"Alright," Old Nick said after helping Xing Ye with the arm test, patting his arm. "Very strong and durable. Five pieces of raw ore."
"What?" The large mirror quietly pressed against the wall suddenly interrupted. "Didn't you say it was free?"
Old Nick said naturally, "Of course my son's repairs are free, but I did the arm testing! I'm the best repairman in all of Puppet City. This is an old puppet with a new arm. How can the testing fee be the same as for her matchstick arm? This is innovation, innovation!"
Mirror:"..."
He was almost mad. Why were all the businessmen in Puppet City like this? He thought he had found a good opportunity!
Xing Ye was very calm. He had been mentally prepared. How could such unlucky players like them who defied fate possibly encounter such a pie falling from the sky?
Xing Ye had said before that all pies are traps in disguise, and whether you decide to step into the trap depends on whether you can bear the consequences.
For Xing Ye, the arm is the most important thing at the moment. He must be able to use the pen of redrawing. Because his initial skills were cheated, Xing Ye was willing to do so.
"You know I don't have the original ore." Xing Ye said.
The owner of the motor oil shop knew that he had no original ore and had asked him to keep the accounts for years. Old Nick, who always recycled scrap, must have known it too.
"Of course I know you don't have any money. You still owe me 29 pieces of raw ore," Old Nick said. "You can pay me back later, but not today. Today is my son's first job, so how can I not pay him right away?"
It feels like Old Nick is about to lie down and act like a jerk, not looking like a top maintenance engineer at all.
Cao Qian wanted to step forward and tear Old Nick apart, and Big Mirror also raised his small fist covered with verdigris. Xing Ye stretched out his new arm to stop the two of them and said to Old Nick, "Uncle Nick, what do you want me to do?"
Old Nick chuckled and said, "Young man, you've owed me money for so many years. I've been very kind by not charging you interest, right? You should have gone out to find raw ore a long time ago. Even if you want to change your body, you shouldn't stop working, right?"
What he said made sense, and Xing Ye listened quietly.
"My lazy son has never mined ore before. I plan to let him go, but he has no experience. Can you escort him?"
Little Nick, who was leaning back in his chair bored, was taken aback: "Huh? Me?"
"Nonsense, of course it's you, you little brat!" Old Nick had a steam vent under his beard. When he got angry, steam would come out, blowing his beard high. "Tell me, how many years have you been staying at home? It's time to go out and do something!"
"Okay, I'll go, but I don't know where the original mine is." said Little Nick.
"I have a map here, hehe." Old Nick's laughter made people feel a little uneasy.
When he took out the map, Xing Ye became alert.
Every puppet can mine the raw ore. Before, Cao Qian also tried to go mining with everyone at the city gate. Little Nick used the excuse that he didn't know the location. Old Nick could have just said that he wanted the puppet who owed him money to take you there. Why did he need a map?
Unless the mine Old Nick wants them to go to is not the mine that ordinary puppet people go to.
Crisis means turning point. His arm has recovered and he can use his skills, so it would be nice to go on an adventure.
Old Nick took out a map and pointed it to Xing Ye and Little Nick. "After you leave the city, walk south for a short distance to the river outside. Follow the river for five to seven hours and you'll find the mine. The mine is quite far away, so you definitely won't be able to return that day. It's dangerous outside the city at night, so remember to bring your weapons. I have three muskets and 30 rounds of ammunition here, take them with you."
Puppet City opens its gates in the morning and closes at night. Almost everyone who goes to the mine can go back and forth on the same day. What kind of mine is Old Nick talking about? Why is it so remote?
Xing Ye looked at the map for a while, shook his head and said, "This is not a mine."
He should know where the mine is. Seeing the address provided by Old Nick, it is impossible for him not to be suspicious.
"Ahem," Old Nick feigned an awkward cough. "I'm a maintenance engineer, so of course I have mines that others don't know about. The well-known ore mines outside the city have regulations. A puppet can only mine one piece of ore a day. How long will you be able to pay off your debt there? Of course, you should go to the mines with no restrictions. You often leave the city carrying sacks and bring back bags full of waste. The city gate officer has known you for a long time, and he won't suspect you when he sees you bringing back so much stuff."
So that's why. No wonder Old Nick wanted to trick him. He was attracted by Xing Ye's identity as a ragpicker and wanted to use him as a cover.
I don't understand why the official raw ore mines limit the amount of mining, nor do I know what the raw ore is used for and why it can be exchanged as currency.
At present, we can only be sure of one thing: informal mines must be very dangerous. Are there not many mining accidents in modern society?
With the luck of being in the fate-defying camp, it is impossible not to encounter disasters.
But he really needs the raw ore now, and this mine might contain other clues.
"Okay." Xing Ye agreed.
"Then I'll go too." Big Mirror said quickly.
His body is made of metal, tall and strong. Xing Ye is thin and small, so he can protect Xing Ye.
Xing Ye acquiesced. He was also worried about leaving the mirror alone at home. If something happened, he was worried that he would not be able to bring the mirror back to the system space.
"Then I'll go too," Cao Qian, who had been listening silently, suddenly said, "Old Nick, help me weld some metal onto my body, and I can go mining and pay you back."
"This..." Old Nick frowned, "I'm not a philanthropist, why should I help you?"
"Didn't you say before that welding iron sheets would cost thirty pieces of raw ore? I'll give you fifty pieces, and the extra twenty pieces will be interest. When I'm able to mine, I'll mine one piece every day and give it to you. I can pay off the debt in fifty days. It's better than not being able to go to the mine like now." Cao Qian said decisively.
Xing Ye was a little surprised. Cao Qian was very generous with her money. Who gave her the confidence?
When he heard the price of 50 pieces of raw ore, Old Nick hesitated. Who doesn't love money?
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. "Uncle Nick, I'm here to pick up my sister and pay the bill. Is her arm repaired?"
Cao Qian's second sister knocked on the door and walked in. The mirror instantly became nervous. This is a player!
And he is a player who follows his fate. If he goes against his fate, he will not have such luck that can overwhelm the whole city.
"It's Miss Linda." Seeing his second sister, Old Nick narrowed his eyes and rubbed his hands. "There's something I need to discuss with you. Your sister wants to..."
He told Cao Qian everything she wanted, of course not mentioning the illegal mine, but rather that the stickman wanted to cover his body with iron sheets as a debtor. He was worried that the stickman could not pay back the money, so he needed a family member to act as a guarantor.
Old Nick's words made Xing Ye and Cao Qian look unhappy... Oh, they didn't change their expressions, but they were very unhappy psychologically.
The second sister Linda is a follower of fate. She might doubt Cao Qian's identity because of this incident.
"I wouldn't make a guarantee lightly," said the second sister. "I'm so beautiful and popular. What if someone has bad intentions? If she wants to change her body, you can just sign with her."
Well, she is a sister who has absolutely no sisterly love.
Looking at Cao Qian's withered body in the mirror, he was extremely anxious. Seeing that the plan was about to fall through, he hurriedly said, "What about me? Can I be a guarantor?"
"Who are you?" Old Nick rolled his wooden eyelids. "Do you have any money? What's your guarantee?"
Mirror's true identity is that he is rich and handsome, but now he is just an outsider who has come back to life through borrowing an idol. He has nothing and is even rusty.
Xing Ye wanted to stop the mirror, but the silly mirror said, "My body is made of metal. Can it be worth some money?"
He had been observing that any puppet made of metal was very popular. He was made of copper and had a mirror, so he should be very valuable.
"Hmm..." Old Nick looked the mirror up and down. "A bronze mirror is indeed rare, and it's a whole piece of copper this big. It's a little worn, but it will be fine after the rust is removed... It's worth 10 raw ores, I still need 40."
After saying that, he glanced at his second sister Linda, an old perverted puppet.
The second sister didn't care about them and said boredly: "If you don't have money, don't change it. I won't care about you."
Xing Ye put himself in Linda's shoes. If he were Linda, he would definitely agree to be a guarantor in order to investigate Cao Qian's identity, and perhaps obtain important clues. Anyway, this body has many people seeking it, and obtaining 50 raw ores shouldn't be difficult. Why not do a favor?
This player has a strong personality, and Xing Ye can't see any purpose in her.
Teacher Li, Wu Yu, Di Kuang, and the seemingly gentle Teacher Ding from the previous world all have strong goals. They want to get information, survive, win, and integrate into a team. Each player has his or her own ideas and a strong personality.
But Miss Linda, like an ordinary girl, went for an oil spa while waiting for her sister to repair her body. Now she wisely and indifferently rejected Old Nick's unreasonable request.
Why is this happening?
Mirror said again: "Then I will give you all the raw ore I got when we went out of the city together this time. You can weld the iron sheet for her!"
Cao Qian looked at the mirror in confusion. She thought the mirror was an ordinary doll. How could there be such a stupid doll?
However, Xing Ye knew that Jingzi wanted to help Cao Qian. Jingzi knew that Cao Qian was the main fighting force in the team, so he had to help Cao Qian.
"No, no," Old Nick shook his head frantically, "It's not worth it. I'm not a philanthropist."
Xing Ye owed a lot of debts to Old Nick and was not worthy of being a guarantor at all. Faced with this poor situation, he had no better solution. After all, he was good at making money from money, not creating money out of thin air.
The situation was at a stalemate for a while, then Little Nick suddenly said: "Dad, give them a hand, I will go and mine the ore."
"Well..." Old Nick said unhappily after hearing his son's words, "We are doing business!"
"But they still have to escort me to the mine. Wouldn't one more puppet mean more strength?" said Little Nick.
This sounded very... Xing Ye looked at Little Nick, suspecting that he was also a player.
Little Nick persuaded Old Nick, who was still concerned about his son's safety, so he took out a piece of paper, wrote an IOU and a guarantee, and said to Cao Qian and Mirror, "Put your fingerprints on it. If you can't pay it back by the due date, I will tear you apart until only your core remains."
Mirror believed Cao Qian and Xing Ye, and obediently pressed his fingerprints on the paper.
Cao Qian looked at him strangely, her heart full of suspicion.
It takes three hours to weld the iron sheet for Cao Qian, which is a big job. Old Nick asked everyone to wait outside while he went to the professional maintenance room inside to work, and asked Little Nick to go in and watch and learn.
Xing Ye was a little worried about Cao Qian, but at this time he could only endure it.
After Old Nick, Little Nick and Cao Qian entered the repair room, only Xing Ye, Second Sister and Mirror were left in the repair shop's lobby.
My second sister lazily lay in the maintenance chair and said boredly, "We have to wait another three hours."
Xing Ye observed her silently.
"Don't look at me," the second sister waved her hand. "I'm a player who follows fate, yes. I can see that you're so unlucky, so you must be a player who goes against fate. And you and my sister should be on the same team. But I'm not interested in you."
Xing Ye hadn't expected Linda to be the first to break this window paper. Why did she do that? Wasn't she afraid that he would immediately use the QR code to attack her for points?
Linda was also a smart person. She said directly, "My initial skills can defend against some attacks, so I'm not afraid of your sneak attack. I took the initiative to reveal my identity just to express my position."