Chapter 3

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

At this moment, he was actually not his original self.

Instead, he was covered with seven-color streams of light.

Not to mention his appearance, one could not even roughly see his form.

Looking around, most of the people walking on the streets looked like this.

This effect which was like “anonymity” was a function of the terminal.

After all, it was a “black market”.

Although Shen Shi had the intention to explore the surrounding shops, the most important thing now was to determine the value of the “antiques”.

He tried his best to integrate himself into every beam of seven-color figures around him. Even his pace was maintained at a similar rate. He came to a corner of the street unhurriedly. Here, there was a store that was different from the rest of the other buildings to him.

The reason was simple.

From the perspective of modern people, there was no issue with the decor of this store.

The exterior wall was made of green stone bricks, and there was a brown wooden plaque. There were bells hanging on the inside of the door, and when one pushed the door open and entered, there would be a crisp ringing sound. Whether it was the rows of wooden shelves placed against the wall or the counter on the side that blocked the customers, they all looked very natural. They were no different from modern antique stores.

This was why Shen Shi had noticed this place previously.

The first time, he was unfamiliar, but the second time, he was more familiar. He pushed the door open and walked in. The first thing he saw was a seven-color figure in front of the counter and the collector sitting behind it.

Are there other customers?

Shen Shi glanced at the collector and walked over calmly.

“Welcome.”

The collector looked over with his gentle eyes. He was speaking in a language that Shen Shi did not understand, but he could hear a simultaneous translation in his ears.

“It’s me.” What came out of Shen Shi’s mouth was a slightly dull voice that had been modified by the terminal, and there was no emotion in it.

However, it made the azure light in the collector’s eyes clearly brighter.

“It’s you, esteemed customer.” The collector even left the customer in front of him and walked toward Shen Shi.

There were no seven-color streams of light used for anonymity on his body, nor were there any clothes. It was a body that combined art with technology. On the jade-like, crystal clear trunk, there were all kinds of runes woven from golden patterns. The internal structure could even be faintly seen. Every move he made had a blue stream of light surging in his body, giving him a mysterious color.

The word “robot” could not describe this body at all.

Shen Shi was also not sure if this was his true appearance or a virtual image in this trading market… In any case, his terminal did not have the ability to fabricate this image.

But none of that mattered.

Shen Shi watched silently as the collector walked up to him, pretending to be a person of a few words.

“What do you want to trade this time, esteemed customer?”

The collector’s voice could not be distinguished as male or female. It was more neutral because one could not understand the language he used, nor could one figure out his tone.

However, just as Shen Shi was thinking about what to say, a customer who had concealed himself on the other side suddenly interrupted.

“Wait, I’m not done with the transaction here.” This was also in an unintelligible language, but it seemed to be different from what the collector was using.

“Customer.” The collector looked at the customer. “I can’t accept the item you have brought out.”

The rules of this place were very strange. There was no money, but rather, there was barter. It seemed especially inconvenient.

However, there might be other reasons Shen Shi did not know.

At this moment, another customer had walked over to interrupt, but Shen Shi did not care. In such a place that surpassed the world view, he adhered to the principle that the more one spoke, the more one would make mistakes. At this moment, he only placed his gaze on the other item originally placed on the counter.

It should be the item the other customer wanted to trade.

However, he did not know if the other party was buying it or selling it.

However, the moment he saw that thing clearly, Shen Shi’s pupils constricted slightly.

If it had not been for the shielding of the seven-color light, he would have been discovered.

However, he could not be blamed because it was a book!

It was an incomplete, yellowish book that seemed to have more than half of it burnt. However, there were two words clearly written on what was left of the cover.

Sun Tzu!

These were obviously Chinese characters. This was a book from his era!

What came after Sun Tzu? From the remnant part of it, Shen Shi had already guessed that it ought to be the Sun Tzu’s Art of War!

His heart was thumping, but he did not make a sound because he had already realized that this was a very good opportunity to see if the books of his era were valued here and what value they had.

If the two of them were to bargain, it would be even better.

As he listened, he continued to look at the book, as if he was interested.

The customer, who had also concealed his appearance, did not care. He continued, “This is the latest product of the Adelaide civilization! You should know how popular it is. Take it outside to trade for money. The price will definitely be above that of your book!”

Shen Shi’s gaze was also attracted by another item that had appeared beside this customer.

It was a ball of black liquid floating in the air.

It looked like half the size of a person. It kept surging as if it was alive.

The situation was obvious. It was an item the customer had taken out to trade for this book.

However, what was this?

As Shen Shi was thinking of this, the collector still refused to trade.

“If you can buy it outside, then feel free to buy it outside. You should understand the rules here. I don’t need this kind of simulation transformation substance, so its value is greatly reduced. In addition, I’m not an antique dealer. I’m a collector.”

If the last sentence had been translated accurately, Shen Shi would have also understood.

An antique dealer wanted to make money, but a collector only wanted to collect.

If the price was tempting enough, he might sell, but at least, he would not sell his collection because the price was slightly higher when he was not short of money.

As if he had seen through the firm attitude of the collector, the customer was silent for a while before he asked, “I’ll only use this to trade. How much do you want?”

“Ten times.” The collector’s lips, which were woven with golden thread, opened slightly.

“Impossible!” The customer’s tone had also changed, but from the translation alone, Shen Shi could seem to see his determination.

“This is the bottom line.” The collector did not say anything else. Instead, he looked at Shen Shi again. “What does this esteemed customer want to trade this time?”

Shen Shi did not reply.

He was just thinking.

There seemed to be a book on Sun Tzu’s Art of War in his room.

It did not take long to make a decision.

For him now, it was most important to find a way to understand more information and then maximize his benefits. Otherwise, even if he had the gold mountain, he might not be able to sell it for a good price.