Chapter 93: A New Experiment
After purchasing the firearm, the subsequent transactions were mostly magic-related, which didn't particularly interest Zhou Ning.
The only highlight was a spellbook for Earth Spear, which eventually sold for 400 Vecktas to an overweight man sitting in a corner.
"Earth Spear?" Zhou Ning recalled that this earth-element spell was exclusive to the Temple of Earth, typically only found within their Circle of Earth supernatural team or used internally within the temple. If he was guessing correctly, the seller was probably from the Temple of Earth.
Zhou Ning observed these deals with cold detachment. The main buyers of these transactions were spellcasters, and none of the higher-quality supernatural items went for less than 200 Vecktas.
What really caught his eye next was a pair of gold-rimmed glasses being sold by a blonde woman at his five o'clock position. It was an unknown wondrous item that, when worn, could detect whether a target harbored hostile intent—an incredibly powerful feature. But the price was even more outrageous, with a starting bid of 800 Vecktas. Within just a few rounds, it had been driven up to a staggering 3,200 Vecktas, forcing him to give up.
Still broke, huh. Zhou Ning sighed, gazing longingly at the glasses.
The final sale price reached a sky-high 4,700 Vecktas.
After this deal concluded, a young man wearing a gray-white mask stepped into the center of the venue from the seven o'clock direction. He placed a black wooden box on the table and announced, "This is a wooden cube from the meteorological tides of Gudala. If you can open it, there might be something good inside."
"I want to exchange it for something that can permanently enhance physical attributes or enable transcendence—either items or formulas."
From Zhou Ning's judgment, this seemed to be a young man hoping to become a supernatural.
He noticed that the surface of the cube was made up of many small tiles, resembling a scrambled advanced Rubik's Cube, and it was covered in complex patterns and symbols.
"Huh? This looks like a Modorik Cube," said Molly's cool voice in his mind.
"You know it?" Zhou Ning asked curiously.
"I know a bit. Didn't I tell you? Besides being a priest, enchanter, meteorologist, and alchemist, I'm also an amateur folklorist," Molly replied.
"Impressive," Zhou Ning thought, giving her a mental thumbs-up.
As long as one had a general idea of the complete pattern, restoring the cube would just be a matter of time. This box might be worth gambling on.
With his thoughts spinning rapidly, Zhou Ning asked aloud, "Does this box accept bids in Vecktas?"
The young man shook his head without hesitation. "Sorry, I'm not in need of money."
Well, nothing to be done, then. Zhou Ning could only give up with a light chuckle and returned to his seat.
Having refused Zhou Ning and seeing that no one else made a bid, the young man could only return to his seat in disappointment amid the silence.
Later, someone sold a batch of ancient jade materials for 70 Vecktas, while a supernatural item called Eternal Lantern failed to sell due to its steep asking price of 1,200 Vecktas.
About ten minutes later, it was finally Zhou Ning's turn. He stepped onto the platform, took out the Devil Fruit, and said in a firm voice, "This is a rare item called a Devil Fruit. Upon consumption, it grants the user powerful special abilities."
"More importantly, it doesn't conflict with any class, and the enhancement success rate is one hundred percent. I'm looking to trade it for a rare alchemy formula, or I'm open to selling it for Vecktas."
"What?!"
His words immediately caused a stir in the crowd.
Based on Zhou Ning's description, its value was undoubtedly far above that of a superpower potion, enough to tempt even some spellcasters.
"Can superpowered individuals use it? Are there any side effects?"
Questions poured in from all around.
"Yes, they can. The only side effect is you won't be able to swim anymore. And… does tasting awful count?" Zhou Ning replied, smiling as he patiently answered their questions.
"I'm interested in the Devil Fruit, but I request an appraisal by the Scales of Misfortune," said the hooded man who had bought the gold-rimmed glasses.
"Sure." Zhou Ning nodded. Truth be told, he was also curious about the appraised value of the Devil Fruit.
He placed the Devil Fruit on the left side of the scale, while the hooded man placed a stack of banknotes on the right. Immediately, the Devil Fruit heavily tipped the scale downward.
"It appears to be genuine, and its value is clearly well over 500 Vecktas!"
Even the middle-aged man hosting the gathering took notice at this point, watching Zhou Ning with a meaningful gaze.
The Scales of Misfortune had the power to determine authenticity. If an item's description didn't match its actual properties, it would be deemed worthless—this clearly wasn't the case now.
After a brief silence, the hooded man spoke again: "Devil Fruit, 700 Vecktas."
"750 Vecktas," someone quickly followed up.
"800 Vecktas," the hooded man immediately responded.
"900 Vecktas," the young man who had offered the wooden box joined the fray.
"950 Vecktas."
To Zhou Ning's surprise, the price skyrocketed to 1,020 Vecktas in no time before finally stalling.
After a few silent seconds, the young man looked at Zhou Ning and said, "I have a new proposal. I'll offer the wooden box—"
Zhou Ning shook his head and cut him off. "Sorry, I don't think that box is worth 1,000 Vecktas."
"That box is worth at least 400 Vecktas. I'll add 600 more. That makes 1,000 Vecktas for the Devil Fruit," the young man offered loudly.
"All right, deal." Zhou Ning nodded after a moment of thought.
He cast an apologetic glance at the hooded man and stepped up to the scale with the young man. Zhou Ning placed the Devil Fruit on the left.
This time, the scale tilted slightly toward the other side, but not by much.
Neither side cared about the minor discrepancy. As the young man happily pocketed the Devil Fruit, Zhou Ning returned to his seat and carefully examined the wooden cube.
It did resemble a modern Rubik's Cube, but the challenge was that unlike a traditional cube—where each face was a uniform color or had recognizable patterns—this one had four faces covered in symbols of unknown meaning, making it extremely difficult to solve.
Staring at the cube's more than 200 tiny squares densely packed together, Zhou Ning felt a headache coming on.
After Zhou Ning, the rest of the trading session was relatively uneventful. He did make one more move, spending 70 Vecktas to purchase an expert-level alchemy blueprint.
It was a blueprint for a Flight Potion, which, when consumed, made the user light as a feather, capable of gliding after jumping from high places.
Not a bad effect—back in his previous life's game, it ranked among the top five in potion sales.
Once all the transactions had concluded, the gathering officially ended with an announcement from the owner of the Scales of Misfortune.
Just like when they had arrived, the attendees would now leave one by one via a separate secret passage.
Zhou Ning was the third to exit. After emerging from the hidden passage, he carefully scanned his surroundings. Once certain that he wasn't being followed, he removed his mask and made his way toward his alchemy lab.
…
Inside the alchemy lab, he eagerly locked the door and pulled out the Mini Mechanical Warrior card to activate it. A burst of mist erupted, and when it cleared, a mechanical warrior about half as tall as a human stood before him. Zhou Ning took the M1 Garand rifle from its hands and replaced it with the flintlock pistol once used by Pirate General Victor.
Click—the Mini Mechanical Warrior gripped the flintlock pistol tightly.
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