10: Chapter 10 You call this junk?

In the center of Jianghai City, a bustling commercial pedestrian street.

A magnificent, golden building stood in a prime, high-value location, with a massive holographic signboard projecting three gold-plated characters into the air—Wanbao Tower.

This was the largest material acquisition firm in Jianghai City, and also the preferred destination for martial artists to fence goods, trade, and purchase equipment, with an unfathomable background.

Under the midday sun, luxury cars gathered at the entrance of Wanbao Tower. Those entering and exiting were either wealthy merchants in suits or official martial artists wearing high-grade alloy battle armor.

Lin Yuan wore a black tracksuit stained with dark red dried blood, his hair somewhat disheveled, and on his back, he carried a pack that was even larger than he was.

This getup made him look exactly like a scavenger who had just crawled out of a trash heap.

As he stepped into the spacious and bright lobby, a wave of cool air rushed to meet him, dispelling the heat on his body.

"Stop right there."

Before Lin Yuan could reach the counter, a young shop assistant hurried over, his face showing undisguised disgust as he reached out to block his path.

"Hey... you're a student, right? Don't you see that this is the VIP trading area? You're so filthy; can you afford to pay if you dirty the carpet?"

The assistant pointed to a narrow window in the corner of the lobby with an 'F-Zone' sign, where a long line of mostly ragged, low-level hunters was waiting:

"Go line up over there to recycle your junk. F-Zone specializes in collecting garbage like rabbit skins and scrap metal. Don't block the way for major clients here."

Lin Yuan stopped and gave him a calm look.

"I'm in a hurry."

"Heh? If you're in a hurry, go take a rocket!" The assistant was so amused by Lin Yuan's attitude that he laughed, "I'm talking to you nicely, and you don't understand, right? Do you really want me to call security to throw you out? Get lost to the F-Zone now, don't force me..."

His words were cut short, stuck in his throat.

Because Lin Yuan directly ignored him and walked straight to the luxurious counter built from white marble.

Then, he unslung the massive pack from his back.

Exerting force with his right hand, he slammed it fiercely onto the counter.

"Thud!!!"

A loud boom exploded instantly, and the entire lobby seemed to tremble. The customers nearby who were trading were startled and turned to look.

They saw that the surface of the white marble counter, under the heavy pressure of the pack, had actually cracked, leaving a visible fissure!

The assistant's eyes widened, his mouth opening wide enough to fit a duck egg.

"Call your best appraiser."

"Big business."

A moment later, a middle-aged appraiser slowly walked over.

"I am an appraiser at Wanbao Tower, Liu Sanjin. Young man, you made quite a racket. If your items aren't worth the cost of that cracked countertop, you won't be leaving today."

As Liu Sanjin spoke, he carelessly unzipped the pack.

"Clatter."

The pack opened, and a strong, pungent smell of blood instantly permeated the air.

Three neatly folded wolf skins, a few blood-stained beast cores, and a silver-blue battle blade with a notched edge.

Liu Sanjin was an old hand; he recognized at a glance that these were the skins of the E-rank peak-level ferocious beast, the Bloodthirsty Demon Wolf, and the skinning technique was perfect. As for that blade...

A trace of imperceptible greed flashed deep in his pupils.

A D-rank battle blade "Po Feng"! This was good stuff!

He adjusted his glasses, rolled his eyes, and immediately put on a regretful expression, shaking his head and sighing:

"Sigh, what a pity."

"Although these skins are intact, they are too fresh and haven't been tanned yet. The smell is too strong, and post-processing will be very troublesome. And this blade..."

"A D-rank alloy blade, the core inscription is damaged, it's basically scrap metal. The cost of repair is more expensive than buying a new one, and on top of that, the market is bad right now..."

He held up three fingers, looking as if he were taking a huge loss:

"Final price, thirty thousand for the whole lot. It's only because I see you're a student and it's not easy for you that I'm offering such a high price. If it were anyone else, twenty thousand would be the limit."

"Thirty thousand?"

Among the crowd watching the spectacle, a few knowledgeable martial artists frowned slightly. This was obviously an excessively harsh price suppression.

Just those three wolf skins alone were worth more than that amount, but Liu Sanjin was notoriously black-hearted, and since he was a man of Wanbao Tower, no one wanted to meddle in other people's business.

"Thirty thousand?"

"Master Liu, is it? Are you bullying me because I don't know the market, or do you think you're blind?"

"Kid, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! I, Liu Sanjin, have been appraising treasures for thirty years and have never misjudged anything!"

"Is that so?"

"Three Bloodthirsty Demon Wolf skins, with smooth incisions on the abdomen and no damage to the fur on the back, these are special-grade raw skins. On the market, an ordinary wolf skin goes for thirty thousand, and a special-grade one is at least fifty thousand. Three of them would be one hundred and fifty thousand!"

"This blade, the D-rank alloy battle blade 'Po Feng', was produced by the Jianghai Arsenal three years ago. Although there is a notch in the edge, it hasn't damaged the core spirit-conducting inscription. As long as the edge is recast, even if sold as second-hand, it's worth at least two hundred thousand!"

"Plus these E-rank beast cores, the market price is eighty thousand."

With every sentence Lin Yuan spoke, Liu Sanjin's face turned a shade paler.

"Items with a total value of four hundred and thirty thousand, and you open your mouth to offer thirty thousand? You want to swindle me out of four hundred thousand? Aren't you afraid that this money will be too hot to handle and shatter all your teeth?!"

"Whoa—!"

The lobby was in an uproar.

Liu Sanjin was left speechless, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He hadn't expected that this seemingly destitute student was actually an expert!

In a fit of shame and anger, he roared, putting on a brave front:

"Nonsense! This is Wanbao Tower; I say what it's worth! What does a brat like you know? Someone! Security! Someone is causing trouble here, throw him out and confiscate his items!"

Since he had been exposed, he would just rob him openly!

Anyway, he was just a student without a background; could he really turn the sky upside down?

"Step, step, step!"

Seven or eight burly men holding electric batons immediately surrounded him.

"Let's see who dares to move."

Lin Yuan's eyes turned cold.

He grabbed the 'Po Feng' battle blade with a backhand grip and drew it fiercely.

Although the blade was notched, in Lin Yuan's hands, a suffocating murderous aura instantly exploded forth.

The temperature around them seemed to drop by a few degrees instantly.

"Stop!!!"

A middle-aged fat man came running down, stumbling and scrambling. He was the lobby manager of Wanbao Tower, and having seen this scene on the surveillance monitor just moments ago, he was scared out of his wits.

"All of you, back off!"

"Smack!"

This slap directly sent Liu Sanjin's glasses flying.

"You bastard! How are you talking to a guest?!"

Liu Sanjin covered his face, bewildered: "Manager, he..."

"Shut up!"

"This little brother, I'm sorry, I am truly sorry! My subordinate didn't know any better and offended you. I apologize to you!"

His gaze glanced reverently at the battle blade in Lin Yuan's hand.

As a well-informed black market manager, he knew very well what a troublesome bunch the "Vulture Brothers" were; even ordinary Second-Rank Martial Artists wouldn't want to provoke them.

Now, this blade appeared in the hands of this youth, and he was filled with such a murderous aura...

What did this mean?

A ruthless person capable of wiping out the Vulture gang, and Liu Sanjin actually wanted to swindle his money? Was he tired of Wanbao Tower being open for too long?

"Little brother, this blade, and these materials, I want them all!"

Ten minutes later, Lin Yuan was sitting on the leather sofa in the VIP lounge.

The transaction was completed.

He didn't sell the star spirit grass, keeping it for his younger sister. The remaining materials plus that blade sold for a total of 500,000.

Added to the 150,000 cash card he got from looting the bodies, plus the few thousand he originally had left.

His total assets instantly soared to 680,000 Alliance Credits!

"The feeling of sudden wealth is indeed not bad."

"I want to buy ten 'Intermediate Blood Qi Pills'." Lin Yuan said to the fat manager.

"Ten?!"

Intermediate Blood Qi Pills were for official martial artists to break through realms, and one pill cost 30,000! The medicinal effect was extremely potent; an ordinary quasi-martial artist would need half a month to digest just one. This youth wanted ten in one go? Was he eating them like jelly beans?

"What, don't you have them?" Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes, we do! I'll arrange for them to be brought over immediately!" The fat manager didn't dare ask more.

"Additionally, I need a blade."

Lin Yuan's gaze fell upon a long black blade in the center of the display case.

The blade was pitch black, with a slender body and a cold, chilling gleam on its edge, as if it could swallow light.

C-rank alloy battle blade—"black moon".

Price tag: 350,000.

"That's the one."

Lin Yuan waved his hand, radiating extravagance.

Half an hour later, Lin Yuan walked out the door with the brand-new black moon battle blade on his back and ten bottles of valuable medicinal pills tucked in his arms.

Passersby looked at this spirited youth and turned to watch him.

"Which young master is this? I just saw him buy a C-rank battle blade without even blinking!"

"Today's young people are truly incredible..."

Lin Yuan ignored these comments; he touched the warm medicinal pills and the star spirit grass, looking toward the direction of the hospital with a determined gaze.

"Xiaoya, big brother is coming."