“Who are these green onions? Do you know them?” Han Ming looked the three of them up and down. Each had a tall tuft of hair sticking straight up from the middle of their head, dyed green to look just like a scallion.
Xue Yun’s expression darkened when he saw them. He clearly didn’t want to run into them. “They’re just a bunch of street thugs. Let’s get out of here.”
Xue Yun was ready to leave, but the men blocked his way again. “We’re old acquaintances. We’re bound to run into each other sooner or later. By the way, you still haven’t paid back the money you owe me~”
Xue Yun lowered his head and clenched his fists. “I’ll pay back the two thousand World Coins in the next few days.”
“Two thousand? Did you misunderstand something? You missed the deadline. According to the interest terms, the interest doubles for every day you’re late. It’s up to forty thousand now~” Forty thousand was no small amount. Even after killing all the little monsters along the way, you’d only get a few dozen to a hundred coins. And even killing the Man-Eating Flower King only got you seven or eight thousand World Coins.
“Pang Qian, I’ve already paid back part of what I owe you. Why is the interest still so high?!” Xue Yun could no longer hold back. The original agreement hadn’t said anything like this, yet somehow the debt had multiplied several times over.
Pang Qian put on a frightened look. “Oh, I’m so scared~ You’ve been pretty lucky lately, huh? You made it to level ten. Very impressive. But things aren’t like they used to be. Whoever has the bigger fist makes the rules. The IOU you signed is still in my hands. Or are you planning to skip out on your debt?”
One of the underlings behind Pang Qian, the green-haired one, leered at Mo Li and An’an. “Boss, you think it’s a waste for all these pretty girls to be hanging around this poor bastard?”
“Exactly. That’s a great idea. How about you let us have your women for a few days? I’ll count that as a thousand coins off your debt per day, with no interest. How’s that sound?” The desire in their eyes was completely undisguised. The bystanders simply watched the show. No one stepped forward to say a word.
“I’m warning you—don’t push it!” He could put up with them humiliating him, but insulting the women by his side was something no man could stand.
Pang Qian and the others burst out laughing. “We’re pushing it. So what are you gonna do about it? If the guard squad weren’t protecting the camp, someone like you, who doesn’t pay his debts, would’ve been beaten half to death who knows how many times by now. I’m just pointing you toward a way to make money.”
“Hey, you guys. That’s way out of line. It’s only a few tens of thousands of World Coins. I’ll pay them back for you.” It was Han Ming speaking. Before, he really couldn’t have come up with that much money. But now he had purple-grade equipment. He could auction off a piece for hundreds of thousands of World Coins. What was a little money like this to him?
Han Ming’s words drew everyone’s attention to the young man. “Only a few tens of thousands of World Coins”? That wasn’t a few dozen or a few hundred. Not just anyone would dare say something like that.
“You’re paying for him? Fine. Hand over the money, and we’ll call it even right now. I won’t bother you again after this.” Pang Qian held out his hand, waiting for Han Ming to transfer the World Coins.
“I don’t have that much cash on me right now. I’ll sell a few pieces of equipment, then come pay you.” Han Ming was only telling the truth, but the others burst out laughing.
Even the onlookers laughed. They figured Han Ming was just making excuses, putting on a show to save face. “What kind of equipment are you gonna sell for tens of thousands of World Coins? Level-thirty blue gear? Cut the act. I want the money right now. If you don’t have it, don’t stick your nose in this.”
“I don’t have any level-thirty blue gear, but I do have a level-thirty purple one. Just not sure you’ll have enough change.” Without another word, Han Ming took the level-thirty purple spear, Bloodsucking Root, from his inventory. It had dropped when he killed the Man-Eating Flower King. He displayed its stats.
The moment the weapon appeared, the entire marketplace erupted. People followed the purple glow and crowded around, both envious and astonished. “It really is purple gear! Someone actually got a purple drop! And it’s level thirty!”
The news spread quickly, and more and more people poured in. Before long, the marketplace was so packed that no one could get through. Everyone wanted to see the first piece of purple gear obtained at the human camp—or at least the first one made public!
The three green-haired men were stunned, too. They never imagined this guy would be lucky enough to get a level-thirty purple item. It had to be worth at least around five hundred thousand. Even if they sold everything they owned, they couldn’t afford it.
But who wouldn’t want this weapon? Even if you paid five hundred thousand for it, you could sell it on for even more. Rare things were valuable—and this was the only piece of purple gear here. That was what made it worth so much!
“Bro, how about selling it to me? I’ll give you 170,000 World Coins and a full set of level-thirty blue gear!” Someone made an offer, putting nearly everything they owned on the table. They were determined to buy the spear.
“Sell it to me! I’ll trade you three houses here for that weapon. You won’t lose out, I promise!” There was more than one rich buyer. Some knights wanted the weapon even more than collectors did. With it, they could reliably challenge level-thirty bosses and get more purple gear. It was a qualitative leap!
But Han Ming wasn’t moved at all. He gave Pang Qian a slight smile. “How about this? Want to make a bet?”
Han Ming had seen the greed in Pang Qian’s eyes. Now he was going to stoke it further. “Let’s have a one-on-one. If you beat me, the spear is yours for free. If I win, your debt to Xue Yun is wiped clean. Everyone here can bear witness. How’s that?”
“Fine. I, Mo Kai, will vouch for our young friend.” He was a level-twenty-one knight and the leader of a hundred-man battle group. If he could make a good impression on Han Ming, he might get the chance to buy the knight’s spear—and shoot straight to the top!
“I, Li Ze, will vouch for our young friend, too!” Many others eagerly offered to serve as witnesses, hoping to earn Han Ming’s favor. After all, a verbal promise cost them nothing, and they knew the green-haired trio’s reputation. They didn’t take them seriously at all.
The green-haired leader, on the other hand, froze. He couldn’t believe the world had handed him such a golden opportunity. His heart raced. All he had to do was beat Han Ming, and that weapon would be his. He’d be rich overnight!
In his excitement, he didn’t have the sense to think about Han Ming’s strength or what he was really after. He had some confidence in his own abilities, too, so he agreed at once. “Fine! You said it. Let’s go to the arena and fight one-on-one.”
Pang Qian had a trick up his sleeve. The arena balanced the attributes and abilities of both fighters. Even if his opponent was level twenty, his stats would be adjusted to roughly match Pang Qian’s. There was no reason he should lose to this guy!
