Chapter 1031: Forcible Buying and Selling
Helen Town.
This was a bustling town nestled by a lakeside.
Ling Zhan had at least spent an entire afternoon going through materials and doing his homework in advance.
This bustling town was also divided into inner and outer zones.
The inner area was a safe zone.
The outer area wasn't a safe zone, but it had still developed into a residential district.
Many adventurers gathered here, and most of them didn't have identity passes.
After all, to get an identity pass, one must first qualify for the trials.
But those trial qualifications weren't easy for the average person to obtain.
So...
In the Upper Realm, there were still many Professionals mixing around in the wild towns.
And towns like this, which weren't in the safe zone, were bustling and lively, but also undeniably chaotic.
What could be seen was...
As you walked along the street, you could clearly sense countless sinister gazes secretly watching you.
Within those gazes were scrutiny, probing, curiosity, malice, and even killing intent.
Of course...
There seemed to be an unspoken rule here: no fighting allowed. If a fight broke out, the enforcers would arrest you.
The enforcers were also managed by the official organization within the town.
If you had a grudge with someone, the solution was simple: go up to the arena.
The reason Helen Town was so lively wasn't just because it accommodated Professionals—it also had several dungeons.
Professionals could run dungeons here.
Of course...
Entry tickets had to be bought with Holy Coins.
Naturally, those Holy Coins would go into the hands of Helen Town's mayor.
Though it was just a small town, under the bright sunlight and from afar, the flow of people and its bustling vibe weren't any weaker than Kost City.
That was the cleverness of Helen Town's mayor.
The outer zone was specially opened up by him.
While other major cities refused to accept Professionals without identity passes, he was willing to take them in.
Why?
Because those Professionals still had money.
No matter whether someone was a legal citizen or not—if they had money, then money was to be made.
With the added income from dungeon ticket sales,
Many Professionals without identity passes came here, and even quite a few adventurers planned to settle here for a while.
After Ling Zhan arrived, he immediately sought out a trading market.
The reason he came was to exchange some Holy Coins for himself.
Over in Kost City, Professionals without identity passes weren't allowed to exchange for Holy Coins.
They didn't even have trading privileges.
But here, it was possible to exchange for Holy Coins.
Of course...
The amount of Holy Coins you could exchange was limited.
Ling Zhan didn't think too much about it and directly took out some items he had stashed in his storage ring.
Don't forget, he diligently trained every day and completed the system's daily quests.
The rewards from the system's daily quests varied and weren't repetitive.
Some were high-grade pills, while others were incredibly rare materials.
Thanks to the random loot bags.
If something good came out, Ling Zhan kept it for himself.
If it wasn't good, he tossed it or sold it to exchange for Holy Crystals.
Now, all transactions here were done with Holy Coins.
Without Holy Coins, you couldn't move an inch.
So of course, Ling Zhan came here intending to get some Holy Coins.
The process to exchange Holy Coins was simple: take out the goods for appraisal, then get a price estimate based on the quality.
If both parties were satisfied with the negotiation, the deal went through.
If neither side agreed on the price, the deal would fall through.
What Ling Zhan brought out wasn't a high-level item—a three-star Holy Artifact.
This three-star Holy Artifact was called the 'Sun and Moon Heart-Guard Mirror.'
As the name implied, it was a piece of life-saving equipment.
When worn, it provided a shield equal to 50% of the user's HP and could block true damage.
It also granted two chances to avoid death.
Though not high-level, it was top-tier survival gear.
Most importantly, it could be used as a base item to upgrade.
Based on Ling Zhan's understanding of Upper Realm market prices, he estimated it to be worth around 5,000 Holy Coins.
The Sun and Moon Heart-Guard Mirror was definitely worth that price—it was a quality item he had gotten from a random loot bag.
And reality proved him right.
The shopkeeper handling the deal was a frogman.
When he saw the item's attributes and description,
his eyes lit up.
Jackpot!
This was definitely a rare survival item!
No need to say more—it was definitely worth 5,000 Holy Coins.
And the most important part?
He could flip it and sell it to those squishy classes—God knows how many would want it.
"1,000 Holy Coins!"
However, this frogman shopkeeper really had a black heart.
Something worth 5,000 Holy Coins—and that could easily resell for 7,000—was being offered a buy-in price of just 1,000 by his mouth.
"Not selling."
Ling Zhan shook his head and calmly stretched out his hand to the frogman. "Give it back. I'll sell it to someone else."
"Whoa, kid, don't be hasty! Not satisfied with the price? I'll go up to 2,000 Holy Coins, how's that?"
The frogman still gripped the Sun and Moon Heart-Guard Mirror tightly, smiling slyly.
Return it?
Hah!
Not a chance!
This isn't a safe zone!
The item's in my hands—why would I give it back?
Do you even know how many years I, Toad San, have been running things around here?
"The price is still too low. Give me 5,000 Holy Coins and it's yours. If not, hand it back—I'll sell it elsewhere."
Ling Zhan shook his head.
2,000 Holy Coins...
Hah!
Even 5,000 Holy Coins felt like he was underselling it!
For those squishy classes, this item had deadly appeal.
Two death immunities and a high shield effect greatly increased survivability.
It could help you survive in dungeons or wild battles.
Ling Zhan was only selling it at 5,000 because he was broke and needed Holy Coins fast.
If he wasn't low on money, there's no way he'd sell it.
"3,000 Holy Coins!"
"That's the highest I'll go!"
"Kid, you should be satisfied!"
Seeing Ling Zhan still shaking his head, the frogman's tone turned grim.
He even threatened, "Don't forget—this ain't a safe zone…"
As he spoke, his gaze landed on several Professionals inside the shop with strong auras.
All of them were above level 300—clearly the shop's hired muscle.
At that moment…
Ling Zhan understood—the guy was trying to force the sale.
The reason he was so fearless was because this wasn't a safe zone. Technically, this counted as the wild.
The shopkeeper's meaning was loud and clear.
In other words: "Since this isn't a safe zone, if I want to kill you, I can do it anytime. You better behave and sell me the item… or else, heh heh!"