NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 6: The Deceptive Black Market
Fortunately for Xu Luo, his Zerg species didn't require faith power for cultivation, only evolution points.
After evolving the crawling insects, he had two species: Jumping Zerg and Armored Zerg. While 10,000 crawling insects could only provide one faith power per day, at the Bronze tier, although not as good as other species of the same level, ten Zerg could provide one faith power daily. Including the queen's contribution, it totaled just over 1,000 per day.
With the divine realm's time running ten times faster than reality, ten days had passed in Xu Luo's realm, providing him with over 10,000 faith power, some accumulated evolution points, and 1,000 eggs.
This was a weakness of the Zerg.
Though each had a high faith level, at fanatic level, their low intelligence and individual strength compared to other species of the same tier meant they provided pitifully little faith power. If it were Xiang Yang's goblins, 10,000 of them would likely provide over 10,000 faith power daily. Of course, feeding would be a major issue; 10,000 goblins could bankrupt an ordinary family with their food consumption.
Without strength, few people would crazily increase their follower numbers, as they couldn't support so many.
Xu Luo wanted to build an Zerg hive, not needing anything fancy, but preferably with some minerals. Over time, as the insects consumed these, they could develop new characteristics. Special ores might even lead to special abilities.
However, after looking around, Xu Luo hadn't found particularly satisfactory materials. After all, hive materials needed to be sturdy, or it would be ridiculous if the insects ate through and collapsed it in a few days.
Xu Luo frowned.
Black market goods were unreliable. Should he go to a regular shop? But items there were exorbitantly priced, and he didn't want to be ripped off.
As Xu Luo was hesitating whether to leave, an argument broke out nearby.
"You swindler! Selling fake goods to cheat people. Refund me, I don't want this anymore!" A young man was arguing with a middle-aged vendor. "Young man, think carefully. This is the black market. Here, you rely on your own judgment. Once sold, there's no refund policy."
The vendor sat calmly, unfazed by the shouting. If he were afraid, he wouldn't be selling here.
"You scammer! I bought an ocean terrain card, but you sold me an acid pool, even disguising it. You bastard!" The young man was nearly in tears. Though his family wasn't poor, being cheated out of 10,000 faith power was very upsetting.
This was relatively minor. If he had used the card, his fish-men might have been poisoned to death, causing an even greater loss.
"That's not my problem. The item was here, you chose to buy it. I didn't force you."
The vendor didn't even look up, his words choking with indifference.
The young man was furious but dared not act. Fighting was forbidden in the divine realm capital, and even if it weren't, a novice deity like him might not beat that old scoundrel.
He could only accept his bad luck and swallow this bitter pill. But he had no use for an acid pool terrain card. Spending 10,000 faith power on a useless item was heartbreaking.
Watching from the side, Xu Luo pondered. It seemed buying in the black market required caution; one could easily be cheated with a moment's carelessness. But this vendor was truly despicable. Selling an acid pool card as an ocean terrain card was bad enough, but if used, it would pollute the entire sea. No normal creature could survive in such an environment, completely ruining sea-based species. It was incredibly malicious.
[Ding! Suitable material detected for Zerg evolution!]
Suddenly, the Zerg Overlord system alerted.
"Hm?" Xu Luo was surprised. He hadn't found hive-building materials, but evolving his species was also a good option.
After the young man left dejectedly, Xu Luo discreetly followed him to a less crowded area before speaking.
"Hey, buddy, wait up."
"Huh? Are you talking to me?" The young man looked around, seeing no one else, and turned back confused.
"Yes, you!" Xu Luo nodded. "You have a problematic terrain card, right? I'm a terrain card merchant, stockpiling goods."
Xu Luo wouldn't admit he was interested in the item.
"You want to buy it?" The young man immediately perked up.
"Yes, but I can only offer 4,000," Xu Luo said calmly.
"What? I bought this for 10,000!" The young man hesitated. Though he'd been cheated, selling for 4,000 after buying for 10,000 was hard to accept.
"But it's a faulty card. Can you find anyone else to buy it? I'm only willing to pay 4,000 to diversify my stock. If you're not interested, that's fine." Xu Luo spoke confidently, not revealing his true intentions, acting like a genuine merchant.
The young man was bewildered, believing Xu Luo's words.
"But 4,000 is too little."
Though tempted, he still wanted to negotiate for more.
"I can go up to 5,000 at most. Take it or leave it." Xu Luo made a gesture as he turned to walk away.
"Okay, 5,000 it is!" The young man quickly agreed.
This might be his only chance to offload it, better than being stuck with it.
In the end, Xu Luo bought the acid pool terrain card for 5,000 faith power. Though small in area, it was useful to him and cheap!
Transactions in the divine realm were simple. Friends could transfer directly but for strangers, one could extract faith power, crystallize it, and hand it over.
The recipient could keep or absorb it.
In the World of Gods, faith power was hard currency, more useful than credit points. One million faith power could condense into one point of divine power.
Divine power could ignite the divine flame, transforming a demigod into a true deity, the ultimate goal for novices.
Of course, divine power had many other uses. It could refine the body, condense the divine soul, construct divine kingdoms, and create holy spirits.
Additionally, it could enhance a God's divine rank. Faith power was essential for everything a God did.
