Wasted trip...

Yato was somewhat frustrated and ready to leave. However, just as he brushed past the other person at the alley's exit, a slightly low yet distinctly clear voice came from behind:

"100,000 yen!"

"..."

"..."

"Wha-what..."

His steps halted, and Yato stood dazedly, almost frozen mid-step at the alley's entrance, not daring to believe what he just heard. His expression was equally frozen, while his mind was overwhelmed by a violent storm.

A six-digit number repeatedly reverberated in his thoughts, ceaselessly assaulting his rational mind with a stormy barrage.

100,000, 100,000, 100,000...

After several seconds passed in this manner, he then struggled to clench his fists, took a deep breath, and forcibly calmed himself to adhere to the principle of rational thinking. Although he appeared slightly discomposed, he still didn't turn around, instead responding in the calmest tone he could:

"I don't understand what you mean, but I'm very busy, you'll have to excuse me..."

Of course, he did understand what the other person meant.

To suddenly throw out a price like that was clearly starting to negotiate... If it weren't for the fact that the offer was likely for a murder-for-hire, Yato would have hugged the other's legs and agreed right there.

100,000 yen! 100,000 yen! How much is 100,000 again... Wait, wait, wait, I charge only 5 yen for one commission. With 100,000 yen, that would be like completing 20,000 commissions at once! 20,000 commissions, how long would it take to reach that milestone!!

Even under the most ideal circumstances, where I could complete one commission per day, it would take almost a lifetime... And many times, things aren't that ideal because not every day has commissions, and not every commission can be smoothly completed within the same day...

A frantic mental storm surged uncontrollably in his mind, various simple arithmetic swirling rapidly, supported by his mental capacity, running calculations and checks repeatedly, rendering a conclusion that almost led Yato to overstep his boundaries.

But ultimately, he had principles and persistence, and he bit down hard to force himself awake and decisively rejected.

But——

"200,000 yen."

Gu Mo looked at the shabby back of the Nameless God at the alley's entrance, speaking calmly with an increased offer.

"This...this...it's not about the money." Yato's heart shuddered, and the emotions he'd just managed to soothe exploded into massive waves once more, with the bottom line he barely guarded nearly blown away. His voice started to tremble slightly.

"500,000 yen." Gu Mo unperturbedly continued to raise the offer, simply doubling it per round.

"I said, it's really not about the money..." Yato felt on the verge of tears. At this moment, the complexity and despair of his emotions were indescribable, more difficult to swallow than the hurtful words Ban Ying left before running off with a bucket.

After all, he was already used to that sort of thing, and his connection with Ban Ying wasn't that deep, naturally, it wasn't that heartbreaking.

But now it was different. He watched the goal he had long struggled towards, with the chance to complete a significant portion of his progress bar, an opportunity by his current efficiency standards that would save him at least decades of hard work. Yet, limited by his own principles, he was unable to choose.

He felt his heart was being interrogated, and his boundaries seemed to be on the brink of collapse.

"Then one hundred..." Gu Mo continued to speak lightly, but before finishing, Yato screamed, clutching his head, and darted away.

He couldn't listen anymore; judging by the other's generous escalation, he figured his resistance would soon crumble! He didn't doubt whether Gu Mo could produce that sum of money. Everyone here seemed poorly off, yet Gu Mo was so wealthy...

On money matters, Yato's biggest weakness, his heart was in chaos, completely unable to think calmly. Forcing himself to stay calm merely meant maintaining rationality as much as possible, just enough to prevent his principles from breaking, but he couldn't think of anything deeper or more thorough.

"Tch..."

Gu Mo watched the shabby figure dashing away, clutching his head, and uttered this subtle syllable.

He wasn't actually that rich or serious about commissioning this job. Strictly speaking, doubling wages repeatedly seemed refreshing, but he didn't actually have that kind of money. He changed his original approach promptly upon realizing the situation, purely to reshape his image.

Planning to foster his persona using a different method - extravagant, intensely wealthy...

Yes, it boiled down simply to demonstrating wealth and bolstering his wealthy persona. Successfully leaving such an impression in Yato's mind would make executing his plan subsequently easier... Although it differed slightly from his initial expectations, the main idea remained unchanged.

Essentially, money could maneuver gods, wealth could make divine entities turn their hands.

The repeated generous offers, repeated doubling pricing mainly aimed to create this impression in Yato, even knowing the other definitely wouldn't accept.

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