Chapter 4: Purple Trait.

Why did Lu Wei suddenly want to go out?

With the 50 gold coin reward in hand, plus the 23 gold coins of pocket money she already had, Lu Wei now possessed a considerable sum.

She decided to look for some cheap and useful “employees.”

However, for some unknown reason, along the way Lu Wei kept feeling a chill on her back…

She glanced at the timid and shrinking Flora beside her, and a faint sense of alertness rose in her heart.

Flora’s attitude toward her would directly determine how vicious her “revenge” would be one month later.

So what exactly was wrong with this girl?

Didn’t she say she liked wearing it? Why was she acting so awkward and hesitant, as if Lu Wei was forcing her…

In fact, in the game 《Bonds》, the maid outfit on Flora could not really be called revealing.

It could only be said that, as expected of a male-oriented romance game, some of the paid costumes for the main heroines were so bold that even Lu Wei felt her face flush and her heart race.

She had to admire the art team’s lecherous business sense. Even when she took a bath, she wasn’t dressed this scantily…

Lu Wei glanced at the fabric on Flora’s body: an ultra-short fluffy skirt paired with an opening at the navel, her reddened shoulders exposed to the air, and a daring deep neckline that fully revealed her collarbones.

Wasn’t she hot wearing so much?

Why was she still acting shy…

Lu Wei curled her lips, inwardly sighing at how pretentious Flora was being.

This was nothing yet. Didn’t she have any self-awareness as a main heroine?

“Your Highness…”

Just as Lu Wei’s thoughts drifted far away, Flora’s timid voice sounded.

“Where are we going?”

“We’ve already reached the outskirts of the city…”

Hearing this, Lu Wei looked around at the surrounding scenery.

Further ahead, the stone pavement underfoot would turn into muddy alleys, and the only structures on both sides of the road were shacks pieced together from tin sheets and wooden boards.

She could already smell it—the unique fishy stench of the lower district floating in the air.

Lu Wei thought for a moment and pointed toward a seemingly dilapidated house in the distance.

……

A provocatively dressed beautiful woman stood waiting at the entrance of the rundown house. She bowed to Lu Wei.

“It’s actually Her Highness Lu Wei! What a rare guest…”

“Welcome to our humble shop~ Are you here to purchase slaves?”

Lu Wei nodded expressionlessly,

but Flora beside her looked somewhat uneasy.

“Your Highness… why have we come to the slave market?”

“Of course, to find a buyer for you.”

Lu Wei answered as if joking.

But Flora did not laugh…

“…”

The slave merchant observed the two people before her and couldn’t help but feel some suspicion.

“Your Highness… I must clarify in advance that we run a legitimate business and do not deal in human slaves…” She rubbed her hands together and spoke in a flattering tone.

After all, what she sold were smelly demi-humans.

There were usually only two reasons to buy slaves:

to take them home as sex slaves, or to use them as manual labor. If they were demi-humans, they were more often bought as cheap and convenient workers.

But clearly, for either purpose… the noble duke’s daughter was unlikely to need them.

“I’m buying demi-humans.”

Yet the Lu Wei before her simply replied indifferently.

The slave merchant finally relaxed a little.

Rumors said the duke’s daughter was spoiled, unreasonable, eccentric in her actions, moody, and there were even whispers that she enjoyed tormenting young maidens…

Therefore, from the very beginning, the slave merchant had been on full alert.

But after meeting her in person—

Her manners were elegant and graceful, fully displaying noble bearing, paired with that delicate and lovely face… She was undoubtedly a top-quality beauty in the making.

Apart from being aloof, this Her Highness Lu Wei did not seem as terrible as the rumors claimed.

“No problem!” She stopped overthinking and immediately replied, “May I ask what requirements you have for the goods?”

“If you need laborers, we just received a batch of black bear demi-humans a few days ago…”

Once she confirmed the other party wasn’t here to cause trouble, she quickly got into business mode.

“If it’s for other purposes…” A knowing smile appeared on the beautiful woman’s face.

“I strongly recommend the frost wolf variety!”

“They have very little body hair and their physique is acceptable.”

“If you want to play with demi-humans, frost wolves are definitely the best entry-level choice.” Her tone turned flirtatious. “I just received a fresh batch of frost wolves—brand new, clean stock.”

“Those little faces look like they were carved with a knife, high-bridged noses. Don’t let their slender muscles fool you; they’re actually quite sturdy!”

As the woman spoke, she even swayed her hips, as if reminiscing about something.

“Tsk tsk, the aggression of a wolf, the loyalty of a dog, and inexhaustible energy. No matter how you play with them, you never get tired…”

Hearing the slave merchant’s words, Flora silently covered her mouth. Her cheeks visibly turned crimson.

But Lu Wei beside her slowly frowned.

After a long silence, she finally spoke…

“I only want female demi-humans.”

“You don’t have any, do you?”

“…”

Both people present seemed momentarily stunned.

“Your Highness’s taste is truly unique…”

……

The slave merchant led the two into the rundown little house.

Unlike its dilapidated exterior, the interior space was extremely large.

Following the stairs down into the basement, a pungent stench hit them in the face. Rows of iron cages stacked on top of each other came into view, leaving only a narrow path for viewing.

Holding an oil lamp, the slave merchant guided them all the way to the deepest room.

Pushing open the creaking iron door, dozens of female demi-humans were chained up…

They came from various races, but most had prominent curves, tall and sturdy builds, with bulging muscle lines that exuded a powerful beauty.

However, they were somewhat older, and their appearances were plain…

Lu Wei recalled slightly and remembered this setting from the game.

The Human Federation was at war with the Beastman Empire. The Avalon Kingdom where Lu Wei lived was one of the small border nations drawn into the conflict, so prisoners of war were frequently sent from the front lines—

These were the not-so-welcome demi-humans.

Due to their bloodline, they were treated as cannon fodder for the beastman camp.

The more attractive female demi-humans had probably already been privately divided among the soldiers, leaving only male prisoners and those who were truly unappealing…

“I’m truly sorry. There are very few female demi-humans, and their quality is somewhat hard to look at…”

“…”

Looking at this group of demi-human prisoners of war, Lu Wei focused her mind slightly.

Immediately afterward, various colored lights appeared above their heads.

White… white… green… white…

Not even a single blue trait?

Lu Wei let out a soft sigh.

In the game 《Bonds》, “Traits” represented potential. White to gold corresponded to ratings from D to S. Generally speaking, a target needed at least a blue trait to have basic nurturing value.

Lu Wei looked toward the slave merchant not far away. A faint blue light glowed above her head, but unfortunately she was not for sale.

Then she looked at Flora beside her… That golden light nearly blinded her eyes.

Lu Wei was not surprised. After all, every main heroine was guaranteed at least one gold-grade or higher trait.

“Is there nothing else?”

Lu Wei asked, clearly lacking interest.

Hearing this, the slave merchant’s expression turned unpleasant.

As expected… Her Highness Lu Wei liked young maidens. These demi-human warriors couldn’t catch her eye at all.

“Your Highness, among the frost wolves delivered today, there are a few females.”

The slave merchant smiled apologetically. “But their appearance is really quite…”

“Take me to see them.”

Lu Wei frowned.

If she couldn’t find suitable nurturing targets at the slave market, she would simply use her noble privileges and pick from the Caris family’s territory residents.

Although Lu Wei’s reputation was already very bad, directly snatching girls off the street would only confirm the rumors.

But if possible, she still wanted to recruit beautiful girl employees in a more respectable way…

Following the slave merchant’s steps,

a faint purple light suddenly appeared in Lu Wei’s vision…

Inside a slightly smaller iron cage not far away, two extremely frail frost wolf girls were locked up.

They huddled together, their lips dry and cracked, their faces ashen gray, with many unhealed wounds still visible on their bodies.

Even when someone approached, they kept their eyes tightly closed, breathing weakly. It was unclear whether they had fallen unconscious or simply lacked the strength to open their eyes…

The slave merchant’s words clearly had some exaggeration. This was no longer just a matter of poor appearance—

These two frost wolf girls would probably die within a few days. If someone bought them in this physical condition, they might not even survive the “branding slave mark” process.

Not only were their physiques weak, but the mana fluctuations they emitted were also extremely faint. From any angle, they had no nurturing value.

And the price tag on their cage… 5 gold coins?

At this point, even people with special fetishes probably wouldn’t buy them.

After all, in the lower district, five gold coins had enough purchasing power for these people to party from the west end all the way to the east end.

But Lu Wei didn’t think so…

Although the purple light above the two girls’ heads was very faint, it still made her heart race!

Purple-trait nurturing targets—and two of them at once!!

Moreover, they were slaves… which meant they would be absolutely obedient to Lu Wei without needing any攻略.

She had struck it rich!

“Your Highness? What do you think…”

The slave merchant quietly glanced at Lu Wei beside her, a trace of strangeness rising in her eyes.

What kind of expression is that??

Lu Wei’s mouth corners were rising uncontrollably, her eyes seemed to glow with green light as she stared fixedly at the two pitiful girls in the cage.

The rumors were indeed true.

Her Highness Lu Wei… really wasn’t picky at all…