Me? A slime? A villain who destroys a nation? Fine!

Leila seemed to see herself bathing in a rain of gold coins, and this feeling of happiness was actually brought to her by a little slime?

No, no, the other party is a fairy, not an ordinary slime.

But upon closer examination, Leila still felt uneasy, feeling that she was actually getting the better deal, especially since the other party seemed so innocent and adorable.

"No, no, no, I can't take it for free. Fairy, let's cooperate! If you can still produce, you can entrust these nutrient balls to me. After they're sold, you get 70% and I get 30%, how about that? No! How about 80%? It'll definitely sell for a very good price!"

Leila seemed to have flipped a switch that caused her business to spiral out of control, talking on and on with great enthusiasm, and even pushing back the slime ball that Lin Ming had given her at the beginning.

"If you want, then give it a try... but I don't need the money right now. How about I deposit the money I earn with you first, and then I'll exchange it with your products when I need something?" Lin Ming scratched his head. What he really wanted to do right now was to see the formula for that high-grade healing medicine, but Leila kept going on and on about buying and selling.

Lin Ming actually longed for the high-level potions of this world. The legendary healing potions were full of fantastical charm; it was said that with the application of advanced healing magic, even a severed arm could regenerate.

Although Lin Ming had never met him.

"Deal! Thank you so much! Fairy, you trust me so much! Leila will definitely not let you down! From today onwards, Leila will be your exclusive consultant merchant! All product priority will be based on your needs!"

Leila happily took out a small paper packet and wrapped the slime balls into cute little cakes.

"I have a feeling that this will be an absolute must-have for women and nobles who crave all kinds of supplements." Leila herself was drooling just looking at it, wanting to try a bite.

"Then... there really isn't an elf sister?" Lin Ming asked again.

"That's me."

"You're a hammer." Lin Ming retorted on the spot.

This wasn't the elven older sister he wanted. She only had a pair of elven ears; the rest of her was made of wood. Even the elven ears were fake.

If you look closely, you'll see that apart from two bright red eyes, there are actually no facial features inside the hood.

Lin Ming was puzzled as to how she made the sound.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ming still asked, "By the way, do you have a pass to Xiangfang? All my villagers were arrested when they came here, and it's not convenient for me to gather information here alone. The middlemen all got themselves arrested."

"You've come to the right person." Leila narrowed her eyes and then took out a small piece of paper.

"Is it a pass?"

"Yes, but you'll have to find my other puppet merchant first. He's in the neighboring country of Calais. This is where I am, to the east." With that, Leila handed the blueprints to Lin Ming.

"Are all you wandering merchants this roundabout...?" Lin Ming was getting a little numb, seeing that they were about to run away again. Why didn't they just give him a pass directly? He would accept it even if they wanted to buy something. Was this really just open-world exploration?

"That's how black market traders are... resources aren't concentrated. But these days, passes aren't easy to buy, you know? Normal processing would have been blocked by the situation in the Kingdom of Xiangfang long ago. Unless you're a high-ranking noble or have inside connections, these things are really hard to get," Leila sighed, indicating that she was also helpless.

"What happened here?"

"It's supposedly a problem with the royal family. It's internal information, would you like to see it?" Leila suddenly became gossipy.

"Uh... never mind, I'm not exactly free anyway. What happens to the kingdom is none of my business." Lin Ming pushed the notebook that Leila handed him back.

"That's settled then. I've stopped selling puppet number 18; I'll keep it for the fairy. Is there anything else you need?"

Number 18? These puppets are considered magical devices, right? There are so many of them.

"Okay...that's all." Lin Ming thought for a moment at first. Actually, he wanted to mention the villagers, but Leila was also not very mobile, otherwise she wouldn't be fishing in this small shop, so Lin Ming didn't ask her.

Just as the two successfully completed their transaction, the tavern's wooden door was kicked open.

With a "bang," the wind chimes swung wildly as if they had exploded, attracting Lin Ming and Leila to look towards the door at the same time.

"You damn puppet! When are you going to pay us back the money you owe us?!"

A group of people rushed into the store, and Leila was so frightened that she shrank under the counter.

"Huh? No? What's wrong?" Lin Ming poked his head into the front desk, looking at Leila, who was curled up in a ball, with a puzzled expression.

"Do you look like the type to lend money?" Lin Ming suddenly felt a little uneasy. Just a second ago, he thought Leila was quite generous, so why was she suddenly asking about his creditworthiness?

Leila then whispered, "Shh... they're local thugs. They agreed on the interest rate, but changed it the next day. Now they come to harass my shop every day."

"No, you also borrow money from loan sharks?" Lin Ming then realized that the curses outside were written by debt collectors.

"I told you they changed their minds first! If they hadn't, would I have been unable to pay the interest? I just didn't want these untrustworthy people to earn a single penny! Fairy, please pretend you didn't see me—" After saying that, Leila pushed Lin Ming's head, making him shrink back.

The group of thugs swaggered in, yelling, "You lousy puppet! You've been using the elf guise to scam people again? You must have made a fortune, right? I don't believe you wandering merchants don't have some big pockets! Don't hide! You think I wouldn't dare smash up your shop?!"

The thugs walked along, waving wooden sticks and cursing all the way to the bar. Then they saw Lin Ming sitting on a stool.

At first, the thug was stunned for a moment—after all, anyone would be dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of a water ball-like thing, especially with the creature's stupid expression.

He immediately moved closer to Lin Ming to observe, his face almost touching hers, but Lin Ming pushed him away a little with his small hand.

"You lousy puppet, what trick are you playing this time? You know our boss's patience is limited, right? You think we'll just obediently take this lump of stuff and sell it? Is this thing worth anything?"

The rascal patted Lin Ming's head, making the little jelly bounce back.

Just then, Leila's voice rang out in the room: "Do you dare? This is a rental property of mine, and your claim might be directly against a nobleman, you know? Want to gamble?"

As Leila pinched her little nose and transmitted her voice from afar, the rascal immediately broke out in a sweat and then withdrew his hand.

"Damn it! I knew you were here! Get out here!" the thug cursed repeatedly, while his two henchmen swung their weapons at the air, but dared not touch the furniture.

"You think I'm afraid of you just because you tried that trick! I have noble backing me, and I've even been on the battlefield! He's a big shot known as the Crimson Flame—Lord Dorak! Don't force me to call my boss out, or you won't be able to do business here!"

The three thugs smugly invoked their master's name, even rolling up their sleeves to show off their crossed axe tattoos:

"Look closely! This is the emblem of our power! If you don't pay off your debts, my master will cut your entire house in two with a single blow of his axe! Do you think you can be afraid of your so-called minor noble disputes?"

Roar...? Lin Ming stared at the thieves' tattoos and the familiar name of the dead man, and sat there quietly.