Chapter 146: The World’s Most Perfect Match

Hearing the chatter around him, A-Yi’s mouth dropped open even wider.

Then he pursed his lips, his eyes thoughtful as he looked at Yun Qimu. Now, he didn’t think this Miss Yun was a spy anymore. Even their Brother Teng, or even Lin Qiu from Blood Devourers, couldn’t get their hands on something this good. How could a spy possibly have it? So he was more inclined to believe what Yun Qimu and her group had said earlier—they really were just a merchant caravan here in Chaos City to do business.

Shentu stared fixedly at the big apple in Yun Qimu’s hand, swallowed greedily, and asked, “Are you selling it? I want to buy one for our chief to try.”

Yun Qimu shot him an approving look. Good guy, he knows the ropes.

“You’re pretty loyal to your chief, huh? The first thing you think of with something this good is him,” she said casually.

Shentu puffed out his sturdy chest and said proudly, “Of course! Our chief treats me well, so I always think of him first. With fruit this good, I have to make sure he’s the first to taste it.”

Yun Qimu smiled at him, eyes crinkling. “Honestly, I think you and your chief are the world’s most perfect match.”

“What? What did you say?” Shentu dug at his ear, indicating he hadn’t quite caught that—she’d spoken too softly.

Yun Qimu blinked innocently. “Nothing, just thinking about what price to sell it for. Since you’re our first customer, I’ll give you a discount. Mr. Wu, could you please get out the price list for me? Let’s see how we’re pricing these apples.”

Wu Xingyu, being called “Mr. Wu” for the second time, felt his ears itch. His dark eyes gave Yun Qimu a deep look. He’d heard her earlier comment loud and clear—this woman’s mouth was always up to mischief.

Yun Qimu just smiled at him, lips quirking. He looked away, touched his ring, and produced a sheet of paper.

It was the preliminary price list they’d come up with back in Earth Village when they had nothing better to do.

Yun Qimu took it, pretended to study it seriously, then turned to Shentu, who was craning his neck eagerly to get a look. “Our apples are premium fruit, priced at 4,000 energy credits each, wholesale price is 3,500. Since you’re our first customer, I’ll sell you one at the wholesale price—just 3,500 energy credits for this apple.”

“Hiss—3,500 energy credits? That’s expensive! You could buy two bottles of top-grade nutrient solution for that.” The crowd around them gasped. Yep, this was something only the rich could afford.

But A-Yi narrowed his eyes, catching the key point. “Unit price, wholesale price… So you have a lot of apples?”

Yun Qimu glanced at him—smart kid. “Of course. We said we’re here to do business, so obviously we brought more than just one or two items.”

Pei Yu chimed in enthusiastically, “That’s right! Besides apples, we’ve got other fruits and vegetables, all guaranteed fresh. You won’t find anything this good anywhere else but from us.”

The crowd grew excited. Originally, everyone had been focused on the contest for the chief’s wife, but now the commotion here had drawn their attention.

Shentu, without another word, quickly handed over 3,500 energy credits and completed the transaction with Yun Qimu. He stopped moving away and didn’t seem in a hurry to leave anymore.

He wanted to see what other fresh fruits and vegetables they had.

With more people came more excitement—and more skepticism.

“Hey kid, you look pretty decent, but don’t try to scam us. Where would you get so many fruits and vegetables on Exile Star? Are you using some kind of illusion ability, like turning rocks into produce?”

That immediately drew a chorus of agreement.

“Yeah, yeah, there was an ability user like that in Mercenary City before—tried to pass off rocks as fruit for a mission. If the staff hadn’t checked carefully, that crook would’ve gotten away with it.”

“I heard about that too—my brother saw it with his own eyes.”

Shentu’s excitement was doused with a bucket of cold water. Right, what if it was fake?

He took the apple out again, squeezed it in his hand, and frowned as he examined it, torn over whether to take a bite and check if it was real.

But before he could decide, Pei Yu, angered by the accusations, rolled up his sleeves and snapped, “My ability is wood-type, not some illusion trick! You don’t believe me? I’ll eat it right in front of you—let’s see if you believe then. Hey kid, hand your uncle an apple! I want these guys’ jaws to drop.”

Wu Xingyu looked at Pei Yu’s outstretched hand and fell silent for a moment.

Yun Qimu tugged at Pei Yu’s sleeve, smiling. “Give him one. Just don’t expect any dessert after dinner tonight.”

Pei Yu’s face froze. Damn, they even saw through my plan to sneak an extra apple.

Wu Xingyu, however, relaxed and casually handed him an apple.

They were all from the same batch, watered with the same plant nutrient, picked at the same time, and the seeds from the system were identical. So aside from minor differences in pattern, every apple was about the same size.

Pei Yu took the apple and, under everyone’s watchful gaze, took a big bite.

The crisp crunch rang out, and Pei Yu held up the bitten apple for everyone to see. “See? Look at all that juice inside, and it smells sweet too.”

He pointed at the young man who’d been the loudest skeptic earlier, tilting his chin up smugly. “See that? Our apples are the real deal.”

The young man didn’t answer, his eyes rolling as he kept doubting, “Didn’t see it clearly. Who knows if that’s an even higher-level illusion? If you want me to believe, let me take a bite. Only if I taste it myself will I know.”

He licked his lips, staring hungrily at the apple.

Pei Yu glared at him and immediately exposed his little trick. “Nice try, kid. You just want a free snack! This is my dessert for tonight—you think I’d just hand it over to you? Dream on.”

He pulled his hand back and, taking advantage of the situation, chomped down several more bites, stopping only when nothing but the core was left.

The young man looked disappointed—he hadn’t expected this guy, whose taste was so questionable, to actually have a working brain.

Still, his eyes stayed glued to the apple core in Pei Yu’s hand. “Um, can I have the core then?”

Seeing Pei Yu’s face darken, he quickly coughed and added, trying to sound serious, “I just want to check if the core is real.”

Pei Yu raised an eyebrow and dangled the apple core in front of him, watching the kid’s eyes follow it. Then he pulled it back and snorted, “No way. There are seeds in here—I’m keeping them to plant more.”

The young man looked even more disappointed, a little crestfallen—still didn’t manage to scam a bite."