Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Lin Yi stood there, feeling the subtle sensation of the Illusionist holding his legs tightly, and then looked at Gulu, who was laughing so hard he was almost out of breath, and the witch who was enjoying the show. A deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside him.

He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, feeling a dull ache between his eyebrows.

He now desperately wanted to have an in-depth conversation with the troupe leader he had never met, and he even had the topic in mind: "On the recruitment criteria for troupe members: Is it based on strength above all else, or performance art first? Or, to put it another way, is your real purpose to build a circus that spans countless worlds?"

He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind of the jumbled thoughts and bring his attention back to the task at hand.

On the bar counter, the items from the Sleeping City still gleamed.

The illusionist had already ignored everyone else. His large amber eyes were fixed on the items on the table, and his small nostrils twitched slightly, as if he could smell the "fragrance" emanating from those rare materials. His mouth was almost watering.

Not only the illusionist, but even the witch, who had always appeared lazy and indifferent, now revealed an undisguised eagerness in her eyes.

Her gaze was mainly focused on the three [Epic Random Equipment Boxes].

These equipment boxes differ from the epic chests that drop after defeating powerful enemies. They have a very high probability of containing a series of rare equipment items that are not commonly found in other parts of the set, such as cloaks, masks, earrings, pendants, armbands, scabbards, and even inner armor.

Aside from a very few master craftsmen who can painstakingly create top-quality equipment, most of the time, contractors can only rely on this special random equipment box to try their luck if they want to obtain suitable parts.

Its value is often higher than that of weapons or armor of the same quality because it is extremely rare.

The illusionist clearly noticed the witch's predatory gaze as well.

She subconsciously moved like a small animal guarding its food, silently placing her body between Lin Yi and the bar, trying to block the witch's view.

The movements were fluid and natural, as if they were the most natural thing in the world.

Lin Yi took in the whole scene and couldn't help but smile to himself.

It can only be said that the so-called friendship between girls is as fragile as a piece of paper soaked in water, and it will break at the slightest touch.

Gulu, who was just watching the show, was clearly enjoying the spectacle. She even pulled out a bag of snacks that looked like sunflower seeds from somewhere and started eating them while watching the "two women fighting over a treasure" drama with great interest, her face beaming with schadenfreude.

As for why she could remain so calm, the reason is simple—she is now a "proletarian".

To pay Lin Yi that astronomical sum of soul crystals (complete), she had almost emptied her personal savings accumulated over many years. Apart from some essential survival supplies and worthless trinkets, she couldn't even scrape together a few things that would catch Lin Yi's eye. Poverty was her biggest source of confidence, allowing her to remain uninvolved and watch the drama unfold.

Unfortunately, she simply didn't have the money to participate in this "bloody" competition for capital.

The witch naturally saw right through the illusionist's little scheme.

Her red lips parted slightly, as if she was about to say something.

But the illusionist reacted even faster, giving the witch no chance to speak at all.

"Godfather!" The Illusionist's voice instantly switched to an overly sweet mode. She turned around, tilted up her incredibly deceptive baby face, and her amber eyes were filled with "sincerity" and "concern".

"Are you tired? Were you a little tired after coming here? Would you like me to massage your shoulders first? It'll be more effective to talk things over after you relax!"

As she spoke, she actually went around behind Lin Yi, stretched out her soft-looking little hands, and pressed them on Lin Yi's shoulders with just the right amount of force.

Her technique was surprisingly professional, clearly indicating she was no novice. She precisely pressed on several acupoints that were prone to soreness, bringing a comfortable feeling of relaxation.

This series of moves, from "crying and begging for his leg" to "sweetly calling him godfather" and then to "professional massage girl," left Lin Yi completely bewildered.

One moment he was a lively, dramatic character clinging to someone's leg, crying and shouting "Godfather, take me flying!" The next second he transformed into a caring, charming, and highly skilled masseuse. This seamless role-playing gave Lin Yi a completely new and groundbreaking understanding of the Illusionist's "versatility" and "adaptability."

He opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to react, so he could only sit in the chair and let the illusionist do as he pleased.

While the illusionist diligently "served" him, trying to soften Lin Yi with a gentle approach, her mind was also racing, her inner calculations were making rapid progress.

She quickly took stock of her assets in her personal space, pondering what she could use to exchange for the pile of coveted treasures in Lin Yi's hands.

After taking stock, even the illusionist fell silent.

A sense of despair called "poverty" poured down on me like icy water from the Arctic, instantly chilling my heart.

She, the Illusionist, follows a triple path: gravity-based, soul-based, and technique-based.

This grants her immense power and unpredictable abilities, but it also means that she has simultaneously fallen into two of the most notoriously unprofitable professions—the mage and the skill-based class.

Why shouldn't the Soul System be considered one of the three poorest classes? The reason is simple—low-level contractors are simply not qualified to develop the Soul System.

This path has extremely high requirements for basic attributes, talents, and special inheritances. Usually, only contractors who have reached the mid-to-high level have enough qualifications and resources to explore this field.

But this does not mean that the Soul class saves money! On the contrary, the quantity, variety, and cost of rare resources consumed by the Soul class are no less than those of the other three poor classes.

The reason it is not well-known is simply because many key materials, inheritance scrolls, and cultivation mediums of the Soul System are simply priceless and unavailable on the regular market; you can't buy them even if you want to.

This leads to the misconception that many powerful soul-type beings are "not short of money," because they often have large amounts of Paradise Coins but can't find sellers, and they have wealth but can't convert it into strength.

But in reality, their "poverty" is a deeper form of "structural poverty"—they have money but nowhere to spend it!

Want to improve? You either risk your life in high-risk worlds to find that slim chance, or wait for the even less likely item to appear in auction houses, which often leads to sky-high prices and fierce competition.

In contrast, while the three most expensive professions also cost money, at least there are ways to spend it, and corresponding upgrade resources can always be found on the market.

The illusionist is now in this awkward situation.

Her gravity and technique systems have been raised to a fairly high level through countless life-and-death battles and massive resource investment. However, her soul system, which is one of her core support and trump cards, remains at the sixth level due to an extreme lack of related resources, which seriously hinders her overall strength and future development.

The batch of high-quality soul-related resources that Lin Yi provided was like a timely rain after a long drought for her.

"We must take it! We must take it no matter what!" the Illusionist shouted in his heart.

But the question is, what about money? What about resources? What can we use to exchange for them?
She quickly considered all her treasures, including several life-saving items she kept hidden away to turn the tide in desperate situations. But after all that, it was still a drop in the ocean compared to buying everything Lin Yi had put out, especially those three epic-level random equipment boxes that both she and the witch coveted. The gap was so large it was despairing.

A sense of powerlessness welled up inside her, causing her massage movements to slow down unconsciously, tinged with a hint of frustration.

As she subconsciously glanced at Gulu, who was eating sunflower seeds and watching the show from the sidelines, a flash of inspiration struck the Illusionist.

She remembered clearly that Gulu often had some good things, many of which were sold on behalf of the group leader or temporarily stored away.

She had once seen an extremely special skill scroll at Gulu's place, its value immeasurable, and it was especially significant for someone like her who was a multi-system developer.

At the time, the price was so outrageously high that even emptying her savings wouldn't be enough, leaving her only able to sigh in despair.

A bold idea formed in the Illusionist's mind—a loan!
Just like how Gulu asked the leader for help to gather the soul crystal (complete) to pay Lin Yi, she could also ask the leader for an advance on the value of that scroll, or directly borrow a huge sum of money to pay Lin Yi!
As for repayment... let's get the goods first! There's always a way out!

Thinking of this, the Illusionist continued massaging Lin Yi while subtly beckoning his finger toward Gulu, giving him a knowing look that said, "You know what I mean, help me out."

Meanwhile, there is a special original world designated TWP-741, which is in a period of decay and whose resources are on the verge of depletion.

The sky was a perpetual dark red, and the earth was cracked, flowing with scorching magma.

The leader of the troupe, the masked man, stood silently amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. In his right hand, he casually held a grotesque head that was still dripping blood. The head's owner had clearly been a powerful being in life, but now only terrified eyes remained in death.

Dark red blood stained the edge of his pure white mask, adding an indescribable rage and murderous aura to his originally indifferent demeanor.

Opposite him, there remained a dozen or so menacing violators.

Each of them was a powerful figure in the seventh or eighth tier of the world, but at this moment, they were like a flock of sheep being stared at by a tiger. Although they outnumbered each other, none of them dared to step forward, and they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Their eyes were filled with fear, despair, and a hint of frantic struggle.

On the ground, within a radius of several hundred meters centered on the regimental commander, layers upon layers of corpses had been laid out, forming a cruel circle painted with death.

Those who dared to take the initiative and tried to escape and hide using special means have now become part of this bloody scene, their lives demonstrating the absolute difference in power.

The gap in strength between the two sides is an insurmountable chasm that cannot be bridged by numbers, courage, or luck.

The leader seemed somewhat disheartened. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the trembling violators beneath his mask. He sighed softly, as if wondering why some people always liked to overestimate their abilities and add unnecessary workload to his workload.

This sigh became the final straw that broke the camel's back for those who broke the rules.

"Fight him! Otherwise, we'll all die!"

"Kill him! Even if he dies, he must pay the price!"

Driven by extreme fear, the remaining violators erupted, unleashing a burst of light from various abilities, forbidden techniques, and one-time-use items, like the last fireworks, sweeping towards the leader.

Faced with this combined attack that was enough to destroy a small world, the captain simply raised his left hand, the one that wasn't holding the head.

Ten seconds later.

All the light, sound, and explosions disappeared.

The regimental commander stood still, his posture barely changing.

He merely frowned slightly, looking at the trace of blood that had accidentally gotten on the knuckles of his left hand.

He produced a snow-white handkerchief from somewhere and slowly and deliberately wiped away the bloodstain, his movements as elegant as if he were attending a refined banquet.

And those rule-breakers who had been standing around him had completely disappeared.

Instead, there was a mass of flesh, evenly spread on the ground, mixed with the original body parts, making it difficult to distinguish.

The once bustling battlefield instantly fell into dead silence, with only the gurgling sound of flowing lava and the wailing of the wind blowing through the rift valley as background noise.

Just then, the leader's character panel and friend communication bar vibrated slightly, indicating that there was a new message.

The group leader paused slightly while wiping, knowing that not many people would contact him at this time.

With a slight thought, he opened the communication panel, and the sender's name made him raise an eyebrow slightly beneath his mask.

Illusionist?

The leader's impression of this member, whom he personally recruited into the troupe and valued for his unique talent and potential, was: immense potential, considerable strength, and astonishing growth rate, but his behavior was somewhat... unpredictable and erratic, his thought process was different from ordinary people, and he almost never took the initiative to contact him on his own. He belonged to the more "homebody" and "lonely" type in the troupe.

Is the sun coming out in the west today?

He opened the message from the Illusionist. The message was long, with a tone that ranged from a tentative greeting at the beginning, to a fawning plea in the middle, and finally to a desperate "cry for help" and "pie in the sky" at the end. The emotional layers were quite rich, making it a veritable short essay.

In short, she has her eye on a batch of top-tier soul-type resources and three epic-level random equipment boxes, but she's too poor to afford them. She's asking the raid leader for an advance on some resources, offering to pay interest or take on several high-difficulty quests as compensation.

After reading the message, the leader remained silent for a long time, and a barely audible sigh came from behind his mask.

Why does he feel like he's becoming more and more like an old father in his role as regimental commander?
Today, Gulu comes to borrow some "living expenses," and tomorrow the witch will find ways to "steal" some good things from him. Now, even the most "homebody" and "isolated" Illusionist is starting to ask him for loans to buy equipment.

"Could it be that I haven't been back to the brigade's base for so long that they've forgotten who the leader is?" The leader couldn't help but feel a little self-doubt.

Or is the tour group's financial situation so dire that the tour leader personally needs to provide an interest-free loan?
He shook his head, trying to dispel these inexplicable thoughts from his mind.

The supplies that the Illusionist had her eye on, judging from her description, were indeed crucial to her, as they could greatly enhance her soul-based abilities. This would be a good thing for the overall strength of the troupe, and he also knew Lin Yi's identity, so using that scroll wouldn't be a waste.

After a moment's thought, the group leader replied to the message.

The content is concise and to the point: Yes.

However, as a condition, the Illusionist needs to travel to a seventh-tier native world—[Dark Blood Castle]—that has been certified by the Void Tree in the next mission world.

That world has somehow evolved into a semi-public gathering place for rulebreakers and a black market trading platform, a melting pot of all sorts of people, hiding many troublesome individuals.

The guild leader himself was too lazy to make a special trip for these minor characters, so it was a good opportunity for the Illusionist, who desperately needed to "make money" to pay off his debts, to clean things up.

The Paradise of Reincarnation, inside the witch's bar.

The Illusionist was still anxiously waiting for the leader's reply, and unconsciously slowed down his massage of Lin Yi's shoulders.

She wasn't sure if the team leader would agree to her somewhat abrupt loan request.

Just then, her Paradise Mark warmed slightly, indicating that there was new information.

The illusionist's spirits lifted, and he immediately focused his attention to investigate.

When the Illusionist saw the leader's concise yet supportive reply, along with the accompanying task of clearing out the violators' gathering place, his eyes lit up with an alarming intensity.

"No problem! I guarantee I'll complete the mission! I'll scatter their ashes!" The Illusionist replied almost instantly, his tone full of enthusiasm and...gratitude.

Just when I was worried about not having enough money, the guild leader sent me a "withdrawal" task. Is there any faster way to make money than cleaning up violators? No!

She immediately stopped massaging Lin Yi, excitedly ran to Gulu, and whispered a few words to her.

Gulu first showed a surprised expression, then curled his lips knowingly, seemingly not surprised that the leader would agree to the illusionist's request.

She muttered, "Another one who's fallen into the trap," and then took out the scroll that the Illusionist had been longing for from her personal space.

The illusionist took the scroll, his heart pounding with excitement.

She took a deep breath and tried to make her expression look calm and confident.

Then, she turned around, strode back to the bar, and under the curious gazes of Lin Yi, the witch, and Gulu, gently slapped the scroll onto the bar counter with a "smack".

The Illusionist puffed out his not-so-ample chest, his face displaying a resolute confidence that said, "I've gone all in." He addressed Lin Yi in as calm a tone as possible, "Godfather, take a look at this. I believe it should be enough to exchange for everything you've brought out...

She emphasized "everything" and looked intently at Lin Yi, awaiting his judgment.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. For an illusionist to be so confident, this scroll must be something truly valuable. (End of Chapter)