Night Market

Tonight, the moon is like frost.

The temperature is very low, very cold.

When Chen Miemie went home yesterday, he bought two thick clothes, which came in handy right away.

At exactly 19:00, he carried his backpack and went out.

Qinghua was around his neck, and Bobo was in his backpack.

The [Chef] was dead, but he still had a companion, so he couldn't let his guard down.

Today is the fifth day of this week. At 20:00 tonight, there is a night market in the [Bazaar] open only to graduates.

The [Bazaar] is not far, only three stops away.

Leaving an hour for the journey resulted in him arriving early, before the night market had even started.

He was far from the only one who arrived early.

The trainees all believed in "the early bird gets the worm." High-quality, cost-effective items definitely had to be snatched up. First come, first served. Everyone wanted to rush in as soon as the market opened.

Liu Bo spotted Chen Miemie: "How has my son been these past two days? Have you missed your father?"

Chen Miemie was very adept at severing family ties: "Since we're family, lend me some time..."

Before he could finish, Liu Bo had already stated, "We just met by chance; we're not that familiar."

After some bantering, Liu Bo shared some useful tips:

"When you go in later, don't get dazzled. The mysterious world has too many bizarre items. Don't listen to the stories those stall owners make up.

Just remember one rule: Potions > Mysterious Items > Magical Props > Anything you don't recognize."

"Huh? Aren't mysterious items really powerful? I heard they are anomalies among inanimate objects."

"That depends on the grade of the mysterious item. We're in the novice village, understand? The mysterious items in this market aren't mysterious enough; they're just items, get it?"

"Oh, okay."

"There's another kind of thing you must get if you encounter it. Although the chances are very small, it's even more precious than potions."

"What kind of thing?"

"Not a specific thing, but something that, when you look at it, makes the abilities in your body stir and become exceptionally active. It's different for everyone."

After saying a few words, Liu Bo jumped into another circle to interject. He was definitely an active element.

Chen Miemie didn't join the crowd; he had "someone" to chat with.

'Xiao Shuang, do you have any ability to appraise treasures and pick up bargains?'

[No.]

'Then do you have X-ray vision or something?'

[Hooligan!]

'No, I mean the proper kind of X-ray vision that can see through the surface of a stone to know if it's green inside.'

[That kind of ability is useless.]

'Sigh, what should I do then? I only have a little over 40 years of time. I probably won't be able to buy any treasures.'

[I can see the [Intensity] of mysterious items.]

'Huh? What's intensity?'

Chen Miemie perked up.

[Anomalous abilities have a [Mystery] degree, and mysterious items naturally have a corresponding [Intensity].]

'Others can't see the [Intensity]?'

[Correct. They only know what the ability is. A small number of so-called experts can use instruments to detect the approximate range of the [Intensity], but it's not accurate either.]

Chen Miemie's clever little brain immediately started spinning at high speed.

Soon, he formulated a strategy that was most advantageous to him:

Look for those "parallel import" mysterious items that are priced low but secretly have off-the-charts [Intensity].

Time passed quickly.

20:00 arrived.

All the trainees swarmed into the night market.

All the trainees taking the graduation exam the day after tomorrow came tonight.

The night market was also a large warehouse. As soon as you entered, there were small stalls set up one by one.

Chen Miemie felt a bit like he had time-traveled again, arriving at an antique street.

Before taking two steps, he confirmed his suspicion, because the bosses of these small stalls were a group of old veterans who were exceptionally good at making up stories.

Look, monitor Yue Junyang fancied an antique-looking bronze sword. He had just opened his mouth to ask the price.

The stall owner immediately started spitting enthusiastically.

"Young man, good eye. It might also be that you are destined for this sword.

This was the personal sword of the human sage, Great Sage Mianyue, during his youth in the initial First Era, named the [Gentleman's Sword]. From [Mystery] 1 all the way to [Mystery] 4, Great Sage Mianyue never let this sword leave his side, slaying demons and eradicating monsters along the way. Only when he finally broke through to level 5 did he change to a divine artifact."

Chen Miemie glanced at the sword. About 20,000 years ago in the First Era? He would doubt it even if they said it was produced last year.

Yue Junyang's fondness for it was written all over his face.

"Never mind, the sword chose you. Take it for 200 years." The stall owner's final quote was a downright exorbitant demand.

Yue Junyang stroked the blade: "2 years."

"Deal." Facing a price that had shrunk by 100 times, the stall owner immediately agreed, afraid the fat sheep would run away.

After the transaction was complete.

Chen Miemie went over: "You like this... First Era sword so much?"

"It's a gentleman appreciating a gentleman. I like the sword itself, and I like the story, nothing more." Yue Junyang pretended to be cool and turned to leave.

Chen Miemie: ......

What are you so arrogant about? You deserve to be scammed.

Chen Miemie looked all the way down the line. Every stall had "fierce goods" and every stall had a "heritage." He didn't have the slightest desire to make a move.

He somewhat questioned the purpose of this night market.

A bunch of youngsters, how many knew the real from the fake? Wasting time was a small matter, but the exam was a matter of life and death. If they relied on it and ended up bringing out a useless fake, wouldn't that be purely scamming people?

[At the stall ahead, a high-intensity mysterious item has appeared.]

Chen Miemie immediately cast aside his previous doubts.

The night market is good, the night market is wonderful. This kind of activity should be held more often.

Chen Miemie came to that stall.

[[Flower Hat Jellyfish Hat] Function: Increases resistance to abnormal status after wearing. Side effect: If worn for too long, the highly toxic flower hat jellyfish will pierce the forehead and suck the wearer's brain matter. It will not continue to harm the master for a period of time after sucking enough [Intensity] 6.]

Young Chen Miemie still wanted to learn the routines of his predecessors.

He first picked a useless small pagoda from the stall, looked at it for a long time, and put it down.

Then he found a second small broken bowl and asked for the price.

He was just about to pick up a third distraction.

The stall owner couldn't stand it anymore: "Young man, how about we skip these preludes and you look directly at that jellyfish hat?"

Chen Miemie was shocked: "Could it be that your [Mystery] ability is mind reading, boss?"

"No, the ahoge on your head has been pointing at that hat the whole time."

Chen Miemie was thick-skinned, thick enough to set up a stall on this street. He recovered his facial expression management: "How much is the hat?"

"25 years."

"3 months." Chen Miemie learned from monitor Yue Junyang and bargained with a 1% quote.

"Get lost." The stall owner turned his head and ignored Chen Miemie.

"Hey, hey, don't be like that. I'll add a bit, make it a round number, 8 months. 888, everyone gets rich, how about it?"

Chen Miemie gritted his teeth and increased the quote by 266%, his heart bleeding.

The stall owner also knew that the people coming were all ungraduated students, and sighed:

"I didn't misquote 25 years. I also came here as a student. This is a real [Mysterious Item], not those trashy decorations. It's for saving your life at critical moments."

Seeing his sincerity, Chen Miemie also switched to a serious tone:

"But if worn for just a bit too long, the jellyfish's tentacles are no longer hat strings, but a lethal poison that pierces the brain and sucks the marrow. Whether it saves your life or takes it, that line is very hard to walk, isn't it?"

The stall owner knew he had met an expert.

Without even touching it, the buyer could accurately state its side effects.

Mysterious Items were all unique, so they had no fixed market price.

If someone desperately needed one, it could be sold for an astronomical price. But if it was only meant for a collection, the price would be severely lowballed.

The stall owner himself didn't dare to use this Flower Hat Jellyfish Cap. He had seen with his own eyes how the previous two owners had their brains completely hollowed out.

"If you sincerely want it, give me a flat price."

"8 years."

"Young man, you've got more spirit than I did back in my day. Deal."

Leaving the stall, Chen Miemie immediately put on the Flower Hat Jellyfish Cap, hiding the traitorous cowlick on his head that always gave away his inner thoughts.

A cute, pale yellow jellyfish now rested on his head.

In less than ten seconds, its dangling tentacles began to pierce into his skull.

Chen Miemie felt as if a stick was stirring inside his brain, as though someone was mixing milk tea and cheese foam together before sucking it all out through a straw.

At the same time, his Level 9 Immortality kicked in, rapidly growing new brain tissue.

After about five minutes of this dizzying, groggy process, the Flower Hat Jellyfish Cap had drank its fill and stopped. The jellyfish then began to affectionately nuzzle against Chen Miemie.

This was the first time the Flower Hat Jellyfish Cap had truly acknowledged a master.