Ed felt a slight twitch even in the corner of his eye where the Little Green sprouts.
For a normal person, Ed would hardly believe that anyone would voluntarily offer themselves up as a test subject for some kind of experiment, but for the player, he was absolutely certain that Gray's description of "strongly requesting to voluntarily offer himself up" was no exaggeration.
Players not only don't see anything wrong with [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ]'s actions, but they also envy him for getting a free mechanical arm just by lying on the operating table for a short while.
That's a brass mechanical arm! If possible, who wouldn't want to cosplay Viktor, given that they already have Jayce from another world?
Just as Ed had predicted, after a few days of news spreading, players active around Valhalla already knew that a guy named [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] had acquired a cool mechanical arm.
It's said that this guy was the first player to embark on the Animal Compatibility route, and now he's starting to experience the Mechanical Compatibility system. Just thinking about this makes some players who are stuck outside the mission due to insufficient trust or their own lack of ability jealous to the point of wanting to separate from the group.
At this very moment, near the Antasia, [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] is openly displaying its mechanical arm in a somewhat bizarre way—a kind of juggling.
With the help of a third hand, he can now string twelve sandbags together and make them fly through the air, which is enough for him to apply for a top spot as a performer in a circus.
Seeing that this guy had come up with something new, the surrounding players couldn't help but gather around to watch, and they all exclaimed in amazement:
"Dude, please, tell me! I really want a prosthetic hand too. How about I give you my hand in exchange for your prosthetic hand?"
"Damn, how can he be so handsome?"
"If I hike to the Great Labyrinth City, is there a chance I'll get an arm transplant?"
"Hiking? If you can really hike all the way to the Great Labyrinth City, I'll give you a robotic arm."
Click.
Not far away, Ed, aboard the Antasia, closed the observation window of the first-floor cargo hold, gaining a new understanding of the players' absurdity.
He turned to look at Gray:
"Since you've brought so many robotic arms, why not just start selling them?"
Gray flashed the trademark smile of a traveling merchant:
"Without your permission, boss, how could I dare to sell something like this? Everyone knows that the Second Holy See, like the Tree Worship Church, follows a plant-based power system. Wouldn't selling it rashly be tantamount to undermining the Second Holy See's foundation?"
Ed shook his head upon hearing this:
"I never forbade them to take other paths, but for newly resurrected Soul Returner, controlling a vine is far more convenient than Dragon Transformation or mechanical modification."
"They actually know this too. The new Soul Returner have already developed an effective process. They all start with plants as the foundation and then make transformations according to their own ideas."
Gray's face was filled with shock upon hearing this:
"You mean, each of them can possess traits from multiple power systems simultaneously?"
"Of course, isn't [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] the best example? Even you yourself now possess abilities in both plants and machines."
Gray shook his head:
"I was personally rescued by you, and my life form has changed. As for [ the Lion Hidden in the Eyes ], he is a Dragonborn, and his two plant-based friends were not implanted with mechanical arms, so I actually know very little about that."
Ed said thoughtfully:
"I see. Now you know, they can adapt to multiple systems at will, so feel free to sell robotic arms!"
"Okay, Son of God... Boss, thank you so much!"
Gray's face was full of excitement. This time, he brought the small fortress to the Second Holy See with only two purposes: first, to establish technical exchanges and take some standard-sized parts back to the Great Labyrinth City; second, to export these standard mechanical arms to generate foreign exchange for the Great Labyrinth City.
He had only met Ed for less than an hour, and both matters were already settled, making his heart pound.
In the past, merchants in the Graycast Corridor would not sell weapons other than simple melee weapons. This was because they had a strong sense of secrecy and because people outside the Graycast Corridor did not have the ability to fully utilize the capabilities of the armor. Rashly modifying it could even lead to death for various reasons.
However, the Graycast Corridor made an exception this time. Firstly, there are many highly adaptable beings ( the Soul Returner ) in the Second Holy See, so there should be a certain market demand for mechanical arms.
Secondly, just as Ed had previously speculated, some Grand Artisan wanted to use this method to conduct clandestine technical exchanges with him.
Looking at the incredibly excited Gray, Ed asked with a smile:
"And what's with the Lion Hidden in the Eyes ' thing? These past few days he's been showing off his mechanical arm everywhere, like he wants everyone to see it."
Gray thought for a moment and replied:
"I told him about my concerns before, and he said you would definitely agree to the sale. But you were in Fir City then, so I still felt I should inform you in advance, just like before. The envoy called [ Shit Appraisal Master ] came up with a plan—he had [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] walk around Valhalla these past two days, saying he wanted to give me free publicity and create some kind of buzz. Apparently, a lot of people will come to buy this batch of goods."
Ed's lips twitched. He felt that [ Shit Appraisal Master ]'s hype was indeed quite successful. More and more players were coming to watch the show, many of whom were newbies who had only been playing for a few days. Judging from their stats, they couldn't control the mechanical arm at all.
However, robotic arms are generally not easily damaged. Even if they are found to be unusable at the moment, they can be removed and re-implanted after an upgrade. To say that this thing is some kind of health product from another world is not quite right. It is more like a kind of real estate or hard currency. Although there is a possibility of depreciation, its practicality will always exist.
Thinking of this, Ed turned his head and asked:
How many robotic arms did you bring?
Gray immediately said:
"One thousand of each of the enhanced robotic arms and the replacement robotic arms. Do you think you can sell them all?"
Hearing this somewhat naive question, Ed suddenly laughed:
" Gray, how long ago was the last time you were here? Two months or three months?"
"Boss, we spent quite a long time resting in the Great Labyrinth City; this round trip took almost three months."
"Three months? That's a long time indeed."
Ed gave a harmless chuckle:
Do you know how many Soul Returner to the Second Holy See?