The Mysterious Mouse Old Man

Cheng Shuili planned to take a stroll around the individual sellers outside to see if there was anything she needed before comparing prices at the Ten Thousand Beasts Merchant House to decide where to make her purchases.

While thinking about this, she happened to post a message in the group chat.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: I am at the Trading Post. Let me know if you need help buying anything.

【New Snow Clearing】: You are so kind, Boss~

As soon as those words left the other person, Cheng Shuili knew it was a mistake. Her fingers danced across the keyboard as she honestly added a follow-up.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Pay for it yourself.

【New Snow Clearing】: Boss, how can such cold words come out of your thirty-six-degree mouth!

【Liang Shanbo vs. Pig】: You are so kind, Boss! Could you please pick up a piece of fruit for me? Any kind of fruit is fine, just don't buy anything too expensive. I only have 23 game coins.

【New Snow Clearing】: Do you want me to lend you some? You can just add ten game coins when you pay me back. It is only a one-day fee; the more you borrow, the more you earn.

Liang Shanbo actually started to consider it.

【Liang Shanbo vs. Pig】: Let the boss check the prices of the fruit first.

【Wan Yi】: I am not lacking anything here. Just buy some rice for me.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Understood.

Cheng Shuili closed the group chat and was just about to follow her plan of sweeping through the individual sellers when she heard an old man's voice nearby, seemingly calling out to her.

"Young lady? Are you the young lady standing at the entrance of the Trading Post? The young lady wearing all white!"

"Young lady! Stop staring at your screen! Look at me, old man!"

Cheng Shuili was not sure at first and turned her head to look left and right. The voice immediately piped up again: "Don't look around, young lady. I am talking about you. I am right here! Look down!"

Cheng Shuili lowered her head and only then noticed a little old man with a mouse head standing by her feet.

It was clearly a hamster. Cheng Shuili was not entirely sure of the specific breed, but she speculated it might be something like a Syrian hamster.

It was actually quite cute.

Cheng Shuili crouched down and asked: "What is the matter?"

The mouse old man became happy instantly. He squinted his eyes, smiled, and stroked his whiskers before taking a deep breath and saying excitedly: "You have good stuff on you!"

"Are you selling?"

Good stuff on her?

Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow. She did indeed have quite a few things on her.

They were all in the Abyss Ring.

All of her special items were in the Abyss Ring, along with the loot from those monsters and her medical supplies.

Now that the mouse old man had mentioned it, Cheng Shuili was not even sure what he had his eyes on.

The mouse old man was excited and started muttering to himself: "A discerning eye! Truly a discerning eye! I have not seen this thing in many years! I must buy this item today!"

He waited for a long time without receiving a reply from Cheng Shuili, so he said loudly: "Name your price!"

Cheng Shuili was genuinely startled. With such a small frame, how could the mouse old man have such a loud voice?

She had never raised a hamster in her previous life, but she guessed that hamsters probably did not make such loud noises, right?

She shook her head, cast the chaotic thoughts out of her mind, and asked politely:

"What is it that you want, sir?"

"Why ask such a thing?" The mouse old man seemed a bit angry, thumping his cane hard against the ground. "What other good stuff could you have on you! Quickly take it out and let me see the quality! If it is good enough, I will buy it all."

The mouse old man seemed afraid that Cheng Shuili might walk away, so he raised his hand and held up three fingers. "I will give you this much!"

"Thirty game coins?"

That was way too little.

Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow. She had roughly guessed what the old man was talking about; he was likely referring to the monster loot she was carrying.

"Thirty? What thirty! How could something like this be so cheap? The price I am offering is definitely the highest! I have spent my whole life collecting these things, and until now, I have been missing only one [Grease Monster Core]! I actually found it on you today, so I must get my hands on it!"

"Three thousand game coins! That is my bottom line. If the quality is good, I can raise the price even further. Quickly take it out and let me have a look!"

Three thousand?

Cheng Shuili clicked her tongue in secret. Had she run into a collector? The old man certainly did not look like he was short on money.

He was wearing a little vest, his leather shoes were polished to a black shine, and his trousers were crisp suit pants. He looked just like one of those old gentlemen from a certain country in her previous life.

Cheng Shuili took out the [Grease Monster Core].

The mouse old man looked as if he had seen a priceless treasure. His eyes lit up, he stood on his tiptoes to get a closer look, and he was so excited that even his whiskers were trembling.

"Good! Good! Good!" The mouse old man said "good" three times in a row, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"I have seen this before in the hands of a few old friends, but the one you have, young lady, is even better than theirs! Where did you get it?"

Cheng Shuili did not answer his question and simply smiled slightly: "Sir, now, what is your offer?"

The mouse old man narrowed his eyes, stroked his whiskers, and feigned deep thought for a moment before extending five short fingers:

"Five thousand game coins! At this price, no one will offer you more!"

Cheng Shuili felt a stir in her heart. She did not agree immediately but pretended to hesitate: "But this core is also very important to me... To tell you the truth, sir, this is an heirloom of our family. This price..."

Cheng Shuili was bullshitting with a straight face. It did not matter that it was not an heirloom before; it was now!

It would start being an heirloom from her!

The mouse old man panicked as soon as he heard this and waved his hands hurriedly: "Oh, young lady, how about this? I will add another five hundred—five thousand five hundred! If you are still not satisfied, I have other good things here that we can trade!"

Cheng Shuili took the opportunity to ask: "Oh? What else do you have?"

The mouse old man smiled mysteriously and pulled a yellowed list from his vest pocket, which was densely packed with the names and descriptions of various items.

He pointed to a few lines and said: "This is the industry of our family. Take a look; these are all top-quality, brand new, and just produced. If you are willing to trade, I will throw in some extra bullets for you."

Cheng Shuili glanced at the list. It was densely packed with various models of firearms, as well as bulletproof vests, grenades, C4, and so on...

It was the first time Cheng Shuili realized that there were firearms in this world.

Her internal alarm bells rang instantly!

Everyone knew:

Beyond three steps, the gun is fast!

Within three steps, the gun is accurate and fast.

Such a lethal weapon was practically a must-have for killing, looting, robbing, and committing murder!

Cheng Shuili felt a fire in her heart, but her face remained calm. She pinched the yellowed list and smiled: "You and this item have quite a bond, sir."

"A bond?" The mouse old man stroked his whiskers, then shook his head and sighed: "I come to this Trading Post every day to wait, just for this item. If it is truly a bond, it is one I have forced upon myself."