Chapter Seventeen: Not for Sale

“600 bundles of Dark Marsh Spider Silk in exchange for the Young Dragon Battle Shield.”
“600 bundles of Glimmering Element for the two-handed greatsword.”
“If you have the skill books for ‘Flameburst’ and ‘Fire Resistance Ring,’ you can also trade those for the dagger and helmet I have.”

Xiongba and Chimu both wore amused expressions upon seeing the list. They had the skill books and the materials, but for a solo player to need so many materials was indeed suspicious.

“Little brother, one bundle of Glimmering Element consists of 30 units. You want 600 bundles at once? That means our guild’s 30,000 members would have to work for you for free all day,” Xiongba probed cautiously.

Lu Yang smiled without replying.

Glimmering Element was a rare drop from the level 1 Mana Wyvern, with roughly a 1% drop rate. Xiongba’s guild, with 30,000 players, controlled the entire Mana Wyvern spawn point in Magic Town, so gathering 600 bundles wasn’t too difficult.

As for the Dark Marsh Spider Silk, it came from the level 3 Dark Marsh Spiders and was a rare item with a very low drop rate, but Lu Yang believed that Chimu and Xiongba could quickly gather enough if they wanted the Young Dragon Battle Shield.

“Little brother, can you tell me why you need so many rare materials?” Chimu asked.

“Sorry, no comment,” Lu Yang replied.

“Can you give us a discount?” Xiongba inquired.

Lu Yang shrugged and said, “Sorry, I urgently need these items.”

With his polite but resolute attitude, both Xiongba and Chimu felt helpless. Summer Rain also wanted to interject but realized that none of the items Lu Yang requested could be provided by him or Black Blood. Their guilds were still loosely organized; while they could agree to clear monsters, they lacked the capacity to collect such rare materials.

Other players were in the same predicament, leaving everyone awkwardly standing around.

Seeing the situation, Xiongba cautiously said, “Alright, I have the skill book for ‘Fire Resistance Ring.’ I’ll trade it for the Ox Horn Dagger.”

His subordinate was a skilled rogue whose damage output would double with that dagger.

“Deal.” Lu Yang handed over the Ox Horn Dagger to Xiongba.

“I have a copy of ‘Flameburst.’ I’ll trade it for the Black Iron Helmet,” Chimu said.

“Agreed.” Lu Yang traded the Black Iron Helmet to Chimu.

“I want the two-handed greatsword. I’ve already farmed the Glimmering Elements, so we can trade now,” Xiongba asked.

Lu Yang tossed the two-handed greatsword to Xiongba, who then had his subordinate retrieve 600 bundles of spider silk from the warehouse and handed them to Lu Yang.

Chimu said, “I want the Young Dragon Battle Shield, but the Dark Marsh Spider Silk you want isn’t easy to gather. I’ll need two days to collect it.”

“No problem. I trust you’re a man of your word, so I can wait,” Lu Yang replied.

The leader of a 30,000-strong guild could be trusted, after all.

“Then it’s settled,” Chimu breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Many guilds present could farm these items, so Chimu no longer held any advantage.

“What about the Wild Bee Longbow? Little brother, how much for your Wild Bee Longbow?” Xiongba asked.

Lu Yang had gathered all the materials he needed and had no real plan for selling the Wild Bee Longbow. If he sold it for gold, these people couldn’t afford it; if he sold it cheaply, he wouldn’t want to; exchanging for materials was pointless, as there was nothing he wanted in return.

Just as he was pondering, Xiongba suddenly said, “1,000 credit points. Little brother, I’ll give you 1,000 credit points for that Wild Bee Longbow.”

“1,000?” Lu Yang was surprised at Xiongba’s generosity. Exchanging a level 5 weapon for so many credit points was quite a deal.

“That sounds good. Let’s trade on an external platform,” Lu Yang said.

“That’s settled then. Give me your account information; I’ll transfer the money through the platform,” Xiongba said.

The internal system of The Second World didn’t support exchanges or endorse offline trades, but many trustworthy external trading platforms existed online, offering fast transactions without fees.

After agreeing on the external platform, Lu Yang’s account gained 1,000 credit points, while Xiongba received the weapon.

“Pleasure doing business, little brother,” Xiongba laughed heartily.

“Pleasure doing business,” Lu Yang replied.

The surrounding players were stunned. They had assumed Lu Yang only wanted gold and materials, never expecting him to ask for money as well.

“How much for the staff?” a player suddenly asked.

Wealthy players nearby quickly realized that since Lu Yang accepted money, a little credit wouldn’t be a problem.

Summer Rain immediately asked, “How much for the staff? We want to buy it too.”

Blue Feather also said, “Master, please sell it to us.”

Lu Yang was about to respond when a sharp voice cut through all the inquiries.

“I thought you were some big shot, but turns out you’re just a pauper. Spill it—how much? I’ll pay you.”

Everyone fell silent.

Lu Yang frowned and looked toward the voice’s source, spotting Zheng Yuan with an arrogant, disdainful expression.

Lu Yang felt nauseous and said, “Not for sale.”

The attributes of the Devoted Staff were excellent for a guild’s priest player, especially in the early game. This equipment boosted the priest’s healing spells with more health restored, crucial for defeating bosses.

Originally, Xiongba and Chimu saw that someone in Summer Rain’s team knew Lu Yang and thought he might sell the gear to them. They hadn’t expected such a bizarre character to appear in the team, one who dared to speak to Lu Yang so disrespectfully.

Both men were ecstatic inside, confident that Lu Yang would never sell the equipment to Summer Rain’s group now. They simultaneously said, “Sell that equipment to us.”

Summer Rain was helpless and frustrated by Zheng Yuan’s words. After finally getting a chance to acquire the equipment, she never expected Zheng Yuan to speak to Lu Yang like that.

Lu Yang had already helped them twice, but now was not the time for conflict. Summer Rain quickly apologized to Lu Yang, “Sir, I apologize on behalf of my teammate. He shouldn’t have spoken to you that way. It was his fault. I hope you don’t mind.”

Zheng Yuan was furious at Summer Rain’s apology and snapped, “Rain, why apologize? This guy just wants money and is pretending to be all high and mighty. I don’t believe that if I offer him more money, he won’t sell me the equipment.”

“Five thousand credit points. Will you sell or not?” Zheng Yuan sneered.

A hush fell over the players nearby. Five thousand credit points was no small sum, and it far exceeded the equipment’s original value. Xiongba and Chimu stopped bidding and looked to Lu Yang.

Seeing himself the center of attention, Zheng Yuan grew even more agitated, as if trying to prove something to Summer Rain and Blue Feather. He arrogantly said to Lu Yang, “Well? Can you sell it now? If you don’t have the money, stop pretending to be noble. Hurry up, don’t waste my time—I don’t have time to dawdle.”

Just as everyone expected Lu Yang to sell, his face remained cold and mocking as he said, “Not for sale.”

“You…” Zheng Yuan was stunned. He had offered a price five times higher than the Wild Bee Longbow’s, yet Lu Yang refused.

Angrily, Zheng Yuan demanded, “What do you mean?”

Lu Yang smiled cheerfully and said, “Nothing much. I just don’t like you, so I won’t sell it to you.”

Zheng Yuan was furious beyond belief. Lu Yang had just publicly insulted him in front of everyone.

About to reveal his spoiled brat temper, Summer Rain quickly glanced at Zhang Zibo, who understood and pulled Zheng Yuan aside with two others to silence him.

Blue Feather pleaded, “Master, please sell us the staff. We really need it.”

Looking at Blue Feather’s earnest expression, Lu Yang smiled faintly and said again, “Not for sale.”