Chapter 36: Integrity Matters

“Wangcai.” After listening for a long time, Fatty Lei turned and called to Wangcai.

“What is it, Master?” Wangcai stopped his chatter and looked at Fatty Lei, asking.

“What tier was your former master among merchants?” Remembering that Wangcai once had a master, Fatty Lei decided to ask.

“Sigh~”

Wangcai first let out a soft sigh, his expression turning unpleasant.

Then he answered, “My former master wasn’t very ambitious. He was a Dimensional Merchant for three thousand years. Yet when he died, he was barely over level forty in the first tier—utterly unsuccessful.”

“Pfft!”

Fatty Lei, who was drinking water, choked violently upon hearing Wangcai’s words.

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

After a fit of harsh coughing, Fatty Lei finally managed to calm down. He looked at Wangcai with pain on his face and asked, “Is leveling up as a Dimensional Merchant really that hard? How else did he only reach level forty-something in the first tier after three thousand years?”

To Fatty Lei, advancing as a Dimensional Merchant must be incredibly difficult. Otherwise, how could Wangcai’s former master have ended up so miserably?

Three thousand years! That’s three thousand years!

Even a pig could level up in three millennia.

Wangcai shook his head at Fatty Lei and sighed heavily once more.

“Sigh~~~”

“Master, you have no idea,” Wangcai said with a twisted expression, recalling his former master. “That master of mine didn’t take his duties seriously at all. Whenever he earned Credit Points, he’d spend them all to buy beautiful females from various Dimensional Planes for his amusement. He ignored everything else—just coasting through life.”

“What the hell? Wangcai’s old master was really that kind of person?” Fatty Lei thought that guy was just lazing around, waiting to die. Putting a Dimensional Trading Device in the hands of someone like that was truly a waste.

But then again, it seemed that guy ended up badly. Or else, how else would it have been so cheap for Fatty Lei to become a Dimensional Merchant in his place? If the former master had been driven, Fatty Lei might never have had this chance… All of this was just so bizarre.

Thinking about these things, Fatty Lei also felt that Destiny was one strange thing.

Of course, Wangcai had no idea what Fatty Lei was pondering right now.

“That master had a terrible temper. Whenever something upset him, he would kill the females he bought just to vent his anger. As his Intelligent Butler, I suffered a great deal under his torment too.” Wangcai’s tone was filled with melancholy, as if remembering those unspeakable, dark times.

Clouds at the horizon, shaped by air currents, twisted into several fragments. They broke into irregular shapes, scattered across the sky. Behind those clouds loomed a massive, azure Planet.

“What is a ‘Special Friend’?” Fatty Lei interrupted Wangcai, gazing at that huge Planet.

“Special Friends are very useful, but at this stage, Master, you won’t need them yet,” Wangcai answered after a moment’s thought.

“Tell me the details. I’m really curious,” Fatty Lei pressed on.

“When your tier improves, Master, you’ll gain much higher authority. It’s inevitable you’ll clash with other Dimensional Merchants over interests, leading to conflict.” Wangcai explained seriously to Fatty Lei. “It will inevitably evolve into a Monopoly War. But you can’t fight alone, can you?”

Wangcai looked at Fatty Lei, his eyes gleaming.

“Whether in war or a fight, the more people on your side the better. That’s undeniable. But what does that have to do with me?” Fatty Lei sounded puzzled.

“Of course it has to do with you, Master. If war really breaks out, Special Friends will join your faction immediately to help you fight,” Wangcai stated the key point.

A glint flashed in Fatty Lei’s eyes. “Hmm~~ now that does sound truly useful. Joining my side instantly to fight enemies. Is this enforced by the System?” Fatty Lei asked Wangcai.

Wangcai nodded. “Yes, enforced! Instantly, the System will teleport Special Friends to the Dimensional Battlefield to join your faction.” About this, Wangcai was absolutely certain.

“But why? This Dimensional System is truly strange!” Fatty Lei just couldn’t grasp why the Dimensional System had such a rule.

According to Fatty Lei’s understanding, a Dimensional Merchant was only responsible for selling goods across Dimensional Planes. Why must there be war?

At that moment, Fatty Lei seemed to forget something: wherever there’s profit, conflict exists. This held true even within the Dimensional Trading System. Such things existed in all places, across all times.

Of course, Fatty Lei was still at a low level now. Such events hadn’t happened yet. But who could predict the future?

“Andrew really was thoughtful, joining my side just like that?” Fatty Lei said cheerfully.

“But Master, don’t forget: while he joined your faction, you also joined his, didn’t you?” Wangcai reminded Fatty Lei that this was mutual.

“Huh?”

Wangcai’s reminder caused Fatty Lei to pause abruptly.

“Mutual?” Fatty Lei stared wide-eyed at Wangcai. Wangcai nodded seriously and firmly. “Yes, mutual! Master!”

“What the hell!” Fatty Lei cursed. “Why did Andrew add me as a Special Friend then?” He couldn’t quite understand Andrew’s motive.

After considering, Wangcai said, “Probably because you were very truthful and honest, Master. He must see you as a reliable person. That would be why he added you as a Special Friend. After all, during war, having a dependable ally is truly advantageous.”

“Me? Reliable?” Fatty Lei chuckled helplessly. “I’m only trying to build trust to get Contract Manufacturing work. Without integrity, there is no standing. Since I’m a Novice Merchant, if I show no strength, how can I make any Credit Points?”

Wangcai understood Fatty Lei’s predicament well.

Looking at the distant clouds, Fatty Lei muttered wistfully, “Building a reputation for integrity means I’ll get lots of Contract Manufacturing jobs later. Honestly, of course I want big, one-time deals with huge Credit Points payouts. But I thought it over—it’s not worth it.”

With those words, Fatty Lei laid out his thinking to Wangcai.

“Who can’t be a dishonest Merchant? I could do that too.” Fatty Lei shifted his gaze and leaned toward Wangcai. “But if I act like that, who’d do business with me later? If my reputation tanks, even if I have great goods later, people wouldn’t trade with me.”

“In the Dimensional Trading System, there may be countless Dimensional Merchants. If this one won’t trade, I could find another. But if my reputation is ruined, I don’t believe having many others would mean I could achieve big progress.”

Listening to Fatty Lei’s thoughts, Wangcai now truly felt this master was far more earnest than his last one.

At the very least, this master thought about the future and planned ahead.

“You’ve thought deeply about these issues, Master. That’s very wise,” Wangcai said after tilting his head for a while. “My former master was a scheming Merchant, doing shady deals. Scam one customer at a time, basically. In the end, his reputation was awful. Basically, no matter how good his products were, almost no one bought them anymore.”

Recalling his former master, Wangcai recounted those times to Fatty Lei with a heavy heart.

Suddenly, Fatty Lei remembered the System’s notice during the Trading Space transaction.

“I really think honest trading is best. Like that notice earlier—it said I gained an Integrity Value,” Fatty Lei said, turning to look at Wangcai.

“I’m not sure about that. My former master never got such a thing,” Wangcai admitted. After all, his knowledge was limited, especially since his lazy master lacked all ambition.

After all, the higher a Dimensional Merchant’s tier and level, the higher their authority and access to secrets. Only at the peak can one uncover all hidden truths.

“This ‘Integrity Value’ thing…” Fatty Lei murmured after bowing his head in thought for a moment. “I doubt I’d get it for no reason. If it was given to me, certainly it must have a purpose.”

While Fatty Lei and Wangcai conversed, neither knew that back in their Trading Space, viewership numbers suddenly spiked by tens of thousands.

Daily footfall at ‘Odin Shop’ had been just a few thousand hits. But after Fatty Lei gained the Integrity Value, views skyrocketed to over six hundred thousand overnight.

Nothing short of shocking.

But both Fatty Lei and Wangcai had no clue about this yet.

“Wonder when those Sweet Potatoes will ripen…” Unable to gain more insight from Wangcai, Fatty Lei shifted focus.

Fatty Lei sat on the Metal Wall, gazing down at the emerald Sweet Potato Field below.

Growth in that small Sweet Potato plot was incredibly promising. It painted the yellow desert background lush green, breathing new life into the landscape.

Fatty Lei was long tired of the desert—sand as far as the eye could see, always the same color. Prolonged exposure left him uneasy inside.

The entire Military Outpost was a monotony of silvery metal everywhere, making him dizzy just looking at it. He felt helpless and resigned: what rotten luck to come to this place in this World!

But now, planting Sweet Potatoes helped. At least splashes of green dotted the view, breaking free from that suffocating monochrome.

That Sweet Potato Field: it not only tinted Fatty Lei’s palette but also sowed a seed of hope within him.

In the distance, a massive blue Planet slowly rotated. Fatty Lei stared at it blankly, zoning out.

“Someday, I’ll face the sea, feeling spring flowers bloom…”