It has to be admitted that Argo truly possessed the character of a merchant.
She was smooth-tongued, and she could spin a yarn to hype up any product.
Anything in her hands could be made valuable.
Even scrap metal could probably be sold at a premium by her.
"With your strength, even without a pet, you'll be one of SAO's top players. If you have a pet by your side, the return you get will definitely outweigh your expenses on it."
Argo continued her sales pitch with a charming smile.
"Sounds good, but I'm broke."
Xia Yan shrugged, not buying into it.
"What a shame."
Argo feigned regret with a sigh.
"Argo, can you give us a discount? Or maybe tell us about the Moon Shadow Swift Weasel first, and we'll pay you later when we have the money."
Kirito chimed in.
"Small business, no credit. Cash on delivery, that's my principle, even you, Kirito, can't make an exception!"
Argo smiled, her words straightforward and bold.
"Alright, I'll come back to buy the information when I have the money."
Xia Yan didn't push the issue. It was her business principle, and if she didn't want to make an exception, there was no need to break it.
"Okay, you're welcome to come back anytime."
Argo plastered on a polite fake smile, saying, "But I hope you can get the money together quickly, because time waits for no one."
"In SAO, there are many people who are interested in information about pets. If someone else gets the money first, I can only sell the information to them."
"Are you implying something, Miss Argo?"
Xia Yan suddenly stopped getting up to leave. He sat back down calmly, asked with interest.
"Actually, Mr. Yan can have this information exclusively."
Argo said with a smile.
"Merchant, you want to jack up the price, right?"
Kirito gritted his teeth.
Argo's words reminded him of his experience of being ripped off during the closed beta.
It was a dark history he didn't want to mention.
However, in order to get reliable information, he had to willingly be fleeced.
"What are you talking about, Kirito. I'm running a legitimate business, it's all about mutual consent. I haven't raised the price for the information either!"
Argo immediately changed her expression, saying earnestly, "I'm still charging 200,000 Col for the Moon Shadow Swift Weasel information."
"But..."
Argo changed her tone, saying, "I'm sure Mr. Yan wouldn't want such a rare pet to be snagged by someone else, right?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Yan curled his lips, a faint smile appearing on his face. He glanced at Argo, his tone turning playful as he asked, "What do you have in mind, Miss Argo?"
"If Mr. Yan wants exclusive access to my information, it'll only cost you 20,000 Col."
Argo said with a smile.
"20,000 Col? That's not too expensive, I should be able to gather that much by tomorrow at the latest."
Xia Yan nodded nonchalantly.
"Then I'll be waiting for good news."
Argo said with a bright smile, "You can contact me anytime. You can rest assured, although many people are interested in pet information, most players currently, even a team that's ahead in leveling and on the cutting edge, would still take five days or more to gather 20,000 Col.
"So unless Mr. Yan is extremely unlucky, you'll still have exclusive access to the information."
"Argo, when did you start extorting people?"
Kirito said unhappily.
"This isn't extortion!"
Argo immediately retorted, "There's no point in having such rare information if it's not exclusive."
"Heh!"
Kirito sneered, "Besides us, I don't think anyone else can afford that price."
So, the exclusive access that Argo mentioned was actually meaningless.
After all, at this stage, based on Kirito's knowledge of the game, only players like them, who were at the forefront, were qualified to touch anything related to pets.
As for others.
They could only watch.
"Miss Argo has a point. But you see, I personally prefer free stuff. If I can get it for free, I won't spend a dime."
Xia Yan said with a smile.
"Sorry, I don't offer free services!"
Argo flatly refused.
"Really?"
Xia Yan smiled calmly, then slowly uttered a name, "Fanbake Karna Pun. What a mouthful."
"Where did you hear that name!"
Argo abruptly stood up from her seat, slapped the table with both hands, stared intently at Xia Yan, her face losing its composure.
"I saw it by chance."
Xia Yan remained calm, saying, "Actually, I felt regretful for missing out on the previous closed beta. So I had people collect information about SAO after the closed beta ended."
"Funny coincidence, there happened to be a name like that in there!"
"Forget that name, I don't need those 20,000 Col, the information is yours to keep."
Argo took a deep breath and said.
She's flustered, she's flustered, she's flustered!
Xia Yan said calmly, "That won't do, it's my first time being extorted, how can I let this go so easily."
"I told you it's not extortion."
Argo clenched her teeth and explained, "That's how intelligence deals work here. If you want exclusive access, you have to pay a hush fee. Do you really want me to share such rare information with multiple people?"
"Don't bully me because I'm a new player in the open beta. Kirito said extortion, it's you who's extorting."
Xia Lin said righteously, "He's my best friend, I believe him."
Kirito: "???"
He was suddenly puzzled.
The greedy and avaricious Argo was willing to waive the fee just because of a name.
It was a shock to him.
"Kirito, hehehe!"
Argo stared at Kirito, a creepy smile spreading across her face.
"Then what do you want?"
Argo looked at Xia Yan and continued to ask.
"I want it for free!"
.....
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