The Sense of Danger

Duke furrowed his brows. Viola seemed to have anticipated this situation and stood smilingly between the two. "Danny, you know, he's not short on money. Your cooperation is mutually beneficial. He might not talk much, but he won't treat you unfairly."

Though Danny was reticent, he wasn't completely silent, just intentionally ignoring. Duke had some knowledge of Danny, too. He was a second-generation affluent student at J City High. His father was an Awakened and owned a martial arts gym in the city. In this era, having an Awakened parent was more advantageous than being a simple second-generation rich kid. Moreover, he was famous in the school as a known trader, often dealing in items required for refining the original force and selling them to other wealthy students, thus amassing considerable wealth.

However, Duke had no intention of selling. On one hand, he needed those items himself; on the other, it was also the goodwill of Alexander and others.

"Not selling," Duke responded calmly before turning to leave. Duke's attitude surprised both Viola and Danny.Especially Danny, who immediately put down his phone and put on a smile.

"Duke, don't be in such a hurry to leave. My little brother was a bit out of line earlier. Let me apologize to you! Actually, my previous behavior was just a test. If you had shown weakness, we could've negotiated on the price."

Clearly, Danny's previous actions were a facade. As a second-generation Awakened and a merchant, his earlier behavior was just an attempt to see if he could intimidate Duke, and then haggle over the price.

Although Duke wasn't concerned about how much he could gain from this deal—after all, besides raw stones, he also had life crystals for cultivation, and life crystals were far more efficient than raw stones—he wasn't interested in selling.

Seeing Duke's indecision, Viola quickly stepped in and whispered, "Duke, making good with Danny is a rare opportunity for you. Don't miss out." Her expression was eager, as if she were genuinely concerned for Duke.

"Sorry, I plan to keep and use them myself. I won't sell," Duke stated, not changing his mind. This response caused both Viola and Danny to furrow their brows.

Especially Danny, who had previously assumed that Duke's turning away was just a show of attitude and that he wanted to raise the price this way. However, now it seemed like Duke truly had no intention of selling?

"You're not even going to consider it? This stuff isn't of much use to you. If my little brother had a bad attitude just now, let me apologize on his behalf." Danny was somewhat troubled.

  If it came to bargaining, he had a way to continue the negotiation and wasn't afraid of being at a disadvantage. After all, second-generation affluent students like him were common at J City High. Selling to others, he could ensure a safe profit. But he couldn't understand why Duke wanted to keep these items? Did he really think that relying on unexpected gains, he could suddenly awaken on the Awakening Day?

"Not considering it," Duke said, wanting to avoid wasting more time with these people.

Although Duke was financially strained, he never considered trying to curry favor with students like Danny, despite some people indeed doing so.

"Duke!" Viola's expression soured slightly. She had confidently assured Danny earlier, and from her perspective, this deal should have been easy to achieve.

"Why do you want to keep these things? Do you really believe, so naively, that by relying on this windfall, you can suddenly awaken on Awakening Day?" Viola had initially thought that while Duke's potential might be limited, he wasn't someone who overestimated himself. Now she suddenly realized that Duke's naivety was a bit excessive.

"Alright, that's enough. There's no need to continue this conversation," Duke said, unwilling to waste more words on them. Although their attitude wasn't outright hostile, their undisguised sense of superiority and the mockery in their attitude were clearly reflected in their eyes, impossible to conceal.

"You're really not giving your brother any face?" Danny's expression soured. Honestly, he never thought doing business with a mediocre student from the slums would be so tricky. However, these high-quality raw stones were in demand by many. Thinking of this, his expression became volatile.

Seeing Danny's expression, his subordinates immediately understood. They surrounded Duke, blocking his way. Duke's pupils slightly contracted. Were they planning to rob him by force? Even though he had no background, this was a school, and there were rules; how could they dare?

The group encircled Duke, and their original forces surged, their auras growing increasingly restless. Danny didn't speak; he seemed to be contemplating. However, in this situation, Duke actually smiled, feeling a bit excited. He had never had a chance to test how strong his original force level was, but watching these people erupting with their original forces, he had an intuition that their strength wasn't impressive.

"Hmm?" Danny didn't speak; in reality, he was exerting pressure on Duke.

Duke's earlier assessment was correct. Even if Danny had a background, with his father being an Awakened, he couldn't just snatch resources from other students for no reason. Even in this era, there were still rules and laws.

If Duke felt threatened, Danny could choose not to take action. However, at this moment, he noticed the expression in Duke's eyes and couldn't help but be surprised.

Duke's expression was very relaxed, but his body had assumed a highly concealed attack stance. His gaze was as sharp as a knife, like a beast ready to tear apart its prey at any moment, locking onto the several people surrounding him. Although this posture wasn't directed at him, Danny, who had already surpassed a force level of ninety, suddenly felt an extreme sense of danger!

"Is this kid's original force really just in the seventies?" Danny began to doubt.

"What, bullying people?" Just then, a languid voice sounded, and a short-haired, well-proportioned girl with ear-length hair calmly entered the scene.

"Louisa?" Danny was somewhat surprised.

"Danny, you've got quite the nerve, daring to mess with my people!" The girl named Louisa, along with a bespectacled, medium-built boy, stood beside Duke.

"Just kidding, we were only talking business. Since Duke doesn't want to, then forget it, I'm leaving." Danny immediately put on a smile. Like him, Louisa's original force level was within the top ten of their grade, and in the last test, it was even higher than his!

Even if he couldn't become an Awakened on Awakening Day, there was still a high possibility of awakening after entering the War Academy! Unexpectedly, Duke actually had some connection with her. This deal seemed to have fallen through. Although he felt somewhat unwilling internally, Danny remained quite calm, gazing at Duke with indifference.

"Since Duke insists on keeping it himself, then we'll just have to wait and see." Danny referred to the Awakening Day, waiting to see Duke's "awakening."

In Danny's view, Duke really didn't need to be so stubborn. When he couldn't awakening, this group of people would have completed their test registrations. Duke's high-quality raw stones probably wouldn't find buyers in the short term. By then, Duke would surely regret it.

"Sigh, Duke, I really don't know how to advise you. I gave you a chance, but you didn't seize it," Viola said with a disappointed sigh, giving Duke a look of exasperation, and then left with Danny.