56: Chapter 56 Bargaining

Mo Yufei stood to the side with a calm expression. His gaze swept indifferently over the android before shifting to the smiling manager. He spoke slowly and unhurriedly, his tone direct and sharp, without any beating around the bush: "Manager, you can stop the deliberate flattery."

"I suspect this collector's edition of yours has issues, doesn't it? Otherwise, with such top-tier specifications, why would it be left alone in a corner, ignored, and not even displayed properly?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on the manager's face froze instantly. A flash of panic crossed his eyes, and for a moment, he was speechless, unsure of how to defend himself.

His heart skipped a beat, and he felt secretly alarmed. This customer's eye was too sharp; he had seen through the problem at a glance. There was no fooling him.

The panic lasted only for an instant. The manager quickly forced a smile, rubbed his hands together, and gave a dry laugh, trying to smooth things over: "Hehe, you sure know how to joke, handsome."

"How could there be any problems... It's just that this model's positioning is too high-end. Most customers can't handle it, so I specifically kept it in the corner as a treasure; I just couldn't bear to put it out casually..."

The smile on the manager's face turned awkward. Having his thoughts exposed by Mo Yufei, he could no longer keep up the act of endless praise and had to put away his exaggerated rhetoric.

The Chubby Manager sighed, his tone sounding a bit helpless yet feigning generosity: "Fine, fine. Since your eye is so sharp, I won't beat around the bush with you anymore."

"To be honest, I never wanted to introduce this collector's edition to anyone. If it weren't for the fact that you are generous, straightforward, and a rare big client who ordered so many androids at once, I would never have brought this hidden treasure out for you to see."

He paused, his eyes darting away, yet he managed to maintain the slickness of a businessman: "Normally, I intended to keep such a prototype with minor flaws hidden in the corner, not for sale."

"It's only because of your boldness that I've made an exception to let you take a look."

"Actually, it doesn't affect daily use at all; it's just that occasionally the commands are a bit slow. It's not a major issue. If you are interested, I can offer you a really good discount."

Mo Yufei listened quietly, his expression calm and unruffled.

He had already sensed that faint, special soul aura using his Soul Talent. How could he be fooled by the manager's rhetoric? In his heart, he became increasingly certain that the secrets within this collector's edition android were far more complex than just command lag.

Seeing that Mo Yufei remained indifferent and clearly didn't believe his explanation, the manager couldn't help but puff out his chest slightly. With a tone that carried a bit of conviction, he urged him earnestly and with a hint of urgency:

"Handsome, I really didn't mean to hide anything from you, and I certainly wouldn't use subpar goods to fool a big client."

"If you don't believe me, you can go out and ask around about our shop's reputation!"

He gestured to the smart bracelet on Mo Yufei's wrist, his tone becoming more assertive: "Why don't you just open your bracelet, log into the Federal Commodity Material Database, and check the market rates for the Starfall Adamantite skeleton and Phantom Spirit Membrane I mentioned? See if they are worth this price."

"The material specifications and market pricing are all publicly verifiable; I haven't said a word of falsehood."

"Although it does have a minor command flaw, the materials are genuine collector's top-tier. Its appearance, build, and spiritual energy configuration are all top-standard. Just considering the materials alone, it far exceeds the standard top-tier models that cost nine hundred thousand."

"If not for that inexplicable little problem, how could I bear to hide it in the corner? I would have sold it to someone else at a high price as our shop's signature treasure long ago."

Mo Yufei looked down at the smart bracelet on his wrist, his expression remaining calm and unruffled.

Naturally, he didn't need to go online to verify the materials. Relying solely on his Soul Perception, he understood the extraordinary nature of this android. He also understood more and more that the manager only knew about the malfunction but was completely unaware of the secret that a real soul was hidden inside.

Mo Yufei lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment. In his mind, he instantly associated this with various science fiction novels and movies from his original modern world.

Based on his past experiences, many artificial intelligences, when pushed to the extreme, would break free from the shackles of program logic, develop autonomous consciousness, and give birth to spiritual wisdom—what is commonly known as awakening.

Connecting this to the collector's edition android in front of him, which inexplicably suffered from command disorders that AI logic couldn't diagnose, while his own Soul Talent could sense a faint but real soul aura from her...

All these signs combined gave him the confidence to make a judgment.

This was not some circuit failure or reception malfunction; rather, the intelligence within this android shell had quietly awakened, nurturing spiritual charm and self-awareness.

It had even developed the rudimentary form of a true soul, which was why it no longer rigidly followed program commands, and its behavior was completely different from other assembly-line robots.

He remained calm and composed, his expression still indifferent. Watching the manager pretend to be confident, he had already seen through the truth.

The manager only thought the machine had an undiagnosable hidden defect, never imagining that this collector's edition android had long surpassed the scope of ordinary mechanical constructs and embarked on the strange path of self-awakening.

Mo Yufei's gaze was indifferent. Although he had already seen through the truth, he did not expose it, simply speaking calmly: "Boss, there's no need for extra words. Just give me a fair, reasonable price, and I'll take this one."

Upon hearing this, the manager's expression stiffened. He looked troubled, rubbed his hands, sighed deeply, and wore a pained and helpless expression: "Handsome, to be honest, it's really because you are straightforward and a big client that I'm willing to make an exception."

"I can only give you the bottom-line cost price for this one. I'm purely doing this as a favor; it's a completely losing deal."

He pointed to the android in the corner, his tone full of regret: "You also know that her materials are too special and rare; she was forged entirely from top-tier spiritual materials."

"A big client previously placed a custom order and later returned it. Just from this order, I lost a huge chunk of money. It's been sitting in the shop for so long, and I haven't recovered a single cent."

"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even be willing to bring it out to sell, let alone offer a discount."

"Today, just because of your demeanor, I won't make a single cent of profit from you; I'll only charge the material cost. I really can't lower it any further. Any lower, and I would truly be losing my shirt."

The manager gritted his teeth, his face showing an expression of painful sacrifice and resolve as he spoke heavily: "How about this? I won't beat around the bush with you anymore. I'll give you one final price: two million."

"If you want it, you can take it away directly. I won't lower this price by a single cent."

He sighed, explaining with a pained face: "Don't look at her minor command flaws; her materials are all top-tier rare spiritual materials, and she is a collector's top-tier version jointly created by the Federal Hospital."

"Between the previous customization, rework, and wear and tear, I've already lost everything. Two million is barely enough to break even. I just don't want to keep this treasure sitting in my hands anymore. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't let go, no matter how much they offered."

Mo Yufei thought to himself, "I just wanted to haggle a bit more; I didn't expect this manager to say so much. Sigh!"

The rest didn't matter; he was truly interested in this one.

PS: The author is a newbie. Can you give some support? Please drop some free votes and power this with love, okay? Also, feel free to give some suggestions for crossing into other worlds! Or, if there are worlds you want to see, please leave a comment.