Chapter 8 Bluffing Bluffing
As Yang Yu had expected, after triggering the hidden story, the rest of the slimes along the road were extremely weak, and he effortlessly completed the first task.
After strolling around the village, he didn't trigger any other tasks, so Yang Yu decided to leave Newbie Village and become an adventurer in the nearest city.
On the day he left, both his parents were at the edge of the village.
Kari stuffed a wooden box into his son's carriage and walked to the front, patted the sturdy horse, and smiled at Yang Yu, who was sitting in the driver's seat.
"Be extra careful on the road."
Without much talk, Kari's eyes nonetheless betrayed a hint of reluctance; his son had grown up before he knew it.
Lisa was by the carriage, "After you've made it on your own as an adventurer, you must come back!"
Her voice trembled as she tried desperately to control herself, fists clenched to prevent tears, afraid she'd grab Yang Yu and make him stay.
"Don't worry, mom and dad, take good care of yourselves too."
Waving goodbye to his parents, Yang Yu whipped the reins.
The horse moved along briskly, the carriage carrying five or six boxes. Except for the last box Kari had put on, the contents of the other boxes had already been stored in the System by Yang Yu.
A blue jelly wobbled out from Yang Yu's backpack and climbed up to his shoulder, swaying back and forth, crying hungrily.
He retrieved a pot from the System, planted a seed, spent a little MP to activate the Skill, and a four-leaf clover sprouted from the pot.
He Meng leapt down from Yang Yu's shoulder and enveloped the entire pot, relishing the feast.
After completing the initial tasks and to level up, Yang Yu had fought with many Low-level Slimes, but He Meng had never once lifted a finger.
Perhaps it was because both were Slimes, and as a Royal Family member, it disdained fighting, but Yang Yu tended to believe that controlling a Demon for battle requires a certain Favorability from the creature.
By continuously feeding four-leaf clovers, He Meng's Favorability finally got back to zero, but after that, no matter how much he fed it, the Favorability never increased.
How to raise He Meng's Favorability, he had no clue.
"What a hassle, if only there was a sphere that could capture Demons directly, regardless of Favorability for controlling them to fight. Such a waste of good attributes."
He Meng didn't fight, and Yang Yu was not in a rush; when the time came, it would naturally make a move, very Zen.
Driving the carriage leisurely forward, Yang Yu opened the System and flicked through the newly added lottery draw feature.
Lottery draws often tantalize players, leading them into the delusion of "Next time for sure" or "Defy fate, hit the jackpot at once," resulting in them spending more and more.
Nearly all games use lottery draws to keep players hooked, although there are players who, due to bad luck, are driven away.
Lottery draw chances: three times, 50% Skill, 20% Tools, 20% Junk, 10% Equipment
Newbie benefits, three consecutive draws; surely, he couldn't possibly draw three pieces of junk in a row, right?
[Congratulations to the player for obtaining a glass marble (Junk).]
[Congratulations to the player for obtaining a glass marble (Junk).]
[Congratulations to the player for obtaining a glass marble (Junk).]
Huh? WTF?
I could probably manage a triple play here; wait, no, I should've gotten a two-star glass marble.
Opening the Tools panel and taking them out for inspection, the three glass marbles didn't have anything special about them; they were just like the ones in checker games, even the size and the pattern inside were exactly the same.
If there was anything special about them, it was that these glass beads were much smoother than the ones he used to play with as a child.
Even though he was prepared for the worst, actual disappointment still sent a chill through Yang Yu.
Why can someone else trigger good items with just Luck 1, and I can't?
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Indeed, some things just can't be done without the protagonist's halo.
Yang Yu didn't believe in metaphysics because it was truly useless, whether it was rubbing off some luck or opening draws at midnight—none could change his fate of perennial misfortune.
From a young age, his luck was terrible; when it came to card draws, he always had others do it for him, as his own attempts would only produce the "African Chieftain" title given out by the officials.
When he harbored the slightest hope that he might be European, reality would always slap him in the face, telling him, "Get a good night's sleep; you can have everything in your dreams."
Having to rely on his own draws also indirectly increased the difficulty of the game.
His live stream was known to warm hearts and was dubbed the most Africa-friendly broadcast, which allowed it to maintain a lukewarm status.
Thinking about it, bad luck wasn't necessarily a terrible thing.
Besides, deemed trash by the system, these three glass marbles were not without value. A little effort could turn waste into treasure.
Like a millionaire from straws, some items only reveal their greatest value in the hands of those who understand them or those who truly need them.
With a bold idea in mind, he smiled smugly, reached the nearest town of Rhodes, and after settling his carriage, he immediately headed straight for the town's jewelry shop.
The jewelry shop was magnificent, and various gems shone with enchanting brilliance, starkly contrasting with the plainly dressed Yang Yu.
As Yang Yu looked around and cautiously protected the glass beads, he successfully caught the attention of a clerk, struck up a conversation, and met the owner of the jewelry store.
Inside the private room, the jewelry store owner, Ge Gen, examined the glass bead for a long time, set down his appraisal glasses, and extended all five fingers weighted down by rings on his chubby face that betrayed no emotion.
"50 bucks, take it or leave it?"
"Isn't that a bit too little?" Yang Yu leaned on the sofa opposite the jewelry store owner, elegantly lifted the tea for a taste, and handled himself with ease.
"50G is already considering that I don't want you to have made a wasted trip. To be honest, your item is just trash, about the same material as glass used for windows. Probably some junk you picked up thinking it was a treasure," after belittling the item, the jewelry store owner changed his tone, "Well, even though it's junk, I do have some customers who like collecting weird stones. Your item might shine in their hands. But as it stands, that's what it's worth."
Yang Yu chuckled, put down his teacup, and said, "I think you shouldn't underestimate me. To be honest with you, this stone was found by an 'adventurer' in a labyrinth."
The jewelry store owner pushed the glass bead back, looking displeased.
"Often people come in with stones they've picked up, claiming they're treasures from labyrinths, but it's hard to verify. I can only make a judgment based on my standards. If you're not selling, take it back!"
Yang Yu pushed the owner's hand back.
"I understand your concerns. To be frank, that adventurer did all kinds of research on this stone and couldn't figure out its uniqueness. In the end, it was deemed trash and given to me. But I don't think it's garbage."
In my world, it truly is garbage, but not necessarily here.
"What do you mean?"
"Take a good look at the roundness of this glaze glass bead. It's on par with a crystal ball, if not superior. You should know the smaller an item like this spherical shape, the harder it is to polish, even if using magic. The precision of magical control must reach a special degree."
Ge Gen's gaze sharpened, and his eyes inadvertently locked onto the small glass ball in his hand.
"Why are you so sure that this small ball is man-made and not naturally formed?"
"It's not that I'm certain, it's that you're certain. If this small ball were naturally formed, then its value would be immeasurable."
The sudden statement made the jewelry store owner's eyes bulge as if his thoughts were laid bare.
"In the end, most gemstones are just common minerals, only sought after because they can be crafted into various beautiful objects, or are as rare as gold, catching people's eyes and creating status symbols, giving them their special value."
Yang Yu seized the moment and exaggerated further,
"Look at this stone, and note the three wonderful arcs inside depicting the 'Shadow Stream Master.' Such a pattern isn't simply formed naturally. Let's assume this glazed glass bead is, as you believe, truly man-made.
Perhaps in this world, there is someone who can make such things, but the person who can craft such a beautiful glazed bead and embed three intertwining colored arcs wouldn't care about the likes of us common folk; they're not short of money."
The jewelry store owner pondered.
"Even if such a person appeared, that would be a concern for later, not something for you and me to worry about now," Yang Yu whispered like a demon, "To put it simply, if I sell this to you, and you inflate the price and sell it before others catch on, it's a surefire profitable business."
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