Great, now we are dead!

It's a pity that glass already exists in this world, otherwise Ye Shou could have saved money by bringing a truckload of "crafts" over!

He didn't just pile the raw stones together; he had already had them crafted into magnificent jewelry, the exquisite designs of which would leave these country bumpkin adventurers speechless!

The island owner's reaction wouldn't be much better.

Interestingly, Ye Shou, who had shown off his wealth on the first floor of the maze, did not rush to meet the island lord. Instead, he leisurely followed the Leos team to the ground and experienced the island's local customs and culture.

Information circulates very quickly among adventurers, especially information directly related to wealth. So, in less than half an hour, Leos and his companions were surprised to find that the attitudes of merchants on the island, regardless of their business, had completely changed. Shortchanging them? Impossible!

Forced buying and selling? Absolutely not!

Buy low, sell high? We're honest people!

—Leos ​​had never experienced such a warm welcome in his life, to the point that he began to question his existence.

Well, he actually dislikes humans quite a bit. It's not that he hates any particular person, but rather that he has a certain aversion to the "human" species itself, including himself.

Because from the beginning, he had no idea what other people were thinking, and he couldn't learn how to communicate with strangers, which led to him being ostracized wherever he went, and he always felt like an "outsider".

Even though everyone communicates using language, why can't he understand the unspoken meaning and make friends?

This is probably one of the reasons why he likes monsters:

I can't find a sense of belonging among my own kind.

But today he truly witnessed just how far human kindness can go towards strangers... It even gave him the illusion that he was very popular!

"It's good to be rich."

Walking down the street, Leos, expressionless, murmured a few words.

He was the only one who could remain calm; the others, whether elven mages or dwarven cooks, were not used to being watched openly or secretly by so many people.

"Isn't this a bit too flashy?"

Marushir clutched her staff anxiously, "If we go to a less crowded place, we'll definitely get robbed, won't we?"

"Don't worry, Marushir."

Leos offered some words of comfort: "We've bought too many things along the way, a lot of which were unnecessary purchases, and some even seem to be deliberately inflated in price... Normally, people wouldn't flaunt their wealth like this in places where adventurers gather. Ye Shou must have his own reasons for doing this."

"Really?"

Marushir looked up at the figure in front of her, her eyes narrowing. "I just think he seems to be having a lot of fun."

"Um... Mr. Ye Shou?"

Farin looked around and asked Ye Shou curiously, "Where did Chilchuck go?"

"I gave him the letter of authorization, he should have already sent the mission to the Half-Body Artificial Guild."

Ye Shou paused, then pointed forward: "Alright, we've arrived!"

—Lord's Hall.

The front is the office space, and the back is the lord's private residence. Representatives from various industries on the island usually gather here to discuss matters and pay taxes regularly. Because of the maze, the facilities in this village now rival the scale and luxury of a noble mansion.

"Are you really going to buy the maze?"

Marusir was still skeptical. "Could it be for monster food? That's completely unnecessary!"

"No, Ye Shou probably doesn't really want to buy it."

Leos calmly rejected the elven mage's words.

Although he considers himself to be socially inept, he actually has a lot of social experience; he just doesn't want to spend too much time on interpersonal relationships.

Therefore, he was able to see things from Ye Shou's actions that Marusir couldn't:

If you really want to buy something, don't make it known to everyone!

In any transaction, the true price is best known only to the buyer and seller. If there's a deliberate attempt to advertise it, then there's definitely an ulterior motive.

If Ye Shou wants this island, he can just secretly take the treasure to see the island owner. Maybe the landowner has been secretly changed, and the adventurers won't know for another ten days or half a month.

But now that Ye Shou has made such a "show," everyone on the island knows that a big spender is interested in the maze, and the island lord is no exception.

The island owner might try to raise the price arbitrarily, and Ye Shou might have to pay a much higher price than the actual value!

Based on their interactions over the past few days, Leos felt that Ye Shou didn't seem like an innocent young master, so he concluded that Ye Shou had ulterior motives!

Ye Shou chuckled upon hearing Leios's words, offering no further explanation.

He opened his backpack and took out one beautifully crafted gold and red box after another, handing them to his companions one by one.

"Wait a moment and cooperate with me..."

As Ye Shou recounted the story, Marusir's eyes slowly filled with dizziness: "Why...why do this?"

"Just a negotiation tactic."

"Huh? Why don't you just pay directly?"

Marushir was truly puzzled, but seeing that Leos and the others were also bewildered, she felt much relieved.

Fortunately, it wasn't that I was too stupid; it was just that Ye Shou's actions were too incomprehensible!

"I'll explain everything to you later. Don't ask any questions now. Just do as I say."

……

The adventurers watched as Ye Shou and his companions each carried two chests of treasure into the hall, and they became excited and couldn't help but start discussing it.

If this island could be given a wealthier lord, he might be willing to raise the price of monster materials or give adventurers more quests, which would benefit them.

Especially since this guy seems like a fool with too much money!

The news spread quickly throughout the island, and before long, representatives from all the unions had gathered outside the hall, both openly and secretly, with countless eyes eagerly watching the entrance.

However, after a while, the door was kicked open and Ye Shou walked out angrily, his dissatisfaction obvious. Behind him, Leos and the others hurriedly followed, carrying the original box.

Judging from this... does it mean the deal didn't go through?

The adventurers speculated that the foolish island owner must be asking for an exorbitant price.

Marushir walked beside Farin, stealing glances to her left and right, her throat bobbing a few times, taking a deep breath to make up her mind—

"oops!"

The elven mage let out a dramatic shout, then fell to the ground like a salted fish, the treasure chest in his hand crashing to the ground, its glittering jewels exposed to everyone's view.

——! ! !

"Malushil!"

Leos called out his companion's name in a tenor-like voice and quickly wrapped the treasure in cloth.

The acting was terrible!

Ye Shou, who was at the very front, twitched slightly at the corner of his eye.

However, he need not worry, because even a fleeting glimpse is enough to steal the hearts of adventurers in an instant from that beautiful thing...

Acting?

Nobody cares about that kind of thing. Right now, even if you stripped a stunningly beautiful woman naked and put her next to you, no one's attention would be diverted!

Ye Shou looked around, waiting for someone to come up and snatch it... but no one made the first move, which made him slightly disappointed.

The effect would be better if there were people scrambling to buy it.

He hoped the "atmosphere" would become more intense; losing a little money wasn't a problem, but he underestimated the hierarchy of this other world.

Most adventurers are homeless; they are registered as adventurers in the guild, but once they leave, they become vagrants.

The individual combat strength in this world is not outrageous. There are very few people who can form an army on their own. Most of them are blank warriors like Leos. There will be no strong people who can fight against the system on their own. Therefore, they will obediently pay taxes to the island lord.

These people dared not make a move against Ye Shou, who was clearly a great merchant and nobleman—at least not in public!

This explains why a village chief, who had neither martial prowess nor wisdom, was able to possess the gold mine of the maze, and why no one ever forcibly took it from him.

It's important to understand that even the powerful Elven race primarily obtains land deeds here through political negotiations (after all, this is a time of peace; things would have been different in the past).

Ye Shou left somewhat disappointed, but the adventurers' fervor had only just begun. Everyone's topic of conversation turned to them and the mountain of treasure, and they were extremely curious about what kind of conditions the island lord had offered.

"But don't you find it strange?"

In the tavern, a halfling drinking beer among a group of adventurers suddenly remarked thoughtfully, "Why doesn't the island lord agree?"

"Ok?"

"That guy was a bit greedy, but at most he asked for a high price; he shouldn't have driven people away like that."

The halfling frowned, and hesitated before saying, "Could it be that they've directly refused?"

"If you say so..."

The adventurers exchanged glances: "But there's no reason for it!"

Yes, there's no reason!

Anyone with eyes can see that the maze is different now than it was a few years ago. It can no longer produce a lot of wealth. It's like a rich mine has been emptied out, leaving only some scraps to be developed slowly.

The island owner has already profited handsomely from the rich mine, and now that a wealthy person is willing to take over, he should happily hand over the land deed.

Because the price negotiations fell through?

Although that person was of low character, he had been a lord for so many years, so he must have some knowledge of trading skills...

There's definitely something wrong here!

Without further guidance, the halfling only uttered one sentence, and the adventurer, blinded by wealth, began to speculate on his own.

"Ultimately, why spend so much money on a maze that offers little benefit?"

"Currently, we can only detect up to the sixth and seventh layers. The further down we go, the more difficult it becomes, and the less we can find."

"Did he hire Leos's team? Maybe we can get some information out of him..."

"No way, that guy's an idiot. At most, he just accepted a guard assignment. They wouldn't discuss things with him anyway—he wouldn't understand anyway!"

"yes"

"After all, it's Leios!"

"He still can't say my name!"

"A fool who doesn't even realize he's being scammed."

For some reason, everyone agreed that they couldn't get any information from Leos.

Those who have a deeper "relationship" with Leos are more likely to think so.

"Could it be that some priceless treasure has been discovered in the maze?"

"—!"

Everyone was drawn to this possibility, and the more they thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.

"The island owner already knew about it beforehand, which is why he refused to sell it!"

"That makes sense..."

"But what could be something that would make someone spend such a large sum of money to buy it...?"

"Even a small share would be enough to live a life of debauchery for the rest of your life, right?"

Everyone's heart started pounding.

"On which floor will it be?"

Such scenes were constantly playing out among the adventurers on the island.

The next day, amidst the undercurrents, countless people stayed up all night dreaming of getting rich, only to have the tranquility shattered by a jarring gong at dawn.

"Hurry to the port to help! A ship has run aground!"

"Hurry! Hurry!"

The adventurers weren't very enthusiastic about unpaid labor; everyone seemed rather uninterested.

Then someone came running back with their pockets stuffed full, and the group scattered in a flurry, rushing towards the harbor.

"It's a treasure ship! It's loaded with supplies and treasure!"

"Where did it come from?"

"Who cares! Go help!"