“Give him two bottles,” Ye Lian said.
Just like with Bai Xue before, she wouldn’t cheapen her help.
Whether these people were grateful or not was irrelevant.
At the very least, she wouldn’t suffer a loss when it came to profit.
Two bottles of diluted potion in exchange for a pile of materials—definitely a deal with no downsides.
“Thank you!” Jimite accepted the mental recovery potion from Bai Xue carefully, full of gratitude.
He quickly downed one bottle after the other.
In no time, his contamination level plummeted.
Ye Lian also noticed that some of his health had recovered.
It wasn’t much, but it was definitely something.
On top of that, the potion had an impressive effect on healing wounds.
‘As expected of the improved formula I made. The results are great.’
She was quite satisfied.
When the others saw the black mist drifting off Jimite’s body, they were tempted.
Their contamination levels weren’t low either, though still a bit lower than Boyang and Jimite’s.
After all, it was Boyang and Jimite who had done the bulk of the fighting, so they were more likely to get injured.
“I want to trade for one bottle,” a player said in Shade-tongue.
Unlike Ye Lian, Bai Xue had taken Shade-tongue as an elective and could communicate with him.
In the end, the player successfully traded materials for a potion.
“Anyone else want to trade?” Bai Xue glanced over the players from the Atlantic Federation.
“I do,” a player said, biting his lip hard before finally making up his mind.
Right now, no one knew the real value of anything.
He had no idea how much his materials were truly worth.
If they were highly valuable, trading them for just one potion would be a huge loss.
But if he didn’t trade, he might end up just like Boyang.
At that moment, the player drank the potion with a complicated expression.
The bitterness in his heart was undeniable.
“[Data consistent],” Ye Lian confirmed after checking the drop in his contamination level, nodding with satisfaction.
The rest of the players saw the mixed, yet slightly relieved expression on their teammate’s face, and their desire grew stronger.
In the end, their fear of contamination won out.
One by one, they handed over materials and received potions.
Once everyone’s contamination levels returned to a normal range, they all felt a wave of relief.
***
Then, someone suddenly realized something—they looked around and gasped.
The shelves, which had been completely empty during their first visit, were now lined with an array of finely crafted equipment!
Human attention could be strange sometimes.
Those shelves were so obvious, they should’ve noticed right away.
But everyone had been focused on Boyang’s condition.
Only now, when they finally relaxed, did their attention shift to the surroundings.
“Th-These are all for sale!?” one player exclaimed, unable to contain himself.
“My god! These look incredibly well-made!”
“If we had equipment like this, we wouldn’t need to be afraid of those monsters!”
“I want all of them!” someone said, eyes gleaming with greed, almost drooling.
But wanting was one thing—no one was foolish enough to try stealing.
They still remembered what Boyang said: that shopkeeper’s strength was terrifying.
In a game with no rules to protect you, violence went a long way.
In fact, violence reigned supreme.
Those who possessed overwhelming strength were the ones who held authority.
Even if some of them looked down on Ye Lian due to their strange prejudices, deep down, they feared her.
The two feelings weren’t contradictory.
Boyang and Jimite looked at the shelves full of gear with undisguised longing.
If they could get their hands on this equipment, they’d be able to crush the monsters outside and grow even stronger.
Unlike the two from Black Gold, the other players only wanted to survive.
The better the equipment, the harder it was to die.
That’s all.
Ye Lian quietly observed everyone’s expressions.
Her gaze finally landed on Boyang and Jimite.
She could tell right away—these two were clearly different from the rest.
There was a kind of steel-like quality about them.
‘Useful… no, no, no. I mean—they’re worthy of working for me.’
With her mind made up, Ye Lian spoke.
“The equipment here can also be exchanged for materials.”
At her words, everyone turned to look at her, a flash of excitement crossing their faces—only to fade just as quickly.
They had already used up all their materials to trade for the mental recovery potions.
If they wanted new materials, they’d have to go out and kill monsters or gather resources.
But now that they had just found a safe place, ‘who would be willing to take that risk?’
Boyang clenched his jaw, struggling with indecision.
Jimite wore a similar conflicted expression.
After all, the two of them had entered this game with a mission.
At least one of them had to make it out alive.
“White Knight, can we talk for a second?” Boyang exhaled softly and asked.
“Go ahead. I’m a very reasonable person,” Ye Lian replied with a calm smile.
“As long as it’s not too much, I’m open to discussion.”
Bai Xue stood still beside her like a piece of background decor.
“Well… I know this sounds shameless, but I really want a set of equipment,” Boyang said, pointing to the rack.
“Of course, I’m not asking for it for free!”
“Let’s hear it,” Ye Lian said with interest.
Bai Xue didn’t interrupt, quietly staying in place like a well-behaved kitten.
She knew her role well and always picked the right moment to speak—or stay silent.
Ye Lian liked that about her.
“I’ll do three tasks for you. It doesn’t matter if it’s in-game or in real life—three tasks. Anything within my power, I’ll do it.”
Boyang held up three fingers, swearing sincerely.
“How do I know you won’t just take the gear and run?” Ye Lian asked coldly.
Though in truth, she didn’t actually care if he ran or not.
Even if he did, it wasn’t much of a loss.
The gear wasn’t worth that much anyway.
Besides, even if they wanted to run, there wasn’t anywhere to go.
Outside of Mo City, unknown dangers lurked everywhere.
Anyone with a working brain wouldn’t dare to wander too far from the group right now.
“I can’t guarantee that. Because, let’s be honest, no one can make that kind of promise,” Boyang said truthfully.
He knew this shopkeeper wasn’t someone to mess with, so lying would only be foolish.
“Very good. I’ll give you a set,” Ye Lian nodded, then looked at Bai Xue.
“Go pick out a set for him.”
“Yes, Master.” Bai Xue obediently walked to the shelves and started gathering a full set of gear.
Boyang froze—he hadn’t expected to get it so easily.
Everyone else was stunned as well.
She was just giving out top-tier equipment like it was nothing?
‘Was this shopkeeper actually… a naïve fool?’
“If you fail to fulfill your three tasks, then you won’t have a place in Mo City anymore.”
The moment Ye Lian said that, several people finally remembered—those dark gray robots were all under her control!
***
After a bit of hushed whispering, the players who had just been thinking about scamming some free gear immediately backed off.
They had only wanted a free ride, not to be someone’s errand runner.
Considering her power and what she might request, the tasks wouldn’t be anything easy.
They were bound to be difficult—and dangerous.
“I understand,” Boyang nodded firmly.
For him, growing stronger was the top priority.
As for doing tasks for her? He’d worry about that later.
Jimite had the same thought and offered the exact same terms as Boyang.
In the end, both of them received a full set of Ant Armor.
The moment they put it on, they were hit with a wave of satisfaction.
The rock-solid defense—it felt incredibly reassuring.