Chapter 30: Astronomical Bait, A Strange Twist of Fate

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Astronomical Bait, A Strange Twist of Fate

"One hundred million a piece. They’re actually serious..."

Looking at the forum post, Yu Zhun sighed in disbelief. As if afraid people wouldn’t believe them, the poster had directly attached a bank statement proving they had the financial backing.

The eye-catching bounty had already drawn thousands of replies in a short time. Some commenters thought it was utterly absurd. After all, Level 10 Master Level equipment only sold for one or two million. What right did a Level 5 piece have to command a hundred million?

Other players believed Level 5 Master Level equipment didn’t even exist, pointing out that they had never seen such items in the Trading House. Still, a massive chunk of the player base was fired up, enthusiastically spamming questions about where they could acquire this fabled Level 5 Master Level equipment. Naturally, they were destined to be left without answers.

"Yu Zhun, Yu Zhun! You have to do your best! Just getting our hands on one piece would be enough for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives!" Yu Zhu grabbed Yu Zhun’s arm and shook it vigorously, her excitement practically spilling over.

Yu Zhun found her antics amusing. "Do you even know where to get Level 5 Master Level equipment?"

"Nope." Yu Zhu threw her hands up. "I’m purely a theorist. After all, I’m not old enough to enter the Divine Revelation World yet.

"Since you’ve already entered the Divine Revelation World, the arduous task of making us filthy rich is naturally yours to bear!"

"Making us filthy rich, huh..." Yu Zhun read the post carefully once again. To be honest, he was incredibly tempted. After all, sitting right there in his inventory was Level 5 Master Level equipment.

Five pieces of it, in fact.

Selling just a single piece would earn enough money for him and Yu Zhuzhu to squander for the rest of their lives. When he obtained the first piece, he hadn’t planned on selling it; he wanted to save it for Yu Zhuzhu to use in the future. But now, he also had a Level 5 Epic piece of equipment in his possession. He could keep two Master Level pieces to help Yu Zhuzhu build a set later, leaving the other three Master Level pieces completely free to sell.

He picked up his phone to reply to the poster, but at the very last second, he stopped.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

No one had ever offered such an exorbitant price for Level 5 Master Level equipment before. Yet today, the very moment he emerged from the Nether Trial, this buyer magically appeared. Was this really a coincidence?

Silently putting his phone away, Yu Zhun looked over at Yu Zhu. "Yu Zhuzhu, did anything else special happen today?"

"Yeah, actually. Remember that new SSS-rank talent I told you about a few days ago? Open and Aboveboard?" Yu Zhu chuckled. "Today, that talent’s ranking on the Talent Leaderboard suddenly shot up from 93rd place—the absolute lowest among SSS-rank talents—straight up to 42nd.

"It’s sparked quite a debate on the forums! But I think a hundred million for a piece of Level 5 Master Level equipment is way more shocking."

Yu Zhun listened, then silently tapped into the thread discussing the Talent Leaderboard shift. He cross-referenced the time the rankings updated with the exact time he had been slaughtering monsters in the Nether Trial. The timeline was a perfect match. Furthermore, the bounty post for the Level 5 Master Level equipment had gone up immediately *after* his talent ranking shifted.

Instantly, a cold sweat broke out across Yu Zhun’s forehead.

"Yu Zhun?" Noticing his sudden change in demeanor, Yu Zhu tilted her head. "What’s wrong?"

"I just gave up a chance to become a billionaire," Yu Zhun lamented bitterly.

"Quit joking around, you don’t even have any Level 5 Master Level equipment." Yu Zhu laughed. "It’s fine! Who knows, maybe tomorrow when you log in, a Level 5 Master Level piece will drop right into your lap!"

Yu Zhun reached out and ruffled Yu Zhu’s hair. "Let’s go out to eat later. Right now, there’s something I need to think about." Remembering something, he turned back to her. "Oh, right. Do you have any strategy guides for after I enter the Main City?"

"Which Main City?"

"Divine Strategy City."

"No problem. I’ll have it ready for you tonight."

"...You won’t need a full forty-nine days?"

"More like forty-nine minutes."

Yu Zhun gave her a thumbs-up. He retreated to his room, lay down on his bed, and fell into deep thought.

The shift in the Talent Leaderboard was entirely unexpected. He suspected that interested parties were already tracking him. But if that was the case... was his hard-earned Level 5 Master Level equipment just going to sit and rot in his inventory? Once he entered a Main City, his expenses would skyrocket compared to now.

Suddenly, Yu Zhun thought of a solution and picked up his phone.

Blue Star had long ago developed technology that closely interfaced with the Divine Revelation World. Players could manage their in-game trades directly from Blue Star, and any friends added within the Divine Revelation World would automatically sync to their Blue Star messaging apps. Both the messaging app and the Trading House were operated by the Divine Revelation Hall.

Opening his friend list, Yu Zhun quickly located the player with the ID [Ji Xiaoyu]. It was the wealthy woman who had bought his Magic Staff last time. Back then, he hadn’t displayed any anomalies, meaning her motive for adding him had absolutely nothing to do with his talent. Her identity was relatively simple.

However, he still needed to keep a Heart Eye open.

Tapping into Ji Xiaoyu’s profile, Yu Zhun copied her account ID. He then registered a brand-new burner account for himself and sent her a friend request.

Request note: "Introduced by a friend. I have equipment to sell."

***

"Grandpa, you’re back?"

Inside a lavish mansion, Ji Xiaoyu grinned at Ji Ruoxu as he walked through the door. She immediately bounded over and began attentively massaging his shoulders.

"He who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions," Ji Ruoxu said, shaking his head in fond exasperation. "Spit it out. What do you want?"

"Grandpa, I saw the bounty post looking for Level 5 Master Level equipment. Is it real?" Ji Xiaoyu’s eyes sparkled. "If I manage to buy three pieces, will I finally be able to get a Nether Trial Invitation?"

"You still haven’t given up on that?" Ji Ruoxu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"You just don’t understand the heart of a completionist." Ji Xiaoyu pouted. "If I’m missing a title, my life just feels incomplete."

"Well, you aren’t going to be able to buy this equipment," Ji Ruoxu said, unable to stop himself from shaking his head. "Level 5 Master Level equipment can only be obtained from the Nether Trial. That forum post is just bait."

"Huh?" Ji Xiaoyu blinked in surprise before realization dawned on her. "You mean that post is trying to root out the player who entered the Nether Trial?" Her expression turned grave. "Only extremely talented players can even access the Nether Trial. Does that mean the person who made the post is..."

"Exactly." An inscrutable glint flashed through Ji Ruoxu’s eyes. "However, the fisherman is often just another fish waiting to be caught. Let’s drop the subject for now and eat." Ji Ruoxu lifted the takeout containers in his hands. "I got all your favorites."

"Great!" Ji Xiaoyu followed Ji Ruoxu into the dining room. She casually checked her phone, only to pause in surprise.

"Someone added me? A seller?" she wondered.

After a moment of thought, she accepted the friend request. Before she could even ask who they were, the stranger sent a screenshot and a terse, "Buying?"

The moment Ji Xiaoyu registered the contents of the screenshot, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"This is..."

"Grandpa! Come look at this!"