This Text Adventure Game is definitely poisonous
Chapter 237 - 199: The Value of Life (6000 words)_1

Chapter 237: Chapter 199: The Value of Life (6000 words)_1

"Oh? You have sunflowers?" Mu You was surprised.

"Not me, but one of my clients does." Lu Yao said.

"Client?" Mu You was slightly taken aback.

"I’ve set up a second-hand shop on the forum, don’t you know?" came the reply from the other end.

"...I’ll go check it out."

Mu You casually logged into the forum and glanced at the homepage of ’Torchbearer’.

Indeed, her page name had now morphed into ’Fire Transmission Shop.’ Below were dozens of images showcasing various equipment and props, each with a designated purchase price and detailed descriptions of the items. It seemed quite similar to the exchange interface within the Dragon Soars software.

"Where did you get all these items?" Mu You curiously asked.

"Some I bought at a cheaper rate, others are items that clients have chosen to sell through my shop. I get a commission if the items sell... Speaking of which, do you have any second-hand items that you want to sell?" said Lu Yao.

"You’re like a second-hand marketplace..."

Mu You had already scrolled through numerous product pages and noticed familiar advertising slogans such as ’Female user, almost brand new’ and ’Selling out of desperation’.

"Pretty much. But I cater to international customers as well. A few days ago, a player from Africa messaged me asking if I accept sunflowers. I didn’t think I could sell it, so I passed on it. Now it turns out someone needs it."

"So, it’s the international version..."

Mu You was left speechless. After checking past transactions, he found that her shop was quite popular. She had already sold more than a dozen items, mainly those of Excellent Grade or above, whereas there were few common or Black Iron grade items.

Lu Yao said, "I’ll contact that guy right away. It might take a few days to get the items. Can you hold onto those two items for me?"

"Sure."

Mu You nodded. It didn’t matter who he transacted with. Since she had the means, it made sense to trade with a familiar face as it was the most convenient and safest method, sparing him the trouble.

"By the way, how do you price the items in your shop?" Mu You asked next.

Her shop’s pricing was rather jumbled and seemed quite different from the prices at the Star Spirit World shop.

"For every piece of Black Iron Grade equipment, I charge an average of 5 years of lifespan. Regular grade is 30 years, Excellent 250 years, Rare 1500 years. The Epic category is around 7000-9000 years with an average of 8000 years... Of course, the highest grade I’ve received so far is Excellent. No one has offered to sell me Rare grade items or higher yet," said Lu Yao.

"The prices for Black Iron and Regular grades are surprisingly low..."

Mu You found her prices were marked down quite a bit. In the Star Spirit World, one piece of Black Iron equipment would cost 30 years. Here, the price had been slashed by six times. Regular grade items were originally 100 years, but here they were less than a third. The Excellent-grade equipment, however, was not discounted much.

However, further on, Rare grade items in the Star Spirit World cost around 1000-1300 years and Epic-grade items between 5000 to 8000 years. In her shop, they were actually more expensive!

"It can’t be helped. With equipment, the higher the grade, the fewer in number, and the easier to sell. In the Star Spirit World, too, it’s not easy finding buyers for high-grade equipment. I can usually sell Excellent grade items and above pretty quickly after getting my hands on them, while common and Black Iron Grades are hard sells. Many have been listed for sale for a long time without any interest," said Lu Yao.

Hearing this, Mu You understood. In plain terms, for players, equipment was a luxury. Those who could afford it were often rich, veteran players who had no shortage of common and lower-grade items, as these were easy to come by in the game through monster drops, treasure chests, etc. To put simply, it was a case of ’those who need them can’t afford them, and those who can afford them don’t need them’, resulting in this peculiar market pricing.

"In that case, I’ll take all the equipment in your shop!" Mu You, after glancing at the numerous product images and doing a quick mental math, suddenly spoke.

"Huh?" Lu Yao sounded utterly bewildered on the other end: "Are you serious?"

"Of course."

"....."

Lu Yao remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, "Actually, those ’Female user’ tags are just that - tags. They’re not really..."

"...Er, I know."

"You still want them despite knowing this?"

"Ugh. What do you think I’m buying these for?" Mu You rolled his eyes. Of course, he was buying low-level equipment for synthesis purposes. Where had her mind wandered off to?

"I want to know too. There are quite a few female-exclusive items in there. What exactly are you going to use them for?" Lu Yao asked.

"That’s none of your concern. At any rate, I have an actual use for them. Are you going to sell or not?"

"If you really want them, of course I will sell. It’s just that I’m worried you’ll end up at a loss." Lu Yao said.

"Then it’s settled. Are you going to accept cash or something else?" asked Mu You.

"I currently only accept barter deals, no cash for the time being," said Lu Yao. She added, "Lately, the price of exchanging cash for lifespan has been quite volatile. I need to observe the trend a little longer."

"Oh? So how do these barter deals work?"

"It’s based on the prices I mentioned earlier. You can exchange higher-grade equipment or items. One common grade item can be exchanged with six Black Iron grade items. An Excellent grade item can be traded for 50 pieces of Black Iron grade items. If you have other types of items or magic potions, I can provide an on-the-spot appraisal."

"Quite the professional, huh..."

Mu You nodded, once again scanned the product list and quickly made a decision.