Determined, Sampo put on his usual grin. "No problem! If it's from you, Trailblazer, I'll gladly drink it. But—" He winked. "I doubt you came to find me just for a cup of coffee, right?"
Pei Guang: "Ah~ You got me. Yeah, I've got a question for you. The artifacts from the History and Culture Museum got stolen. Any idea who did it?"
Sampo: "Of course I do! Good ol' Sampo has connections, you know. Not only do I know who did it, but I also know some juicy secrets~"
Pei Guang's eyes lit up. "Now that's what I like to hear! Go on, spill it!"
He put the coffee away, and the moment he did, Sampo's gaze sparkled. "Well, then! I suppose I should start from the beginning—"
Pei Guang: "Skip to the important part. Just tell me how many artifacts you stole and how much you made."
Sampo: "Hehehe~ I may have made a little money dealing with artifacts recently. But hey! If you're interested in the profit, how about this—I'll give you a third—no! Half! How's that sound? But in exchange, I'd appreciate it if you didn't hand me over to the Silvermane Guards. Also, maybe don't tell them about… certain business ventures. If those guys find out, I'll be in big trouble~"
He put on an exaggeratedly worried face, but the grin never left his lips.
Because he knew Pei Guang wasn't the kind of guy who would actually cover for him over some pocket change.
But hey—what if he did?
That was the beauty of it! Two completely different possibilities, both exciting in their own ways. Just the thought made Sampo feel a thrill of anticipation.
Pei Guang: "No deal. You're offering way too little. There are four of us here, you know."
The words slammed into Sampo like a truck. His smile stiffened.
Then, from behind Pei Guang, Stelle, March 7th, and Pela stepped forward.
Pela, experiencing this kind of thing for the first time, found herself strangely nervous.
Sampo's eyes widened. "How about this instead—a fair split! 20% each!"
Pei Guang shook his head. "No, no, no, Sampo. You're misunderstanding something here. Not 20% each—25% shares each, at the very least."
Stelle nodded. "Exactly. 20% is too little. 25% each, at the very least."
Sampo did some quick math on his fingers. "Wait, wait—hold on. There are five of us. If everyone takes 25%… that's—"
March 7th pointed straight at Sampo. "That extra 25%? It's yours."
Sampo's brain screeched to a halt.
Something was very wrong.
He turned, ready to make a break for it—
But unfortunately for him, Pei Guang was faster.
Sampo struggled, tried to escape, but in front of the experienced Pei Guang, all his efforts were in vain.
And as Pei Guang force-fed Sampo the drink, his voice rang in Sampo's ears: "What do you mean, '30% for me, 70% for you'? Once I catch you, isn't everything mine? Drink up! Drink up! When you wake up, you'll have a nice all-inclusive stay waiting for you."
Watching Pei Guang's aggressively hospitable methods, Pela opened her mouth as if to say something, but then she noticed something odd—Sampo was smiling.
A happy, excited smile.
"...What's going on? Why does he look so happy?"
Without missing a beat, Pei Guang casually replied, "Maybe he's just thrilled to hear he's getting free food and lodging?"
Pela: "I really don't think that's why..."
Stelle: "Who knows? Maybe he thought of something fun right before passing out?"
Looking at the now-unconscious Sampo, Pei Guang clapped his hands together cheerfully. "No idea what he's thinking about, but I'm in a good mood. Alright, dear Sampo~ Let's see if you can give me something rare this time!"
Up until now, it was usually others looting Sampo. But this time, Pei Guang decided to do it himself, curious to see what he'd get from this walking loot box.
Pei Guang rummaged through Sampo's pockets, patting left and right, until finally—he pulled out something that definitely wasn't there before.
And the moment he did, his expression froze.
And not just any equipment. It was something with an incredibly messed-up concept.
Seeing Pei Guang's excited expression suddenly stiffen, March 7th curiously asked, "Huh? What's wrong? Did you get something bad?"
Pei Guang shook his head. "Not exactly… just… something very strange. Here, take a look."
He activated the item's special effect, and a skull appeared.
The moment March 7th saw it, she shuddered. "Eek—why's it so creepy? What is that thing?"
Pei Guang read the system description: "It's called… Player's Head."
Both Stelle and March 7th had massive question marks floating over their heads.
Pei Guang continued reading.
1) Can simulate the appearance of a person's head.
2) The simulated head can be used as a decoration, equipped as an accessory, or applied as a weapon effect.
After hearing the effect, Stelle and March 7th went silent. Pela, not understanding what they were talking about, wasn't fazed at all.
After an uncomfortably long pause, Stelle finally spoke. "...So it can simulate heads… Ah Guang, I dare you—"
Pei Guang had already activated the item.
The next second, he was holding his own head in his hands.
March 7th shuddered violently. "NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE. TOO CREEPY. PUT IT AWAY. NOW."
But Pei Guang, looking at his own head in his hands, was very pleased. "Actually, this is pretty good. I can use it as decoration, or for weapon effects… I wonder what it'll do if I equip it on a weapon? Hey, March, wanna try? My guess is, if you put it on your bow, all your arrows will turn into someone's head."
March 7th immediately shook her head like a rattle. "ABSOLUTELY NOT. Just picturing that is going to give me nightmares. This item is too weird. How about we… just get rid of it?"
Pei Guang refused. "No way. This thing is too useful. You never know when it might come in handy. What if we get a mission to eliminate someone we don't actually want to kill? We could just fake it with this. Look—this simulated head looks exactly like the real thing!"
Yeah, sure, it might be creepy to some people.
This was a god-tier item.
It was a collectible, a weapon effect, and a tactical tool all in one. In any normal game, something would be insanely rare.
With that in mind, Pei Guang looked down at the unconscious Sampo, his expression softening.
"Ahh~ What a guy. Seriously, how many rare items has he given us so far? I swear, we need to build a statue in his honor one day."
Because to a player, an NPC who constantly drops high-value loot?
That's an S-tier NPC.
Especially Sampo, who had never once disappointed them.
Marking his location for later, Pei Guang prepared to hand him over to the Silvermane Guards.
Of course, once Sampo inevitably escaped, they'd just track him down again.