Inside the Pure White Space, within the quiet store.
At the doorway, Yun stood on tiptoe and waved his small hand enthusiastically at Lu Nian. Just before leaving, she deliberately pressed the cat-head brand on the back of her left hand toward him, as if showing it off, then stepped through the door and vanished, returning to her own world.
The door closed softly.
"What a simple little guy…" Lu Nian muttered, staring at the blank white world outside the window. "Trusting me one hundred percent like that. It's really—"
He paused, then snorted lightly.
"—annoying."
That world Yun came from was once not much different from Lu Nian's previous life. Technology was familiar, civilization stable. Then, one day, the protoenterovirus erupted.
Homes were abandoned overnight. Families were torn apart. Some died screaming; others twisted into proto-beasts before the eyes of those they loved. Fear spread faster than the virus itself, rooting deep into human hearts.
Hatred followed.
The cursed children were born under those circumstances. When a pregnant woman was infected, the weakened virus posed little threat to the mother—but to the unborn child, it was fatal in another way. Those who survived were born with crimson pupils, carrying protoenterovirus within them from birth.
In the apocalypse that followed, ordinary humans—too afraid to face the proto-beasts—turned their terror elsewhere. They targeted the cursed children instead.
The world's upper echelons didn't stop it. Some even encouraged it.
It was a grotesquely distorted world, one that made Lu Nian feel physically ill. Ironically, these so-called cursed children—girls barely ten years old—were humanity's final line of defense besides technology itself, protecting countless ordinary people on the battlefield.
And yet, they were treated as tools. As expendable resources. As disposable test subjects.
"Heh…"
Lu Nian let out a soft, cold laugh.
"If I ever get the chance, I'd like to visit that world personally. Maybe then I can finally abandon my so-called conscience."
People loved to preach about integrity—about having a conscience, about doing business honestly. But most who said such things were already safe, wealthy, and far removed from desperation.
Those at the very top never mentioned the truth: once you abandon your conscience, profits only grow larger.
For a pure, kind, and naïve child like Yun, Lu Nian's conscience was inexplicably high. For certain other existences, however, his moral bottom line could drop frighteningly low.
The key was flexibility.
Turning back toward the counter, Lu Nian picked up a card lying quietly on the table.
[Protoenterovirus (Cat)]
Attribute: Virus
Quality: Rare
Type: Consumable
Note: A virus that once destroyed a human world. Can be used for genetic modification, environmental cleansing, and planetary purification… provided you don't mind wiping out humanity in the process.
Value: 5 Origins
"If extreme environmentalists saw this," Lu Nian muttered, stroking his chin, "they'd probably cry, kneel, and beg me to sell it. As for those middle-school–phase 'saviors of mankind'… not impossible either."
He wasn't exaggerating. Anything capable of destroying an entire world held limitless temptation to certain beings.
Decision made, Lu Nian stored the card away. He wouldn't convert it into Origin yet. Some items were worth waiting on—after all, anyone willing to buy this definitely wouldn't be a good person. That made conscience optional and profits substantial.
"I just wonder how many guests Yun will bring next month."
The cat-head brand on Yun's hand served as an anchor, linking her to the door between worlds. Once every thirty days—based on her world's time—it could be activated. Anyone in physical contact with her could enter alongside her, free of charge.
After all, this was the Pure White Space—Lu Nian's own domain. Causing trouble here was no different from courting death.
Satisfied, Lu Nian retrieved the two years of lifespan he had previously collected as handling fees, splitting them into separate cards. He placed them neatly into the display case, alongside the protoenterovirus card.
"Perfect. Now all that's left is to wait for a big customer."
With a thought, he exited the Pure White Space. Ripples spread through the air as his figure reappeared in his room. Dawn light filtered through the window; the night had passed without him noticing.
Time really did move fast.
Yawning lightly, Lu Nian headed to the kitchen and began preparing breakfast.
Forty minutes later, the master bedroom door creaked open.
Shizuka Hiratsuka shuffled out, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She pulled out a chair, sat opposite Lu Nian, grabbed a freshly steamed bun, and took a massive bite.
"—Hot! Hot hot hot!"
She flailed slightly, exhaling through her mouth while stubbornly refusing to spit the bun out.
"Alive… I'm alive…"
After recovering, she resumed eating in much smaller bites. Glancing up, she asked casually, though her tone carried a subtle edge.
"Kid. Where did you go last night?"
Lu Nian swallowed the last of his bun, stood up, and leaned closer with a grin.
"Teacher Jing, you broke into my room in the middle of the night. Were you trying to attack me?"
"Huh?" Hiratsuka's smile twitched. Veins bulged on her forehead as she raised her fist. "Say that again."
Lu Nian met her gaze calmly.
"Teacher Jing," he said softly, leaning in, "I'm actually a…"
He paused deliberately.
"…Mysterious Merchant."
_____________________
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