Chapter 168: Transaction

Chapter 168: The Deal

In the International Building, Zhang Yuanqing, led by the blonde, blue-eyed Annie, entered a luxurious and spacious office.

On the brown leather sofa in the reception room, Bill Tarantino had been waiting for some time. He wore a black shirt today, with the buttons at the cuffs and collar left undone, a glass of wine in his hand.

He had a casual, leisurely appearance.

"Oh, my friend, it's great to see you again."

Mr. Bill displayed a warmth entirely different from their last meeting, setting down his glass and striding over eagerly, opening his arms to embrace Zhang Yuanqing.

He guided his important client to the sofa, asking in a genial tone:

"What would you like to drink?"

"Cola!" Zhang Yuanqing said.

Bill Tarantino paused for a moment, then quickly looked at his female assistant: "Annie, have someone buy it."

There was no need to buy cola; as a foreign enterprise, many white employees in the company were accustomed to drinking cola. In the recreational area's freezer, there were stacks and stacks of canned cola in stock.

Annie brought back a case of canned cola, opened it, poured it into a glass, then took an ice cube tray from the freezer and added a few small ice cubes.

"Please, Mr. Zhang~"

As she placed the drink on the coffee table, she deliberately bent over, allowing the young guest to see her cleavage, white and smooth as congealed fat.

This Lust profession is really annoying, constantly tempting you. If you resist, it's torment; if you give in, it's not right; it's practically toxic... Zhang Yuanqing wished he could gouge out his eyes and toss them in there, gauging the depth of her cleavage.

Seeing the young man so mesmerized by her body, Annie smiled radiantly, as if she had found her confidence again through him.

"Cough!"

Mr. Bill coughed once, and Annie tacitly withdrew her coquettishness, standing beside her boss.

"Have you made your decision, Mr. Zhang?" Bill Tarantino straightened his back, interlaced his fingers, and adopted a serious expression:

"I can tell you the relevant information about the group that uses the pills, and explain in detail—it'll take about thirty minutes. Also, I've prepared a document that you can read along with for a more detailed and clear understanding of that group.

"If you have no objections, I'll have Annie prepare the contract. As I said last time, ten million!"

Although he hadn't yet confirmed whether Chen Shu's son was a Realmwalker, and although the organization had rules against disclosing Realmwalker secrets to ordinary people,

In the face of ten million, what were these rules?

Before one hundred percent profit, capital can do anything, and the information about Realmwalkers is hardly a secret to those in the circle.

Exchanging low-value intelligence for ten million in cash, making a beautiful deal, was a temptation no Void professional could resist.

Zhang Yuanqing crossed his legs, picked up the glass, took a sip of the cold drink, and chuckled:

"I am indeed very interested in information about foreign Realmwalkers. After all, from what I know so far, there's only the Void profession that Mr. Bill belongs to, and Ms. Annie's Lust profession."

Mr. Bill and Ms. Annie across from him were stunned.

So he knew all along...

He really is a Realmwalker... Not only is he a Realmwalker, but he also has a fairly clear understanding of our professions—not some shallow wilderness walker...

After a few seconds, Bill put away his stunned expression and said thoughtfully:

"Then what is the purpose of your visit today..."

He felt some regret and disappointment because a low-cost, high-profit deal had fallen through.

"I really did come to Mr. Bill for a transaction." Zhang Yuanqing paused, choosing his words, and said:

"I have a friend who wants to purchase some props and materials but couldn't find them anywhere in the black market. I remembered that Mr. Bill is a Void professional, so I came to visit today."

Hearing this, Bill Tarantino brightened up, a smile creeping back onto his face:

"What do you need to buy? Our Merchant Guild has a rich variety of props and materials. As long as the price is right, you can buy anything in the Realmworld."

"A prop that can conceal aura, and some high-quality, yin-attributed materials from the Transcendent stage." Zhang Yuanqing said as he opened his phone and showed the list he had made in the car to the other party.

When he decided to find Bill Tarantino to buy the prop, it suddenly occurred to him that he could take this opportunity to gather the materials for refining the Corpse Puppet.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Bill picked up the phone, carefully read through the materials, sighed in relief, and smiled:

"We have all these materials right now. The total value is about four million. Out of consideration for your mother, I'll give you a ten percent discount."

Then, frowning, he considered:

"As for the aura-concealing prop, your requirements are too vague. Some props have the ability to conceal aura, but it's a secondary effect. Some props cannot conceal aura but can achieve similar effects. Some props can conceal aura for a long time, while others can only suppress it briefly.

"Additionally, you need to tell me the price you can accept and the ideal prop's rank. The Transcendent stage and the Saint stage are two completely different prices."

Zhang Yuanqing mused:

"I'd like to see the props before making a decision."

What he wanted was a prop that could shield him from a Dominator-level powerhouse, but he couldn't say that directly, as it would be easy for the other party to deduce.

After all, investigating recent intelligence in Songhai would reveal that Demon Eye King was searching for Primordial Celestial and Slaughter Palace Master.

Making no promise and asking to see the prop's attributes first was a somewhat excessive request, as prop attributes were often confidential.

But he believed Mr. Bill would agree, because the props he would see were trade goods, items in the warehouse, not props Bill himself used.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of thought, Mr. Bill nodded:

"No problem, but I must warn you: if you intend to buy props with money, you'll need a massive amount of funds. Apart from our Merchant Guild, most Realmwalker organizations only accept trade by barter, not monetary purchase."

Props are only produced in the Realmworld, are scarce, and expensive, while paper currency is essentially waste paper. Considering the severe currency debasement by governments worldwide, many organizations do not accept money.

Even if they do, the price is often very high, with serious premiums.

What, you look down on me, your Celestial? Think I don't have money? Fine, I really don't have that much cash... Zhang Yuanqing showed no timidity on the surface:

"I understand."

Mr. Bill smiled, then immediately opened the guild warehouse, reached into the void, and grabbed a bronze carved box.

The box was ancient in design, covered in verdigris, with carvings that were antique and exuded a strong Chinese aesthetic.

Mr. Bill introduced:

"This is a prop I traded from the Taiyi Sect last year. It originated from a paranormal dungeon—it's a female ghost's makeup box. Smear the blood mud from the box on your face, and your aura will transform into a yin nature, making vengeful spirits and Corpse Puppets see you as one of their own, thus avoiding attacks."

The box conceals the aura of the living, causing vengeful spirits to mistake it for an ally, but in the eyes of Demon Eye King, what kind of aura it was didn't matter—as long as you're a Realmwalker... Zhang Yuanqing shook his head.

Seeing this, Mr. Bill put away the makeup box and took out another item.

It was a tattered, shabby hat, covered in filthy marks, the leather severely worn and utterly inconspicuous.

Mr. Bill enthusiastically introduced:

"It's called the Scavenger's Hat, a Void profession prop. Its functions are treasure-seeking, agility, and concealment. Agility and concealment are both meant to allow the user to run faster and hide better once they find treasure.

"Its concealment doesn't mask aura but makes people 'ignore' you, just like no one pays attention to a beggar on the street. Someone once tried wearing it to enter a tycoon's secret room, a women's restroom, and even a military base.

"Someone also wore it to assault a member of the opposite sex, and the victim strangely ignored the perpetrator. Of course, this is only effective against ordinary people. For Realmwalkers, as soon as you show intent to harm, you'll be quickly noticed.

"Its cost is inviting bad luck."

A prop with a lot of downsides; since it can't truly conceal aura, it would definitely be detected by Demon Eye. But maybe Demon Eye might glance at me and the next second ignore me, but this bad luck isn't ideal—what if I put it on and turn to see Demon Eye right behind me... Zhang Yuanqing mused.

"I'd like to take another look."

The hat could serve as a fallback; if truly no other options remained, purchasing this item would do as well.

Mr. Bill, like an enthusiastic sales guide, patiently dealt with the difficult customer, then produced a third item: a thin, translucent human skin.

"Perfect human skin. Put it on and you can transform into anyone's likeness. You will acquire the target's personality, habits, manner of speech, and so on, without revealing any flaw. Even those who know them best cannot see through it," Bill said in a low voice.

"It has two costs. First, you must remove it within sixty minutes, or you will become the target permanently and cannot revert. Second, during the transformation, you will completely accept everything about the target—in your terms, it's called karma.

"Its previous owner, during a transformation, bore the target's karma and was hacked to death by the target's enemies. The owner before that, to get close to a mafia boss, transformed into a call girl. That night, he was taken by over a dozen men, but he couldn't refuse, because bearing the karma is mandatory.

"That poor fellow, though he completed the mission, ended up with severe psychological issues."

What kind of crappy items were these? Too many flaws. Its function was utterly twisted—a dream tool for agents and spies—but the costs were too severe. Not to mention, if I turned into a woman, wouldn't that mean I'd have to apple?

Zhang Yuanqing said, "A-are there any more? Mr. Bill, I need something with a single function and costs... not so severe."

"Single function..." Bill thought for a moment, his eyes lighting up.

"There is indeed such an item. I acquired it years ago and never managed to sell it."

He reached out and grabbed a mask with a black base and a white skull printed on it.

Bill said, "This item comes from an evil profession abroad. It's called 'the Silencer,' and its function is very simple: sealing. Once you put on the mask, all skills are sealed, and you become like an ordinary person.

"Though it's not concealment, its effect is stronger than most concealment functions. It has three costs. First, an ethereal realm walker in the transcendent stage who wears it will lose all abilities; removing the mask lifts the seal.

"Second, while wearing the mask, you cannot speak.

"Third, drowsiness."

Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up. This was the one.

Though the mask had three costs, they were all minor and perfectly bearable. The sealing ability was a headache, but it could be undone by removing the mask, making it very flexible and not troublesome.

"Mr. Bill, how much for this item?" he asked.

Bill broke into a smile and said cheerfully, "An item at the transcendent stage won't exceed ten million. Its function is relatively simple, belonging to the auxiliary category, priced between five and seven million. For your mother's sake, six million."

"For my mother's sake, shouldn't it be five million?"

"No, no, my friendship with your mother is worth at most one million."

"Fine. I'll tell my mom that Mr. Bill is a fair-weather friend." Seeing he couldn't haggle further, Zhang Yuanqing gave up and asked, "Mr. Bill, I'd like to barter."

"Good, that would be best." Bill Tarentino rubbed his hands happily and said expectantly, "May I see your item?"

Zhang Yuanqing pulled out a censer from his inventory. It had a bronze tripod base, and the body was a toad carved from ebony, crouching with its mouth wide open to the sky.

He planned to sell this censer.

The Heavenly Toad Censer's conditions for use were too strict. Since obtaining it, he had only used it once, and it had been gathering dust in his inventory for a long time.

With Zhang Yuanqing's permission, Mr. Bill carefully and cautiously picked up the censer. His expression and posture were like an archaeologist handling an ancient artifact.

After inspecting the item's information repeatedly, Bill Tarentino's face lit up with a delighted smile: "A fine item indeed. Its flaws are obvious, but its function is astonishing. Used at the right time and place, it can yield returns far beyond its value."

Watching the foreigner handle it with such fondness, Zhang Yuanqing had to remind him, "Mr. Bill, it's best not to take this out; keep it in your inventory at all times. You wouldn't want to cause the tribe's downfall because of it, would you?"

Bill set the censer down reluctantly, resuming his businessman's demeanor, "I'll price it at ten million."

Ten million? Isn't that exactly the amount I need for materials and items? This guy names such a price, meaning the Heavenly Toad Censer is worth more than that... Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, "Mr. Bill, for my mother's sake, how about fifteen million?"

"Oh heavens, please stop mentioning your mother. She and I are just ordinary business partners."

"Then, Mr. Bill, for my sake?"

"..."

At this moment, Annie, who had remained silent throughout, said with a smile, "Mr. Zhang, I think ten million is a fair price. If you agree, tonight I will invite you to dinner on behalf of Mr. Bill."

Her provocative, flirtatious eyes seemed to say, after dinner, I am yours.

Faced with the insinuations and enticements of the Passion profession, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but stir. It wasn't that he was lecherous, but the characteristics of her profession had an effect.

Theoretically, trading for a beautiful companion to make up the difference wasn't a loss for me, but the Passion profession was too damn troublesome. Until I could figure out how to get the benefits without paying, any woman from that profession was a disaster waiting to happen...

Zhang Yuanqing, with immense willpower, controlled his lascivious thoughts and said solemnly, "If this transaction includes Ms. Annie's body, then you'll need to pay me an additional fee for physical damages.

"My virginity is worth five million."

"..." Annie's charming face twitched violently.

She remembered the very unpleasant incident from yesterday.

After a round of bargaining, the Heavenly Toad Censer was finally sold for twelve million. Of that, nine million three hundred and sixty thousand was used to purchase "the Silencer" and a large pile of yin-natured materials.

Two million four hundred thousand in cash was packed in a carry-on case and handed to Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing watched the finance staff count the money with a counterfeit detector to ensure there were no fake bills.

Before leaving, Zhang Yuanqing asked, "How long will Mr. Bill be staying in the mainland?"

"I won't be leaving anytime soon." Mr. Bill laughed a little wearily.

That leader had refused to see him, replying with a phrase: Gun du zi!

Roll a newborn calf? Why roll a calf? Was that some kind of hint? Bill couldn't grasp the leader's meaning, so he found a translator.

The translator glanced at it and used a finger to cover the character "du zi."

Bill suddenly understood—the leader wasn't telling him to roll a calf; he was telling him to roll himself.

"Alright. If there's a right opportunity in the future, I'll come to you again." Zhang Yuanqing was very satisfied with this transaction.

Bill broke into a smile and said, "I'll see you down."

When Bill returned to his office, he saw his female assistant, Annie, sitting on the sofa with a dazed expression.

...