Chapter 2572: Then You Have to Pay More
The Girl in the painting didn’t understand, because although she didn’t comprehend, she didn’t want to hit anyone either.
Xu Huo didn’t explain much and went to some shops with Artifact Makers to look at knives and instruments.
Since time is highly valued, District 001 naturally has props and instruments featuring dials, and there are even lots of props and instruments which have names related to time, though in reality, they have no Time Attribute.
This leads to many props and instruments looking rather fancy, the dials at most serve as countdown tools, being useless and a waste of materials.
Most of the ready-made props on display in the cabinets are like this.
But interestingly, Xu Huo saw Instance Authorization Documents in one shop, to be precise, these were blank Instance Authorization Documents, more than just one, seemingly not taken from an instance.
After calling over a staff member and asking, he learned these Instance Authorization Documents are imitations, commonly known as counterfeit goods.
"Fake Instance Authorization Documents?" This truly broadened Xu Huo’s horizons.
"What’s so strange about fake Instance Authorization Documents?" Just then, a little old man with his hands behind his back came in, snorted, and said, "Instance Authorization Documents aren’t something precious, what’s strange about counterfeiting them?"
Xu Huo laughed, "Generally speaking, isn’t it the non-precious things that people counterfeit?"
The old man was momentarily speechless, then waved his hand, "What do you know, the Instance Authorization Document doesn’t have high technical content, it’s easy to make, the cost is negligible, selling it for a thousand would make nine hundred ninety in profit!"
"How much is this fake Instance Authorization Document?" Xu Huo asked.
"Two hundred thousand White Notes." The old man replied.
The air suddenly fell silent, a staff member wiped non-existent sweat and came over, while pulling the old man aside, he apologized to Xu Huo, "This is the master of our shop, he’s old and tends to talk nonsense, the cost of an Instance Authorization Document is definitely not just ten bucks, to make a realistic imitation takes quite a bit of Secondary Stone, and an experienced Artifact Maker needs at least half a year of focused work to make one."
"Although the counterfeit Instance Authorization Document doesn’t carry an instance, it can almost pass for genuine, during instance activation the document must be placed in the dungeon venue, with this fake document, you can minimize risks, which is particularly useful for smaller venues."
In simple terms, it’s prepared for players who temporarily hold an instance.
"Is it easy to damage?" Xu Huo asked.
"Imitation, imitation, do you understand what imitation means?" the old man spoke again, "An imitation is exactly the same as the genuine except for the lack of an official stamp, and it even comes with after-sales service, selling it for two hundred thousand is losing money!"
"Exactly the same, so does it have an instance?" Xu Huo turned back to ask.
The old man glared at him, "Do you understand what an official stamp means?!"
The staff member covered his mouth and pushed him into the back room, locking the door before smiling at Xu Huo, "The materials used for the counterfeit document are nearly the same as the genuine one, ordinary props can’t easily destroy it, and it won’t be damaged by fire or water."
Xu Huo paused, "Not even by fire?"
"Of course not, otherwise all it would take is starting a fire in the instance." the staff member said.
Xu Huo scrutinized it for a moment, then turned to the old man listening with his ear against the door, "I’ll test to see if I can burn it, if it can’t be burned, I’ll buy it."
The old man snorted coldly, "I’m telling you, even the game’s authorized documents won’t burn, neither will mine!"
Xu Huo was just speaking rhetorically, of course he didn’t plan to burn it, he asked the staff member to take out a document, held it in his hand and then asked, "What kind of Instance Authorization Document can be burned? I’ve just heard that setting fire inside the instance can destroy it."
The old man suddenly opened the door and came out, the automatic lock on the door continuously alarmed until the staff hurriedly turned it off.
"Come over here, I’ll tell you." the old man beckoned him.
Xu Huo went over as told, only to hear him suddenly raise his voice, "Kid, are you looking for trouble?"
Xu Huo backed away a bit, "Not deliberately causing trouble, I’ve actually seen it."
The old man squinted his eyes, realizing he wasn’t lying, he lowered his voice, "If it really can be burned, it’s likely a non-compliant Instance Authorization Document."
"Instance Authorization Documents are born with the instance, but some people try to exploit game loopholes. They want what the instance has, and also what it doesn’t have, giving rise to non-compliant documents."
"Such Instance Authorization Documents can’t pass the game’s review, usually some trickery is done on the document after the instance formation, but it won’t be made too robust, otherwise it would be a losing trade."
Xu Huo raised his eyebrow slightly, "Is that so?"
"Why not? If I can counterfeit, why can’t others?" the old man said righteously.
Xu Huo smiled and nodded, then humbly asked about the after-sales service provided after purchase.
The old man proudly said, "Whether an Instance Authorization Document is real or fake, you can tell basically upon getting it, but my document is different; once obtained, it can’t be opened, and storing it in the props bar will only show an instance upgrade, greatly delaying time, dull-witted ones won’t react quickly!"
Xu Huo was slightly surprised, "Such a prop can be certified by the game?"
"Why not?" the old man sarcastically continued, "Is game certification something very precious?"
The old man practically exemplified the contradiction of "I may disdain it, but am quite adept at it."
Xu Huo negotiated a price and paid for an authorization document.
The old man, seeing he truly made a purchase, had a slight change in his gaze, "You’ve got some insight, young man. Your mouth is sharp yet you’re holding onto an instance, these authorization documents of mine have sat for years without being sold."
The staff member couldn’t cover his mouth fast enough, only managed to quicken the order entry with dull eyes, and relaxed slightly upon confirming he didn’t hear Xu Huo request a refund.
"Is it possible that your indiscriminate attacks are why the authorization documents don’t sell?" Xu Huo asked.
The old man scoffed, stubbornly saying, "Then you return it to me."
Xu Huo didn’t intend to return it, thought for a bit and added, "However, even if this prop shows an upgrade, with the authorization document changing hands and the instance running normally, people will generally know the document is fake, are there any after-sales services to avoid this risk?"
The old man glared at him, "You might as well go dream!"
Xu Huo pretended to sigh, "Seems like you’re not capable."
The old man almost jumped up to act, the staff member quickly restrained him, with a threatening and warning tone, said, "Think about the salary I haven’t issued, think about the instruments you want to buy."
The old man, with a bit of reluctance and grievance, told Xu Huo, "Then you have to pay more."