"Done!"

That single word was practically forced out through gritted teeth.

They had actually managed to strike a deal.

"This month, Lorren has indeed been engaged in significant conflicts with neighboring countries. The military will probably want to place an order for these Nation Destruction Level Demons, too."

Lu Cang mentally compared the purchasing power of this world to that of Earth.

Of course, it was difficult to draw a direct equivalence between the goods available in the two worlds.

Things like Recovery Potions and Magic, for example, were impossible to buy on Earth, no matter what.

But there were still some commonalities.

By a rough conversion, 20 silver coins was a considerable amount of money.

In this world, a Level 2 Professional who didn’t take risks would only earn a monthly salary of 10 to 20 silver.

That meant a single gold coin was worth nearly half a year’s wages for an average Professional.

Thinking back, that celebration banquet the other group had cost 2 gold and 26 silver coins. One could only imagine how extravagant that was.

And this luxury hotel, at 100 gold coins a night, was the very definition of opulence.

One hundred and twenty million gold coins.

That wasn’t an amount one could just pull out of thin air.

"Here are twenty million gold coins." The other party handed over a paper contract.

’Oh?’

’So this world uses contracts instead of bank cards?’

’It made sense. In a world with Magic, a contract was obviously more binding than a bank card.’

"What about the rest?"

The Vice Chairman’s mouth twitched.

"Even for our Ten Thousand Merchandise Association, a sum of over a hundred million gold coins can’t be withdrawn on a whim..."

"If we disburse too much from our accounts at once, it will disrupt the Association’s cash flow."

"We will deposit the remaining amount into your contract account within five months, with payments made on the first of each month."

Chi Cheng said, "No problem. We hope you don’t forget about this during the Forgotten Moon."

"With the contract in place, we naturally won’t forget."

After the 12th month, the month of Death and Destruction, came the 1st month, the month of Forgetting.

During this month, people became more forgetful, so in the 1st month, many would keep diaries or use similar methods to remember important things.

But the month was still a headache. After all, once something was forgotten, it couldn’t be recalled, and it was hard to write down every single thing in a diary.

"Well, we’ll be leaving then."

"Remember to make the payments."

With that, he waved goodbye and led Lu Cang away.

Watching Chi Cheng’s departing figure, the Vice Chairman let out a long sigh.

But when he turned to look at the shipment, his eyes lit up again.

This shipment was enough to generate over a billion gold coins in profit over the next few decades.

If utilized well, they could even build a new brand for the Association specializing in high-end products made from Nation Destruction Level Demons.

...

They opened a contract account at the Ten Thousand Merchandise Association.

A circular pattern appeared on the back of Lu Cang’s hand. The pattern glowed faintly upon activation, then faded away.

This was a money contract.

With this contract, he could deposit or withdraw gold coins there.

As for issues like the contract being destroyed... well, it was protected by multiple overlapping Restrictions, making it theoretically impossible to break.

It would save a lot of space.

It also prevented certain Thief-class Professionals from stealing one’s Storage Bag or Storage Ring.

Twenty million gold coins were deposited directly into Lu Cang’s account.

According to Chi Cheng, the first sixty million would go to Lu Cang, and the subsequent sixty million would be his.

’Chi Cheng, I thought you were a cheapskate who made others pay for your drinks. Looks like I was wrong about you.’

...

Listening to the Sound of Spring Flowing

So elegant, so very elegant.

To think that a world like this would have such a refined establishment.

Soaking in a pool that reflected shimmering golden light, he heard that the water was actually a Potion concocted by a Pharmacist.

After the soak, his whole body did feel incredibly comfortable.

After finishing the medicinal bath, they went up to the fifth floor.

A line of beautiful women in black stockings stood in a row.

’Chi Cheng, is this massage you mentioned on the level?’

The massage was, in fact, perfectly legitimate.

But the techniques of this Otherworld were truly different. It made his whole body feel comfortable, as if waves of warm energy were weaving through his muscles and bones.

He heard that the technicians were Level 3 Healing Mages, proficient in the principles of life. They could use their techniques to infuse Life Force, alleviating fatigue and restoring one’s Spirit...

While enjoying it, Lu Cang couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

’They’re professionals, all right. Completely different from the ones on Earth.’

"Mmm~"

"Ugh~"

"Ahh~"

’But, Chi Cheng, can you please not make such ungodly noises?’

’I really don’t want to hear a grown man groaning like that.’

"Mmmm—"

Then again, the technique really was so comfortable it made him hum lightly in spite of himself.

...

By the time the relaxing session was over, it was already late at night.

Chi Cheng asked, "So? What do you think of this great place I told you about?"

"It’s certainly... not bad."

Chi Cheng hadn’t actually taken him to some seedy brothel.

This was indeed a legitimate place for bathing and relaxation.

The medicinal bath and the technicians were more high-end and professional than usual, but aside from that, there was nothing else.

’Of course... Lu Cang couldn’t guarantee that the shop didn’t offer any *improper* services, but since he was just a kid, Chi Cheng wouldn’t actually lead him astray.’

Back at the hotel, Lu Cang reviewed the day’s events.

Souls: 35.22 million.

Gold Coins: 20.14 million.

In just one day, his earnings were overflowing. He even got to enjoy himself and eliminate all his fatigue.

’Life in this Otherworld is actually pretty great.’

...

「The next morning.」

When Lu Cang woke up, the first thing he did was head out to collect souls.

He left the City in the Circle, galloped for several dozen kilometers, and found the Sealing Land of the Thousand Army Ant Mountain.

million.

million.

million.

...

97.25 million souls.

’Overnight, so many new ants have been born.’

Lu Cang was reminded of a science video he had seen: if you rolled all 8 billion humans into a sphere, you would get a giant meatball less than a kilometer in diameter.

The space Chi Cheng had carved out inside this mountain was also about a kilometer long and wide. It wasn’t as tall, but it could definitely accommodate several hundred million fist-sized Black Ants without a problem.

After collecting the souls, Lu Cang didn’t forget to close the Seal properly.

By the time he returned, it was almost noon.

"Brother Chi Cheng, morning."

Chi Cheng yawned. "No grinding today. I’m going to go help Kumilolita."

His Sacrifice ability wasn’t going to disappear anyway.

Farming money could wait for a bit.

Arriving on the 30th floor, Lu Cang found that Pari was surprisingly not there... He recalled the last time she had disappeared.

A trace of unease flickered in his heart.

But then he thought, ’This is the City in the Circle.’

’One of Lorren’s five great cities, and Chi Cheng, Kumironi, and Obades are all here.’

’What the hell am I worried about...’

’Even if the sky falls, it won’t hit me.’

Mysterious Magical Items Shop

"Boss."

Lu Cang had returned to the shop.

"Oh, it’s Little Lu Cang!"

"Your Magic Wand is still being worked on. It’ll be a while longer. What’s the matter? Can’t wait?"

Lu Cang chuckled. "Haha, no, I just wanted to buy some other Magic Tools."

"Look around. Let me know what you want, I’ll give you a discount."

The owner seemed to be busy in the back room.

So Lu Cang browsed around the shop.

The sales clerk finally came over to do his job. "Hey, little man. What can I get for you?"

Lu Cang asked, "What do you have here in terms of highly defensive Magic Tools?"

"This Magic Robe has a Level 4 Arrow Evasion Enchantment. It can automatically disrupt the trajectory of an Arrow."

"This Magic Robe is enchanted with a Dulling ward, making it difficult for sharp weapons to penetrate."

...

After listening to his introductions for a moment, Lu Cang simply gestured with a sweep of his hand.

"There. I’ll take all of these."

Seeing Lu Cang’s gesture, the clerk’s mouth twitched.

"You mean... all of them?"

"Yes, all of them."

"Haha... Bro, our merchandise isn’t like other shops’. These are all premium items. Every single one costs tens of thousands of Gold Coins, at minimum."

However, when he saw the unwavering smile on Lu Cang’s face,

he realized that Lu Cang wasn’t joking at all.

Immediately... he started taking down all the Magic Robes from the wall for Lu Cang.

Twenty-five Magic Robes.

All of various colors and styles.

"Oh, and these rings..."

"These pendants."

"Those boots over there, give me ten pairs of those, too."

’What the?’

’Dude?’

’Are you here to stock up for your own shop or something?’