The monster merchant looked nervous.
Cheng Shuili wasn't sure how she could tell he was nervous from a skull face, but that didn't matter. What mattered was...
This monster merchant was actually still trying to struggle.
“I... I am an NPC after all! How can you lay a hand on me?! Aren't you afraid of getting on the NPC blacklist and being unable to do anything in the future?”
An NPC blacklist?
If this were anywhere else, Cheng Shuili might have believed it, but she was already the king of the wolf-race beastmen now!
That was a king!
Were the wolf-race beastmen not NPCs?
They absolutely were!
It was clear from this that NPC favorability was influenced by many factors, and there was absolutely no such thing as a “blacklist” that could kill one’s prospects with a single blow.
Cheng Shuili wasn't flustered in the slightest. She held the Night Hunt and gestured with it a few times on him, unable to help but chuckle softly.
This reaction was too bizarre.
The monster merchant’s eyes couldn't even open wide enough; he truly lacked the courage to look at the blade wedged into the cracks of his bones. But that was the downside of being a skeleton: once afraid, you couldn't even close your eyes.
In truth, he didn't really care about earning one hundred thousand game coins from Cheng Shuili...
No, he had cared before, but the moment this person pulled out her blade and started gesturing with it, the monster merchant didn't really want to do this business anymore.
His only worry now was: if he set this precedent, what would happen if other players came to threaten him?
Game coins were his life!
If he lost his life! He would only be able to live his days in a daze, just like those other monsters!
Rather than living like that...
The monster merchant tilted his neck back, put on a look of “unyielding in the face of death,” opened his mouth, and growled lowly: “Cut here!”
Huh?
If he wasn't afraid, did Cheng Shuili have anything to fear?
Others might be bluffed, but who was Cheng Shuili?
Cheng Shuili could be called the player who dealt with NPCs the most out of everyone, whether it was being the first to cooperate with an NPC or the first to escort an NPC to the police bureau...
There were only things others couldn't imagine, not things Cheng Shuili hadn't done.
And today, she would add one more item to the list!
The first player to subject an “NPC” to torture for information!
Since this skeleton was calling for her to cut him, she wouldn't stand on ceremony.
Cheng Shuili’s eyes sharpened. She flipped her wrist, and the cold blade of the Night Hunt moved without a moment’s hesitation, precisely slicing toward the junction of the monster merchant’s wide-open mandible! If this strike landed true, his arrogant skull would immediately part ways with his neck.
Before the blade even arrived, Cheng Shuili’s resolute expression and the sharp edge of the Night Hunt had already made every bone in the monster merchant’s frame scream.
“Wait! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!!”
At the very last second, the monster merchant burst out with astonishing speed, his voice so sharp it almost cracked. That facade of “unyielding in the face of death” shattered instantly, not leaving even a scrap behind.
The tip of the Night Hunt stopped perilously close to his jawbone, and the wind pressure it created even caused his entire skull to tilt backward.
Cheng Shuili slowly withdrew the blade, her face expressionless, only using her eyes to signal: speak.
Su Rui’s fingers remained on his shoulder blade, pressing down slightly to produce a teeth-gritting “creak,” silently urging him on.
The monster merchant was scared out of his wits, if he still had any.
His skeleton rattled with a clicking sound, and he dared not play any more tricks, quickly confessing: “Abyss Stone! Abyss Stone can’t just be opened from gold supply crates! It, it is actually a product of condensed abyssal power. In some extremely dark places or deep inside monster nests severely eroded by the abyss, it is also possible for it to naturally condense!”
“What else?” Cheng Shuili asked coldly. “Specific locations? How to find them? And how exactly do you obtain Shadow Essence from the Abyss Stone? Crack it open? Plant it?”
“Location... the location isn't fixed! But, but it is usually accompanied by powerful shadow-type monsters! They like to guard this kind of thing!”
The monster merchant hurriedly said, “Shadow Essence... is not the seed itself! The seed obtained by cracking open the Abyss Stone needs to be planted in soil rich in shadow energy. After it sprouts and grows, the first fruit it bears, when peeled open, contains the Shadow Essence!”
“Soil rich in shadow energy? Where can I find that?”
“This... such places are equally rare... perhaps under the ruins of some ancient battlefields, or... or places where a large number of shadow monsters have died...”
The monster merchant’s voice grew quieter and quieter, seemingly terrified that Cheng Shuili would think the information wasn't enough and draw her blade again.
Cheng Shuili narrowed her eyes, digesting this information.
Although it was still vague, compared to only knowing about opening gold supply crates, she finally had a clearer direction.
And...
Places that were extremely dark or battlefield ruins to a monster merchant were, to Cheng Shuili, actually just dungeons.
As long as she had a Designated Dungeon Opening Card, Cheng Shuili could probably use the description information provided to find a dungeon that fit.
But she didn't have any Designated Dungeon Opening Cards left in her hand.
Thinking of this, Cheng Shuili looked at the monster merchant again.
“Do you,” she pointed the tip of her blade at the broken counter, “sell that kind of soil? Or Abyss Stone?”
“Not for sale, not for sale!” The monster merchant shook his head like a rattle-drum. “I absorb that kind of thing myself once I get my hands on it, how could I sell it! Although game coins are good, that kind of pure shadow energy is an even greater supplement for existences like us!”
Oh? So that’s how it was.
There was one more thing.
“Do you sell cards here?”
Yes, Cheng Shuili still hoped to buy something here.
The other party’s expression was strange, and it took a while before he said: “I only sell information here; those magical things seem to only appear in the hands of you players and the beastmen.”
The monster merchant NPC didn't sell physical goods.
Fine.
Cheng Shuili had obtained the information she wanted and finally put the Night Hunt away.
Su Rui also let go and quietly retreated to Cheng Shuili’s side.
With the pressure suddenly gone, the monster merchant felt as if he had collapsed from exhaustion; his skeleton even went limp, and he slumped behind the counter.
Cheng Shuili cast one final glance at him and turned to walk toward the exit of the gas station.
Walking to the door, she seemed to remember something, turned back, and said: “Thanks, friend.”
Her tone was flat, with little gratitude audible; instead, it carried a hint of a warning.
The monster merchant gave a start and hurriedly squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying.
Even though any expression he made looked about the same.
“Y-you’re welcome... Welcome back next... uh...”
He had wanted to say “Welcome back next time” out of habit, but he choked it back and changed his words, “...take care on the road.”
He was truly afraid of this fierce god returning.
Cheng Shuili curled the corner of her lips and left the long-abandoned gas station with Su Rui.
Her goal was now clear: purchase a Designated Dungeon Opening Card from other players.
Since Glory could open this item, others could too, so it wouldn't be impossible to buy.
Cheng Shuili thought for a moment and simply posted this message on the regional channel herself.
Rate on N.U.
