"Wish Order System?"
After confirming that it was not just a dying hallucination, August immediately felt his spirits soar.
As expected, transmigration without a cheat was incomplete!
Now there might actually be a way to change this awful situation.
So he immediately summoned the system with a thought and began examining it.
The interface was very simple, consisting of four sections:
[Character], [Orders], [Shop], and [Inventory].
When he opened the Character tab, he saw:
[Host: August]
[Beginner Trading Qualification]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 10]
[Height: 140 cm]
[Weight: 25.5 kg]
[Lifespan: 5 years, 21 days]
[Talent: None]
[Abilities: None]
[Trade Points: 0]
...
As for the fact that he did not possess any Talent or Abilities, August was a little disappointed, but he could still accept it.
After all, in his previous life, aside from being handsome, he had not really had any especially outstanding talent either.
Who would have thought that after transmigrating, he would still be a man... no, a boy... who had nothing going for him except his looks?
Still, he believed that this time everything would be different.
That was, of course, on the premise that he found a way to stay alive longer.
A hell-mode start was bad enough, but being given only five years to live cast another shadow over his heart.
So he quickly began checking the rest of the system's functions.
At last, he figured out exactly how this cheat worked.
Inside [Orders], there were two options:
[Accept Orders] and [Post Orders].
With his Beginner Trading Qualification, he would receive one free [Search] every 72 hours. By using [Search], he could obtain a [Wish Order] from a different world.
By completing those orders, he could gain Trade Points and even special bonus rewards.
The free [Search] chances could not stack, but any [Search] chances purchased with Trade Points or obtained by other means could be accumulated and saved.
As for [Post Orders], that option was still grayed out and inactive. He would need to reach Intermediate Trading Qualification before he could use it.
Once he understood that much, August immediately opened the system [Inventory] and used the beginner gift pack.
[Beginner Gift Pack opened... You have obtained 1000 Trade Points, 1 Four-Star Positive Review Card, 1 Order Posting Trial Card, and a limited-time random Four-Star Value Discount Product.]
[Four-Star Positive Review Card] (Limited Edition)
One-time consumable item
Effect: Use when submitting an order, and the review for that order will be fixed at a Four-Star positive rating.
Note: Only valid for beginner wish orders.
...
[Order Posting Trial Card] (Limited Edition)
One-time consumable item
Effect: After use, a [Wish Order] will be generated according to the host's needs and chosen reward, then sent to different worlds.
Note: If the wish is too difficult or the reward offered is too low in value, the order may remain unclaimed.
...
Now that he had Trade Points, August immediately opened the system shop.
[Shop] (Beginner): Three random products refresh every seven days. One limited-time discounted product is listed at the start of each month.
At the moment, there were a total of five items available for purchase in the shop.
The first item was the random Four-Star Value Discount Product he had gotten from the Beginner Gift Pack.
Special Item: [Red Heart] x99
(Special items will not disappear during weekly refreshes. Available until sold out!)
Description: Anyone who has played games knows that one red heart means one extra life.
Effect: Permanently increases lifespan by one year after use. Cannot be used on others.
Price: 1000 Trade Points each (crossed out)
Four-Star Surprise Discount Price: 100 Trade Points each!
Quantity: 99
PS: Massive blood-spitting clearance sale! Buy now and profit! What are you waiting for?
...
The second item was the monthly limited-time discount product.
[Talent Mutation Ray] (Purple)
Description: A blessing for the talentless, the ultimate miracle pill for ordinary people!
Effect: Deeply excavates the user's potential and mutates it into a personal talent. (Takes effect immediately after purchase. Cannot be used by those who already possess a talent.)
Price: 2000 Trade Points (crossed out)
Monthly Limited-Time Flash Sale Price: 100 Trade Points!
Quantity: 1
Time Remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes
PS: Will you accept mediocrity, or dare to take the leap?!
...
As for the remaining three items, they were the normal weekly refresh products: a bunch of bananas, a piece of clothing, and a coin.
Item: [Banana Grenade] (White)
One-time consumable item
Description: You thought it was a banana, but it's actually a bomb~
Effect: Explodes after a 3-second delay
Price: 5 Trade Points
Quantity: 10
PS: Banana your head and die!
...
Item: [Lightweight Bulletproof Vest] (White)
Equipment item
Description: Just an ordinary bulletproof vest. Its only advantage is probably that it's lightweight?
Effect: Defends against bullets. Durability: 100
Price: 50 Trade Points
Quantity: 1
PS: It only blocks bullets. Nothing else.
...
Item: [Just a Background Extra] (Blue)
One-time consumable item
Description: Even though this is clearly a love triangle, I don't even deserve a name.
Effect: After use, your presence will be greatly reduced for ten minutes, causing others to subconsciously ignore you.
Note: Reduced presence does not mean invisibility, so try not to remain in other people's sight for too long, and definitely do not do anything weird on purpose to attract attention.
Price: 100 Trade Points
Quantity: 1
PS: Huh? Who are you? Where did you come from?
...
August could not help but get excited!
The special item [Red Heart] could increase his lifespan.
Ninety-nine hearts meant ninety-nine years of life!
In other words, as long as he had enough Trade Points, he would not need to worry, at least for now, about his pitifully short remaining lifespan.
And the surprises brought by the system did not stop there.
That [Talent Mutation Ray] was originally a Purple item worth two thousand Trade Points, yet right now the limited-time flash sale price was only one hundred. It was an absolute steal!
(Most item values, from low to high, were White, Blue, Purple, Orange, and Red. Special items were not included in that ranking.)
As for the other three ordinary items, each had its own use and made him want to spend.
Still, although one thousand Trade Points sounded like a lot, it really would not last long.
So after careful consideration, he only spent 150 Trade Points first, buying the [Lightweight Bulletproof Vest] (White) and [Just a Background Extra] (Blue).
Those two items could both save his life, and they were exactly what he needed right now.
As for the rest, he could think about them after reaching a safe place.
The moment August completed the purchase, both items immediately appeared in the system [Inventory].
The [Inventory] had unlimited slots, but it could only store system items.
August immediately took out the [Lightweight Bulletproof Vest] (White) and put it on.
The black vest looked reassuring just from appearance alone, and it was not heavy at all, probably only about half a kilogram. He had no idea what special material it was made from.
After that, he pulled his blood-soaked uniform jacket back on over it.
Only then did he return to checking [Orders].
[Do you want to begin searching for a wish order?]
[Current Search Attempts: 1 (Free)]
After thinking for a moment, August chose yes.
His reasoning was simple. The first attempt should be used to gather information and test the system, so naturally the sooner, the better.
The system immediately began operating.
[Beginning search for wish order... Search complete!]
[You have obtained one beginner wish order.]
[Order Description: A young boy known as the "Shinigami Schoolboy" was accidentally captured while tracking down a criminal. Right now, he urgently needs a sharp knife to cut through the ropes binding him.]
[Order Request: A sharp tool capable of cutting through rope]
[Base Reward: One pair of Power Enhancement Shoes, 100 Trade Points]
[Time Remaining: 4 minutes 59 seconds]
...
"So there's a time limit too?"
The five-minute countdown surprised August a little, but it did not make him panic.
Instead, he calmly began analyzing the information in front of him.
"So completing an order apparently doesn't require any kind of equal exchange."
"Otherwise, there's no way an ordinary knife would ever be equal in value to a pair of Power Enhancement Shoes..."
"Of course, that's assuming the 'Shinigami Schoolboy' mentioned in the order is really the one I'm familiar with."
"In that case, the generation of orders is probably based on a kind of supply-and-demand logic."
"In other words, the system matches what someone currently needs with a price they are currently willing and able to pay. The real value of the two may not be equal at all. Whether it's a profit or a loss depends entirely on my own judgment."
A thoughtful expression appeared on August's face.
The logic was simple.
Take an example.
A person trapped in the desert is carrying a huge amount of gold, but has already run out of water.
In that situation, which is more important, gold or water?
If someone appeared at that moment with enough water to let him walk out of the desert alive, and offered to exchange it for the gold he carried, what would happen?
Ninety-nine percent of people would accept without hesitation, because staying alive was the only thing that truly mattered.
As for fools who valued money over their lives, there was no need to discuss them.
So in August's view, the true value of any item constantly fluctuated depending on each person's current need.
A plain bottle of mineral water in an ordinary city might only sell for a dollar or two, but if sold to a thirsty traveler in the desert, it might be worth a ton of gold.
That was the principle.
After figuring that out, August wasted no more time and immediately began rummaging through the nearby corpses with great difficulty.
Although most of the people of Flevance had died from gunfire, quite a number had also been hacked to death with blades, not to mention the residents who had taken up weapons to resist.
So even though anything valuable on these bodies had long since been stripped away, there were still some worthless scraps left behind together with the corpses.
Just from a quick glance, August could already see dozens of broken blades lodged in chests or wedged between bones.
So it did not take long before he found a weapon that met the requirement.
It was a pointed kitchen knife clenched tightly in the hand of a corpse.
The dead man looked to be in his forties. His eyes were wide open and refused to close, as if he had fought fiercely before death.
Even the kitchen knife he had once used to chop vegetables now had chips in its edge.
If he had had more time, August definitely would have searched around for something better.
But with the clock ticking, he could only submit this one.
[Confirming order item... Beginning transmission.]
In almost an instant, the pointed kitchen knife in August's hand disappeared.
[Beginner wish order completed. The customer has given a Two-Star rating (Acceptable).]
[Comment: Are you messing with me?! I asked for a sharp little knife, not a saw!]
[Two-Star rating: 20% of the base Trade Point reward has been deducted. Remaining rewards have been issued automatically. Please check for details.]
...
"A Two-Star rating?"
August froze for a moment, then discovered that he had only received 80 Trade Points and a pair of Power Enhancement Shoes. Twenty percent of the base Trade Point reward really had been deducted.
"System, what's going on?"
[Please consult the detailed related rules yourself.]
August immediately opened the explanation and finally understood.
So every time he completed an order, the customer would leave a review afterward.
There were a total of five possible ratings.
One-Star Rating = Extremely Bad Review.
Fifty percent of the base Trade Point reward would be deducted.
In addition, if he accumulated three One-Star bad reviews, his trading qualification would automatically drop by one level. If he was already at Beginner level and had nowhere lower to fall, the system would unbind itself and leave.
However, whenever his trading qualification increased, all previous bad reviews would be reset to zero and accumulation would begin again.
Two-Star Rating = Barely Acceptable.
The customer was not especially satisfied, but could still make use of it. Twenty percent of the base Trade Point reward would be deducted, but it would not count as a bad review.
Three-Star Rating = Standard Positive Review.
The customer's needs had basically been met. There was nothing especially surprising about it, but it was fully above the passing line. No reward deduction, but no extra rewards either.
Four-Star Rating = Pleasant Surprise.
Not only were the customer's basic needs met, but part of their hidden needs were also satisfied, leaving them delighted. The base Trade Point reward would increase by fifty percent, and there was a certain chance of receiving an additional tip from the customer.
Five-Star Rating = Perfect Positive Review.
The absolute best review. A flawless result that left the customer unable to find even the slightest fault, perfectly fulfilling all of their needs. The base Trade Point reward would increase by one hundred percent, and there was a very high chance of receiving an additional reward from the customer.
The One-to-Five-Star rating system not only gave him a high degree of flexibility in choosing what to trade, it was also meant to encourage the user to complete every customer's [Wish Order] as perfectly as possible, rather than treating them carelessly.
(End of Chapter)
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