Chapter 63: A Windfall Fortune

The middle-aged man did not believe a word of Chen Hao’s story. For a player with limited funds, it was impossible to buy 500 rounds of ammunition in one go. He figured Chen Hao must have found some way to get cheap bullets and had followed him all the way, hoping to discover his supplier, only to be caught red-handed by Chen Hao.

As the middle-aged man was pondering how to persuade Chen Hao to let him resell the ammunition, Chen Hao said, “We can trade. I’ll come find you at the market shortly, but if I catch anyone trailing us again, the deal is off.”

The man’s face lit up. “Will there be a large quantity?”

Chen Hao replied coolly, “You’ll see for yourself. Head back for now.”

“My name is Honest Dealer. If you can’t find me, send me a pigeon message.” With that, the middle-aged man left the alley.

After making a loop through the alleys of the East City to ensure he wasn’t being followed, Chen Hao made his way to the South Gate, then circled to the southeast patrol barracks, where he found Captain Wu. “Master Wu, I need to buy more bullets.”

Captain Wu’s eyes crinkled into a smile as he stood up enthusiastically. “No problem! But Chen Baxian, I already gave you a discount on your first purchase. If I keep discounting, the commander will have my head. This time, it’s fifteen copper coins per bullet—no more, no less.”

Chen Hao hesitated, then opened his pouch and produced ninety-nine silver dollars. “Sir, this is all the money I have. Could you sell me seven hundred rounds?”

Wu did a quick calculation and nodded. “Alright, I’ll sell them to you. But this is the last time—no more discounts after this.”

Chen Hao guessed Wu might offer him another discount to keep his business, but nothing more than a box’s worth. Seven hundred bullets would cost 105 silver dollars; ninety-nine dollars would buy only 660. Chen Hao volunteered to buy 700 for his ninety-nine dollars, asking for a forty-bullet discount, which Wu agreed to.

After receiving his seven boxes of ammunition, Chen Hao strolled leisurely toward the southern part of town. He wandered a bit before entering the county town, found a noodle shop, and had a bowl of spring noodles to restore his hunger. After another ten minutes, he headed to the trading market.

He found Honest Dealer, opened the trading interface, and placed the seven boxes of bullets onto it. At the sight of so many bullets, Honest Dealer’s face showed his astonishment. He quickly calculated the price, paid Chen Hao 126 silver dollars, and grinned, “Brother, you’ve got quite the supply! Don’t worry, no matter how much you bring, I’ll buy it all.”

“Glad to hear it,” Chen Hao replied, then left the market.

Watching Chen Hao’s retreating figure, Honest Dealer thought to himself, “It’s been half an hour since he left the East City. The place he gets his bullets can’t be far from town—where could it be?”

Chen Hao’s caution was justified. If he hadn’t wasted nearly twenty minutes on the way, Honest Dealer might have guessed the patrol barracks as the source. Going back and forth between the barracks and the trading market, Chen Hao’s capital grew rapidly, soon surpassing five hundred silver dollars.

Just as he was enjoying his profits, a system message appeared: “Player Chen Baxian, you are extremely fatigued. Continuing your activities may result in sudden death.”

In the game, pushing your character beyond their physical limits could lead to illness or even sudden death. Upon receiving the warning, Chen Hao had no choice but to abandon his moneymaking plan.

Returning to his rented courtyard, he found Wang Wu and the others discussing something. Seeing Chen Hao’s weary face, Wang Wu asked with concern, “Baxian, why do you look so pale?”

Chen Hao forced a bitter smile. “Master, I found out that the hundred escorts are all quite formidable. To locate forty experts capable of dealing with them, I had to scour every corner around Penglai County. Fortunately, I didn’t fail you.”

Wang Wu nodded in satisfaction. “You’ve worked hard.”

Madam Cuiyun smiled gently. “I didn’t expect you to go through so much for us, Baxian. If we manage to rescue Sister Zhang Yuanyuan and the others, I’ll be sure to teach you my lightness skills.”

Even Lin Heier, usually stern-faced, showed a rare softness as she said, “Nephew Baxian, you must be tired. There’s a hot meal ready inside—help yourself.”

Chen Hao asked in surprise, “Where did you get the ingredients for cooking?”

Lin Heier replied with a smile, “Madam Cuiyun’s cooking is amazing. Earlier, when that pale rascal returned, I sent him to the market to buy plenty of ingredients. You should really try her cooking.”

Entering the house, Chen Hao found five well-balanced dishes laid out on the table. He quickly filled a bowl with rice and began to eat heartily. Madam Cuiyun’s cooking was truly excellent, no worse than any restaurant’s. If he could win her over, he’d have a skilled and beautiful bodyguard—and delicious food every day…

Chen Hao began plotting in his mind how he might win Madam Cuiyun to his side. For now, there was no opportunity; he would have to wait until the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded the capital. At that time, Madam Cuiyun would be thoroughly disillusioned with the Boxer Rebellion and left adrift. If he could seize the opportunity to persuade her, he’d gain a powerful ally.

As for the less approachable Lin Heier, Chen Hao had no illusions about convincing her. His only chance would be to control her first, then use his Bewitch skill, which had a one percent chance of persuading her. Still, he was more interested in Madam Cuiyun, though if he could use the Bewitch skill to take care of Lin Heier first, having her help convince Madam Cuiyun would make things much easier.

Once he’d eaten his fill, Chen Hao took out his copy of the Analects and read through it, then prepared to head to his room to sleep. Just as he reached the door, Lin Heier’s voice called from behind, “Nephew Baxian, Madam Cuiyun and I will be sleeping in your room tonight. You’ll have to share with that pale rascal.”

Only then did Chen Hao remember he needed to arrange beds for the two women. He grumbled inwardly, “If only I could switch—sleep in Madam Cuiyun’s room myself and leave the fierce Lin Heier with that rascal.”

Entering the rascal’s room, he found the pale character lying on the bed, already logged out and asleep. Chen Hao kicked him off the bed, covered him with a quilt, and then had his own character lie down to log out.

In the game, the better the place you slept, the better rest you got after logging out. Chen Hao’s character was at his limit and needed a good night’s sleep, so he’d kicked the rascal off the bed. Of course, he could have squeezed onto the bed with him, but even in the game, the thought of two grown men sharing a bed was awkward—so the rascal would just have to endure.

“Nephew Baxian, are you asleep?” Lin Heier’s voice came from outside.

Could it be that Lin Heier, as an NPC, was about to deliver herself to his door? In the game, as long as an NPC was willing, players could get up to all sorts of mischief. Her knocking made Chen Hao’s heart race wildly.

“I’m still awake, Aunt Lin. What is it?” he replied, trying to suppress his excitement.

“I forgot to ask earlier where your experts are gathering. Tomorrow, Madam Cuiyun and I will hide away, just in case any of your recruits are spies.”

“They’ll gather at the North Gate before eight in the morning,” Chen Hao replied lazily, realizing he’d been overthinking things.