Integrated Exchange was a large exchange that could be accessed from trading centers all over the world with teleportation. If one wanted to reach that place, one needed the right to use the teleporter. It meant one needed a token. And if one wanted to acquire a token, one needed money or an offering.
Lee Gun beamed as he spoke to the appraiser, “Hurry up and choose. If you don't, I’ll do as I like.”
“What the hell are you—”
Boom!
Lee Gun slammed his hand on the desk as he shamelessly laughed. “What’s wrong, boss? You tried to swindle me.”
“What? Swindle? Nonsense. When did I—”
Kwah-jeek!
Lee Gun crushed the plastic soda bottle on the table.
“…!”
He had only pressed down on the bottle's top with his thumb, yet the bottle became deformed as if a hydraulic press had crushed it. It was flattened like gum on the ground. This frightened the appraiser.
“I told you I didn’t know the current market value, and you tried to swindle me. You tried to give me shit prices for items worth tens of thousands of dollars.”
Cold sweat erupted on the appraiser’s face. “I-I guess I did when I think about it.”
Lee Gun started pouncing on what the other person had said. “You tried to sell me a phone that has been recalled, and you made it seem like you were doing me a favor.”
“Yes, yes. Yes, I did.”
“Moreover, you said my item wasn’t worth much.” The last part had been a minor detail, but that didn’t matter. “Even if merchants have to make a living, there should be a limit, right?”
“Yes, you're correct.”
Lee Gun let out a bright smile. “Then, why don’t you let me borrow a token for free?”
'Borrow, my ass!' The appraiser was taken aback, but he couldn’t say anything. He had no choice.
Suddenly, Lee Gun said, “Oh hey! I see a useful crafting material here!”
Doo-doo-doohk!
“…!”
It seemed Lee Gun was unsatisfied with crushing the plastic bottle. He picked up the discarded steel chopsticks inside the shop and started working on the metal.
Doo-doohk! Doo-doohk!
It was an incredible display of strength. Lee Gun easily bent the thin yet solid steel chopsticks, then threaded them to create a flower.
Since Lee Gun had tried to sell a product he had made himself, the appraiser had thought Lee Gun was weak. Now, the appraiser saw how wrong he had been. ‘Shit! He’s definitely affiliated with a war god!’
If he wasn’t careful, his body would be bent like those chopsticks. Therefore, the appraiser’s attitude changed at the speed of lightning. “I-I’m sorry for trying to swindle you. However, a lowly merchant like me can’t easily acquire a token.”
“Oh really? According to this, resident merchants receive direct support from the exchange market. It says many merchants collect and sell these tokens.”
“!” The appraiser looked at Lee Gun, who displayed his old phone's screen to him.
Lee Gun had used that time to search up a reputable community site. He proudly shook the search result in front of the appraiser. “A person should use new technology. This is the age of information.”
The appraiser was at a loss for words. The man in front of him was using a slow old phone yet had dug out that information!
Lee Gun nonchalantly smiled and extended his hand toward the appraiser. “You should let me borrow a token. In fact, you should lend me a phone too. I’ll return them after two years.”
The man had the audacity to rip off a phone from a phone seller! The expression on the appraiser’s face became quite the sight.
Lee Gun let out a bright smile. He had caught the appraiser cheating, and his expression became one of a man who had caught a big fish.
“It says all the phones being sold here are done with support from the gods. You could give one away, right?” Lee Gun waved another search result in the appraiser's face. The appraiser took deep breaths.
Lee Gun continued, “I guess it can’t be helped if you don’t want to help me.”
He started bending metal once again, and this made the appraiser cry out. “Alright, alright! I’ll give them to you! They are all yours!”
The appraiser quickly took out a token and placed it on the table. The symbol of the Gemini looked similar to the consonant ㅍ in Korean. It was engraved on an item shaped like a coin. The appraiser also put a decent phone on the table. “You’ll have no problem using this...”
Lee Gun clicked his tongue as he used the search engine again. “According to the product number, this is a model released three years ago. The best phones are the newest models.”
“…#$*&!” The appraiser’s insides burned, but in the end, he brought out the latest model.
Lee Gun looked somewhat satisfied. He was still ignorant on this subject, but according to the search, this phone was the latest-gen model released a couple of months ago. ‘I guess it doesn’t matter if the phone is functional.’
The appraiser snorted when he saw Lee Gun’s expression. ‘What a hick! It's from the same company as the recalled phone.’
It was true that this phone was one of the best phones the appraiser had. However, it was a TKBM product, which phone aficionados usually avoided.
‘If I can make him take that one, I’ll come out on top.’ The young appraiser laughed. He said, “Then I’ll give you that one, customer.”
“Alright….” Lee Gun replied.
Suddenly...
“No way! You should avoid that company even if it's a premium phone.”
The voice startled the appraiser.
Lee Gun’s eyes turned round. A familiar young man stood next to him.
“Are you buying a phone? Instead of a TKBM phone, this one is better.”
The appraiser was shocked when he saw the famous face. ‘Chun Sungjae!’ This young man was a senior in junior high, yet he was a very famous disciple known for his genius talent.
Lee Gun looked relieved as he greeted Chun Sungjae. “Are you knowledgeable about phones?”
“Very.”
“Then pick the best one here for me.”
“Does the price not matter?”
“Yeah. It doesn’t. Right?” Lee Gun looked at the appraiser.
The appraiser inwardly laughed when he saw Lee Gun’s smile. “Ah! Yes, that should be fine. All the phones displayed here are a secondary line of merchandise that—”
“What? Why are you lying? You have the good stuff over here.”
The appraiser screamed when Chun Sungjae took out a box from the drawer. “Ahhhk! Not that one!”
“???” Chun Sungjae was surprised by the appraiser’s reaction, but Lee Gun just grinned.
“Ok. I’ll take this one,” Lee Gun said.
“No, you can't! This one is reserved for—”
“What? You just have to acquire the same one.”
“But…”
“I guess it can’t be helped. Ah! There is more scrap metal over here!” When Lee Gun started bending the metal again, the appraiser despaired.
* * *
“Oh, this place is like an underground city!”
Integrated Exchange.
Lee Gun had used a teleporter to reach a district in Asia where gambling flourished. The sound of casino chips being thrown and fighters fighting reverberated in the surroundings. Cliffs with floors were built in the stages below. One could see moving staircases connecting the cliffs and neon signs everywhere.
It was an awesome sight, but Lee Gun was too angry to notice it. His reaction was understandable considering what he had experienced at the teleportation zone.
[You will have to wait 3 hours and 40 minutes.]
The line had been longer than he had imagined. However, the long line wasn’t what had pissed him off. He had been wondering why it was taking so long, but he had never expected that.
[An additional fee($500) will allow you to use the express lane]
It seemed they were just obsessed with making money.
Of course, Chun Sungjae had stepped in to help Lee Gun. The teleporter was an object created by the Gemini, so Chun Sungjae didn’t need to pay additional fees. It was one of the benefits afforded to him.
“It must be nice being a disciple affiliated with this temple.”
Chun Sungjae became careful when he heard Lee Gun’s words. The reason was simple.
Brrr!
- Did you meet up with the guy who killed the Spider Queen?
His know-it-all general had contacted him. He had told Chun Sungjae to make sure to recruit the young man, and this didn’t sit right with Chun Sungjae.
Suddenly, Lee Gun asked him, “Why are you looking at me with that constipated expression?”
“!”
“You said you will introduce me to an SS rank appraiser you frequent. So why did you stop walking?”
“Ah… That is….” Chun Sungjae was about to say something, but the vibrations were loud.
Brrr! Brrr! Brrr!
- Tell him we’ll issue him a black card as soon as he joins our temple.
- He can use the teleporter for the rest of his life.
- We’ll give him the best contract terms.
- I’ll also put in a good word with the Gemini Saint.
Chun Sungjae sighed. In the end, he forced himself to speak. “Do you have any plans of serving a god, hyung? If you enter a temple directly managed by the Gemini Saint, the problem with the teleporter will be solved. Your ID will be immediately issued.”
The guard who had come along with Chun Sungjae became surprised. It was to be expected. Chun Sungjae hated doing recruitment work; he had done none for the temple.
‘In fact, the only recruitment he did was to get others to join Lee Gun’s fan site.’
Chun Sungjae always received demerits as his recruitment score was too low. Therefore, the guard naturally found his actions odd. “What’s gotten into you? You hate doing business for the temple.”
‘Shit! Why do you think I’m doing this?’
Brrrrrrrrrr!
Brrrrrrrrr!
Lee Gun laughed at the excessive amount of noise. “It seems your superior is overanxious.”
Chun Sungjae flinched in surprise. 'Is it obvious that I'm in contact with someone?'
Lee Gun laughed. “Here! Take this.”
“!” Chun Sungjae’s eyes turned round as he received the item Lee Gun tossed to him.
“Thank you for letting me use it last time.”
This item was none other than the blade Lee Gun had taken from him and used to kill the Spider Queen.
Chun Sungjae became surprised when he saw the status of his blade. ‘The blade was ruined!’
For some reason, his blade now had a much better edge. Yet, the only change Chun Sungjae could see was a slight change in the design.
“I repaired it while I was at it,” Lee Gun explained.
“You didn’t buy a new one?”
“Why would I? Would you have reimbursed me?”
Chun Sungjae was taken aback.
‘It was the mysterious civilization’s poison that damaged the blade, yet...’
Regardless of what had happened, Lee Gun had benefited in the end. He was able to test out the <Repair Reinforcement> skill within the Creation Workshop, so he was quite pleased. ‘It was pretty high in rank, so repairing it gave a good amount of EXP.’
The Manufacturer skill had a <10% speed increase> attribute. The Repair Reinforcement skill had a <Random Luck> attribute.
“Any holy item I work on has a tendency of changing in odd ways. Don’t be surprised later,” Lee Gun said to the young man.
“W-what?” Chun Sungjae looked to Lee Gun for an explanation, but Lee Gun just glanced toward the blade as an answer.
<Janus’s Desire! Rank A (Gemini)>
Special attribute: Summon Two-Faced Soldiers(Rank A)
Summon Red Soldier and Blue Soldier.
▶
<Janus’s Desire! Rank A (Gemini)>
Special attribute: Summon Two-Faced Soldiers(Rank A)
Summon soldiers that like to follow the disposition of the summoner (M)! Summon soldiers that like to attack (S) (Change)
Random skill activation (Additional)
“I’ve already warned you. It isn’t my fault no matter what comes out,” Lee Gun warned.
“???” Chun Sungjae and the guard were taken back.
Lee Gun ignored them and headed toward the tunnel. Soon, they arrived at Chun Sungjae’s favorite store.
***
Around the same time….
“My god! She’s here!”
In the gambling district of the Integrated Exchange appeared a beautiful woman guarded by SS rank disciples.
“It's the Saintess!”
“Why is she here?”
The Saintess’s beautiful forehead scrunched up a little bit. She had received some outrageous news.
“Our temple’s holy item was appraised at one dollar?”
She was here to meet the most famous appraiser at the auction. This SS rank appraiser was someone even the gods acknowledged. One needed his appraisal to get a good valuation in the auction.
So what had happened?
‘It's only worth a dollar?’
She already had a headache thanks to Lee Gun’s name being repeated here. Moreover, many Saints had gathered here because Lee Gun’s holy item would be put up for auction. She had to quickly increase her funds, yet something preposterous had happened.
She found it absurd that her holy item was treated so lowly.
In the end, the Saintess spoke, “Is that the store with the appraiser in question?”
She pointed in a certain direction, toward the store Lee Gun had entered.
