Chapter 54

“Isn’t this obvious? Who the hell would willingly sell their life to you!” Though Leon wanted to refuse outright, the other party’s ability was akin to forced purchase. Just now, when he was dragged over, the operation demonstrated that even “distance” could be bought, leaving Leon without any means of refusal.

Looking at the rather unsettlingly grinning toad before him, with no other choice, Leon steeled himself and questioned, “Selling my life to you… it’s not entirely impossible, but the price you’re offering is way too low!”

“Hmm?”

Upon hearing Leon’s response, the golden toad, who had initially only intended to toy with this human and chat a bit with an “old friend,” tilted its head and smiled as it countered, “Then how much do you think you’re worth?”

“…”

I’m priceless, alright? No amount of money would make me sell!

Though this was true, seeing the mocking eyes of the golden toad, Leon knew saying this would likely be useless. Swallowing these words, he instead responded, “I believe… many things cannot be measured by money.”

“So you’re not only questioning my judgment of value, but also challenging my understanding of the world?”

Upon hearing Leon’s words, the golden toad, which had been acting rather gently until then, suddenly turned cold in expression. Its massive compound eyes slightly concaved, countless tiny spheres aligning to focus intently on Leon, nearly enunciating each word: “Money is omnipotent.”

“From the moment the first shell was used as currency, captivating humanity with its shine and beauty, money and the wealth it represents became the ultimate goal for all intelligent beings!

Not just your insignificant kingdom, from the deepest parts of the boundless sea where fishmen dwell, to the natives on the far side of the moon, every place where intelligent life exists cannot function without the omnipotent power of money.

Only money serves as the foundation for this world’s operations! And your pitiful lives are merely the most worthless things it can buy!”

“Ah… forget it, what good does it do explaining all this to you?”

Glancing at Leon, who hadn’t immediately rebutted but was clearly thinking about how to respond, the golden toad couldn’t help but shake its head, disinterestedly saying,

“Even if you’re the chosen one of a Great Demon, ultimately you’re nothing more than a servant. You don’t need to understand any of this; simply accepting domination is enough… come now! Let me appraise your insignificant life!”

As the golden toad spoke, the countless reflections of Leon in its eyeballs trembled, then quickly replaced by chaotic new scenes.

A naive childhood, filled with happiness playing beside loving parents, the sorrowful weeping after losing them, followed by vast stretches of pitch-black emptiness.

And after those long stretches of nothingness came months of high fever, bedridden and sick, spending nearly all the family savings due to illness, leading to relentless struggles for money.

Painting walls under the scorching sun, carrying packages at the docks with a frail body, using a two-meter-long specialized pole to painstakingly scrub the soot-stained ferries.

When the river froze and shipping halted, taking over a roadside abandoned newspaper stand, huddling in the winter cold selling newspapers, occasionally elevating shoes to disguise age, sneaking into loosely managed temporary factories, doing menial jobs that required no resume, earning minuscule amounts of pocket money…

Unfortunately, despite over two years of hard work, the poor home in the images didn’t become prosperous but appeared increasingly empty. The occasional glimpses of a pale-faced young girl coughing more severely, the two unrecognizable children growing thinner alongside her…

“Boring life.”

In less than a second, after reviewing five thousand nights and days, the golden toad shook its head, ready to “cut off” the images, but suddenly caught sight of a streak of bright red hair.

?! That woman?! Hastily bulging its eyes and interrupting the subsequent images, the golden toad’s expression darkened slightly, turning to look at the sheep head in the shopping bag, incredulously stating, “Damn it! You actually cooperated with the Clearing Bureau?”

“Shoo shoo! What nonsense are you spouting?”

Just then, it struggled to extend its tongue, licking two holes into the shopping bag to reveal its furious eyes, glaring at the familiar toad and growling, “We haven’t collaborated with the Clearing Bureau! I’m just temporarily staying there, accepting extreme evil sacrifices periodically, casually bestowing them some abilities in return.”

“Even cooperation isn’t involved… Are you employed by them? Or worse… have you completely fallen into the hands of the Clearing Bureau, becoming their lapdog?”

“…”

“You’re the damn lapdog!”

The black goat, having its wound poked, instantly lost control, cursing loudly,

“I’m just staying there temporarily! Do you understand ‘temporarily’? You bastard, are the holes on both sides of your head sealed shut? Damn it! If I weren’t still recovering, wait till I deal with you, you damn frog!”

Tch, lapdog!

With disdain, the golden toad glanced at the black goat, ignoring its enraged curses, turning its head back and glaring at Leon with two enormous compound eyes, coldly questioning, “So… are you with the Clearing Bureau?”

“That’s right!”

Hearing the implication in the golden toad’s words, knowing it was probably the Clearing Bureau’s sworn enemy, Leon decided to go all out, lifting the black goat and shaking it, defiantly challenging while raising his head,

“Now you might look down on it, but once you fall into our hands and become an anomalous item, I guarantee your fate will be ten times worse than his!”

???

What? Why are you bringing me into this example? Amidst the black goat’s sudden eight-decibel rise in curses, the golden toad didn’t get angry but instead narrowed its two huge compound eyes, carefully observing Leon’s demeanor, then surprisingly tilted its head.

“You’re trying to provoke me?”

Noticing Leon’s suddenly tensed muscles, the massive golden toad grinned, grabbing a handful of golden wheels from nearby and slowly stacking them in front of itself, speculating, “Human, you seem to know you can’t escape, yet you’re not prepared to die, and you dared to challenge me… quite interesting.

If I’m not mistaken, you must have a powerful trump card that either you can’t control or activates only when attacked?”

?!!! Am I exposed again? Watching the toad that guessed his situation just by looking, Leon’s breathing momentarily hitched, unable to help recalling the Red-haired Bureau Director’s evaluation of him.

Could it be… I really am that easy to read? “Heh heh, looks like I was right.”

Seeing the doubt Leon couldn’t hide in his eyes, the golden toad’s grin widened, pointing to the pile of golden wheels already stacked into a small hill before it, mockingly stating,

“My apologies, I don’t enjoy crude physical attacks; I prefer fair and reasonable transactions to directly buy the lives I desire. Your trump card will likely be useless.

Here, take these three hundred thousand golden wheels, give everything to me. For your dull life, this is already the most generous offer I can provide.”