Chapter 108: Doesn Your Conscience Ache
Most of the contractors gathered around the stall were attracted by the [Legendary Medal], but after seeing its attributes, their interest in it noticeably waned.
After all, this wasn’t equipment or a tool; only a small number of contractors understood its function. The reason it drew such a crowd was simply because it was a legendary-grade item.
“So above gold quality is legendary grade. Learned something new.”
“Newbie, who told you gold is above legendary? Looks like you’ve never seen a gold set. If it’s a five-piece or more gold set, the set bonus might be stronger than a single legendary piece. Of course, if the numbers are the same, legendary-grade individual pieces far outclass gold sets.”
A contractor with dead-fish eyes spoke. From his aura alone, it was clear he was a contractor above the fourth rank.
“A light-gold chest, interesting.”
This dead-fish-eyed contractor chuckled, muttered something under his breath, then got up and left. He guessed there was something off about these chests.
Su Xiao had long anticipated that high-rank contractors would figure out the chests were problematic, but those people would never expose it—that was classic behavior of harming others without benefiting oneself.
The contractors drawn by the [Legendary Medal] clearly lost interest after learning its attributes, but their attention shifted to the three chests.
Chests weren’t rare in the Trade Market. There were two ways to sell them: one was to note their origin, usually at a high price, and the other was to not specify the origin and use an auction format, which was what Su Xiao did.
The contractors discussed among themselves, but no one took the initiative to talk to Su Xiao. They all knew they wouldn’t get any information from him.
Buying chests in the Trade Market was a bit like gambling on rough stones in the Real World. No one knew what would come out. Paradise Coins plus materials was a loss, Paradise Coins plus equipment of the same rank as the chest was a small gain, Paradise Coins plus Soul Crystals was very lucky, a flash revealing high-rated equipment or skills was a big win, and a flash revealing a bloodline was a jackpot—like turning a bicycle into a Ferrari with one gamble.
Under this temptation, at least dozens of contractors joined the chest auction. The dark-purple chest increased by 5,000 to 6,000 Paradise Coins per minute, while the light-gold ones rose by 8,000 to 10,000.
Su Xiao temporarily ignored the auction prices. Since it was a free auction, it would be a somewhat lengthy process. Contractors would never engage in showing off wealth; Paradise Coins were earned with blood and life-threatening risks.
At this moment, Su Xiao was surrounded by a large crowd of contractors. With so many people and eyes, the noise was chaotic. Su Xiao couldn’t make out what anyone was saying; his ears were filled with a buzzing hum of conversation. Those interested in the [Lance] greatsword clearly wouldn’t ask about the price now.
About ten minutes later, the dark-purple chest’s auction price reached 110,000 Paradise Coins, while the two light-gold chests were at 125,000 and 130,000 Paradise Coins.
Seeing this, Su Xiao opened the stall’s selling interface and directly chose to sell the dark-purple chest.
The dark-purple chest suddenly vanished from the stall, startling the contractors interested in it. Some had been planning a final killer bid, but Su Xiao had abruptly sold it.
Auctioning three chests simultaneously clearly didn’t yield the best results, as there were too many options. So Su Xiao sold one directly.
Just as 110,000 Paradise Coins entered his account, the prices of the two light-gold chests on the stall began to climb rapidly.
A short, stout worker nearby looked at Su Xiao.
“Brother, that’s a bit ruthless. You’re obviously trying to fleece people.”
The stout worker was a merchant, and he already sensed something was off.
Soon, when one light-gold chest reached 150,000, Su Xiao chose to sell it directly again.
“Damn it, are you crazy?”
“If you’d waited for the bid, you could have made at least 30,000 more Paradise Coins.”
“Screw this!”
Su Xiao ignored the reactions of the contractors and workers. He picked up the tablet beside him and continued playing that puzzle game so difficult it made Xia Xiang want to jump into a river.
Su Xiao strongly suspected this game was made by that fat guy Pi. Pi flatly denied it, because the game was too hard, filled with malicious traps that were utterly insane. One moment, a beautiful female NPC would give the protagonist equipment and flirt, her face practically screaming, “Let’s get it on tonight,” but the next, she’d stab him in the back. Pi himself never thought anyone could beat it; the hatred was maxed out.
After Su Xiao sold two chests in succession, only one light-gold chest remained on the stall. Chests weren’t rare in the Trade Market, but light-gold quality ones were uncommon. For mid-to-upper second-rank contractors, light-gold equipment was practically divine.
Competition created pressure. If three chests were up for auction, the competition wasn’t strong, leading to lower final prices and reduced overall profit. But now there was only one left.
In less than two minutes, the light-gold chest on the stall broke through 180,000 Paradise Coins, and the upward trend continued.
About half an hour later, the price reached 200,000. At this point, the increase slowed sharply, and contractors began adding 500 at a time.
The contractors remained calm. They had fought through blood and fire and knew the chest’s price limit. For a light-gold chest of unknown origin, the maximum was around 210,000 to 220,000. If the origin was confirmed, it could reach 250,000 to 300,000.
Su Xiao certainly wouldn’t reveal the chest’s origin. If he told them it was dropped by Onoki, they’d flip him off and scatter like birds and beasts. Onoki only dropping a light-gold chest meant something was definitely wrong.
In the end, a cute girl with dimples won the light-gold chest for 205,600 Paradise Coins. She smiled, revealing two dimples, looking exceptionally adorable, and even blew Su Xiao a kiss before leaving.
With the chest auction complete, Su Xiao earned a total of 465,600 Paradise Coins. These were pure profit from finishing blows—a massive gain.
The surrounding contractors gradually dispersed, leaving only the Water Release Scroll and the Lance greatsword unsold on the stall.
“Brother, scamming such a cute girl like that—doesn’t your conscience ache?”
A contractor with four arms spoke. Seeing those arms, Su Xiao immediately thought of forming hand seals quickly with four hands to release combination ninjutsu. If he had two sets of organs, it might work in theory.
“She buys, I sell. Fair trade.”
Su Xiao put down the tablet. The buyer for Lance had arrived.
“Poor girl, spending 200,000 on a contaminated chest. Judging by what you’re selling, you just came from the Naruto World, right? Those chests weren’t contaminated by Uchiha Madara or Edo Tensei Hashirama, were they? If so, that girl will definitely cry herself to sleep in the bathroom.”
Four Arms didn’t state what he wanted to buy but kept chatting with Su Xiao.
“Five light-gold blade-type weapons with ratings above 280. No haggling.”
Su Xiao got straight to the point. He had no patience for idle chatter.
The smile on Four Arms’ face froze, then returned to normal.