Chapter 43: If You Don’t Have Money, Just Write an IOU |
“As long as you pay. Just reimburse me for what I spent buying them.”
“How much do you want?”
“I still have three sets of Sacred Artifacts left, 54 pieces in total. Each one is 50 Gold Coins.”
H-How much?!
The moment Jiang Chen finished speaking, Vivian looked utterly incredulous.
Wait a second, Lord Evil God—you bought them for 10 Gold Coins each, didn’t you? Quoting 50 is way too ruthless!
And didn’t you buy six sets in total? Why are you only saying three sets?
Lord Evil God even skimmed off two sets!
“That’s impossible!” Hearing Jiang Chen’s price, Aelia’s voice rose sharply.
“50 Gold Coins! You’re clearly talking nonsense—they were selling them for 10!”
Jiang Chen was slightly surprised.
Didn’t expect this NPC to be quite crafty—she even checked the market!
But it didn’t matter.
“I’m not talking nonsense.”
“These things vary in quality. The good ones—like mine—can summon magical creatures.”
“You say they sell for 10 Gold Coins, then let me ask you—can a 10 Gold Coin item summon a magical creature?”
Aelia froze for a moment upon hearing Vivian’s words.
Thinking about it, that actually seemed to make sense.
But of course, she could not admit it.
“Absolutely impossible! Even if they can summon creatures, they wouldn’t cost that much!”
Vivian sneered.
“No way, no way—don’t tell me a dignified Enforcement Officer of Silvermoon City is actually broke?”
“So what if I don’t have money? Did I eat your rice? No matter what, you can’t take these Sacred Artifacts away.”
Vivian did not care in the slightest.
“Hmph, whether I can take them or not isn’t up to you!” As she spoke, she shook the bracelet on her wrist.
“What are you trying to do?” Seeing the bracelet, Aelia clearly became nervous.
Vivian waved her hand, signaling her to calm down. “What could I do? Attacking an Enforcement Officer is a serious crime.”
“But...” Vivian’s tone shifted as she stared at Aelia with a sinister look.
“Don’t think I don’t know—you just want this achievement, and you don’t want to pay.”
“There’s no such thing as getting something for nothing.”
Aelia was stunned by Vivian’s words.
Wait... how did she know exactly what she was thinking?!
Before Aelia could react, Vivian spoke again.
“I’ve got plenty of ways to deal with this. For example, I could sell this achievement to your competitor. When he gets promoted, I’ll have him make your life miserable every day!”
Hearing this, Aelia broke out in a cold sweat.
What a vicious Vivian!
How could she come up with such a despicable method?!
Taking a deep breath, Aelia forced herself to calm down.
Arguing with this infuriating person was not worth it.
And based on her understanding of this person—she might actually do it.
“You win!”
Jiang Chen grinned.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, then gently set it down and smacked his lips.
His gaze returned to the screen.
“Amateur. You think you can compete with me? Easy win.”
“So what are you waiting for? Pay up.”
“But I don’t have that much money... can you make it cheaper?” Aelia’s eyes flickered uneasily.
“How much do you have?”
“1000 Gold Coins...”
“Only 1000?” Jiang Chen looked at this poor NPC with utter disdain.
“54 pieces, total 2700 Gold Coins. Not a single coin less.”
“I’m not unreasonable. I’ll give you a huge discount—let’s call it 3000 Gold Coins. You just need to write an IOU for 2000.”
“Normally, lending money would involve interest.”
“But considering your special profession, which contributes to Silvermoon City, I’ll waive the interest.”
Aelia was momentarily speechless after hearing Vivian’s words.
“An IOU? And interest too?”
“And also, how did 2700 Gold Coins get discounted into 3000?!”
Vivian shrugged.
“Otherwise? And let me correct you—I just said that considering your profession, I won’t charge you interest.”
Aelia’s chest heaved violently. “Should I thank you for that?”
“No need. It’s only right.”
“Right my foot! 1000 at most, not a coin more!”
“An IOU is absolutely impossible. An Enforcement Officer only earns 100 Gold Coins a month—I’d have to go without food or drink for over a year to repay that!”
Vivian looked at Aelia as if she were an idiot.
“Are you stupid? Once you get promoted, your income will increase.”
“It’s only about 20 more Gold Coins per month.”
Hearing this, Vivian sized Aelia up from head to toe.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Feeling uneasy, Aelia instinctively took two steps back.
“So why do you want to get promoted?”
“Of course to better capture criminals!”
Vivian clapped her hands. “Such an innocent idea. Kid, honestly, you’re not suited for this line of work.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re like Cao Pi’s wife entering a vegetable garden—Zhen Ji pulling vegetables.”
Aelia: ???
Although she did not understand, she felt certain this person was mocking her.
“Anyway... sigh, forget it. I’ll take another step back—1500, no less. Otherwise, deal’s off!”
“If it were me, let me put it this way—if I didn’t earn tens of thousands a year after getting promoted, I’d be too embarrassed to say I got promoted.”
As she spoke, Vivian could not hide the disdain in her eyes toward Aelia.
“How could you possibly earn tens of thousands!” Aelia felt that Vivian was completely clueless, just spouting nonsense.
But she could also tell that this infuriating person would not lower the price any further.
Finally, Aelia gritted her teeth and compromised.
“I’ll write it!”
.....
Not long after, Vivian and Lilith stood side by side, watching Aelia’s departing figure, even waving goodbye.
“Take care! Don’t forget to repay when you get your salary!”
In response, Aelia turned back and shot her a fierce glare.
Vivian did not care at all.
Her gaze fell on the IOU in her hand.
“With this IOU in my hands, you’re in for a rough time.”
She put the IOU away.
As for Aelia, Jiang Chen practically wanted to give her a “Good Person Card.”
Originally, Jiang Chen had thought the Boss set would have at least seven or eight pieces.
So he had gone all out when collecting Sacred Artifacts.
Who would have thought the Deep Sea set only had three pieces?
This made Jiang Chen feel like things had gone wrong.
While he was still thinking about how to deal with the extra Sacred Artifacts—
Who would have expected Aelia to walk right into his trap?
This made Jiang Chen feel like it would be a waste not to take advantage of her.
......
After seeing Aelia off, Lilith immediately turned her gaze toward Vivian.
Then she asked the question she had been most curious about:
“So Vivian, how much did you pay for those Sacred Artifacts?”
“10 Gold Coins.”