But that price blinded Fang Hong's dog eyes.

The dwarf merchant didn't realize the young boy's inner conflict and was still smiling broadly. "Look at this exquisite craftsmanship, the perfect exterior, it's practically a work of art. Just like a Combat Artisan, it strives for the ultimate perfection. You must be an Alchemist yourself, I believe.

Any Alchemist would dream of becoming a Combat Artisan, and perhaps this Magic Guided Reactor could make your dream come true."

He looked up at the luxurious, glittering equipment and said enticingly, "This is the first 'Central Nerve' AE-type Magic Guided Reactor that our camp has sold, and I believe you would certainly want to be someone who owns it."

Fang Hong swallowed hard with a gulp.

"Ade is already a Combat Artisan," a voice came from behind the shelves, with a hint of speaking up for him.

Fang Hong looked over in surprise, but the speaker stayed hidden behind the shelves, until Tianlan's voice came from outside: "What are you mumbling about?"

"Wait, wait a moment—"

"Wait for what?"

Then Fang Hong saw the French girl dragging someone in.

The person was indeed a tall Trainee boy—Luo Yu.

The latter had a rare embarrassed expression on his usually serious face, and looked at Fang Hong somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry... I spoke out of turn."

Fang Hong looked at him slightly puzzled but shook his head to indicate he didn't mind. He had actually noticed that this peer of about his own age had been paying attention to him all along.

"Brother Ade, what are you doing?" Tianlan asked curiously.

Fang Hong was about to answer.

But at that moment, the dwarf once again exaggeratedly interrupted their conversation: "Ah, my apologies! I had no idea you were a Combat Artisan—I have been disrespectful. I trust that with your professional eye, you certainly understand its value."

It was then that Fang Hong remembered there was still this issue at hand. He couldn't help scratching his head; he understood the value of the item, but precisely because of that, he knew he couldn't afford it.

Even if he sold himself, he couldn't afford it.

But before Fang Hong could figure out how to decline, Tianlan asked in surprise, "Ah, why is there one missing here?"

The dwarf was immediately at a loss for words. Clearly, this 'Central Nerve' AE-type Magic Guided Reactor was not the first one sold, and his previous claims were merely baseless boasts.

Tianlan looked at the dwarf meaningfully: "Wow, you're not committing consumer fraud, are you?"

The term "consumer fraud" is also a foreign concept, but obviously, this native swindler merchant understood the meaning of the term and its implications.

The maxim of the Colin Commercial League is 'fair trade,' and their emblem is derived from the Commercial Temple's Hyland Scale, symbolizing justice and the principle of cash on delivery.

Merchants mostly worship the Shelter Protector Roman, the Goddess of Fortune, who admires the ability of her Believers to seize opportunities. But as a Goddess of Order as well, she likewise upholds the normal commercial Order.

Fraud is absolutely not permitted.

"How, how can that be?" said the dwarf, sweating profusely.

He had earlier judged that Fang Hong was a complete rookie and easy to deceive, but he hadn't anticipated that someone was eavesdropping and his clever companion had overheard his lies.

He was not a free merchant, and even without the Goddess's punishment, the Colin Commercial League above him would not let him off. This loss wasn't something he could afford.

"Are you saying I heard wrong?" Tianlan asked ominously.

"No, no, that's not it, of course not," the dwarf wiped his sweat, but a merchant is a merchant, and he quickly recovered, hastily saying, "It was my mistake, my oversight."

"Is that so?" The French girl tapped the luxurious equipment: "Shall we go by the rules then?"

The little dwarf showed a look of acute distress: "A 10% discount, a 10% discount should be enough to show my sincerity, right, all three of you?"

"A 10% discount?" Tianlan stared at him with wide eyes, a look of incredulity on her face.

The dwarf merchant glanced at the Magic Guided Reactor in her hand, calculated the marked-up price in his mind, and knowing that the markup on new products is generally very high, confirmed that he would still make a profit before finally making up his mind. "A 20% discount, I can't go any lower!"

"20% off, really?"

"Of course, it's true," the dwarf answered through gritted teeth, his expression showing his heart bleeding.

And Fang Hong, who was witnessing this confrontation, was utterly astonished. He couldn't help but look over at Luo Yu, who seemed experienced and unsurprised by the haggling.

At that moment, other people also heard the altercation and walked in from outside.

Among them, Atira seemed totally unsurprised, even coming over to pat Fang Hong on the shoulder, signaling him to keep calm.

To be honest, Fang Hong was actually a bit panicked at that moment because even with a 20% discount, he still couldn't afford the Magic Guided Reactor worth hundreds of thousands. It was too luxurious, too extravagant.

Oh, no.

It was too embarrassing.

...

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