7 Chapter 7: Encountering a Sea Queen

Men shop differently from women; women often meander and browse -- it's a slow-paced marathon for them.

Men usually decide in advance exactly what they want to buy and go straight to the point.

When Bai Wu entered the Pick-Up Port, he already knew what he was looking for. Despite having the capital to go spreeing for bargains, he still left some room for the vendors to survive.

He browsed through a few stalls but didn't find what he was after.

However, his roving eye did catch sight of some interesting objects.

"It thinks it's a low-profile razor, but it's no use; a hairdryer as distinctive as this, even in the guise of a razor, stands out from the crowd. Current Spirit Possession level: 4h."

Seeing such a familiar description, Bai Wu didn't spend a penny. If it wasn't what he wanted, he wouldn't spare an extra Tower Currency.

"Who would've thought that someone would take a chamber pot out of the tower? Within ten yards, there's a hundred percent chance of hitting the chamber pot; buy it, and you too can urinate against the wind for ten yards, with precision accuracy, mother will never again worry about baby wetting the bed. Current Spirit Possession level: 2.2h."

Bai Wu couldn't guess why someone would bring a urine pot out of the tower and survive for two hours and twelve minutes.

It just suddenly reminded him of a well-being princess from his previous life, playing in the great outdoors or something.

"A mountaineering knife, the very knife every man dreams of having. As long as one is sliced by this knife, their clothes will instantly rupture, and it has double the effect on the opposite sex's clothing. Buy it, and you'll be the Tyrant of Stripping. Current Spirit Possession level: 5.7h."

Over five hours? Could it be that someone from the Investigation Corps took this knife out of the tower and then chucked it on the lower levels because its attributes were too lecherous?

Looking at these bizarre items, Bai Wu felt like the world outside the tower was like a random enchantment machine.

But so far, he hadn't seen what he wanted to buy.

The few items he had seen thus far were all encountered after walking a full third of the street. The genuine article rate here really was comparable to buying a lottery ticket.

However, there wasn't a shortage of items that had been taken out of the tower. A quarter of the goods had been outside the tower; they just hadn't experienced a Spirit Possession event.

Before long, Bai Wu had toured half the Pick-Up Port. In the center of the port, the road expanded into a huge circular area, no longer a straight path but a giant disk.

This was the bustling store district. Shops around the rim of the disk were the so-called boutiques. Being boutique simply meant that if you bought a fake, it would be of a slightly better quality than the ordinary fakes.

Bai Wu also realized why the streets that should have been crowded... weren't; it was because the crowd had gathered in the middle part of the port.

People were packed in layers both inside and out, gathered around the periphery of a massive screen. What was playing on the screen was somewhat interesting.

On the screen, a person in the blue combat uniform of the Investigation Corps, wearing a mask, said,

"Folks, this shovel in my hands, also known as the 'Ore God Shovel,' for seventeen hours -- I think everyone understands what seventeen hours outside the tower means.

This item experienced Spirit Possession while I was on a mission with the Investigation Corps. With this shovel, one can mine as if divinely aided! Just imagine, you only need to dig aimlessly to unearth precious ores that others wouldn't find even in a month!

If it weren't for me joining the Investigation Corps, I'd definitely keep this baby for myself to make money. But now I can only reluctantly sell it to someone destined. I'm from humble beginnings, too – I know how hard life can be, so I'm only asking for a 'fate price'!

998 Tower Currency, you can't lose out, and it's no scam, very cheap, right? Folks, if you place an order now, I'll immediately take off three hundred..."

Bai Wu didn't keep watching after that.

Upon hearing that all-too-familiar line from teleshopping, Bai Wu had a fairly good idea what was going on.

He couldn't help but marvel at the wisdom of the working people, even managing to pull off live selling events with goods from outside the tower. Indeed, watching television remains a core source of solace for the vast workforce.

The crowd began to clamor, with everyone eager to get their hands on such a shovel, especially since the salesman was garbed in Investigation Corps attire, lending him a notable air of credibility.

```

This was indeed more popular than selling directly from a stall.

But Bai Wu knew that the entire live stream was a sham. When he focused on the screen, he saw a comment like this:

[I thought all cosplayers should wear something cool and breezy, or at the very least some black or white stockings. To think there would be someone cosplaying the Investigation Corps... And this shabby set-up is so unprofessional, please spare me your dog's eyes!]

Based on the message in the comment, this person was not from the Investigation Corps, and moreover, this person was not outside the Tower at the moment... He was somewhere inside the Tower, having set up a scene that looked like it was outside.

Fine, they have really grasped the essence of faking things in live streams from previous lives. It shows that when it comes to taking shortcuts, people have always possessed great wisdom.

Bai Wu did not expose it, nor did he have the ability to expose it.

To be able to put up a screen as big as the central podium for people to watch, and swindle under the name of the Investigation Corps, the backing power might be significant. He thought he should ask Wu Jiu later.

Dealing in goods from outside the Tower, in fact, had many tricks, on par with the antique fraud of the past. The underground rules here were also extremely complicated.

He only wanted to buy the goods he desired.

After strolling through most of the Flea Harbor, Bai Wu arrived at a shop named "Chengzi Store" and stopped.

It wasn't that the store had genuine goods, but the items for sale here were different from other places.

Goods in other shops were either daily necessities or items needed for mining work.

In Chengzi Store, what was displayed was mostly related to food and drink. The scale of the shop was also much fancier than the stalls. There was at least one room for displaying the goods.

Although it was also quite simple, it was by comparison much more up-market.

Bai Wu casually looked around the shop.

[A cup that could instantly boil water, if it were taken outside the Tower for a few days, it might evolve into a portable water purifier. Current Spirit Possession level: 2.5h.]

For the moment, it was a quick-heating cup, but looking at the comment, it could potentially become a portable water purifier after Spirit Possession; not high-tech in the previous life, and not a treasure in this one either. However, for Bai Wu, it did have some use.

[A rice cooker with potential for Spirit Possession, I recommend not to seal it if you are bringing it along. Evil Fallen is not the Great Demon King, and Demon Sealing Wave is useless against them.]

Items not from outside the Tower were priced at one hundred thirty-nine Tower Currency. In the past world, that would definitely be a generic brand rice cooker.

But now that people only ate nutrition meals, such items had become relics of the past. Thus, this price had become exorbitant.

"Handsome guy, looking to buy something? There's a store-wide fifty percent off sale right now, but it's just for you."

The woman in her mid-twenties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, came out from behind the counter. She sized up Bai Wu; her tone wasn't overtly fawning, but her gaze was suggestive.

[A Sea Queen who has been in love nineteen times, has hundreds of backups in the pond, and is currently dating six people at the same time. Her recent taste is for younger men.]

Bai Wu didn't pick up on it at all, that this Chengzi variety store owner was quite the veteran.

But her looks and figure were decent, and in such a lower layer area, someone who owned such a store was naturally not your average woman.

He had no interest in making connections:

"I'll take this rice cooker, and the cup as well."

"Good eye there, the cup really is a good item. But this cooker is pretty useless, it's just here to fool idiots. I suggest not buying it. You're not an idiot, and I don't want you to be one, heehee. Oh right, my name is Liu Chengzi."

"I said I want both." Having bought what he wanted, Bai Wu didn't wish to stay any longer.

```

"You're leaving the Tower?" Liu Chengzi narrowed her eyes.

Her slender waist twisting, she moved closer, sizing up Bai Wu again.

Such a shrewd woman... Bai Wu was set to exit the Tower tomorrow.

He loathed the taste of nutritional meals, but delicacies were clearly a luxury in this world, which led him to the idea of buying a pot capable of transforming ingredients.

After circling around for quite some time without finding anything to his liking, he figured he might as well bring his own pot and try his luck. Who knows, it might turn into the "legendary kitchenware"?

"How much?"

Bai Wu ignored Liu Chengzi's question.

"It was half off just now, but I've changed my mind. This pot is ten thousand Tower Currency, or you can have it for free, take your pick. By the way, I'm the only one selling boilers on the entire bottom floor."

Bai Wu couldn't afford ten thousand Tower Currency. He looked at Liu Chengzi, and after a few seconds of silence, he said:

"I'm just an ordinary person, so why not skip the discount and sell it to me at the original price?"

"Would an ordinary person insist on buying a pot even after I clearly stated that it's defective? What era is it, the pot has long lost its purpose, and no one ever buys it, unless... it experiences a Spirit Possession phenomenon. Also, within the Tower, this cup is utterly useless, unless you're going to a place outside the Tower."

Bai Wu wasn't surprised; the store owner really had the makings of a tricky businessman.

Liu Chengzi was very close to Bai Wu, close enough that her breath could fan his neck.

In such a situation, a young lad of Bai Wu's age, full of vigor, would have some reaction, even if he tried to control it.

Bai Wu didn't. He calmly stepped back and said:

"Then I'll choose the free option."

Nothing is more expensive than something free. Liu Chengzi smiled like a blooming flower and said:

"Pleasure doing business, I'll wrap it up for you."

Bai Wu watched as Liu Chengzi took out an old-fashioned camera, his gaze filled with puzzlement.

Liu Chengzi explained as she went along:

"Don't worry, handsome, you haven't told me anything, and I don't know anything. I just accidentally left this camera in your goods. In a few days, you'll discover it by chance and return it to me out of kindness. You really are a good Samaritan, teehee."

Bai Wu roughly understood why Liu Chengzi could be the Sea Queen.

She recognized his intention to leave the Tower at a glance, immediately proposed a deal, and casually asked him to take the camera on his way out. Her observation skills were not bad, and she knew how to seize opportunities.

"What if the camera can't undergo Spirit Possession?"

Bai Wu didn't ask why she wanted that particular camera. But from the remarks, he could guess some of it.

[A damaged film camera with no film inside. However, it's captured many secrets and could rival Edison's camera in infamy. It's truly a miracle it hasn't been destroyed.]

Perhaps the store owner hoped the camera would undergo Spirit Possession once outside the Tower. Maybe she wanted to see some of the scenes the camera had captured?

"It's all about fate, anyway, I've given you the pot and the cup. Let's start over, my name is Liu Chengzi."

"Bai Wu."

"Then it's a pleasure doing business, Brother Bai Wu. I'll be waiting for the good news."

A strange request just happened like that, almost like a Ubisoft game, it seemed he just had to wander about to bump into an NPC with a question mark over their head.

Bai Wu, however, was not averse to it; he was a bit curious about the contents of the camera.

...

...

After leaving the salvage port, Bai Wu began to make his way back to his residence.

A plainly decorated room of twenty-five square meters.

Wu Jiu was very meticulous in his work; in addition to arranging a place to stay, he also left Bai Wu quite a few supplies, such as replacement clothing, all standard issue from the Investigation Corps.

In addition to that, there was also a handbook of precautionary guidelines for Tower exit investigations.

Bai Wu didn't presume to be overly confident and earnestly picked up the handbook to read. He found several points quite reasonable.

"Newcomers exiting the Tower will be equipped with an emotional detector wristwatch. When your emotions fluctuate too much, the wristwatch will alarm, and all members of the Investigation Corps must follow regulations and activate the teleportation roulette immediately upon the bracelet's alarm."

Among the supplies Wu Jiu had provided was such a wristwatch bearing the logo of the Investigation Corps. After putting it on, Bai Wu noticed the number on the watch dial read 0.

The danger level was set at seventy-five; reaching seventy-five would trigger an alarm. It indeed served as a response mechanism.

After all, sometimes people don't realize when they are in a state of emotional loss of control. Having a standardized data measure would reduce a lot of trouble.

Another thing Bai Wu found reasonable was the Emotional Stabilizer. The handbook also included a description of it.

"If you are close enough to an Evil Fallen and the dial is about to enter the danger zone, consider injecting this substance. It's a non-suppressive emotional stabilizer that won't cause muscle relaxation and will briefly calm you down, with an efficacy of around five minutes. Please use this time to escape; remember to escape and avoid doing foolish things."

To increase the survival rate outside the Tower, the Investigation Corps had indeed made many preparations.

Typical sedatives cause muscle relaxation and significantly reduce a person's reaction speed, hence they are unsuitable for the highly vigilant environment outside the Tower.

But the sedatives used by the Investigation Corps wouldn't affect combat ability, though they did have side effects.

"After the five minutes of suppression are over, emotions will enter an excited state, and any negative emotions will be amplified. So unless it's absolutely necessary, try not to use it, and once you do, make sure to use it to return to the High Tower."

Bai Wu picked up the box of injectors and examined it closely.

"So it's based on the principle of an emotional spring, forcibly suppressing emotions and causing an emotional rebound after five minutes..."

A crying baby gets milk, though he was annoyed by sniveling, whiny children, Bai Wu did not want to give up these natural emotional responses.

He had not experienced emotions like sadness, anger, or fear in a long time.

He recalled the most distressing experiences of his previous life, but his face remained expressionless. There were no ripples inside his heart.

Then he took out a syringe, drew up the reagent, and injected it into the right side of his neck.

There was no peculiar feeling, save for a slight itch as the needle entered.

Bai Wu silently counted the numbers, waiting for the emotional rebound five minutes later.

(I have to go to the hospital tomorrow, and I won't be staying at my own place tonight, so I'll release tomorrow's update early. If I have time, I will continue updating tomorrow.)