"The shop is in the host's sea of awareness. Think of it and it will appear," the system explained.
Su Ping began to think about the shop.
All of a sudden, a dark gray shop interface appeared in his mind, like the cabinet of a storage unit. Only three items could be found in there.
"Awakening Potion—100 energy points."
"Elementary beast catching ring—100 energy points."
"Low-rank Astral Pet food—10 energy points."
Information on all three items came up at the same time.
Su Ping did not hesitate to choose the "Awakening Potion" at once.
"Purchase failed. Insufficient energy," the system cautioned him.
"Energy?"
Su Ping was surprised. Only then did he notice the purchase requirement that followed the item description.
"The energy points are converted from the money made by the host. The exchange rate is 100:1. The current energy stored is, one point."
Su Ping was dumbfounded. He suddenly remembered something. He browsed through his transaction history.
-100!
As he expected, his account had 100 points less; they had been transferred to an unknown, unfamiliar account.
"This is to say, with 10,000, I can buy the Awakening Potion, right?" Instead of feeling frustrated, Su Ping was excited.
That was an utterly cheap price. After all, the Awakening Potion was something that could elevate a common person to an Astral Pet warrior in one go!
If he had to buy it in the federal outposts, the price alone would be astronomical, let alone the complicated channels he had to go through. Besides, the effect might be inferior to this one!
"Convert all the remaining currency in my account into energy," Su Ping said at once.
There were more than 20,000 in the balance of his account. Those had been transferred to him by his family for him to buy some Astral Pet offspring.
"Currency unrelated to store activity cannot be converted," the system said.
"What?"
Su Ping didn't understand. "Is there a difference between the money made in the store and the one made in other places?"
"No."
"Warning! Profanity alert!"
"…" Su Ping took a deep breath. He clenched his fist, "If so, why can't you convert money that comes from other channels?"
"The currency conversion module is set up to test the host's own development ability. This ability will be included in the final evaluation of the host in the system," the system explained.
"What final evaluation?" Su Ping raised his eyebrows.
"The host doesn't have enough authority to know."
"…"
Su Ping pushed down a certain urge and gradually loosened his fist.
He had to be humble while he was trapped in an inferior situation.
"Lucky for me, to make 10,000 in the pet store is not a difficult task. I just need some time. If I can train a pet like the Lightning Rat and sell it, I can make more than a million, let alone 10,000!" Su Ping said to himself.
"Given the host's current limits of authority, you can only rent pets, not sell them." The system doused him with cold water in a very timely manner.
Su Ping: "??"
He couldn't sell pets in a pet store?
"Warning! Second profanity alert!" The system sounded cold.
A painful memory surged in his mind. Su Ping quickly cut back the ideas that were swarming out endlessly on his mind.
He took a deep breath in, and out.
He had obtained the Zen spirit.
"Even if it's just renting, it's not difficult to make 10,000 every time I rent a pet as good as the Lightning Rat," Su Ping thought.
"All the services provided by the store shall be priced reasonably. The host doesn't have the right to adjust the price," the system came out again.
Su Ping was at a loss.
He had a bad feeling. "What are the prices like?"
"Currently, the store only has three kinds of services available: pet boarding, renting, and selling food."
"Since the host has not bought a nursing pen, the two existing nursing pens in the store are failed products, complimentary from the system. So, for each pet raised there, the price is 10 per hour."
"As for pet renting services, the prices will be set according to the rank, ability, and aptitude of the pet to be rented out. Since the host has yet to breed any pets, the prices cannot be estimated at the moment."
"As for the food, the host will have to go to the cultivation site to harvest food and the price will be set according to the quality of the food."
Su Ping was dumbfounded.
Only three services were available?
That was to say, no other mechanisms or services related to pets could be made available, right?
Things like the pets' apparel, toys, and other services such as hair trimming for pets were the real money-makers for a pet store… the main source of income!
It had to be known that pets could do more than battles. In their daily lives, most of the time, pets would do some shopping with their masters, as well as dine or watch TV together. Most battle pet warriors were willing to take care of their pets thoroughly. After all, the pets were the only ones that could accompany their masters when it came to life and death struggles!
"If I can only make money on pet boarding services, one hour is 10, then one nursing pen can generate 240 a day, two of the nursing pens will be 480 and I can make enough money in about a month…"
Su Ping did some math. The result was acceptable. One month would pass by easily.
That being said, the charge for the nursing pen was higher than the market price and it was an hourly rate.
Who would come out and put their pets in pet care for an hour?
"System, you just mentioned that the nursing pens were failed products and were complimentary. Are there other nursing pens that would charge even more?" Su Ping asked in his mind.
"Of course there are," the system answered at once, "10 energy points for one elementary nursing pen which has to be sustained by one point of energy per day. The host will have to pay for this."
"It has to be sustained by my energy?" Su Ping felt he had met a dark-minded merchant. "That is not effective permanently?"
"Of course not," the system replied, "The elementary nursing pens are made with spirit stones and the pets inside will be nurtured by pure anima that can improve the power of understanding and better the constitution of the pets. In that way, the pets can pick up powerful special skills more easily."
Su Ping was stunned. Was that so?
One had to know that other than using some special treasures, only advanced trainers could inspire the power of understanding in a pet.
But according to the system, one nursing pen had such an effect. That was practically to say that the pet could be looked after by an advanced trainer at all times…
"What is the price for this kind of elementary nursing pen?" Su Ping asked in a hurry.
"One hundred per hour." the system replied.
"…" Su Ping fell into silence.
In the market, averagely speaking, pet boarding would be charged at around 100 for 10 days unless the master had special requirements for extra services. Other than that, the price was pretty much the same everywhere.
Considering this, one hundred per hour would make 2400 per day.
That would be 24,000 for 10 days!
The price was 24 times as high as that of other pet stores!
"System," Su Ping said all of a sudden.
"Yes?"
"Can you make the price… even higher?"
"…"
Eventually, the system turned down Su Ping's request in a cold-blooded fashion. He felt rather disappointed.
The price was high, even unimaginably queer. However, as far as Su Ping could tell, such elementary nursing pens could present such benefits that even a price 10 times as higher would be reasonable!
"But, I cannot afford such an elementary nursing pen right now. Am I supposed to drag along by relying on the failed nursing pen?" Su Ping found himself in a predicament.
As for the food sales…
He would have to harvest it from the cultivation site first.
Su Ping couldn't help but feel his mouth twitch at the thought of the many deaths he experienced in three days in that cultivation site.
Life was too hard…
"Wait a minute. I've gone missing for three days. My family must be worried about me." This idea suddenly came to his mind and startled him.
"The host doesn't have to worry. The time flow in the cultivation site is different from here. Outside, only three hours have passed." The system sounded rather calm.