Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 840 The Contractors (Part 1)

Half a day later, at the World Fortress.

"Sister Xiaohan! Sister Xiaohan! Look at that! That looks delicious too!"

"And that! That looks like a dessert made with really high-end ingredients! Sister Xiaohan, let's go try it!"

Excited voices rang out from the bustling street. In the residential area, which resembled an underwater tunnel, Quan Momo, carrying an oversized backpack, looked brightly at the food offered by the stalls on both sides, her face full of eager anticipation.

"Ahem, Momo, we came out here primarily to gather intelligence, not to get distracted by those foodies... Holy crap! That looked like a limited edition Holy Light Merchant Guild souvenir! Momo, you guys go explore on your own, I'm going over there to gather information!!"

Bai Tian reminded him, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly turned around and stared intently at a stall behind him as if he had seen a treasure. He excitedly threw out a sentence and then dashed into the crowd.

"..."

"Sister Xiaohan, is the student council president beyond saving...?"

"I guess so……"

"Tsk, Momo, Sister Han! Let's go, let's ignore that guy from earlier today! Let him fend for himself here!"

Snow Rabbit, who had dressed up specially, gritted her teeth as she stared at Bai Tian, ​​who had abandoned them all without a word. She grabbed Quan Momo and Han Xiao's hands and said fiercely, just as she was about to pull them away, a panicked shout suddenly came from the side:
"Make way! Make way! Make way...!"

"MoMo! Watch out!!" "Meow—!!"

Crash——!!

The next second, several figures being dragged along by a black and white tabby cat collided with several people who couldn't dodge in time, shouting as they bumped into each other amidst the scattered cat food.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

A tense voice came from the side. The colorful-haired girl with a vivid imagination who had bumped into someone quickly got up from the ground and apologized to the dizzy little miner in front of her.

"No...it's okay, thank...thank you!"

Equally tense from the sudden turn of events, Quan Momo shook her head, letting the colorful-haired girl pull her up from the ground. She habitually thanked her, and as her vision gradually cleared:
"Tsk, cat, how many times have I told you not to run around just because you're picky about food! Look what's happened now, you've caused a cat disaster, haven't you?"

"Meow--!!"

"Oh, right, and this lady, I'm sorry, we didn't cause you too much trouble just now, did we?"

Hey, that voice... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before...?
A polite apology, tinged with a hint of familiarity, fell from the voice, causing Quan Momo to turn her head with some curiosity. The next second—

Pfft!
"MoMo? MoMo, what's wrong with you?!"

"Hmm? Miss? What's wrong? Did it scare you?"

The moment Quan Momo saw the face of the person apologizing before her, her face turned deathly pale. She collapsed to the ground with a thud, staring in horror at the imaginative young man before her, and stammered:

"There are...there are rule-breakers!!"

……

"Wow, the quality of the goods here is way too high!"

"That's normal. Don't you think about what kind of people can set up stalls here? Even the top tier can only be small fry. If the quality can't be high, then it would be a real miracle."

"Tsk tsk, if I had known I would be recruited, I would have saved some Paradise Points and come here to buy equipment."

On the wide street that was specially designated as a resource trading area, Mo Tian, ​​walking side by side with Liu Bing and others, looked at the equipment and materials on the surrounding stalls, whose average quality was several levels higher than that of the Paradise Trading Avenue, and his eyes were full of emotion.

"Indeed, especially Soul Crystals... The sales volume here is simply astonishing, and the price is only slightly higher than the standard price. No wonder everyone says that the Expedition is the best source of goods for large cults."

Gunfire, who was also paying attention to the items on the surrounding stalls, nodded in agreement, his eyes filled with excitement as he looked at those stalls.

Unlike the Paradise, according to what Liu Bing told them, because there are so many opportunities to produce high-quality treasure chests during the expedition, the World Fortress has no shortage of top-notch materials and Soul Crystals that are almost guaranteed to drop from opening high-quality treasure chests.

The recovery items, which would theoretically be driven up to extremely high prices, are actually cheaper to buy than in the Paradise because the Legion has monopolized them.

Even if a suitable seller cannot be found, the supplies on hand can be quickly sold to the legion at a loss of 5% to 10%, effectively preventing the accumulation of unused equipment and materials.

If there are any limitations, it's that because the expedition area is too close to the astral frontier, and the resources are produced from various uncertified abyssal creatures, the certification required to produce a treasure chest in the expedition is much greater than that within the Paradise's jurisdiction, indirectly limiting the maximum number of treasure chests each contractor can obtain in the expedition.

Of course, if they were brave enough, they could use the precious expedition supply quota to replenish the notarized reserves of the brand regarding treasure chests, but after understanding the importance of the expedition supply quota, they abandoned the idea without hesitation.

Ultimately, for them, the notarization provided by the mark is more than enough. The only ones who might encounter the problem of running out of notarization power related to treasure chests and being unable to produce more treasure chests are probably the non-conformist contractors and regular army members who are at the forefront of the expedition.

"Huh? Why are there so many people gathered up ahead?"

"Listen to this, wow, it sounds like someone got an item that permanently increases luck?!"

After strolling around for a while, Feng Huo looked at the crowd gathered in front of a certain stall not far away, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. Mo Tian listened for a while, then widened his eyes and spoke.

An item that permanently increases luck?

Upon hearing this, the others' eyes lit up. After exchanging glances, they nodded and immediately reached a consensus.

"Let's go! Let's go see what's going on! This is the first time I've ever seen something that can permanently increase your luck attribute!"

"Go up in the sky, you can see things more clearly there."

"Mo Tian said, taking the lead and stepping forward, while Liu Bing used her mental energy to condense upward-facing ice steps in front of them. Imitating the way the contractors floated in mid-air, she led them quickly from above to the stall, looking at the items on the stall with curious eyes:

……

【Devouring Insect】 Origin: Abyss

Quality: legendary
Category: Permanent Gains
Prerequisites: Actual stamina must be at least 90 points, and the lower limit of luck must be less than 0.
Effects: A peculiar creature that feeds on misfortune. After parasitizing, it will continuously devour its own misfortune and life force. During this period, it will permanently lose 1000~300 points of base maximum health (depending on the actual stamina attribute). After the devouring ends, it will permanently increase its luck attribute by 1~30 points and its fortune attribute by 1~3 points (depending on the amount of misfortune it devoured).

Rating: 500+
Synopsis: Do you want the luck that comes at the cost of your life?

Price: 10 Soul Coins
……

"Good grief, trading your life for a lucky attribute? Isn't the cost of using this thing a bit too high? The base health of a third-tier item is only around four thousand points, right?"

"Hmm... considering the cost alone, it is true, but if I remember correctly, the fortress sells potions that restore life essence, right? Although they are a bit expensive, if you use them together, it's equivalent to getting 30 points of luck and 3 points of fortune for free, right?"

"Now that you mention it, it does seem to be true... By the way, what's that next one again, who is it?"

"Netherworld, the one we encountered with the Black Sword Master in the Overlord world."

"Oh, oh, oh! I remember now! It was him. Speaking of which, I remember you and Liu Bing attended Black Sword's tea party together?"

"Well, even though we're not very familiar with it, we should still go down and take a look."

As Liu Bing spoke, he controlled the ice steps carrying the people as they descended. As they got closer, the sounds of arguing below gradually reached their ears:

"Heh! The Underworld, is it? You want this thing so badly? I'll fight you for it! Three complete soul crystals, I'll take this!"

A rough, arrogant mocking voice rang out. Looking around, one could see a burly man with a black dragon tattoo standing in front of the stall with his arms crossed, grinning and looking down at Mingyu, who was half a head shorter than him, with a playful expression.

"...A pointless act." After a brief glance at the ghost dragon before him, Mingyu, shrouded in the shadows of his cloak, withdrew his gaze and calmly looked at the man wearing a smiling hood, speaking:

"Ten complete soul crystals. If he can afford the price, he can have them. I'm not interested in being a sucker."

"Oh dear, I thought I could make a small fortune, but it seems my friend from the Underworld lives up to his reputation!" With that, the smiling hooded man shrugged helplessly, then looked at Ghost Dragon beside him and asked in a slightly mocking voice:
"Well, buyer? If you're willing to pay the price Mr. Mingyu mentioned, this permanent buff is yours!"

10 Soul Crystals (Complete)...

Upon hearing this, Guilong's expression stiffened slightly, and he didn't dare to speak immediately.

You should know that for him, who came from the Paradise of Reincarnation, the three complete soul crystals he just offered were already a price he dared to ask for because he was certain that the Underworld would raise the price.

If you were to spend 10 Soul Crystals (complete) to buy a buff that you would never use, that would be an absolutely ridiculous thing that would make everyone else laugh for half a day.

"What's wrong, buyer? If you don't make an offer soon, I'll have to sell it to this gentleman."

"I..."

"Hehe~ Isn't this Brother Guilong? I've finally found you~!" Just as the situation was getting increasingly tense, a seductive and alluring figure suddenly strolled out from the crowd, grabbed the tattooed burly man's arm, and breathed against his chest:

"Alright, Brother Guilong, he knows he was wrong, so don't take your anger out on others!"

"Or is it that... Brother Guilong is afraid that his temper won't be able to satisfy her?"

"Huh? What a joke! You think I can't satisfy a little wench like you?!" A seductive voice, powerful enough to arouse any man's senses, rang out. Guilong's body trembled violently. He looked down at Ziyao, who had appeared just in time in his arms, then glanced at Mingyu beside him, gritting his teeth, "Heh, consider yourself lucky, kid. I'll have to go teach this little wench a lesson today! I'll settle the score with you another day!!"

After saying that, Guilong picked up the purple-haired mature woman in his arms with one hand, pushed through the crowd, and strode into the spatial portal.

Seeing this, the melancholy young man standing beside Mingyu stroked his chin thoughtfully and casually asked Mingyu, "You didn't arrange this, did you?"

“For barbaric people who are used to solving everything with violence and bloodshed, members of the Cult of Pleasure are often their best reins.” Mingyu said calmly, without directly answering the melancholy youth’s question. Instead, he took out 10 Soul Crystals (complete) and threw them to the smiling man: “Take them, let’s continue the transaction.”

"Hehe, my friend Mingyu is indeed a straightforward person. Shall we add each other as friends?" The smiling man caught the soul crystal and let Mingyu take the [Devouring Worm] from the stall, then casually asked.

"Whatever." With that, Mingyu turned around and walked away from the crowd without looking back.

"Brother Mingyu, are you here to shop too?" After Mingyu walked out of the crowd, Liubing, who had been watching from the side, came forward and greeted him.

"Just taking a look around," Mingyu replied, glancing at the melancholy youth beside him, his gaze shifting slightly before he suddenly asked Motian, "I remember you know the blacksmithing master from the Church of Justice? Did they come this time?"

"A master blacksmith? Oh! You mean Zheng Yu and the others? They did come this time. Let me think... they're over there, aren't they?" Mo Tian said casually, pointing to a street, and asked with some curiosity, "By the way, what kind of equipment are you planning to forge?"

“His armor needs upgrading, but we can’t find a suitable candidate.” Mingyu glanced at the melancholy young man beside him, who was awkwardly scratching the back of his head, and calmly explained, just as he was about to walk in the direction Motian had indicated—

"Xiaoyun, look! There are so many good things here too!!"

"Sister Xiya! Slow down, I...I can't keep up!"

"Is there anything that you, Sister Star Girl, have your eye on?"

"Hmm, there are indeed many good things here, but there's nothing I can use. What about Sister Saintess?"

"This humble woman does have someone in mind..."

A pleasant voice drifted over, and a group of girls, led by two little lolis, one in white and one in gold, walked slowly from not far away, chatting and laughing. They attracted the attention of many passersby, but none of them dared to go up and chat with the group of girls.

"Tsk tsk, women are such difficult creatures. They were fighting to the death just a short while ago, but now they're like best friends. So hard to understand!" The melancholy young man beside him looked at this scene, stroked his chin, and shook his head with a sigh.

"Well... I think the 'motive' that would make them fight isn't there." Liu Bing complained, and after admiring the unique scenery of beauties of various styles in front of him for a while, he was about to continue forward when he suddenly noticed something and asked with some confusion, "By the way, Brother Mingyu, why are you going that way? You're going the wrong way."

"I just remembered I have something to do here, you guys take him there."

……

(End of this chapter)