Shadows Reveal Hidden Light — Wayne Sanders novel Chapter 152

Chapter 152 A Fair Trade

Joanna had only one Substitute Scarecrow. That much, Katherine knew for sure.

So how could Joanna possibly win?

Inside the arena.

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Joanna spoke calmly, “Now, it’s my

turn to

อ

to trade.”

The moment she finished speaking, a glowing scale appeared in front of her and settled in midair.

Garfield waited, watching closely.

No matter what Joanna offered, he believed he couldn’t ose.

After all, he had so many Substitute Scarecrows.

Then Joanna spoke again.

“I trade 4,545 points of Strength and 4,561 points of Agility for 4,545 points of your Vitality and 4,561 points of your Spirit.”

The instant those words left her mouth, the entire arena froze.

Garfield froze. So did all the students watching outside the ring.

No one had expected this. She wasn’t trading body parts She was trading attribute points.

Was that even allowed?

But when you thought about it, vitality, strength, agility and spirit were all attributes. They were all points.

So the real question was simple: would the trade be accepted?

A swirl of red and orange energy dropped onto the scal

Joanna checked her stats.

They had changed.

“Vitality 4,395, Strength 10, Agility 10, Spirit 4,845”

Her strength and agility had dropped to 10. Those were he minimum values she kept.

Everything else she had thrown it all onto the scale.

Joanna was gambling,

She was betting that the rules allowed this. And even if they didn’t, she still had other ways to gamble.

More importantly, she was betting that Garfield, raised nd protected by a powerful family, had never absorbed that many attribute points. She was betting th his stats were lower than hers.

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Chapter 152 A Fair Trade

And if they were lower? What would happen to Garfield?

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Under Fair Trade, if Garfield didn’t have enough attribues to pay, the system wouldn’t substitute other stats. If Garfield couldn’t pay, his vitality would drop to zero. ero vitality meant zero health. Instant death.

Even worse, even if a Substitute Scarecrow revived him his Vitality would still be zero.

That meant one thing. Endless death. Over and over again.

There was no escape.

Joanna lifted her hand politely.

“Your move, Mr. Lowe.”

Sweat poured down Garfield’s face.

Only now did he realize he had trapped himself.

His vitality wasn’t anywhere near 4,000. It barely passed 2,000. His spirit was worse. Just over 1,000.

He didn’t meet the trade conditions at all.

If he accepted, he would die.

If he refused, he would also be erased.

For the first time, Garfield truly acknowledged Joanna’s strength.

She hadn’t won with summoned beasts.

Joanna hadn’t relied on tricks. She had beaten him with her mind.

This trade looked fair. But in truth, it was a cruel game of “I have what

you

don’t.”

Garfield had tried to buy victory with money and Substitute Scarecrows.

Joanna saw through it and used raw attributes to steal his foundation and strike back perfectly.

Time ticked down.

Sweat streamed down Garfield’s forehead.

Then a terrifying thought hit him.

Fair Trade demanded fairness.

If he refused the deal, he would violate the rule.

That meant compensation. It also meant losing a merchant’s credibility.

Worse still, he had already activated Capital Preservatio (Dark Gold Tier) earlier. That skill had given Joanna the No-Loss Principle (Gold Tier).

If he was the one who canceled the trade, Joanna could ill trigger the No-Loss Principle. Which meant she could take something else from him.

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Chapter 152 A Fair Trade

What if she kept draining his vitality with another attribute swap?

Wouldn’t he still die?

That single thought sealed his fate. He was completely cornered.

Sweat soaked his clothes.

His mind raced so fast it felt like it might burn.

In the final seconds of the countdown, he made his choice.

“I refuse the trade!”

The scale slammed downward. Hard. It crashed into Ga field’s body.

He died on the spot.

Joanna frowned sharply.

So this was how trade erasure worked? If she had known she would have refused last time.

Still, this taught her something important. She understood Garfield and the rules better now.

System messages appeared.

“Merchant Garfield refused the trade and was erased by trade rules.

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“You have completed one trade with him. The second trade was refused, violating Fair Trade rules. Y automatically receive 10% compensation: 454.5 Vitality and 456.1 Spirit.

“No-Loss Principle activated: You may choose any item or attribute you own to exchange with the other party at equal tier. If the other party lacks it, you will receive something better instead. (Note: If the other party dies after the exchange, the exchanged item will be reclaimed.)”

“Haha.”

Joanna laughed softly.

Did he really think she would keep trading for Vitality?

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The Battle Queen They Blindly Kicked Out