Chapter 8: Are You a Fly?

"I said no, and that means no. If you can't even list one advantage, how can I dare buy it?" Charles shook his head and left the equipment shop without looking back.

His bargaining skills had been honed in his previous life on countless shopping excursions. The best way to deal with swindlers was simply one word—delay!

As long as you're not in a rush to buy, you can't be trapped. Let's see who becomes desperate first.

Moreover, while other people focused on the defensive capabilities when purchasing armor, only Charles, guided by the system's hint, recognized the unique quality of this piece of equipment. No one else would bother buying it.

Max let out a deep murmur and gently rubbed his head against Charles's chest, clearly trying to comfort him.

Charles patted Max's head. "It's alright, Max. I wasn't planning to buy it anyway, just checking the price."

Exiting the equipment store, they were surrounded by a bustling commercial street with clothing shops, accessory stores, food outlets... Various colorful signs and billboards dazzled Charles.

Charles's family wasn't wealthy. In the past, he wouldn't even dare to glance at such places, but things were different now—he had money!

It was just about time for lunch. Charles smiled gently. "Max, I'll take you for some delicious food!"

At the mention of eating, Max's eyes immediately lit up.

From a distance, Charles could smell the enticing aroma coming from a place called 'Barbarian Bull Steakhouse.'

"I'd like a private room, two steaks, and two juices," Charles said, pointing at Max to indicate the reservation was for one person and one beast.

"Right away, please wait a moment!" The server smiled, even showing a bit of respect.

Upon learning that Charles was the Beast Master, the shopkeeper personally took to the kitchen and prioritized Charles's meal order as the first of the day.

This preferential treatment made Charles somewhat embarrassed.

He recalled that before transmigrating, many shops and trains strictly prohibited pets, but in this world, it was entirely different—Beast Mastery was regarded as an equal existence to humans.

"Enjoy your meal, both of you!"

A maid-clad waitress bowed slightly, then gently closed the door of the private booth.

"Let's eat!"

Charles passed a steak and a glass of juice to Max, who sniffed it lightly and instantly began to drool profusely.

"Ooh... Huff huff!"

Seeing Max get scalded yet reluctant to spit out the meat, Charles couldn't help but laugh, even though it also made him feel a bit sad.

Life in the wild was far more brutal compared to the city.

Although "ferocious beast" was a unified term, there were millions of species, each with its own territory. They were incompatible like fire and water, often fighting to the death over a morsel of food.

According to the Beast Master Guild, when they found Max, he was lying bloodied on the ground, an image hard to imagine.

"Eat up, don't choke. If you like it, I'll order more." Charles fed Max a cup of juice, then passed over his own portion of steak.

[Ding! This is your first time bringing Max to a steakhouse, and Max is very happy. Your rapport with Max has increased!]

[Pet Loyalty +3!]

Seeing the fleeting system notification, Charles covered his mouth and chuckled. The last time he fought alongside Max defeating the spectral wolf, they had only gained 2 loyalty points. Now, just by sharing a meal, they gained 3 points!

"What a little foodie..."

Once Max was fully satisfied and burped contentedly, Charles led him out of the steakhouse.

Seeing that it was still early, Charles took Max to a nearby pet accessory shop. After browsing for a while, he finally chose a blue bow tie and tied it to Max's tail.

This was a special accessory that could enhance a pet's control over elemental forces.

[Ding! You have adorned Max with a pet accessory. Max is very pleased and in high spirits. Loyalty +2!]

"Another 2 points?"

Charles glanced at the pet panel, and indeed, Max's loyalty had risen to 75 points!

Pet loyalty is a crucial attribute.

If the loyalty is below 60 points, pets may abandon their owners in dangerous situations, with a higher probability the lower the loyalty.

The higher the loyalty, the better the understanding and rapport between the pet and the owner, enabling them to comprehend the owner's combat commands and even communicate telepathically.

At 90 points or above, a pet would be willing to sacrifice its life for its owner, staying by their side unto death.

"Now that Max's loyalty is at 75 points, he can understand most of what I say. This will make our coordination in battle much more convenient!" Charles thought, pleased.

Beep beep—

As Charles was checking Max's pet panel, his phone suddenly rang.

A sweet female voice said, "Good day, sir. The materials you consigned to the Beast Master Guild have all been sold. After deducting a 10% service fee, the total amount of 7 silver coins and 820 copper coins has been transferred to your bank account."

"Thank you for your efforts."

After hanging up the phone, Charles checked his bank balance and soon received a message:

[Dear customer, your bank account ending in 9527 currently has a balance of 0 gold coins, 8 silver coins, and 20 copper coins.]

"Just now, the steak with Max cost 100 copper coins, the bow tie was 100 copper coins, plus the original 400 copper coins in the card for living expenses..." Charles furrowed his brow and did the math, finding it exactly right!

The demand for the spectral wolf materials had far exceeded Charles's expectations. In the time it took to eat a meal, even the battered wolf skin had sold!

To the old Charles, this amount of money would have seemed astronomical.

But having seen Max's astonishing appetite, Charles suddenly felt it wasn't that much after all...

The steak Charles had just enjoyed was merely ordinary wild ox meat. If it had been ferocious beast meat, he could hardly fathom how quickly his money would have vanished.

"Besides food expenses, I still need a full set of equipment. No matter how much I try to haggle, the shopkeeper won't sell the [Divine Scale Armor] to me for less than 10 silver coins." Charles scratched his head, visibly worried.

A wealthy man has it easy, while a poor man has it tough. With only six days before departure, where could he possibly find enough money?

Suddenly, Charles remembered the small pill in his storage space, slapping his forehead:

"I've got it, I can sell the medicine!"

He pulled out his cellphone, pressed and held the side button, and asked the voice assistant:

"I'm in Genosha Lsengard, and I have a tone reproduction quality miracle drug. I want to sell it for the highest price. Where should I go?"

[Voice Assistant Received, Analyzing...]

After a few seconds of processing, the voice assistant opened the navigation on Charles's phone, marking the endpoint at the [Misubi Auction House], 2000 meters away from him.

...

Ten minutes later, Charles arrived at the entrance of a relatively modest building.

The building was white with hints of dark gold inlay, and its simplicity was evident, save for the historically patterned frames around its floor-to-ceiling windows, which were not overly ornate.

It looked unassuming, yet a quick online search revealed that the backing Misubi family of the Misubi Auction House was one of Genosha's three major powers, on par with the Beast Master Guild, a force not to be underestimated.

"Charles? How do I bump into you everywhere?"

As Charles was about to enter the auction house, a red supercar pulled up at the entrance. A pale, stick-thin young man stepped out of the luxury vehicle.

Seeing Robert, Charles's Max immediately bared his teeth and glared menacingly at him.

The familiar scene reminded Charles of the earlier incident at the Beast Master Guild when Robert's 'divine beast,' the four-winged tiger, had been scared to the point of wetting itself, almost making Charles laugh aloud: "Yeah, why are you like a fly, following me wherever I go?"

Charles was clearly amused, and Robert could see it. He adjusted his suit, then glanced disdainfully at Charles's inexpensive shirt: "The treasures sold inside Misubi are exorbitantly priced. Can you actually afford them?"

Having lived twice, Charles had seen through Robert's character in just half a day. Considering their consistently poor relationship from his memories, Charles didn't bother engaging with him.

"I certainly can't afford to buy anything, just here to browse and expand my horizons," Charles casually excused himself from Robert and headed straight into a room labeled 'Appraisal Room' to the left of the auction house entrance.

The room was spacious and, though not lavishly decorated, the intricately patterned carpets and the valuable oil paintings on the walls spoke of the grandeur of a major family.

A man in a tailcoat, upon seeing Charles, bowed respectfully:

"Good day, sir. This is the appraisal room of the Misubi Auction House. May I ask if there is something you wish to auction?"

Charles nodded, then pulled a small box from his pocket and gently handed it to the man...

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