CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35: ALICE IS GOOD AT TRADING

The regulation of the Time Regulator has a certain range.

If another Soul Card appears within the Regulator’s range, the effect of the Regulator will automatically fail to ensure that the Life Card Master’s Soul Card is not exposed, and a warning will simultaneously be sent to both Life Card Masters.

This alert is similar to the warning of a Soul Card nearing death, with a sharp beep.

But perhaps because Shen Sui was in a duel at the time, the Dueling Device automatically silenced this alert.

Damn!

Shen Sui was very flustered.

He wasn’t worried about Alice’s life being in danger.

For now, he knows that the other Soul Card on the Dawn Continent is Isabella.

Thinking back, it seems Xinyuan Tanchun mentioned that Isabella was advised to go shopping in Jade City to relieve stress because her mood wasn’t good due to the destruction of Modena City.

And Alice is currently selling the jewels from his lakeside storage chest in Jade City.

A drop of cold sweat dripped down from his forehead.

Just moments ago, it felt like a scorching summer, but now it feels like he’s plunged into an icy cave.

Alice! Please don’t expose me!

Though with Shen Sui’s strength in the Dawn Continent, even if Isabella tried to question him on where he had been for the past thousand years, he wouldn’t be afraid. However, he still couldn’t be sure of Isabella’s current stance; after all, Baris had backstabbed Dawn back then but is now hailed as Dawn’s most loyal Knight.

He fears the betrayal of comrades.

A thousand years is too long, long enough to change everything.

Even for an undying Vampire Ancestor like Isabella.

Look, hasn’t her figure changed? Previously she was an eternally flat-chested loli, but now, looking at the Soul Card art on Xinyuan Tanchun’s hand, she’s a legit mature woman.

Therefore, until he figures out the changes and stances of these former game NPC comrades, Shen Sui doesn’t plan on revealing himself.

[Alice arrived in Jade City and found a street specifically for selling jewels, where she placed the jewels from your storage chest for sale.]

[Your choice was indeed excellent; the gemstones left behind from that time are of high quality. Although they don’t have much magic power, they are quite popular.]

[Alice gained a lot.]

[A beautiful lady came to Alice’s stall and took a liking to a ruby that wasn’t particularly attractive.]

[Where did you get this gem from? The lady’s gaze swept over Alice.]

[Alice keenly noticed the lady’s anomaly.]

[From Paiyiga Lake.]

[So, it’s from Paiyiga Lake...]

[The lady muttered.]

[She sat across from Alice, as if chatting with an old friend, and started telling her story.]

[Her name is Isabella.]

Shit! What you fear the most always comes!

The Dueling Device almost fell out of Shen Sui’s hand.

[She had a lover named Claude.]

Hey, hey, hey! She’s slandering me! She’s slandering me!

Completely conquering Isabella was during the first playthrough in the harem route!

This playthrough, I only maxed out Isabella’s favor, okay! I didn’t fully conquer her!

Shen Sui declared his playboy statement.

Of course, this isn’t Shen Sui’s fault. After all, if you translated a player’s behavior of giving gifts and maxing out NPCs’ affection in past games into real life, it was undoubtedly a player activity, and one that catered to both genders at that. Shen Sui considered that in the second playthrough, he focused on Vivian’s route since he completely conquered her to get the wedding dress CG. Isabella was merely a utilitarian character for maxing out affection in the game.

Shen Sui was already very restrained, not maxing out the affection for so many female characters. But Isabella was an exception, because if he wanted Isabella to fight the Vampire Ancestor alongside him, he had to max out affection....

So....

Don’t link the game to reality!

Shen Sui scratched his head.

[Claude used to like sending her rubies like this, one every day, and they were all the same.]

Uh.

Of course, they were the same because, from the beginning to the end, I only gave you the same ruby.

This is a common operation in the games. Due to the large number of available characters to conquer in "Dawn Link," if players wanted to open the harem route, they couldn’t avoid giving a lot of gifts, which would waste most of the players’ time finding gifts. Therefore, the game had a setup: each NPC had a set place to store gifts, and players could go to that place to steal back the given gifts and reuse them as long as the NPCs didn’t notice...

The ruby Shen Sui gave Isabella was obtained this way.

Give the ruby to Isabella to increase affection, and then when she wasn’t there, steal the gem back from where she kept her gifts.

Repeat the process until the affection is maxed.

In the game, this is called using game mechanics. But in reality, it’s scummy.

Unfortunately, Shen Sui is now facing the dilemma that the game he played is actually reality.

[Actually, I knew that he always sent the same ruby from start to finish.]

[He would steal the gift he gave me, and send it to me again the next day.]

[I should have been angry, but somehow I ended up accepting his gift.]

[....]

[Isabella seemed to vent for a long time with Alice about Claude’s story.]

[Alice sat listening, nodding praise frequently.]

[Although internally praising Claude’s scummy actions, outwardly she showed no difference, as if she didn’t know Claude.]

[Do you know of Modena City? Now, most people call it the City of Sin.]

[Isabella suddenly brought up Modena City.]

[Alice tilted her head, expressing confusion.]

[It was destroyed not long ago. Isabella stared into Alice’s eyes, seemingly trying to figure out something from them.]

[Alice blinked her innocent eyes, shaking her head, signifying she was unaware.]

[Ah... you indeed wouldn’t know, just being a third-tier little guy.]

[Isabella relaxed with a smile, setting aside her suspicion of Alice, concluding that the ruby in the girl’s hands was a mere coincidence.]

Isabella seemed to suspect Alice.

Looking at these words, Shen Sui came to a conclusion.

Indeed, the ruby jumped back and forth between Isabella and Shen Sui, only to eventually return to Shen Sui’s possession, so its appearance in Alice’s hands is indeed suspicious.

Ah, why was this ruby in the storage chest?

Seems he found his backpack full during fishing, so he casually stored everything in the chest, and then, being focused on pushing Vivian’s storyline, completely forgot about it.

[So, are you willing to sell me this ruby? Isabella asked.]

[Sure. Alice nodded affirmatively and silently put away the label priced at five Demon Crystals.]

[She raised five fingers towards Isabella, saying: Five thousand Demon Crystals.]

[Alice was moved by Isabella’s emotional story, and as proof of this emotion, collecting only five Demon Crystals seemed too cheap.]

[Alice decided to make the price of this emotion higher.]

Shit! So it’s raising the price after hearing the story!

No surprise there, Alice!

[Ding, you obtained Spell Card: Sitting on the Ground and Raising the Price]

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