Chapter 216
The Shady Merchant Collects Debts
Chapter 216 The Shady Merchant Collects Debts
"Well said."
Lu Mingfei clapped his hands appropriately, then stared intently at the other person and continued, "But the problem is, you're a shrewd businessman, and I'm a penniless pauper. Do you think I can afford the price you're offering?"
Lu Mingfei had only ever heard the phrase "I want it all" before, when he was in an internet cafe during the early hours of summer vacation. Sausage, instant noodles, nutritional drinks, and cola—in short, the "I want it all" late-night snack package—was something he had never been willing to give up before.
Moreover, coming from Lu Mingze's mouth, it definitely gave off a doomsday vibe.
It's a very simple principle: how could a demon in hell possibly make a losing deal?
If Lu Mingfei dared to say he wanted it all, Lu Mingze would definitely leave him with nothing but his underwear. Just look at that supposedly divine weapon; it disappeared without a trace.
Manipulating people's hearts and controlling desires are the devil's specialty. Lu Mingfei is always on guard and will never allow himself to cross the line.
"Who says your brother can't afford it?" Lu Mingze's face revealed the standard villainous smile from a movie, and then he spread his arms and loudly announced, "If your brother wants it, even getting the whole world is a piece of cake."
"Let's calm down, let's calm down." Lu Mingfei wasn't intimidated by Martin Luther's grand "I Have a Dream" style of speech: "You've shown your true colors. I've known all along that Hell has been eyeing this world. Let's talk about something serious. You get what you pay for. You should settle your accounts first."
A hint of helplessness finally appeared on Lu Mingze's pretty face: "Seriously, we devils have our own pride too, okay?"
"We never deny that we sabotage and plot against you, and we always take responsibility afterwards. Look how much I've helped you! I even went through back channels for you when you contacted Tang Hao. I didn't even charge you. Do you think we don't have that basic trust between us?"
Lu Mingfei was genuinely moved by Lu Mingmingze's heartfelt self-defense; he looked like an abandoned stray cat, pitiful and aggrieved.
"Wait, wait." Lu Ming suddenly realized he was actually being somewhat persuaded. Startled, he quickly took a half step back, inwardly cursing the little devil's increasingly skillful sweet talk: "Don't try that on me. I know you too well. Tell me, what are you here for?"
He only realized now that Lu Mingze's appearance here was too coincidental; it was obvious that he had been watching him all along, preparing to take advantage of his vulnerability.
"Well, it's really hard to expand business these days. Our boss recently discovered during a warehouse audit that the souls of those few soul beasts aren't holding their value. He told me to quickly smooth out the price difference, or he'll dock my pay."
"I might even have to take back the pawned items. You certainly don't want to see that happen, do you?"
"You're not talking about Satan, are you?" Lu Mingfei was startled; he wouldn't dare take advantage of this big shot.
"Shh, keep it low-key, don't let anyone hear us. Let's settle the score first." Lu Mingze's tone suddenly lowered.
Lu Mingfei was at his wit's end; he didn't want to experience what it was like to be chased by Satan for debt.
Sure enough, there's no such thing as a free lunch. It's just that things get sweet first, then bitter later; it's just a matter of time.
"You go first, I'm listening." Lu Mingfei sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples. To avoid getting into serious trouble, he was determined to go all out this time.
Lu Mingze revealed a sly smile, then pulled out an abacus from behind his back, tapped and fiddled with it for a while, and finally said in a serious tone: "After doing the calculations, rounding up and down, if you give me a 100,000-year-old soul beast, my debt will be settled, and of course, yours will be settled too."
"As for the Martial Soul True Form and the Dragon Bone Form, I'll practically give them away at a friend's price, how about that?"
"Ten thousand years! Even loan sharks don't rob people like this!" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but shout, feeling like his eyes were about to pop out if he opened them any wider.
How could he not know the value of a 100,000-year-old soul beast?
Throughout the entire Douluo Continent, the only 100,000-year spirit ring he has ever seen is on Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer.
Not only are they difficult to obtain, but more importantly, their quantity is extremely limited, comparable to limited-edition items.
The only ones he had ever seen with his own eyes were the three in the Star Dou Great Forest: the Titan Giant Ape, the Bull-Headed Serpent, and the purebred True Dragon Emperor Tian.
He can't very well go to the Star Dou Great Forest and clash with Di Tian again, can he?
"Well, I can't do anything about it. Anyway, next time it might be my boss coming up to collect the debt. You figure it out yourself." Lu Mingze put away the abacus and pulled out an accounting notebook from behind his back. After writing in it, he tore it off and slammed it on his desk like a traffic cop issuing a ticket.
"I believe in your brother, good luck!" Lu Mingze clenched his fist in encouragement, then turned and left the room without looking back.
Only Lu Mingfei remained standing there, his expression even more stunned than dumbfounded.
"What the hell? This is so irresponsible!" Lu Mingfei was already considering whether to fight to the death and wait for their boss to come and complain about him in person.
However, he immediately dismissed this idea and stomped on it a few times.
What a joke! He has no desire to try what pork chop rice from hell tastes like!
"I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!" Repeating it three times, Lu Mingfei felt he was really going to have the worst luck ever.
Cheating might feel great for a moment, but it'll lead to disaster later. The old saying is definitely true.
"Calm down, calm down, Lu Mingfei, calm down! Think about it carefully!" Lu Mingfei patted his face, took a few deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down.
It's just a 100,000-year-old soul beast. When it was a Soul King, it could take on a Title Douluo. Now that it's a Quasi-Soul Saint, what's there to be afraid of!
The Star Dou Great Forest is absolutely out of the question, so the only option is the sea. However, the entire Soul Master community in Han Hai City knows that there are 100,000-year-old Soul Beasts in the sea, and the sea areas where they live are absolutely forbidden to humans.
The only good news is that we know the location, which is better than sending him to search for a needle in a haystack at sea.
But there was more bad news. Each of these three was more formidable than the last. The Demon Soul Great White Shark lived near Poseidon Island and was rumored to be Poseidon's mount.
The demonic orca has hundreds of subordinates, including dozens of ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts.
As for the Deep Sea Demon Whale, it is the closest to Hanhai City but also the most terrifying. Lu Mingfei has sensed the soul power fluctuations of the other party in the depths of the sea abyss. In terms of quantity, it is probably not far from Di Tian's. Moreover, this is at sea. Even if Di Tian came in person, he probably wouldn't be able to do anything.
After weighing the pros and cons, Lu Mingfei opened the door, faced the sea, and slowly revealed an extremely broken smile.
If he were to jump into the sea, would he be treated the same as Jingwei?