Game of the World Tree
chapter-280

Just like before, Demacia meticulously touched each ring in the wooden box but eventually he picked the one with the largest storage space capacity and reluctantly returned the rest.

“I’ll take this one.”

Caige who had been waiting impatiently at his side for a long time finally sighed with relief as he handed the storage ring selected by Demacia and carefully stored the rest.

In fact, the value of these rings alone accounts for nearly half of the combined worth of the goods stored within the warehouse.

After receiving his chosen ring, Demacia generously handed the Lionheart Sword to Caige amidst his delight.

Of course, he also didn’t forget their prior deal regarding the exchange of elves.

“Lord Caige, just as we agreed on, we’ll entrust the elves we’ve trained into your care. In exchange, we expect you to hand us all the elves and half-elves currently under your company’s ownership.”

Caige nodded repeatedly.

“Naturally of course, that’s only fair.”

However, the older man soon frowned slightly.

“…Half-elves?”

“Come on, Lord Caige, the quality of your elves is honestly not that high. How about throwing them in as a bonus for us?”

Caige: “…”

“Fine, take them all. But leave Maple Leaf City as soon as possible once you have them, and you are not allowed to trade with anyone else, let alone sell elves and half-elves!”

After a moment of thought, Demacia and Li Mu readily agreed.

“No problem.”

With the business deal finally done, their next course of action is to make a hasty exit, as only a fool would linger in Maple Leaf City after engaging in such audacious schemes.

Of course, even if they stayed, the elves under their protection have to be transported out of the city safely first at the very least.

After all, the Soren Company had a significant influence within Maple Leaf City and it would be disastrous if they were exposed.

“Well then, we have a total of 27 elves and 15 half-elves. How do you plan to take them away?”

Caige asked with a smirk.

“We have our caravan’s carriages outside. Just tie them up and hand them over to us,” Li Mu replied.

The two parties quickly reached an agreement and even signed a blood contract before proceeding with the deal.

Violating the terms would result in the offending party forfeiting their life, which is a common practice within many blackmarket transactions in Saigües, as it is very common for gangsters to take advantage of others.

Only a blood contract like these that oozing with malevolent and ruthless energy can make people feel at ease…

Seeing Li Mu and Demacia signing the contract without hesitation, Caige inwardly felt relieved.

After all, a blood contract was nearly foolproof and almost no one would ever dare gamble with their own life.

However, unbeknownst to the two youngsters, Caige also made some slight adjustments to the contract.

As the one who had written the contract, Caige had deliberately made the terms really vague.

If one were to carefully inspect the terms, they would find that it is cleverly worded, and the blood contract would become null and void once the auction concludes.

In reality, Caige has already decided on a new plan. In his mind, he not only wanted these dozen male elves they exchanged, but he also wants to reclaim the other elves and half-elves as well.

Maple Leaf City is not like the Kingdom of Aries in the south.

These young nobles didn’t enter the city through any conventional means. Under such circumstances, it is quite normal for them to experience something ‘unexpected’ right?

Nonetheless, he still needs to be cautious.

To ensure this, he allotted himself a few days to monitor their caravan.

Throughout this period, he would closely observe them until he was confident enough they harbored no hidden methods that may endanger him, then execute his plan when they finally leave Maple Leaf City.

Thinking about this, Caige’s gaze toward Demacia and Li Mu became friendlier.

The two of them were also in high spirits.

Both sides had their own hidden agendas but successfully completed what seemed like a profitable deal for each of them.

After everything was done, Li Mu and Demacia finally bid farewell to the older man and swiftly departed.

Demacia couldn’t contain his laughter after their carriage that’s now filled with elves and half-elves finally vanished from the Sauron company’s sight.

“Hahaha! Brother Mu! Bro! We hit the jackpot!”

Similarly, Li Mu’s smile was also continuous.

However, he quickly suppressed it and said, “We haven’t successfully completed the quest yet since we still need to deliver these NPCs back safely.”

“Oh that’s right! We still have to complete the quest! With the things we got today, we’ll definitely be making a lot of fortune for ourselves!” Demacia proudly declared.

“Then, we have to ensure the quest completion at all cost! This equipment binding that you found… is definitely a bug. What if it gets patch? Besides, do you still care about your reputation score?”

Li Mu glared at Demacia.

“Bro, you’re right.”

Demacia said awkwardly.

However, as he spoke, he showed a bit of regretful expression.

“It’s a pity I don’t have enough contribution points in my account. Otherwise, I would have completely emptied that warehouse today.”

“Sigh, let’s just be content that we’ve already gained a lot. If you think about it, we can just go borrow some contribution points from other players and repeat the process in a different black company instead.”

Li Mu teased.

After saying that, he seemed to be considering something:

“Actually, I inquired about it prior to our arrival, and Maple Leaf City stands as the central trade hub within the southwestern region of the Empire. Surely, numerous black companies thrive here, each one remarkably wealthy just like Sauron.”

Demacia’s eyes immediately lit up after hearing Li Mu’s words.

“We can do this! Striking against these black companies is definitely our responsibility as the Chosen Ones!”

“But…”

Li Mu finished speaking and looked back cautiously:

“These black companies, despite their willingness to trade, might have some hidden tricks up their sleeves. Let’s be careful not to capsize in a gutter.”

His eyes flashed then added,

“I’ll contact Little Salty Cat.”

“If I remember correctly, she and HootyBird intentionally left behind a teleportation array near the town of Riverwood while also bringing along materials for a sub-array. Let’s ask them to set up a sub-array to directly teleport the NPCs we’ve rescued.”

“Damn! Brother Mu, your idea is great! Let’s teleport the elves first, and then we can continue to have some more fun! let’s also ask Salty Cat to lend us some contribution points!”

Demacia’s eyes brightened.

The two of them acted promptly and quickly contacted Little Salty Cat, who was currently exploring in the civilian area and gathering information about the ruins.

Hearing the two as they inquired about the teleportation array, Little Salty Cat showed a look of confusion as she asked,

“The teleportation array? We left that one for emergency purposes only. Why do you want to use it now?”

Li Mu cleared his throat and recounted everything they had just experienced.

“Cough, in fact… we just triggered a hidden quest and saved dozens of elves…”

Although he and Little Salty Cat were from different guilds, they are also good friends in the game and thus, as fellow gaming buddies, he’s naturally inclined to share joys and sorrows towards this petite girl.

Li Mu wanted to tell her about the equipment binding bug they had just discovered.

Of course, it was also just so that she would be more willing to lend them some contribution points in return….

Binding the items at the Sauron Company warehouse to themselves had already depleted all his contribution points.

So… he needed to borrow some more contribution points so that they could do the same thing once again.

After listening to Li Mu’s words, Little Salty Cat was stunned:

“Huh? Slave exchange? Equipment binding Exploit? Can you really do that?”

“Shhh! Keep it quiet! We just discovered this bug. Besides us two, you’re the only one who knows this exploit so far.”

Li Mu replied with a hushed tone.

“Also…I want to borrow some contribution points from you… It’s not much, just lend me around fifty thousand CP. There are many black companies here in Maple Leaf City. We want to do some more before the devs finds out about this.”

Little Salty Cat: “…”

“Hmm, well! Okay, let’s meet at Civilian Area No. 45. I bought a house there. Originally, I planned to set up a secret teleportation array there.”

Li Mu: “…”

“You…bought a house?”

This time, Li Mu was the one left dumbfounded.

Little Salty Cat smirked.

“Heh, don’t be surprised. I bought it after selling some of Meryer’s dragon scales. You might not know this, but apparently, dragon scales are valued goods highly sought by any local merchants!”

Li Mu: “…”

Only you can come up with so many dragon scales!

In a sense, Little Salty Cat’s relationship with Meryer was also based on monetary gains…

He silently complained within his heart.

Soon, the two agreed on meeting at their intended location and immediately went into action.

After her conversation with Li Mu, Little Salty Cat closed her chat and hurriedly searched for HootyBird, who was still inquiring about the information of the ruins in the distance, and excitedly said:

“Sis! Sister Birdy! Let’s stop asking about the ruins for now and instead do something more fun! Brother Mu found a super interesting bug! Let’s forget about the ruins for now and instead go make some cash in the black market!”

HootyBird raised one of her eyebrows as she gave her petite companion a puzzled look.

“…Something more fun?”

“Yeah, hear me out! Mu Bro discovered a new bug. Let’s keep it to ourselves for now and try out this new exploit for ourselves! It’ll definitely be fun!”

— 280 —

【 KEEP IT LOW KEY KNOWING IT IS ENOUGH 】

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