Chapter 72: Su the Smooth Talker
The trade market was bustling with people, contractors of various appearances weaving between the stalls.
"Get out of the way."
A four-meter-tall mech strode through the crowd, its massive bulk bulldozing its way forward. Inside the cockpit sat a bald, burly man.
"Scum from the mechanical side."
A girl in a green witch hat dodged the mech and flipped off the bald man, her slender middle finger slowly rotating.
"Pathetic weakling from the mystical side. Were you just challenging me?"
The bald man laughed heartily. The two seemed to have a grudge, but that wasn't the case. This was just daily life in Reincarnation Paradise. Arguments or arena challenges were common, but grudges were rare. A few words weren't worth making an enemy—there were no keyboard warriors here. Once a grudge formed, it was life or death.
"Arena, you dare?"
The witch-hat girl twirled her short staff, raising an eyebrow. She was bored and thought a fight in the arena would be a good way to pass the time.
"Who's afraid of who? 200 coins a round."
The bald man was clearly free as well.
"OK."
The two headed toward the arena. Obviously, they wouldn't hold a grudge over their earlier exchange. If their strength was similar, they might even form a temporary team.
This scene was common in Reincarnation Paradise. It was a lawless place. You never knew when you'd die in some derivative world, so people didn't bother hiding their thoughts or desires. If a man and woman took a liking to each other, they might be rolling in bed ten minutes later, then going their separate ways.
Su Xiao sat behind his usual stall. With his Paradise Coins running low, he was selling items at a fair price—but he was also preparing to swindle someone.
The stats on the Bull Lord Arm Guard were simply too dazzling. If a newcomer saw its properties, they might treat it as a life-saving trump card. Not just newcomers—even Su Xiao had done the same once, until he activated the arm guard's skill for the first time and nearly got bitten to death by an enemy. After that, he rarely used it.
After thinking for a moment behind the stall, the corner of Su Xiao's mouth curled up. He removed the spool of Realm Severing Thread from the Bull Lord Arm Guard—that couldn't be sold.
Su Xiao began pricing the two items he was selling. Seeing his expression, Bubu Wang sighed beside him. It knew Su Xiao was about to swindle someone, and it wondered who would be the unlucky one.
[Bull Lord Arm Guard (Purple)], Price: 100,000 Paradise Coins.
[Versatile Mastery (Light Gold)], Price: 120,000 Paradise Coins.
...
Clearly, the Bull Lord Arm Guard was priced high. As for Versatile Mastery, it was a Light Gold skill scroll. Even if mastering it carried the risk of developing split personalities, it was still a Light Gold item.
With the prices set, Su Xiao began waiting for a "victim" to appear. Soon, a few contractors gathered around his stall.
A man in a suit picked up the Bull Lord Arm Guard. After examining its quality, skills, and rating, he smiled and shook his head.
"90,000."
The suit-clad man quoted a price and put the arm guard back.
Hearing this offer, Su Xiao looked the man up and down. He didn't seem like a newcomer at all. Su Xiao quickly understood what was going on.
"Minimum 110,000."
"Too high. We both know the side effects of this thing."
"True, but the quality speaks for itself."
The conversation between Su Xiao and the suit-clad man left the surrounding contractors confused.
In reality, they weren't negotiating the price of the Bull Lord Arm Guard—they were haggling over Versatile Mastery.
"Are you planning to keep that thing as a backup? Honestly, I'm selling it to flip it. If there's not enough profit..."
The suit-clad man was indeed no newcomer—he was a Worker merchant.
Su Xiao didn't want to keep Versatile Mastery as a backup. If he could find a buyer, it might sell for 110,000 to 130,000, but the item was too niche.
"Minimum 100,000. No negotiation."
"Deal."
The suit-clad man paid promptly, and 100,000 Paradise Coins entered Su Xiao's account.
Su Xiao was in a good mood. He had been prepared to stash Versatile Mastery away, but he hadn't expected to run into a merchant interested in it right after setting up his stall.
Only the Bull Lord Arm Guard remained on the stall. How much it would ultimately sell for depended on how well Su Xiao could spin his story.
The flow of pedestrians in front of the stall was constant. Contractors often stopped to haggle. Many newcomers were interested in the Bull Lord Arm Guard, but the 100,000 Paradise Coin price tag scared them off. As for experienced contractors, they wouldn't spend a large sum on this item.
Half an hour later, a young man passed by the stall. He wasn't alone—he had his arm around a female companion.
Su Xiao looked up at the two who had stopped in front of his stall. This young man was most likely a Second Rank newcomer. First Rank contractors generally couldn't afford this item. Judging by his slightly arrogant demeanor, his experiences in Reincarnation Paradise had been smooth sailing. As for the young man's female companion, she was over 80% likely a Worker—no bloodthirsty aura, her steps were messy and unsteady, and her gaze lacked the sharpness of someone who had seen battle.
A smooth-sailing contractor plus a female Worker—in Su Xiao's eyes, this combination equaled easy to trick, a sucker, a big pile of Paradise Coins.
"Bro, can you lower the price? Sure, the attached skill is strong, but the 30% health cost is too high, and the cooldown isn't great either. I'll give you 50,000 at most."
The young man picked up the Bull Lord Arm Guard and tossed it in his hand. He clearly had his eye on this piece of equipment.
Hearing this, Su Xiao thought to himself, if only those were its only flaws.
"100,000 minimum. No haggling."
Su Xiao wasn't very enthusiastic. Being too eager would only raise suspicion.
"It's just a purple arm guard. 100,000? Do you think this is Dark Purple equipment?"
The young man's tone was flippant, but he didn't get up to leave.
"This is a piece of equipment I replaced. I wouldn't be selling it if I hadn't found something better."
Su Xiao raised his left hand, and the glow of Light Gold equipment radiated from it.
"Light Gold..."
The young man's eyes went wide. Although he was a Second Rank newcomer, he belonged to a medium-sized adventure group, and due to special circumstances, he held a decent position there.
"Maybe we should forget it. 100,000..."
The female Worker hesitated. She had clearly been in Reincarnation Paradise longer than the young man. She was afraid of both him and offending Su Xiao.
"Shut up."
The young man's hand roamed inside the female Worker's clothes, squeezing. Her breathing quickened, and she frowned slightly—he was pinching her painfully.
"A big shot like you shouldn't be so stingy. Give me a fair price."
"Fine."
Su Xiao glanced at the female Worker. She smiled back—a bitter smile.
"90,000."
"Heh~ You're so generous."
"Forget it if you don't want it. Anyone with eyes can see its value."
Of course, anyone with eyes wouldn't spend more than 60,000 Paradise Coins on this thing. Its ability was indeed strong, but it would get you killed fast. Once the Strength +15 state wore off, the weakness from burning blood was too fatal.
"80,000. Not a coin more."
The young man stood up, as if preparing to leave.
"Sigh~"
Su Xiao sighed, as if hesitating. The young man smiled.
"Don't hesitate. You have a higher-quality arm guard. Turning this into Paradise Coins to boost your strength is the right move."
The young man's heart began to race. He was a single-attribute developer, with 51 points in Strength. If Strength temporarily increased by 15, one punch would either kill or cripple an enemy.
As for the 30% health cost, he could just activate it when his HP was below 50%. 30% of 50% HP wasn't too much.