Chapter 3
"Wish Order System?"
Abel's heart immediately perked up upon confirming that he wasn't hallucinating from being on the brink of death.
Indeed, a transmigration without some sort of cheat was incomplete!
Perhaps now he could change his current dire situation.
So, he immediately called upon the system with his thoughts to inspect it.
The system's interface was simple, divided into four sections: [Character], [Orders], [Store], and [Package].
Upon opening the [Character] section, he could see:
[Host: Gustavus Abel]
[Junior Trading Qualification]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: Ten]
[Height: 140cm]
[Weight: 25.5kg]
[Lifespan: 5 years and 21 days]
[Talent: None]
[Abilities: None]
[Trading Points: 0]
...
Although disappointed by his lack of [Talent] and [Abilities], Abel could still accept it.
After all, in his previous life, aside from being handsome, he also didn't possess any particularly outstanding talents.
Unexpectedly, even after reincarnating, he remained a man—no, a boy now—who, aside from his good looks, was quite unremarkable.
However, he believed that this time, everything would be different.
The precondition was that he had to figure out a way to live a bit longer.
Starting from hell was one thing, but to only have five years to live added a touch of gloom to Abel's mood.
Therefore, he quickly began to explore the other functions of the system.
Finally, he figured out the specific method to use this cheat.
The [Orders] section was divided into two parts: 'Accept Order' and 'Post Order'.
As a holder of Junior Trading Qualification, he could receive a free 'Search' every 72 hours. Then, through 'Search', he could obtain a 'Wish Order' from different worlds from the system.
By completing these orders, he could earn trading points, and even receive additional special rewards.
Free 'Search' instances could not stack, but those purchased with trading points or obtained through other means could accumulate.
However, the 'Post Order' option was currently greyed out and not activated. It required him to reach the Intermediate Trading Qualification to use.
After understanding this, Abel immediately opened the system [Package] and activated the newbie gift pack.
[Opening Newbie Gift Pack. You have received 1000 Trading Points, one 4-star Review Card, one Order Posting Experience Card, and a random 4-star Valuable Discount Item is on limited sale.]
[4-Star Review Card] (Limited Edition)
One-time consumable
Effect: Use when submitting an order. The review of the order will be fixed at a 4-star rating.
Note: Only usable on Junior Wish Orders...
[Order Posting Experience Card] (Limited Edition)
One-time consumable
Effect: After using, an order can be generated according to the host's needs and rewards offered, sent to different worlds.
Note: If the wish difficulty is too high or the reward value is too low, it may result in no one accepting the order...
With trading points in hand, Abel immediately opened the system's store.
[Store] (Junior): Refreshes three random items every seven days, one time-limited discount item listed at the beginning of the month.
There were a total of five items available for purchase in the store.
The first was the random 4-star valuable discount item he obtained from the [Newbie Gift Pack].
Special Item: [Red Heart]
(Special items do not disappear with weekly refreshes, available until sold out!)
Description: Anyone who's played a game knows that one red heart represents one life.
Effect: Use to increase lifespan by a fixed one year, cannot be used on others.
Original Price: 1000 Trading Points/each (crossed out)
4-star Surprise Discount Price: 100 Trading Points/each!
Quantity:
PS: Massive clearance sale at rock-bottom prices. Buy it and you'll profit, what are you waiting for?...
The second item was the month's limited-time discount item.
[Talent Mutation Ray] (Purple)
Description: The gospel for those without talent, the strongest 'pill' for ordinary people!
Effect: Deeply excavates the user's potential and brands it as their own talent. (Takes effect immediately after purchase, cannot be used by those with talent)
Original Price: 2000 Trading Points (crossed out)
Early Month Limited-Time Flash Sale Price: 100 Trading Points!
Quantity:
Time Limit: 23 hours 59 minutes
PS: Are you content with being ordinary, or do you dare to take the leap?!
The remaining three items were the regular items refreshed this week, which were a bunch of bananas, a piece of clothing, and a coin.
Item: [Banana Grenade] (White)
One-time consumable
Description: You think it's a banana, but it's actually a bomb
Effect: Explodes after a 3-second delay
Price: 5 Trading Points
Quantity:...
PS: Banana, you're baloney, Xinne!
...
Item: [Lightweight Bulletproof Vest] (White)
Equipment type item
Description: It's just an ordinary bulletproof vest. Its only advantage might be its light weight?
Effect: Deflects bullets. Defense value:
Price: 50 Trading Points
Quantity:
PS: It only deflects bullets, not anything else.
...
Item: [I am John Doe] (Blue)
One-time consumable
Description: It's a love triangle, yet I don't even have a name.
Effect: Upon use, significantly reduces your presence for ten minutes, causing others to subconsciously ignore you. Note: Reducing your presence is not the same as invisibility, so please try not to stay in others' line of sight for a long time, and definitely do not do anything strange to attract attention.
Price: 100 Trading Points
Quantity:
PS: Huh? Who are you? Where did you come from?
...
Abel couldn't help but get excited!
The special item, [Red Heart], can add years to his life - 99 hearts is equal to 99 years of life!
This means that as long as he has enough trading points, he doesn't have to worry about his dwindling lifespan for now.
Moreover, the surprises the system has brought him are far more than that.
The [Talent Mutation Ray] is a purple item worth two thousand trading points at its original price, but now it only costs 100 trading points on a flash sale. What a bargain!
(Most items' value range from low to high: white, blue, purple, orange, red. Special items are not included.)
As for the other three regular items, each has its own use, tempting him to spend.
...
Although a thousand trading points might seem like a lot, they won't last long.
So, after careful consideration, he decided to spend 150 trading points to buy the [Lightweight Bulletproof Vest] (White) and [I am John Doe] (Blue).
These two items are useful for saving his life, which is what he desperately needs at the moment.
As for the other items, he'll wait until he's in a safe place to consider them.
After Abel finished his purchase, these two items appeared immediately in the system [Bag].
The system [Bag] has an unlimited number of slots, but it can only be used to store system items.
Abel immediately took out the [Lightweight Bulletproof Vest] (White) and put it on.
The black bulletproof vest looked exceedingly safe just by its appearance, and it was not heavy at all, weighing roughly just a kilogram, made from some special material, presumably.
Next, he put on his blood-stained uniform jacket over it.
After finishing these preparations, he turned his attention back to the [Orders].
[Start search for Wish Orders?]
[Current Search Attempts: 1 (Free)]
Abel pondered for a moment and chose to confirm.
His thinking was straightforward: the first attempt was meant for making mistakes and gathering information, so it was naturally better to use it sooner rather than later.
And so, the system immediately started to operate.
[Initiating Wish Order search. Search complete!]
[Retrieved a Primary Wish Order]
[Order Description: A boy known as the 'Grim Reaper student' was caught while investigating a murderer. He is in urgent need of a sharp knife to cut the rope.]
[Order Content: A sharp tool to cut ropes]
[Basic Order Rewards: A pair of power-enhancing boots, 100 Trading Points]
[Order Time Remaining: 4 minutes 59 seconds]
...
"Time limit, really?"
The five-minute countdown took Abel by surprise, but it did not make him panic.
Instead, he started to analyze calmly, gathering the information he needed.
"It seems that fulfilling the order does not require adherence to any principle of 'equivalent exchange'."
"Otherwise, the value of a mere ordinary knife could never be equated with a pair of power-enhancing boots."
"Of course, the premise is that the 'Grim Reaper student' mentioned in the order description is the one I'm familiar with."
"Then the order's generation could very likely be based on a supply-demand logic."
"That is, the items I currently [need] and what I can [offer] in exchange. The true value of the two doesn't necessarily have to be equivalent, whether I gain or lose depends on my subjective perception."
Abel's expression indicated deep thought.
Simply put, consider this example.
A man stranded in the desert has a lot of gold, but his water supply has run out.
In this situation, what is more important - gold or water?
If someone were to exchange enough water for the man to survive and exit the desert for his gold, what would the outcome be?
Ninety-nine percent of people would definitely agree because survival is the most crucial!
Those fools who value money over their lives, of course, are not worth mentioning.
Therefore, in Abel's view, the true value of an [item] is based on an individual's [need].
The value of a common bottle of mineral water in a regular city might only be a dollar or two, but to a traveler parched in the desert, it could potentially be worth a ton of gold. The principle was just as such.
Having understood this, Abel didn't waste any more time and immediately began rummaging through the corpses nearby with fervor.
Though the majority of the populace in Flavence were killed by gunshots, there was a significant portion of people who were slain with knives, not to mention the residents who picked up arms in resistance.
So even if the valuables from these bodies had already been stripped, there were still some worthless 'junk' items that were discarded along with the bodies.
Just from a glance, Abel spotted dozens of broken blades lodged in chests or stuck in bones.
It didn't take him long to find a suitable knife.
It was a sharp chef's knife, tightly gripped in the hand of a deceased man in his forties, his eyes wide open in anger, as if he had put up a fierce resistance before death.
The blade of the kitchen knife, which had originally been used for cutting vegetables, had several notches in it.
If he had more time, Abel would surely search for a better option, but with the clock ticking, he could only submit the order with this.
[Order item confirmed. Initiating transmission]
Almost instantaneously, the chef's knife in Abel's hand vanished.
[Primary Wish Order completed, customer provided a two-star review (Mediocre)!]
[Review: Are you joking?! I asked for a sharp knife, not a saw!]
[Two-star review results in a 20% deduction of the basic Trading Points reward. The remaining rewards have been automatically dispensed, please check on your own.]
...
"Two-star review?"
Abel was taken aback. Then, he discovered that he had only received 80 Trading Points and a pair of power-enhancing boots; indeed, 20% of his Trading Points reward had been deducted.
"System, what happened?"
[Please refer to the specific related rules on your own (Detailed).]
Abel immediately opened it up and finally understood.
Apparently, after each order is completed, customer feedback would be received, divided into five levels of review.
One-star review = Terrible, 50% of the base reward Trading Points would be deducted.
Furthermore, accumulating three one-star reviews would result in a decrease of one level in trading qualifications. If the initial qualification was already at the primary level, with no more room for decline, the system would unbind and leave.
However, with every upgrade in trading qualification level, previous bad reviews would be immediately cleared and re-accumulated.
Two-star review = Mediocre, it is not particularly satisfying, but it is passable for use. The basic Trading Points reward would be deducted by 20%, with no accumulation of bad reviews.
Three-star review = Fairly positive, essentially meeting the customer's requirements. Although it does not provide any extra surprises, it is completely above the passing line. No rewards are deducted, but also, no additional rewards are provided.
Four-star review = Pleasant surprise, not only meeting the basic customer requirements but also fulfilling some latent needs, much to the customer's delight! The basic Trading Points reward will increase by an extra 50%, and there's a certain chance to receive additional tips from the customer as a reward.
Five-star review = Excellent, absolute praise, no flaws that the customer can pick out, perfectly meets all of the customer's requirements. The basic Trading Points reward will increase by an additional 100%, and there's a very high chance to receive additional tips from the customer as a reward.
The one to five-star rating system not only brings a lot of discretion to the selection of trade items, but also encourages users to strive for perfection in fulfilling each customer's [Wish Order], rather than being perfunctory.