Crossed the line! 

A few explorers blindly trusted Jake. Most shared the same view as Nathaniel.

Some smiled in victory already. Some smirked at the hopeful few. Some sighed in relief.

Some knitted their brows. "Master Collins, would you like to get some rest first?"

Wearing a faint smile, Nathaniel 'glared' that way.

"We only have three days at most!"

"Is this no urgent matter to you? Or are you planning to drag things out!"

Jake raised his brows.

'Pouring dirty water on people who are actually loyal, pressuring me into the exam. Well played.'

However... unfortunately for Nathaniel, Jake was not a 'normal artisan'.

"Sure. I'll do the test now."

"Thank you so much Master Collins. Words cannot express my gratitude."

"If you do not mind, would you like to browse through our storage for now? I will call the branch master immediately."

"Sounds good." Jake nodded.

Nathaniel Rogers gave a nod to a bodyguard.

"This way please." Nathaniel extended a hand at one of the bedroom doors.

"Wait. Master Collins!"

"Yes. Do you have a moment please!"

The crowd quickly stirred up.

"Since you are here, could you make me a healing talisman!" An team leader shouted.

"Master Collins, could we chat for a moment. I think you will be interested in my offer." It's the mid-aged lady in violet speaking.

Jake lightly knitted his brows. Seriously getting annoying...

Clearly, this was not a good time to add more tasks for him. Whether it be talisman crafting or brokering out a new business deal.

Nathaniel turned to the crowd. His expression quickly fell serious. "Let's be considerate shall we. Let's give master Collins some time to rest."

The crowd quieted down. Some gave Jake an apologetic nod. Some did not look impressed.

Wait. Wait. Hold on.

These guys thought that he was stupid or something? In their view, he still had not figured out the situation?!

Jake half-closed his eyes to hid his cold gaze. He's not that hot-blooded idiot anymore. This simple act could not deceive him anymore.

Oh. So what did they want him to see? That Nathaniel was a better leader? The people here all respected this older son? Nathaniel gave him 50 items, so he was on Jake's side?

Just because Nathaniel rebuked these guys, they were not on the same team?

'They are acting along to win my appreciation for Nathaniel? What are they expecting? In my view, Nathaniel is being considerate for me?'

Jake scoffed at this bad acting in his mind.

"Thanks." Jake carelessly nodded.

Play along for now. We'll see who gets the last laugh.

"Thank you for tolerating my family." Nathaniel warmly nodded back.

Turning back, the two walked towards that room again.

"If possible." Nathaniel leaned over and whispered. "Could you tell me the likelihood..."

Jake shook his head. "Don't expect much from me."

Seeing Jake's unconfident reaction, Nathaniel looked a bit more confident with himself.

The process didn't matter. It's his win in the end!

"Please try your best."

'Pffttt... Try my best to fail? But if you want to act as a gentleman, I do not mind playing along.' Keeping his blank expression, Jake lightly raised his brows. "Naturally."

"Mr. Rogers." A bodyguard walked over.

Nathaniel took a look at this bodyguard's hand signs, and returned a nod.

"The branch master will arrive in 2 hours." Nathaniel Rogers opened the door.

It's a typical presidential suite inside. The LED screens turned on one by one, showing nice window views.

An empty pool. Some armchairs. Couch, coffee table, and a TV set.

A bodyguard handed Jake a tablet. Then that guy put a black box onto the coffee table.

"Please take your time in selection. If you need help, our storage keeper will be waiting outside."

Leaving those words, Nathaniel and the bodyguard left this room. Jake looked around, he had this space to himself now.

Sitting on an armchair, Jake turned on the tablet.

There was only one app available, presenting a list of materials.

[ 1. Green-Tier Monster Cores * 968 ]

[ 2. Mana Crystal Shards * 84 ]

[ 3. Wolf Fangs * 450 ]

...

...

Jake clicked on the monster cores.

[ 1. Green-Tier Monster Core - G11061702 ]

[ 2. Green-Tier Monster Core - G08051608 ]

[ 3. Green-Tier Monster Core - G28021617 ]

...

...

Clicking on the first choice available, more information about the monster core was presented. Weight, dimensions, quality, price, et cetera.

Blue light shot out of that black box on the coffee table. A 3D hologram of the monster core quickly formed.

Looking at this, a collection quest popped up in Jake's view. This low-quality monster core was worth 1 Click Point.

Also, in the app, Jake could drag this item into his shopping cart now.

'Interesting...' Jake flicked his brows. 'I get 50 items for free. So I'll just choose the 50 that's worth the most click points then.'

Jake returned back to the general list of materials.

Browsing these through, Jake raised his brows. 'Looks like the Iron Sparrow Guild is much richer than I'd expected.'

As an artisan, Jake recognized most of these materials. In a glimpse, Jake could tell whether he could absorb these or not.

However, as Jake flipped through more and more pages, his brows gradually knitted.

There were barely any yellow-tier items. Jake could find almost all of these materials on the market.

In other words, Jake knew that Nathaniel was hiding items from him.

Naturally, Nathaniel, the person in charge of this, also knew that he was hiding items from Jake.

Iron-tier guild definitely had more yellow-tier materials than this. It didn't take a genius to guess this information.

So Jake knew that Nathanial knew that Jake knew that something was off.

Nathanial didn't have to be a genius to know that...

Jake sighed. Yep.

'So he knows that I know that something is off.'

'Is this some form of humiliation?' Jake raised his brows.

Wait. Wait. Hold on.

'Does he expect me to actually believe this list? An iron-tier guild has just this?'

If it's any other artisan in this situation, that artisan would have left already.

But Jake didn't care about what these guys thought of him. However, he did care about concrete profit!

Nathaniel had just blatantly backed out of their deal. Their deal was any 50 items, with no restrictions mentioned. Yet now...

In comparison, Nick Rogers' offer was much better. Any 10 items, including yellow-tier items that's not on the market.

This was the last straw.

Now, Nathaniel firmly crossed Jake's bottom line.

Jake's gaze gradually turned cold. 'No matter how the outcome turns out...'

'Whether Badger is saved or not.'

'It's time for me to give this guy a reminder. A reminder on why nobody dares to mess with artisans...'