Chapter 321 - 311: Not Being a Sucker

However, to enter this shop, you not only had to input your game ID but also pay a fee of one thousand Gold Coins.

Although the shop stated that the one thousand Gold Coins would be refunded upon leaving, this only applied to ordinary people.

More famous players, like Redlight, had long been on this shop’s blacklist.

This so-called blacklist didn’t actually prevent you from entering. Instead, it meant that after you went in, the one thousand Gold Coins wouldn’t be refunded when you left. Furthermore, blacklisted individuals were unable to purchase any items inside.

In other words, they would lose a thousand Gold Coins just to take a look around, without being able to buy a single thing.

They didn’t want to waste a thousand Gold Coins for nothing, so they decided to send in players who weren’t on the blacklist to check things out.

However, the people they had sent still hadn’t returned. In the meantime, Redlight received a message from SoySauceDrunkard.

Adhering to the principle that anything from Mr. Lynch was of the utmost importance, Redlight reported the matter without a moment’s hesitation.

Chase Shepard looked at the report Redlight had submitted. "A Season Converter that can change the seasons of the surrounding area? Are you sure something that miraculous exists?"

Redlight answered honestly, "I’m not sure, but this information came from SoySauceDrunkard, so it should be reliable. He also mentioned that the Season Converter in the shop is actually only worth five hundred thousand. He suggested we negotiate the price when we buy it so we don’t get ripped off."

After listening to Redlight, Chase Shepard fell silent for a moment. "I think SoySauceDrunkard told you about this because he didn’t want to be the one getting ripped off," he said.

Redlight completely agreed. "That’s what I was thinking, too. So, are we buying it or not?"

Chase Shepard gritted his teeth. "Buy it. Why wouldn’t we? We’ll bring it back and study it ourselves."

Hearing this, Redlight hesitated. "But... do we even have any researchers available?"

They had already purchased a lot of good stuff from people like SoySauceDrunkard and Shane Rhodes, not to mention all the items they’d brought back from the game themselves.

You could say that right now, the researchers were the busiest people in the entire country.

Groups of gray-haired, elderly scholars in their seventies and eighties were working around the clock with their students, sleeping only one or two hours a day.

Some didn’t sleep at all, surviving on Energy Potions or pushing through on sheer Willpower.

To provide them with a more secure environment, most of the experts, academicians, and researchers had been relocated to Veridian Prime.

The environment there was secure, allowing them to devote themselves completely to their research. Only a small number remained on Caelus.

Chase Shepard was well aware of this, of course, but it wasn’t his problem to solve. He’d let the higher-ups worry about it. His only job was to acquire the item.

Still, the price needed some serious negotiation. He had no intention of being a sucker.

Meanwhile, after Moira Lynch withdrew her consciousness from the shop, she opened her eyes and glanced at the time. It was already noon.

The other three were busy with their own tasks.

Shane Rhodes was playing with (scratch that) trying to control static electricity, while Hugh Finch was polishing the items he used for divination.

Moira Lynch leaned in for a closer look. There were Tarot Cards, playing cards, Copper Coins, and Crystal Balls—basically, anything you could find on the market, he had it.

"Can I ask where you got all this stuff?" she asked. "They aren’t all game items, are they?"

At this, Hugh Finch shot her a look that seemed to say, ’In your dreams.’

"I bought them all online."

Just then, Shane Rhodes, who was still playing with (scratch that) trying to control static electricity, explained, "Hugh has been into this stuff since he was a kid. He has at least twenty strings of blessed Buddha Beads alone."

"That many!" Moira Lynch stared at Hugh Finch in shock.

Kai York, who was petting his cat nearby, chimed in, "And he buys things like lucky crystals by the case. Anyone who knows him knows they’re for his personal use, but anyone who doesn’t would think he’s a wholesaler."

As he spoke, the Ragdoll Cat in his arms, Abu, ignored Kai York’s protests and struggled out of his embrace. Letting out a series of sweet little meows, it pranced joyfully toward Moira Lynch, its big, fluffy tail held high.

He left Kai York behind, who reached out a pleading hand like a heartbroken father, but the cat didn’t even give him a single glance back.

Seeing this, Hugh Finch couldn’t resist twisting the knife. "Looks like your son doesn’t want you anymore."

Moira Lynch bent down and scooped Pip into her arms.

Before entering her special space, Pip had only weighed around nine or ten pounds. Now, he was pushing twenty.

Ragdolls are already one of the larger cat breeds, and with all the good food and drink in the space, he had ballooned. From a distance, he looked like a giant, furry white gas tank.

The moment he was in Moira Lynch’s arms, Pip started rubbing against her insistently, letting out affectionate purrs from time to time. His big, beautiful, watery blue eyes were full of expectation.

It was as if he were saying, ’Quick, quick! Send me back!’

’Life here is so hard! I much prefer my real home.’

Seeing this, Moira Lynch made a show of asking for Kai York’s opinion.

Kai York, looking like a father whose heart had been broken by his child, just waved his hand dismissively. "Just let him go."

The next second, Pip vanished from Moira’s arms.

At the sight of this, a very curious Hugh Finch asked, "I’m getting more and more curious about that space of yours. Can you let me go inside and take a look?"

Not expecting him to ask such a question, Moira Lynch refused him flatly. "No."

She’d said "No," not "I can’t."

Hugh Finch seized on the nuance. ’So, there must be other conditions for entering the space,’ he guessed.

Little did he know, he was completely overthinking things.

Just then, Moira’s stomach let out a loud RUMBLE. She hadn’t eaten in hours; no wonder she was starving.

She went and cooked herself a pot of instant noodles, loading it up with all sorts of goodies: fish balls, imitation crab sticks, green vegetables, a fried egg...

Kai York watched her emerge with the pot and teased, "Are you making instant noodles or a full-on hot pot?"

"Instant noodles, of course," Moira said matter-of-factly. "I didn’t add any sesame paste."

After wolfing it all down, Moira let out a satisfied burp.

"By the way, Moira," Kai York began, "did you hear that another shop, a lot like SoySauceDrunkard’s, has opened in the game?"

Moira nodded. "I know. I just came from there."

Hearing this, Kai York immediately leaned in, all excitement. "You actually got in? Quick, tell me! What’s it like inside?"

Seeing how curious he was, Moira asked in confusion, "You haven’t been inside?"