Ch. 328 - Buy! Buy! Buy!
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On the deck of the Golden Chamber of Commerce's treasure ship, an elderly man cursed furiously as he repeatedly fired the large-calibre handgun that had replaced his left hand at the light-brown "wall" before him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Get your lazy arse up, you damned useless lump!"
He continued firing as he shouted. Every bullet left a black scorch mark on the "wall," causing it to tremble slightly.
Not stopping there, the old man viciously jabbed at it with his right leg, which had been replaced by a twenty-centimetre iron rod. Even so, it had no effect.
Finally, he changed tactics. Clearing his throat, he spoke casually.
"Food's ready, you glutton."
Those simple words proved astonishingly effective.
The "wall" suddenly sat upright.
It was actually an enormously obese cyclops that stood nearly six metres tall. Even while lying down, its enormous belly rose almost two metres into the air, making it resemble a solid wall.
After sitting up, the giant looked at the old man with the single enormous eye in the centre of its head.
"Dad, what are we eating today?" it asked in a deep, booming voice.
"Eating your head, you brainless idiot!" the dwarf elder roared. "We've got guests, and you're still sleeping instead of greeting them? As punishment, you don't get to eat today!"
"Oh... alright."
The cyclops sounded utterly dejected as it slowly climbed to its feet.
The old man leapt onto the giant's shoulder in just a couple of bounds before directing it to get to work.
Meanwhile, on Yang Yi's side, the gunfire on the deck finally stopped, followed by a burst of loud commotion.
The enormous cyclops, which had been sleeping soundly moments earlier, walked onto the deck and looked down at Yang Yi from above.
Yang Yi narrowed his eyes. After noticing the bullet marks covering the giant's belly, he quickly pieced together what had happened.
This cyclops's body is unbelievably tough, he thought. Even bullets couldn't pierce its hide.
Its thick, powerful limbs were also far sturdier than the Cyclops limbs Yang Yi had obtained before. They hardly looked as though they belonged to the same species.
"Kneel! What have I taught you? That ugly face of yours will scare the guests!" the dwarf elder scolded from the giant's shoulder.
His words were surprisingly effective.
The cyclops immediately dropped to one knee and lowered its body.
Ironically, however, the dwarf's own appearance was far uglier than the giant's.
His face was covered in scars, and one eye had turned completely milky white. Short and gaunt, he had lost both his left hand and right leg, replacing them with a firearm and an iron rod.
Furthermore, he looked nothing like the dwarves of legend. Instead, he resembled a grotesquely deformed human. His originally well-proportioned body seemed to have been forcibly compressed into a squat frame. His legs measured barely twenty centimetres long, while his arms stretched nearly half a metre, giving him an especially bizarre appearance.
As if that weren't strange enough, an extra hand—about the size of a baby's arm—grew from the right side of his nose. He calmly used it to straighten his greying beard before speaking politely.
"Welcome, strangers. This is Treasure Ship No. 1933 of the Golden Chamber of Commerce. I am the captain. You may call me Old Dad. As for this fool, his name is Zhuangzhuang. Other than being ridiculously strong, he doesn't have a single redeeming quality."
Old Dad finished his brief introduction.
Yang Yi got straight to the point.
"I'd like to make a trade."
Yang Yi remained calm from beginning to end, showing little reaction.
After all, he had seen plenty of strange and ugly creatures already. Nothing about their appearances could surprise him anymore.
Old Dad nodded in satisfaction before reciting the Golden Chamber of Commerce's famous slogan.
"We don't ask where you come from, we don't ask what you need it for, and we don't ask who you are. Let us have a pleasant transaction!"
Old Dad stood upright and gave a slight bow.
However, combined with his grotesquely deformed appearance, the gesture looked rather unsettling.
"Oh, right. The trading deposit is 100,000 Seashell Coins. If your total purchase value doesn't reach 100,000 Seashell Coins, the deposit will not be refunded. Please keep that in mind."
Old Dad added the reminder at just the right time.
"Wasn't 10,000 Seashell Coins before?"
Yang Yi frowned.
According to the faction intelligence he had obtained, the required deposit should have been 10,000 Seashell Coins. Yet here, the price had increased tenfold.
"That was the price in the discount district. Here, you understand, nothing is convenient, so everything costs ten times more," Old Dad patiently explained. "Of course, you can also refuse the trade and simply leave."
He pointed toward the direction Yang Yi had come from.
Immediately, all the cargo ships and warships moved aside, opening a passage for him.
Yang Yi remained silent for several seconds.
He neither paid the deposit nor left.
Instead, he took out an Ancient Gold Coin and held it out.
"What if I have this?"
"This is..."
Old Dad's nose twitched as though he had caught the scent of something precious.
The next moment, he appeared directly in front of Yang Yi, his eyes blazing with excitement.
The dwarf's terrifying speed and agility genuinely surprised Yang Yi.
This dwarf's Agility attribute is probably even higher than mine when I'm in my werewolf form.
"So you're a Premium VIP. That's a completely different matter!"
Old Dad smiled brightly.
"Today, every item in the shop is 20% off the discount district's base price for you. There is no purchase limit and no deposit required. Just buy whatever you want!"
His attitude had undergone a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal.
He became incredibly polite and welcoming.
So it really works. But I can't lower my guard. That old man is extremely dangerous.
Yang Yi secretly contacted Suna.
However, she had already started taking notes.
At the same time, her gaze moved constantly around her surroundings. She examined every unfamiliar lifeform she saw and carefully recorded their appearances and characteristics.
At that moment, all those creatures suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.
Yet none of them knew where it had come from.
"Su!"
Yang Yi called out while pulling Suna's hand, reminding her to focus on the current situation.
He deliberately used only a single syllable to avoid exposing her identity.
"It's fine. If she sees something she likes, it's only natural for her to make a record of it. You can simply buy everything together later."
Old Dad spoke indifferently.
It seemed he had already noticed exactly what Suna was writing.
Unlike how he appeared on the surface, this old dwarf was definitely not some weak, half-blind old man.
Yang Yi held onto Suna's hand while his vigilance increased another level.
Following Old Dad's instructions, he arrived at the port side of the treasure ship.
A recessed docking area was built into the treasure ship's side. Connected to the deck by a staircase, it functioned much like a pier and allowed visitors to board easily.
"Hand the mooring rope to Zhuangzhuang. He'll secure your ship for you."
After speaking, Old Dad left the Nightmare Star first and returned to the treasure ship, apparently preparing to guide them from the front.
Yang Yi nodded.
A remarkably thick vine emerged from the deck of the Nightmare Star. It stretched all the way into Zhuangzhuang's hand, and the cyclops firmly tied it around the edge of the treasure ship.
The Nightmare Star was now secured.
"Stay close to me. The members of this merchant guild are anything but ordinary."
Yang Yi spoke quietly as he and Suna stepped off the Nightmare Star and walked toward the deck of the treasure ship.
Merchandise was displayed on both sides of the staircase leading up to the deck, with each item marked with a price tag.
Most of the products were priced at Base Price ×10. Only a few were exceptions, likely specialty goods unique to the Sea of No Light or its surrounding regions.
Yang Yi casually picked up a cup filled with liquid.
【Name: Sea Squirt Sour Juice (Concentrated)】