Long Live Money in Anime Crossover

"Kayaba Akihiko truly lives up to his reputation as a genius. Although this is a two-dimensional world and shouldn't be taken too seriously, I can't help but admire him for single-handedly boosting the technological level of the entire world."

Reimu Hakurei also entered the game, still looking the same, sitting on top of Momo, and said, "It's a pity she's a paranoid madwoman."

"Yes, but being able to create this game called... wait, why can't I suddenly remember the name of this game?"

"Idiot, have you forgotten your deal with Kayaba Akihiko? According to the deal, you have to forget all the information about this game in your mind and enter the game as a complete novice."

Mo Mo's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I would do something like this? If we don't know the plot, wouldn't we have to develop things little by little in the game?"

"Regret it now? Hmph, it's too late to regret it now. Anyway, I'm not going to tell you anything about this game, so don't count on me."

Mo Mo stroked his chin thoughtfully, then reached out and poked Reimu Hakurei, saying, "Actually, you've forgotten too, haven't you?"

"what!"

Reimu Hakurei jumped up in surprise and said, "How...how did you know!"

"Just as I expected, haha!"

Mo Mo laughed loudly, attracting everyone's attention, and said, "Lingmeng, we really are of one mind and body! I forgot the details of the game, and you forgot the details of the game too. I remember that the transaction was for me alone, right? So you are also a part of me?"

"Tch, don't talk nonsense. I'm only dragged into this because of you! Damn it, why are you even erasing my memories?!"

Reimu Hakurei angrily kicked Momo in the head, but both of them understood that if Reimu Hakurei remembered the game's progress, she would most likely have been tricked into revealing information by Momo. Therefore, the trading power also caused Reimu Hakurei to forget everything.

"It's too late to regret it now. We know absolutely nothing about the game. We don't even know its name anymore. How are we supposed to play it?"

Mo Mo stroked his chin, thinking quietly, and said, "Logically speaking, I wouldn't do something that would put myself in such a desperate situation, so I must have had a plan back then. What was it?"

"What plans do you have? I think you're just a show-off."

"That's right!"

Momo clapped his hands and said, "I forgot, Lingmeng, what's there to be nervous about!"

"You have a plan?"

"no way."

"Why are you so excited? Honestly, I don't feel safe at all when I'm with you."

"Tsk tsk!"

Mo Mo shook his finger and said, "So, Little Lingmeng, you're really too naive. When there's no other way, you should use cheat codes! This is a game, right? What's the point of playing a game without cheat codes?"

Reimu Hakurei didn't react for a moment, then she covered her face. She already knew what Momo was going to do.

"My God!"

Mo Mo raised his finger to the sky and said, "How about I trade my trading power for ten years of my life in exchange for my unfortunately lost memories?"

"Could you be any more shameless? You were the one who made a deal with Kayaba Akihiko, giving away all your memories, okay? And now you want to restore them?"

"What nonsense!"

Mo Mo maintained his arrogant posture, smiling as he met the strange gazes of countless people.

"My deal with Kayaba Akihiko was to erase my memories and appear as a complete newcomer. Now that I've appeared and my memories have been erased, this part of the deal has been fulfilled!"

"Now that this transaction is complete, what's wrong with me buying back my memories? Buying and selling, isn't that the most basic essence of trading?"

Reimu Hakurei was speechless, and forced a defense: "But isn't this breaking your promise? You clearly promised Kayaba Akihiko..."

"That's just a misunderstanding on your part. Erasing memories is a one-time transaction, not a permanent amnesia. I don't offer after-sales service for one-time transactions."

Reimu Hakurei was truly speechless this time, saying, "I give up. Kayaba Akihiko was misled by you, wasn't he? But this doesn't conform to the principles of fairness, equivalence, and voluntariness. You cheated him in the transaction!"

"So, Reimu, you haven't fully understood these three principles yet."

"As for fairness, I did not interfere with Kayaba Akihiko's understanding of value and transactions; it was just that his understanding was insufficient. I have the advantage of information, so I naturally have the right to raise returns."

"After that, because of his erroneous perception of the value of the traded items, a transaction that did not suit his wishes occurred. That was his mistake, and I did not violate the principle of equivalence and voluntariness, did I?"

Reimu Hakurei remained silent for a long time before she came to her senses, muttering to herself, "The face of a swindler, you have the face of a complete swindler!"

"The gods will not accept a deal with someone like you."

Reimu Hakurei had just made her declaration when, due to her duty, she immediately announced with a bitter face: "The deal is done."

"The deity has agreed to your request, and only requires one year of your lifespan."

Now, Momo has 99 years left to live. Countless data points flooded into Momo's mind, and lost memories returned.

"Hmm, that's right, that's more like it. The thing I hate most is forgetting things!"

Reimu Hakurei, however, was somewhat sullen and said, "Why? Why does the god help you again and again? Is the god so fond of you? This is clearly a death sentence!"

"You're mistaken, Reimu. This doesn't mean the gods like you."

"What I traded with the gods was nothing more than some trivial things, and this is my first world. I'm afraid I won't have many more opportunities to trade directly with the gods in the future. Even if I do trade, I'm afraid I'll have to pay a huge price."

Mo Mo's serious tone made Reimu Hakurei feel a little embarrassed to make things difficult for him, but she still couldn't help but ask, "Is this help not worth much?"

"What did I trade with the gods? Just the right to choose three additional skills and to regain my memories today. Even without these, I would only have different initial skills and would use different methods to carry out my actions. The difference is only in the process of achieving my goal; the result will be no different."

Mo Mo's voice was confident and assertive, possessing a captivating charm.

"The gods control all worlds, all time, all matter, and all knowledge, while I am merely requesting a tiny bit of the right to choose, and I have paid a price for it. What is that to the gods if not insignificant?"

Reimu Hakurei fell silent; there was no doubt that she had been persuaded by Momo.

For the past few days, she had watched Mo Mo act recklessly and arrogantly, seemingly believing it was all thanks to divine intervention, but upon closer examination, she realized that was not the case.

Even if she possessed Momo's trading power, would she trade with a god?

Even if she made a deal with the gods and got the same initial skills as Momo, would she follow the same path as Momo?

It's obviously impossible; she wouldn't do that, she wouldn't even think of doing it.

Momo's actions were based more on his personality and perception, as well as the imagination he spoke of, than on divine assistance.

"After all that you've said, I admit you've convinced me. So, are you planning to show off your cleverness to me, you shrewd businessman?"

"No, I just wanted to ask if you were captivated by my charm after showing off my style? I love you, Reimu, marry me!"

"Ouch, don't pull my hair. If all else fails, I'll offer to pay you 100,000 yen a day to be my sugar daddy... Ah!"

And so, amidst the stares of passersby who looked at him like he was crazy, this player named Momo, playing around, ran towards the first level of the wilderness in Aincrad.

……

"This is so difficult, Kirito-kun. Is it really as easy as you say?"

Klein and Kirito were standing at a Level 1 boar spawn point. Not many people were out leveling up yet, so no one was taking their spot from them.

"Well, how should I put it?"

Kirito scratched his head in a bit of a daze. Although he had only known Klein for a short time, he had become quite familiar with this newcomer, and he didn't dislike the other's outgoing personality.

The only problem was his lack of comprehension; he fought a wild boar for half an hour but still couldn't unleash a single sword technique.

"Why don't you unleash your sword technique once to experience it? Follow my instructions, get into the stance, and feel the system's guidance. After that, just leave everything to the system, like this!"

Kirito demonstrated again, picking up a pebble and using his skill to hit the boar. The boar, in pain, transferred its aggro to Kirito.

"Come on, let's try again. This time I'll hold off the wild boar, so you'll have plenty of time to prepare."

As he spoke, Kirito pressed his sword against the boar's tusks and gave Klein an encouraging smile.

025 Becoming Kirito's Apprentice

"Okay, look at me!"

Klein assumed a squatting stance, hoisting the dagger in his hand onto his shoulder, straining all his muscles until his face turned red, but he didn't exert any force on the dagger in his hand.

Kirito watched from a distance with a face full of black lines. It was a pity that he and Klein were not very familiar with each other, otherwise he would definitely have complained about Klein's squatting posture.

"Oh, I'm getting the feel for it, I'm going to go for it!"

Klein's dagger slowly glowed, and for the first time, he felt the sensation of swordsmanship, which instantly excited him.

"Excuse me, may I participate?"

Just then, Momo's voice came from afar. Kirito instinctively turned around, but the boar seized the opportunity and knocked him to the ground. Klein finally unleashed his sword technique, but the target boar had already escaped. He couldn't control his sword technique and missed completely, then collapsed to the ground immediately after the technique ended.

The two people screamed in agony.

"It seems I've arrived at the wrong time?"

"Ahhh, what a terrible time! My first sword technique, my first perfect kill, has been interrupted by you! Tell me, how are you going to compensate me!"

Klein suddenly jumped up, seemingly about to get angry, but Kirito quickly stopped him, saying, "Alright, Klein, he didn't mean it."

After stopping Klein, Kirito turned around to look at the newcomer, a slight look of surprise on his face.

Kirito has a baby face and is often mistaken for an older sister by children, so when playing games, he always shapes his face in a more masculine way.

However, this new player, despite his height, appeared thin and frail, and his face could not be described as masculine at all; perhaps "feminine" would be a more appropriate description.

"Tch, I thought he was someone important, turns out to be a sissy. Is it really necessary to deliberately portray himself like this? He's probably just trying to pick up girls!"

"Klein!"

Kirito's voice became much louder; Klein's words were undeniably insulting.

Klein realized he had gone a bit too far and said, "Oh, my bad, I just blurted it out."

Kirito looked at Momo apologetically and said, "Please don't be angry. He's just a quick-tongued person. He didn't mean any harm."

Mo Mo, however, seemed completely unperturbed, saying, "No, I'm not angry. But what is this 'shaping'? I logged in directly; isn't this game supposed to reflect reality?"

"what……"

Kirito and Klein stared wide-eyed at Momo in disbelief, asking, "Is this your true appearance?"

"Yes!"

"Really? He's not lying, is he? But he doesn't seem to be lying. He seems to be a complete newbie. Kirito, what do you think?"

"I think we should tell the truth, since the other party really doesn't understand at all."

"But this is amazing! His appearance is definitely celebrity-level! Could he be a big star in real life?"

"Whether he's a celebrity or not, it's fate that we've met. Let's stop whispering like this; it'll leave a bad impression."

"Ah, that's true."