Chapter 95: Methods of Death

“Just now, I asked you so many questions and you never mentioned needing payment. But now, I casually ask one question and you say I have to pay ten thousand gold coins to get an answer. What kind of logic is that?”

At this moment, Chen Bo seriously doubted whether the system was messing with him again today, or if his luck had just run out, turning sour.

Well, no matter what, it definitely wasn’t his fault. The system must be glitching—yes, that’s it!

“Host, I sincerely apologize. The system forgot to charge you earlier. Now it just remembered,” the system said coldly and emotionlessly, like a robot. But hearing those words nearly made Chen Bo lose it.

Damn it, couldn’t it have remembered a little later? Why does it have to be right now? This is definitely personal!

But what could Chen Bo do? He had nothing to threaten the system with, while the system constantly threatened him. Now he finally understood why protagonists in novels were so desperate to get rid of their systems—there was more to this than he had realized!

As for whether he had ever criticized those novel protagonists before? No, absolutely not! That must be a mistake—no way! Even if someone showed him screenshots, he wouldn’t believe it!

“Fine! Ten thousand gold coins it is!” Chen Bo said with a dark expression. No sooner had he spoken than the system deducted ten thousand gold coins. Damn!

Although ten thousand gold coins were nothing to Chen Bo now, as the saying goes, even a mosquito is meat. Better than nothing!

“Host, with your current constitution, if you recklessly consume this counterfeit century-old Zhu fruit, there is an 80% chance your body will explode. A 15% chance you will bleed from all seven orifices and die because it’s too potent,” the system explained in detail after receiving payment.

“There’s also a 4% chance your dantian won’t withstand the overwhelming energy, resulting in irreversible severe damage.”

“An 80% chance of exploding? That’s ridiculously high! A 15% chance of bleeding from seven orifices? Damn, another way to die! And a 4% chance of dantian damage?”

Chen Bo could imagine suddenly having three new ways to die. One: eat the fake century-old Zhu fruit and ‘boom,’ turning into a pile of meat paste—disgusting and brutal! Just thinking about it made his stomach churn.

Then there was the bleeding-from-seven-orifices death, like a ghost from a horror movie.

And dantian damage meant he’d need to undergo a second rebirth. Given how many people he had pissed off, if he became useless again, he might not even make it back to Yan Town before his enemies finished him off and desecrated his body.

Very Zhu fruit-like indeed! But something felt off. 80%, 15%, 4%, 99%—that’s some fine mathematics taught by math teachers.

“System, what about the remaining 1%?” Chen Bo still clung to a shred of hope.

“Answering that question requires ten thousand gold coins. Are you sure you want to pay?” the system asked.

Chen Bo frowned. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“There is a 1% chance that nothing happens to the host.”

“So then I breakthrough?”

“No, the host quietly dies without a trace.”

“Why didn’t you charge me for my previous questions?” Chen Bo immediately spotted a loophole.

“That question requires ten thousand gold coins. Are you really, really, really sure you want to pay ten thousand gold coins?” The system quickly corrected itself, without any embarrassment.

“System, I want to say something to you.”

“What is it?” the system asked curiously.

“You owe me twenty thousand gold coins for answering this question!”

Although Chen Bo seemed to have the upper hand in this exchange, in reality, he lost a full twenty thousand gold coins!

A sharp dagger stabbed deep into Chen Bo’s fragile heart—this was downright cruel. After wasting so much time and losing so much money, the system still said this fake Zhu fruit was useless. No matter what, it just meant death.

How could he possibly have fun with this? Chen Bo’s face was full of resentment and sorrow, like a deserted widow. That description was fitting—very fitting indeed.

“System, I have one last question. Is there any way to consume this fake century-old Zhu fruit without any side effects?” For the sake of becoming stronger, Chen Bo chose to endure.

Patience would bring calm. Not quarreling with the system showed his magnanimity. Yes, that’s right!

“Answering this question requires—”

Before the system finished, Chen Bo interrupted, “Ten thousand gold coins it is! Just say it!”

“No, host, what I meant was that answering this question requires one hundred thousand gold coins. Are you sure you want to pay one hundred thousand gold coins?”

“Pfft!” Chen Bo spat out his saliva in astonishment, grinding his teeth. “System, you’d better explain why this question costs one hundred thousand gold coins!”

“According to regulations, answering your questions normally costs ten thousand gold coins, but this question is considered a special benefit. Because your previous questions had higher value, the price is accordingly higher.”

“Fine! One hundred thousand it is! If you don’t explain yourself, I’ll be mad at you, mark my words!” Chen Bo lamented as the hundred thousand gold coins vanished instantly.

“Although getting mad at me won’t help, since you’ve already paid, the system will serve you properly. To remove side effects, you can have a master-level or higher alchemist refine the counterfeit century-old Zhu fruit into a pill. The effect will be better than consuming it directly.”

“However, a warm reminder: if you seek out an alchemist, make sure they are at least master level. Other alchemists will just waste this counterfeit century-old Zhu fruit. Please think carefully.”

Alright then, after paying one hundred thousand gold coins, the system even addressed him politely. Where did it learn this obsession with money? Was it from some online forum? Damn it, that forum should be shut down!

Chen Bo thought maliciously.