Chapter 127
[H-Host… this dungeon is a bit weird,] #888 couldn’t help saying. [You’ve been in this family for a whole day, but the main mission #2 still hasn’t shown as complete. That’s not right.]
The mission released by the Main God still hadn’t triggered as completed.
“Probably because the side-quest mode hasn’t started yet.” Lu Chuan replied. “Entering this foster family is only step one. Unlocking the different side quests is necessary to finish the mission. I’m afraid all these foster families have problems.”
Just like now—he had a hunch the side quest had already walked through the door.
Lu Chuan looked at his freshly delivered little sister without a trace of surprise. After all, he was already twelve now; of course there had to be a price.
“All right, I’ll take good care of her,” he said to his parents with a smile.
Mother breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. You two siblings take care of each other—I’m heading out to work.”
Lu Chuan smiled and led his sister into the room.
“They’re gone,” he said lazily, studying her. “Yesterday you were a big sister, and today you’ve shrunk this much. How old are you now?”
“About five.” The girl looked at him numbly. “Don’t get cocky. I’ve seen this plenty. As soon as you displease them, they’ll make you start over too.”
I went from three to twelve, and she went from eighteen to five… the middleman really made a profit, huh?
Interesting.
“I didn’t want to ask before, but now that things are like this, I might as well.” Lu Chuan eyed her curiously. “Yesterday I overheard Mom and Dad chanting, but I couldn’t tell what. Judging by your look, this isn’t the first time. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“You’ve just arrived in this city,” she said with a bitter smile. “Stay a couple of years and you’ll see. You think this is really some immortal paradise? It’s all an illusion. Since you came from outside, you must’ve traded something important for entry, right?”
“In this city, you have to trade for everything you want. And the source of all trades is the city’s deity. No one knows who or where It is, but It’s everywhere.” She went on, “You won’t see old people here. As soon as someone grows old, they trade something for youth—maybe their children, maybe their feelings, maybe even their own life.”
“Isn’t this supposed to be the City of Immortality?” Lu Chuan interrupted. “If you give up your life, how is that immortality?”
“Even if you die, as long as others still see you as alive, isn’t that a kind of immortality?” She tilted her head, speaking as if it were obvious. “Say you’re already a corpse, but you still have consciousness—aren’t you alive? In this city, anything acknowledged as belonging to a person can be traded. And we children, until we’re adults, are considered our parents’ property.”
Human rights? The value of life? All fake here. Children really have no way to protect themselves.
Parents give shelter, so children are deemed their property.
Pity so many who enter lose the ability to bear children—making orphans especially popular. As long as someone adopts you, you too become their property.
“So I can use that trade spell too?” Lu Chuan’s mind was already full of things he wanted to bargain for. Could the deity grant them?
“Depends on your value.” She thought for a moment. “Value isn’t set by you—it’s judged by the deity. Some people catch Its eye as soon as they arrive and become city lords. Others linger for years, only to end up as someone else’s property.”
“Then what about our parents? Is your value lower than theirs? If they can make you a child, can’t you trade yourself back to adult?”
“I’ve already given up all my value.” She looked at him calmly. “I had a terminal illness. Coming here let me live. To get a healthy body, I traded everything with the deity. I’m fated to survive only as a child in different homes, until my worth as a child runs out.”
“And when it runs out?”
“Did you see the stone lions at the gate?” she asked back. “I don’t know everyone’s fate. I only know that once your value’s gone, you can’t leave this city or keep living as a human. Maybe you’ll turn into a table or chair, maybe into grass or trees—who knows?”
“How do I make a deal with the deity?” Lu Chuan was intrigued. He badly wanted to know his own worth and what he could exchange.
“Simple.” Her eyes gleamed with malice as she finally gave the key. “When your parents are making a deal, interrupt and state your own terms. If the deity approves, you’ll become Its next partner. And if your value tops theirs, they’ll automatically become your property. Don’t worry—they’ve traded many times already. Their value’s almost used up; soon they’ll be walking corpses.”
In this city, you don’t need hard work to get what you want—just a bargain with the deity.
Sick? Ugly? As long as you have value, you can instantly change your lot.
Men can become women, women men.
Even elders can become children, and kids can grow up overnight.
The ability was too convenient. Once you used it, you could never quit.
After all, if everyone takes it for granted, who could resist? Many things in this world can’t be achieved by effort alone—but a trade with the deity can get you anything.
Lu Chuan rubbed his chin; he was starting to get it.
“System, what if I trade with the deity to clear this dungeon outright?” he asked, half-joking about an easy win.
[Host, you might just get sucked dry,] #888 muttered, suppressing an eyeroll. [I rescanned just now—these people’s souls really are missing large chunks.]
Soul-scanning was delicate; normally #888 wouldn’t do it casually. But since it could help Lu Chuan clear the level, it was worth extra scans. With upgrades, #888 could use more powers inside the game.
“Exactly. If there were no cost, I’d suspect this deity of charity work.” Lu Chuan laughed, clapping his hands. “I bet the god takes a fat cut. Call it an exchange, but it’s surely uneven. If I were It, I’d skim at least fifty percent.”
[Not everyone is as black-hearted as you, Host.]
[So, what do you want to trade for?]
“Hmm, let me think.” Lu Chuan grew serious. “No one’s taking advantage of me for free. I’m going to do some real business with this so-called God of Exchange.”
The next day, Lu Chuan began showing his destructive side.
“Sorry, Mom, I’m not used to this body—I accidentally broke the dishes.”
“Ah! Fire! Fire!”
“It wasn’t me, Mom. I just wanted to light the stove.”
“…I don’t want to do homework. I want to go play.”
“No, I want that toy. If you don’t buy it, I’ll cry.”
…
Being a good kid is hard, but being a brat? Easy.
Lu Chuan only revealed a fraction of his bratty power, yet within a week he’d exhausted his foster parents.
Soon they couldn’t take it.
“Why is Xiao Jin so lively?”
“This won’t work. Let’s hurry and trade our daughter back.”
“We’ve been trading a lot lately.”
“It’s fine. After this one, there’ll be nothing left to trade.”
“True, we work so hard every day—we should still have plenty of value.”
“Most of the loss comes from them anyway. As parents we only pay a little.”
…
Lu Chuan overheard their whispered plotting and was quite pleased with his efficiency. Look at that—barely any time and the pair were already cracking. Clearly they’d never really raised kids; they had no clue about a child’s destructive potential.
Hmph, this was just the beginning.
He’d only shown maybe a tenth of his strength.
The couple seemed ready to make another deal—because once again, Lu Chuan couldn’t hear anything through the listening device.
3, 2, 1—now!
Lu Chuan kicked open the couple’s bedroom door and immediately took in the scene.
On the floor was a strange blood-drawn magic array, and at its center stood a statue wrapped in red cloth.
In front of the statue lay heaps of gold—the same reddish-gold the orphanage director had once given Lu Chuan. It was clearly being used as a medium for communicating with the deity.
Ah!
That was familiar.
Lu Chuan’s eyes lit up. Taking advantage of the couple’s moment of shock, he kicked the husband aside and stood in his place.
“Divine One, Divine One! From here on, I’ll be the one to make the offering!”
“Wait, what are you doing? Get out of here!” the wife reached out to drag him away.
But Lu Chuan was still only twelve years old. Strength-wise, he couldn’t possibly match an adult woman.
“What are you standing there for? Help me out!” he shouted toward the doorway. “Or do you want to end up as a baby again?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a small figure darted in.
His little sister bit down hard on the woman’s hand. In pain, the woman let go, giving Lu Chuan the chance to continue.
“Divine One, I want to make an exchange!”
[Oh oh oh, Host! Once we get our body back, we’ll be unstoppable!] #888 was cheering wildly.
If the host restored himself, this dungeon wouldn’t be any trouble at all.
“I’ll trade my parents’ lives for the right to establish a bank. Anyone who sees my bank will feel the urge to deposit their gold here!”
What?
Not just #888—everyone in the room froze.
What kind of trade was that supposed to be?
Banking privileges?
But then, a voice rang in Lu Chuan’s head.
He didn’t understand the language, but somehow he understood the meaning.
[Not enough. The value is insufficient.]
Of course. His cheap parents had probably been traded countless times already—their souls must have been worn down to nothing. No wonder they weren’t worth much.
“Then take mine to make up the difference,” Lu Chuan said without hesitation. “My value is far more than you imagine. You know this—our player souls belong to the Main God System. If I willingly trade mine to you, you won’t lose out. Besides, I’m only asking for banking rights, not all the wealth itself!”
[No, Host! If your soul gets taken, it’ll be almost impossible to get it back!] #888 panicked—it had never imagined the host would do this.
Come on! Couldn’t he take his soul a little more seriously? You only got one, and it couldn’t grow back!
“Just leave me a bottom line.” Lu Chuan pressed on.
[…Your value far exceeds what I expected.]
[The deal is struck.]
Lu Chuan instantly felt something vital flow out of him. His whole body felt hollow, his steps unsteady, like he might float away.
But just as quickly, the feeling passed. He seemed normal again.
[No, you are not normal—wuwuwu! Host, half your soul is gone! With a soul that incomplete, how can you become the God of Wealth? Even if you do, your unstable divinity will make you fall quickly! I don’t want to have to find a new host this soon!] #888 was beside itself. It had never expected its host to lose half his soul not in a battle against the Main God System, but from a casual trade in a side dungeon.
“Relax,” Lu Chuan comforted lightly. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. High risk, high reward. Honestly, even with half a soul missing, I feel sharper than before.”
Heh.
For the first time, #888 was so furious it refused to speak to him.
Shouldn’t a decision this important have been discussed with it?
If Lu Chuan had heard #888’s thoughts, his answer would’ve been simple:
If I’d asked, you wouldn’t have agreed. Since you wouldn’t agree, why bother asking? Better to just do it. Life’s about taking risks—how else could you get ahead?
As the deal concluded, his parents vanished.
Their worth had already been minimal; caught up in Lu Chuan’s bargain, they were consumed completely.
In their place, two flowerpots appeared.
“Wow, this city really is interesting.” Lu Chuan examined the pots. There wasn’t the slightest trace of humanity left.
Sure enough, being his parents required luck. Without it, even your human form wouldn’t hold.
“If people can turn into things like this, then the origins of this city’s architecture become suspicious too,” he mused. “Maybe even the skyscrapers were once people. The gods here are fascinating.”
[Congratulations, Player, on completing Main Quest Two. Please continue working hard to clear the dungeon.]
At last, the game system—which hadn’t appeared in ages—chimed in.
Lu Chuan realized the real requirement of Main Quest Two had been for the player to successfully complete an exchange with a god. No matter what family you were adopted into, circumstances would eventually push you into such a trade.
“You… what are you?” His little sister stared at him, terrified.
She’d made a trade before; she knew what he was bargaining for wasn’t simple. And as a child of this household, Lu Chuan’s worth shouldn’t have been high. Yet the deity had agreed—using their parents as fuel for the cost.
“You people here call us Travelers, right? I rather like that name.” Lu Chuan smiled. “Want to be my assistant? I only asked for banking privileges, but to grow a business, I’ll need helpers…”
That was why he hadn’t demanded a fully established bank.
He’d worried asking too much would exceed his soul’s value. This way, just securing the right was enough. The rest would be up to him.
Who would’ve thought? He used to wrack his brain to get banks to invest, to squeeze money out of them. Now he had become a bank himself.
Fortunes truly did turn.
He’d wanted to be a banker for a long time.
—
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
Starry Ming sacrificed his adoptive parents, and even some unconscious neighbors, to trade with the god.
He soon returned to his original body, regaining his powers and tools.
Though he’d lost a bit of his soul to break free of the system’s shackles, the trade had been worth it.
Besides, he knew that in the God of Exchange dungeon, many losses could later be redeemed—just by doing business with the Extreme Evil Loan Company.
For now, his priority was finding Lu Chuan.
But when he tried to track him with an item, he found nothing.
Strange. Could it be that Lu Chuan still hadn’t restored his true body?
Starry Ming frowned. Had he misjudged him? If Lu Chuan still hadn’t managed after all this time, maybe he wasn’t as formidable as expected. That would make him much easier to deal with.
Elsewhere, Cang Jiu noticed half the gold ingot on his sword hilt vanish.
Something had taken half of Lu Chuan’s soul.
What???
Cang Jiu, usually so composed, was left with a rare question mark in his mind.
Had the Main God already discovered Lu Chuan’s identity? That shouldn’t be possible—if they had, they would’ve sent the Burial Squad. So who else could’ve taken half of Lu Chuan’s soul?
Cang Jiu couldn’t figure it out.
“Senior, senior, don’t turn away now!”
“Our mission isn’t done yet!”
“What? It’s finished? Since when?”
“Senior, you’ve grown stronger again!”
Number 18’s flattery came rushing out.
If his senior had grown stronger, then someday, by devouring him, 18 could grow stronger too.
—
Soon after, the people of City of Immortality noticed a new bank had appeared.
And its only staff member was… a child?
But the moment they laid eyes on it, a single thought took hold: I must deposit my sacrificial gold here.
Though it felt strange, they all walked in.
“To store your gold with us, you’ll need to pay an annual management fee,” Lu Chuan said cheerfully to his first clients. “We don’t offer interest, but we encourage loans. Leave your gold here and withdraw anytime—just pay a small fee each time.”
He grinned wide. In a city with only one bank, he could make the rules however he pleased.
The so-called God of Exchange was far too naïve, if it thought he only wanted sacrificial gold.
Gold was just a medium. Depositors could withdraw it whenever they wished. For those seeking exchanges, the gold was nothing more than a placeholder.
Even without it, a trade could still be made.
On the surface, it seemed Lu Chuan had gained nothing.
But in truth…
But human greed and desire are endless.
“Here — this is the ritual magic circle and the gold. Please, dear guest, make the trade and leave the gold with me for safekeeping. As for the storage fee, it’s simple: just let my age increase by one day.”
Lu Chuan pointed to himself with a smile, “How about it? A real bargain, isn’t it?”
At the start, the storage fee was absurdly cheap — letting Lu Chuan grow older by a single day was practically negligible. Anyone coming to store their valuables would naturally be pleased, and word of such a deal would quickly spread.
“You’re very straightforward, guest.” Lu Chuan smiled at the customer before him, his voice a devilish murmur. “Are you still troubled because you don’t have enough value to trade with the deity? Don’t you wish you could, in one go, exchange with the deity for exactly what you want most?”
“I don’t have much value left,” the guest frowned slightly. “And value isn’t something that can grow out of thin air.”
“Ah, but we offer certain services,” Lu Chuan wasn’t about to let a walk-in customer slip away.
“We can provide priority loans, or even help you purchase people from outside the city.
To start, you’d only need to put up a tiny bit of your own value.”
