Chapter 27

Chapter 27: 123 Wooden Man

Ling Mo picked someone she recognized: 123 Wooden Man. He was very active on the player forum.

He kept urging players not to do anything stupid, telling them to register with the government as soon as possible, and listing all the benefits they could receive.

From that, it was clear 123 Wooden Man was probably an official.

Soy Sauce Drunk: “No haggling.”

123 Wooden Man: “Fine. But we don’t have that many coins. We’ve only had two game rounds so far, and players don’t have much. Can we use other things to make up the difference?”

Ling Mo didn’t answer right away. She opened the System Shop instead.

All the seedlings she’d bought before, including marrow-cleansing fruit, had disappeared.

Ling Mo wasn’t sure if it was one per person or if the stock was limited to a single tree total. Either way, once it was bought, it was gone.

But there were still four kinds of fruit trees priced at fifty coins. Ling Mo wanted to buy them all—the sooner she planted them in her pocket space, the sooner they’d bear fruit.

Swim Fruit: After eating it, you could breathe underwater for a short time. Long-term use might bring unexpected effects.

Swiftwind Fruit: After eating it, you gained speed far beyond a normal person. Long-term use could improve your body.

Leap Fruit: After eating it, your jumping ability increased. Long-term use could bring unexpected benefits.

Those three trees, plus the ones she’d bought before, all mentioned that long-term use could lead to “unexpected benefits.”

As for the last one, its fruit wasn’t meant to be eaten.

Luo Li Fruit Tree: It could bear fruits with all kinds of strange abilities.

Ling Mo wanted all four. Her instincts told her they were important.

Still, before agreeing to trade with 123 Wooden Man, she decided to test him. If she could, she preferred doing business with people from her own country.

Soy Sauce Drunk: “Palace Jade Liquor.”

123 Wooden Man: “180 a cup.”

He matched immediately, but she needed one more confirmation.

Soy Sauce Drunk: “One cup of Palace Jade Liquor + two big hammers + three small hammers equals what?”

123 Wooden Man: “…460.”

That settled it. He was definitely one of them.

On the other end, 123 Wooden Man had a calculator in front of him. The screen clearly read 460. He took a deep breath.

The person beside him leaned over. “What? Did he refuse the deal? Or did he demand an outrageous price?”

123 Wooden Man shook his head. “Still negotiating.”

“Can you tell which country they’re from?”

“Ours,” 123 Wooden Man said, certain.

The man stared. “That fast? We don’t even need an expert to analyze it?”

“Palace Jade Liquor.”

“180 a cup.” “One cup of Palace Jade Liquor + two big hammers + three small hammers equals what?”

This time, the man didn’t answer right away. He silently pulled out his phone, opened the calculator, and got the result.

“460.”

Now he understood why 123 Wooden Man sounded so sure.

“Alright. Negotiate carefully. We don’t have many coins left, and we need to keep some in reserve. If possible, trade for other items. Those scientists upstairs are about to fight each other for those machines.”

The first two game rounds had been easy. As long as you didn’t do anything stupid, you could clear them. But the talent awakening had eliminated far too many people.

In their unit alone, at least thirty percent of the players had lost their qualification because they failed to awaken.

Just then, Ling Mo sent 123 Wooden Man another message.

The moment he read it, 123 Wooden Man sucked in a sharp breath. He turned to his companion. “Soy Sauce Drunk says he has another batch of Interstellar machines. Unlike the broken ones before, these can still be used.”

His companion’s expression tightened. He forced himself to calm down. “Keep him steady. I’ll report this right now.”

On Ling Mo’s end, after a long back-and-forth, she and 123 Wooden Man finally agreed on a price.

The old machines would stay at the old price. The ones that still worked would cost more.

As for payment—since players had only gone through two rounds and didn’t have much currency, Ling Mo decided to accept coins first. When coins ran out, she’d take gold, jade, other gemstones, or cold weapons instead.

She chose gold because of the saying: in peaceful times, antiques; in chaotic times, gold.

As for jade and gemstones, she’d learned that once mental power was strong enough, it could be shaped through a medium into different weapons.

Every mental power talent user chose a different medium, but most people went with mineral ores.

After learning that, Ling Mo first thought of jade. It was said to gather the essence of heaven and earth, naturally warm, and full of spirit.

But she worried—what if jade didn’t suit her? Other gemstones formed deep underground too, and they carried that same “essence.” In the end, she decided to collect them all.

Better to have a little of everything.

Then there were cold weapons. She’d collected plenty of firearms overseas, but before all this, she’d barely even handled toy guns.

She’d tried firing one inside her pocket space. Not only did she miss, the recoil left her hand throbbing. After that, she decided to focus on cold weapons.

123 Wooden Man: “Give us ten minutes. It takes time to deliver the goods.”

Ling Mo sent back an OK emoji.

Ten minutes later, Ling Mo started listing the machines.

The shop couldn’t be restricted to a specific buyer. They’d agreed on the deal, but whether 123 Wooden Man could grab them depended on his speed.

Ling Mo didn’t fill every stall at once. Each time one item disappeared, she listed another. When she finally put up the last machine, she let out a breath, rubbed her sore wrist, and stood up to stretch.

This time, she earned around five hundred coins. After buying those four fruit trees, she had about three hundred coins left.

She flipped through the System Shop and locked onto a single item.

Blessing Gem: It could nourish, conceal, and protect mental power. A treasure for mental power talent users.

Ling Mo’s eyes lit up. It was exactly what she needed.

Then she saw the price.

Ten thousand coins.

Her heart sank. How much would she have to sell to reach that?