This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

More than a year had passed, but Rita was once again doing some shopping for Eclipse Vanguard.

She and Nivalis had spent a few days in the Marmang world and had accumulated quite a bit of sea shells. They also had a better understanding of the purchasing power of these sea shells. Based on the price of equipment, items, and skills, the purchasing power of one sea shell was roughly equivalent to one gold coin.

In the Marmang underwater world, many small items and cheap goods were directly exchanged for fish or shrimp. They had their own set of exchange standards, where different fish or shrimp had different values. The exchange rates and ratios were incredibly complex for Rita and Nivalis, but for the local players, it was an everyday transaction. A simple glance would tell them if the trade was fair or not, which was incomprehensible for players from other worlds.

[Rita]: Just so we're clear, the currencies here are different. I'll definitely be charging a bit for my time and effort. Is that okay with you?

[Shadow.Q]: Just a bit? Let's see the goods first.

[Rita]: Alright... Mechanical seahorses, underwater mounts, with a top speed of 500 km/h. No guarantees that you won't get hurt. Want one? 299 gold coins each. I'm not making much profit, you know me—when it comes to big matters, I know what's important.

[Shadow.Q]: Don't say anymore. I'm already scared.

[Rita]: So, do you want them or not?

[Shadow.Q]: …Ten, please.

Transformed into a crab, Nivalis grabbed 100 sea shells with her pincers and pointed at the mechanical seahorses, signaling for ten.

…

[Rita]: Medicinal oils, a specialty of the Marmang underwater world. There are too many types. Do you need any specific effects? Let me know, and I'll narrow it down.

[Shadow.Q]: Do you have something that can poison seawater?

[Rita]: How about nuclear waste water?

[Shadow.Q]: I didn't finish my sentence just now… but we need something with a corresponding antidote. We just want to poison the underwater non-human species, not wipe out humanity.

[Rita]: I don't have that, but I do have a "croak oil" that gives players a 0.001% chance of learning an S-level skill after drinking it. The chances are low, but it's like a scratch-off lottery here. One gold coin per bottle.

[Shadow.Q]: We need 100 bottles.

[Rita]: Sure.

Nivalis placed 10 sea shells down and took 100 bottles of the "croak oil."

…

[Rita]: Deep sea berries, want some? One berry allows you to breathe underwater for 72 hours, only 1 silver coin each. Much cheaper than underwater breathing potions. Trust me, I'm not scamming you. As they say, one call to Shadow.Q, and we'll be lifelong friends.

[Shadow.Q]: Five hundred berries! Do you have enough room in your inventory?

In front of the fruit stall, Nivalis used her crab pincers to grab 99 sea shells and pointed at the berries, making a gesture for 999 bunches.

[Rita]: I can handle it. These berries come in bunches, so I'll buy however many I can. If I don't have enough, I'll refund you. Any extras are my personal sponsorship to Eclipse Vanguard! My gesture, I hope Eclipse Vanguard understands!

[Shadow.Q]: ∠(°ゝ°), thank you! Eclipse Vanguard always understands!

Rita's face turned slightly red, but thankfully, since she was in her crab form, it was hard to tell.

…

[Rita]: Underwater detectors. You can input the shape of something you want to find, and it will search within a ten-nautical-mile radius for similar items. This one is really expensive. I had to sell equipment to afford enough for this. The basic version costs 300 gold coins each.

[Rita]: There's also a high-level version with a 50-nautical-mile range. This one is even more expensive, but I think it's unnecessary. It's 1888 gold coins.

[Shadow.Q]: Ten of the basic version, and three of the high-level version.

[Rita]: Didn't you tell me Eclipse Vanguard had insufficient liquidity before?

[Shadow.Q]: Yeah, isn't it flowing smoothly now? All flowing to you.

Rita was annoyed. She knew it! Eclipse Vanguard didn't actually lack money!

She made a hand gesture to Nivalis, who pulled out 6,000 sea shells from her frog-shaped wallet, gestured three times at the high-level underwater detector, and then made a "ten" gesture in front of the basic one.

The octopus boss was overjoyed and, as a bonus, grabbed a few small fish that were passing by and put them in a bag to send to Rita and Nivalis.

…

Rita and Nivalis spent almost all the stolen money they had. Later, on a few more items, Rita also made quite a bit. But rather than charging a percentage, she priced things based on her mood, always making sure she didn't go too far.

No one knew if Eclipse Vanguard would eventually send people to this world. Rita's principle with Eclipse Vanguard was to avoid pushing things too far. Making money was fun, but she didn't need to empty Eclipse Vanguard's coffers.

Besides, the quantities Eclipse Vanguard bought were a bit tricky. Rita had the feeling that their main goal was research and mass production, not immediate use.

A lot of the things from the Marmang underwater world were exactly what BS needed right now—underwater detection, underwater survival, underwater lighting, and even underwater plant seeds…

When they discussed the umbrella-type plants that could grow to provide light underwater:

[Shadow.Q]: "Hold on," came a reply, but then there was no further response for a while. Rita thought Eclipse Vanguard might be raising funds.

[Shadow.Q]: "Did you buy all the things we ordered?"

[Rita]: "Bought them all."

[Rita]: "If you dare say Eclipse Vanguard can't pay now and wants to use a special Mahjong as payment, I'll return everything."

[Shadow.Q]: "Ah… you predicted it, haha. You're so clever. Sorry, forget I said that. Please don't block me, I beg you…"

[Rita]: "Eclipse Vanguard, as soon as I sense a shift, I know exactly what you're up to!"

[Shadow.Q]: "…Don't worry, everything's ready, and the money will be there!"

[Rita]: "What about the umbrella seeds? The complete growth period is 1,000 days. You can use divine blessings to shorten the time. Once grown, they can light up a one-nautical-mile radius of the sea, and can grow as high as 3,000 meters."

[Shadow.Q]: "We want a ton."

[Rita]: "10 gold per seed. A single seed weighs less than 100 grams. Do you think I'm the lost princess of the Marmang underwater world who can have all the money she wants?"

[Shadow.Q]: "Today's shopping ends here. Buy as many seeds as you can afford, and we'll take however much you can get."

[Rita]: "Fine."

The umbrella seeds weren't too expensive—5 sea shells each. They weren't particularly rare, but players had to go out and find them personally, so the labor cost was high. Plus, these seeds were a major ingredient for a master-level medicinal oil, and the demand was huge, which kept the price high.

It was already the morning of the 30th, and to be honest, Rita and Nivalis couldn't steal too much more money. Their health points were already high, and after their healing skills cooled down, they could only replenish their health with healing potions…

Otherwise, Rita wouldn't have taken so long to return from March 15th and still only managed to get her strength, constitution, and intelligence over 280.