Chapter 579: Ore Trading Props
"There are always people like this. Ever since players appeared, this kind of situation seems to be getting worse." Sima Xiao'er muttered to himself. "I really hope the Special Defense Department gets stronger and can control these players."
"Desperate people living day by day—nothing they do is surprising." Xu Huo's expression was calm. This was only the beginning. Once a large number of players became D-rank players and instances could serve as escape buffers, even more lawless individuals would emerge.
"Is there really no way to deal with them?" Sima Xiao'er angrily pounded the steering wheel. "Bullying the weak isn't impressive. If they've got guts, they should go pick a fight with players from other zones... Brother Xu, you've been to other districts. How do they handle this kind of player?"
"Brute force suppression." Xu Huo said. "Any relatively peaceful game district must have a large number of capable players under the district government, and their weapons have also improved significantly."
"But that still can't prevent players from using tickets to escape. Who can catch them if they use a ticket?"
"Unless they never come back, they'll always have some scruples. Also, there's another way to restrict tickets—force the player into an instance. Once a player starts clearing an instance, they can't use a ticket until it's over."
Sima Xiao'er let out a long sigh. "Then we'll have to wait a very, very long time. Even if we want to deal with someone like that, we'd at least have to enter the same instance."
Xu Huo didn't say too much. District 014 was huge, so someone was bound to know the relationship between instances and their holders. But whether anyone else had obtained an Instance Authorization was another matter.
The car drove for another twenty minutes before finally reaching the toy store Sima Xiao'er had mentioned.
The name was very down-to-earth: "Old Master's Handcraft Shop." Walking inside, it really did look like a toy store—toy guns, prop swords and knives, miniature tanks and cannons, small humanoid figurines, keychains, stickers, paintbrushes, drawing books, and even smaller items like rings and bracelets.
The items were exquisitely made, all in miniature form. However, every single thing, including the stickers, was locked inside glass cabinets. Customers weren't allowed to touch them, and the prices were exorbitant. A puppet monitor hung in the middle of the store, its eyes tracking wherever people moved, eerily lifelike.
"Boss, are your prices here just made up? A sticker costs two hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand ghost money?" Sima Xiao'er said to the old man dozing behind the counter.
"You young people have no manners. Of course it's worth two hundred thousand white notes, that's why it's priced at two hundred thousand." The old man pulled off the hat covering his face, revealing a face like a laughing Buddha, and smiled as he sized them up.
"Two hundred thousand white notes!" Sima Xiao'er's eyes nearly popped out.
"You think it's paper money?" The old man waved his hand, then turned his gaze to Xu Huo. "It's not raining, so why are you carrying an umbrella?"
Xu Huo had hung the "Umbrella of Justice" on his arm when he got out of the car. He smiled and said, "I heard you can also repair things here, so I wanted you to take a look at this umbrella of mine."
He handed the umbrella over. The old man put on his glasses, took it, opened it, and closed it again. "No major problems. Someone messed with it, but it's fine now."
Xu Huo confirmed the man's identity and asked, "Can't the umbrella's effect be enhanced?"
The old man glanced up at him. "You've got plenty of good stuff on you. No need to waste effort on an umbrella."
"That makes sense." Xu Huo scanned the shelves of toys. "Are these for sale to outsiders?"
"Of course they're for sale, but this shop prioritizes various ores. If the ore quality is good, we can trade directly. White notes and regular paper money come second." The old man said. "I'm not short on cash lately. If you don't have ore, don't bother."
"What kind of business is this!" Sima Xiao'er was astounded.
The old man was blunt. "Even if I asked for money, could you afford it?"
Sima Xiao'er choked, then slapped Xu Huo's arm. "I can't afford it, but my Brother Xu can!"
Xu Huo: Sorry, but I can't afford it either.
He had basically spent all his money buying props in District 011, leaving him with two hundred and twenty thousand white notes—barely enough for one sticker.
However, he had obtained quite a few ores from Deep Blue Island and Clown City.
The old man immediately put on gloves and spread a sheet of sandpaper on the counter, gesturing for Xu Huo to place the ores on it.
Xu Huo picked out a few similar-looking ones and set them down. The old man barely glanced at the ores from Deep Blue Island before setting them aside. But when he picked up the stone from Clown City, he cautiously switched to a different pair of glasses and examined it twice. After a long moment, he finally smiled. "Not bad. A-grade ore. I'll take it."
"What grade is A-grade ore?" Sima Xiao'er interjected.
"The best ore below S-grade." The old man looked at Xu Huo. "Is this the only piece you have?"
"Just this one," Xu Huo said. "I took it off a player."
Seeing the old man's regretful expression, he asked, "Is this kind of ore hard to find?"
"Pretty hard to find." The old man added, "But A-grade ore usually appears in veins. It could be a large deposit. It's a real shame you don't know where it came from."
"What can it be exchanged for?" Xu Huo asked.
The old man pointed his chin at the stickers. "You can pick anything priced between two hundred and three hundred thousand white notes. The other ores count as extras, with a cap of four hundred thousand white notes."
"A stone smaller than a fist is worth two hundred thousand white notes?" Sima Xiao'er was shocked. Then, with a mix of envy and regret, he said to Xu Huo, "Brother Xu, you really should have found out where that ore came from. If it was from a whole mine, you'd be rich!"
Xu Huo also looked surprised, but then shook his head. "Something this good must be highly contested, or it's in a very dangerous place. Even if I knew where it was, it wouldn't be my turn."
The old man smiled without saying anything.
Xu Huo went to pick out items, while Sima Xiao'er scooped up the ores and said to the boss, "I'll give these back to you after we've chosen." Then he leaned close to Xu Huo and whispered, "Brother Xu, are these real props?"
Xu Huo nodded, examining the items in the glass cabinets one by one. The value of that ore had far exceeded his expectations. It wasn't the Nuwa Stone Xin Lang had given him, but just a few random pieces he'd picked up from the King Fungus growth site in the underground nest. And one of them was worth a low-tier D-grade prop.
"I have a question. Is this kind of ore a raw material for making props?" He turned back to ask.
"Sort of, but the one you brought is more often used for making weapons." The old man waddled over, holding his belly, and asked, "What kind of props are you looking for? I've got attack-type and defense-type props here, as well as storage, daily-use, and entertainment types. Since you've got ore, you could add some cash and get a better prop if you want."
"I understand attack and defense, but what are daily-use and entertainment props?" Sima Xiao'er asked in confusion.
(Chapter End)