised.

At the same time, he had already made up his mind to get his hands on it.

Although he currently lacked the mystical material of the [Earth Faction] and couldn't transcribe this mystical knowledge of a transcendent sequence pathway, that wasn't a problem.

It wouldn't stop him from "stocking up."

Once he had the materials ready in the future, he could transcribe it.

"Mr. Taut, are you really not selling this book?"

"I've told you plenty of times. It's not for sale."

The old man was getting impatient and held out his hand, signaling for Chen Lun to return the book.

"Give me my money back."

Chen Lun raised an eyebrow, refusing to back down.

The old man bristled, glaring at the young man.

"We agreed you could only take one look!

Don't tell me you've picked out some graveyard in Amber City and want to go robbing tombs?"

The old man eyed Chen Lun suspiciously.

"Mr. Taut, you may be older than me, but that doesn't give you the right to insult my character."

Chen Lun looked at him with disdain.

"You should be able to tell I'm not so poor that I need to rob graves for a living."

The old man paid no attention to his words. Adjusting his glasses, he said sarcastically:

"Hard to say. Maybe you're just a sicko who wants to satisfy his urges by digging up other people's graves."

"..."

Chen Lun could tell now that the old man probably wasn't worried about him doing anything bad. He simply didn't want to sell him the book.

"Mr. Taut, just tell me what it'll take for you to sell me the book."

Chen Lun cut straight to the point.

Unless he had no other choice, he didn't want to use transcendent means for personal gain. The old man might be obnoxious, but that wasn't enough for him to bully the weak and steal his possessions.

Mr. Taut chuckled twice.

"I hear you've been eating at Caroline's place? Well... I'd rather like to try her cooking."

Then his expression turned serious.

"You understand what I'm saying, don't you, kid!?"

"I understand."

Chen Lun nodded, turned, and walked out of the bookstore.

Just as the old man began imagining himself having dinner with Miss Caroline, the bookstore door opened again.

Chen Lun had returned.

This time, however, Mrs. Caroline was following him.

"Oh, Mr. Taut, I hear you'd like to try the afternoon tea I made?"

Mrs. Caroline held a plate containing a few leftover baked cookies and some crumbs.

"Unfortunately, this is all that's left."

Mr. Taut's expression immediately froze.

But he quickly regained the bearing of an elderly gentleman, adjusted his reading glasses, gave a refined smile, and accepted the plate from Mrs. Caroline.