"Bro, trust me. I swear on the character of the Black Shores' leader, this thing is definitely authentic."
Another brand-new sunrise. Everyone passing by the flower house, both Bloom Bearers and guest officials, saw the same scene.
A handsome white-haired boy was holding a square machine wearing a top hat and a bow tie, muttering something to it. That square robot was none other than the Black Shores' "merchant", Ku Money.
"Beep beep. Aside from the Shorekeeper, only a few Bloom Bearers have ever seen the leader of the Black Shores. I cannot determine whether your statement is true."
Hearing this, Zane immediately got annoyed.
'You can question my character, but you can't question my judgment!'
He cautiously glanced around, making sure there were no spies from Rover nearby. Then he quickly reached out, hooked an arm around Ku Money's square head, and lowered his voice.
"Bro, I swear to you, what I've got can definitely sell for a good price."
Don't be fooled by Ku Money's dull, not-too-bright appearance. In the Black Shores, its title might be "merchant," but it's read as "profiteer."
The moment it heard "good price," Ku Money didn't care whether the goods were legitimate. A huge smiling face immediately appeared on its otherwise expressionless screen.
"Easy to say, easy to say. Show me the goods first. If they really sell well, we split it seventy-thirty."
"No way, that's too much of a loss for you." Zane raised his brows and waved his hand grandly. "We're bros. How could I let you take the loss?"
Ku Money froze for a moment. Its mechanical brain began spinning rapidly.
In its memory, everyone called it a profiteer, yet the items it sold were actually cheaper than those in other countries.
Everyone always tried to squeeze money out of it, but today, it had met its Mona Lisa.
This newly arrived white-haired Bloom Bearer didn't look at it with prejudice. He truly treated it like a brother.
Ku Money was deeply moved, almost wanting to swear brotherhood with Zane on the spot. Not seeking to live on the same day, but to die on the same day.
But unfortunately, it was just a robot…
Different paths for different beings. Humans live less than a hundred years, while its lifespan as a machine was practically endless.
So taking a loss was out of the question.
"So," Zane patted his chest loudly and laughed boldly, "we split ninety-ten. I get ninety, you get ten."
"Ku-ku-ku, good… wait… not good!"
Afraid Zane might change his mind, Ku Money agreed immediately. But it quickly realized something was wrong and hurried to correct itself.
Unfortunately, Zane let out a sinister chuckle right in front of it and pulled out a recorder pen from his pocket.
He waved it in front of Ku Money's screen, which had already turned into an exclamation mark, and threatened, "Little robot, you wouldn't want others to find out that you go back on your word in business, right?"
"You…"
Looking at Zane's shameless grin, no matter how fast its mechanical brain spun, Ku Money couldn't understand, 'You're a human, and you're scheming against a small robot like me?'
Helpless, Ku Money could only compromise. "…Fine, we'll do it your way."
The next second, Ku Money saw Zane's face turn red as he struggled to hold back laughter, his shoulders trembling.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. Just wondering if I should tell you that this is actually just a regular pen. It doesn't have any recording function."
"Beep! Beep! Beep! Buzz!"
Ku Money fell silent. It spun in place twice, its square head buzzing nonstop. The expression on its screen kept changing, finally settling on a crying face.
If it had legs, it would have jumped up and kicked him hard.
'I may not be human, but you are truly a dog!'
'Bullying robots like this…'
Furious, Ku Money turned to leave. 'To hell with making money, to hell with deals, even dogs wouldn't...'
Zane took out a pair of black stockings.
"I'm in! I'm absolutely in on this deal! If dogs won't do it, I will!"
Seeing Ku Money come back, Zane chuckled.
"This is a genuine pair of the Black Shores leader's stockings. Ninety percent new, high quality, top-tier in every way."
"Oh?" Ku Money seemed interested. Its square head leaned closer, wary of eavesdroppers.
"You're sure these belong to that mysterious leader? You should know, if it's ever revealed that the Black Shores leader is a man, your lie will fall apart."
Zane didn't care about the warning. Who said men couldn't wear stockings?
If anything, men wearing them was even better.
"Alright, I know what I'm doing. Name a price."
He waved his hand, urging Ku Money to hurry. The longer this dragged on, the higher the chance Rover would find out.
Soon, he heard gears turning and the hum of processing.
Before long, Ku Money slowly gave a valuation.
"If it can be confirmed the leader is female, the information alone is worth several hundred thousand shell coins."
"With certain people's special tastes added in, the value could multiply. Rough estimate, around three million."
"Three million!?" Zane's eyes went wide. He'd never seen that much money in his life.
If he exchanged three million shell coins for materials, that'd be thousands more star sounds…
A huge profit.
"When can we sell it!?"
He grabbed Ku Money's square face, emerald eyes shining.
He could already see a life of financial freedom waving at him.
"Contacting buyer… please wait…"
Hearing this, Zane rubbed his hands excitedly. As long as he closed this deal, he could retire in glory…
"I heard you've got the Black Shores leader's original stockings here?"
"Yeah! Yes, we do, brother!"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind him. Zane turned around excitedly without thinking.
What met his eyes was the Black Shores leader's half-smiling gaze.
Seeing Zane frozen in place, the leader let out a soft chuckle, her crimson lips curling into a faintly cruel smile.
"My stockings went missing, and I didn't even know about it, hmm?"
That single "hmm?" hit Zane like a hammer, nearly knocking half the life out of him.
The Shorekeeper stood behind Rover, seemingly having just finished handling affairs together.
Her pale violet eyes swept over the stockings in Zane's hand, then lowered to glance at her own fair, smooth legs, silently recording, "Zane likes black stockings."
Zane knew very well that at this point, the only one who could share some of Rover's wrath was Ku Money, his "partner in crime." He immediately turned and shouted, "Ku Money, save me!"
But the next second, his words got stuck in his throat.
On Ku Money's screen, a playback was running, the recording of Zane "plotting" with it earlier.
The moment Zane took out the stockings, Ku Money had quietly activated its recording function, aiming the camera straight at his face.
And the recipient of the recording was none other than the Shorekeeper, who had been with Rover all along.
Ku Money watched as Zane was dragged away by Rover, his figure growing smaller and smaller until even his cries for mercy could no longer be heard.
Only then did it truly understand that saying, 'The marketplace is like a battlefield. Nothing more, nothing less.'