Chapter 50: Achieving a World Where No One is Hurt

"Oh~ So it can only be exchanged for some little trinkets~"

"Then I guess I won't trade it. I'll just keep it as a souvenir. I actually really like this style."

With that, Wu Wang made a motion to tuck the ring back into his pocket.

The gentleman penguin's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

With a gentle wave of the cane in his hand, it precisely intercepted the back of Wu Wang's hand, pressing it down.

Then, with a smile, he said, "I am not an unreasonable person, and you seem rather pitiable, young man. How about this?"

*Duang~*

As his voice trailed off, the question-mark box at his feet popped open.

Out flew five items of various kinds: weapons, armor, skill scrolls, and even a consumable item.

"You may choose one of these five items to exchange for it. Quite a bargain, isn't it?" The gentleman penguin smiled with unusual sincerity.

Yet, a line of text floated above his head:

[They're just garbage gathering dust in the warehouse anyway, I was wondering how to get rid of them.]

Wu Wang glanced over them and found that the quality of these items was basically [Fine].

He couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

If he remembered correctly, when he was drawing prizes in the settlement space, it was explicitly stated that the minimum would be items or equipment of [Epic] grade.

This black-hearted penguin was obviously setting him up, refusing even to pull out an [Epic]!

Oh, wait.

There was still one [Epic] item.

Wu Wang spotted a familiar cup of floral tea.

"Have you decided, young man? Which one will you draw?" The gentleman penguin maintained what he believed to be his most benevolent smile.

Hearing the word "draw" instantly reminded Wu Wang of the habitual practices of certain large corporations in the real world.

He subconsciously blurted out in retort, "You're not going to tell me these are hero shards and I need to collect a hundred of them to redeem them, are you?"

Gentleman Penguin: "?"

*Holy shit! Why didn't I think of that method?*

*This young man is no pushover!*

*His heart is even blacker than mine!*

"Hahaha, of course not. I am a man of great integrity when it comes to business."

Though he spoke of integrity, the inner monologue floating above the gentleman penguin's head had already shifted to: [I'll try that method next time; I'm bound to make even more profit!]

Just as he finished speaking, he noticed that the other party's gaze wasn't fixed on the items before him.

Instead, he was looking at the question-mark box beside him, which was wrapped in festive ribbons.

Suddenly, an inexplicable chill crept into his heart.

The gentleman penguin couldn't help but shudder.

Before he could wonder why he had the illusion of being targeted by a robber, Wu Wang spoke up.

"I like unknown adventures. How about this, esteemed Mr. Tixun Adolf, let me reach into the box myself. Whatever I grab is what I get, no backing out. What do you think?"

"Deal!"

As if afraid Wu Wang would go back on his word, the gentleman penguin snapped the question-mark box open.

The smile on his face grew even more brilliant.

He knew he definitely wouldn't lose out.

The space inside the box was nearly infinite, and the places where [Epic] grade and higher items were stored were simply beyond the reach of the young man before him.

He was far too weak.

So weak that, had it not been for the fact that he happened to be in a world imbued with that being's aura, he wouldn't even have given him a second glance.

And if his luck was a bit poor, the thing he fished out might not even be as good as the five items right in front of him.

Of course, it wouldn't be [Poor] or [Common].

Such garbage didn't deserve to enter his treasure box.

Wu Wang also smiled.

Because he also knew for a fact that he wouldn't lose.

Walking up to the gentleman penguin, he slowly reached his right hand into the question-mark box.

This was the hand engraved with the Abyss God's mark.

*Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—*

Under the gentleman penguin's puzzled gaze, the question-mark box began to vibrate violently.

At the same time.

Wu Wang's face turned pale.

The Abyss God's mark once again drained a large amount of his vitality, producing red tentacles that began to explore.

However, since this time the question-mark box did not magically vanish and run away, no tentacles emerged to wrap around it, and from the outside, no abnormality could be seen at all.

A moment later, Wu Wang withdrew his hand.

Clutching a purple scroll reeled back by a tentacle, he said joyfully, "Wow! Epic!"

Gentleman Penguin: "?"

*No way, bro! You actually caught an [Epic]?!*

*Why didn't you get a Legendary Gold drop?!*

He looked doubtfully at the question-mark box.

What he sensed from the box was a feeling of grievance; it seemed as though it hadn't intentionally manipulated the space where the [Epic] item was stored.

Was this really an accident?

"Well... truly congratulations..."

The corners of the gentleman penguin's mouth twitched slightly.

Just as he was preparing to tearfully accept the ring and leave this place of heartbreak, he suddenly noticed something odd about the scroll in Wu Wang's hand.

After a closer look, a comforting smile spread across his face.

This time, the smile was truly from the bottom of his heart.

"Hahaha, your luck is simply too good! This scroll requires a matching skill to be used, and that very skill was just taken away by the red-tentacled thief I mentioned earlier," the gentleman penguin gloated smugly.

To date, the last time one of his business ventures resulted in a loss was against a human wielding a longsword who literally hacked his way through a Nightmare-difficulty dungeon... No! That guy was so strong he was practically a monster!

Aside from that, traversing the myriad realms, he had practically never made a losing trade.

He had thought he might capsize in the sewer this time.

To his surprise, the item the other party had drawn was an unusable skill scroll. In that case, it just counted as helping him clear out warehouse trash; not a losing deal at all.

"Is that so? What a pity, then."

Wu Wang shook his head and sighed.

Inwardly, however, he was blooming with joy.

[Heaven-Descending Palm (Epic): After performing a double-jump using [Cloud-Stepping Ladder], enter a state of free fall. With palms facing downward, deal massive damage to the targeted enemy upon impact.]

[The more double-jumps performed, the higher the damage. Stamina consumption is calculated cumulatively based on the number of jumps.]

[Remark: Have you ever heard of a palm technique descending from the heavens?]

The gentleman penguin felt he had made a profit.

Wu Wang also felt he had made a profit.

A world where no one got hurt was achieved!

Well, a certain question-mark box suffered severe internal trauma, but alas... it wasn't a person.

Just as the man and the penguin began to smile.

A prompt floated up in front of Wu Wang—

[You have completed the main quest.]

[You may stay in the current instance for a maximum of 2 hours.]

[Do you wish to leave the instance now?]

Without the slightest hesitation, Wu Wang chose no.

There were still things he needed to do in this village.

As he had said, human-blood steamed buns weren't so easy to swallow down; sooner or later, they would choke to death on them.

Two hours...

Should be more than enough to wrap things up seven or eight ways.

He stashed the [Heaven-Descending Palm] scroll into his inventory.

He couldn't possibly learn it right in front of the gentleman penguin; otherwise, even an idiot would realize something was amiss and connect him to the red-tentacled thief the penguin had mentioned.

Checking the remaining bullet count in his inventory by the way, Wu Wang gently picked up the Second Sister and laid her flat upon the offering table so she wouldn't catch a cold lying on the floor.

Then, he turned and walked away, as if having made a certain resolve.

"Hey, young man, catch!"

The gentleman penguin's voice came from behind. Wu Wang subconsciously turned his head and caught two items tossed over by the other party.

One was the dagger he had used earlier to pierce his heart in search of the Underworld Marriage Deity; the other was a piece of coarse burlap fabric.

"Seeing as you're so unlucky, I'll throw in a complimentary service. Take a look at the effects of the dagger and the map yourself; the duration is only two hours, though."

With that, the gentleman penguin dropped the ring he had acquired from the trade into his top hat.

He raised his cane and drew a circle on the ground.

Like a black, ink-like wormhole, the other side of the circle was impenetrable, hiding whatever condition awaited there.

The entire penguin leaped straight into the circle.

And vanished at last.

He came quietly, he left quietly, waving his sleeves without taking away a single cloud.

Wu Wang lowered his head and took a look.

[Ghost-Piercing Dagger • Altered: Used in a place suffused with strong resentment, it can liberate the vengeful spirits bound within.]

[Coarse Burlap Map • Altered: Displays the real-time location of all living beings within a certain area. Restricted Area — Underworld Marriage Village. Duration: Two hours.]

"Heh, black-hearted penguin, you're so nice that I almost feel bad scamming you," Wu Wang shook his head with a sigh. "Still, thanks for this. Now, no one will be able to escape."

The next second, his gaze turned resolute.

He cocked the AK, feeding bullets one by one into the magazine, and split his lips into a familiar grin—the same madness he had once worn inside the broadcasting room of *Truant Heroes*.

"Second Sister, your hometown is a terrible place."

"And I am a terrible person."

"What's even worse is—I am unrepentant."

"Some debts can only be repaid with blood. This place is about to become a true ghost village..."