Back to the Doomsday

by Tai Baiyang

  Hearing that, Zhang Mu opened up his Merchant’s Ring without hesitation. Golden doors opened and eight Luoyang Peony Buds flew towards No. 35.

  No. 35 smiled at first, but quickly, he became serious and said in a cold tone, “The purchase price of the Luoyang Peony Bud is... three golden leaves in my store.”

  Even though Zhang Mu had known the price early on, he still swallowed his saliva after hearing it. It was a 200% profit already, not to mention that he had gotten the Luoyang Peony Bud at half price! Right now, Zhang Mu had in his possession eight Luoyang Peony Buds which would translate into 24 golden leaves.

  One must keep in mind that Zhang Mu only needed 10 golden leaves to complete his task this month. In his past life, Zhang Mu had fulfilled this mission only after visiting the Era store twice, but he accomplished it so easily now.

  And this wasn't the end. He will buy a batch of goods here, sell them to other people and earn a lot of money!

  “How about it? Do you want to trade them?”

  Zhang Mu nodded and said, “Yes! I will trade them all!”

  Zhang Mu didn’t lose his cool. He had calculated that the golden leaves he would get could be used to exchange for many goods.

  Once he got Zhang Mu’s answer, No. 35 waved his sleeve and put away the eight Luoyang Peony Buds. He said with a smile, “Since you have 24 golden leaves, I’ll show you the list of Era regional goods in Xi’an.”

  Under No. 35’s control, the fire screen's display changed accordingly.

  At the same time, flame surged out from the fire screen and flew towards Zhang Mu, illuminating his whole body. He wasn’t shocked and let it scan his body.

  One second later, the scan was over. A cold, mechanical voice echoed in the air, “Ding! Ding! Ding! Merchant authority recognition: Number 001, a trainee merchant. Trade time: the tenth day of the Paradise Era. Discount: 20% off. Prices have automatically generated.”

  Seeing the low prices, Zhang Mu exposed a greedy look.

  “Tea Seed Oil, one unit/half golden leaf, remaining: 15 units.”

  “Pita Bread Soaked in Soup, one unit/half golden leaf, remaining: 9 units.”

  “White Jade Donkey Statue, one unit/2.4 golden leaves, remaining: 4 units.”

  It seemed that the second sub-merchant of Xi’an didn’t buy a White Jade Donkey Statue. Only Liu Shuo bought one which currently resided in Zhang Mu’s ring.

  No. 35’s heart was dripping blood as he thought that Zhang Mu would buy all his goods. But what Zhang Mu said made him doubt his hearing.

  “Your goods are too little. Can you get six more White Jade Donkey Statues? I will buy them all if you can.”

  Unexpectedly, Zhang Mu asked an Era merchant to make a replenishment. Normally, if there were no goods, sub-merchant would leave and come the next time, but Zhang Mu asked for a replenishment.

  Actually, he was trying. If it worked, he would make a fortune.

  No. 35 was about to shout an abuse, but Zhang Mu said first, “My golden leaves can buy all of your Era regional goods. As Number 009 has died, do you want your next four sub-merchants to begin their first trade without any good? That will be a big loss for you.”

  What he said made No. 35 think. If Zhang Mu bought all his goods, he wouldn’t be able to arrange any new task for his sub-merchants. Moreover, according to the rule, he couldn’t give them any special treatment. If so, the four sub-merchants would lose from the starting line.

  But in the early times of the new era, Zhang Mu, as Number 001, could use a little authority to let No. 35 make a replenishment. Although he might have to suffer a little loss, it would be better than all four of his sub-merchants not being able to get any goods.

  However, seeing the merchant’s eager look, No. 35 felt like he was being led by the nose.

  The most important thing was that Zhang Mu was not his sub-merchant. If he helped Zhang Mu, No. 37 was the one enjoying all the benefits.

  No. 35 asked Zhang Mu questioningly, “Why do you only want White Jade Donkey Statues? You don't know the resale price of goods, can you?”

  Zhang Mu had already prepared for this question. He said calmly, “How can it be possible? I just like to bet. I either don’t buy any or I’ll buy everything of one kind. I like things to be exciting and I like the feeling of taking a risk. As you can see, in Luoyang City, I bought eight Luoyang Peony Buds and gave up the Yellow River Carp without any hesitation.”

  After a while, No. 35 decided to believe his words, but he had to admit that Zhang Mu was just too lucky. Perhaps this was the reason why he could become the first sub-merchant of Testing Field No. 37.

  No. 35 finally calmed down and gritted his teeth, “I’ll make more White Jade Donkey Statue.”

  Under No. 35’s eyes, the number of White Jade Donkey Statue on the list was increased to ten.

  Unexpectedly, No. 35 really did increase the inventory!

  Zhang Mu looked very calm but in fact, he was excited beyond words. He had achieved a goal no one else accomplished in his previous life!

  “Number 001 buys 10 White Jade Donkey Statues. The price is 24 golden leaves.”

  As the cold mechanical voice echoed again, all the golden leaves in his hand disappeared, but he didn’t care about it at all. Looking at the 11 White Jade Donkey Statues, Zhang Mu laughed.

  I did it! I have made a great fortune overnight!

  Chapter 56: Because of Money

  Looking at the number that decreased to zero, No. 35 was very distressed. Those were all the spiritual essences that he had collected in Xi’an City for the past ten days and yet, they all ended up in Zhang Mu's hand. However, he could do nothing but accept the outcome.

  Now, he only wished for Zhang Mu to disappear from his sight,

  but he endured, shaking his red robe. The flames around him began to rearrange themselves into different patterns, forming a bigger fire screen.

  “Next is the Era General goods. The prices of these goods are fixed. Sorry, but I can’t replenish them for you.”

  No. 35 only wanted Zhang Mu to disappear quickly, so he sped up the formation of the fire screen and showed him the list.

  The robotic voice echoed again, “Ding! Ding! Ding! Merchant authority recognition: Number 001, a trainee merchant. Trade time: the tenth day of the Paradise Era. Discount: 20% off. Prices have automatically generated. Start.”

  No. 35 was ignoring him while he didn’t want to talk with the era merchant, so he just went over the prices carefully.

  Since he hadn’t finished his first task yet, Zhang Mu was currently only a trainee merchant. He didn't hold much power, so the Era General goods were still the same as he had seen in Luoyang City, except that he discount Zhang Mu enjoyed now was different from back then, so the prices were higher.

  Yet, he didn’t mind it much because he had a lot of crystals right now.

  “Five-kilogram of dried food with a kilogram of water, essential for survival. Six first-ranked crystals per 100 units: 100,000 units remaining.”

  “First-rank agility potion: promotes speed and agility by 0.2 times. After consuming 10 units, there will be no more effect. Ten first-ranked crystals per unit: 30 units remaining.”

  “First-rank strength potion: promotes strength by 0.2 times. After consuming 10 units, there will be no more effect. Ten first-rank crystals per unit: 30 units remaining.”

  “First-rank recovery potion: recovers a wound in 30 seconds according to the degree of injury. Fifty first-ranked crystals per unit: 10 units remaining.”

  “First-rank weapon and armor: choice of your own weapon and armor. Ten crystals per unit: 20 units remaining.”

  “Second-rank evolving potion: allows first-ranked evolvers to reach the second rank. Five hundred crystals per unit: 1 unit remaining.”

  Except for the number of second-rank evolving potion being the same, the number of other goods increased.

  Looking at the numbers, Zhang Mu noticed that Liu Shuo and the other second sub-merchant didn’t exchange for the
second-ranked evolving potion.

  After all, except for himself, no other era sub-merchant had enough crystals to exchange for it in the first several days. Even now, many people still weren’t aware of the functions of crystals and those who knew wouldn’t broadcast this information around.

  So Zhang Mu was actually benefiting from this.

  Not to mention the strength potions, even the recovery potions were deemed priceless in his past life. Providing that you were still alive, a first-rank recovery potion could heal a completely broken body in just one day.

  Looking at the list, Zhang Mu looked up and stared at No. 35 with a frightening smile, “Except for food, I will buy all the General goods you have.”

  No. 35 swallowed, “You really want everything?”

  Zhang Mu grinned, “Yes!”

  30 units of agility potion, 300 crystals; 30 units of strength potion, 300 crystals; 10 units of recovery potion, 500 crystals; 20 units of weapons and armor, 200 crystals; and one unit of second-rank evolving potion, 500 crystals.

  Zhang Mu bought 1,800 crystals worth of items and still had funds left.

  Zhang Mu spent his crystals like water.

  No. 35 didn’t feel angry and calmed down quickly. He said to Zhang Mu, “Since you want all my goods, you’d better use your leftover 1,200 crystals.”

  “What do you mean? You said the number of the goods couldn’t be changed," Zhang Mu said, confused.

  No. 35 looked at him with satisfaction. Finally, I have the initiative.

  So he said slowly, “You can buy the 20,000 units of food.”

  Zhang Mu smiled and answered, “Oh, sorry, even if I’m Number 001, the space of my ring is limited. 20,000 units won't fit in its space.”

  “That’s it?” No. 35 smiled. They looked at each other like two cunning foxes.

  “I can give you a Merchant’s Ring. Of course, it can only store goods from my shop. It has a capacity of 100,000 units let alone 20,000. How about that? Are you interested now?”

  “Haha, don’t look down on me. Ok, I will buy all the food. I have the crystals!”

  Zhang Mu answered without any hesitation. No. 35’s smile faded. He didn’t expect Zhang Mu to actually clean out all his goods. It seemed that his momentum was suppressed once again. He smiled bitterly, “OK!”

  In fact, Zhang Mu had his own plan. Five kilograms of dry food and one kilogram of water could sustain a person for three days. If Zhang Mu sold them, he might be able to get a high price, after all, the amount he possessed was quite large.

  20,000 units can provide for 20,000 people for three days. During the early times when no one dared to search for a granary, 20,000 was a huge amount.

  Before, Zhang Mu didn't have the means to store so many things, but now No. 35 solved this problem. Although the ring could only store goods from Xi’an City, it was still a huge boon to him.

  Thinking of this, he bought the food and water with all his remaining crystals.

  “For the weapons, I want 10 spears and for the amours, I want 10 one-handed shields.”

  Zhang Mu had his reasons for choosing to buy these: it was easy to resell these goods to others.

  A small Merchant’s Ring with his name carved on it suddenly appeared on his right middle finger.

  Meanwhile, the crystals in Zhang Mu’s ring turned into various types of potions. As for the weapons, armor, food, and water, they were all transferred into the exclusive ring of Xi’an City.

  Zhang Mu calmed down and said, “I will start by strengthening myself.” Without permission, he had sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. He took out 10 agility potions and 20 strength potions.

  His behavior was very rude, but No. 35 still warned him, “A human can only use 10 potions, do not blame me for not reminding you that it is wasteful to drink more.”

  “I know. I can see the instructions on the bottle. I’m not blind.”

  No. 35 felt doubt and stared at the sub-merchant, “Since you know, why did you take out so many?”

  Zhang Mu didn’t answer him immediately. Firstly, he drank 10 strength potions. After that, he bit his left arm and poured the remaining strength potions and agility potions into his wound.

  Magically, the potions didn’t overflow. It was as if the wound had transformed into an abyss that engulfed all that was poured in.

  After all the bottles were emptied, Zhang Mu looked at No. 35 and said slowly with a weary smile, “It’s because they weren’t for me alone.”

  Chapter 57: Metamorphosis of the Bloodvine Demon Lotus

  Zhang Mu was betting because he has heard of a summoner-type evolver that had given his mutated creature a potion in his past life. However, he didn’t know if mutated animals could actually consume them.

  If the Bloodvine Lotus could absorb the energy in these potions, its power would be strengthened to a new level.

  However, after Zhang Mu poured the 20 potions into his left arm, the wound healed, but the Bloodvine Lotus had no reaction.

  Did I guess wrong?

  Zhang Mu felt pity. After all, these potions were valuable not only because of the price but also because their quantities were limited. He can't buy any more until 20 days later.

  Why didn't it work? The Bloodvine Lotus had absorbed all the energy. If the Bloodvine Lotus rejected this energy, it wouldn’t have swallowed the liquids.

  What happened?

  All of a sudden, he came to a realization and started laughing happily. Looking at Zhang Mu, No. 35 doubted whether the sub-merchant had schizophrenia or not.

  Haha! I forgot that the Bloodvine Lotus had entered a deep sleep after losing too much energy.

  Although the agility potions and the strength potions held powerful efficacy, they didn’t help with recovering from injuries. In this case, the Bloodvine Lotus wouldn’t be able to use their energy to heal its wound.

  As Zhang Mu realized this fact, he held out his right hand, on which a green potion appeared.

  It was a first-ranked recovery potion.

  First-ranked recovery potions were infused with the purest life energy in the world, bestowing it the ability to heal all wounds.

  “Bloodvine Lotus, don’t worry. I will help you wake up right now.”

  Zhang Mu felt guilt towards the mutated plant as it had been severely injured trying to protect him. Although it only possessed basic instincts, it still saved him, which moved his heart. Zhang Mu wouldn’t be stingy with it over a recover potion.

  Zhang Mu didn’t care about his wound. He tore it apart again and poured the recovery potion inside.

  “Wake up! Bloodvine Lotus!”

  Zhang Mu roared in pain.

  “Boom!”

  As the life energy surged into his arm, Zhang Mu felt something as if a heart was pounding in his left arm.

  “Dong! Dongdong! Dongdong!

  As the sound became louder and louder, Zhang Mu became more elated.

  Beside him, No. 35 stared at Zhang Mu with a seriousness.

  This fluctuation of life... it can’t be...

  “Boom!”

  The Bloodvine Lotus woke up and exploded out from Zhang Mu’s left arm, twining around it. A moment later, more than ten vines - each twice as strong as before - broke through the skin and started waving crazily in the air like snakes.

  Zhang Mu could feel the Bloodvine Lotus’s intimacy and trust through the mental bond they shared as he touched the vines softly.

  However, in the next second, the vine noticed the other living creature in this space and suddenly went crazy.

  As it just woke up, its whole consciousness was filled with blood-thirsty impulsions.

  Dozens of vines turned around in the air and attacked No. 35 before Zhang Mu could react.

  “Hum!”

  No. 35 wasn’t shocked. His right hand reached out and stopped the swinging vines.

  “Unexpectedly, somebody had gotten to it. What a lucky guy you are.”

  No. 35 said slowly. He looked towards Zhang Mu with co
mplex emotions.

  Is there something about the Bloodvine Lotus that I don’t know of?

  Zhang Mu was curious and asked, “No. 35, what is it exactly?”

  No. 35 shook his head and answered, “I'm not allowed to say, but let me warn you. If you can’t control it well, you'll get injured, to say the least, but you may also be doomed eternally.”

  Is it really this serious? I knew the guy who owned the Bloodvine Lotus before. Indeed, his behavior was strange sometimes, but it wasn't as bad as what No. 35 is saying.

  Although the Era merchant concealed his emotion well, Zhang Mu still noticed the fear in his eyes.

  Does the Bloodvine Lotus really hold some unknown secret? Otherwise, why would the Era merchant become so scared?

  Zhang Mu noted this down in his mind. Era merchants were powerful beings. There must be a reason for his fear.

  “You can retract it now.” No. 35 put down his arm and said to Zhang Mu.

  Zhang Mu ordered the Bloodvine Lotus in his heart, then smiled bitterly, “Sorry, but I can’t control it now. I think that we have to wait for it to use up its energy.”

  No. 35 glanced at him scornfully and said, “If we do as you say, the Bloodvine Lotus won’t rest until daybreak.”

  No. 35 waved his sleeve and his flames turned into a flock of firebirds, speeding towards the vines.

  The Era merchant’s power was strong. His flames burned the vines, making the Bloodvine Lotus struggle painfully. Zhang Mu felt sorry but he could do nothing.

  In just a few seconds, dozens of vines have been burnt and fell to the ground, charred. It then shrunk back into his arm quickly.

  Zhang Mu was about to comfort the injured plant when he found a marvelous discovery.

  Where the vines have been burned was recovering and strengthening.

  The Bloodvine Lotus can become stronger as it recovers from battle!

  Chapter 58: Returning from the Grave

  Seeing this, Zhang Mu gasped.

  Was this what made No. 35 so worried? No, it couldn’t be so simple. The powerful Era merchant wouldn’t be terrified easily. However, since No. 35 wouldn't to tell him the truth, he could only try and find it by himself.