Game Merchant

One afternoon, while Lin Yi was away, Dugu Feng and several Militia Team members killed a lone Monster Shocking Pig.

The Shocking Pig was only a Level 6 minor Monster and had fallen into the Militia Team's trap, so dealing with it was very easy.

However, he heard that it had only dropped a single white-quality material. Dugu Feng had gotten nothing, only a small amount of Contribution Points as compensation. His luck was terrible.

Aside from serving on duty with the Militia Team, Lin Yi spent his time in the game practicing the Heavenly Star Archery Technique.

It was worth mentioning that Lin Yi had used all the Contribution Points he had originally planned to exchange for Protective Talismans to buy Blood Food.

However, his remaining 36 Contribution Points could only be exchanged for 15 grams of Blood Food. After eating it for two days, he had gained a total of 3 Qi-Blood points.

Lin Yi's Qi-Blood was now 13.5.

Early that morning, the three-day refresh period had ended. As soon as Lin Yi logged in, he could barely wait to draw a Talent.

Before that, however, he needed to use Treasure Sense once. After all, the Talent's three-day cooldown had also refreshed. It would be a waste not to use it.

Lin Yi then used Treasure Sense to search for treasure within Ancient Pool Village.

An invisible force seemed to guide him. It felt as though he would find something good if he went that way.

"This Talent is truly marvelous!"

Following the guidance in his heart, Lin Yi headed west.

By the time he reached the end, he was at the westernmost wall of Ancient Pool Village. The area was thick with bushes and covered in all kinds of low-growing plants.

At last, Lin Yi's gaze was drawn to a cluster of red fruit on one of the plants.

Shaohong Fruit · White: A special fruit that grows in the wild. It can be ground into a liquid to detoxify wounds and stop bleeding.

A healing-type fruit?

He wondered whether this fruit was valuable.

Of course, Lin Yi did not mind. He quickly picked the three Shaohong Fruits from the plant.

Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction. He could keep one as a spare and exchange the remaining two for Contribution Points. He was currently in dire need of Blood Food to increase his Qi-Blood.

Afterward, Lin Yi returned to his residence and began drawing today's Talent.

As the dice on the Talent page spun, a flash of blue light streaked past.

"Ding! You have drawn the Blue Talent Blood Siphon!"

A Blue Talent!

Lin Yi's heart shook. This was a Blue Talent, even better than a Green Talent. It was his first time seeing one!

His luck today was truly good. First, he had found three white-quality Spiritual Fruits, then he had drawn a Blue Talent.

Lin Yi eagerly checked the description of Blood Siphon.

Blood Siphon: Blue Talent. By killing creatures with blood, you can obtain blood energy from their bodies. Blood energy is automatically converted into Health Points.

Note: This is a Blue Talent and can only siphon blood one thousand times. Raising the Talent Level can increase the number of siphons.

After reading the Talent description, Lin Yi was thrilled.

This Talent seemed extraordinary. It was a growth Talent that could stack attributes.

He just did not know how many Health Points it could siphon at a time. If it gave 1 Health Point each time, then one thousand siphons would amount to one thousand Health Points.

However, today was Duty Day. Lin Yi had to guard the city with Militia Squad Two, so he did not have time to test the Talent's ability.

Suppressing his excitement, Lin Yi headed to the city wall. Most of Squad Two's members were already there.

Gu Chenghu waved his hand. "Go on, get to your respective defensive lines. Don't let any Monsters slip into the village."

Lin Yi had no fixed defensive line, so he naturally followed Gu Chenghu.

Today's watch was dull. No Monsters lingered outside the wall, nor were any Monsters discovered hiding within the village.

Over two hours later, Lin Yi's shift ended, and he handed the work over to Dugu Feng.

However, Lin Yi was in no hurry to log off. Instead, he went to Fufeng Tower and bought a live chicken and a live duck from the kitchen assistant.

He wanted to see whether killing chickens and ducks could earn him Health Points.

"Ding! You have killed an ordinary chicken! No experience gained!"

"Ding! Your Blue Talent Blood Siphon has activated. You have gained 0.8 permanent Health Points!"

A live chicken gave 0.8 Health Points?

Lin Yi then tried killing the live duck in his hand.

"Ding! You have killed an ordinary duck! No experience gained!"

"Ding! Your Blue Talent Blood Siphon has activated. You have gained 0.8 permanent Health Points!"

It was still 0.8 Health Points.

Lin Yi raised his brows in thought. It seemed that the creature killed was likely related to its size. Chickens and ducks were about the same size and had similar amounts of Qi-Blood, so the siphoned Health Point bonuses were both 0.8.

After thinking it over, Lin Yi decided he still needed to test other living creatures.

He then found Butcher Li in the east of the village and asked whether he could personally kill a pig.

"Kill a pig? And you're paying me for it?"

Butcher Li looked Lin Yi over curiously. "I've seen plenty of Newborns, but this is the first time I've seen one come here to kill pigs and pay me for the privilege."

However, seeing Lin Yi dressed in Militia Team clothes, Butcher Li showed a look of curiosity.

If he remembered correctly, about a week ago, this kid had just been a newcomer who had entered Ancient Pool Village. Yet in only a week, he had joined the Militia Team.

This kid had some skill!

Lin Yi had no idea that his Militia Team uniform had added considerably to his image. He only heard Butcher Li say, "Fine. Since you're paying, you can do whatever you want."

Butcher Li then brought Lin Yi to the backyard, where pigs were slaughtered.

Several sides of pork had already been butchered and hung on the walls, while plenty of bloody pig entrails were scattered across the ground.

The entire courtyard reeked of blood.

Butcher Li called into the house, "Chang Sheng, come out and get to work! Go bring a live pig from the pen!"

At that moment, a young man walked out of the house. He held a boning knife, and his coat was covered in red pig's blood.

"Master, didn't we just slaughter one this morning? Why are we killing another? Are we not going to live anymore?"

"Quit talking nonsense. Go, now."

Under Butcher Li's urging, the young man named Chang Sheng sighed and went to fetch a pig.

Before leaving, he glanced at Lin Yi, but said nothing.

Lin Yi's gaze sharpened slightly. Judging by his bearing and clothing, this young man called Chang Sheng was actually a player.

Another player?

Lin Yi had been in Apocalypse World for about a week. Counting the fat man from Militia Squad Three, Dugu Feng, the newcomer he had met two days ago, and this man before him, he had encountered four players in total.

It seemed there were quite a few players who had been reborn in Ancient Pool Village.

Soon, Chang Sheng led over a pitch-black domestic pig. It was a big one, weighing more than three hundred pounds.

Perhaps it had smelled death. After entering the courtyard, the black pig began squealing madly.

Butcher Li strode forward. With one hand, he held down the squealing black pig. The Black Iron Butcher Knife in his other hand flashed, and the three-hundred-pound black pig crashed to the ground. A huge wound had opened across its throat.

Lin Yi's eyelids twitched. Butcher Li was a hidden expert as well!

"Kid, I don't know why you want to kill a pig, but it only has one breath left. If you want to kill it, hurry up!"

"Thank you, Butcher Li!"

Lin Yi did not hesitate. He immediately grabbed a handy butcher knife from the courtyard and hacked three times at the black pig's wound before finally killing it.

"Ding! You have killed an ordinary domestic pig! No experience gained!"

"Ding! Your Blue Talent Blood Siphon has activated. You have gained 1.4 permanent Health Points!"

A 1.4 Health Point bonus!

That was far more than killing chickens and ducks had given him.

Sure enough, the proper way to use Blood Siphon was to kill large creatures.

However, as far as he knew, Ancient Pool Village had a limited number of livestock. Setting aside domestic pigs and livestock such as mountain goats, even if chickens, ducks, geese, and other poultry were included, gathering one thousand of them would likely be extremely difficult.

"Brother, you're wearing Militia Team clothes. Don't tell me you don't know that killing pigs and ducks in this game gives no experience?"

Seeing Lin Yi seemingly lost in thought after killing the pig, Chang Sheng walked over and held out his hand. "My name is Qin Changsheng. You could say I'm an old player. What's your name?"

Lin Yi stepped forward and shook his hand.

"My name is Green Mountains Never Age."

Qin Changsheng nodded. "Not a bad name. I've been in Ancient Pool Village for three or four months. I've met all the High-level Players capable of joining the Militia Team, but Brother Qingshan, you look rather unfamiliar."

"Yes, I haven't been in Ancient Pool Village for long."

After answering, Lin Yi asked in surprise, "Three or four months? Then what level are you now?"

Qin Changsheng chuckled. "Me? I'm only Level 1. After learning that people could die in this game, I never left the village again. Every day, I just learn how to slaughter pigs from my master in this courtyard."

Lin Yi was speechless. This player was truly cautious. He had been in Apocalypse World for so long, yet he was only Level 1 and had spent three or four months slaughtering pigs.

Seeing Lin Yi's expression, Qin Changsheng naturally knew what he was thinking. He smiled and said, "I'm not like you people, who work hard to kill monsters and level up just because you think this is a supernatural world."

"This world has not only Monsters, but Ghost Spirits too. It's too dangerous. I only have one life, and no adventure is worth risking it."

Lin Yi said, "If this place is so dangerous, then there's no need for you to stay here."

"You don't understand. I came here to make money—as a game merchant."

Qin Changsheng turned and smiled, then took a slip of paper from his backpack.

A string of bank account numbers was written on it.

"Brother Qingshan, this is my overseas remittance bank account number. I sell all kinds of Apocalypse Game items, information, silver, and External Skills. As long as you can afford it, I can get you anything in the game."

This piqued Lin Yi's interest. "You sell everything? How much are External Skills?"

"External Skills? They're basically skill books in the game, and they've always been very rare. I have two External Skills. One is an original record that can be learned without spending time. It's called the Spinning Turtle Skill, and it can increase Health Points and Constitution. One fixed price: three million yuan. The other is the Pig Slaughtering Saber Technique that I learned from my master. I'll teach it to you step by step and guarantee you'll learn it. It only costs five million yuan."

Hearing that both started in the millions, Lin Yi sucked in a breath of cold air.

"Brother Changsheng, five million yuan? Why is the Pig Slaughtering Saber Technique so expensive? Also, if Butcher Li finds out you're teaching the External Skill to others, won't he get angry?"

Qin Changsheng explained, "External Skills come in different qualities. The Pig Slaughtering Saber Technique I learned is one of the best saber techniques in all of Ancient Pool Village. Although it's only white-quality, it deals bonus damage to Monsters. Five million is a low price, not a high one."

"As for my master, don't worry. A portion of the money I earn belongs to him."

Impressive. There was even a way to make money from players together with the native NPCs.

Still, it sounded as though the Pig Slaughtering Saber Technique and Gu Yongqiang's Blazing Sun Saber Technique were both among the finest white-quality External Skills.

One dealt bonus damage to Monsters, while the other could handle Ghost Spirits.

No wonder Village Elder Gu He had recommended that he seek out Butcher Li and Gu Yongqiang when he had first entered the village. It seemed they truly had the Newborns' interests in mind.

Lin Yi thought for a moment, then asked, "Brother Changsheng, what about the prices for silver, items, and game information?"

Qin Changsheng pulled Lin Yi aside. "Silver is cheap. Right now, one tael of silver costs ten thousand yuan. Whether you want to buy or sell, I deal at that price. As for items, that depends on what you need. Of course, you'll need to pay a deposit. Information is also priced according to its importance..."

"Do you sell Spiritual Artifacts? How much?"

At the mention of Spiritual Artifacts, Qin Changsheng glanced at Lin Yi. "Spiritual Artifacts? Brother, don't joke around. Those things are far too rare. Ancient Pool Village only has a few of them. I don't sell them. If you want ordinary sharp weapons, though, I can get them for you."

"I can get ordinary sharp weapons myself. What about information? What important news do you have?"

"This... I'll tell you something free, as a gesture of friendship. For example, Apocalypse Game appeared about half a year ago, and Activation Codes have already been distributed several times."

Lin Yi raised a brow. "That's it? Nothing else?"

"Ahem, then I'll tell you something else. Our country has already formed specialized player teams, and basically every prefecture-level city has a relevant agency in charge. So it's best not to expose your identity in the game, or they'll come knocking."

Hearing this information, Lin Yi could not help nodding. It seemed highly likely that the people who had handled Liu Hong's death were from an Official special agency.

Lin Yi continued asking, "What's bad about having them come knocking?"

Qin Changsheng spread his hands. "Naturally, there's nothing bad about it, but you lose your freedom. You'll be watched. If they find out you've killed someone in the game, you'll most likely end up in prison. Of course, I heard the Official side is short on manpower right now. As long as you pass the political screening, there's a good chance you'll be recruited..."

After hearing that, Lin Yi nodded. "Then what about Ancient Pool Village? Is there any important information? And what's the situation with Professional level after Level 10?"

Qin Changsheng immediately looked helpless. "Brother Qingshan, I'm not some all-knowing informant. How could I know everything? Logically speaking, you're in the Militia Team and your level is higher than mine. You should know far more than I do."

Lin Yi did not intend to ask any more questions. He felt that Qin Changsheng did not know much Intelligence either.

Lin Yi then asked directly, "Forget it. Can you get Blood Food? What price?"

Qin Changsheng shook his head repeatedly. "Can't get it. Blood Food is a controlled resource in Ancient Pool Village. Only Militia Team members can exchange for some. I was actually hoping that if you could get some, Brother Qingshan, I could buy it from you at a high price."

Lin Yi looked disappointed. "Brother, you've got nothing when I need it."

"Ahem, it's not that I have nothing. It's just that the things you want are too advanced."

Seeing Lin Yi about to leave, Qin Changsheng could not help saying, "Brother, I know of a resource location outside the village that can drop original External Skills. Not many people know this information yet. Do you want it? If you do, I'll sell it to you cheaply."

Lin Yi waved his hand to show that he did not need it. "The valley to the southwest? That information is already common knowledge."

Afterward, Lin Yi handed over the little silver he had on him to Butcher Li as payment for killing the pig, then left without looking back.

Although Qin Changsheng called himself a game merchant, the truth was that both the information he knew and the resources he could acquire were very limited.

Still, Lin Yi was quite satisfied to have gotten some free information from him.