At this moment, he wasn't in his original form.
Instead, he was covered with a flowing light in seven colors.
Not only his appearance, but even his physique was impossible to discern.
Looking around, most of the people walking up and down the street looked like this.
This kind of "anonymous" effect is a built-in function of this terminal.
After all, this is the "black market."
Although Shen Yi intended to explore the surrounding shops, the most important thing now was to determine the value of the "antique."
He tried to blend into every "seven-colored silhouette" around, even matching his pace with theirs, and thus leisurely arrived at a corner of the street, where there was a shop that appeared different from the rest of the buildings in his eyes.
The reason was simple.
The shop's decor, from a modern perspective, had no problem at all.
The outer walls were built with cyan stone bricks, a brown wooden plaque hung over the door, bells were hung inside the door, and a clear sound would ring when you pushed the door open. Whether it was the row after row of wooden shelves against the walls or the counter blocking the side for customers, everything seemed very natural, not different from a modern antique shop.
This was why Shen Shi noticed this place last time.
Familiarity comes with experience; he pushed the door open directly and first saw a seven-colored silhouette in front of the counter, as well as a collector sitting behind the counter.
Other customers?
Shen Shi glanced at the collector and walked over calmly.
"Welcome."
The collector's eyes, gleaming softly, looked over and spoke in a language Shen Shi couldn't understand, but a simultaneous translation came to his ear.
"It's me." The voice from Shen Shi's mouth, modified by the terminal, was rather muffled and emotionless.
But it made the blue light in the collector's eyes visibly brighten a few levels.
"So it's you, a valued guest." The collector even set aside the customer in front and walked towards Shen Shi.
He had no anonymous seven-colored flow light on him and wore no clothes. His body was a blend of art and technology, with a white jade-like translucent main structure, golden lines weaving various patterns, and even a faint glimpse of the internal structure. With every movement, a blue light flowed within his body, adding a mysterious hue to him.
The words "robot" couldn't begin to describe this body.
Shen Shi wasn't certain if this was his true form or a virtual image created in this trading market... Anyway, his terminal didn't have the ability to fabricate such an image.
But that wasn't important.
Shen Shi stayed silent, portraying a "reticent" image as he watched the collector walk up to him.
"What brings the esteemed guest to my shop this time, looking to trade for something?"
The collector's voice was androgynous, and since Shen Shi couldn't understand the language used, it was challenging to grasp the tone.
Just as Shen Shi pondered how to respond, the other customer, whose figure was concealed, suddenly interrupted.
"Wait, I'm not done with my transaction here." This was also an unintelligible language, but seemed different from the one the collector used.
"Customer." The collector looked at the customer, "The item you presented, I cannot accept."
The rules in this place were peculiar; there was no currency—everything was bartered, which seemed rather inconvenient.
But perhaps there were other reasons Shen Shi didn't understand.
When the other customer interrupted, Shen Shi paid no mind. In such a setting beyond his worldview, he adhered to the principle of "more words, more mistakes," and merely kept his gaze on another item that had been placed on the counter.
It should be the item the other customer wanted to trade.
He just couldn't tell whether it was to trade in or out.
However, as soon as Shen Shi took a clear look at that item, his pupils slightly contracted.
If not for the covering of the seven-colored flowing light, it would have certainly been noticed.
But you can't blame him. After all, it was a book!
A damaged, yellowing book, seemingly half-burnt away, but on the remaining cover, there were clearly two words.
——Sun Tzu!
These distinct Chinese characters were books from his era!
Sun Tzu what? Paired with the rest, Shen Shi already had a guess—it should be The Art of War!
His heart pounded, but he remained silent because he realized this was a great opportunity to see if books from his era were valued and what kind of worth they held here.
If these two were to haggle, that would be even better.
While listening, he continued to cast his gaze on the book, seemingly showing some interest.
The other customer, who also concealed their appearance, didn't mind and continued, "This is the latest product of the Adelaide civilization! You should know its sales volume, and exchanging it for currency outside would certainly bring a price above this book!"
Shen Shi's attention was also drawn to another item that appeared beside the customer's hand.
It was a glob of floating black liquid.
It appeared to be half the size of a person, constantly surging, as if it had life.
The situation was clear, this was the item the customer presented, attempting to exchange it for the book.
But what exactly was it?
As Shen Shi thought about this, the collector still refused the trade.
"If you can buy it outside, then go ahead and buy it outside. You should understand the rules here; I don't need this synthetic metamorphic material, so its value is significantly reduced. Besides, I am not an antique dealer, I am a collector."
The last sentence, if accurately translated, was understood by Shen Shi.
An antique dealer is in it for profit, but a collector is only interested in the collection itself.
A lucrative price might prompt a sale, but at least not when there's no monetary shortage because slightly higher prices won't compel them to sell their collection.
As if seeing the collector's firm attitude, the customer remained silent for a while and then, syllable by syllable, asked, "I only use this for trade; how much would it take?"
"Ten times." The collector's lips, woven with golden threads, parted slightly.
"Impossible!" The customer's tone, even after the conversion, made Shen Shi seem to see his resolve.
"That's the bottom line." The collector didn't say much more, focusing once again on Shen Shi, "And what about this esteemed guest? What are you looking to trade this time?"
Shen Shi didn't reply.
He was just pondering.
In his room, there seemed to also be a copy of The Art of War.
It wouldn't take long to think about it before making a decision.
For him now, finding ways to learn more information and maximize his interests was most important. Otherwise, even with a Gold Mountain, he might not be able to sell it at a good price.