Chapter 3: A Millionaire

One hundred thousand dollars!

Rod had never seen that much money in his life, not even before he transmigrated. If he didn't sell it now, he'd be a fool.

After all, besides the Hermès CEO standing in front of him, it was unlikely anyone else would offer such a high price just for a guitar case.

"Deal!" Rod agreed immediately.

Since the guitar case hadn't been sold yet, it still technically belonged to him, so he had every right to make the deal.

As for whether the guitar case was genuine or not, who knew? It wasn't like he had claimed it was authentic. This guy was the one insisting it was real, and he was willing to spend $100,000 on it. Even if it turned out to be fake, that had nothing to do with Rod.

"Old John, didn't think you'd miss something like this!" Bron Carter, the Hermès CEO, chuckled at the elderly man behind the counter, clearly in a good mood. It seemed the two were on friendly terms.

"I don't know much about luxury goods," Old John shook his head. Every collector had their areas of expertise, and luxury items weren't his forte, so it wasn't surprising that he'd overlooked it.

Having made a cool $110,000 from the two items, Rod was in high spirits. He pulled out the silver coins he had with him, letting them tumble onto the counter from his wallet.

Seven silver coins, each from a different country and era. In the United States, many collectors loved historical gold and silver coins, making them highly valuable.

Altogether, these seven coins were probably worth a few thousand dollars at least.

Hiss!

Old John's casual expression froze as he looked at the silver coins on the table. His eyes locked onto one particular coin—a rare "Flowing Hair Liberty" 1-dollar silver coin.

Old John picked up a magnifying glass, carefully inspecting the coin. After a long moment, he exhaled deeply.

"Where did you get these coins?"

"Family heirloom," Rod lied without missing a beat, not batting an eye. No one knew where the coins had come from, so he could say whatever he wanted.

However, based on the old man's reaction, it was clear that this coin was incredibly valuable. Even when Rod had sold the $100,000 guitar case, Old John hadn't shown much emotion. Blindly guessing, Rod figured this silver coin was worth at least $300,000.

"The other coins are Central European silver coins, finely crafted and in excellent condition. I'm willing to offer $1,000 each for them," Old John said, pausing before continuing. "As for the Flowing Hair Liberty coin, how much do you want for it?"

He didn't name a price, instead asking Rod to make the first move.

Rod stroked his chin, thinking for a moment before slowly holding up five fingers. He wasn't sure of the exact value of the coin, but he wanted to aim high, leaving room for negotiation. He quoted $500,000, though in reality, his mental target was $300,000. Anything over that, and he'd sell.

"Deal!" Old John agreed without hesitation, not even trying to haggle.

"Five million dollars. How would you like to handle the transaction?"

Cough, cough!

Rod nearly choked on his own spit, his face twisting in disbelief.

"How much?"

Five million dollars?

Rod thought he must have misheard, but seeing the look of excitement on Old John's face, like he had just hit the jackpot, Rod realized the coin's true value was probably far higher than five million.

Still, he couldn't back out now. His offer had already been accepted.

"Just wire it to my account," Rod said, still in shock.

As Rod left the antique shop, he felt a strong sense of disbelief.

In less than an hour, he had gone from being a broke nobody with not even $10,000 to his name, to a millionaire with five million dollars.

Looking at the cold, hard numbers on his bank account, Rod couldn't help but pinch his leg.

"It's not a dream!"

Once he finally got home, Rod's excitement began to settle down. He suddenly remembered the silver coin that had fetched him five million dollars.

Curious, Rod pulled out his phone and began searching for information. After some digging, he found what he was looking for.

The "Flowing Hair Liberty" 1-dollar silver coin was the first silver dollar ever issued by the United States federal government. Its rarity made it incredibly valuable, and the number of surviving coins was even fewer.

A few months ago, at a major auction, a similar coin had sold for a staggering $6.6 million.

So Old John had definitely scored a great deal buying the coin from Rod for five million dollars. Coins like these, due to their rarity, had immense collector value and weren't something money could easily buy.

However, Rod didn't feel too bad about it. After all, that $6.6 million was an auction price, and auction houses typically took a significant cut. In private sales, the coin's value would likely be around four or five million dollars anyway.

With the money now secured, Rod's next move was simple.

He opened his phone and placed an order.

Spending over $10,000, he bought a healthy, full-grown Belgian Blue cow online.

If sacrificing just a few pieces of beef could enhance his physical strength, then surely if he had enough material to sacrifice, his body could grow even stronger.

Once he had the strength, he could finally explore the world behind the portal.

After placing the order, Rod settled in to wait for the delivery.