Rounding it up.
Chen Yu entered his signature accounting mode.
Ten thousand gold coins.
That was the sum.
"How about it?"
Chen Yu's eyes were full of smiles, his kind demeanor showing no hint of threat.
"Hand it over, and I'll let you go," Chen Yu said with a smile. "Ten thousand gold coins, you won't get ripped off, you won't be cheated. As long as you have the money, everything is negotiable."
*Creak!*
The Lich gritted his back teeth.
Ten thousand gold coins?!
Did a city-state with hundreds of thousands of people even collect ten thousand gold coins in taxes in a year?
He actually dared to ask for it.
He could actually demand ten thousand gold coins?
"What?"
Noticing the Lich's expression, Chen Yu blinked in confusion.
"You don't have it, do you?" Chen Yu asked with feigned surprise, then sighed in disappointment. "If you don't have it, then you can't blame me. I actually wanted to let you go."
"Outsider!"
"Hey, don't call me an outsider, it sounds so distant. My name is Chen Tianjiao, the 'Tianjiao' from 'heaven's proud son.' You can call me by my name."
"Cough—"
The moment Chen Yu finished speaking, Hei Dou started coughing violently.
"What are you coughing for?" Chen Yu glanced sideways, and Hei Dou looked up, grinning and shaking his head. "Nothing, I just choked on some saliva. Don't mind me, boss, please continue."
Chen Tianjiao!
This name meant that the boss was about to start doing 'good deeds' again.
Chen Yu also grinned.
It was great.
It was truly wonderful that the underground world had no identification cards.
You could say whatever you wanted.
The Lich certainly didn't understand the unspoken understanding between Chen Yu and Hei Dou. His mind was entirely focused on how to leave this place.
If money could solve the problem, it would be the best.
However,
Ten thousand gold coins was indeed too much for him.
"Boss Tianjiao," the Lich whispered after a moment of thought, "Ten thousand gold coins is indeed a bit too much. Can we negotiate?"
Chen Yu looked Hei Dou up and down.
"How much do you want to give?"
The Lich fell silent.
During this time, Chen Yu was observing his every subtle facial change.
After a few minutes—
Chen Yu saw a look of resolve in the Lich's eyes.
"This is all I have."
A bracelet hovered in the Lich's palm.
Chen Yu smiled.
This brat was still playing games with him.
Of course, seeing the bracelet, Chen Yu didn't show any anger. He simply reached out and took the bracelet.
"All?"
Chen Yu shook the bracelet and smiled.
"Boss Tianjiao, we've come this far. Let's not play any more tricks on each other," the Lich said earnestly.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yu chuckled.
"Buddy, who exactly is playing tricks here?"
The bound Lich was silent for a moment, then smiled apologetically.
"It was me. I did want to keep some reserves for myself earlier, but this time I'm genuinely giving you everything."
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.
He smiled and remained silent, looking at the bracelet the Lich had handed him.
[Magic Bracelet: A magical everyday item for storage]
He tried to access it with his mind.
The bracelet opened without any obstruction.
When Chen Yu saw the inside of the bracelet, he was immediately surprised.
Rich!
A veritable mountain of gold.
Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration.
A mountain of gold was impossible.
But the sheer number of gold coins indeed shocked Chen Yu.
A rough estimate.
There were at least 2,000 coins.
Among them were over a dozen deep purple and dark gold coins that resembled gold coins.
"What is this?" Chen Yu took out the currency, and the Lich spoke, "Purple gold coins. One coin is equivalent to 100 gold coins. I have a dozen purple gold coins and over 2,000 gold coins. These add up to about 4,000 gold coins."
Wow!
Before Chen Yu could exclaim, Hei Dou's eyes widened.
4,000 gold coins.
With such wealth, one could become a rich magnate in a city-state, enjoying the attentive and intimate service of beast-eared girls day and night.
Living a decadent life for decades.
It was simple.
This Lich was truly wealthy.
Hei Dou mused inwardly, though it was also Chen Yu's genuine thought.
Too rich.
This large sum of wealth should be comparable to Chen Yu's entire fortune.
Of course—
The Flame Fruit didn't count.
He had a bug!
Any food-related item would trigger a 50x critical hit.
Who could resist that?
He was more impressed than anything. Although he knew the Lich had a backup plan, he hadn't expected him to cough up over 4,000 gold coins.
Most importantly—
This bracelet contained more than just coins.
With a thought,
Chen Yu produced another scroll.
[Spirit Contract Scroll: After use, it allows one to sign a spirit contract with an ownerless spirit beast.]
"The Spirit Contract Scroll you're holding now sells for around 1,000 gold coins in the Royal City," the Lich added in a low voice.
Chen Yu's heart skipped a beat.
Spirit Contract Scrolls were that valuable?
"Boss, spirit beasts are very rare," Hei Dou said with a smile, seemingly understanding Chen Yu's shock. "Owning a spirit beast is a symbol of status and prestige."
"And then?"
Chen Yu asked, turning his head.
"There are merchants who sell spirit beasts in the Royal City. Even the most common spirit beasts cost tens of gold coins," Hei Dou explained. "Some spirit beasts will follow their masters faithfully after being acquired, while others might run away secretly. Signing a spirit contract means the spirit beast will forever be loyal to you, like buying a lifetime contract."
"And this thing costs a thousand gold coins?" Chen Yu exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course."
Hei Dou nodded with wide eyes, stating it with conviction.
"It's really worth 1,000? Then that guy wasn't lying. Signing a spirit beast that costs tens of gold coins is definitely not cost-effective, but what if you signed a dragon?"
"There are really dragons?" Chen Yu asked, surprised.
"This..."
Hei Dou hesitated this time.
He blinked his dark eyes, pursed his lips, and then tilted his head.
"Actually, I'm not entirely sure. I've only heard that dragons exist in the underground world. Whether they truly do, I haven't seen them with my own eyes."
Dragons!
They were always so mysterious, no matter the time.
"Then why were you going on about dragons..." Chen Yu pouted.
He really wanted to witness.
What a dragon was!
"Those legends do mention dragons," Hei Dou said, shrugging. "Black dragons, red dragons, blue dragons, emerald dragons, all sorts of dragons..."
"But you haven't seen them?" Chen Yu countered.
"Legends..."
"Legends, how many of them are true?"
"There are!"
Unexpectedly, the Lich replied with conviction.
"The underground world does have dragons. I... have seen one with my own eyes, a dragon, a real dragon!"