Money Can Buy Everything

036: I Forgot How to Lie

A cold sword, accompanied by a dazzling light, brought a spark of hope.

Thrown sword skills did minimal damage, but it still exceeded a regular attack, being enough to finish off monsters that could be killed by ordinary attacks. And if a regular attack could kill, the last bit of health could certainly be taken down by a thrown sword skill.

This time, the level 2 plain Fang Dagger drove into the rat's head, directly penetrating it. The sword's radiance tore the rat apart, with a multitude of mosaic flashes in the gap.

"Bang!"

The elite monsters that had dragged Argo into the clutches of death twice were finally dead. The sky was filled with light like scattered snowflakes, fading away.

It's over, it's safe.

That was Argo's first thought. But then, a shiver of dread surged through her.

Momo!

Momo!

Momo!

He threw his sword again!

What happened to him?

Did he still have a sword?

He must have, he must! If not, why would he throw the sword out? There must be!

Argo hesitated to look in Momo's direction, but she turned her head anyway, forcing herself to look.

She should have known better.

Even if there really were spare swords, the skill to switch weapons in battle had a cooldown of 30 minutes!

"Bang!"

The rat's front paw struck Momo, who had his arms protecting himself, and sent him flying toward Argo. He passed by her body and landed behind her.

Argo's pupils widened to their limits.

This time, she really couldn't bring herself to look.

Did Momo live, or did he die?

Perhaps the health indicator in the upper right corner could explain everything, as his health plummeted rapidly, racing towards the final threshold without any sign of stopping.

"You... beast!"

Fear fermented into anger. Facing the rat right in front of her, Argo charged at it. The cooldown for her sword skills had just ended, and she unleashed all of her sword skills at the rat, without a care in the world.

"Die!"

Her sword skills were released in an instant. Argo, like a madwoman, thrust her sword into the immobile rat, the impressive attack power of her exceptional weapon proving itself. The rat's health dropped to the last 20%.

However, Argo couldn't chip away at the rat's health any further. Moreover, her furious attack just now had predetermined her fate.

If Momo died, this rat would immediately turn to attack her. She couldn't kill the rat, so if anyone were to die, it would be her.

That's fine... At least, she could apologize to this playboy in the afterlife. If he continued being as flirtatious and smooth-tongued as ever, she'd just act like a naive girl falling for his charms.

That's what Argo thought. And then her eyes widened suddenly.

The immobilized rat released its stance but didn't attack her!

The rat, ran past her!

With the corner of her eye, Argo glanced at the upper left corner...

Momo is still alive!

He has only a sliver of health left!

Argo immediately turned around to look at Momo. He had already picked up the thrown sword, and the blade was emanating the radiance of sword skills.

"Run!"

Watching Momo bravely face the rat, Argo felt her heart sink into hell.

Momo's health couldn't even withstand a scratch now, and with his attacks alone, three sword skills wouldn't be enough to kill the rat with the remaining 20% health!

Unfortunately, Momo still didn't run. Instead, he gave Argo a confident smile, as if to say, don't worry, everything is ending.

Direct Thrust!

The advancing rat fell into rigidity, its movement abruptly halting.

"Argo!"

At the same time, Momo's shout resounded, sending a shiver through Argo's heart.

Horizontal Sweep!

The rat that had just broken free from rigidity was struck again, falling back into rigidity.

"Agree to trade with me, I'll buy you..."

The enraged rat charged toward Momo, but it was hit by a two-hit combo again.

"Remaining health at 99%!"

Trading Authority activated!

"I agree!"

Trade complete!

Argo let out a final roar, her own health plummeting rapidly, reduced to just a sliver of health, while Momo's health surged rapidly, turning yellow!

The once-dangerous yellow now felt so relieving, so safe!

"Urgh—"

The rat with only 5% health left finally broke free from rigidity, its claw tearing through Momo's chest. Momo's newly regained health plunged back into the red, leaving only around 5%.

Momo was sent flying as well. The rat, with health similar to Momo's, naturally felt no fear. It opened its foul-smelling mouth and lunged at Momo.

However, Momo had a look of contentment on his face.

It's finally over.

This time, it's truly over.

"Get away from him, ahhh!"

Argo, with just a sliver of health left, wielding her dagger, roared and charged. The radiance of her sword skill instantly tore through the rat with the remaining 5% health. Amidst a burst of shattered light, she charged toward Momo.

Momo opened his arms, and Argo rushed into his embrace, tightly hugging his chest with both hands.

It's really over.

Momo had 5% of his health left, while Argo had only 0.3% remaining, but the monsters were all dead, and both of them survived.

"Sob..."

Momo had intended to comfort Argo, but she clung to him tightly, showing no signs of letting go. The tears she had suppressed for so long finally fell, and Argo cried openly.

Momo smiled, seemingly not needing to console Argo anymore.

He buried his head in Argo's hair, holding her petite frame as tightly as he could, providing her with warmth.

Time passed slowly, and the moon had risen above them.

Now the only thing worth celebrating was that this was a quest area, so regular monsters wouldn't respawn. Otherwise, the worst catastrophe would be if they were surrounded and killed by several wild boars on their way back.

Neither of them spoke, and Argo had stopped crying, simply lying in Momo's embrace with a sense of peace. Neither of them had purchased expensive health potions when they left the city, so they could only rely on their natural recovery to slowly regain health.

Fortunately, both of their health bars had turned yellow. At least on the way back, unless they waited to die, the wild boars wouldn't pose much of a threat.

"Hey, still awake?"

Argo's voice became softer, with a hint of hoarseness.

"Being pinned by a lump of meat weighing over a hundred pounds, how could anyone possibly fall asleep?"

"I don't weigh over a hundred pounds, you jerk!"

"I don't believe you. Otherwise, tell me your measurements!"

"No way!"

Another moment of silence followed. Argo seemed quite uncomfortable. She changed her position, scratching the itchy nape of her neck with her hair.

"Actually, if you really want... you can."

Argo's voice was very low as she said, "I want to know, why did you save me? That was a battle between life and death. With just a slight mistake, you could've died. Is it worth it to die trying to save me?"

Momo fell silent. The two of them had different understandings of the game's content, so their judgments of Momo's actions naturally differed. However, Momo couldn't reveal the reality of the game.

"Saving a beautiful girl isn't something a gentleman should do? You said it yourself, I'm a playboy."

"A playboy wouldn't die for an ordinary girl, an unremarkable girl."

Suddenly, Argo reached out, touching Momo's cheek, and said, "Momo, how do you really see me? After all you've done, how should I see you?"

"I don't really understand myself anymore."

"If you don't understand, just treat it as a simple thing. We're still alive, aren't we?"

"No, I refuse. I'm an intelligence broker. I can't accept this vague, inexplicable stuff. So, I've decided to figure it out!"

"What are you going to do?"

Argo raised her head. Tear streaks were still visible in her eyes, but her cheeks were flushed with an enticing hue.

"Like this... What about this?"

Argo leaned in, biting Momo's lips, then seemingly unable to resist the temptation, leaned in closer.

The moonlight was cool, but Argo felt her body warming up, her breath growing erratic.

"A really long kiss. Are you trying to suffocate me? Is this how you repay a life-saving favor?"

"No, this is just the agreed-upon reward. Where did your mind wander off to?"

Argo rolled her eyes, Momo was about to say something, but his lips were sealed once again.

After a long while, they parted. Argo grinned and said, "This is the reward for the dagger. I'm Argo, and I keep my promises."

"Anything else?"

"Do you think there's more? I've already paid the reward!"

Argo's surprised expression turned into a squint. She said, "What's this, playboy? Do you really think I, Argo, have feelings for you? This kind of thing..."

Argo sounded dismissive, but she wrapped her arms around Momo's neck once again, leaning in.

The third kiss lasted even longer than the sum of the first two.

Argo held Momo's face but dared not look up at him. She said, "It really happened..."

Momo chose to remain silent.

"Can you answer me now, Momo? What am I to you? Am I just a plaything for a playboy, or am I a lucky one who has a chance to rise like a phoenix in your eyes?"

"Let me clarify, I won't accept becoming a lover. Although my conditions aren't great, I will definitely find a boy who genuinely loves me."

Momo remained silent.

"I see, I should have understood earlier."

Argo smiled, but tears still slipped down her cheeks. She said, "Since I've learned about your news, naturally, I know about that beautiful player with chestnut-colored hair. She's your girlfriend, right? Maybe even your fiancée. Only a girl as pretty as her should stand by your side."

"But, but!"

"You're a playboy, aren't you? Then act like one! Lie to me, tell me you like me. Lie to me as much as you want. I'm not Argo now, I'm just a naive fool. Lie to me, and I'll willingly fall for it, pretending not to see your girlfriend, even if it's just in this game."

"You're good at dealing with girls, aren't you? So lie to me now!"

Momo hugged Argo, wiping away her tears, and said, "I'm sorry. At a time like this, I sometimes suffer from a sudden illness and forget how to lie."