Chapter 44
“Monopoly?” Gu Quan’an echoed, baffled but grasping the gist.
“It means controlling all resources.” Lu Chuan explained simply. “For example, the Five Great Guilds monopolize the keys and knowledge for special dungeons. That’s why players from mid- and small-sized guilds are always weaker. That’s monopoly. Control a necessary resource, and you control pricing.”
In Lu Chuan’s original world, oil, electricity, and water were always state-controlled to prevent mega-corporations. But in other countries, many wealthy elites in poor nations thrived by monopolizing a single resource and bleeding the land dry.
His old world had Anti-Monopoly Law, but the Infinite World didn’t—and certainly not in this dungeon.
“To clear the dungeon and get official resident status, don’t we first need our own apartment? If we just keep plodding along, who knows how long before the landlord couple gives in? We’ll have to use another way—force them to bow to us.” Lu Chuan said seriously.
“You mean monopolize food?” Mei Xue followed his logic. “But there are so many food stalls, no way we can achieve that.”
Even with their four loans combined, not enough. Not even with forty more players.
“Food has too many sources. We don’t have the capital.” Lu Chuan shook his head.
“Then what do you want to monopolize?” Gu Quan’an asked. Lu Chuan’s logic made sense, but his coyness was irritating.
Even #888 didn’t get it and asked outright: [Host, why are you being so secretive?]
“Because these three are from somewhere stronger than the Star Guild, and unlike Shen Li, they aren’t easy to trick. To win their respect, I need to act mysterious.” Lu Chuan replied calmly. “I need to project depth.”
[I see…] #888 nodded, half-understanding.
But inwardly, #888 thought its host just wanted to save face. After all, the three had shown arrogant big-guild pride earlier.
But Lu Chuan wasn’t rational—he only loved money and showing off. He didn’t care for other people’s posturing, only his own.
Still, #888 would never dare say such heresy aloud—otherwise, it might get replaced.
“With our current funds, we can only do two things next. First, find out where loans come from and how much capital we can raise. Second, figure out what the landlord couple can’t live without—and buy it out!” Lu Chuan’s eyes gleamed. “Time is short. In this dungeon, we can only cut corners.”
If possible, he’d buy the entire Flesh-and-Blood Apartment. But that was out of reach—for now.
So the next best thing was to cut off the landlords’ lifeline.
Lilus caught a faint flicker of dread in Lu Chuan’s eyes but spoke up anyway: “You mean the landlords’ smoking pipe, don’t you?”
The moment “smoking pipe” was mentioned, Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an’s expressions changed as they looked between Lilus and Lu Chuan.
“You noticed something wrong with it?”
“You figured it out this quickly?”
Just moments ago, they’d thought Lu Chuan was just a braggart. Youngsters often believed themselves smarter than others. But when Lilus mentioned the pipe, they realized the two newcomers weren’t lacking in experience, perception, or skill at all.
They’d only been in the dungeon since yesterday—barely into the second day.
When Mei Xue’s team last came, they hadn’t realized the pipe’s problem until the dungeon’s mid-to-late stages. With no prior experience and disunity among players, they had learned by throwing lives into the fire.
Yet Lu Chuan and Lilus had spotted it almost instantly.
“Yes. The landlords’ pipe is suspicious.” Gu Quan’an now looked at the two with appreciation. “Last time, when we tried to seize it, the system gave no prompts—meaning it wasn’t an item. We even carried it until the dungeon ended but never figured out its use.”
But the landlord couple had hunted them relentlessly for it.
In the end, they’d had no choice but to withdraw.
“The couple’s act is good, but not seamless.” Lilus added slowly. “Every time, the old woman grabs the pipe after a fight. Looks normal, like bickering. But it’s always after they collect rent. If she really hated his smoking, why not complain earlier? Once is coincidence. Twice isn’t.”
He had learned never to dismiss details in dungeons. High-level NPCs never waste effort without reason.
That was why he suspected the pipe.
“I’ll add this.” Lu Chuan cut in. “When the old woman takes it, she taps it against the barrel or the scale. If you seized it before and got no system prompt, then we’ve eliminated one false lead. The pipe itself isn’t the problem. It’s what’s inside.”
“So next, we’ll split up.” Lu Chuan flashed an innocent smile. “You two don’t want to team with us anyway. Fine. Lilus and I will handle the loans. You two focus on grabbing the pipe. Deal?”
“Facing the landlord head-on to grab the pipe is far more dangerous. You sure know how to delegate.” Gu Quan’an sneered.
“Then we might have to interrupt your little chat with the [Astrologer].” Lilus glanced at the [Astrologer] beside them and immediately switched into threat mode.
Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an were both S-rank players. Of course, they were the best choice to snatch the pipe. Not to mention, they had even brought their own subordinates—no matter how you looked at it, their chances of success were far higher than those of just two people.
In a rules-based dungeon like this, the only way to clear it was to work together. There was no other option.
“What else could it be?” Lu Chuan chose a different approach from Lilus, outright playing the rogue. “I’m just a newbie—still a kid!”
“…I’m only 18.” Lilus quickly added, “I just became an adult.”
The two shameless newcomers looked at Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an as if it were only natural to dump the most dangerous task on them.
“Newbies who shoot straight to third and fourth on the Newcomer Rankings?” Gu Quan’an’s fists itched—he really wanted to hit someone.
Mei Xue was so angry she laughed. “The two of you may not be good at much, but you certainly have the same rotten taste.”
Could it be that shamelessness was the ultimate cheat code for clearing dungeons?
Was that the reason why, back when she and Gu Quan’an were young, they hadn’t been able to climb to the top of the Newcomer Rankings—because they still had too much pride?
“So how will the two of you choose?” Lu Chuan also glanced at the [Astrologer]. “I wonder what would happen if I smashed that crystal ball?”
Either way, Lu Chuan and Lilus had no intention of facing the landlord directly.
They couldn’t win.
“…Fine.” Mei Xue agreed at last. “But under the witness of the Seal of Contracts, we can only make this one agreement. If you really manage to achieve some kind of monopoly, then all profits must be divided equally. If you fail, we will only do this one thing, and you cannot spread any information about the [Astrologer] in any form.”
If not for Gu Quan’an also belonging to another guild, Mei Xue would have preferred to keep the [Astrologer]’s information for herself.
After all, [Astrologers] were much rarer than rules-based dungeons—only a handful of dungeons ever refreshed with such an existence.
Unfortunately, Gu Quan’an had noticed as well.
That was why the two of them had been forced into an alliance.
But since they came from different guilds and had little contact normally, suddenly working together would naturally seem suspicious to outsiders. That was how all of this came about.
Who would have thought that on the very first night, Lu Chuan and Lilus would immediately discover the rules and manage to escape?
“Agreed.” Lu Chuan responded readily.
“Fine.” Lilus also nodded.
The four signed the contract, establishing a fragile trust.
“You two can leave now.” Mei Xue said. “We tenants of this apartment can’t linger in the night market too long. If we leave the apartment for too long, it’ll be judged that we’ve lost our lodging rights. Though this rule won’t officially be added to the room cards for a few more days.”
Lu Chuan and Lilus knew this was just an excuse to shoo them off, so they didn’t linger. They headed to the other end of the night market.
Only after the two figures were out of sight did Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an finally exhale in relief.
“It’s a real pity your guild’s Messiah didn’t make it in.” Gu Quan’an sighed. “He should really see what kind of freaks his two juniors are.”
“Messiah has a unique ability. He couldn’t make it to this dungeon.” Mei Xue didn’t want to elaborate. “This generation of rookies is unusually strong. Whether in willpower, courage, or decisiveness, they surpass many veteran players.”
So the players who stayed behind in the apartment—hadn’t they died?
No, quite a few must have died.
But even so, their deaths hadn’t slowed down Lu Chuan and Lilus in the slightest.
These were two people of unshakable resolve.
“Sometimes, seeing them makes me realize—we really have become the old ones.”
The more dungeons they cleared, the more bosses they fought, the less human their abilities became—and the more they realized how small they truly were in this Evil World.
After a while, Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an delivered the prepared offerings according to the [Astrologer]’s earlier request.
“…[Astrologer], we’ve brought what you wanted. Now it’s time for you to divine for us.”
“We want to know—in which dungeon is the leader of our guild currently trapped?”
…
Meanwhile, Lu Chuan and Lilus searched at different stalls. Luckily, they quickly found the loan booth.
The loan stall owner wore sunglasses and a suit. His table was covered in all kinds of forms. A huge space had been cleared around his stall—no other booths dared set up nearby.
Clearly, even NPCs hated loan sharks.
Lu Chuan’s eyes lit up, and he immediately dragged Lilus over.
“Looking to inquire about a loan? Today we have a special. If you borrow a hundred pounds of flesh or 30 sanity points in one go, the interest rate is only thirty percent.” The loan shark slid his sunglasses down slightly, revealing inhuman pupils.
Thirty percent?
As expected—a loan shark.
“But that’s not what your flyer says.” Lu Chuan feigned confusion, handing over a small leaflet. “If you calculate the interest written here…”
“Flyers are just for advertising. We hold the right of final interpretation. Only the contract is real.” The lender tossed the flyer aside without a glance. “No matter what region you travelers go to, you won’t find another lender as powerful as our company. We can lend not only flesh, but even sanity points. You know how hard it is to restore sanity, don’t you?”
Healing the body was easy. Restoring sanity was not.
Especially once sanity fell below a certain threshold—it became nearly impossible.
That was why these lenders could act so arrogantly. Many players, desperate, would still come to them for help.
As long as there were always players with nowhere else to turn, their business would never run dry.
“Travelers pass through this region often, and they’re usually generous. The volume may be small, but it’s steady enough. Otherwise, we wouldn’t bother setting up shop in such a backwater dungeon.” The lender still seemed dissatisfied. “In other regions, we have permanent storefronts.”
Lu Chuan nodded and asked, “So, how much could we borrow?”
The lender removed his sunglasses and studied Lu Chuan and Lilus carefully.
“…You two broke brats, your sanity is already so low—what the hell could you borrow?!” the lender swore.
———-
Author’s note:
Lender: Two broke brats—no way you’ll ever pay me back!
