At this moment, Ethan was still busy grinding monsters. He had already moved on from snow hares and was now hunting snow wolves. The experience points from snow hares had diminished, while snow wolves were just right for him.
However, snow wolves were pack animals and much more dangerous, so Ethan had to be more cautious when hunting them.
**[Ding! You have received a friend request from Naomi. Do you accept?]**
Ethan had just killed a young snow wolf when he heard the system notification. He frowned.
"Why is Naomi adding me? Didn't she already break the dungeon record? Could it be that she's not satisfied with the deal?"
Curious, Ethan accepted the request.
"Hello, is this Dustwalker?" Naomi asked.
"Yes, it's me. What do you want? I'm busy," Ethan replied while shooting arrows. He had just attracted a pack of wolves, so he was a bit preoccupied.
Naomi, hearing his quick response, got straight to the point without beating around the bush.
"Dustwalker, I'm Naomi. Do you happen to have the strategy for the *Hard* difficulty of the Treasure Cave?"
Ethan paused for a moment, realizing she was contacting him to buy another strategy. This was a great opportunity to milk the situation a bit. After all, strategies for *Hard* mode dungeons were far more valuable than those for *Easy* mode.
In *Godfall*, when a team cleared a dungeon on *Hard* mode, the announcement would be broadcast to the entire game. It even allowed players to leave messages, earning the nickname "megaphone." Strategies for *Expert* mode were even more coveted—once cleared, the announcement would spread among NPCs as well.
As for *Nightmare* mode, no one had ever cleared such a dungeon yet, so its effects were still unknown.
After thinking for a moment, Ethan replied, "Yes, I have it. Do you want to buy it?"
"Yes, name your price," Naomi answered confidently.
Ethan had to admit, Naomi had the guts to match her reputation as the female Ares.
"I'm willing to sell it, but the real question is: What can you offer?" Ethan asked with a sly grin.
"What do you want? Money? Gold? Gear? Name it!" Naomi replied boldly, waving her hand in a show of confidence.
Ethan was amused by her big talk. She had no idea what he was about to ask for.
"Alright then, since you're so generous, I want a *Temporal Compass*. Do you have one?"
The *Temporal Compass* was a god-tier item that allowed players to transport objects between worlds. If Ethan had it, he could send a healing item to Terra and cure Lily's disease.
"A *Temporal Compass*? What's that?" Naomi asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Her guild had researchers who specialized in analyzing items and NPCs, but she had never heard of a *Temporal Compass* before.
Ethan had expected this response. He never really expected her to have it. The *Temporal Compass* wasn't even in Argoth; it was controlled by an NPC wandering the stars.
But that didn't matter. Ethan's real purpose was just to raise the price.
With a smirk, he replied, "I figured you wouldn't have it. Fine, I won't make things difficult for you. Give me 100 gold, and also prepare a ticket to Winterhold."
"Uh…"
Naomi hesitated. To be honest, 100 gold was a lot, but considering the value of the strategy, she could accept it. The problem was that her guild didn't have that much liquid gold on hand at the moment.
"Can we offer cash instead?" Naomi asked cautiously.
"Of course!" Ethan agreed. He needed money more than anything at the moment, so cash would work just fine.
"How about 50 gold, and the remaining balance in cash—50,000 dollars. But the ship ticket to Winterhold is non-negotiable. That's my bottom line," Ethan said.
In *Godfall*, there was no option to exchange real money for in-game currency, making gold extremely valuable. One gold coin was worth around 10,000 dollars. Only after *Godfall* fully connected to Terra would the value of in-game currency start to decrease.
"Deal. I can give you the 50,000 dollars today, but the gold will take a few days," Naomi replied.
"Alright."
With the agreement set, they signed a **Sacred Contract**, and Ethan provided his bank account details.
Afterward, Ethan continued grinding monsters until nightfall, when he logged out of the game and returned to Terra.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow across the living room. Outside, people had begun their daily routines, hustling to manage their lives.
As for Ethan, he checked his phone and, sure enough, he had received a transfer of 50,000 dollars.
"With this money, I can stabilize Lily's condition for now," Ethan thought, feeling relieved. In a good mood, he left his apartment, hailed a cab, and headed toward a row of old townhouses.
The building was worn down and had clearly seen better days, with no elevator in sight. Following his memories, Ethan climbed to the fourth floor and stopped in front of a door.
If he remembered correctly, this was where Claire and their daughter were now living.
Ethan stood in front of the door for a while, gathering his thoughts, before finally knocking.
*Knock, knock, knock!*
"Who is it?" came a voice from behind the door, followed by the sound of footsteps. Moments later, the door opened slightly, revealing Claire's tired face.
As soon as she saw Ethan, she quickly slammed the door shut.
"Claire!" Ethan reacted quickly, wedging his foot in the door. "Claire, don't shut the door. Just listen to me."
"Ethan, we're divorced! I haven't even asked you for child support. What more do you want from me?" Claire's face was filled with despair.
She had had enough of Ethan constantly asking for money, enough of the debt collectors constantly threatening her. All she wanted now was to take care of Lily and find a way to cure her illness.
"Claire, I know I've made mistakes. I swear I'll never gamble again!" Ethan pleaded.
"You've said that so many times, but did you ever really change? Ethan, please, I'm begging you—stop coming here. Stop disrupting my life!" Claire's voice broke, nearly hysterical as she shouted.
She had given Ethan countless chances, but in the end, all he did was lie to her over and over again. She had lost all hope. If it weren't for Lily, she might have considered ending her own life.
Hearing Claire's words, Ethan fell silent.
Just then, a small round face peeked out from behind the door, a little hand clutching Claire's pant leg. The child's fearful eyes looked up at Ethan.
"Daddy, please don't bully Mommy anymore, okay?"
That one sentence was enough to make Claire burst into quiet sobs as she held Lily close.
"Lily…" Ethan muttered, feeling as if his heart was being torn apart. A suffocating weight pressed down on him, almost making him faint.
After a few long moments, Ethan finally came to his senses, a helpless smile tugging at his lips. He wanted to explain, but the words were caught in his throat. He couldn't say anything.
*Sigh…*
With a heavy sigh, Ethan pulled out a bank card from his pocket and gently placed it by the doorframe.
"Claire, there's 50,000 dollars on this card. The PIN is six zeros. The money is clean, I swear.
"Use it to move to a safer place. This place isn't safe for you and Lily anymore.
"Also, I've contacted a specialist who can cure Lily's illness. You don't have to worry anymore."
When Claire didn't respond, Ethan sighed again. He knew that no amount of words could change things now. It would take more than promises to earn her forgiveness.
Only by becoming stronger, earning more money, and proving that he had truly changed could he ever hope to make amends.
With that thought, Ethan quietly closed the door and walked away, feeling dejected.
But as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed a black car parked by the roadside. A well-dressed man in a suit stepped out, holding a bouquet of flowers.
Ethan's face froze when he saw the man's face. Then, uncontrollable rage surged up from deep within him.
"Damien!"