The moment he saw the notification, his eyes brightened once more. His junior sister barely reacted. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen him shift from despair to sudden excitement in the blink of an eye. She was long used to his strange behavior, used to him producing unfamiliar items out of nowhere, used to his emotions swinging without warning.
Exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she slumped to the ground, pressing a hand to her pounding head as she tried to rest.
Meanwhile, "The Rogue Blender" wasted no time and opened the message.
[Merchant #841273: Hello. I just read your message and found your world very intriguing. I understand your current situation. However, as a merchant, I cannot offer my products at a reduced price...]
Seeing this, "The Rouge Blender’s" eyes dimmed once more, and his shoulders slumped as if his spirit had already left his body. His heart felt icy, a chill that made it hard to read further. But what had he really expected?
Merchants were known to be cold, calculating, measuring worth only by profit and gain. Without enough system points, he had nothing of value to offer, nothing that could sway them.
Then, just as he was about to sink further into despair, a new notification chimed.
Ding!
[You have a new message]
[Merchant #841273: However, I could propose an equal exchange, something fair for both sides. This way, I can help you, and you can provide me with what I need. We could form a trade: I’ll give you a large basket of high-grade Spiritual Fruits, ranging from Grade C to Grade B.]
[Merchant #841273: From what I’ve heard, you might have Alchemy manuals, recipes, mystic cultivation manuals and arts, cultivation techniques, or even spiritual herbs. No matter what you can offer, I’ll take it. On top of that, I’ll include some Spiritual Spring Water, Stamina Boosters, magic scrolls, Scarlet Honey, and items that could aid in recovery.]
[Merchant #841273: How does that sound? If it doesn’t work for you, just let me know.]
After reading everything Kisha had sent, "The Rouge Blender’s" eyes dilated, trembling as a mix of excitement and disbelief coursed through him. His whole body shook, and for a moment, he wondered if he was imagining things out of desperation.
He rubbed his eyes, blinked rapidly, and looked back at the chat interface, it was still there, the words unchanged.
Hope and exhilaration bloomed in his chest. He immediately began checking his inventory to see if he had what Kisha was asking for. When he realized he didn’t have enough, he started waking up his sect members, many of whom were still gloomy, and some had already lost hope, resigned to their fate in the cave where they had been hiding.
"Wake up, all of you! Hurry!" "The Rouge Blender" shouted, shaking his junior sister awake. His eyes sparkled with a mix of desperation and excitement as he leaned closer. "Junior sister, you’re an alchemist! I know you have spiritual herbs and alchemy manuals with you, right? Bring them out, quick! I need them now, and I promise, I’ll make it worth your while afterward!"
"Senior brother, what are you doing right now? Are you high, or have you completely lost it?" The junior sister looked at The Rouge Blender with a mixture of skepticism and exhaustion. In the end, she let out a deep sigh and shrugged; there was really no better solution, and the oppressive gloom had already sapped her morale.
As a support, she couldn’t fight; if they died, what use would her manuals or spiritual herbs be? She was already missing some crucial herbs, and with what little remained, she couldn’t even craft basic healing pills, let alone rejuvenation or dispelling remedies that might help the injured or those poisoned by the demonic energy, as they were slowly rotting while still alive.
"Alright... take everything. Just take my magic pouch." The junior sister tossed her pouch to her senior brother before slumping back, closing her eyes as if surrendering entirely. After all, what use was an alchemist without her ability to craft pills?

[Merchant #841273: Wait... you want me to use my system points to buy what you need from the system mall in exchange for your trinkets?]


「On the Other Side」
She was particularly interested in the alchemy manuals. After all, she already possessed one, but what she valued most were the recipes. Buying those directly from the system would cost a small fortune, and even though she now had a good amount of system points, who would ever turn down free resources?
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