Dimensional Slime Rancher-Chapter 12: Collect the cube?!

"A Savage Blood-Ape... is nothing but a shaved monkey."

The moment those flat, deadpan words were said, the mood within the lobby completely froze.

The Three Bears of Ouyang and Luo Lan were staring wide-eyed at Ren.

They were combat cultivators, and the Savage Blood-Ape was widely regarded as the ultimate frontline siege weapon.

However, coming out of Boss Ren’s mouth, it was... a shaved monkey?

"Haha! Smelly Boss, the way you said it was so cool!" Xiaoyi happily exclaimed while aggressively clapping her small hands.

She absolutely loved the kind of unshakeable, arrogant self-confidence that Ren radiated.

"Tch, he’s just an ignorant country bumpkin. Has he even seen a real Blood-Ape tear down a city wall? He’s only speaking absolute nonsense."

Zhao Feng disdainfully snorted and pursed his lips. How could the lazy owner of a twenty-square-meter shack know the true terror of a Tier-5 mutant beast that was personally trained by the Beast Tamer Sect’s grandmasters?

Ren knitted his eyebrows and looked toward Zhao Feng. He was very familiar with this arrogant fellow, mostly because Naked Zhao had tried to bribe his way past the queue over and over again, only to be rejected.

"Compared to my products... the Sect’s overgrown pets are garbage."

Ren simply said, with a bursting, capitalistic self-confidence.

He was absolutely confident in the Searing Mana Cube.

"Boss Ren, you have a new combat item?" Luo Lan’s eyes lit up, and a slight redness appeared on his fair face from pure agitation. His Fuzzball chirped eagerly from inside his robes.

Ren just pointed toward the glowing holographic menu behind him and did not say anything.

Everyone understood what he meant and turned their heads to look toward the hovering text...

"Sss~"

This sharp intake of breath was made by Zhao Feng. Even though he had heard the little girl mention the item, it was his first time actually reading the updated menu.

Even though he had immense family wealth, he still sucked in a breath of cold air when he personally saw the price tag attached to the new product.

Xiaoyi and the Three Bears immediately rolled their eyes at him.

What a country bumpkin... Was there a need to act so surprised?

"Searing Mana Cube, one thousand Spirit Stones per cube," Luo Lan softly read out, his voice trembling slightly.

"As expected, Boss Ren’s creations are incredibly expensive as usual," Luo Qing let out a beautiful, icy sigh. One thousand crystals for a single, consumable cube of food was far more expensive than the Beast Tamer Sect’s standard combat elixirs, which usually only cost around two hundred stones.

With such a brutal comparison between the two solely based on their prices, the Sect’s elixirs were truly... cheap toys.

"A thousand stones for a block of food?! Have you gone completely insane? Are you sure your little jelly cube is worth this price?!"

Zhao Feng could not believe it. One thousand stones was practically daylight robbery!

"Boss Ren! There’s no need to explain anything else, I want a cube! Thankfully, my incredible foresight had already predicted that Boss Ren’s new item would definitely not be cheap, so I brought my entire monthly allowance!" Luo Lan excitedly yelled, slamming a heavy pouch onto the counter.

"Boss Ren, the three of us want a cube as well! If that watery slime is already so miraculous at cooling us down, then this fiery cube is surely good for explosions!" Ouyang Zhen carefreely boomed, slamming his own massive pouch down.

Zhao Feng raised his eyebrows as he looked toward Luo Lan and the Three Bears of Ouyang in utter surprise.

They actually bought such an absurdly expensive consumable without a second thought... Could it be that the item was really that powerful?

Immediately, Zhao Feng made up his mind. He couldn’t afford to look weak in front of Luo Qing. He gritted his teeth and said, "I want a cube as well!"

"Hmph! I’d like to see for what possible reason a piece of beast food from such a hovel could actually sell for a thousand stones!" Zhao Feng thought furiously.

"Excuse me, there’s only three Searing Mana Cubes left for sale today. If you want to order it, you’ll have to come queue up again tomorrow,"

Ren indifferently glanced toward Zhao Feng and expressionlessly stated.

Zhao Feng froze for a moment, and his eyes were immediately filled with pure rage as he thought, "You’re rejecting me again! Do you have a personal vendetta against me?!"

"Didn’t you say there are three cubes left? Since Luo Lan and the Ouyang brothers are buying two of them, isn’t there one more left that you can sell to me? Are you intentionally looking down on the Zhao clan?!"

Zhao Feng was absolutely infuriated.

Facing the exasperated and furious noble, Ren was slightly baffled and genuinely puzzled. Why did these rich kids always assume everything was a personal attack?

However, his face was still completely deadpan as he replied,

"The last cube is already reserved."

"Reserved? An excuse... That’s definitely a pathetic excuse!" Zhao Feng thought, grinding his teeth.

Looking at Ren’s bored, expressionless face, he was extremely tempted to throw his expensive silk shoe at him.

That lazy face definitely deserved a beating!

"Then tell me, who reserved the third cube? I’ll go and throw Spirit Stones at him until he gives it up!" Zhao Feng said with a dark, gloomy expression.

"Oh, that’s entirely up to you. I don’t care as long as you don’t cause trouble or bleed on my clean floor," Ren simply said, then turned around and headed toward the Workshop to retrieve the items. However, when he reached the sliding door, he suddenly stopped, turned back, and asked, "Are you guys not going to order any regular beasts today?"

"I’ll take my usual Fuzzball Kibble," Luo Lan said with a bright grin.

The Three Bears of Ouyang ordered three Basic Hydro Slimes as usual, since they desperately needed to keep their fiery meridians from imploding.

"What about you, Naked Zhao?" Ren’s lazy gaze landed on Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Since you refuse to sell me the cube, synthesize me a ’Cloud-Compressor’ for my Wind Slime! If I am going to buy something, I’ll buy the most expensive mechanical gadget!"

The others were slightly surprised; they hadn’t realized Ren was still taking custom Artificer orders. Their attention had been completely hijacked by the Searing Mana Cubes.

"Cloud-Compressor? Hmm, alright. Five hundred stones," Ren nodded and went into the Workshop.

"Zhao Feng, did you actually bring enough stones?"

Xiaoyi could not help but ask with a mocking tone. "You talk big, but you always complain about the prices."

"I don’t lack money, you brat! So what if it costs five hundred? You better not forget about our wager. Luo Qing, just wait for our private boat trip tonight."

Zhao Feng confidently smiled, waving his fan. As the heir to the Minister of Revenue, he had massive personal properties. A few thousand stones was truly nothing to him.

Zhao Feng was faintly smiling as he sat down on a stool. He took out an intricate, heavy iron jug that he had brought with him.

He also brought his own iron cups and started to fill them with a dark, thick liquid. Then he beckoned toward Luo Qing and the rest, and said,

"Come and sit down. While we wait for this ’miracle’ cube, let’s taste the Tyrant’s Brew from the Sect."

As soon as the cups were filled, a rich, violent, and aggressive aroma instantly diffused into the air of the lobby.

Luo Lan and the Three Bears of Ouyang were already close to losing their restraints; their combat-oriented bodies naturally craved the aggressive energy.

However, just when they were about to taste the Tyrant’s Brew, a heavy figure slowly stepped into the store. It was as if the composed, heavy footsteps were filled with a strange, suffocating pressure.

Everyone’s gaze was violently attracted by that figure at the entrance.

Dressed in dark green robes embroidered with a snarling tiger, he was carrying a massive, chained beast-whip on his hip and wore a wide bamboo hat that shadowed his scarred face.

His tall, broad figure was exuding a deeply predatory aura.

The moment the Beast Tamer stepped into the store, it seemed as if the atmosphere had turned terrifyingly cold, smelling distinctly of fresh blood.

The massive muscles on the Three Bears of Ouyang suddenly constricted as they alertly looked at the mysterious Beast Tamer. They could feel an extremely terrifying, wild aura emanating from him.

The aura caused the true energy within their bodies to automatically circulate...

That was the natural self-defense mechanism that occurs when facing an apex predator.

Luo Qing and Luo Lan were startled for a moment, and they started to closely watch the man as well.

They felt the cruel gaze behind the bamboo hat had briefly landed on them like they were prey.

"Who are you?!" Zhao Feng knitted his eyebrows and coldly asked, his hand drifting to his sword. He felt that this man’s aura was dangerously disrespectful.

"Me? I am just a customer." A hoarse voice like grinding sandpaper rang out. Sect Elder Gu’s nephew, Gu Tian, directly sat down at the table near the entrance and placed a heavy pouch of Spirit Stones onto the counter.

"You... What are you here for?" Xiaoyi shyly asked, stepping back. She was genuinely frightened by the man’s bloody aura.

"I reserved the last Searing Mana Cube from the shopkeeper this morning. I am back to collect my weapon," Gu Tian continued to speak using his hoarse, mocking voice.

"Collect the cube?!"

Everyone was surprised for a moment, then weirdly looked toward Zhao Feng. That arrogant fellow seemed to have just boldly declared that he would throw money to buy the last cube from whoever reserved it.

Zhao Feng was startled, but then the corner of his mouth curled up in an arrogant sneer. He elegantly stood up, walked over to Gu Tian, and confidently said,

"Sell your reservation of the cube to me. I’ll give you three times the price."

"I am not selling to a weakling," Gu Tian indifferently replied, not even looking at him.

Zhao Feng frowned, his pride stinging, and continued to say, "Five times the price. Five thousand stones."

"I said, I am not selling."

"Do you know who I am?! Are you intentionally trying to offend the Zhao Clan?!" Zhao Feng threatened with a freezing expression.

After his two consecutive, highly generous offers were casually rejected, Zhao Feng was furious.

Finally, Gu Tian slowly lifted his gaze, his scarred, snake-like eyes locking onto Zhao Feng. His hoarse voice, as alarming as the growl of a starving beast, sounded out.

"Even if your father, the Minister of Revenue, was standing right here, he wouldn’t dare to bark at me like that. Who... the fuck do you think you are, little boy?"