Hunting the Stars

Hi~！

Following the advice of his intelligent butler, Wang Cai, Elian Hawk thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, I’ll go with the alias ‘Odin.’"

Wang Cai immediately displayed the typical sycophantic expression of a bootlicker, bowing and praising Elian Hawk profusely. "My lord, you truly are sharp-minded and exceptionally talented, to come up with such an artistic name…"

Elian Hawk felt a vein throb on his forehead. "Damn it!" he silently cursed. "I used to be cold and distant, but at least I was normal! But now Wang Cai has turned into such a sycophantic guy."

Seeing Wang Cai's antics, Elian Hawk was at a loss.

"My lord," Wang Cai said, his face oozing with insincerity as he looked at Elian Hawk's helpless expression. "Actually, many things can’t be rushed. After all, right now, it’s a buyer's market for you. We don’t have anything truly valuable, so we’ll just have to hope someone will take a liking to my products. After all, you’re a new merchant."

Wang Cai continued, speaking softly, reading the mood.

Elian Hawk thought over Wang Cai’s words and started to reflect. "It really is a world of comparison. Some people get to cross over and gain immense power or end up in luxurious families, while even the so-called 'useless' ones get some kind of fortune." Elian Hawk sat there, grinding his teeth. "Well, I didn’t turn into a useless waste, but I’m still in this mess."

Elian Hawk sighed deeply. "I’m just another merchant type, huh?" He mentally categorized himself into the 'merchant-type' crossover category. "But damn it, being a merchant is just the worst!" The more Elian Hawk thought about it, the worse he felt.

"In my previous world, those protagonist types in the novels who became dimension merchants—they could sell even 's**t' for an outrageous price," Elian Hawk thought bitterly. His eyes flashed with envy but quickly dimmed. "But why is it that I, Elian Hawk, am stuck in this situation? As a new dimension merchant, I can't even sell anything. This is just ridiculous."

What Elian Hawk didn’t realize was that being a dimension merchant, while theoretically allowing him to sell things like sand for a golden price, relied heavily on luck and the nature of his customers’ worlds. He was still unaware that his assumptions based on his previous world’s novels were flawed, and he hadn't yet figured this out.

Seeing Elian Hawk slumped over, Wang Cai walked over. "My lord, if I may, you really don’t need to worry so much. In the countless dimensions, someone will surely buy your goods eventually. It’s just a matter of time, so please, relax."

Elian Hawk turned his head and glanced at Wang Cai, who was sitting next to him, then spoke after a while. "I understand what you're saying, but what if they don't sell? After all, in these sci-fi dimensions, no matter which one you pick, the products there are bound to have higher technological content than what we're selling. So, honestly, I have little confidence in our products."

Wang Cai understood that Elian Hawk was speaking the truth. He also knew that while it was natural to feel this way, he had to remain positive about the future. So, Wang Cai continued to offer words of encouragement.

After hearing Wang Cai’s advice, Elian Hawk managed to shake off his gloom. At least, he thought, it was all going to end in death anyway. If things didn’t work out, he’d just close his eyes and not wake up. Having come to terms with it, Elian Hawk no longer felt so burdened. He became more relaxed, and there was an air of something indescribable around him. Wang Cai noticed this change but remained silent for a long time.

"How did my lord change so suddenly? Though I can't pinpoint it, he definitely seems more carefree now," Wang Cai thought to himself as he observed Elian Hawk.

Once Elian Hawk cleared his mind, he felt much lighter. He turned to Wang Cai and asked, "You mentioned being a dimension merchant, is there any other way to earn credit points besides selling local products?"

Wang Cai thought for a moment before responding, "Unless your merchant level increases, you could establish dominance and pressure other merchants, thereby monopolizing a product. But with your current level, trying that would be futile."

Elian Hawk was taken aback. "Wait, so this is actually something that can develop?"

Wang Cai nodded, though his expression was serious, as if it were a big deal. Elian Hawk could somewhat imagine what Wang Cai was implying, understanding that it was like the business model in his previous world, where monopolies were established through means like connections and power. In the dimension merchant world, it was all about merchant levels, methods, and strength.

"Oh," Elian Hawk muttered, "So I can't start that now because my level is too low."

Wang Cai leaned in slightly and whispered, "My lord, do you think the competition among dimension merchants is peaceful? If they declare a commercial war, the consequences are unimaginable. The higher the merchant’s level, the more resources they control, and their strength and power grow to a terrifying degree."

Wang Cai's expression grew grave as he spoke. "I know of high-level dimension merchants who have started brutal commercial wars. The flames of war have spread across hundreds of billions of dimensions, countless lives have been lost in the process, and we don’t even know how many dimensions were destroyed."

Elian Hawk, hearing this, was taken aback. "You know all this? Aren’t you just a newly created intelligent lifeform?"

Wang Cai awkwardly sat there in silence for a moment, unable to answer Elian Hawk.

"Everyone has their own secrets. Since you are an intelligent lifeform with advanced wisdom, I treat you as a living being. But you need to understand your position, and I, Elian Hawk, am your lord," Elian Hawk said calmly, establishing their master-servant relationship.

Wang Cai sighed deeply. "Sigh… actually, my previous master was a high-level dimension merchant. He was a loser in one of those commercial wars, which is why the dimension trading space ended up in this dimension and was eventually found by you."

Wang Cai’s admission clarified things for Elian Hawk. He had suspected as much but had no confirmation. Now that Wang Cai confirmed it, it saved Elian Hawk a lot of mental effort.

Elian Hawk thought for a moment and then asked, "I remember you mentioned that if your master dies, you get erased by the system. But why are you here now, alive again?"

Wang Cai shook his head. "I’m not sure either. I do remember that after my master died, I was erased by the system. But when you activated the dimension space, I came back to life."

Elian Hawk found this situation curious but didn’t press the issue further.

Just as they were discussing things, a series of 'beep beep beep' sounds came from the old desktop computer's speaker.

"My lord! A merchant from another dimension is requesting a call!" Wang Cai stood up, excitedly addressing Elian Hawk.

Elian Hawk, too, was excited. After all, someone was showing interest in his products. If he could make a deal, he could finally get his business off the ground. He needed to earn 100 credit points in a month to pay his tax, and with three products listed in the trading space, each owing 50 credit points to the system, Elian Hawk had to earn 250 credit points in total to stay alive. So when another dimension merchant requested a call, Elian Hawk couldn’t be more thrilled.

However, as Elian Hawk rushed to the computer, his face immediately fell.

"My lord, what happened?" Wang Cai asked, noticing Elian Hawk’s sudden mood change.

"The other merchant wants to talk to me, but we’re from different worlds, so we can’t communicate. How are we supposed to understand what they want to buy or how to negotiate?" Elian Hawk said, exasperated.

Wang Cai smiled and reassured Elian Hawk. "Oh, my lord, that’s no problem. I thought something serious had happened, but this is just a small issue."

Elian Hawk nodded, bewildered, and said, "Small issue? This isn’t a small issue. If we can’t communicate, how are we going to figure out what they want or how to bargain with them?"

Wang Cai smiled and said, "Leave it to me. The trading system is very powerful, and you don’t need to worry about these things."

Wang Cai approached the computer, typing quickly on the keyboard. "Done! The language translation is complete."

With a "hum," the computer screen flickered, and a figure appeared in the video feed—someone who looked like a European or American.

"Hi there, my friend!" the person waved casually and greeted Elian Hawk.