Trading with Rules

Li Nai interlaced his ten fingers and placed them under his chin, his dark eyes deep, as he slowly spoke in a deep tone, "You know, this universe is just a mass of chaos. To you, perhaps the only eternal things are madness and suffering..."

Dazai Osamu interrupted, "Wow, a cat." Oda-cat, who was being held in his arms, could only remain silent. Dazai did not listen to what Li Nai was saying at all. He held the cat with a blissful expression, the atmosphere around him so light that it seemed as if pink bubbles were about to float out. In contrast, Ango, who sat beside him, had a grave expression, the dark circles under his eyes seeming to grow even darker. In this struggle, Dazai had won because Ango did not dare to owe Li Nai any more.

"Dazai..." Ango tried to reach out, "Let me hold it for a bit..."

"No way." Dazai's expression instantly changed, and he hugged the cat, dodging away with a wary look.

"I was joking, actually I didn't really want to hold it, haha." Ango withdrew his hand expressionlessly.

Li Nai smiled and tapped the table, "Then stop staring at the cat. Aren't we here to discuss business?"

Ango with difficulty shifted his gaze, taking a deep breath, "I want information on the Hong Wei Jin item. If there is additional information on the book page, that would be even better. To be honest, I still feel confused even now..."

This was the task assigned to him by the Special Operations Division. After the last incident, they discovered that 【The Book】 had returned to its normal number of pages, but the page that the Great Detective had bought from Li Nai still had not disappeared. This made them even more wary of Li Nai. Currently, the page was kept at the Detective Agency because it was safer there, but they could not leave such a "time bomb" without understanding it. They needed to know how it operated and how it differed from a real page. Since they could not risk using a real page for testing, they had to turn to Li Nai to obtain information from similar items.

Ango looked at Li Nai and said solemnly, "I want to exchange accurate and complete information about the item in the form of an official transaction. What price or condition do I need to pay?"

Li Nai raised an eyebrow, "Starting to know how to utilize the rules, I see. Very well, the condition is very simple: bring that item before me once again, and I will tell you."

Ango was stunned, "Just that?"

"Yes, very fair. Helping others is helping oneself; that is my way of life." Li Nai smiled.

Ango took a soft red scarf out of his briefcase. The moment he touched it, a warmth like blood spread out. He placed the Hong Wei Jin on the counter.

"Good, the transaction is established." Li Nai snapped his fingers, and a holographic screen appeared in front of Ango. Unlike Dazai's, this time the interface was clean and clear.

"Item Name: A Hong Wei Jin... Grade... Price... Alignment: Chaotic Neutral..." Ango held his breath as he read each line carefully. Meanwhile, Dazai was still busy teasing Oda-cat. The large Maine Coon cat, which was originally sleepy, finally could not stand Dazai's disturbance and flicked its tail, hitting his hand in warning.

Dazai pretended to be aggrieved, "You hit me! Li Nai can touch you as many times as he wants, but I only touched your tail a bit and you're already so stingy!"

"I say, let him sleep in peace." Ango couldn't help but speak up, "His temper is already very good. If it were any other cat, you would have been scratched by now."

"It's fine if he scratches me." Dazai's voice suddenly deepened, his dark brown eyes darkening with complex emotions, "Scratching me, hitting me, both are fine... but I don't want to see him close his eyes, lying motionless like that again..."

Oda-cat paused, as if sensing something from this stranger. Dazai quickly regained his usual cheerful smile, turning to ask Li Nai, "Almost forgot, what is this cat's name?"

"Not yet determined." Li Nai replied, "I am a boss who respects his employees. I will ask him tonight what he wants to be called."