Multiverse: In the Little Garden, Becoming a God by Proving One Truth for All Time

In fact, the profit was the same; only in the North District was it pure profit, since the plague was worst there.

"Five times the price, huh? You're going to make another killing."

"But I hear plenty of people in the East District haven't been buying your goods lately. Is your business about to go under?"

"Why don't you come work directly under me?"

The subject suddenly piqued White Night Yaksha's interest. She sat up and asked, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"My business going under? Dream on. What threat could a mere community under the Beast of 666 pose to me?"

"Never mind that their boss, that demon lord, left the Little Garden ages ago and vanished without a trace. The communities under him are scattered sand."

"Just look at Galdo. He's a beast who only knows how to threaten people with force and underhanded tricks. What makes him think he can oppose me?"

Qin Qi had spent quite a bit of money on this trip investigating Galdo's background, digging up everything, even the source of his power.

In terms of influence, Galdo was no match for him. In terms of strength, Qin Qi could now beat Galdo with ease.

"If you're so confident, why haven't you made a move? Every extra day you wait costs you more money."

Seeing Qin Qi's confidence, White Night Yaksha noticed that he had changed somewhat, but she paid it no mind.

To her, a four-digit, that little increase in Qin Qi's strength counted for nothing.

"I have to see who makes a good business partner and who doesn't. They'll compensate me later for all the money I'm losing now."

Qin Qi spoke with a smile. He would still do business in the future with the shops that had cut off dealings with him now.

But the prices they paid for stock would go up considerably. After all, mistakes had a price.

After they talked for a while, Qin Qi went back. He had to continue cultivating the Power of Spin while figuring out his next move.

Several more days passed. At White Night Yaksha's shop.

"Lady White Night Yaksha, please help us!"

Black Rabbit, who held the title of Noble of the Little Garden, had come to White Night Yaksha for help. The plague had begun to appear in the East District.

All the hundred-plus children in her community had been infected over the past few days. Black Rabbit wanted to buy medicine, but other communities had already bought it all at higher prices.

As members of the No Name Community, Black Rabbit and the others simply couldn't buy any medicine. With no other choice, she had come to White Night Yaksha for help.

In the past, whenever the No Name Community faced a crisis, it was White Night Yaksha who had extended a helping hand and seen them through.

"I can help... but unfortunately, our community has already finished its internal negotiations and signed a contract."

"Even as an executive, I can't openly violate a contract within the community. I can't give you medicine directly."

"But I can introduce you to someone who can solve your medicine problem."

White Night Yaksha had the authority to give Black Rabbit medicine outright without any trouble, but that had been before the contract was signed.

Now that the contract was in effect, Qin Qi was in charge of medicine in this area, and even White Night Yaksha couldn't bypass him to interfere.

That was a rule set by the Twin Goddesses, the bosses of Thousand Eyes. Even White Night Yaksha couldn't defy it. Like the rule against harming fellow community members, it existed to maintain the community's stability.

White Night Yaksha led Black Rabbit out of her shop and reached Qin Qi's shop in two steps. As always, she pushed the door straight open and went in.

"Hm?"

Black Rabbit looked at the signs hanging by the entrance. On the left was the flag of Thousand Eyes' Twin Goddesses, and on the right was the flag of Qin Qi's own community.

It bore the image of a black silhouette holding a cat in one arm, its other hand seemingly catching gold coins falling from the air.

Black Rabbit had seen this flag in many places, particularly on the shopping street, where she could spot it every few shops.

Inside the shop, Black Rabbit looked at Qin Qi as he spoke with White Night Yaksha and was a little surprised. So this was the owner? He looked so young.

"Black Rabbit, right? White Night Yaksha told me about you. Ordinarily, under community rules, I wouldn't sell medicine to the No Name Community."

"After all, the No Name Community has no credit, no identifying mark, and no value whatsoever. But White Night Yaksha has vouched for you, so I'll make an exception."

"How much medicine do you need?"

Qin Qi looked at the blue-haired rabbit before him. She was very cute, but that was all. He wouldn't help Black Rabbit for no reason; after all, they had no relationship.

There was no way he would help her for no reason just because he'd seen the anime.

"Um, there are over a hundred people. They're children."

Black Rabbit hurriedly told him what she needed. The children in the community were all very weak and urgently needed treatment.

"Don't be nervous. This plague isn't very deadly; it just spreads easily. They'll be cured shortly after taking the medicine."

"For over a hundred people, I'll charge you for a hundred. Call it a discount."

When Qin Qi finished, he began working out the bill, speaking as he calculated:

"Normally, this plague can be cured with seven days of medicine, and the symptoms will clear up completely within fifteen days at most."

"But the people in your community are all children with low resistance. They'll need at least a month's supply."

"One hundred people, one month, at market price: fifty gold coins."

Qin Qi wrote down every charge clearly, then handed the bill to Black Rabbit. "Want to buy it? If you do, pay up."

"Fifty gold coins... Th-that's robbery!"

Black Rabbit went pale with fright when she heard the price. Their entire community had only four gold coins between them. There was no way they could come up with fifty.

Chapter 18: Qin Qi: Black Rabbit, You Don't Want the Children in Your Community to Go Without Medicine, Do You?

"Rabbit, don't talk nonsense. This is an honest business."

"Besides, robbery is exhausting and dangerous, takes no skill, and pays even less. How could it compare to selling medicine?"

Qin Qi spoke with a smile.

Robbery? Sorry, selling medicine was even faster than robbery. Especially when they controlled the market and could name their price.

They had channels to obtain medicine, but others didn't. They could only accept the price.

"Then... could we have one day's worth of medicine?"

Black Rabbit ventured.

"Don't waste your money, then. One day's medicine won't cure them. If I sold it to you, I'd just be swindling you."

Qin Qi shook his head. Even thirty days was an underestimate. The children in Black Rabbit's community were all under ten.

They were weak, and because the No Name Community lacked food and proper care, they might not recover even after a month or two.

"Lady White Night Yaksha..."

Black Rabbit looked helplessly at White Night Yaksha. They really couldn't afford that price, but the children couldn't go without medicine.

"Ahem, Qin Qi, do me a favor for the sake of our friendship."

White Night Yaksha coughed awkwardly twice. To be honest, she didn't think the price was high; it was only fifty gold coins.

But Black Rabbit had asked for her help, so she had no choice but to swallow her embarrassment and plead.

"All right, for your sake, I'll sell it to you at cost. Twenty-five gold coins. That should do, right?"

Qin Qi shook his head. White Night Yaksha had helped him a great deal back then, so now that she had asked, he had to do her this favor.

After all, they really did have a friendship.

"Even twenty-five..."

Black Rabbit was speechless. Before the No Name Community was attacked by the demon lord, that amount would have been nothing.

But now they really couldn't come up with it. Even if they emptied the community's coffers, they still couldn't.

She could only look helplessly at White Night Yaksha.

"Qin Qi..."

"I'm not making any profit at this price. Do you understand?"

"Ahem, I know. Well, I was the one who recommended you join Thousand Eyes back then, and I was the one who vouched for you. Our friendship..."

"Shut up. Just this once. If you ever bring up that stale old history again, I definitely won't do you any favors."

Seeing White Night Yaksha about to bring up the old days, Qin Qi cut her off, then sighed.

There was no helping it. When he had first arrived, White Night Yaksha really had helped him a great deal, so he couldn't refuse her now.

"Pay twenty percent upfront, five gold coins. You can pay the rest over the course of a year."

Qin Qi made no profit at all at this price. He might as well have been giving it away.

"Um, I..."

Black Rabbit was utterly mortified. With her head lowered, she was too embarrassed to look at White Night Yaksha. She had helped her so many times, but Black Rabbit still couldn't come up with the money!

"Whew."

White Night Yaksha also covered her face helplessly. She couldn't ask Qin Qi to give it away for free; their Thousand Eyes Community was a commercial community.

Giving things away was absolutely out of the question. If someone came begging today and he gave it away, what about tomorrow? The day after? If others found out about this...

Then Qin Qi wouldn't be able to keep his business going. White Night Yaksha couldn't bring herself to ask, and she couldn't pay the money in advance either. That was another of Thousand Eyes' rules.

As one of its executives, White Night Yaksha couldn't help others without a reason. She had to have some pretext.

"I really don't understand. Your community has fallen this low, so why are you still hanging on?"

"You're a rabbit of the Nobles of the Little Garden, at least. If you just started a new community, your life would be who knows how many times better than it is now."

"Ten percent, 2.5 gold coins. Surely you can come up with that?"

Qin Qi gave Black Rabbit one last chance. If she couldn't produce that, there was nothing more he could do. He couldn't do White Night Yaksha this favor.

At that point, never mind their friendship-even if she jerked him off, it wouldn't work.

"I-I can't."

Black Rabbit felt terribly guilty. Her head sank even lower, as though she were about to kneel and beg forgiveness.

She could come up with two and a half, but if she did, there wouldn't be enough money left for the community's living expenses.

Especially now, when the children couldn't look after themselves, Black Rabbit had to stay and care for them and couldn't work.

With their only source of income gone, if they didn't die of illness, they'd starve.

"Um, sorry to trouble you. Lady White Night Yaksha, thank you for your help. Thank you too, Mr. Shopkeeper."

Black Rabbit lowered her head and started to leave to look for another solution, but she had only just reached the door when Qin Qi called her back.

"Don't bother looking for another solution. It's the same everywhere now, north, south, east, and west. Other people are selling it for even more than I am."

"Rabbit, let's make a deal. Join my shop and work for me, and I'll sell you the medicine on credit."

Qin Qi looked at White Night Yaksha, then at Black Rabbit, and sighed.

"Um... Black Rabbit doesn't want to join someone else's community."

Black Rabbit refused. So many people wanted her to join their communities, and even White Night Yaksha had more than once proposed taking her in as a pet rabbit.

If she agreed, all her problems would be solved, but Black Rabbit didn't want to abandon her companions in the community. She didn't want to leave.

"I'm not asking you to join my community. I'm asking you to work for me, just like when you're paid to host Gift Games."

"You work for me, and I pay you wages. Once you've paid off what you owe, we'll have nothing more to do with each other."

"Well? Do you agree?"

Qin Qi offered a compromise. Giving it away for free was impossible, but he could save the country by a roundabout route.

"Thank you."

Black Rabbit understood now. Her drooping ears immediately stood up in excitement, and she bowed to Qin Qi in thanks.

"Lady White Night Yaksha, thank you for your help too."

Black Rabbit bowed to White Night Yaksha in thanks. She knew that without White Night Yaksha's introduction, she certainly wouldn't have had this opportunity.