Chapter 132: The Joy of a Time-Space Trader

"????" Feng Xue, who had been in good spirits, heard Sara say this and immediately felt a chill, saying:

"What do you mean?"

"Among the teeth necklace on that old man's chest, a few are human teeth, and one of them has a drilling pattern different from the others—it looks like a root-canaled tooth had its filling pulled out and a string threaded through. Do you think there's a dentist on this island?"

As Sara spoke, she projected a hologram from her collar, highlighting several teeth on Old Ku's neck with red circles.

Feng Xue frowned slightly, but Feina said:

"It doesn't necessarily mean anything's wrong—this place is prone to pirates; locals pulling teeth from slain pirates as trophies is totally normal! Besides, if there really was something suspicious, that old man wouldn't still be wearing it during reception! Didn't previous visitors have AI assistants?"

"Though your logic makes sense, coming from you it sounds ridiculous." Feng Xue rolled his eyes; outwardly he said nothing, but his wariness deepened.

With this wariness, Feng Xue noticed more oddities—for instance, some of the wood used in house construction had clearly undergone finer processing, and its shape resembled ship decks, gunwales, and similar parts.

Though still explainable by "pirates," Feng Xue was not the type to rely on guesses for safety—he immediately labeled the villagers as enemies.

He hadn't fled yet only because, whenever he entertained the thought of killing someone, the lifespan of everyone within his line of sight dropped.

They were all weaklings he could handle alone—what was there to fear?

With this mindset, Feng Xue pondered whether to flatten the entire village outright or use Mo Ying to control them one by one for interrogation—when suddenly, Liu Yunxi on his finger vibrated.

But this vibration was unlike the tremors he'd felt before when encountering powerful spirit entities or immortals; it felt directional, as if pulling his finger toward a specific direction.

Though puzzled, Feng Xue immediately walked toward the direction of the vibration. Sara, who had been locked in a stare-down with Feina, noticed his movement and nudged Feina to follow.

"Honored guest, come see my goods! Previous visitors loved them!"

As Feng Xue approached, a muscular man in his thirties smiled, his body packed with lean muscle; before him lay a leather sheet resembling shark skin, atop which rested several stones.

"Manganese nodules, Finlayite ore—all ordinary… wait, how is there Parva alloy here?" Sara muttered excitedly through her nanofilm comm, but Feng Xue had already activated his spiritual sight, pointing at a pale blue crystal that looked vaguely like cheap water jade:

"What's this?"

Seeing Feng Xue immediately select this material, the muscular youth grinned, revealing a row of white teeth:

"This is Moonstone, a treasure bestowed by the Moon God. Place it beside your bed while sleeping—it brings peaceful rest and improves health…"

Xiao Lingdang translated his rambling into a language with limited vocabulary, but Feng Xue understood his meaning, and replied with a puzzled expression:

"Bestowed by the Moon God? Did you obtain it through sacrifice? Or did the Moon God make it sprout from the ground?"

"..." Xiao Lingdang translated Feng Xue's question; the youth's smile froze instantly. He shook his head, refusing to answer.

Remembering Old Ku's shortened lifespan, Feng Xue didn't press further, instead asking:

"How much for this Moonstone? Do you have more?"

"One fire-box for two pieces of Moonstone this size!" The youth gestured with one hand showing one, the other two. Feng Xue clearly sensed the greed-energy radiating from him.

Feng Xue raised an eyebrow and shook his head:

"I'll check elsewhere…"

"Three! No, five! Five is the maximum!" The youth quickly revised his offer, but his actions drew attention—someone nearby called out: "Six pieces for a fire-box! Twenty pieces for a glowing staff!"

"Where do you even get that much Moonstone?" the youth snapped at the rival. The other replied:

"I'm going to dig some right now!"

"Who's got time to wait for you…"

Seeing the two argue, Feng Xue roughly gauged the market price, pulled out two lighters, and said:

"One lighter for six pieces of Moonstone."

"Deal!"

Both youths snatched up their cloth bundles and vanished—before Feng Xue could move elsewhere, they returned running with armfuls of stones.

Feng Xue now understood why the bulk-retail shops on Ya Nan Island were so popular—and he was grateful he'd stockpiled items back then, driven by his "time-space trader" mindset; otherwise, he wouldn't have had enough lighters to serve as universal currency.

"Give me a few lighters—and a couple of small flashlights too."

As Feng Xue stuffed Moonstone into his bag, Feina whispered suddenly.

Feng Xue looked at Feina in surprise, confirmed it wasn't Sara's request, then handed her a few lighters, asking:

"Why do you want these?"

"She thinks buying more goods will make her look wealthy, increasing the chance the natives will kill her."

Sara made Doggy roll his eyes, then said:

"If you've got extra cash, buy the silver metal ingot on that youth's stall—and if you see any similar ones later, buy them too!"

"Oh, what's this thing?"

Feng Xue glanced at the so-called metal ingot—it looked no different from a steel bar. Sara whispered through private transmission:

"Parva alloy—a high-performance metal from the previous civilization. Though its hardness is average, its toughness is insane, extremely wear-resistant, anti-yield, anti-fatigue—commonly used in springs, bearings, brake pads. Only the Free Island Group and Chifeng Island Group can produce it in small batches. Who the hell knows how these natives made it!"

"Damn, so this really is Wakanda?" Feng Xue mentally grumbled, then quietly bought every single piece of Parva alloy within his field of view.

Not much… altogether about ten kilograms.

But he didn't pay for all of it with lighters—after all, too much of anything loses value. Fortunately, he'd accepted countless vendor pitches on Ya Nan Island, dismissing those items as useless for time-space trading—now they proved useful.

Spices, coffee, music boxes, flashlights, mirrors—all highly sought-after goods. This gave Feng Xue, who'd only ever sold items when desperate for cash, a taste of the joy of being a time-space trader.

Yet this trading frenzy also stirred suspicion in Feng Xue.

After all, if this village—and this entire island—were all "black shops," they could simply surround him and take everything they wanted.

But if not, where did those ship planks used to build houses come from? The quantity couldn't be explained by mere ignorance among the locals!

(End of chapter)