Chapter Two: The Trading System

Karn drove to the location Jimmy had given him. Although it was somewhat remote, it was still within New York City, just not far from the outskirts. After getting out of the car, Karn pushed open the door and walked in; it was a typical gun shop, with the kind of firearms openly sold in America displayed up front. Karn glanced around—if these were all they offered, he wouldn’t have bothered to ask Jimmy for information and come all this way.

“Hey, boss?”

After Karn called out, a man slowly stood up from behind the counter—a middle-aged man, his unkempt beard nearly merging with his wild hair, making him resemble a legless ape.

“If you’re old enough to buy a gun, look around as you like,” the gun shop owner said, mistaking Karn for a young enthusiast trying to buy firearms on the sly. Such customers rarely had much money—at most, they could scrape together enough for the cheapest hunting rifle.

“Pick what you want. When you’re ready, let me know. Looks like it’s your first time here—I’ll give you a ten percent discount.”

“I’ve already made my selection. I’ll take everything on this list, boss.”

Karn walked up to the counter, took a list from his pocket, and handed it over. The owner took a glance and immediately frowned. Not only was the quantity high, but many items were illegal to sell.

“I was referred by Jimmy.”

The gun shop owner replied gruffly, “Why didn’t he send you to Stark Industries?”

“Stark Industries wouldn’t break the law for such a small sum, boss. Just name your price.”

Karn indicated he was willing to pay above market value for the items; he knew it would cost more, but if he wanted to buy these things now, he had no choice but to spend extra. At least this gun shop owner didn’t seem dangerous. If Jimmy had sent him to the Mafia, Karn would rather have bought from legitimate channels.

His connections were useless in this line of work; among all the people he knew, only Jimmy was willing to help out for money. Everyone else would have told Karn to call the police or hire a bodyguard.

But his golden finger didn’t recognize New York police or bodyguards. Even if Karn produced a contract, it would be of no use.

The gun shop owner looked at Karn with a serious expression. “Selling this stuff is a crime. If the police find out, I’ll—”

Bang.

Karn pulled out thirty thousand dollars in cash and slapped it onto the table.

“This is a deposit, boss. If we do this, the balance will be in cash, too.” Karn noticed the shopkeeper’s interest at the sight of the money and continued, “Besides, you know Jimmy—he’d never set you up. This won’t be a one-time deal; I’ll come back.”

Thirty thousand was still a small fortune, and Karn only wanted enough for personal use: pistols, rifles, a considerable amount of ammunition, grenades, and explosives. The total wouldn’t exceed a hundred and fifty thousand.

It was a big transaction. The shopkeeper weighed his options, studying Karn’s face, but saw nothing suspicious. With so little time to interact, there was no way to ascertain Karn’s background.

“I can do it. I’ll get everything together within five days. You’ll need to leave an address.”

After a moment’s thought, the gun shop owner decided to accept the deal. Jimmy’s referrals had always been reliable—none had ever gotten him into trouble. Karn also seemed young, and his clothes and car weren’t cheap.

Karn picked up a pen and paper from the counter, wrote down an address and phone number, and said, “Here’s my number and address. Call before you come.”

This was another property his parents had left him, just four blocks away, with a large garage—though Karn rarely went there.

The gun shop owner put away the address and phone number and promptly pocketed the thirty thousand dollars. This one sale would earn him three months’ profit.

With the deal settled, Karn drove away.

Back home, Karn needed to study some medical knowledge on his own. He was the top student at Midtown High precisely because of his exceptional memory. He didn’t want to waste time on mindless video games—especially those from 2000, which he found boring, both in graphics and storyline.

He didn’t study medicine because of the thirty-four percent hospital shares he owned, but because medical knowledge would greatly benefit his journey. Guns could only give him a sense of security when facing human-like threats, but medicine could help him ensure his survival in unexpected situations.

Bandaging, suturing, the use of various medicines, and the diagnosis of illnesses—his family had run a hospital, and his late parents had left behind plenty of books in the field. Karn had practiced many procedures on dummies, achieving a one hundred percent success rate so far, though he had no idea how many lives he could save on real patients.

Today, Karn was feeling a surge of excitement. Once the weaponry arrived, he could finally try out his golden finger.

Danger was possible, but Karn was mentally prepared. For an ordinary person like him, there were very few ways to obtain extraordinary power, and the system he’d brought with him during his transmigration was the best method available.

“In five days, I’ll try out the transaction system. Maybe I should get some more practice? I’m good with firearms, but things like rocket launchers I’ve only seen in videos…”

Karn was so excited that he gave up on studying after just two hours. After a shower, he poured himself a glass of red wine. As long as the police didn’t come knocking, he wasn’t breaking the law.

“I’ll see what worlds I can access first. If there’s no major issue, I’ll check it out… System.”

A transparent panel appeared before his eyes—one only he could see, something he’d already tested repeatedly in front of his classmates.

There wasn’t much information on it, and its functions were simple.

The system could scan a world, but Karn had to personally travel there to negotiate a transaction. Only by obtaining a trading request from a native could the Multiversal Trading System place a trade marker in that world. Afterward, Karn could freely use the system to enter and exit for commerce.

In other words, the first transaction carried the greatest risk. Once it succeeded, Karn could quickly return to the Marvel world via the system, or slowly establish his own force in the new world.

The system also came with fifty inventory slots. Each slot could hold only one type of item; one hundred kilograms of any item counted as one unit, and each slot could store up to nine hundred ninety-nine units. If Karn traded basic flour, the slots could hold up to four thousand nine hundred ninety-five tons—a massive amount.

Danger and opportunity went hand in hand, but if he succeeded, the opportunities would far outweigh the risks. Karn believed it was worth the gamble; he’d thought it through—an ordinary wealthy life wasn’t what he wanted.

Karn wanted to see more of the worlds beyond.