"Hey boss, you haven't looked at my stone yet!" The local who had just lined up shouted at Fang Jueyu's back.
But at that moment, Fang Jueyu couldn't care less about others. It was as if he were a trafficker who had just discovered his target, as he rushed toward the four or five-year-old child.
"Hey little one, can you show me your stone?" Fang Jueyu squatted down and said in as soft a tone as possible, suppressing his excitement.
The child immediately became very wary and hid the stone behind his back, "Mom said I shouldn't talk to strangers!"
"I'm not a bad guy, I just want the stone in your hand. Can you sell it to me?" Fang Jueyu continued.
"I'll give you a hundred thousand yuan, which can buy a lot of snacks and toys!" Fang Jueyu fully utilized his skill in coaxing the child, making little Yi laugh out loud.
"A hundred thousand?" The locals nearby expressed surprise as they heard this, wondering what kind of stone could be worth that much. They wouldn't even look twice at such a piece of junk on the roadside; how could it be considered a treasure by the rich?
The child's eyes rolled around as he pondered what it meant to have a hundred thousand yuan.
"If that's not enough, I'll give you a million!"
"A million! Oh my goodness, you can build several big houses around here with that!"
"Old Yu's family lucked out! So many of us couldn't find it, and his son stumbled upon it!"
"Yeah, he really stepped in it, huh!"
"Can you buy many things with a million?" The little guy hesitated for a long time, finally showing some interest.
"Of course, a million can buy an endless supply of snacks and toys!"
"Can I have ten million instead?" The child's world was indeed simple and innocent; he didn't even understand what numbers he was speaking about.
Many thought Fang Jueyu surely wouldn't agree, thinking only a crazy person would pay ten million for a seemingly worthless stone.
"Sure! It's a deal then!" To everyone's surprise, Fang Jueyu agreed without hesitation.
"Here you go!" The child handed the stone to Fang Jueyu.
"Little Yi, is this it?" Fang Jueyu asked eagerly after taking the stone.
"Yes, that's the one. It's not covered in stone, but a special kind of metal. There's a small storage space inside; I can sense it!"
"Fantastic!" Fang Jueyu breathed a sigh of relief. The money he spent was worth it now that he had secured the item.
"Where are the child's parents? Please come out so I can transfer the money to you!"
Many people thought that Fang Jueyu might go back on his word after getting the item, as there would be no proof if he didn't pay.
But to their surprise, Fang Jueyu actually sought out the child's parents.
"Here we are!" A dark-skinned man and woman quickly emerged from the long line. They, too, had been digging in the fields all day, not expecting their son to find it. Their faces beamed with joy.
"Boss, we're the child's parents," they said cautiously.
"Give me your payment code, and I'll transfer the money to you right away!"
"Hey!" The child's mother wiped her dirty hands on her apron and hastily pulled out her phone.
"T-ten million?" The couple had never seen so much money in their lives. Maybe they were used to living in poverty because getting such an amount suddenly made them panic, "Wasn't it supposed to be fifty thousand for finding the stone? This is too much."
"That won't do. I made a legitimate deal with your son. A deal's a deal. I won't short-change just because it's a child."
"Wow, now that's a true boss!" Fang Jueyu's actions immediately garnered goodwill from the locals.
Although they hadn't found the stone themselves, some families received a few hundred thousand or even a million, leaving them no room for complaint.
"Do you think if that little guy had asked for more, the boss would have paid up too?"
"I wouldn't bet on it! With six or seven hundred people helping today, they've shelled out over twenty million. Does that boss look like someone strapped for cash?"
"Thank you, boss, thank you, boss!" The couple walked away, all smiles, holding their child happily.
Everyone earned what they came for, and Fang Jueyu found what he was looking for, so they all went their separate ways.
"Gu Yi, find someone to keep an eye on this family for a while. If anyone tries anything with them, handle it," Fang Jueyu muttered. He knew that human nature could be terrifying.
"Understood, young master!" Gu Yi's voice echoed in Fang Jueyu's ear.
With the item in hand, Fang Jueyu eagerly returned home. He examined the stone from every angle, but except for some pitted holes, it had no visible switches.
"Little Yi, how do you open this thing?"
"You need spiritual power to unlock it. Everyone's spiritual power is unique. Your father must have set it up while sending it. Infuse your spiritual power into it, and it'll open automatically."
"Really?" After days of practice, Fang Jueyu had managed some basic control over his spiritual power. Sure enough, as he infused it, a small crack appeared on the black stone.
"Click, click!" A mechanical sound came from inside the stone as it suddenly shattered, revealing a small silver-white box.
Fang Jueyu opened the box to find an exquisitely crafted ring.
"Host, this is a secondary civilization's space storage device. Besides storing items, it also has a self-defense mechanism. It's worth enough to buy this little planet Earth."
"Wow, really?" Fang Jueyu put the ring on his finger. "If the storage device is this valuable, wouldn't the items inside be even more so?"
"Can I open this with spiritual power too?" Fang Jueyu asked.
However, when Fang Jueyu infused his spiritual power into it, a beam of light shot out from the ring, projecting Fang Huai's holographic image in front of him.
"Damn it, Dad, you scared the crap out of me!"
"You brat, I knew you'd curse at me!" Fang Huai's recorded message played. "Now that you've activated the second-level permission quest, you're probably wondering why I set it up this way, right?"
Fang Jueyu perked up his ears; could his dad have a different intention?
"Don't overthink it; I was just bored!"
Fang Jueyu rolled his eyes, seeing that his dad's flamboyant style hadn't changed.
"I intended to send you some good stuff, but I worried it'd be too shocking. So, I only sent you some handy little gadgets. Some items could help you with the second-level permission quest. Make good use of them and have fun! Busy with business, goodbye!"
After just a few sentences, Fang Huai's virtual image vanished.
"What's in here anyway?" Fang Jueyu once again infused spiritual power, and amidst the clutter, he spotted two special items in a clean corner—a small architectural model and an egg the size of a baby's head!