"Don't laugh, I'm doing this to rid the people of harm," the captain rebutted seriously.

Upon hearing this, the teammates couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Just when they thought the Little Mage would refuse, a reply came from the other side:

"Deal. Give me the coordinates; I'll receive the goods first and then transfer you the sacrificial power."

Seeing that the Little Mage was indeed willing to give 800,000, the team was shocked, then shook their heads.

The Little Mage's reputation on the forum was negative.

If they handed over the Soul Beast Seed first, they might not even get 1 point of sacrificial power.

The "Banquet at Hongmen" from back in the day was still fresh in memory; dealing honestly with the Little Mage likely meant getting scammed.

The captain then sent a message:

"You know what your reputation on the forum is like. If you want to pay first, we can consider selling you."

"I'm afraid you'll receive the goods and not pay."

"And I'm afraid you'll collect the sacrificial power and not deliver the goods."

Both parties became deadlocked in their conversation.

Unable to use the trading system, their mutual distrust stymied the transaction.

Just as the captain was about to close the private chat and blacklist the Little Mage, refusing to take the deal.

The Little Mage sent another private message:

"How about this, I'll transfer you 300,000 sacrificial power as a deposit, and once I receive the goods I'll transfer the remaining 500,000. How about that? Just the deposit is worth more than the Soul Beast Seed, you won't lose."

Seeing that the Little Mage was actually willing to transfer the sacrificial power first, the captain's expression turned painful, and he looked at his teammates:

"This is 300,000 sacrificial power, potentially 800,000, what do you all think?"

"Don't sell, if news of us selling a Soul Beast to him gets out on the forum, how will we keep going later?"

"Sell it, that's a whole 800,000, it's like ridding the community of harm, this Little Mage really has money."

The teammates held differing opinions on whether or not to sell.

Ultimately, they decided to vote on whether to sell the Soul Beast Seed to the Little Mage.

Yu Chuan was now a part of the team and also had a vote.

Faced with such profit, all the members of the team felt immense pain.

800,000 sacrificial power was a price comparable to a Rule Fragment that some foolish team had listed at a low price in the Trading House back in the day.

Aside from the Little Mage, no other player could possibly offer such a high price.

Ultimately, the vote resulted in a decision to riskily sell the Soul Beast Seed to the Little Mage on the sly.

The captain sent a private message:

"Go ahead with the transfer, we'll sell it to you."

In the next second, the Little Mage's 300,000 transfer appeared in the captain's Space Bag balance.

"Let's run," a teammate urged at this point.

"There's no running from any of it, I'm not that kind of person," the captain's eyes reflected both the joy of receiving the sacrificial power and the helplessness of the risk.

"I'm curious, how's the Little Mage going to pick up the goods. He doesn't dare go back to the Newbie Village, going in means you can't come out, how could he come to the Senluo Forest Region?" Yu Chuan asked curiously.

"That's something I don't know; picking up the goods is his problem," the captain shook his head.

This problem was soon answered when the Little Mage sent a message:

"Send a space coordinate, I'll retrieve it within 2 hours. Just place the Soul Beast Seed at the coordinate. Don't pick a location inside or near a space node."

This response made the team realize that the Little Mage probably had a Space Jump Level ability.

And indeed, their expectations were correct.

Half an hour after the captain provided a space coordinate, the sky tore open a tiny rift, which expanded over time.

The team backed away.

The Soul Beast Seed placed in the center of the clearing began to tremble, and an invisible gravitational field spread from the Space Rift, causing stones and fallen leaves on the ground to slowly float.

The Soul Beast Seed then shot towards the Space Rift under this invisible force.

As it touched the tear, it was swallowed instantly.

The rift quickly shrank, reverting to normal in the blink of an eye as if nothing had happened.

The team looked at each other, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

The brief action by the Little Mage made them realize that this public enemy's power had significantly improved once again.

At least for now, the Little Mage was the only one capable of mastering Space Technology in the Monster World.

"Do you think we'll receive the remaining payment?" the captain rested his chin in his hand, contemplating the spot where the spatial rift vanished.

"From what I know of the Little Mage's character, the deposit is the full payment; don't expect more."

"This guy really has money, giving 300,000 so easily, not even fearing we'd just take off."

"Getting 300,000 is good enough, profits are profits."

While the team debated receiving the remainder, the captain's floating screen displayed a Challenger Tip:

[Challenger Tip: Player "Little Mage" has privately transferred you 500,000 sacrificial power (received).]

The team: ...

They hadn't expected the Little Mage to actually settle the remainder.

"Though he's ruthless and dark-hearted, there's a certain decency," the captain gave a thumbs up to the void, then glanced down at his team:

"Now we'll split the gains, and brothers, keep this matter a secret, don't mention it to anyone, let's act as if it never happened."

Everyone nodded.

They were all participants and beneficiaries of selling the Soul Beast Seed, spreading it would only bring trouble for themselves.

The veteran players that the Little Mage had once infuriated were not to be trifled with.

This act would certainly be labeled as treacherous by the forum community, earning them hard hits wherever they went afterward.

...

Earthquake Continent.

The rising dawn pierced through scattered clouds, gilding the earth with gold leaf.