Survival Game: Call Me an Honest Businessman

She said, "How come that old fox is so good at getting information out of people?"

So that's where they were waiting.

Li Zhi's eyes were clear: "This is truly my honor! If that day ever comes, I will definitely seek the protection of the Forging Clan!"

The dwarf's eyelids drooped, and he was about to speak when he was interrupted by the increased volume from the stage.

"13100 per time."

"13100 twice!"

"13..."

Shen deliberately slowed his voice, looking down at Ling, whose cheeks were becoming increasingly swollen.

Ling looked at the floating feathers, seemingly deep in thought, her expression remaining largely unchanged.

Noticing Shen's gaze, she shifted her gaze from the auction stage and looked back, meeting Li Zhi's eyes as he stood in the middle of the line connecting the two.

Without pausing, she calmly looked away.

It's like calmly accepting fate and reality.

Li Zhi's eyes flickered slightly.

A one-time talent card disappeared from her hand.

"I'll lend you 100 gold coins, and you'll return 111 gold coins after nine days. In ten days, you'll have to pay me back 144 gold coins. How about that?"

A slight ripple appeared on Ling's indifferent face.

She didn't look at Li Zhi, but said in a flat tone, "Even if I increase the price by another 100, Shen still won't give me the source."

Li Zhi was certain: "She will."

The origin is something that no one but the person who possesses it can use.

If it can't be converted into cash, that feather is no different from a chicken feather on the roadside.

It would also truly offend the Feather Spirit Clan's royal family.

Li was unaware of the depth of the conflict between the two clans.

But unless it's a blood feud, anyone with a modicum of sense wouldn't exacerbate racial tensions over something so pointless.

Li Zhi believed that the probability of these two clans truly having a blood feud was extremely low.

Because if it really comes to that point, there's no need for an auction anymore.

There are many other ways to humiliate the Feathered Spirit Clan.

Taking it to an auction house and making a big fuss about it, which has caused public outcry, is an insult not only to the Feathered Spirit Clan, but also to the auction house.

If people are allowed to treat auctions as a game and a place for provocation, do auction houses still have a reputation?

Do we still need to make money?

What do customers and merchants who genuinely want to make a transaction think of the auction house?

In Li Zhi's opinion, the most anxious people about this Origin Stone not selling are Shen and the Nightwing Clan merchant, followed by the auction house, and lastly Ling.

Moreover, according to her observation, Shen seemed nonchalant at the moment, but he was actually getting anxious.

You could tell from her previously playful and relaxed tone, but now she deliberately dragged out her words, and from the fact that she made more and more eye contact with the merchant in the corner below as the story progressed.

She didn't want to let this source of power go to waste.

Unfortunately, Ling probably has never played this kind of psychological game before.

Otherwise, she should have been the one in control from the very beginning.

Li Zhi raised the stakes again: "If we can't win this Origin Stone, I'll give you these 100 gold coins for free. You won't lose anything anyway."

She believed this was a deal that required absolutely no thought.

Ling remained calm: "You probably can't get what you want from me."

Li Zhi's tone changed slightly: "You don't even have 144 gold coins?!"

Ling's eyelashes trembled, revealing a hint of surprise: "...Yes."

Li Zhi: "That's fine then. We need to sign a verbal contract, with a 90% return policy. If you don't win the bid, it's considered a failed investment on my part."

Professional businessmen can sign all kinds of contracts.

As long as both parties verbally agree, the fair scale will automatically generate a recorded verbal contract.

However, Li Zhi was not worried about Ling breaking the contract.

She trusts her judgment of people.

On the auction stage, his somber expression could no longer remain relaxed.

Her gaze darted between Ling and the Nightwing Clan merchant hiding among the customers, a hint of warning and murderous intent in her eyes.

That night, the Winged Clan merchant was wearing a cloak.

But if you look closely, you can see traces of shaking.

Also.

13100 gold coins.

Li Zhi had compared the purchasing power of this world currency.

One gold coin is roughly equivalent to 10,000 yuan on Earth.

1.31 million, which is equivalent to 13100 million.

Which animal would dare to take on such a huge burden?

Even Li Zhi, who entered the list of young rich early on, cannot easily come up with hundreds of millions of yuan in liquid funds.

Besides, it was for filming something that had no value to her.

How panicked the Nightwings must have been.

You can tell from the increasingly rapid frequency of his shaking.

Chen also lost his confidence, staring straight at Ling: "Is no one going to raise the price?"

Ling's voice rang out: "Thank you. Even if I can't win the bid, I'll still give you back 144 gold coins."

The contract was successfully generated the moment she agreed.

Li Zhi paused slightly in his casual, arms-crossed posture, and his gaze, hidden beneath his hood, fell silently on Ling.

She was looking up at the auction stage.

The bloodstains on the side of his face had scabbed over, but his cheeks were even more swollen.

In the auction hall, thousands of eyes, of different races and with different meanings, fell upon her.

She is like a perfectly sealed crystal dome, unable to refract or reflect a single ray of light. She falls from an unknown crack, and everyone can see her and pass through her, but no one can touch or feel her, and no one can change her trajectory.

The thoughts I had suppressed earlier suddenly resurfaced in my mind.

"Do you want to spend 13200 gold coins to get the Origin, or take a gamble and I'll let you get it with less than a third of the gold coins?"

Ling was startled and subconsciously wanted to look this way, but she only trembled her eyelashes.

"Thank you, but I don't need anyone to take risks for me."

She looked up: "13200."

The voice was soft, yet it instantly eased the tense atmosphere on the auction stage.

Shen's almost uncontrollable gloomy expression instantly lit up.

But she restrained herself and looked in another direction: "Is there a higher price?"

The Nightwing merchant's cloak finally stopped shaking.

The crowd began to discuss it again.

Li Zhi suddenly felt listless.

"13200 per time."

"13200 twice..."

The moment the auction gavel fell, she and the dwarf walked out with the crowd who had watched the spectacle, passing Ling without stopping and leaving directly.

The dwarf replied indifferently, "Since you have plenty of money now, you don't need to be picky. Just go to the semi-finished products section and buy everything you need."

Li Zhi: "...We'd better be careful with our spending. What would you do if I said I only plan to spend 1 gold to buy the remaining materials?"

In the brief moment they brushed past each other, she found herself with an IOU, and the 100 gold coins in her account were now in Ling's hands.

She only had 2 gold coins and 9 black iron coins left.

We have to be careful with our money.

Moreover, she calculated that apart from the navigation and control system semi-finished product being relatively expensive, costing around 3 silver coins, the rest were all parts and components, which could be obtained for 7 silver coins, and the effect would basically meet her requirements.

Of course, the budget doesn't have to be exceeded at all, but it should be controlled as much as possible.

The dwarf looked Li Zhi in the eye and said, "You are more composed than I thought."

The mechanical prosthetic limbs dragged her along quickly: "Let's go, but if you want your airship to perform even better, you'll need to raise the budget to at least 1.5 gold."

Li Zhi: "Let's see how it goes. We'll save money where we can. Senior, do you know anyone who can offer us the price at cost...?"

"You can have anything in your dreams."

"..."

After leaving the parts section, Li Zhi only had 5 silver coins left.

But she not only bought all the upgrade materials, but also a lot of useful little things. Plus, most of the merchants in the parts section were smelting and forging tribes, and they all knew dwarves, so the cost-effectiveness was even higher than she had initially planned.

Back in the tent, the dwarf said coldly, "Give me the red ore right now and get out of my tent."

The thought of Li Zhi using her identity to bargain and using sweet talk to fool all the merchants of the Smelting and Forging Clan made her angry.

Li Zhi smiled sweetly: "The transaction is complete, the ore should be in your backpack."

The dwarf looked at him suspiciously: "How come my system shows that you have a record of taking out and putting in one item?"

Goods at the transit station must be confirmed by both parties before they can be placed in the facility, and all updates regarding the goods will be displayed on the fair scales of both parties.

Li Zhi: "I put an even bigger one in there for you."

The dwarf took out the red ore, checked it carefully, and finally weighed it on a scale.

After confirming there were no problems, he waved his hand to shoo them away, saying, "Get out, get out, get out!"

Li Zhi pulled back the curtain, turned around, and smiled, "Li Zhi, that's my name."

The dwarf paused in his hand holding the red ore, then resumed fiddling with it as if nothing had happened.

"Celia."