Jennifer looked around the table in complete confusion, trying to understand what she had missed.

Marcus had just named an absurd price, yet not a single person present objected. If anything, they all seemed perfectly fine with it. Some even looked amused.

Tactical Drunkard, naturally, was the loudest.

"Stone, you’re being this generous... you don’t happen to have some kind of plan for my cute little Jen, do you?"

Then he turned to Jennifer with exaggerated sorrow on his face.

"Jen, treat Stone the way you’d treat a suspicious creep. Be careful. Don’t fall for his tiny gifts and sweet words."

"...."

A creep? Marcus had to admit, that part was debatable. Still, did it need to be said so bluntly? 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He was only offering the meat cheaply to Magnolia Restaurant out of respect for Path to Heaven and Invincible Strong. There was no hidden motive.

Unfortunately, the smug smile spreading across Anya’s face and Chloe’s immediate look of agreement made him feel whatever remained of his reputation crumble on the spot.

As expected, Anya leaned closer and used the Monarch Squad private channel to speak directly into his ear.

"Marcus, they really do understand you."

She slipped her hand around his arm and rested against him with an innocent smile, warm and affectionate enough to fool anyone.

"Don’t encourage them," Marcus muttered weakly.

But he was fighting alone, completely isolated. His protest had no force behind it. Chloe, unsurprisingly, joined in through the squad chat.

"Hmph. They’re not wrong."

Invincible Strong saw Jennifer’s doubtful expression and decided to make things worse.

"Jen, just pay already! If Stone changes his mind and sells to someone else, that’s no big deal. But if he suddenly asks for a kiss or a date instead, then things get awkward."

Thud.

Marcus nearly slid out of his chair. Was he really that shameless in everyone’s eyes? He lowered his head and focused on eating, pretending he had heard absolutely nothing.

What Marcus did not know was that Jennifer nearly lost her balance too.

The others only laughed harder.

Jennifer, meanwhile, became even more confused. None of this made sense. Yet Path to Heaven said nothing, Invincible Strong was urging her to pay, and Tactical Drunkard was acting as if this were all obvious.

Could the snake meat really be worth that much?

"Heh..."

Jennifer suddenly smiled brightly, masking her thoughts. She checked the total weight of the Venomous Horned Serpent meat. Thirty-nine pounds.

Then she transferred 11.7 million gold coins.

"Stone, I was being a little narrow-minded earlier. Please forgive me." She raised her glass toward him in apology, then promptly stopped paying him any special attention.

In her mind, the truth was already clear.

The Venomous Horned Serpent meat was definitely not worth thirty thousand gold coins per pound. Marcus had simply named that price, and Path to Heaven, Invincible Strong, and Tactical Drunkard were supporting him without hesitation.

So what did that mean?

Obviously, Marcus was some pampered guy from an influential family, using this purchase as a disguised favor. Jennifer’s smile remained graceful and polite, but internally she had already dismissed him entirely.

Her impression of him had fallen straight into the gutter.

In her eyes, his image was utterly disgusting. Her favorability toward him wasn’t just zero; her friendliness was zero too.

But who was this Knight? Which family did he come from?

She stole another glance at Marcus, studying the rabbit-masked Knight more carefully.

Such a striking appearance, such a calm demeanor and such a strong first impression. Yet he turned out to be a spoiled rich brat.

’What a waste.’

They chatted for a while longer before the gathering began to break up. Anya and Chloe needed to log off and rest, while Marcus still had to meet Liam Windrunner for their scheduled challenge.

"I’ve got a quest to handle," Marcus said as he stood. "I’m heading out."

"Stone, focus on leveling," Boss Blaze said with a nod. "Leave the business side to me and Path to Heaven. We’re better at that anyway."

With their connections, promoting the upcoming release would be simple. Once players saw even one scene, the profits would flood in.

"Yeah, Stone, don’t worry," Tactical Drunkard said, pounding his chest. "Strong and I will help Boss Blaze. We’re about to monopolize Dominion."

"Good luck with that."

Marcus turned to leave with the girls, but Tactical Drunkard suddenly called after him.

"Stone, you can’t just run off like this! That’s completely irresponsible!"

Marcus looked back strangely. He had paid the bill and sold the meat, what exactly was the problem?

"You still haven’t told Jen what to do with the Venomous Horned Serpent meat," Tactical Drunkard said dramatically. "You’re just leaving? You want my cute Jen to lose money?"

"...."

’Unbelievable.’

Marcus ignored him and continued toward the door. Unfortunately, the exit required passing directly by Jennifer, and now she was watching him with open curiosity after hearing Tactical Drunkard’s complaint.

There was no avoiding it. Marcus stopped for a moment.

"Jennifer," he said calmly, "run an advertisement today."

She blinked.

"In ten days, Magnolia Restaurant will serve Serpent Stew made from Venomous Horned Serpent meat. One serving per day. Highest bidder gets it."

With that, he walked out with Anya and the others.

Jennifer stared after him in bewilderment, then slowly turned back toward Invincible Strong and Tactical Drunkard.

"Jen, just do what Stone says," Invincible Strong said with a grin. "Trust me."

"Stone’s viciously clever," Tactical Drunkard added, nodding seriously.

"Your Magnolia Restaurant is about to earn mountains of gold and fame."

"What is going on?"

Jennifer finally snapped. Her beautiful eyes flashed as she glared at both of them.

"If neither of you explains this right now, don’t ever come back to my restaurant. And don’t expect to eat my cooking again."

"Jen, allow me to broaden your horizons," Tactical Drunkard said smugly. "But information isn’t free. Fifty gold coins per viewing."

He pulled out his recorder and played the footage Marcus had captured. The image of the Venomous Horned Serpent appeared.

Its colossal body coiled like a mountain, Its pressure alone was terrifying.

"Ah! A Divine Beast!"

Jennifer gasped, rising halfway from her seat. In an instant, everything became clear.

It was simple. Once the video Killing a Divine Beast was released and players learned that the Venomous Horned Serpent had been a true Divine Beast, the value of its meat would skyrocket overnight.

Divine Beast meat. Just those three words were enough. How many players in Dominion could resist the temptation to taste something like that, even once?

Jennifer stared at the frozen image of Marcus on the recording, disbelief filling her eyes.

She had assumed she was buying high-grade cooking material, she never imagined she had just bought meat from a Divine Beast.