Chapter 68: The autobiography in action
"What is this black-haired youth doing?" someone spoke in disbelief, not understanding David's actions.
"Tch! He must be a scammer himself. Haven't you seen how he was conversing with Jin?"
The crowd mocked David's actions with disdainful expressions on their faces.
David, however, wasn't worried and calmly sat on his chair. It didn't matter where you went; there would always be people looking for money, and the situation here wasn't any different.
David could never understand what these people did with money. They would always be ready to borrow more and more until they were completely buried under debt, with no chance of repaying.
The crowd only looked at him skeptically for a moment before turning their heads back to focus on the dimensional portal, their gazes filled with hope.
"Are you for real?" Jin asked in a doubtful voice. He understood the value of money more than anyone else. Sometimes his years of hard work had gone down the drain because he couldn't secure funding at the right times.
Although doubtful, he walked closer to David's table and sat down directly in front of him.
"Yeah, why would I even lie…" David curtly replied while sipping his coffee gently. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at these people's logic. Why the hell were they doubting him and calling him a scammer after all he was taking all the risk? If they didn't repay, he was going to suffer a loss.
"As if I was ever going to suffer a loss," David snickered inwardly at this thought.
"Yeah, you are right," Jin spoke with a thoughtful expression.
"Anyways, do you want one?" David asked, raising his eyebrows. He gently twirled the cup in his hand and waited for Jin to speak.
Jin didn't directly answer David's question but once again fell deep in thought. If he could secure funding, he wouldn't have to do these odd jobs and waste his time here but could focus more on his research.
After weighing the pros and cons in his head, he nodded at David's question.
"Good! As you are my first customer after a long period of time, here, take this small gift from me." David smiled and slid a cup of coffee in Jin's direction.
Jin looked at the cup suspiciously and frowned. There was not a single drop of mana present in the cup from what he could tell.
"Why is this guy acting like he is offering something good?" Jin mocked David in his head for being shallow. Even then, he wasn't going to refuse when he had the chance; he mightas well inspect it more closely.
He gently picked the cup from the table and brought it closer to his face. A smell similar to burnt Ashwood trees assaulted his nose, causing the frown on his face to deepen even further.
"I was right," Jin said in his heart. However, it would be rude to reject the coffee before taking a sip; he might as well use his Crystallisation of Life together more information.
"The Autobiography," he gently muttered in a very low voice.
In the next moment, the cup in his hands seemed to come to life. A mouth filled with pearly white teeth appeared on its surface, followed by two dot-like eyes.
David didn't seem to notice these changes; he only felt slight fluctuations in the mana around him and continued to sip his coffee without bothering.
Sob~Sob tears appeared in the cup's eyes as it cried and started to tell its miserable story.
"I was once a happy deer, eating grass daily and basking under the sun. One day a ruthless human came and killed me without even blinking his eyes."
"He was so ruthless…" The cup continued its story in an even more miserable voice.
Jin, on the other hand, calmly listened. He was used to talking objects as this was how his Crystallisation of Life worked. Although the cup's story was miserable, there was nothing special about it. Jin concluded and stopped, and following his actions, the cup returned to normal.
Jin took a light sip without much thought. A bitter taste instantly assaulted his taste buds. Just as he was about to throw the cup to the ground, something magical happened. His spiritual space, which hadn't grown for a long time, suddenly started to expand, fueled by the mana that had appeared after he took the sip.
Surprised, he took one more sip, and the rate of expansion doubled. In the next moment, he gulped the entire contents without caring about how hot it was.
Boom! Jin felt an explosion and broke through to the next rank.
"This!" Jin looked at the cup and then back at David with a stupefied expression on his face.
"So it works again," David thought in satisfaction. Given Jin's reaction, he had broken through.
David could feel a small white line connecting him with Jin. He looked at it and thought, "I was right haha, the investment is equal to the amount I have to pay to purchase this cup." David concluded that offering the cup of coffee for free wasn't a wise decision.
"Okay, tell me how much you want and for how long," David asked in a plain voice. It was better to focus on what he was here for originally.
"I want…"
Just as Jin was about to speak, a yellow streak of light suddenly appeared in the sky, followed by the appearance of two people dressed in black clothes. The crowd broke out in a hubbub of discussion after seeing them.
"Ah finally, the wait is over."
"Captain Niles is finally here. I thought it was just a rumor."
"Who is this young man beside Captain Niles? I have never seen him before." Someone pointed at the young man floating silently beside Captain Niles and asked in confusion.
"Do you live under a rock? Don't you know him?"
"He is the pride of our Rising Sun Empire, the genius who discovered how to make storage rings."
"Ashford Augustus," the man's voice was filled with awe and worship as he introduced the young man.