Chapter 17 - 16: Equal Contract

Doctor Jenkins stared at her for a few seconds. Suddenly, a streak of blue light shot out from his fingertip, striking straight at the center of her forehead.

After a few seconds of silence, he asked in confusion, "How could an ordinary person like you form a contract with a Mutant Beast cub?"

Sev Steele was baffled by his words. She wondered, "Forming a contract? Could it be the legendary master-pet contract? But I obviously didn’t do anything!"

Seeing her bewilderment, Doctor Jenkins conducted another careful inspection before speaking.

"Ordinary people and Mutant Beasts generally cannot form contracts. Since the Contractor’s abilities are too weak, it would hinder the Contracted Beast’s growth.

"The only exception is if it takes the initiative to form a contract with you, and it has to be an equal contract. Only then will it not affect its future Level advancements."

Sev tried her best to comprehend his words before summarizing, "You mean to say that my Silvy took the initiative to form a contract with me?

"So, now that we’re contracted, how will we affect each other?"

"After contracting, your minds will be linked. However, if one party attempts to betray or harm the other, they will suffer a severe backlash.

"This little mouse would drop two major tiers, while an ordinary person like you would lose half your life and be permanently bedridden."

Doctor Jenkins looked at her playfully, a hint of mockery in his eyes. His expression clearly conveyed that she might think she had scored a great deal, but she was actually on the losing end!

Sev understood the look in his eyes and said calmly, "Silvy’s mother indirectly saved my life. Before she died, I promised her that I would take good care of Silvy.

"Therefore, in this lifetime, I could never take the initiative to betray or harm it."

"Heh! A woman’s vow is nothing but an illusion. Even a ghost wouldn’t be fooled by it. Whoever believes it is simply out of luck!" Doctor Jenkins sneered.

Sev thought, "So after all this, he’s just a foolish man who got his heart broken!"

Too lazy to argue with him, she cut straight to the chase. "Doctor Jenkins, please help me appraise the total value of these items."

"Alright. A Poison Sac normally goes for 80,000 points, but I’ll give you 110,000 points. The Snake Fangs are 60,000 points, and the Snake Skin is 200,000 points.

"As for the scales, excluding the 36 scattered ones, there are those still attached to the Snake Skin, totaling 628 pieces. I’ll give you 130,000 points for them.

"That comes out to 500,000 points. Deducting a 15% commission, your cut is 425,000 points.

"The total weight of the Snake meat is 250 pounds. At 180 points per pound, that’s 45,000 points.

"Therefore, your total harvest this time amounts to 470,000 points. If you have any objections, you can apply for another Appraiser to re-evaluate it for you."

Doctor Jenkins was now speaking concisely, exuding a decisive and resolute aura that made people subconsciously overlook his scruffy appearance.

"Why is the commission fifteen percent?" Sev asked in confusion.

"Special materials are usually of higher value, so a five percent reduction in commission is considered a reward for the Scavenger," Doctor Jenkins explained.

"Um... I’d like to ask, how many points would it cost to forge this pair of Snake Fangs into daggers?" Sev suddenly asked.

Having a lot of money was certainly great, but one needed to be alive to enjoy it.

She had to constantly venture out into the wilderness as a Scavenger. Currently lacking a life-saving weapon by her side, a dagger would be the most suitable choice.

The original owner of her body also had a dagger, but it was made of ordinary materials and had several notches on the blade. That was why she had ended up making the Snake Skin so uneven and potholed when skinning it earlier.

Back when she used to hunt in the mountains with her grandfather, she actually preferred using a Crossbow. However, there was no trace of such a weapon in the original owner’s memories.

She didn’t know if the people of The Wasteland knew how to forge a Crossbow, so she could only take things one step at a time.

"You want a dagger forged from a Snake Fang?" Doctor Jenkins looked at the frail ordinary person in front of him with some surprise.

"Yes, but I don’t know any Forging Masters, nor do I understand the market rates. If you’re willing to help me, I can offer 10,000 points as compensation," Sev said through gritted teeth.

Asking for help empty-handed was definitely unrealistic. It was best to have a clear-cut transaction and settle things clearly with money.

Doctor Jenkins stared at her, his gaze turning scrutinizing.

He didn’t care much about a 10,000-point reward. What surprised him was that this poor woman was actually willing to spend 10,000 points just to have him find someone to forge a dagger.

Such boldness was not something an ordinary Scavenger should possess, especially since she was so young.

"Alright, I can agree to your request. To forge a high-quality dagger suitable for an ordinary person like you—someone without much strength or agile footwork—the labor fee alone is at least 15,000 points.

"Do you want one, or two?" Doctor Jenkins asked.

"Two," Sev replied without hesitation.

"In that case, I’ll have to deduct 100,000 points from your total earnings. Are you sure you want this?" Doctor Jenkins teased.

He felt that the woman was probably just acting on impulse. Hearing that 100,000 points would be deducted, she would likely back down immediately.

"I’m sure," Sev’s voice was calm and decisive, completely exceeding Doctor Jenkins’s expectations.

"Very well, this is getting interesting," Doctor Jenkins smiled and nodded.

"By the way, I also wanted to ask—are there any storage items that are smaller and more concealable than a Tactical Backpack?" Sev asked tentatively.

"Haha! That’s a good question! This Tactical Backpack you rented is only the lowest-grade basic model.

"High Level Space Buttons have already been invented, but you certainly can’t afford one.

"Even a Space Button with the smallest capacity is valued at over a million points," Doctor Jenkins laughed heartily.

Sev thought, "Alright, I’m not worthy!"

However, once her little cubs grew up in the future, they would definitely honor her with eight or ten Space Buttons!

After the two reached an agreement, Doctor Jenkins tapped on his watch’s virtual interface and brought up a chat box.

The recipient’s nickname displayed on the chat box was "Blacksmith."

Sev thought, "What a casual name."

He recorded a voice message into the interface, "Old man, I have some business for you."

There was no response from the other side. Doctor Jenkins took a picture of the two Snake Fangs and sent another voice message: "Two daggers, for a woman. She’s an ordinary person, and the price has been settled at 30,000 points."

The chat box remained completely unresponsive. It wasn’t until two minutes later that a voice message came through, "You’re always finding trouble for me. Come pick them up in ten days."

The voice sounded very loud and booming, not at all like a real old man.

"Alright, I’ll drop the materials off for you after I get off work," Doctor Jenkins replied.

There was no sound from the other end, but a receipt was sent over.

Doctor Jenkins pointed at the receipt and told Sev, "Look carefully, then tap this blue ’Confirm Order’ button."

Sev took a look and saw that the receipt read, "Received one pair of front fangs from a Third Tier Mutated Coral Snake to forge two small daggers. Pick up in ten days."

After Sev tapped on "Confirm Order," a 3D pickup code was sent over from the other side.

Doctor Jenkins said, "Scan, identify, and save this pickup code. When the time comes, the other party will send you the pickup address. You can go there yourself and use the pickup code to get your goods."

Sev’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect the business transactions among the people of The Wasteland to be this efficient.

Watching her complete the operation, Doctor Jenkins nodded in satisfaction.

This woman was indeed smart!

It was obvious that it was her first time doing this, given her clumsy movements. However, her reaction was extremely sharp. She didn’t ask a barrage of questions like others would, nor did she worry about her points being deducted without receiving the goods.

He silently concluded that she seemed like someone easy to deal with.

After closing the transaction page, he brought up the appraisal settlement page, his fingers typing rapidly on the virtual screen.

Soon, an appraisal invoice appeared.

Every item and its corresponding price on the list were clear and straightforward.

Pointing to the signature line at the bottom, he instructed Sev, "Once you confirm that everything is correct, sign your name here by hand."

Sev checked it carefully and confirmed that it was exactly as he had stated. The total amount was 370,000 points.

After Doctor Jenkins tapped "Complete Transaction," a loud DING-DONG chime sounded from Sev’s watch.

Opening it, she saw a transfer notification: "Congratulations, customer. You have received a large transfer of exactly 370,000 points. Please verify the receipt and promptly hide your balance to avoid causing trouble."

Sev felt that the financial system of The Wasteland was surprisingly robust; the funds for official item transactions were actually credited in real-time.

This saved her from the torment of waiting for the transfer to clear. After all, with such a massive sum of money, it would have been hard not to worry.