Chapter 238 - Perfect Substitute

“Let’s first trade the 2,000 stacks that I have with me, then,” Joking Scholar felt fully relieved now.

“Sure,” Shi Feng revealed a faint smile, nodding.

Joking Scholar then called up the trade interface, initiating the trade.

With the agreement in effect now, even if Lone Tyrant discovered the secret, he would not dare renege on the deal. If he did so, he had to pay 5,000 Gold Coins or 50 million Credits, with Gold Coins set the priority. Hence, he could only gnash his teeth as he purchased 50,000 stacks of Hard Stones for 50 Copper Coins a stack.

The full transaction would total to 250 Gold Coins. Meanwhile, by reselling the 48,000 stacks of Hard Stones he would obtain from the mysterious NPC, Joking Scholar could make a clean profit of 48 Gold. In addition to the 10 Gold he just obtained, he would have a total profit of 58 Gold. Such an amount could allow him to purchase quite a lot of items at the Blackwing City Auction. He could also use the leftovers to increase the Guild’s fluid funds.

Joking Scholar nearly roared with excitement.

This feeling is great!

However, Joking Scholar suppressed his excitement. He still needed to maintain a proper outward appearance.

Now that Twilight Echo had such fluid funds, they could develop at a much faster rate. Also, since his contribution in this matter was so great, Joking Scholar wondered just what sort of reward the Guild Leader would give him.

Currently, Shi Feng also felt exhilarated at the sight of so many forging materials. Most importantly, he had only spent 10 Gold Coins for all of them. Nothing could feel better than this.

As long as he resold them in White River City, he could earn 200 Gold Coins from the 2,000 stacks of Hard Stones alone. If he forged all of them into Whetstones, he could make 800 Gold. If he turned them into Advanced Whetstones, that would be a 2,000 Gold profit!

Although he could not make Whetstones and Advanced Whetstones at a 100% success rate, after deducting costs, he could still easily earn over 1,000 Gold.

Moreover, this was only in the case for 2,000 stacks. If he received the full 50,000 Stacks of Hard Stones from Twilight Echo, he could easily achieve the 30,000 Gold needed for his Epic Quest.

“Guild Leader Tyrant, please hold on a moment. I’ll go and retrieve the remaining Hard Stones.” Joking Scholar was satisfied after receiving the money. He would immediately use this money to purchase even more Hard Stones from that mysterious NPC.

“Fine. Let’s meet up at the Bank, then.” Shi Feng couldn’t help but smile as well when he saw Joking Scholar’s smile.

Although players could not retrieve their personal belongings from the Bank of Blackwing City, they were still allowed to store items. Right now, Shi Feng’s bag was full to the brim. It would be inconvenient for him to attend the Blackwing City Auction in such a state. Hence, he planned to store his items first.

As for the remaining forging materials he had been promised, Shi Feng no longer held any hopes of receiving them. After all, he could already envision the end result.

Shi Feng wondered just what sort of expression Joking Scholar would make when he found out that not only was the NPC that sold the forging materials no longer there, but the NPC would also never return.

Very quickly, Joking Scholar ran over to the gazebo the mysterious NPC had previously occupied.

“Where is he?” Joking Scholar looked at the scarcely populated alley. Aside from a few players, the mysterious NPC was nowhere to be found.

“Are you referring to that NPC that sold the forging materials? You came late. That NPC sold out of materials a while ago. He said he would only return tomorrow after restocking.”

“You guys are gullible. Did you really think such things will happen every day? I bet this was a one-time event triggered by some sort of quest. I highly doubt that old man will return. Otherwise, if the old man sold so many Hard Stones every single day, wouldn’t it break the market? The Main God System shouldn’t make such a mistake.”

Two “kind-hearted” players passing by suddenly started chatting about this incident.

“How could this be?” Hearing the words of the two “kind-hearted” players, Joking Scholar’s face instantly turned ashen. Words could no longer describe his current mood. “God, just what have I done...?”

Whether the mysterious NPC sold the Hard Stones in limited amounts every day or stopped selling altogether, to Joking Scholar, there was no difference between the two. No matter which scenario occurred, it was impossible for him to put together 48,000 stacks of Hard Stones within ten days.

If he failed to do so, then he would break the terms of the contract. If so, he would have to compensate Shi Feng with 5,000 Gold Coins, or 50 million Credits. Faced with such a heavy price, Joking Scholar had instantly fallen from heaven directly into hell. Moreover, he had fallen to the most horrifying eighteenth layer of hell, Avicii[1].

If he had known such a situation would occur, he absolutely would not have sold those forging materials he had for such a low price. In the end, he had only gained 10 Gold Coins for all those precious materials. Moreover, he had even dug his own grave and bought his own coffin by signing that 50,000-stack contract with Lone Tyrant. What was he supposed to do now?

“This won’t do. I need to contact Lone Tyrant immediately! I have to think of a way to scrap that contract!” At the end of the day, Joking Scholar was still a veteran businessman. Now that he knew what he should do, he hurriedly ran towards the Bank of Blackwing City.

If he had only lost this batch of forging materials, Twilight Echo could still bear such a loss; it would not greatly hamper the Guild’s overall development. Furthermore, he had at least received 10 Gold Coins for those materials. However, the remaining 48,000 stacks of Hard Stones would take Twilight Echo’s life. If he took Twilight Echo’s life, the Guild Leader would take his.

Just after Shi Feng stored all the materials in the Bank, he noticed Joking Scholar running over to him in a flurry. Although Joking Scholar tried to feign calmness, with the immense pressure and fear bearing down on him, he failed.

“Brother Scholar is fast. It must be exhausting for you to transport the stones back and forth. I wonder how many stacks you have brought this time?” Shi Feng poked fun at Joking Scholar.

“Your Excellency Tyrant, I need to discuss a certain matter with you.” Joking Scholar no longer had the confidence from before. He even started using honorifics in his speech. However, he had no choice as his life was now in Shi Feng’s hands.

“We are already business partners. If you have anything to say, just say it.” Shi Feng nodded.

“Your Excellency Tyrant is right. We at Twilight Echo have always been villains before gentlemen. Since we are business partners, we have to consider each other. If we trade 50,000 stacks of Hard Stones in a single go, I’m assuming that Your Excellency Tyrant won’t have enough Gold Coins. Even if given ten days, that should not be possible. Hence, after careful consideration, we have decided to alter the contract, loosening the conditions stated on it. How do you feel about this, Your Excellency Tyrant?” Joking Scholar slowly explained, his words sounding very logical.

If Shi Feng hadn’t known that Joking Scholar was trying to renege on the contract, he might have been moved to tears by Joking Scholar’s words.

As expected of a veteran businessman; he can still wear a straight face when tricking someone. For a moment there, I even believed he was thinking of my own good. Shi Feng inwardly sneered. Unfortunately, such words could not move his heart or trick him, especially since he had long since known Joking Scholar’s true colors.

“Many thanks for Brother Scholar’s worries. However, Brother Scholar can rest assured that, as long as I return to my kingdom with these materials and resell them, I can earn the money back very quickly. I guarantee that I can clear the debt within ten days, so there is no need for the extra trouble of altering the contract.” Shi Feng faintly smiled, saying, “Let’s hurry and finish the trade, then. The auction is about to start.”

Following which, Joking Scholar gave a dozen more reasons to cancel the agreement, such as lowering the price even further, or increasing the trade amount, and so on. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had rejected each and every one of them. This situation had pushed Joking Scholar to the brink of insanity. However, Joking Scholar didn’t wish to reveal his intentions accidentally, so even though he was close to the point of vomiting blood out of anger, he chose to hold it in.

“Brother Scholar, you don’t have to waste any more words in trying to change the agreement. I will not change it no matter what. After all, I can purchase 50,000 stacks of Hard Stones at a price of 50 Coppers a stack. That is a rare opportunity that I won’t find even if I try. Even if I bought them from an NPC, I definitely couldn’t buy so many!”

“You knew all along!”

“Of course. Who wouldn’t know about such a huge incident? Is there something wrong with your head? You wanted to resell the Hard Stones you bought from that NPC and make a huge profit off of me? Keep that in your dreams. I already felt that the NPC was unreliable. Thus, I agreed to your offer. Seeing your frustration, as expected, that NPC really was unreliable. I eagerly anticipate the arrival of the remaining 48,000 Hard Stones!”

“You swindled me!”

“I am representing Twilight Echo! Aren’t you afraid of angering Twilight Echo with your actions?! We can extinguish a third-rate Guild like Dark Star at any given minute!”

“Oooh! Twilight Echo is a first-rate Guild! I’m so scared! Unfortunately for you, Twilight Echo is based in the distant Storm Empire. You guys are simply too far away from Star-Moon Kingdom. So what if you are amazing? Can you do anything to me? What can you do to Dark Star? If you have the ability, then come to Star-Moon Kingdom! I’ll gladly exterminate Twilight Echo and remove its name from God’s Domain permanently! However, for now, you guys best think of a plan to deal with the compensation! Hahaha!”

Saying so, Shi Feng departed from Blackwing City’s Bank, laughing loudly and leaving behind an utterly dazed Joking Scholar.

Joking Scholar was completely unable to accept the reality that he had been swindled.

However, compared to being swindled, he felt more humiliated over the fact that Shi Feng had been toying with him from the beginning. Moreover, he had gladly jumped for joy like a monkey. When Joking Scholar thought about this, he felt utterly humiliated.

After a good while had passed, Joking Scholar bellowed, “Lone Tyrant, just you wait! Twilight Echo’s power far exceeds your imagination! We will definitely destroy you and Dark Star!”

TL Notes:

[1] eighteenth layer of hell, Avicii :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyu