Alien world

Chapter 1829, Section 462: The Greatly Wise Annan Reeves
"Bring some more trainee devils, I don't believe you can still overeat."

Annan's philosophy was simple: if there's too much flour, add water; if there's too much water, add flour. One pound is bread, but one ton isn't?
"I won't overeat, but you don't want any malicious people sneaking in and causing you trouble, do you?"

Building a good reputation takes decades or even centuries, but it can be destroyed in seconds. The devil knows better than anyone how fragile trust is, so he never plays with reputation; he only targets those who are willing to take the bait.

After all, what kind of good person would be willing to make a deal with the devil?
Putting that aside, as one of the few orderly races in the Abyss, if there really were such a thing as "you reap what you sow," they wouldn't mind being good devils who help lost little girls find their way home or help old ladies cross the street.

"Anyway, I've handed over the Devil's Notary Office to you. If there are any problems, I'll come to you."

“I’ll take that as you saying ‘I believe you’.”

Several tens of minutes later, Berdona took Claire away amidst the envious glances of several apprentice demons.

After their leader left, the apprentice devil at the Devil's Notary Office set his sights on Annan.

"Don't rush, everyone gets a share. Stop looking at me like that!"

As Annan passed by Renato's office, he also handed him twenty portions of mountain essence.

Speaking of which, I could stock up on a batch of Mountain Essence; it would be good whether I wait for it to appreciate in value or use it myself...

Realizing that he had discovered a new source of income, Annan immediately instructed his eldest sister to purchase a batch of mountain essence.

The eldest sister said that the price of mountain essence and related magic potions was rising rapidly and they were hard to get, so Annan called over Wilhelm merchants.

It turns out that Liberty City was able to make so much money simply because Annan kept taking the first bite of the pie, not because Annan was more business-minded than the merchants in Allen's world.

They had already thought of everything Annam could think of, and began acquiring large quantities of mountain essence three months ago, even before the empire issued the extermination order.

The evidence is that the Mountain Potion, which normally costs only 2000 gold, is being sold by Wilhelm merchants for 5500 gold.

"Why don't you go and grab it!"

"Nothing makes money faster than being a businessman."

Finally, someone has said such things to Annan.

That damned profiteer!
Annan would never spend 5500 gold nars to buy mountain essence. Although the price may continue to rise, the bulk of the profit will go to unscrupulous merchants. Why would he take on the risk himself?
Give these 5000 gold nars to Ilimoyas, and she can fight bravely on the front lines for three days and three nights, and then come back to serve as Annan's dragon maid for three days and three nights.

"You can have some jade essence; we're clearing out our inventory right now."

"What use would I have for that..."

Annan suddenly paused, realizing that he possessed divinity.

In turbulent times, priests were unable to contact their respective deities and gain power, causing the price of emerald essence to plummet.

But I can absorb the power of faith and develop followers... So, can I use the essence of jade to transform my followers into pastors?
"How much is a bottle?"

“1…1500 gold nars”.

"Is this the price you were talking about?" Annan asked suspiciously.

He didn't know the prices, but he knew Wilhelm merchants, or rather, the dragons behind them—if they didn't pick up money when they went out, they considered it a loss.

"Why not?" the merchant insisted that this was the price.

Annan narrowed his dark eyes, using both threats and inducements: "You're not the only one selling jade essence..."

Wilhelm finally softened: "Alright, I really can't do anything with you. For the sake of a regular customer, I'll sell it to you for 1000 gold dollars a serving."

That damn scoundrel, he raised the price by half the moment he opened his mouth!
Having determined that this wasn't a deliberate attempt to lower the price, Annan said, "Then you should go back first, I'll inquire about the price."

The Wilhelm merchant dared not let Annan inquire further, and offered even more discounts: "If you buy 10, I can give you a 10% discount, and 20 for 20."

"If I buy 100 portions, will I get a 90% discount?" The Wilhelm merchant looked at him like he'd seen a bone dragon: "Impossible, I'll give you a 30% discount at most."

Annan demanded an exorbitant price: "How about 40% off?"

The Wilhelm merchant feigned hesitation, feigning difficulty: "Giving you a 30% discount already leaves me without making a profit..."

"50% off!" Annan suddenly shouted again, almost nervously.

"Damn it, the price has gone down?!"

Annan shrugged: "In turbulent times, who would be foolish enough to buy some useless jade essence? I only bought it for experiments; otherwise, I would have thought it was too expensive even if you gave it to me for 100 gold coins."

"Fine, 60% off it is." The Wilhelm merchant gritted his teeth, looking helpless against Annan, and lowered his head to rummage through his pocket, which had an effect similar to that of the magic ring.

"Huh? Didn't I say 50% off?"

The Wilhelm merchant suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with resentment at being tricked: "Do you want it or not? 60% off is already the lowest price!"

Annan looked somewhat troubled: "It's still a bit expensive. I'd better ask around elsewhere first..."

"Okay, you can ask around and decide not to buy, but if you leave and come back, the price won't be the same!"

Seeing the Wilhelm merchant's exasperated look, Annan stopped teasing it: "Can I trust you?"

The Wilhelm merchant said coldly, "Annan Reeves is our bronze-level client. We will provide maximum assistance when necessary and will never deceive him."

Annan frowned: "How come you're only at Bronze level?"

He's spent at least 30 to 50 million on Wilhelmese businessmen in the last two years...

“The next level of Silver-level clients requires a trade volume of 100 million gold nars.”

Emotional inflation is waiting for you here.

Annan then asked the question that concerned him most: "What are the benefits of being a bronze-level client?"

“Summoning the Wilhelm merchant will result in a faster response time, and you can even summon the Wilhelm merchant in remote areas.” The Wilhelm merchant recited the terms with perfect fluency.

What about the discount?

"Not for now."

After all, offering discounts means giving up profits, and giving up profits means making less money, which is even more painful than killing a dragon.

"Never mind, I'll think about it some more..."

Annan gave up; although it was cheap, it had to be useful. If the conjecture failed, it would be equivalent to throwing away thousands of gold nars.

If all else fails, we can just give the Skeleton King a hard time. He's so powerful, surely refining a bottle of Emerald Essence shouldn't be too difficult for him?

Just as he made his decision, the Wilhelm merchant, as if sensing Annan's thoughts, conceded: "Half price it is! 100 portions, 5 gold nars for you!"

The Wilhelm businessman seemed to have suffered a great loss, beating his chest in frustration and saying that Annan was becoming increasingly cunning, and that he had lost his entire month's bonus.

"If you buy something and I'm on break and another merchant comes instead, please don't say that I sold you something at a loss."

"Rest assured, everyone knows that I, Annan Reeves, am a man of few words."

Annan was very touched and counted out 1,000 gold nars: "Give me two bottles first."

(End of this chapter)