Finally, Lin Yue couldn't help but step forward and ask the bald man, "How much for this person?"
Lin Yue couldn't forget Fu Ya, the girl who had followed him everywhere. She was the only splash of color in his dark days. He remembered when they had to survive under the siege of zombies, their stomachs growling with hunger due to lack of food, and they could only helplessly beg for luck to descend.
He remembered facing all sorts of dangers. Whenever Lin Yue felt despair, he would always receive encouragement from Fu Ya. Although they were just classmates, their feelings had become incredibly deep through their mutual reliance.
These past months of darkness were things Lin Yue could never forget, and Fu Ya, who had accompanied him, had always moved him. After Fu Ya was killed, Lin Yue hadn't felt such emotion for a long time.
Now, a person who looked exactly like Fu Ya had appeared. Lin Yue couldn't stand by and do nothing, especially when her pair of clear, watery eyes looked at him. Lin Yue immediately thought of Fu Ya's smile.
Seeing someone inquiring about the price, the bald man unceremoniously grabbed the girl's hair and pulled her forward, saying, "You want her? One hundred jin of grain, firm offer! This is a new acquisition I just bought, and I haven't even used her yet. If you want her now, just bring the money!"
The bald man didn't care who the other person was. This girl was his property now, and he could do whatever he wanted with her. No one could interfere!
"Here! Catch!" Lin Yue took out a handful of gold beans from his person and handed them over directly. The golden beans emitted a dazzling brilliance under the light. Many people around were also attracted by the commotion. They never expected that someone would pay such a high price for a woman in the black market.
It wasn't that there were no big spenders in the black market, but generally, no one would spend so much gold to buy a woman. A handful of gold beans was enough to buy five hundred jin of grain.
Seeing the young man take out gold without blinking an eye, the bald man's eyes immediately shot out greedy glances. So much gold, this was a huge profit. He thought to himself, "It's really lucky that a woman can sell for so much money."
However, at this moment, the bald man shook his head and said, "No, no, this girl is only fourteen years old, and she's a virgin. I originally planned to keep her as my wife. This little bit of money is still too little. No, no, I'm not selling."
"How much do you want?" Lin Yue asked directly.
Zhao Yinglai couldn't bear to hear Lin Yue's bargaining style. A handful of gold beans to buy a person was already extravagant, and now he was asking how much more the other party wanted. This was hardly the attitude of bargaining!
So, Zhao Yinglai tugged at Lin Yue's sleeve, hoping Lin Yue would calm down.
Seeing that the young man had indeed taken the bait, the bald man smiled and said, "This amount is not enough. It needs to be at least doubled!"
The bald man was calculating his profits with great satisfaction. It was rare to have a fool delivered to his doorstep. This was clearly a fat sheep. Judging by his age, he was likely some young master who hadn't experienced the hardships of life. Now that he had fallen into his hands, it would be a disservice to his luck today not to fleece him severely!
Lin Yue shrugged and said, "Is that so? Then there's nothing I can do!"
With that, Lin Yue turned to leave, showing no reluctance at all. The girl couldn't help but call out, "Save me, save me, I don't want to be taken home by him!"
Lin Yue didn't look back, but instead, he took Zhao Yinglai and prepared to leave.
It was the bald man who saw that the situation was not right. If the big customer left like this, wouldn't it be too much of a pity? So, he quickly said, "Just kidding, just kidding! Come back, I'll sell her to you at the previous price!"
The bald man saw clearly that the young man left without any hesitation or reluctance. It seemed he wasn't someone who could be easily fooled. He couldn't let the duck in his grasp fly away. It was better to sell her at the previous price, as he had already made a good profit.
Lin Yue paid the reward, then took out a dagger and cut the rope with one stroke. His wrists, which had already been red and swollen, were now freed.
Lin Yue held the girl's face and looked at it carefully. He thought to himself, "Are there really two people in the world who look so alike? However, if Fu Ya were still alive, she would be nineteen years old. It seems I'm overthinking it."
The girl's appearance was very similar to Fu Ya's. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But her temperament was completely different from Fu Ya's, so Lin Yue could clearly realize that this was not the person he longed for.
"You... can you let me go?" the girl asked, trembling all over, very scared.
Lin Yue came back to his senses, saw the girl's timid appearance, and understood her current worries. He let go of her hand and shook his head vigorously, saying, "Alright, you are free. Go back, goodbye!"
The girl felt as if she were in a dream. She thought she had been sold and her fate would be miserable, but now she had received help from someone else, and she was actually let go. Was this real?
"Sir, are you crazy? Why would you let go of the woman you bought at such a high price?" Zhao Yinglai's eyes widened, completely surprised by Lin Yue's actions.
Lin Yue shrugged and said, "You're young, you wouldn't understand."
The bald man said speechlessly, "I'm old, and I don't understand either!"
At this moment, no one expected that the woman bought at a high price would be let go so casually. Was he spending money he didn't know what to do with?
The girl looked at Lin Yue. She couldn't believe she was truly free. So, she quickly bowed deeply to Lin Yue and then ran towards the exit in the distance.
The bald man rubbed his chin and said, "Young people, you're still too inexperienced. I bet she'll be back in my hands in a couple of days!"
Lin Yue's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he questioned, "What? You took the money and still want to cause trouble? Do you really think I'm a fool?"
Lin Yue was very angry. The bald man's words implied that he would still cause trouble for the girl in the future. If that were the case, wouldn't he have saved her in vain?
"Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand, I didn't mean that! We had a transaction, money for goods, how could I not be trustworthy? There are reasons you don't understand!" The bald man, afraid of being misunderstood, quickly explained.
"What do you mean?" Lin Yue asked.
The bald man replied, "This little girl is of course fine, and she wouldn't willingly fall into depravity. But, you don't know that she has a scoundrel father. Her father is a gambler. After losing money, he sold everything in the house until nothing was left, and finally sold his daughter. I was just trying to be kind. By buying her, I saved her from a fiery pit. You can save her once, but can you save her twice or thrice? When her father loses money again, she'll be sold again. I've seen this kind of thing many times, so I say, never gamble!"
After understanding the reason, Lin Yue finally knew what was going on. It turned out this girl had a scoundrel father. How pitiful, to be born into such a family, her final outcome would surely be tragic.
"Sir, do you need to buy anything else? I know everything about where to buy what in this market!" Zhao Yinglai also continued to ask at this time.
Lin Yue took out the last gold bean from his person, threw it to Zhao Yinglai, and said, "I'm out of money, I'm not buying anything else. This is your reward, goodbye, see you again if fate allows!"
Zhao Yinglai quickly hid the gold bean. He knew not to flaunt wealth. If others targeted him, it would be truly tragic. He was thin and weak and certainly couldn't protect the gold bean.
After thinking it over, Zhao Yinglai immediately left the black market while it was still early. First, he needed to exchange the money for grain. One gold bean was enough for a family to eat for half a month.
When Lin Yue returned to his residence, Cao Fuli and Yue Hengyi quickly asked, "How was it? Did it go smoothly? Did you get the information?"
"We'll know tomorrow. Investigation takes time. Waiting a little longer is always okay, isn't it?" Lin Yue said.
Cao Fuli and Yue Hengyi thought about it and agreed. Investigating an ability user wasn't something that could be done casually; it required a certain amount of time, which was normal!
One night passed. The three of them didn't sleep very soundly in the old residential area because there were always the sounds of rats at night. Rats are rodents, meaning their teeth grow throughout their lives, so rodents have a habit of gnawing. The "creak, creak" sound when they gnawed on the wooden door was truly challenging to a normal person's psychological defense.
Lin Yue prepared to go out. Before leaving, he said to Yue Hengyi, "By the way, give me some more gold beans. The gold beans from yesterday were used as a deposit."
When Yue Hengyi heard this, he immediately felt strange, "Just buying some information, would it cost that much?"
Cao Fuli also chimed in, "Lin Yue, you must have been inexperienced and got fleeced like a fat sheep. Yesterday, I saw you go out with at least thirty gold beans. You've already used them up? You weren't tricked, were you?"
Lin Yue's expression remained unchanged. He couldn't possibly say that he had spent a lot of money buying a completely unrelated woman yesterday. If he answered like that, Yue Hengyi would definitely be angry. It was better to keep it hidden, "It's Yanjing, so the expenses are bound to be higher. Even for information, the price is higher than for ordinary people, isn't it?"
"Alright, alright, I'm not doubting you. Since it's a normal expense, then take this money and go!" Yue Hengyi took out another handful of gold beans from his person. Before leaving Yuzhou, Shen Feng had given him a lot of gold and silver, and Yue Hengyi wasn't particularly attached to money. As long as it was a normal expense, it was enough.
Lin Yue went out directly. After finding out the location of the black market, he hurried over. Today's black market was underground, in a place that used to be a subway route. After the apocalypse, the subway stopped running, as the passenger capacity couldn't reach a certain level, and the subway was losing money.
Finding the fortune teller he had met yesterday, Lin Yue directly asked, "Friend, have you got any leads on my information?"
The fortune teller said, "Two hundred jin of grain for the information here. This information is very important."
Lin Yue took out the gold beans from his person, counted them, and found ten gold beans, handing them over. He asked, "According to Yanjing's price level, this should be enough, right?"
The fortune teller obviously didn't expect this young man to pay with gold. Most people used grain coupons, but he didn't want to inquire too much. He accepted the gold beans and handed over the paper, saying, "This information about the playboy is all here. Please, don't open it on the way. Open it when you get home."
Lin Yue nodded and prepared to leave. However, before leaving, he searched the subway tracks but couldn't find the girl from yesterday. He suddenly felt a sense of loss.
"What's wrong with me? Clearly, the other person isn't Fu Ya, so why do I still want to know her whereabouts? Am I looking for a replacement?" Lin Yue thought to himself with annoyance.