Chapter 8: Negotiating with a Swindler
[Haha. Mortal, how dare you be rude to the Great Me?]
[If you want to feel the sensation of Divine Lightning, just say so. No need for such weak insults.]
[Also, why bother protecting them?! Is that what you call chivalry? Oh my, humans are truly pathetic and miserable. Luckily, the greater Universe bestowed the Great Me upon this world.]
Donape lay flat on the floor behind the counter, looking entirely harmless despite the agonizing pain vibrating through his bones. Watching the text roll in, his left eye twitched violently.
’This motherf*cker talks whatever bullshit it wants! Does it think I pulled this stunt because I enjoy being electrocuted? I resorted to this because those people are potential customers, you asshole!’
That was exactly what he wanted to scream in the System’s face, but Donape shrank back in his heart.
"Can these people see your text?" Donape whispered, dusting himself off and waiting for the residual sparks of pain to finally leave his body.
[No. Also, do not summon me unnecessarily unless you truly wish to taste torture.]
"Alright. My mistake, System," Donape replied, pushing himself up to stand. "I’ll make sure this is the absolute last time I pull a stunt like this."
He was already deeply reluctant to stage such a crazy demonstration—it was entirely stupid. But he felt even stupider for actually going through with it.
Meanwhile, the five onlookers stood frozen like statues, staring at the spot where the divine lightning had just struck out of nowhere.
Even though Young Master Baek and Butler Lee had seen it before, the sheer pressure still sent a tremor through their joints.
As for Irene, a completely average civilian, absolute terror washed over her. But instead of running away, she was genuinely debating whether she should call an ambulance.
After all, looking at the smoke rising from behind the counter, no one dared to step forward and check if Donape was even alive.
Suddenly, Donape betrayed all their expectations. He stood up straight, looking completely fine.
"I’m sorry for causing any inconvenience," he said smoothly, pointing a finger up toward the digital screen on the wall. "That was just a simple fact-check to ensure everyone here adheres to the shop rules."
On the screen above him, the glowing red letters of the final warning seemed to pulse in sync with his words:
- ALL REGULATIONS DISPLAYED ARE ABSOLUTE. YOU PAY TO PLAY, OTHERWISE GET OUT!
The five of them looked up at the digital screen, then slowly lowered their eyes back to Donape.
The two guards exchanged tense glances. Stepping back, they smoothly repositioned themselves in front of Young Master Baek and Butler Lee. Despite the dread clouding their hearts, professionalism took priority over their own well-being. The safety of their employer was the sole purpose of their existence.
An oppressive silence filled the room.
Oblivious to the heavy atmosphere, Donape rubbed his palms together with a businessman’s grin. "Hehe. No need to worry, everyone. I’m completely fine. Everything is fine, as long as we maintain a cooperative environment. So, shall we continue? Or do you feel there’s no need to go on?"
Irene was the first to snap out of it. She stepped forward, dabbing her lips and tilting her head from side to side as she inspected him.
"Are you sure you’re okay?! You really don’t need to go to the hospital?"
"Thanks for your concern, but I’m perfectly fine. There’s no need for that."
"Then... was that lightning artificial?" she whispered, leaning over the counter. "Does this shop have a device that can just produce something like that at will?"
Donape, remaining entirely immune to her beauty, lowered his brows and whispered back, "I don’t know either. But artificial or not, what’s clear is that it hurts like absolute hell. So, are you going to finish your game, or are you done for the day?"
The veins on Butler Lee’s forehead bulged. He felt like he was watching a cheap soap opera unfold right in front of him.
"What on earth are you two doing?!" he barked, his voice strained.
Startled by the sudden outburst, Donape and Irene immediately leaned away from each other, ending their hushed conversation.
"Ah, my apologies," Donape said, smoothing down his shirt. "We were just discussing whether to continue playing, as I asked earlier."
"Um... I’ll continue, then," Irene said. She turned on her heel, giving her vibrant red hair a sharp toss as she walked back to her capsule.
Donape rolled his eyes, utterly unable to follow Irene’s train of thought.
Meanwhile, Butler Lee ground his teeth. He felt completely ignored, treated as if his presence didn’t matter at all. He couldn’t begin to comprehend the bizarre behavior of these two.
But his hands were tied.
Directing his anger at Irene was out of the question. After all, she was a regular civilian with absolutely no relation to the matter. And Donape? He was an entirely unknown variable now.
That insane demonstration was more than enough to make the veteran butler hesitate.
’This brat withstood a lightning strike that hospitalized my two subordinates for a month... and he walked away without a single scratch. Is he a hidden expert? A realm higher than a martial artist? But that was impossible!! How can he be?!’
A profound dilemma and a creeping sense of dread gripped Butler Lee. His mind completely twisted Donape’s temporary Invulnerability State into a display of terrifying, supernatural strength.
Why?
Because such a thing simply shouldn’t exist in this world.
In the long, documented history of Blue Star, no human had ever withstood a direct lightning strike completely unscathed without the aid of advanced modern devices. Donape hadn’t just survived; he had broken the laws of physics.
’Nonsense!’
Steeling his resolve, Butler Lee made his choice. ’Nothing is certain yet. It might be a trick of the eye, an extraordinary illusion. For now, trying to teach this brat a lesson is out of the question. I need to gather more information about this place first.’
He gave a subtle nod to the two bodyguards standing in front of him.
Understanding the signal, the two men instantly dropped their defensive stances.
Young Master Baek, seeing that his subordinates had finally settled down, stepped forward to ease the remaining tension.
"Boss, I can use my remaining time now, right?"
"Hm? Yeah," Donape mumbled, gesturing toward the capsules with his chin.
He turned VR Capsule 3 back on using the counter’s computer, taking a moment to monitor the status of all the active machines.
There was just one catch: according to the System manual, the electricity bill wasn’t free. He had to pay it monthly out of his own pocket.
To make matters worse, the power draw of these machines was astronomically high, nearly maxing out the building’s electrical capacity.
Fortunately, the System had implemented a safety feature: no matter how many capsules he added, their combined energy output would automatically scale to fit within the facility’s existing power limit without blowing the fuses.
Meanwhile, Young Master Baek and Irene stood side by side at their respective machines.
Because he still had remaining time on his account, Young Master Baek immediately pulled down the lid of Capsule 3. Irene, on the other hand, had to pause at Capsule 2 to re-register her second session.
Before closing himself in, Young Master Baek glanced over at Irene.
Irene caught his eye and slowly shook her head. ’Idiot,’ she thought.
Young Master Baek shrugged it off, completely ignoring her as he lay back. ’Strange woman,’ he muttered internally as the lid sealed shut.
As both of them re-entered the virtual world of The Path of the Heavenly Martial Arts at the same time, Butler Lee’s sharp eyes caught a sudden discrepancy.
"Why is our Young Master’s lid screen completely blank, while that woman’s gameplay is clearly displayed like a monitor?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"Ah, that," Donape sighed, realizing he was going to have to explain the basic interface options all over again.
After a brief explanation, Butler Lee pointed at the VR Capsule, utterly bewildered. "So you’re saying a simple difference in their initial choices caused this? And the option to change it is locked until you upgrade the shop?!"
"Well, more or less," Donape said, flashing a business-standard smile.
Butler Lee and the two bodyguards blinked in unison. They couldn’t fathom why anyone would dare open a business with this many limitations. The shop had exactly one game, yet somehow, two people had willingly thrown money at it.
Worse yet, their own Young Master was one of those idiots.
Their bewilderment only deepened when they looked back at Irene’s screen. Instead of epic battles, her gameplay looked like a peaceful life simulator. A character named ’Red Goddess’ was happily jogging back and forth, carrying small pieces of lumber with a cheerful, radiant smile against a gorgeous, serene lakeside backdrop.
"Is... is this how you play the game?" Butler Lee stuttered, looking at Donape for answers. "She’s just doing chores in a virtual world? Doesn’t the game literally have ’Martial Arts’ in the title? What on earth is going on?"
"Ah, that," Donape said, tapping his own temple. "That woman is a bit unusual. Her playstyle is... erratic, to say the least."
Seizing the moment, Donape smoothly transitioned into full salesman mode. "Ugh, why don’t the three of you give it a shot? I guarantee it’ll be an amazing experience, especially for trained men like yourselves. It’s cheap—just 100 BC to try it out."
Butler Lee and the bodyguards simultaneously rolled their eyes at the blatant, feeble pitch.
After witnessing a literal god-like lightning strike and suspecting this man of supreme, otherworldly power, being hit with a cheap, shameless sales pitch for a logging simulator was utter nonsense.
They weren’t fools!
Perhaps?