Chapter 510: I never thought that when we met again, you’d be in this form
Chapter 510: I never thought that when we met again, you’d be in this form
The pig ate it?
Mike fell silent for a moment before asking again, "Can it... spit it out?"
Foreskin: ???
The pig had eaten the Lucky Clover at least three hundred years ago! Any normal person hearing this story would probably just sigh at the waste and maybe think about how to squeeze more value out of the pig.
But Thor? His first thought was, Can it spit it out?
After some careful consideration, Foreskin gave a cautious answer, "Uh... we've never tried that."
If it were any other pig, it would have been severely punished for eating the Lucky Clover. But this pig was Morpheus's pet! Who would dare mess with it?
Those without enough power couldn't even beat the pig. And those with enough power knew the backstory and had no interest in the pig.
And so, the pig had lived happily on the thirty-eighth floor for three hundred years.
Until... Thor showed up.
"Fourth Bro, let me tell you a secret. The pig and Morpheus aren't even that close!" Foreskin's tone shifted, almost as if he were encouraging Mike. "As long as you don't kill it, you can do whatever you want with her!"
At first, Mike found this suggestion quite appealing. But after thinking it over, something felt off.
*Why do I sound like a butcher?*
"Oh, by the way, why was Piggy left on this floor?" Now that he had a better understanding of Piggy's background, Mike asked another question. He had to consider the consequences. If Morpheus had left Piggy here for a reason, and Mike accidentally messed things up, that wouldn't be good.
"This, I actually know," Foreskin explained. "Piggy didn't dare go near the fortieth floor. She said a powerful enemy was hunting her, and she's got some trauma from it."
Well, that's no problem then!
Mike had been running rampant in the Tower of Truth and had never encountered any so- called "powerful enemies." How strong could they be? Let them come and face his lightning!
Now that he was sure there were no hidden dangers, Mike's thoughts grew bolder.
After ending the call, Mike turned to the two vampires in his private space and asked bluntly, "Alright, tell me, what are you going to offer me in return for helping me catch Piggy on the thirty-eighth floor?"
Bilbo, who happened to be passing by, heard his boss's words and didn't even flinch. *Working for Thor and still having to pay him?* What a world!
Dracula, on the other hand, was still struggling to adapt. As a proud prince of the blood clan, how could he be so passive, like a lamb waiting for slaughter?
Vladimir, however, was already prepared. He quickly named his price, "I've mastered an ancient blood clan rune formation called [Eclipse]. It's my own creation, not recorded in any blood clan texts. When inscribed on equipment, it enhances the efficiency of blood essence usage, increasing life steal and health..."
Dracula: ???
*Dude, you're a vampire. Why are you researching something like [Eclipse]?*
The development and research of blood clan rune formations were not things that could be done overnight. In other words, Vladimir had been a traitor since ancient times! *This backstabber!*
"Enough talk, show me the goods," Mike said, not wasting any time. He wasn't going to be swayed by Vladimir's grand claims. The real value of the formation would be determined by the Mystic Market.
Right in front of Vladimir, Mike sent the entire formation to Foreskin for evaluation.
Soon, Foreskin gave his assessment.
"This formation is quite valuable, but it's only usable by Duke-level vampires with significant experience."
After giving a fair evaluation of [Eclipse], Foreskin presented two options to Thor.
"1. The Mystic Market can buy the [Eclipse] formation outright for 300,000 Lord merits. You'll also get 50% of the profits from each piece of equipment sold with the [Eclipse] rune."
*300,000 Lord merits?!*
Vladimir's breath caught. He hadn't expected his formation to be worth so much!
Foreskin continued, "2. You can keep the [Eclipse] formation, and the Mystic Market will place orders with you to inscribe the rune on equipment. The profit per piece of Lord equipment would range from 3,000 to 50,000 Lord merits."
Oh no.
The moment Vladimir saw the message, he slapped his forehead. He knew his master too well. Thor loved making money.
Bilbo quickly did the math. "The cost would be around 500,000 Lord merits. You'd break even in two months. To surpass the profits of option one, it would take four months."
"Man, you've got it wrong," Vladimir said, wiping away a tear and patting Bilbo on the shoulder. "Try calculating it again, assuming each vampire Duke works 24 hours a day."
"That's not possible..." Bilbo muttered. "Vampires are lazy. Even if you whip them with a soul whip, they won't work 24 hours a day. At most, they'll work 18 hours, and they'll probably die or go insane from exhaustion..."
Vladimir: ???
What the hell have you been doing before? You know way too much about this!
Dracula decided to push back. He needed to show his true colors. "With me in charge, they'll work 24 hours a day," he said coldly. "For the rise of the blood clan, we're willing to pay any price."
Bilbo recalculated. "One month to break even, two months to start making a profit!"
Mike, full of confidence, declared, "I'll take option two!"
"Got it, Fourth Bro," Foreskin replied, unsurprise "I mmend buying members of the blood clan's Thirteen Elders Council. Their success rate for inscribing runes should be higher. Each one is a 989-level blood clan powerhouse. The price is 186,969 Lord merits each. Buy three, get one free. Buy five, get two free..."
The Thirteen Elders Council?
The conversation had suddenly shifted to buying and selling vampires.
Curious, Mike asked, "How many blood clan elders does the Mystic Market have?"
"Not many," Foreskin said modestly. "Thirteen."
Wow, the entire Thirteen Elders Council is in Foreskin's hands.
"Buy five, get three..." Mike pondered. "Can I get the freebies first?"
Foreskin: ...
In the end, after some haggling, Mike bought five blood clan elders for 500,000 Lord merits. If the money-making process went smoothly, Mike would buy the remaining eight later. If it didn't, he'd not only demand a refund but also sell Vladimir and Dracula to the Mystic Market! Once the payment was made, Foreskin immediately arranged for delivery. "The blood clan elders are usually sealed. It'll take some time to unseal them. They should arrive by 6 a.m. tomorrow."
With that settled, Mike turned his gaze to his two subordinates and said menacingly, "I've invested 1 million Lord merits into the 'Eclipse' rune production line. I trust you know what to
do, right?"
"Every penny of yours will be well spent!" Vladimir thumped his chest. "If we lose money, I'll sell Dracula for parts!"
Dracula shot a cold glance at the traitor but didn't bother responding to the clownish vampire.
Once the blood clan elders arrived, Dracula was determined to make it clear that the blood clan would not tolerate a second traitor! Having one Vladimir was already embarrassing
enough!
With Vladimir's "entry fee" paid, Mike turned his attention to Dracula. The look in his eyes made it clear: *Your turn to perform.*
"I'll help you manage the vampire elders," Dracula said, emphasizing that under his leadership, the vampires would work with 100% enthusiasm. Those who didn't? They'd be
turned into puppets.
Clearly, this wasn't enough to impress Thor.
Dracula thought for a moment and then added, "I... have a friend who oversaw the blood clan's involvement in the Tower of Truth's construction..."
This "friend" was actually Dracula himself. Mike had already figured that out but didn't call
him out on it.
Dracula continued, "The blood clan secretly built several storage spaces within the Tower of
Truth to store their supplies..."
Mike's eyes lit up. Now he was interested.
These storage spaces had been constructed under Dracula's supervision. No one knew them
better than he did!
But Mike still had one question. "How can you be sure that humans haven't already taken the
supplies?"
The Tower of Truth had been around for who knows how long. It had been on Earth for three hundred years. In the early days, humans were desperate for resources and wouldn't have passed up any opportunity.
In a way, if Mike had traveled back three hundred years, he would have been a huge asset to humanity during the pioneering phase.
The blood clan's hidden supplies in the Tower of Truth might have already been looted by
humans.
"They haven't!" Dracula said confidently. "I have a lineage connection. At least half of the supplies are still intact."
And so, under the witness of the Mystic Market, a contract was made.
Mike would take Dracula to the thirty-eighth floor. In return, Dracula would lead Mike to the
blood clan's warehouse and provide at least 500,000 Lord merits worth of goods!
With everything prepared, Mike waited for midnight to arrive.
At the stroke of midnight, Mike returned to the Core City of Truth and placed his hand on the
Truth Core crystal.
He selected the floor: Thirty-eighth.
With a flash of lightning, Mike disappeared from his original location.
"Wishing you an early conquest of the Tower of Truth!"
...
**Tower of Truth, Thirty-Eighth Floor.**
The entire floor was shrouded in black mist, severely limiting visibility. But for Mike, the mist
had no effect.
The moment Mike appeared, he kept his promise and summoned Dracula and Vladimir from
his private space.
The two vampires, following Thor's instructions, released blood-red bats to scout through
the mist.
...
Deep within the thirty-eighth floor, on a small hill where the black mist was especially thick,
there was even a pool of black water on the ground.
But in the middle of the mist, there was a small area untouched by the darkness.
On this patch of grass lay a lively little pig. "What's so bad about being a pig?" The golden pig, shining all over, lay on the grass,
munching on snacks, and lazily said, "Look at me. I'm golden and chubby, healthy as can be. I eat well, sleep well, and don't let anything bother me."
From within the mist, a voice filled with complex emotions responded, "I never thought that
when we met again, you'd be in this form..."
"What can I do? I've been through despair, but I've come to terms with it. Vampires, pigs, it's
all just appearances. What matters is what's inside. Do you understand that?" The golden pig tore open a bag of chips and stuffed them into her mouth.
Morpheus's former pet, the humans had treated her well, with an endless supply of snacks. After finishing the chips, the golden pig opened a can of Coke and said leisurely, "I've thought
it over. Maybe my true self is a pig, and that's why I ended up like this."
The mist remained silent.
After talking about herself, the golden pig looked at the mist and curiously asked, "By then/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
way, weren't you locked up in the abyss? How did you get out?"
The mist was silent for a moment before slowly replying, "I now serve... that being."
"I've let go of it all. Immortality, Supreme power, it's all meaningless. My sister was so strong back then, the number one Blood Ancestor below the Supreme. Even Dracula had to
bow and scrape in front of her. And what happened? She failed to break through and ended up with nothing."
The golden pig shook her head, a bit melancholic. "Being a pig is the only way forward for
modern vampires!"
Clearly, her time as a pig had given her a lot to reflect on. She had fully accepted her identity as
a pig and was now just coasting through life.
Just as the mist was about to say something else, a spatial ripple came from the distance. It
seemed someone had entered the thirty-eighth floor.
Before the mist could react, the golden pig suddenly stood up and began digging at the
ground with her front hooves, trying to find a hole to hide in.
"Dracula's here!"
The golden pig trembled all over. "He's here to kill me! I knew it! He's come down from the
fortieth floor to kill me!"
Piggy quickly realized that running wouldn't solve the problem.
"Quick, lift the restrictions on this place! Let me call for help!"
"Call for help?" The mist was confused. *Why would she need help? Dracula isn't even that
strong right now.*
But the mist still followed Piggy's instructions and relayed her message.
A few seconds later, the ears of every nine-star Lord in the human race rang with a desperate
cry.
"Help!"
"Someone's trying to kill a pig!"