Chapter 71: Bruce’s Secret

Fatty Lei was given a “good person card,” but unfortunately, the one who gave it was not a mature woman, a lolita, or a cute creature. Instead, it was a fellow with big eyeballs and the appearance of an octopus. This made Fatty Lei both amused and exasperated. He muttered to himself, “I haven’t even done anything, and I already got a good person card. If I actually did something, would you immediately kneel down and call me ‘Master’?”

However, Fatty Lei also knew that was impossible. No matter how much of a certain aura he might have, such a thing would never happen to him.

Besides, he was aware that he didn’t have that kind of aura to begin with.

Bruce had a reason for saying that about Fatty Lei. It was only because Bruce was at a critical moment in his life, facing imminent eradication, that Fatty Lei gave him a little hope and was willing to discuss goods with him. That was why the octopus Bruce said such a thing.

During these days, the octopus Bruce had not failed to approach other merchants to promote his products. But those merchants had no real interest in his goods. After all, they were not only expensive but also bulky, requiring astronomical Transmission Fees.

This meant Bruce’s products had virtually no market.

Coincidentally, Wangcai had taken the Detector back to do some scanning, and Fatty Lei had nothing else to do here. So, he casually chatted with Bruce, and Bruce half-heartedly kept him company.

“Brother, what do you think is the hottest commodity in the Dimensional Trading System right now?” Fatty Lei asked in a lowered voice.

“Another cup!” Bruce the octopus called out over his shoulder. The Dwarf shopkeeper rushed over, grinning as he refilled Bruce’s drink.

“To be honest, the most popular items in the Trading Device right now are slaves from the Mythological Dimension and those Magical Artifacts. As soon as there’s stock, it’s practically sold out. Even if you buy them and resell them at several times the price, there are still people willing to pay,” Bruce shared some insider information with Fatty Lei.

“Goods from the Mythological Dimension are actually trending items!” Fatty Lei was surprised that items from the Mythological Dimension were so popular in the Trading Device and that they were in such high demand.

Seeing Bruce’s confident and serious expression, Fatty Lei couldn’t help but believe him.

“What about products from the Sci-Fi Series?” Fatty Lei couldn’t help but worry about himself. Although he was from a Fantasy Category Dimensional Plane, he also had the suffix ‘Sci-Fi’ attached. He didn’t want the products he developed to end up unsellable.

Even though Fatty Lei was currently doing Contract Manufacturing, he still had some aspirations.

Did he really want to work for others his whole life?

That wasn’t the outcome Fatty Lei wanted. There was a line from a movie that said it well: “Even as an outlaw, you should aim to be the biggest.”

“Sigh～～～～～” Bruce the octopus let out a deep sigh, enveloped in an aura of faint despondency.

“Products from the Sci-Fi Series don’t sell well,” Bruce pointed at himself. “Look, I’m a living example.”

“Do Sci-Fi Series Merchants really have it that rough?” Fatty Lei found it hard to believe. In his view, some products from the Sci-Fi Series had considerable power. If compared, they might not necessarily lose out to those so-called Magical Artifacts.

For instance, weapons that could create black holes or artificial fortress Planets capable of destroying galaxies.

Fatty Lei voiced all his doubts on the spot.

“Don’t doubt it; what I’m saying is true. Right now, the Merchants from the Mythological Dimension are doing the best, followed by those from the Fantasy Category, then the Fantasy Type, and finally, the Sci-Fi Series Merchants. Don’t forget, the Trading System has rules. The power of products from different series across Dimensional Planes gets neutralized,” Bruce said to Fatty Lei after exhaling a breath of alcohol.

“If that’s the case, then products from the Mythology Type aren’t useful either, right? The Dimensional Rule would also neutralize the power of Mythology Type goods?” Fatty Lei felt somewhat puzzled by this.

“Don’t forget, those slaves from the Mythology Type are mostly defeated Immortals. Even though their power gets neutralized, they can still start Cultivation again from scratch,” Bruce revealed a shocking piece of information.

“Ah!!!!!!”

This time, it was Fatty Lei’s turn to be shocked. Bruce’s information was truly staggering.

“They can Cultivate their power back?” Bruce nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly right!”

“Under the influence of the Dimensional Rule, those Immortals lose all their power. But their knowledge doesn’t vanish along with it, right?” Bruce lifted a tentacle and tapped his own head, implying that the knowledge inside the Immortals’ minds remained.

Fatty Lei finally understood.

According to Bruce, even though those Immortals lost all their power, the methods of Immortal Cultivation were still stored in their minds. Given time, they could slowly Cultivate their power back.

Who knew if natural treasures would appear in the Dimensional Plane Worlds of the Sci-Fi Series or Fantasy Type.

If such things did exist, their Cultivation would progress even faster.

However, Bruce’s words were still very enlightening for Fatty Lei. Previously, in Fatty Lei’s understanding, items from different series across Dimensional Planes were useless.

But now, hearing Bruce say this, it seemed that wasn’t entirely the case.

“How did you come to know this?” Fatty Lei was very curious about it.

“My family has been Dimensional Merchants for generations. I’m the thirty-sixth in line,” Bruce didn’t hide anything and told Fatty Lei everything. After all, he only had three days left to pay his taxes. If he couldn’t pay the System’s fees, he would face Eradication.

Even though Fatty Lei gave him a little hope, it was just hope nonetheless.

So Bruce felt there was no need to keep these things secret anymore.

“The identity of a Dimensional Merchant can be passed down?” Fatty Lei felt he had gained a lot of knowledge today.

Bruce nodded and said, “The Merchant identity can be inherited. Look at me—I’m a living example. Of course, if you meet with an accident and your direct relatives aren’t nearby, then it probably can’t be passed on.”

Fatty Lei nodded slowly, finally understanding.

So this thing was a bit complicated. No wonder when Wangcai’s previous Master died, his relatives didn’t receive the inheritance, and it ended up benefiting Fatty Lei instead. It turned out that for this thing to be passed on, relatives needed to be present.

While Wangcai went back to scan with the Detector, Fatty Lei chatted with Bruce for a while and gained a lot. At the very least, he learned many things he didn’t know before. He also felt that some rules of this Dimensional Trading System really required careful consideration.

“Hmm～～” Fatty Lei pondered for a moment. “Brother, you must be older than me. Let me call you ‘Elder Brother’.”

Fatty Lei tried to get closer to Bruce.

“I’ve been alive for six hundred years and have been a Merchant for about four hundred years,” Bruce told Fatty Lei.

“Truly an old monster,” Fatty Lei thought to himself. At the same time, he smiled at Bruce and said, “Then it’s right to call you Elder Brother. I’m only twenty-eight years old.”

“Twenty-eight years old?” Bruce clearly didn’t understand what that meant.

Fatty Lei lightly patted his forehead. “Oh, my fault, my fault,” he apologized. “The way we measure age might be different in our two Worlds. I’ve been alive for twenty-eight years—put that way, Elder Brother Bruce, you should understand now.”

“Understood, understood,” the octopus Bruce nodded repeatedly, looking at Fatty Lei. “You really are young. In our World, one isn’t considered an adult until three hundred years old.”

Fatty Lei’s smile didn’t fade. “Our two Worlds have different cultures, so many things are not the same.”

Bruce nodded. “True. As Dimensional Trading Merchants, we inevitably have to deal with beings from many different cultures and Faiths. Our ability to adapt must be stronger.”

Fatty Lei seized the opportunity to climb the social ladder, calling Bruce “Elder Brother” repeatedly, which made Bruce very happy.

“Elder Brother Bruce, you said those slaves from the Mythological Dimension are bought by Sci-Fi Dimensions. After they Cultivate their power back, they’ll inevitably pass on their knowledge within that Sci-Fi Dimension. So, can such a Sci-Fi Dimension still be called a Sci-Fi Dimension?”

Fatty Lei thought that if people from the Mythological Dimension were sold to a Sci-Fi Dimension, and they could Cultivate their power back, they would certainly pass on their teachings to the beings of that Dimensional Plane World.

Furthermore, because their power is so great, it would attract many beings to join and learn. Consequently, a perfectly good Sci-Fi Dimension might slowly see its natives stop developing technology and embark on a different path.

The problems this could cause were numerous, which was why Fatty Lei had this question.

Bruce looked left and right, adopting a very mysterious demeanor, and lowered his voice to say to Fatty Lei, “To be honest, I don’t really understand it either. But I did hear my Father mention such things. Today, I’ve hit it off quite well with you, little brother, so I might as well tell you. After all, the fewer Merchants who know about this, the better. Anyway, I might be Eradicated in three days, and I find you quite agreeable, so I’ll tell you.”

“Elder Brother Bruce, don’t talk like that. Until the very last moment, you mustn’t lose hope. Besides, there are still three days. Who knows if your luck might turn during this time?” Fatty Lei’s words of comfort were sincere this time.

After all, seeing Bruce confide in him so openly, Fatty Lei was somewhat moved.

Of course, it was just a touch of emotion. Fatty Lei wasn’t a child anymore; he wouldn’t act impulsively just because of how Bruce was behaving.

Besides, Bruce didn’t have an ‘Overlord’ aura anyway.

Hearing Fatty Lei’s comforting words, Bruce smiled.

“I’ll take your kind words. I hope I can overcome this difficulty.”

Then Bruce continued in a hushed tone, “Regarding your earlier question, I can tell you.”

Fatty Lei listened with rapt attention.

“Admittedly, if beings from the Mythological Dimension are sold to a Sci-Fi World or a Fantasy World, and if their Master doesn’t control them properly, allowing them to spread cultures that don’t belong to that Dimensional Plane—such as ‘Cultivation’—and if this leads to large numbers of natives learning it and abandoning their original development model… then, the System will alter that Dimensional Plane’s data based on the circumstances.”

“Therefore, a Sci-Fi Dimension might very well transform into a Cultivation Plane World.”

A sharp glint flashed in Fatty Lei’s eyes…