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墨書 Inktalez
It turns out that the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment!
After some time, Lin Yuan had to admit that he had suffered a significant loss this time. That guy who called himself Old Guan was not just an ordinary con artist!
Although his fortress-like house was piled high with materials and potions, which looked quite impressive at first glance, he had seriously underestimated the power and mystery of the Alchemist profession!
The skills of an Alchemist, one of the Ten Subjects, were not something that could be easily grasped.
He couldn't make heads or tails of the potions that old man had provided!
It was like Lin Yuan's Mechanical Assembly skill; if he casually took out an inconspicuous Mechanical Part, anyone who wasn't in the know would be utterly baffled and completely unaware of its value.
Similarly, Lin Yuan couldn't discern the characteristics and effects of that mountain of potions because they were all half-finished products. Even if he used the A180 Punisher System for identification, it would still be a fruitless endeavor.
To put it simply, it was like Lin Yuan discovering a rare edition of a spellbook, but all the incantations were written in a foreign language, rendering it worthless to him.
After going in circles and returning to see the old man still humming cheerfully, Lin Yuan felt a surge of anger.
"Alright, Old Man, you win. What do you want? If you think you can send me away empty-handed like this, you're mistaken. I need to hear a solution now; otherwise—"
"Otherwise what?" The old man laughed so hard his eyebrows nearly fell off. "Are you going to lay hands on me? Torture me for answers? Or perhaps resort to even more terrifying methods?"
"Do you really want me to do that?" Lin Yuan scoffed with amusement. "But you're wrong; I'm not interested in you. Since you're not cooperating, I'll just leave. Remember my words: I will be filled with disappointment towards you. This is not a threat. Goodbye!"
With that, Lin Yuan turned and walked away decisively. He finally understood one thing: that damned Old Man was likely just trying to play him for his rare materials—an attempt to catch him off guard! A cunning and despicable old fox!
If we exclude the option of actively seizing it, then only negotiation and trade remain, and his previous performance had clearly put him at a disadvantage.
However, now that he announced his withdrawal from such negotiations, did he really believe the old man would let it go?
Sure enough, Lin Yuan's guess was spot on. Just a few steps out, the Old Man finally spoke up, "Mr. Papaya No. 1, why get angry? Let's talk things over calmly. Right now, I am willing to take your order. As long as it is within my capabilities, I will serve you wholeheartedly. However, I have one condition."
"I'm listening!"
Lin Yuan smiled slightly in his heart. The earlier back-and-forth was merely a prelude, or perhaps a mutual test between him and this old fellow. After all, in a situation where using force to settle matters was uncertain, two strangers could hardly trust each other right from the start.
Of course, he had to admit that the old man's hot-and-cold probing was quite annoying!
"It's simple. I want to know where you obtained this Demon Droppings and whether you have more of it," the Old Man's expression turned serious as the topic got back on track.
"Well, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, Old Man. Do you think I collected this Demon Droppings myself? If I had, why would I go through all this trouble just for you to find out? The truth is, I discovered this during a past space expedition. I had no idea what it was! Of course, there were other materials I wasn't too clear about either. You see, my potion-making skills are quite poor; I'm not even at the beginner level. So to understand their essence and properties, I had to experiment with them one by one. But who would have thought that it would lead to you showing up? It seems my luck is truly terrible."
Lin Yuan complained half-truthfully. This was his real bait; he had various rare materials hidden in his Five-Dimensional Key Space—probably hundreds of tons worth. That was why he intended to test them one by one in such a foolish manner. Only with such a rich foundation could he afford to do so. Therefore, facing this Old Man who likely possessed high potion-making skills, offering a little benefit was no problem at all.
At that moment, upon hearing Lin Yuan's words, the Old Man couldn't help but twitch his lips and chuckled bitterly, "Truly, ignorance breeds fearlessness. I must say I'm quite impressed with you. Have you never thought about checking prices on the black market or official purchasing platforms? Just based on the materials you've wasted alone, they would be worth millions of Mechanical Coins. Also, you probably want to understand the Alchemist profession better. But I must tell you that this profession is not that simple; being one of the Ten Subjects of Mechanical City speaks for itself. Moreover, I'm not mocking you—given your rough research methods that don't even qualify as half-baked, even if you wasted a mountain of materials, at most you'd only scratch the surface. A restless mind is not good; going down unorthodox paths is even worse!"
Listening to the old man's mockery, Lin Yuan showed no signs of embarrassment and simply said, "So now you should believe what I'm saying. However, before we proceed with our transaction, could you tell me what exactly Demon Droppings are? What are they worth? What can they be used for? Otherwise, if I end up getting tricked by you, wouldn't that be terrible?"
"Hehe! The old man guessed correctly; in fact, you should still have a large amount of Demon Droppings on hand."
At that moment, the Old Man did not respond to Lin Yuan's question. Instead, he suddenly made a sly remark, clearly having picked up on a key piece of information from Lin Yuan's inquiry.
Lin Yuan was no longer angry; this old fellow was cunning enough to be considered a master at deception. It was indeed not a simple matter to outsmart him.
"Alright, fine. You old coot, as you guessed, I still have thirty-six more Demon Droppings in my possession. Are you satisfied now? However, if you cannot provide me with a satisfactory answer, then our deal can be canceled at any time."
"Hahaha!"
The old man couldn't help but burst into laughter, as if he had encountered something incredibly amusing. After a while, his expression turned serious as he said, "Mr. Papaya No. 1, back to the point. In fact, you don't really need to understand what Demon Droppings are because their value to you is almost zero, isn't it? Just earlier, you probably tossed twenty-two types of precious materials and sixty-five types of ordinary materials into that disgusting cauldron, along with a whole bunch of random junk. To you, they merely represent a form of entertainment. So why do you need to inquire about their value? Do you know what it means to burn a lute and boil a crane? Do you understand what desecration is? No, you don't. It's like setting fire to Da Vinci's smile just to light a cigarette—it's sinful, utterly heinous! Therefore, I believe what you should urgently seek to understand is not what Demon Droppings are but rather what it truly means to be an Alchemist. Mr. Papaya No. 1, if you respect this profession, please listen patiently to what I have to say; otherwise, leave. I will not tolerate someone so rude desecrating the profession I have fought for over two thousand years—no, my life! Any form of sincere belief deserves respect, doesn't it?"
Seeing the old man transform from a disrespectful character into someone so pious in an instant left Lin Yuan feeling both frustrated and exasperated.
Damn it all; he had run into an old fool who loved to lecture.
However, this Old Man had lived for nearly two thousand years—this was no small feat. His strength was certainly not as weak as it appeared before Lin Yuan.
"Alright then, Old Man. Speak freely; I will listen. But you should know that I am here to make a deal with you. Beyond that, I do not accept your beliefs."
Upon hearing Lin Yuan's words, the Old Man smiled oddly and casually replied, "My friend Papaya, next time you want to conceal your identity, it's best not to use such an obvious title; it makes you seem quite childish. Now, don’t rush to refute me; let me introduce you to an old friend!"
As he spoke, Lin Yuan heard a loud 'clunk' from a large box nearby as if something had come to life inside it. The box suddenly opened up, and out sprang a somewhat crude yet very familiar Repair Mechanical Arm.
Lin Yuan was left dumbfounded; there was no way around it—what had just emerged was indeed someone he recognized!
"Old Chet! What are you doing here?"
In the next moment, Lin Yuan couldn't help but exclaim. He certainly wouldn't forget that the seemingly haphazardly assembled, flashy Repair Mechanical Arm was his own creation, a product of his earlier deal with the Stocking Captain!
Back then, the Stocking Captain had criticized his assembly as gaudy and far from passing grade. He hadn't believed it at the time, but now, after so long, as Lin Yuan was on the verge of becoming a Level 15 assembler, he finally realized just how foolish he had been.
But still, how could Old Chet be here?
This doesn't make sense!
It simply doesn't make sense!
Moreover, if this is really Old Chet, shouldn't he be in the Stocking Captain's cabin? How did he end up with this damn old man?
Could it be that this damned Old Man and that damned Troll Captain are in cahoots?
What the hell? Is there no end to this?
A persistent group of nuisances and troublesome bastards! (To be continued.)
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