Chapter 18: A Shopping Spree and Another Purple-Gold God Card!

"Supermarket Construction Card!"

Su Mu immediately produced the golden supermarket construction card. The detailed information for the card appeared before his eyes:

【Item Name: Supermarket Construction Card】
【Purpose: Used by lords to purchase items】
【Instructions: Choose a suitable location, place the card on the ground, and recite the password on the back to activate it.】

Su Mu followed the instructions, choosing a spot right next to his spirit stone warehouse for ease of access to his funds.

"***"

After a brief incantation, a small building covering a few dozen square meters suddenly manifested before him. In terms of scale, it was roughly equivalent to a small convenience store in a city village. A sign hung above the entrance with three large characters: "Exchange Center." The door stood half-open, as if waiting for customers.

Filled with curiosity, Su Mu stepped into the magical Exchange Center. The interior was not very large; two counters were filled with various item cards, and a wizened old man stood behind the counter, acting as the proprietor.

"Greetings, noble Lord. I am the manager of this shop. You may call me Old Mo. How may I assist you today?" The old man greeted him with a smile the moment Su Mu entered.

"Ahem, do you have Mining Machine Cards? Give me a thousand of them. How much would that cost?" Su Mu, feeling flush with cash, didn't hesitate to order a thousand cards right off the bat.

"One moment, let me calculate that for you." Old Mo quickly tapped on a calculator on the counter before saying, "One thousand Mining Machine Cards will cost a total of 500 million Dragon Coins. Will you be paying by bank card or another method?"

"What the hell?"

Su Mu was absolutely stunned. A single mining machine card cost 500,000? That was highway robbery!

"Isn't it supposed to be tax-free here, sold at fair prices? Are—are you miscalculating?"

Su Mu was furious and nearly vaulted over the counter to grab the old man by the collar. He had thought that by obtaining 54 million spirit stones, he was a minor mogul, but it turned out he could only afford 480 machines before running out of money.

Old Mo remained unfazed and retorted, "Do you know how much a mining machine card goes for on the official platform right now? It's 600,000 Dragon Coins. This price is actually discounted for you."

"Other lords are diligently organizing their manpower for manual mining. I don't understand why a young man like you would buy 1,000 mining machines at once. Are you going to eat them?"

"The Great Dragon Empire's annual output of mining machines is only 30,000 units, and you must realize our population is over 30 billion."

"Say no more, give me one hundred for now!"

Su Mu said with a dark expression. He realized that this exchange center, despite its small size, was a bottomless money pit; one shopping trip could cost millions. However, he had no choice. He desperately wanted the 100 billion Dragon Coins worth of spirit ore underground.

It was a case of "first come, first served." If someone else were to conquer this territory, he would have nowhere to cry.

Buy! He had to buy!

Old Mo glanced at Su Mu with surprise and muttered, "Young people these days are so extravagant. Could he be some young master from a wealthy family here in the Dark Forest to 'gild' his resume? Isn't this supposed to be a place for the impoverished?"

With that, Old Mo turned and walked into a back room. A moment later, he returned carrying a small box and handed it to Su Mu. "Here are the one hundred Mining Machine Cards. Will you be paying with Dragon Coins or another method?"

"Can I pay directly with spirit stones?" Su Mu asked tentatively, fearing that if this damn exchange center didn't accept them, he would be doomed.

"Yes."

Old Mo's reply made Su Mu's heart lighten, but his next words made Su Mu's face even darker.

"However, you will first need to purchase a spirit stone scanner worth 50 Dragon Coins and a small teleportation array worth 1 million Dragon Coins."

"Damn it!"

Su Mu nearly swore out loud. Seeing this, Old Mo quickly added, "Lord, please calm your anger. Spirit stones are precious metals and highly sought-after supplies in this Dark World. Transporting them is very troublesome, and we are over 30,000 miles from the center of the continent. If you were to hire an escort company, it would be better to just buy a teleportation array."

"It will also be convenient for your future transactions."

"You certainly know how to do business."

Hearing this, Su Mu calmed down. After all, the 50 million-plus spirit stones were essentially free gains, so he might as well spend them.

"Give me the scanner and the teleportation array card first. I'll pay you with the spirit stones immediately," Su Mu said through gritted teeth.

This time, Old Mo didn't make things difficult and promptly handed over the scanner and the teleportation array card. Su Mu took them to the warehouse, threw the card on the ground, and with a flash, a small teleportation array appeared before him.

Su Mu used the scanner, input the figure of 5 million, and scanned the pile of spirit ore. A white light erupted from the array, engulfing the entire pile, and the massive amount of ore vanished before his very eyes.

When the number on the scanner reached 5 million, it automatically stopped.

"So that's how it works."

Having grasped the transaction method, Su Mu returned to the Exchange Center, feeling much calmer. He received his 100 Mining Machine Cards as a matter of course. Since he had already spent 5 million, he no longer felt the sting of the expense and proceeded to list his further requirements.

"Give me 500 Silver Soldier Cards. As a lord, I can't function without a barracks."

"Give me 100 Servant Cards. My manor is huge; I need people to clean and cook."

"Do you sell Holy Water? Give me 100,000 units. I have two War God Trees that need nurturing."

"If you have an Accelerated Growth Card, even better. Give me one."

"Do you have Palace Cards? Give me three. My city lord's manor can't lack proper architecture. I need a place to live, a place to receive guests, and a palace for my pet."

"10 Arrow Tower Cards, each equipped with an Eagle-Eyed Archer."

"Do you have Gold-tier Guardian Beast Cards? Give me 10. I need them to patrol my territory."

...

"One moment!"

Old Mo seemed accustomed to high-stakes situations. Even though Su Mu had bought so much at once, his expression remained unchanged as he frantically clicked away on his calculator. Soon, the results were ready.

"Respected Lord, we have all the supplies you requested. The total comes to 40 million Dragon Coins. Will you be paying with spirit stones again?" Old Mo asked very politely.

"Of course!"

Su Mu nodded expressionlessly. People are like this; they feel the pain when spending the first bit of money, but once it is all gone, they feel at peace. Su Mu was in exactly that state.

Soon, an assortment of cards was handed over to him.