Money Can Buy Everything

049: Biting Each Other

The 10,000 Col money pouch instantly captured everyone's attention.

All present were elite players, and nearly all of them had savings exceeding 1,000 Col. So, when Momo produced 1,000 Col and even 5,000 Col earlier, it was a mere surprise. After all, Momo, along with Asuna, had their equipment and strength to consider. Additionally, they represented two out of four members in their team, with Momo handling most of the team's responsibilities as its leader. So, it wasn't hard to understand him bringing out a few thousand Col.

However, when the Col amount jumped from four digits to five, the crowd couldn't help but gasp in astonishment. It wasn't just a small increase; it was the final blow that shattered their nerves, leaving them stunned.

This was 10,000 Col in savings, not earnings. And with four people in the group, it meant each of them had to cover their own expenses. Accumulating 10,000 Col in a month was no small feat.

But then, considering that they all used Lizbeth's services for enhancing and crafting their weapons, the fees, even though they might only be a few tens to hundreds of Col each time, would add up significantly over time. That's why the 10,000 Col might not be so surprising.

However, the conversation now turned to Momo, and everyone's attention focused on him. The fact that he could make Lizbeth hand over all her earnings to him showed strong leadership qualities, something Lizbeth trusted.

After all, when they thought back to Lizbeth's face, it was hard to believe she'd ever been coerced into anything. She had always looked so genuinely happy.

The most surprised, of course, were Heathcliff and Diavel.

Diavel looked at Heathcliff, feeling a growing panic. He had known what kind of person Heathcliff was when he paid him off. Now, Momo was offering to pay Heathcliff 10,000 Col. Diavel couldn't trust Heathcliff to hold up his end of the deal.

What should he do?

What should he do?!

Diavel deeply regretted his actions. If only he had targeted Kirito from the beginning!

The reason he had gone after Momo was because he had already exposed himself as a beta tester during the initial player meeting. As a result, he couldn't use the beta tester excuse against Kirito now.

Furthermore, Kirito and Asuna have gained significant popularity recently. Even though they hadn't shown any intention of forming a party, Diavel was uneasy about their influence.

So, Diavel had decided to use some tricks to at least lower their reputation. If done well, maybe he could even make Kirito and Asuna grateful to him and join his party.

But he never expected Kirito to be so difficult. Kirito not only thwarted his plot with a gentle approach but also showed no intention of ending it there. Instead, he wanted to counter-attack!

No, he couldn't just sit there and wait to be overwhelmed. Heathcliff was untrustworthy!

Since he couldn't trust Heathcliff and Momo was difficult to deal with, then... he had to strike first and deal with Heathcliff!

"Heathcliff! So, everything was your doing, right? What are you trying to achieve? Stirring up discord among us secretly, all for money!" Diavel accused.

Heathcliff had been staring at the 10,000 Col in a daze, not knowing what to do. But when he suddenly heard Diavel's voice booming in his ears, he jumped up.

"Diavel, what are you saying!"

"I'm saying, what exactly are you trying to do! Just because your extortion attempt with Momo failed, you're now trying to seek revenge in front of everyone? By sowing discord among us, have you considered that this could lead to division among players, and division might lead to failure?"

"Heathcliff, do you want to personally kill fellow players?"

Diavel's tone was intense, instantly capturing everyone's attention. After hearing his words, people turned to look at Heathcliff, their expressions shifting from disgust to a hint of hatred. If Heathcliff's actions were only motivated by greed, they could be forgiven. However, if he caused player deaths because of his actions, that would be murder.

Murder was something that no one in the room could accept.

Momo let out a whistle, earning a roll of the eyes from Asuna, who seemed to be scolding him for ruining the atmosphere. Momo just shrugged; he admired Diavel's quick thinking. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't dealing with a naive lamb.

Right now, like a rabid dog, Heathcliff would fight back against anyone who provoked him.

Heathcliff's face turned pale, and even his lips trembled. Although he didn't consider himself very smart, he had a bit of cunning in him. He had a clear understanding of what Diavel's words meant.

"Diavel!"

Heathcliff grinned, his eyes reddened. Confronted with such a menacing Heathcliff, Diavel's expression changed. But now, he couldn't back down.

"Aren't you going to apologize?! I know you like money, but the money that Momo has comes from his monster hunting activity. Apologize to him earnestly, and I believe he'll forgive you.``

Momo wore a playful smile, wondering if Diavel was trying to shift the blame onto Heathcliff.

Heathcliff indeed turned his head towards Momo, and Diavel breathed a sigh of relief, but then Heathcliff's words startled him.

"Momo, I falsely accused you just now, all for money. But I won't apologize for that. I'll just ask you one question."

"Is the deal you promised, valid or not?"

Momo maintained his smile and said, "Valid or not, what does it matter?"

"If it's valid, I'll take the money and then reveal all the dirty things Diavel has done in front of everyone. Whether you believe it or not isn't my concern."

"If it's not valid, I'll admit defeat."

Diavel's pupils contracted. Although Heathcliff didn't trust him, he was still someone who got things done. He had used Heathcliff to get rid of several equally powerful testers, although not for something as unforgivable as murder, it was still a fact.

"Heathcliff, are you going to keep talking nonsense?! Do you think anyone will believe you without money?"

Heathcliff grinned and said, "Diavel, didn't you say I like money? Well, you are right, I like money, and I'll show it to you how much I like it! As for whether others believe it or not, that's for them to decide. After all, there are other people involved, and you can call them to confront me."

Diavel swallowed hard; he was indeed flustered.

"Enough!"

Agil walked out, clapping his hands to attract everyone's attention. With his two-meter height and his identity as one of the very few black people who play SAO, everyone instantly knew who he was.

Given his height and Agil's friendly personality, many players liked him, and he had become a leader of one of the teams.

"Regardless of who's right or wrong, let's put an end to this matter here. Don't forget, we're here for a strategy meeting, our goal is to clear the first level first! We're here to pool everyone's strength and create hope for the remaining players, not to fight among ourselves."

"Heathcliff, I don't care about the truth of the matter, but you should stop now. Even if you really get that 10,000 Col, how long will it last you? This is just the beginning of the game; in the later stages, everyone will have tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of savings. Do you really want to be disliked by everyone for the sake of 10,000 Col?"

Agil's words made Heathcliff shudder, and the anger in his heart subsided a bit. Since he wanted to rally everyone as his backers, he naturally foresaw what kind of miserable end he would face if he were isolated by everyone in this game.

Heathcliff raised his head, glared at Diavel, then looked at Momo, and finally said to Agil, "Are you willing to let me join?"

Agil raised an eyebrow and said, "I know your strength, it's not bad. If you're willing to follow the rules here, then I welcome your joining."

"I... I'll join."

After saying that, Heathcliff walked toward Agil, and Diavel finally breathed a sigh of relief, smiling and saying, "Heathcliff, are you just going to leave like this?"

"Haha, Sir Knight!"

Heathcliff turned his head and smirked.

"I can say your dirty secrets for 10,000 Col, or I can say them all at once just to get it off my chest. I like money, but don't think I won't do anything without it!"

Faced with Heathcliff's threat, Diavel's face turned green and red, but he didn't say anything more.

The players in the room watched this spectacle without interfering. However, they all had their own thoughts. Heathcliff received unfriendly looks, while Diavel received many skeptical and mocking glances.

"Anyway, this strategy meeting will continue. What do you all think?"

Agil's words received the approval of the others. Argo spoke up, "Why don't we form teams first and see how many teams there are, then allocate tasks based on each team's situation?"

Argo had also gained some fame as the "Argo the Rat," an information broker, and a publisher of free strategies. This made all the players, even those familiar with the game, grateful to Argo. After all, unlike the original, Argo's strategy book had a bold red headline at the top, emphasizing the difference between the closed beta and open beta.

Afterward, Argo briefly described her experience with Momo, which was different from the original. In particular, she mentioned how a boss had turned into two, with an additional acceleration skill and a half-health charging skill, which was quite shocking.

All the players in the room were seasoned gamers and knew that even a slight change in a boss's attributes could lead to a wipeout. Therefore, this time, the testers were much more cautious when completing tasks and facing bosses.

After this, two other testers also discovered changes in the task process, but it wasn't as dangerous as what Argo and Momo experienced. Nevertheless, it added some complexity to their tasks.

These players' experiences were also recorded in the strategy book. Now, no one dared to ignore these changes, and Argo's reputation had soared even higher than in the original.