Chapter 7

"Thirty thousand! That 's my price!"

Akilah wanted to punch a woman.

He knows, it sounds wrong and it is wrong to want to punch a woman, but this one was asking for it.

He had gone for a walk with Thea, just to buy some food and maybe even look around at a Seed Distributor now that he had more money to see if there's any other oddball like Deniz and Amy.

But then he ended up at a disposal center, looking around old pieces of just and trinkets that caught his attention.

He discovered he had a liking for engineering after coming to this world, and since his comprehension ability got much better since crossing to this world, he started having his own small projects, so he sometimes went to disposal centers to get some less beat up pieces to experiment on since they were cheaper.

Hey! He might have money now, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't want a cheaper version of things.

Anyway, he was on his way to pay for hisbthings when he met her.

The woman he wanted to punch.

She was at the counter, demanding a high price for the android she wanted to sell.

It was a guy with delicate features, fair skin and black hair and eyes, he was in perfect condition, no parts missing or anything, so why was he being sold off in a disposal center of all places?

It didn't take long for him to figure it out.

Androids are usually bought to help around the house or in companies, but sometimes they are bought to give pleasure.

But, unlike normal androids, these models aren't refundable to the public, only to the places that work with these models, and most didn't like buying a second hand android when it came down there.

So they could only be sold in disposal centers.

But that didn't sit well with him, Androids were too human-like for him to let it happen.

So he tried to negotiate with her, but she kept demanding an absurd price.

He could afford it, Subnautica had enough sales for him to be able to do so, but the thing is…

"This price you're asking is three time above the market price of a newly bought android" He said "The more expensive ones is only half your price and the second hand ones are cheaper than the cheaper ones, no way anyone will by your Android, even more when it's your second hand toy"

Her face became red with rage for her failure, but then she looked at Thea.

"And what does a brat like you know?" She asked with condescending smile "This model you have is one of the oldest I've seen, no way you actually know the new prices"

Well, it's true that Thea is a bit old, being his mother's first Android during her teenage years, but that was uncalled for.

She has been getting her upgrades and repairs on time! She's just as functional and resourceful as any other new android!

Now he was a little bit pissed.

"Did you know what you're doing is against the law?" He said.

The woman froze, smile twitching slightly.

"Thea, could you show me Eden's law firm?" He asked with a stiff smile "Section fourteen article eight.

She gave him a curious look, but extended her hand to show an holographic page that showed Eden's law firm, exactly were he asked for.

With that, he looked at the woman, who started reading the law firm with a pale face, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"You're trying to resell an Android for a price that is not even allowed by law" He said "A second hand Android can only be sold at best nine thousand, I wouldn't say anything if you had just actually negotiated with me, but you kept insisting on a ridiculous price far above an Android should be sold"

Her expression became fearful, but he gave her no mind.

"Six thousand" He said firmly "Or I'll report you"

The procedures went smoothly after that, even the ownership transfer was easy.

The wonders of blackmail.

But now he had one problem.

"Have you decided to buy a toy now?"

When he came back people were quick to notice the new edition, along with his appearance.

They were quick to mock Akilah after that, but he paid them no mind, going back to his place with his purchases.

He managed to fetch a good discount in some pieces and he had some projects to try out.

But then, after letting the new guy with Thea to let him familiarize himself with their exchedule, the principal came to his door.

He was utterly embarrassed.

"So you didn't get an Android to-"

"No!"

Because a male Android with delicate appearance are the most popular for 'that', a person with one is seen as someone who likes to do 'that'.

"Carter will be my assistante" He explained "I got a program from Eden that will give him the ability to assist me with the legal part of owning a company and help me manage my accounts"

He was planning on doing that already, but he wasn't planning on buying a second Android so soon.

Carter, his second android, came at the right time, now all that was missing was the program that would arrive this afternoon.

He also explained how he got Carter and the principal visibly relaxed at the information.

"Warn me next time you do something like that boy" He said while accepting the tea Thea offered to him "I nearly had a heart attack after someone reported you for doing 'that' in your dorms"

Akilah wanted to bury his head somewhere, but kept his composure for long enough to accept a cup of tea.

The room became quiet as they drank the tea, Akilah was used to the flavor, as this was his favorite, but the principal was surprised.

"That's some good tea" He said "May I know the name?"

"Just chamomile and honey" Thea responded "Good to help you calm down"

"I had chamomile and honey before" The man said "It wasn't that good"

"Thea had been doing this tea since my mom was a teenage" Akilah said "She had time to learn the way to make a good tea"

The man nodded and, after that, they started having a proper conversation as Thea went to get some snacks and Carter went with her out of curiosity.

***

"Hello everybody! Who's excited for Slime Rancher?"

- I am!

- Who isn't?

- That's gonna be so fun!

She has been excited to play this game since the close Beta testing section and have been discussing the game with her two teammates ever since, but now she was ready to play!

She was chatting with the viewers excitedly and thanking them for the donations as usual when one message popped up.

- Aren't you a little early? There's still one hour.

Jayleen started her live stream earlier than usual, but there was a good reason for that.

With a smug grin, she dropped the bomb.

"All Beta testers receive a code for early access, I can enter the game now!"

- What-

- That 's unfair!

- I want early access too!

Ignoring the chat, Jayleen went to her gaming capsule and didn't hesitate to enter the game.

She was met with a menu that showed various options and many slimes jumping around.

She pressed play and two figures appeared in front of her, each one of them had a name above them.

Beatrix and Viator.

Both had dark skin, peppermint hair and carried a Vackpack.

"This wasn't in the Beta testing section!" She said "We just had Beatrix there!"

She quickly chose Beatrix and the game officially started as she became the character.

She followed the tutorial for the viewers to understand what she was doing and gave her own inputs from time to time.

"It's better to keep just twenty pink slimes in the first curral" She explained "Too many of them and you will get confused, it's also easier to just collect plorts outside the ranch to get some cash"

She quickly left the ranch premises to capture more slimes, collect some plots and get some food for the slimes.

The game was simple and aimless, just grind to your heart's content and explore this peaceful world.

"What's that!?"

She saw a big slime that looked like a mix of pink and tabby slime.

"That one wasn't in the Beta testing section!"

She excitedly went to check the smilepedia for explanations.

"This big guy is a Largo slime" She explained "They appear when a normal slime eats the plort differently from its own, they produce two plorts, one for each type of slime that composes it, and four after getting fed and four if they eat a favorite food, also in the same proporcion"

She frowned at the next bit of information in the Ranchers Risks.

"What's a Tar?"

Looking at the simple description of a Tar, she became curious, and so was the chat.

. Make one! Make one!

. Is that a good idea?

. How much danger can it pose if water can defeat it?

. But if it's on the Risks tab, shouldn't it be dangerous?

. Just do it!

Well, if the chat wanted…

But first…

"I'll go get some water first, there was a water source close by in the starter area during the Beta testing section"

She had seen it and was able to collect some with the Vackpack, but she didn't see any use for it before.

Now it seems to be useful?

Finding the water source was easy.

Jayleen filled one slot with water, fetched a rock slime plort and returned came closer to the closest pink tabby Largo slime she could find.

"Alright guys, here goes nothing!"

She threw the plort to the slime, who came closer before eating it.

It then stopped moving and its body started to change.

Its body started to get darker and its cute features started to disappear.

"I… don't think that was a good idea" She said.

That was, in fact, not a good idea.

Jayleen was soon running away from the Tar, completely forgetting that she had water to throw at it.