Chapter 121
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Profitable Haggling
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The guy's face crumpling in real-time the moment he heard my response was truly a spectacle.
He must have anticipated I'd jack up the price a bit and call him out on it, but he never dreamed I'd hike it tenfold.
"5,000 coins? Are you fucking insane?"
"No? I'm perfectly sane."
"Wasn't that 500 coins? Calling it ten times that—is that what a sane person does?!"
"Ah, if it's too much, don't buy it then."
Leaving the guy behind as he yelled with a face full of complaints, I turned to walk away when a desperate voice called out.
"W-Wait a sec! Hold on just a minute."
I turned back around at the sound.
His face was still brimming with dissatisfaction, but it seemed they really needed the generator and purifier. Especially since power and clean water would cut off starting tomorrow—it was only natural.
"What? Weren't you saying it was too expensive to buy?"
"Hah... You're really trying to sell for 5,000 coins? Fuck, even jacking it up, that's way too much."
"That's up to me. Like I said earlier, don't like it? Don't buy. I don't care if you don't."
Honestly, it'd be much better if these guys bought them.
Even selling at 1,000 coins instead of 5,000 would still be plenty profitable, and frankly, I had no use for these things anyway—no need to keep them.
So as long as I sold above cost, it was all good.
But no reason to show that hand, so I had to play it bold.
The key was to give off the vibe that if they didn't buy, someone else dying to snatch them up would.
"Boss! We don't have time for this bullshit—just take it by force!"
One of the guys who'd been listening to our exchange stormed forward in a rage.
Casually aiming his gun at me, he smirked and said,
"If you don't wanna die, hand it over while we're being nice. Actually, hand over everything you've got. It's not just the stuff you're trying to sell us, right?"
"Hmm... I'm being as gentlemanly as I can here, so if you push like this, you're the ones in trouble."
"Keep bluffing. Hand over the goods before I put holes in you!"
I'd genuinely just wanted to sell the stuff and earn coins peacefully, but if they came at me like this, I had no choice.
Just kill every last one of them here.
With my Plunder skill maxed out anyway, slaughtering them all would net me coins equivalent to what I'd planned from selling the generator and purifier.
I could always sell what I'd meant for them to someone else.
The moment I moved to wipe them out effortlessly, the one who seemed like the leader shouted.
"Hey, Chanseok! Get back to your spot now."
"Huh? What do you—"
"No backtalk—get back now."
"A-Alright..."
At the leader's command, the guy who'd been aiming at me trudged back reluctantly.
I could see the leader's expression—twisted with frustration toward me just moments ago—had completely changed.
I'd expected him to charge, so this was unexpected.
"Ahem, so... you're selling each for 5,000 coins? Sorry, but we don't have that much. Could you lower the price a bit?"
"Lower the price?"
"Yeah, it was 500 coins before. Jacking it to ten times is too much of a rip-off. I get you wanna make coins, but at that price, most folks can't buy easy."
I pretended to mull it over at his words.
If they agreed at ten times when I called it, great. If they haggled like now, that was fine too.
I hadn't come in dead set on ten times.
"Then how much lower?"
Here, I had to act like I was open to talk. That's how they'd sense room for negotiation and commit to the deal.
"The coins we've got right now... 2,000 is all. So, 1,000 each—sell at that."
"What? 1,000 coins? That's way too low. Asking to slash from 5,000 to 1,000—like we're haggling on some used goods site we met on? Dropping to a fifth of the price—does that even make sense?"
Selling at the price he just threw out was fine, but judging by the shady vibe, claiming only 2,000 coins was a lie.
They definitely had more, so I needed to squeeze out as much as possible.
"But that's really all we've got. No coins, how can we buy something jacked up like that?"
"Then you can't buy. I'll just find someone who can pay even more~"
Curious what reaction this would provoke, I watched leisurely, and the leader grimaced, beckoning one of his underlings closer with a finger.
"Gonna have a quick talk—wait a bit."
"Sure, take your time."
The two stepped away to whisper out of my earshot—or so they thought, but unfortunately for them, I heard every word crystal clear.
"How many coins do we have right now?"
"5,612 coins currently."
"Hah... That crazy bastard doesn't seem like he'll budge an inch. This gonna work?"
"Even so, he can't seriously expect that price. In haggling, the first call is always inflated on purpose. We should start low to counter."
The brainy one had a point. I had indeed started at ten times on purpose.
"Still, we can't reveal our exact count. Show our full hand, and he'll really hold at that price."
"Got it. I'll try calling low as possible."
"By the way, boss, why'd you stop Chanseok earlier?"
This, I was curious about too.
"That... call it instinct. Got a dangerous vibe off that guy. Like poking a hornet's nest you shouldn't—no, worse, like opening the gates of hell. That's why I stopped him."
"Huh? You mean... we might all die to him?"
"Hard to believe, I know, but my gut says so. And it's kept me alive this far—I'll vouch for it."
The underling nodded helplessly, and the leader wrapped up, heading back my way.
He opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it.
"So, you've got 5,612 coins, huh? Hand it all over. Then I'll sell you the generator and purifier."
His face rotted in real-time. He'd assumed I couldn't have overheard.
Nailing their exact count must've convinced him.
"You just heard us?"
"It reached my ears—what can I do? So, you buying or not?"
"Urk..."
This guy really couldn't lie worth a damn.
Even if I said I heard, he should've bluffed denial at least.
He agonized over my words for a while before nodding reluctantly.
"Fine, got it. 5,600 coins. That work?"
"Good. Huge loss for me, but I'll let it go at that. Transfer the coins first."
"Show the goods first then. Gotta confirm they're real."
"Sure? Hold on."
I stepped somewhere out of their sight, hid my body, and pulled the generator and small purifier from my Subspace.
No need to reveal the Subspace to scum like these.
Back with the items, the leader handed over 5,600 coins.
"Good deal. Coins received—take 'em."
"These aren't... busted or anything, right?"
"As if. I'm not that shady."
They took the goods, grumbling but helpless, and left.
After the smooth transaction, I moved spots for the next deal.
Things went swimmingly.
Like the first, calling 5,000 each—some claimed they didn't have that much but scraped together what they could to buy; others denied it and lunged at me.
Obviously, I flexed a bit of power on the aggressive ones, making them submit, or wiped out the whole packs charging in.
Slaughtering them netted coins via Plunder.
Thanks to that, today's sales of generators and purifiers raked in over 40,000 coins.
Yeah, this is hoarding done right.
"Hmm... What to do with the leftovers?"
Shortages meant one set usually remained unsold, but my killings left two sets extra.
I had no real need for them... but tossing coins spent on them felt wasteful.
Maybe hunt for buyers?
Then I remembered Guro Apartment, who saw me as God's apostle.
They offered coins regularly anyway—might as well give these to them.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Handing over the items at Guro Apartment, I watched them prostrate in tears of gratitude as I turned to head home—when one suddenly spoke up.
"Um, excuse me... Apostle of God, I have a question."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"A while back, someone passed by claiming to be God's apostle. Do you know them?"
What? Impostor apostles out there?
Real lunatics.
Out of their minds.
"And they told us to come under the goddess Mir they believe in?"