"There’s always been people like that, but ever since players came along, it seems like things have gotten even worse," Sima Xiao’er said to himself. "I really wish the Special Defense Department could step it up a notch and keep these players in line."
"It’s no surprise that desperados who live day by day would do anything," Xu Huo said calmly. Right now it was just the beginning, but when a large number of players become Level D Players and instances become a buffer zone for escape, even more lawless people would emerge.
"So, there’s no way to handle them?" Sima Xiao’er angrily pounded the steering wheel. "Bullying the weak doesn’t count for anything. If they’re tough, they should go pick fights with players from other zones... Brother Xu, you’ve been to other zones, how do they deal with these players there?"
"Brute force suppression," replied Xu Huo. "Wherever the game zones are relatively peaceful, the local governments have a large number of efficient players under their command, and there’s also been a lot of progress with weapons."
"But that still won’t stop players from using tickets to escape, will it? Who can catch them with tickets?"
"Once they leave, unless they never come back, they’ll always have some apprehension. Plus, there’s a way to limit tickets, which is to have players enter an instance; those who start to clear an instance can’t use tickets again until it’s over."
Sima Xiao’er heaved a long sigh. "That’s still a long way off. Even if you want to deal with those people, you at least have to enter the same instance."
Xu Huo didn’t make things too clear. Zone 014 was so large, there definitely would be people who knew about the relationship between instances and their holders, but it was hard to say if there were other people who had obtained Instance Authorization Documents.
Twenty minutes later, their car finally reached the toy shop Sima Xiao’er mentioned.
The name was very down-to-earth, called "Master Craftsman Handicraft Shop." Looking inside, it did resemble a toy store, with toy guns, prop swords, mini tanks, cannon barrels, figurines, keychains, or stickers, brushes, sketchbooks, etc. Smaller items even included rings and bracelets.
The items were exquisitely made, all miniature versions, but each item, including the stickers, were locked inside glass cabinets, not allowing for handling, and all were priced exorbitantly. There was even a doll monitor hanging in the middle of the shop; wherever people went, it watched them, its eyeballs lifelike.
"Boss, are you making up these prices? Daring to ask for two hundred thousand for a sticker," Sima Xiao’er said to an old man dozing off behind the counter.
"You young man, do you even know how to speak? Of course, it’s priced at two hundred thousand because it’s worth two hundred thousand White Notes," the old man removed the hat covering his face, revealing a face resembling a Maitreya Buddha’s, smiling and sizing them up.
"Two hundred thousand White Notes!" Sima Xiao’er’s eyes almost popped out.
"You thought it was Paper Money?" The old man waved his hand dismissively, his gaze then falling upon Xu Huo. "Why are you carrying an umbrella when it’s not raining?"
Xu Huo had hung the "Umbrella of Justice" on his arm when he got out of the car. He smiled and said, "I heard you also repair things here, so I wanted to see if you could take a look at my umbrella."
He handed the umbrella over, and the old man, putting on glasses, opened it and then closed it again. "There’s not much wrong with it, it’s just been tampered with by someone. But now it’s fine," he said.
Xu Huo confirmed the man’s identity and then asked, "Can’t you enhance the umbrella’s effect a bit?"
The old man looked up at him briefly. "You have so many good items on you, there’s no need to waste effort on an umbrella."
"That’s true," acknowledged Xu Huo, glancing at the toys on the shelves. "Are these for sale to the public?"
"Of course they’re for sale, but the store prioritizes all types of ore. If the quality of the ore is good, it can be exchanged directly. White Notes and common Paper Money come after that," the old man said. "I’m not short on money recently, so without ore, there’s no deal."
"There’s such a way of doing business!" Sima Xiao’er was speechless.
The old man was straightforward, "Could you afford it if you were asked to pay?"
Sima Xiao’er choked, then patted Xu Huo’s arm, "I can’t afford it, but my Brother Xu can!"
Xu Huo: I’m sorry, I can’t afford it either.
He had basically spent all his money when he was buying items in Zone 011, and now he was left with just 220,000 White Notes, barely enough to buy a sticker.
However, he had obtained quite a few ores in Deep Blue Island and Clown City.
The old man immediately put on gloves, laid out sandpaper on the counter, and asked him to display the ores on it.
Xu Huo picked out some that looked similar. The old man only gave a brief glance at those from Deep Blue Island before setting them aside, but when he got to the stone from Clown City, he cautiously switched his glasses and looked it over twice. After a long time, he finally smiled, "Not bad, Rank-A Ore, I’ll take it."
"What grade is Rank-A Ore?" Sima Xiao’er interjected.
"The best below S-rank," the old man looked at Xu Huo, "is this the only piece you have?"
"Only one piece," Xu Huo said, "I got it from another player."
Seeing the other party’s look of regret, he asked, "Is this kind of ore hard to find?"
"You could say it’s quite hard to find." The old man added, "But Rank-A Ore usually comes in clusters. It could be a large vein. It’s really a pity that you don’t know the source."
"What can I exchange it for?" Xu Huo asked.
The old man pointed his chin at the stickers on the side, "Anything in the range of two or three hundred thousand White Notes, you choose; I’ll consider the other ores as a bonus, up to a limit of 400,000 White Notes."
"A piece of stone not even as big as a fist is worth 200,000 White Notes?" Sima Xiao’er was shockingly surprised, then enviously and regretfully said to Xu Huo, "Brother Xu, you really should have found out where the ore came from. If it really were a mine, you’d be rich!"
Xu Huo also seemed very surprised, but then shook his head, "Such good stuff is definitely fought over by many, or it’s in a very dangerous place. Even if I knew the location, it wouldn’t be my turn."
The old man just smiled and said nothing.
Xu Huo went to choose items, while Sima Xiao’er scooped up the ores in a bundle, told the owner "I’ll give them to you after the selection," then moved close to Xu Huo, lowered his voice, and asked, "Brother Xu, are these really all props?"
Xu Huo nodded, examining each item in the glass case. The value of that piece of ore truly exceeded his expectations. It wasn’t the Nüwa Stone given by Xin Lang, but just a few random pieces he picked up in the underground King Fungus Growth Area. One of those pieces was worth a slightly inferior Level D Item.
"I have a question, is this kind of ore a raw material for making items?" he asked, turning his head back.
"Sort of, but the kind you brought is more commonly used to make weapons," the old man, supporting his belly, walked over and asked, "What type of item do you want? I have both attack and defense type items here, as well as storage, domestic, and entertainment items. Since you have the ore, you can add some money and buy a better item if you want."
"I understand attack and defense types, but what are domestic and entertainment type items?" Sima Xiao’er inquired with confusion.