The Magical Continent is home to countless different races, and there is extremely serious racial discrimination among them.
Orcs look down on the weak Human Race.
The Human Race discriminates against the barbarity of Orcs.
The Elf Race proudly despises everything, even exiling their own kind, the Dark Elf.
Dwarves are scorned for their height, and thus resent all tall races.
The incomparably powerful Dragon Race has become so arrogant that they treat all other races as food…
Friction among the various races is constant, and wars occur frequently. Countries show no regard for the dignity of their enemies, openly engaging in the trade of enemy populations.
And the slave trade is notoriously profitable.
Therefore, Slave Merchants are ubiquitous on the Magical Continent.
However, it is extremely rare for slaves to be sold in Sin Town.
After all, in this godforsaken place, there are plenty of quality villains, but not many quality clients.
This was Li Fan's first time seeing a Slave Merchant selling slaves, so he couldn't help but be curious and went to take a closer look.
At first glance, he was startled.
Although almost identical to humans, her emerald green long hair, pointed ears, and emerald-like eyes all undoubtedly proved that this was actually an… Elf.
"Although I've heard the system mention it, seeing it with my own eyes is still surprising. There really are Elf ladies!"
Li Fan was completely captivated by the Elf, staring intently at the Elf locked in the cage.
She seemed to be a newly adult Elf, her beauty striking yet still retaining a hint of childishness. Her dust-covered body was very thin, clothed in garments that looked like sacks cut open and directly put on. Even so, she was still dazzling.
However, regrettably, there were visible wounds of various sizes all over the Elf's exposed skin.
Perhaps due to severe injuries, or because she was captured, the Elf was weakly slumped in the cage, her emerald-like eyes having lost their luster, staring blankly into the distance, like a flower on the verge of losing its vitality.
As if sensing something, the Elf's emerald-like eyes suddenly moved, looking in Li Fan's direction.
Their gazes met, and Li Fan seemed to see endless despair in those eyes.
Perhaps Li Fan's dark eyes were quite rare, as the Elf stared at Li Fan for half a minute before turning her gaze back to the distance.
"Oh, oh, this guest seems very interested in this Elf. How about it? Would you consider buying this Elf? I can sell her to you at a very favorable price right now."
The pot-bellied Slave Merchant noticed Li Fan's gaze towards the Elf and immediately stepped forward to start his sales pitch.
"Ding! It is recommended that the Host purchase the Elf. Taming an exotic race can formally activate this system. Hint: This Elf possesses considerable strength, but her injuries are severe. Healing her may increase her favorability and gain her loyalty."
Before Li Fan could refuse the merchant's sales pitch, the system's notification sounded.
Li Fan hesitated for a moment and asked the Slave Merchant, "How much?"
The Slave Merchant's greasy face immediately broke into a smile, and he replied, "Special offer! You can buy such a lovely Elf for only five gold coins. Guests, don't miss out!"
"Five gold coins?"
Li Fan's eyelid twitched. Although he knew he couldn't afford it, he didn't expect the difference to be so huge.
Five gold coins is 50,000 copper coins. He would have to chop firewood for 10,000 days without eating or drinking, which is roughly 30 years, just to afford it.
Damn.
Li Fan gave up instantly.
For him right now, it was simply impossible to afford that price.
"Guest, don't think the price is high. You should know that under normal circumstances, an ordinary Elf sells for at least 10 gold coins, and an Elf with such aptitude and appearance, if not injured, would not be sold for less than 50 gold coins."
Seeing that Li Fan seemed to find it expensive, the Slave Merchant quickly explained.
But how could he know that the person in front of him was just a pauper with a total net worth of 5 copper coins? If he knew, he would probably have chased Li Fan away immediately.
Li Fan didn't say much to the Slave Merchant, shook his head, and retreated to the back of the crowd.
Disappointment flashed in the Slave Merchant's eyes, but in a blink, he began to pitch to others again.
Many people present were tempted, after all, buying an Elf originally worth 50 gold coins for 5 gold coins was a huge profit no matter how you looked at it.
Strangely, even if some people were tempted, no one ever made up their mind to buy the Elf.
"Big brother, are we really not buying her? An Elf for only 5 gold coins, who knows if we'll ever encounter one again? The few of us can pool our money and buy her, then we can take turns playing with her."
"Idiot, why do you think others aren't taking advantage of such a bargain?"
"Yeah, third brother, look calmly. This unscrupulous merchant didn't even put a Restriction Collars on this Elf, which shows how serious her injuries are."
"Hmph, such injuries, let alone in this godforsaken place, might not even be treatable in a big place like Winter City. Otherwise, why wouldn't this unscrupulous merchant take the Elf to Winter City? He could earn ten times more in a flash."
…
Li Fan hid behind the crowd, listening to the discussions around him, and only then did he understand.
Many knowledgeable people had already realized that although this Elf was indeed worth 50 gold coins, her injuries were too severe.
It was hard to say if she would even survive, and even if she was saved at a great cost, she would likely be left with various scars and sequelae.
As a result, spending 5 gold coins might ultimately only result in a corpse, which was too risky.
Li Fan quietly listened to all this, his thoughts racing. At a certain moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he had a small idea.
Thinking this, a cunning smile suddenly appeared on Li Fan's face. He glanced at the merchant and the Elf in the cage, then unhurriedly left the square.
…
Night fell, and as time passed, the darkness deepened.
Li Fan waited slowly until 4 AM. He had been resting with his eyes closed in the stable and finally opened them.
The life he had lived since coming to this Another World was simply not a life a human should live.
Chopping firewood for a day earned him 5 copper coins, he spent 4 copper coins on two black bread loaves harder than stone, and finally, he spent one copper coin to spend a night in the stable.
He didn't know which day he would die from a monster attack, or perhaps freeze to death in this stable in the upcoming winter.
To change all of this, activating the system was the top priority.
An unactivated system was useless, it couldn't even play a small movie.
But once activated, it might give Li Fan a chance to turn his life around.
Therefore, Li Fan would never give up this opportunity to activate the system.
Currently, he had two ways to activate the system.
The first method: cooperate with that Slave Merchant. The novice gift package gave Li Fan an Emergency Pill that could heal all injuries. As long as Li Fan sold the pill to the Slave Merchant, he believed the merchant would definitely be willing to buy this pill for that Elf. Afterwards, Li Fan could use the acquired reward to purchase a cheap exotic slave, such as a Dwarf slave.
The Elf Race are naturally beautiful, so every Elf slave is extremely expensive, but Dwarves, who only know how to forge and build, are not very favored by the Human Race, so their price is much cheaper than Elves. One can even be bought for less than a gold coin.
The reward from selling the pill would be enough to buy a Dwarf slave.
However, this method had a major problem.
How to ensure that the Slave Merchant would not kill him and seize his goods?
Merchants are a group of people who will stop at nothing for profit. Let alone killing and seizing goods, as long as there is enough profit, they wouldn't even hesitate to commit treason.
Li Fan would not gamble his life on a merchant's conscience.
Therefore, he could only choose the second method.
He had to rescue the imprisoned Elf.