Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 43: The Rich Guy Eh

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The Rich Guy Eh

Ceder began with a heavy offer: five hundred Gold Coins.

Gong Qiying had indeed gained some understanding of the purchasing power of currency in this world over these days.

The most commonly used currencies were copper coins and silver coins, with gold coins being employed only in large transactions, and the purchasing power of gold coins was very strong.

A couple of days ago, he had taken a lease on a shop near the gourmet market on the commercial street, rented it for a year, and the total cost, including renovations and miscellaneous fees, amounted to only a few dozen gold coins.

A small, tattered piece of Rainbow Fruit could sell for five hundred gold coins, which seemed like a good deal.

"Add another hundred, and I’ll tell you how I eluded the Monsters," Gong Qiying said.

"No problem," Ceder agreed quite readily.

He had truly encountered a wealthy man this time.

In a short while, Jina brought a check from the Magic Crystal Bank, which could be exchanged for Gold Coins at any time.

Gong Qiying told them his method of avoiding Monsters, and also drew a shortcut map on the spot, making the process seem very difficult to replicate by adding a lot of luck factors to his story.

In reality, it was not that complicated at all; Monster in the Dungeon wouldn’t attack him, and he just casually walked to the side of the Rainbow Fruit and tore off a small piece.

But if he didn’t make the process sound difficult, how could it attract people’s hearts?

"You are indeed lucky," Ceder remarked after listening.

Gong Qiying said nothing, even the shortcut he had just drawn was made up, he’d just have to make some adjustments to the map when he returned to the Dungeon at night.

Of course, even if he created a shortcut especially for Ceder and his team, the difficulty would not drop substantially; at best, the route would be a bit shorter, and there would be one or two fewer Monsters than other places.

"However, luck is also a part of strength. If the Guild decides to organize a Rainbow Fruit Exploration Team, I’d like to invite you to join," Ceder extended an olive branch. "Do you have a residence in Bed City for future contact?"

"In fact, I have just recently taken over a shop and plan to sell some items produced from the Dungeon," Gong Qiying wrote down his address on a piece of paper and slid it towards Ceder.

"A magic item shop?" Ceder looked at the address and asked casually, "You have a shop, why still set up a stall on the street?"

"Because the effect of propaganda is better where there are more people."

"Uh, indeed," Ceder nodded. Displaying precious items on the main street surely could attract customers to the shop; it was a common business tactic.

However, what Gong Qiying actually meant was to attract more people to the Dungeon to meet their demise.

The effect of the propaganda had already been achieved; the moment the Rainbow Fruit was unboxed, it exhibited an immense allure, and probably everyone who smelled its fragrance was now so obsessed that they couldn’t think about anything else but entering the Dungeon to explore.

Furthermore, the impressive high-level magic that Ceder had displayed in the market even overshadowed the Rainbow Fruit, and people were discussing a mysterious powerhouse showing his might, and why would he do that? Because of a fruit produced from the Sain Dungeon! What kind of fruit could catch the attention of a powerhouse? If I could obtain it too...

See, the propaganda effect is already here.

Once he left the Guild, Gong Qiying planned to spread the news that the remnants of the Rainbow Fruit had been sold for the staggering price of six hundred Gold Coins, adding fuel to the promotional fire.

After the meeting, host and guest were both satisfied, and he left the adventurer’s guild with Jina’s accompaniment.

Moments later, when Jina returned to the reception room, she nearly lost control of her saliva due to a sweet fragrance. Ceder had opened the box and was contemplating the Rainbow Fruit, thoughtfully furrowing his brows while swallowing hard, which was quite comedic.

"Sir, is it worth it to spend six hundred Gold Coins on a piece of fruit whose effect is unknown, especially just a small piece?"

"It’s surely worth it,"

Ceder slowly closed the box, still tasting the flavor on his lips as he said:

"While looking at it, a voice in my head kept telling me to eat it, eat it. The moment I relaxed my mind, the voice would grow louder, and even using a calming technique couldn’t suppress that thought,"

"Are you suggesting..." Jina realized something.

"Just based on the fact that this piece of fruit has such a significant influence on my mind makes it worth the price,"

Ceder revealed a slight smile and spoke, "What kind of effect would it have if used to create Illusion Technique items? I am quite looking forward to it."

"..."

Seeing the old man’s smile that seemed akin to a behind-the-scenes villain, Jina eventually couldn’t help but whisper:

"Um, sir, your drool is dripping down..."

"What? I was sure I was controlling it,"

"Do you want me to cut a small piece of the Rainbow Fruit for you to try?"

"This is precious research material, it can’t be eaten."

"You don’t want to taste it?"

"Hehe, it’s you who wants to eat it, little girl, don’t use public office to satisfy private interests by tempting me."

"You really don’t want to try a bite?"

"..."

"Then I’ll take it away,"

"Wait... cut me a little bit,"

Ceder, helplessly covering his forehead, has never wanted to eat something so badly before.

Then he remembered what Gong Qiying said before leaving:

"The sweetness of the Rainbow Fruit is beyond human imagination; if you want to taste it, I suggest soaking it in water to drink as juice, and for the ratio, one drop of juice would need a whole swimming pool of water."

He originally sneered at these words, thinking they were just an exaggeration, but now he felt hesitant.

He said to Jina,

"Where is the nearest swimming pool? Take me there, and call the guild’s people to come along. Let’s have it as a meet-and-greet."

Later, the Bed City adventurer’s guild closed for a day for some reason.

It’s said the staff drank juice until they passed out, and they were all taken to the hospital.

But since this explanation was too far-fetched, nobody believed it.

Switching back to Gong Qiying, he arrived at a commercial street called "White Whale Street," and found the shop he acquired.

A shop not too big or too small, perfectly sized, located in the middle of the commercial street, flanked by a Potion store and a boutique, with a decent flow of customers.

The spending level on this street is slightly above average in Bed City. The regular clientele consists mainly of adventurers, plus some rich but not too rich customers; simply put, the petit bourgeoisie. Ordinary people would occasionally come here for a stroll.

Originally there were no vacant shops on this street, but Gong Qiying was lucky as he happened upon the shop owner urgently needing to transfer ownership, so he took it over.

In the future, this shop could sell special products from the Dungeon, serving as an avenue to export information.

He wasn’t interested in doing business and opening the shop was just an experiment, so naturally, he wouldn’t focus too much attention here.

The shop was still being renovated, and it was estimated to take a few more days to complete.

He bought some fruit drinks for the workers, and after receiving their thanks, found a corner out of the way, pulled over a lounge chair, and lay down, pretending to fall asleep.

In reality, his consciousness had already returned to the Dungeon; he could switch at any time between the bodies of Gong Qiying and Gedwin, and was able to promptly perceive what was happening around both bodies.

At first, it was quite unsettling, but he could only learn to get used to it.

"Let’s see, what kind of spectacle the adventurers have created today,"

He looked towards the food area, where an unexpected situation had arisen.

Fishing rods, buckets, folding stools...

The food area was actually filled with Fishing Men.