Chapter 711: Fright

Zuo Lanfeng bent his waist deeply, his head lowered almost touching his chest.

The smile on his face made both bosses feel it was a disgrace for a businessman, while Zuo Lanfeng’s expression was even more respectful than when paying homage to his ancestors.

The two bosses were looking at Lu Yu. Judging solely from his appearance and that aura, he was certainly not a mighty lord with an imposing presence.

Currently, there are seventy-three lords in the city, and the other seventy-two lords have all seen the portrait.

Moreover, the seventy-third lord was recently appointed by the city governor. Rumors describe him as a strange figure, half black and half white, nothing like the person standing before them.

They were certain that the person before them could not possibly be the lord.

If he’s not the lord, why does Zuo Lanfeng act so much like a grandson?

The two bosses were stunned, feeling as though Zuo Lanfeng had been plotting against them.

Zuo Lanfeng did not reveal any information about the person in front of him, only indicating that if the two of them sold their goods at low prices this time, they would certainly gain tremendous benefits in the future.

However, when businessmen address each other as brothers, it’s essentially just a relationship based on mutual interests.

Could it be that Zuo Lanfeng played a trick and hired someone to scam them out of their money?

In the blink of an eye, both of them had already formed their thoughts.

Lu Yu felt that Zuo Lanfeng had gone too far, actually trying to deceive them as well, which made him feel angry inside.

If you’re going to send someone to deceive me, at least choose someone dressed more elegantly.

In Stone City, are people really that gullible?

Before Left Lanfeng could greet them, one of the men had already stepped forward with a smiling face and said, “Sir, you must be the one interested in purchasing our goods, right?”

Zuo Lanfeng was taken aback.

Didn’t we agree that you’d just take the item directly?

You two idiots actually don’t believe me.

Zuo Lanfeng immediately understood; his longtime friends actually thought he was trying to deceive them.

Idiots! Both of you just wait and be amazed.

Zuo Lanfeng stopped talking altogether and stood aside with his head down, watching the two of them with a cold smile.

Lu Yu had no idea what the three of them were thinking. He only knew that the two people he brought along were shop owners, so he smiled politely and said, “That’s right. I asked Master Zuo to help me collect some items.”

“We have a total of ten Star Treasures that meet your requirements,” said the two individuals as they placed the ten items on the table together. “As requested, each of these Star Treasures has a market value of two billion credits, and, depending on your privileges, there will be corresponding discounts.”

A boss reached into his robe with a beaming smile and pulled out a stone, which he then cradled in the palm of his hand.

Lu Yu looked at Zuo Lanfeng, his expression implying—hadn’t they been told about his identity?

Zuo Lanfeng said bitterly, “Lord, I’ve spent an entire day trying to convince these two people just to keep your identity secret. It seems they still don’t believe me. You see, this is merely a formality. If you’re unwilling to purchase it, I can go find someone else for you.”

Zuo Lanfeng looked very helpless.

But heaven knows that Zuo Lanfeng’s heart was already blooming with joy.

You two idiots, just wait and see.

Wait a moment, let’s see how you explain it later.

I sincerely offered you good advice, yet you thought I was trying to deceive you.

Alright then, in that case, I’ll really give you guys a hard time.

A boss laughed and said, “Yes, my lord, you see, this is the procedure. The process for transactions in Stone City was personally established by the city lord himself—we dare not go against it.”

Lu Yu picked up the ten Star Treasures on the table and examined them one by one.

If we go ahead with the sale, these ten items should bring in around 160 billion, a pretty good deal.

Lu Yu put down Xing Bao, smiled, and said, “The item is great; let’s proceed with the deal!”

“Please verify.” The person holding the stone stepped forward, deliberately looking at Zuo Lanfeng, eager to see how Zuo Lanfeng would explain the situation.

We’re all in business. Let’s not say everyone is a sharpie, but surely no one here is so naive that they’d fall for such a scam?

Lu Yu placed his hand on the stone—

The light on the stone began to shimmer—

Snap!

The stone fell and hit his foot.

Plunk!

The two of them were utterly defeated, immediately prostrating themselves on the ground, kowtowing incessantly while trembling voices repeatedly pleaded, “We deserve to die, we deserve to die! We shouldn’t have doubted your identity. Please, my lord, show mercy and don’t hold our offenses against us!”

Zuo Lanfeng was standing at the side, his heart laughing, his mouth curling up at the corners; his smugness was beyond words.

You two didn’t believe me, right? Let’s see how you’ll handle this situation now?

The two bosses, who usually held their chests high with pride, now cradled all ten Star Treasures from the table in their hands, too afraid to even lift their heads as they presented them to Lu Yu, saying: “These are gifts for you, sir; not a penny will we take. Consider them a humble welcome offering from us.”

Both of them were stunned, and in the instant the stone began to emit light, they even felt like dying.

Zuo Lanfeng, you’re pulling a fast one on me!

What the heck is an eighth-level lord? What’s the big deal about a seventh-level general?

In front of this person, besides the city lord, who the hell is he!

An important figure with level nine clearance.

Goodness, among the hundreds of millions of people in this metropolis, there were only a handful of important figures, and they were right in front of them.

Now they regret it so much that they feel like banging their heads against the wall.

Brother Zuo, if you had even hinted at a bit of information, the two of us wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Now both of them no longer have the desire to make money; they just hope not to offend him.

“Alright, get up.” Lu Yu was also aware that the two of them were suspicious of his identity.

He sat at the edge of the table, raised his hand to signal the two to stand up, and said, “It’s only natural that you don’t know each other, and it’s right for you to have such concerns. I don’t blame you for that.”

Lu Yu also realized that the two of them didn’t actually trust Zuo Lanfeng’s words, which led them to take the action of testing.

The two bosses trembled as they slowly got up from the ground, cradling the precious star gems in their hands, looking even more submissive than Zuo Lanfeng.

“I’ll take the items at their regular price; I just want you to know who I really am. If I don’t reveal myself, you must not spread this to others, understand?” As Lu Yu spoke, two blood-red beams of light extended from his eyes, sweeping over the two shop owners.

Plunge—

The two bosses immediately plopped down on the ground.

This murderous aura is one that could only be accumulated by killing millions.

The butcher lord’s murderous aura pales in comparison, appearing as inferior as a grandson’s generation.

With just this one glance, these two bosses had already decided to keep the secret to themselves.

Lu Yu won’t say anything unless the city lord himself asks directly; otherwise, this secret will rot inside their bellies.

Lu Yu didn’t want to waste time. Pointing at the Star Treasures in the two people’s hands, he said, “Ten Star Treasures, each sold to me at a 40% discount. That would be 12 billion each, right?”

“No, no, these ten Star Treasures are for you. We won’t take a single penny.” Both bosses shook their heads and waved their hands, then after placing down the Star Treasures, they continuously backed away.

This was because the two people were afraid of offending someone as important as Lu Yu, so they would rather pay money to avoid disaster.

“I’m a person who sticks to principles. I wouldn’t spend a penny on anything belonging to my enemies. As for normal transactions, I don’t intend to take advantage of you either or want to owe anyone a favor,” Lu Yu said coldly. “A deal is a deal—money for goods, one-to-one. Ten items for a total of 120 billion. I don’t want to waste words. Sell them if you want, or take your things and leave if you don’t!”

“This—”

The two of them instantly felt a chill run down their spines, not daring to even let out a fart as they kept nodding vigorously.

This official insisted on principles, and they had no reason not to make money.

Lu Yu collected ten Star Treasures and then quickly completed the transaction.

At this moment, Zuo Lanfeng took the two bosses with him to bid farewell to Lu Yu, then turned around and left the guest room. After they were far away from the room, the two men realized they were both soaked through, their calves twitching from tension. Finally, once the three were a safe distance away, one of the bosses dared to reach up and wipe the sweat from his forehead, offering a bitter smile as he said, “Brother, this time you’ve really gotten us into deep water.”

“Pit? What pit?” Zuo Lanfeng snorted coldly, furious. “Before we came, what did I tell you all? None of you listened. You’re just asking for death.”

Another boss nodded and said, “Right, this time we brought it upon ourselves. Brother, this matter isn’t your fault; we didn’t believe in you and nearly ended up ruining ourselves.”

“Yeah, yeah. A high-ranking official with Level Nine clearance. Good heavens, who would have thought that someone like you was living here!”

“Brother, this time you’ve really hit the jackpot. No matter why this person is here with you, just based on these permissions, once the word gets out, your shop can’t help but become the talk of the town.”

“Brother, this guy is clearly someone who doesn’t like owing others favors. Now that he’s asked you to step in and help contact all the merchants, he’s already in your debt. Brother, you’re in luck this time—don’t forget to help your younger brother out more in the future!”

The two bosses kept taking turns speaking, showering flattery on Zuo Lanfeng, who couldn’t help but laugh with growing pride.

“Old brother, if there’s anything we can help you with, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We’ll definitely give it our all.”

“Alright, enough brown-nosing,” Left Lanfeng said, switching to a serious expression. “You both know this official doesn’t want his identity revealed, so absolutely do not spread this around. Otherwise, hunting down the two of you won’t be difficult for the entire city.”

The two bosses kept nodding continuously. Now, they listened to whatever Zuo Lanfeng said. After all, who else had managed to secure such a powerful patron?

Zuo Lanfeng was satisfied with the other party’s current reaction. He deliberately coughed once and lowered his voice, saying, “Don’t say I didn’t give you two younger brothers a chance.”

Zuo Lanfeng smiled mysteriously and said, “The item this nobleman wishes to collect is part of a business worth tens of trillions.”

Swish—

The eyes of the two bosses lit up.

A multi-trillion-dollar business.

If they were given hundreds of billions, they wouldn’t need to work for several years, or even decades.

“However, the items this young master needs the most are the Venomous Dragon Fruit, the Venomous Dragon Soul, and the primary materials for crafting Star Artifacts…” Left Peak glanced at the material list Lu Yu had given him and then showed it to the two men for a quick look.

The two of them immediately began to drool.

This is a huge deal. Even the top shops in Shicheng would find it difficult to land an order like this.

Zuo Lanfeng put away the list and said, “Don’t say I don’t look after the two of you. If you discover anything valuable on this list, just send the information to me, and I will definitely report it truthfully to this honorable official. Of course, if you manage to acquire anything yourselves, reselling it to this official will also benefit you.”

The two bosses suffered a major loss, but they were also shrewd individuals.

Now both of them nodded repeatedly, how could they not understand what Zuo Lanfeng meant.

How could this nobleman not acknowledge their kindness if he received something of high priority?

A boss rubbed his hands together excitedly and said, “I know of a shop that recently came into possession of a Venomous Dragon Fruit. They even lost several warriors and suffered significant losses for it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I also remember a shop recently got hold of a hundred Blue Star Souls.”