Money Can Buy Everything

054: Upgrade

With Diavel as his capable subordinate, Momo began to confidently act as a hands-off manager. With the contractual trading authority he had, he didn't have to worry about Diavel having any ulterior motives. Moreover, with nearly a century of management experience, Momo could easily tell whether Diavel was sincere in his actions.

What Momo could confirm is that Diavel himself didn't like this contract. After all, it was a contract signed under duress to stay alive. While he accepted it rationally, it didn't sit well with him emotionally.

However, Momo made it clear that he wanted to be a hands-off manager. Instead of causing any complaints from Diavel, this attitude sparked Diavel's enthusiasm. Diavel realized that as long as Momo maintained this attitude, he effectively controlled the authority of a 500-person elite group. Despite being called a vice president verbally, in reality, he held significant power.

As a result, whenever Diavel couldn't see Momo, he subconsciously forgot that he was just a vice president and wholeheartedly focused on his work.

Unfortunately, Diavel didn't know that this illusion was created by Momo. Momo didn't trust Diavel at all, and without the limitations of trading authority, he would have fired Diavel without hesitation.

While Diavel wasn't a schemer like Sugou Nobuyuki, he wouldn't prioritize moral values and friendship. For such individuals, you could talk about interests, bind them with interests, but never trust them emotionally.

However, Momo didn't care about what Diavel wanted to do. As long as he could organize the guild well, get the strongest group of players to diligently explore the game, and speed up the progress of the game, Momo wouldn't bother with him.

Looking at Diavel's appearance, Momo couldn't help but doubt his sincerity.

"Why can you be so leisurely while I can't catch a break!"

Asuna was having lunch with Momo, and compared to Momo's leisure, Asuna was truly busy and in a mess. A group of 500 people, neither too large nor too small, but there was no one to help Asuna manage the affairs of these 500 people.

Lisbeth was too busy with her main profession, and Argo just hung her name in the Rose Garden and continued her business as an information broker.

As for the last one, Silica... it would be better to find someone trustworthy to take care of Silica, the elementary school student.

"So, Asuna, you should learn from me, find two trustworthy people, and delegate your responsibilities. I think that Yulier would be a good choice."

Upon hearing this, Asuna raised an eyebrow, squinted her eyes, leaned in, and asked, "What makes her a good choice?"

Momo seemed not to notice Asuna's expression, squinted his eyes, pinched his chin, and said, "On the surface, she may seem unapproachable, especially with that seemingly cold demeanor. However, she gives me a sense of competence, and I believe she has the talent for this."

Seeing Momo's serious expression and no hint of recklessness, Asuna finally took her seat and asked, "Is it that simple?"

"Of course, I haven't even spoken to her. What's wrong, Asuna? Why do I smell a hint of jealousy?"

"Who's jealous of—- Ah!"

Asuna blushed as she retorted but suddenly realized that Momo had tricked her into revealing her true feelings. She glared at Momo, hastily finished her lunch in three or two bites, and said, "I have things to do. If you really have free time, can't you come and help me... forget it, I feel like I'll regret letting you into my guild."

"Remember, when I'm not around, you're not allowed to get close to other girls or be intimate with them. I'll have Argo gather information!"

After saying that, Asuna left in a small hurry, leaving behind Momo, who had a playful expression on his face.

"If Asuna finds out that Argo is trying to sneak away, something big might actually happen!"

"Tsk tsk, the sour smell of love. Hey, Momo, you better take in this little girl. She seems a bit anxious now. Maybe she has nightmares every night thinking you'll abandon her when she's in your arms."

Momo looked up at the seemingly casually chatting Reimu and said, "Hey, what's going on, little Reimu? Why do I smell a hint of jealousy in the air?"

"Pah! Don't flatter yourself. As an observer, I can see through your true colors. Well, in fact, you're stringing Asuna along, making her reluctant to leave you, right? Be careful not to overplay it."

"What are you talking about!"

Momo had a serious face, full of righteousness, with a gleam of positive energy in his eyes. "Asuna and I have genuine feelings for each other. Our love triumphs over carnal desires. It's a legitimate Platonic love!"

"Hugging a girl every night and still have the face to call it Platonic? I feel like you'll eventually tread the path of a scoundrel."

"It's okay, even if it's a scoundrel, I'll accept it."

Momo gave a thumbs-up, showing his kind teeth, radiant and dazzling. "This is love! True love is fearless of life and death. Even death can't separate us."

"Yeah, I know. The only thing that can separate you two is a chopper."

Reimu landed on Momo's head and said, "Enough of the nonsense. Do you know what to do now?"

Momo nodded and said, "Is the experience points full?"

The trading authority at level 3 can be used three times a day, and each use increases one point of experience. It takes 100 experience points to level up, which is a little over a month.

Just now, during lunch with Asuna, Momo underwent a difficult training session to upgrade the proficiency of a sword skill to the maximum, accumulating the required 100 experience points.

"So, let's level up. What are you planning to do this time? Are you going to trade with a god again? If I remember correctly, you still have 99 years of lifespan, right? According to the previous three times, with each trade adding 30 years, it's not enough this time!"

Reimu was somewhat gloating and said, "Tsk tsk, this time, let's see what you'll do. Can you still trade with others for life in this death game?"

Momo shrugged and said, "Why not? If I tell a player that I can guarantee they won't die and in return, they give me ten years of lifespan, do you think they'll agree?"

Reimu blinked, took a moment to understand the logical relationship here, widened her eyes, and said, "Can you be even more shameless!"

But then she became somewhat excited and said, "Hey, if you really do that, a player suddenly aging ten years in the game. For example, Kirito, making Kirito instantly become an adult, wouldn't that cause chaos in the entire game again?"

After hearing Reimu's words, Momo suddenly revealed a pleased smile, as if seeing a grown-up and sensible child. He said, "Reimu, we really match well. Look, our temperaments and characters are becoming more and more similar!"

"Pah, you're the shameless one!"

"Hey! How do you know what I wanted to say? It seems like we have a telepathic connection!"

"Shut up, or I'll take action. Although this is a game, the game is well-made. I can pluck your hair one by one without causing you harm. Want to play a game of counting hair with me?"

Momo's eyelids twitched, suddenly feeling that he might have done something extraordinary. Has Reimu's character been tainted during their time together, and the familiar red-and-white shrine maiden disappeared, replaced by a Momo-branded mischievous Reimu?

This kind of thing...

It's really exciting!

"Forget about Kirito. I feel like Kirito's life trajectory has become obscure because of me. I'm even thinking about how to compensate Kirito. Speaking of which, let's upgrade the trading authority first."

Reimu was somewhat surprised and said, "You really don't plan to trade with a god again? Have you decided to trust your luck?"

Momo shrugged and said, "As the saying goes, three strikes and you're out. Although my previous trades with the god were flawless in terms of reason and logic, as you said, from the perspective of an observer, it's no different from cheating. The gods are omniscient and omnipotent, but they also have their own emotions. I don't want to upset the gods."

"In other words, you're afraid the boss will get a bad impression of you? Well, anyway, you're in charge. I'm just providing an interface, and this is the lottery interface. Click the button, spin the wheel, whatever you like, it's a matter of probability."

After saying that, Reimu pointed her finger, and a disc appeared in front of Momo, with a button in the center and rows of tiny words on the periphery, detailing the additional skills of the trading authority.

"I value the ability of remote trading more. With this ability, I can directly lock any trading target I know with my thoughts, ignoring distance and spacetime for trading. Plus, I want to understand the situation outside."

"Heh heh, this probability is only a few percentage points. Even if you have lucky A, it's impossible for anything to happen just because it's supposed to happen."

"Well, I agree with that. Relying solely on luck, I might have lost to others a long time ago."

Momo gently turned the wheel, and the wheel spun rapidly, then slowly came to a stop. Momo looked at the pointer indifferently, and the Reimu above Momo's head also showed no signs of tension.

After all, for Momo, the trading authority itself was the core. The significance of all additional skills was merely to facilitate Momo's actions and reduce the preparations he needed to make for trading.

The pointer finally stopped, pointing to one square.

"This is... Storage?"

Additional skill [Storage]: The trading authority holder can store the traded items obtained in a certain way, waiting to be taken out and used when needed. The storage method is specified by the trading authority holder's thoughts.

Reimu frowned and said, "Why does it sound so vague? It doesn't seem very clear, Momo, do you understand?"

Momo pinched his chin, pondered for a while, and his eyes lit up.

Originally, he thought it was an insignificant skill, but now, after reading the explanation, he realized that this was a treasure!