Chapter 352 — The Second Eternal Slate

"Good, then." Gao Yang let out a breath of relief. Though he had acted confident before, he still felt that trading such a great lump of metal scrap for a clearly high-grade Eternal Slate was a bit of a swindle. The two materials might be about the same, but that was like trading a handful of sand for monocrystalline silicon—however similar their composition, the price could not be the same!

But since this agent lady had judged the exchange a bargain, Gao Yang said nothing more.

At the same time, though, he was a little curious—a senior agent of the Mithril Vault could not possibly lack brains. Even if she did not know the secrets of the data stored within the Eternal Slate, surely she knew there were secrets of the gods in it... whereas that metal scrap was nothing but metal scrap, through and through. Could she really fail to judge the gap in potential value between the two?

Or was it that... she could sense something else in that metal scrap? Something like the "divine protection barrier" technology those Gondorian magisters had once deciphered from the metal scrap, or the like?

A host of conjectures sprang up in Gao Yang's mind, but he did not voice them. Instead he changed the subject. "By the way, may I ask one more question—I'm actually rather curious who the original owner of this Eternal Slate you brought was..."

He truly was curious: a person who could possess an Eternal Slate was no simple figure. Even a small fragment could belong only to princes, nobles, or great merchants. So which unlucky collector had lost his treasure?

But as he had expected, Metzen shook her head lightly. "Keeping the secrets of our clients is a fundamental rule of the Mithril Vault. Although that client who broke the agreement has lost the slate, his breach has been canceled out by surrendering it, so I cannot divulge anything about him."

"All right, you really do keep to the rules." Gao Yang waved his hand. "Then let me ask something else—do you have any more Eternal Slates you could offer? I mean—ones that might possibly be offered in the future."

Metzen could not help opening her eyes wide, and looked at Gao Yang in considerable surprise. "You... want more?"

Eternal Slates were not cabbages. Even a king or an emperor could count himself content with a single one in his collection—so how was it that someone dared to place a standing order?!

She clearly had no idea how much "God Metal" Gao Yang had on hand...

"I like studying theology," Gao Yang said, making up a reason on the spot, "and I have a collector's habit."

"...We've seen plenty of collectors in the Mithril Vault, but one of your caliber is truly a first..." Metzen said, his expression strange. After a moment, however, Yun gave a faint nod. "You are a premium client, and the Mithril Vault will give priority to your needs. Though the Vault no longer has any more Eternal Slabs to sell at present, I can keep an eye out on your behalf—if one comes in, I will notify you at the first opportunity."

Gao Yi laughed. "Then nothing could be better."

Metzen Pernia seemed to have come here for the sole purpose of completing this transaction, and she was plainly preoccupied with the great lump of "god-metal" she had just acquired, so she did not linger long at the Lord's manor in Gaosong. Once the deal was done, she left.

Not long afterward, in the prosperous and wealthy County of Horseman, a good distance from the Cecil Territory, Metzen Pernia walked into a jewelry shop.

She went straight to the counter and said to the shopkeeper, "Do you buy jewelry?"

The shopkeeper did not even lift his eyelids. "We buy. Thirty percent off the price."

Metzen smiled slightly, turned her hand in a flourish, and set a magnificent metal box inlaid with crystal and magical thread upon the counter. "Take a look at this, sir—a jewelry box of pure mithril, set with the finest amethysts and rubies, and these magic runes, these orichalcum fittings..."

The "jewelry box" was not large, and when opened, it seemed just the right size to hold an object the size of a palm...

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