Before dawn, Adam and Yinling finally returned to Yuka's residence.
The basement lights were still on.
Yuka sat at his worktable, staring blankly at his notes, dark circles heavy under his eyes.
The moment he saw them, he jumped up.
"You're back! Did it go smoothly?"
There was obvious excitement in his voice.
After all—
He had personally witnessed Adam's terrifying strength.
Whenever Adam moved, the one in danger was never him.
It was the enemy.
"Mm." Adam answered flatly and walked to the corner.
Under Yuka's widening gaze, Adam pulled a bottle from his waist.
He uncorked it.
Black smoke poured out.
When it cleared—
The basement floor was buried in treasure.
Gold coins. Gems. Antiques. Silverware.
A mountain of wealth.
And sitting cross-legged on top of it—
Demon Chelman was picking his teeth.
"Well then. These are mine."
He casually counted out fifty coins from the pile.
Then tossed them all into his mouth.
Crunch. Crunch.
Swallowed.
"Pleasure doing business."
Yinling exploded instantly.
"You didn't help transport any of this! We carried it back ourselves!"
Chelman looked wronged.
"Hey, the goods arrived, didn't they?"
He pouted at Adam—
Then suddenly froze.
Behind Adam—
Yuka's face had turned pitch black.
His teeth were grinding.
"It's YOU—CHELMAN!!"
Chelman waved cheerfully.
"Hi~ Yuka. Been well?"
"You bastard!!"
Yuka nearly lunged at him.
Adam glanced sideways.
"You know him?"
"Know him?! I'd recognize him if he turned to ashes!"
Yuka pointed, shaking with rage.
"I bought half my research materials from him! Prices sky-high! Then when I ran out of money, he vanished!"
…
Thus began a blood-and-tears history.
Back then, Yuka had been fairly wealthy in First City.
After becoming a vampire, he left with a fortune.
One day—
A bottle fell from the sky.
Hit him on the head.
He opened it.
A demon appeared.
Standard golden-finger opening.
Yuka thought fate had turned.
Instead—
It was the entrance to bankruptcy.
He began buying everything.
Equipment.Rare materials.Forbidden specimens.
Because many items were impossible to obtain outside First City.
The result?
Total ruin.
Not only expensive—
But absurd.
Ordered fangs—got a live snake.Ordered specimens—got cursed ones.Ordered herbs—came with bounty hunters.
Worst time—
He ordered cobra fangs.
Received a whole living cobra.
Had to pay extra to return it.
"Buying from him is like buying lottery tickets!!" Yuka wailed.
"And I've never hit the jackpot!!"
Eventually, he burned through all his money.
Had to work part-time.
Came to this town as a doctor.
And Chelman had even sworn:
"Don't worry. I'll wait till you earn more. Demons are compassionate."
Days later—
The bottle disappeared.
Yuka howled at the sky.
"Misplaced trust! Misplaced trust!!"
…
Where did Chelman go next?
Fell from the sky again.
Hit another unlucky victim—
A sharkman pirate captain fleeing the navy.
After hearing everything, Adam stroked his chin.
"So… he's a professional scam merchant?"
"Hey!" Chelman protested. "I am the most honest merchant in the world!"
He puffed his chest.
"Kaka Tribe merchants never deceive customers!"
"Kaka Tribe?" Yinling frowned.
Her mind pictured demons in banana leaves.
Her expression worsened.
"Kaka Tribe is just him alone!!" Yuka cried.
"Nonsense!" Chelman snapped. "I'm the chief!"
Yinling relaxed slightly.
Good. Only one.
Chelman entered full sales mode.
"We provide any product or service! As long as you can pay! We travel through bottles between realms! We appear when customers need us most—"
"And disappear after draining their wallets, right?" Yuka cut in.
Chelman coughed.
Quickly changed topic.
"But look at that pirate captain! Didn't I help him rise?"
Adam flicked a gold coin over.
"How much was he worth before meeting you?"
Chelman caught it.
"Around one hundred thousand coins."
Another coin.
"Before I killed him?"
"…About twenty thousand."
Silence.
Truth established.
Why hadn't the sharkman summoned Chelman at death?
Because he was quitting Chelman.
Like quitting gambling.
Use him again—
Bankruptcy first.
Seeing their disdain, Chelman rushed to defend himself.
"But he lived gloriously! Conquered seas! Even attacked towns! Navy didn't dare resist!"
This was the longest speech he had ever given for free.
…
Adam suddenly asked:
"Can you sell vampire secret technique books?"
The room froze.
Yuka's face changed.
Too late.
Adam paid 200 gold coins.
Received—
A vampire romance novel.
He tried again.
Paid 400 more.
Got—
A fragmented manipulation manual.Missing most pages.
Silence fell again.
Buying techniques from Chelman was indeed—
Like scratch-off lottery.
Finally, under Yuka's desperate persuasion, Adam stopped spending.
He stuffed the demon back into the bottle.
Peace restored.
Over the next few days, Yuka began mass-producing sunblock.
The cost was terrifying.
100 coins → Yinling, 2 hours sunlight200 coins → Yuka, 2 hours500 coins → Adam, 2 hours
Reason:
Surface area.
Adam fell silent.
Immediately halted further spending.
Gold had greater uses ahead.
A week later—
News of the pirate fleet's destruction spread across Corsica.
Fishing boats resumed sailing.
Merchant ships returned.
The route to Athens—
Reopened.
Yuka moved quickly.
Spent 1,000 coins to purchase a Corsican baron title.
Then bought servant identities for Adam and Yinling.
The logic was simple:
Yuka looked like nobility.Adam looked like a guard captain.
As for Yinling—
Adam initially proposed she pose as the baroness.
That idea died under her death stare.
She was downgraded to—
Personal maid.
All cargo was entrusted to Chelman.
The three vampires packed enough blood plasma.
Sealed themselves as freight.
Boarded a merchant vessel in secret.
Destination—
Athens.
This year marked the 2,120th year since the Eden race arrived on Earth.
Adam advanced toward the world capital.
Eve ignited civil war in First City.
After a thousand years of silence—
The gears of the world began to turn.
Change—
Had begun.