Chapter 47: The Exchange

By the time I returned to the temporary base, the place had already been abandoned.

The tents still stood where they had been pitched, and several vehicles remained parked nearby, but not a single person was in sight.

As Diablo had instructed, every man had been withdrawn the moment they were ordered, leaving behind nothing that could identify who had occupied the camp.

I swept my gaze across the quiet clearing before giving a small nod.

Even if someone stumbled across this place later, all they would find was an abandoned campsite.

There would be nothing left to lead anyone back to me.

With nothing left to do, I walked deeper into the camp until I reached the chair I had been using earlier.

Sitting down, I leaned back and let out a slow breath.

The mission was over.

Ulysses Klaue was dead, every loose end had been tied up, and the two hundred and fifty kilograms of Vibranium now rested safely inside my Storage.

A faint smile spread across my face.

From the very beginning, the raid had never been about killing Klaue.

He had simply been standing between me and the Vibranium.

Now that the metal was finally mine, there was only one thing left to do.

I raised a hand, and a familiar blue window materialized before me.

System

Without hesitation, I selected the Exchange tab.

The familiar list appeared.

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Exchange Pack I

Coal — $0.15/kg

Iron — $0.40/kg

Aluminium — $4/kg

Copper — $15/kg

Nickel — $18/kg

Silver — $2,000/kg

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My eyes skimmed past the common materials and settled on the locked section below.

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Exchange Pack II

Unlock Cost: $1,000,000

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I stared at the unlock cost for a second before letting out an annoyed sigh.

“A million dollars just to unlock another exchange list…”

I knew it was there, but it still felt like the System was squeezing every dollar it could out of me.

“…Cheap bastard.”

Without another word, I selected it.

A notification appeared before me.

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-$1,000,000

Exchange Pack II Unlocked

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The menu expanded, revealing an entirely new collection of materials.

Gold, Platinum, Adamantium Ore, Uru, and dozens of other rare resources filled the list.

I barely spared the other materials a glance before my eyes settled on the one entry I actually cared about.

Vibranium.

Without wasting another second, I selected it, and a new information panel immediately appeared before me.

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Material: Vibranium

Exchange Value: $100,000,000 per gram

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For a moment, I simply stared at the number.

One hundred million dollars.

For a single gram.

I already knew that was the price, but seeing it displayed in front of me still felt surreal.

“So it’s really worth that much…”

If a single gram was valued at one hundred million dollars, then the two hundred and fifty kilograms sitting inside my Storage would change everything.

Before I could dwell on the thought any longer, another panel appeared before me.

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Stored Material

Vibranium

Available Quantity: 250 kilograms

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My gaze shifted to the quantity listed beneath it.

Available Quantity: 250 kilograms

A grin crept onto my face as I looked at the number.

There it was—the two hundred and fifty kilograms of Vibranium I had risked everything to obtain.

After all the planning, the raid, and the cleanup afterward, it was finally sitting safely inside my Storage, ready to be exchanged.

Without giving myself a chance to overthink it, I selected the entry.

A new prompt appeared before me.

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Exchange Quantity?

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“All of it.”

The moment I confirmed my choice, the blue window shimmered faintly.

A few seconds passed in complete silence before a new notification finally appeared before me.

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Calculating…

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I folded my arms and waited patiently for the System to finish.

There was never any doubt in my mind about this decision.

Keeping the Vibranium would only delay my growth.

As long as I became stronger, I could always obtain more in the future.

Right now, what I needed wasn’t the metal itself—it was the wealth it represented.

A few moments later, the calculation finished, and a massive panel unfolded before me.

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Estimated Exchange Value

$25,000,000,000,000

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I froze, my eyes fixed on the number in front of me.

Twenty-five trillion dollars.

I had known what the final amount would be before exchanging it, but seeing it displayed by the System was an entirely different feeling.

For several long seconds, I simply stared at the glowing panel in silence.

In my previous life, numbers like this only appeared in news articles about the world’s largest economies and multinational corporations.

They weren’t amounts an ordinary person could ever hope to possess.

And now…

A slow breath escaped my lips.

“It really is twenty-five trillion…”

The System remained silent, patiently waiting for my decision.

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Confirm Exchange?

Yes / No

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I didn’t hesitate any longer.

“Yes.”

The moment I confirmed the exchange, the blue window flickered, and a new notification appeared before me.

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Exchange Successful

+$25,000,000,000,000

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Almost immediately, the balance in the corner of the interface began climbing at an incredible speed.

223,950,000…

2,223,950,000…

22,223,950,000…

The numbers continued to rise, digits changing so quickly that I could barely follow them.

After several seconds, the increase finally came to an end, and the balance settled on its new value.

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Current Active Balance

$25,000,223,950,000

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Silence settled over the base once more as I stared at the balance for several long seconds before letting out a quiet laugh.

“So this is what financial freedom feels like.”

Not too long ago, even spending a few hundred million dollars required careful thought.

Every purchase came with an opportunity cost.

Should I invest in myself?

Strengthen Diablo?

Save for a better upgrade later?

Every decision mattered because my funds were limited.

Now, that problem had almost disappeared.

Money was no longer the obstacle.

From this point onward, the real limitation wasn’t my wealth, but what the System actually offered.

I leaned back in my chair, my gaze lingering on the blue screen.

That didn’t mean I could afford to spend recklessly.

If anything, having this much money meant I needed to be even more careful.

The System clearly had purchases that reached into the hundreds of trillions and beyond.

Wasting money on unnecessary upgrades now would only slow my progress toward those higher tiers.

The best choice was still the most efficient one.

With that thought in mind, I closed the Exchange menu.

My first thought after closing the Exchange menu was to check the Helpers category.

Until now, it had mostly been something to look at rather than seriously consider.

Almost every Helper cost more money than I could afford, forcing me to ignore them no matter how tempting they seemed.

But things were different now.

The menu opened before me.

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Helpers

Calculator — $100 Million (Free for six months)

Analyst — $10 Billion (Free for six months)

Research Assistant — $100 Billion

Great Sage — $100 Trillion

Manas Raphael — $1 Quadrillion

Manas Ciel — 10 Quintillion

True Ciel — 10 Septillion

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I read through the list slowly before my gaze settled on Great Sage.

$100 Trillion.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Even twenty-five trillion isn’t enough…”

I wasn’t disappointed.

If anything, it confirmed what I had suspected from the beginning.

The System still had an enormous ceiling.

There were stronger Helpers, greater evolutions, and countless upgrades waiting beyond my current reach.

I looked back at Research Assistant.

This would have to do until I could afford Great Sage.

Knowledge had always been one of the greatest weapons anyone could possess, and a Helper dedicated to research, analysis, and optimization would save me countless mistakes in the future.

There was no reason to wait.

“Purchase Calculator. Purchase Analyst. Purchase Research Assistant.”

The System processed the purchases one after another.

A gentle warmth spread through my mind as Calculator integrated before fading away.

Moments later, the sensation returned with greater intensity as Analyst merged with my consciousness.

Then Research Assistant began integrating.

The warmth vanished.

The world around me suddenly fell silent.

……….

Author’s Note

Hello everyone!

Thank you all so much for reading and supporting Marvel: Buying Godhood.