The Price of Gold

“Hah… hah…” Liu Xia’s legs pumped relentlessly as he fled forward.

Though his body screamed with exhaustion, Liu Xia dared not falter, for the Investigators of the [Temple of Law] were hot on his heels.

In a strange way, however, this might even be a blessing in disguise.

After all, to apprehend a failure like Liu Xia, the [Holy Tower Church] likely deemed it unnecessary to deploy their Law Temple Paladins.

Had they done so, he would have been utterly without recourse, his escape route sealed long ago.

“Liu Xia, surrender now!” The Investigator’s voice boomed with unwavering energy from behind him. “How much longer can you possibly endure? Unable to drop gold coins, burdened by insurmountable debt, you’ll soon devolve into a goblin, won’t you? Once that happens, you’ll become a mindless, man-eating beast!”

“Heed my words, Liu Xia. Your record has always been exemplary—law-abiding, cooperative, and kind. Teachers, classmates, and colleagues alike, everyone you’ve ever encountered, speaks of your inherent goodness.” The Investigator’s tone softened perceptibly, adopting a more persuasive cadence. “Surely, you don’t wish to become a sinner who harms others in your final moments, to be despised by all, do you?”

‘No, I don’t want that!’ Liu Xia cried out in the depths of his heart. ‘But more than anything, I don’t want to die!’

‘I don’t want to die…’

He had striven so hard to be a useful member of society, had toiled relentlessly to *drop gold coins*!

But why? Why must fate dictate that he could not *drop gold coins*? Why did the inability to *drop gold coins* lead to devolution into a goblin? And why, once a goblin, would he invariably harm others?

He simply could not comprehend it, not at all! All he had ever truly desired was happiness.

This world held too many unanswered questions, and Liu Xia, it seemed, would never have the chance to find them.

His vision grew increasingly crimson, the entire world around him beginning to pulsate erratically.

As Liu Xia’s slightly unfocused gaze sharpened, a string of numbers materialized before him.

[-101]

This alarming negative number represented the [Gold] content a man possessed in this world. It was not merely the energy currency required to wield various abilities, but also the very qualification for one’s humanity.

Should this number plunge into the negatives, becoming impossible to restore through any means, it signified an inability to exchange [Blessings] from the [Goddess], and the man would then [irreversibly] devolve into a goblin.

[-102]

[-103]

With each passing second, the number continued its slow, inexorable descent.

In the past, Liu Xia had desperately striven to prevent this number from ever turning negative, yet now, its magnitude, whatever it might be, held no meaning for him.

The relentlessly falling number served as a grim harbinger, a death knell signaling that Liu Xia’s time was drawing to a close.

‘Is this truly the end?’ A bitter taste filled Liu Xia’s mouth.

Why, he wondered, had he clung so desperately to life? His destiny of failure had been etched in stone long ago.

Every effort he had made merely postponed the inevitable. If that were the case, why did he continue to persist?

‘Why?’

Like a flickering zoetrope, images surged through his mind: sights he had witnessed, faces of people he had known, all blurring past his eyes in a fleeting rush.

“Senior…” A familiar, youthful call echoed in his ears.

Liu Xia’s expression momentarily froze, before a gentle smile blossomed on his face.

Before him, a bright-eyed boy with raven hair grinned, waving cheerfully.

‘Is this merely a hallucination?’ Liu Xia chuckled, letting out a soft sigh. ‘To see that child again before I devolve, I…’

In that instant, he ceased his struggle, embracing his destiny with a serene acceptance.

His human reason was steadily eroding, and what now propelled his body forward was less conscious thought and more Liu Xia’s primal, biological instinct for survival.

‘Chunsheng… he looks so delicious…’ Liu Xia’s final vestiges of consciousness melted away, leaving only a thunderous roar behind him.

“Clear the way, all you idlers! A goblin is here—do you have a death wish?!”

****

“Liu Xia, surrender now!…” The clamor from a short distance away caused Li Chunsheng, on his way home from work, to halt. He turned his gaze towards the source of the commotion.

What was happening? For Li Chunsheng, an ordinary and rather unexciting citizen, observing a spectacle was a rare and cherished pastime.

“My word… Is that a goblin? It’s hideous!” The moment Li Chunsheng clearly perceived the creature before him, he gasped in alarm.

What an abominable creature it was: its skin rough and dark green, a hooked nose, pointed ears, eyes glowing crimson, and a face of green with menacing fangs. It was truly terrifying to behold.

Li Chunsheng swiftly identified the monster before him. After all, every child who had attended a church elementary school was taught how to recognize these man-eating goblins, and, crucially, how to avoid becoming one.

‘What a wretched creature.’

Pity aside, seeing such a grotesque monster charging directly at him, Li Chunsheng instinctively wished to flee. Yet, in the very next moment, his steps abruptly faltered.

‘Wait!’

“Liu Xia…” Li Chunsheng gazed blankly at the monstrous figure, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

‘Is that… Senior?’

‘No, that can’t be right. It must just be someone with the same name, surely?’ Li Chunsheng desperately tried to convince himself.

Yet, he possessed a distinct advantage: exceptionally keen eyesight. The orphanage director had once praised him, saying, “His eyes are so bright, like shimmering jewels. How could such a child ever be abandoned?”

Returning to the matter at hand, the more Li Chunsheng scrutinized the goblin, the more he perceived a disquieting familiarity—heaven knew how he could discern human features within such a monstrous form.

A profound sense of dread settled in Li Chunsheng’s heart, and his observational gaze became increasingly captivated, so much so that for a moment, he completely forgot to move out of the way.

It was only when a thunderous shout pierced the air that Li Chunsheng snapped back to reality.

“Clear the way, all you idlers! A goblin is here—do you have a death wish?!”

By then, the goblin was a mere ten paces from him, capable of covering the distance in an instant.

‘This is bad!’ Li Chunsheng inwardly exclaimed, taking a step to move aside.

However, the three individuals were already in such close proximity that Li Chunsheng, a mere ordinary person who had yet to acquire any [Authority], found himself unable to evade the impending danger.

In a desperate plea, Li Chunsheng cried out, “Senior, it’s me! Li Chunsheng!” He clung to the faint hope that ‘Liu Xia’ might still retain a shred of human reason.

The goblin did indeed falter, its charge momentarily broken. Before Li Chunsheng could even register a flicker of hope, ‘Liu Xia’ lunged, a gaping, blood-soaked maw snapping shut around him.

The attack was so sudden that Li Chunsheng could only manage to raise his arm in a desperate attempt to block, resulting in the goblin’s teeth sinking deep into his flesh.

“Hiss…!” Li Chunsheng hissed, sucking in a sharp breath.

His artery appeared to have been severed, and crimson blood surged forth in a torrent.

Excruciating pain flooded his senses.

‘Ah, I really shouldn’t have stopped to gawk…’ Having encountered a live goblin for the very first time, he had foolishly harbored hope that it might still possess some semblance of reason.

It seemed his second life, granted by transmigration, was destined to end here.

A profound helplessness settled over Li Chunsheng’s heart. As the arterial blood rapidly drained from him, his body grew progressively weaker, leaving him without the strength to offer any further resistance.

“Gurgle-gurgle…” The goblin joyfully gorged itself on Li Chunsheng’s fresh blood, yet gradually, its movements began to falter, growing hesitant.

“Chun… sheng…?” A guttural murmur escaped the goblin’s maw, still clamped around Li Chunsheng’s arm.

‘Big brother, are you finally awake?’ Li Chunsheng thought, a wry comment forming in his mind. ‘Could you perhaps let go of my arm first? It really hurts.’

Meanwhile, Liu Xia stared in disbelief at the man whose arm he still held in his teeth, a tempest of emotions raging within his heart.

‘How… how did I regain… consciousness? Did I… did I truly… harm… Chunsheng?’

‘Ah, ah… A failure like me, not only useless but also capable of harming those I care about, truly… I shouldn’t exist at all…’

“…Go quickly…” Li Chunsheng urged weakly. Even though his Senior had injured him so grievously, he harbored no resentment.

After all, transforming into a goblin was an unavoidable tragedy.

“Damn you…! You monster!” The Investigator swiftly closed the distance. With a distinct jingle of coins, they unleashed an empowered attack upon Liu Xia.

“Edict: Terrifying Impact!”

Liu Xia reeled from the powerful blow, spitting blood as he fled. Before vanishing, he cast a look of profound concern back at Li Chunsheng.

“Sor… ry…呜…” A choked sob escaped his throat.

Li Chunsheng slumped to the ground, watching Liu Xia flee in a panic, and offered a relieved, albeit weak, smile.

“Hmph, what a crude world…” he murmured to himself.

The notion that men unable to *drop gold coins* would transform into goblins, and then be hunted down for it, struck him as an unnecessarily cruel and contrived decree.

He, of all people, should have been utterly [unaffected by this].

Yet here he was, still succumbing to such an absurd premise. Could it be that his entire life thus far had been nothing more than a ludicrous dream?

‘Never mind,’ he decided. ‘Let it be.’ Li Chunsheng closed his eyes, calmly awaiting death.

It was then that he noticed the familiar [Gold Content] number, a figure he had long grown accustomed to seeing, suddenly flicker and change.

10… 9…

The number descended slowly, yet with an undeniable certainty, until at last… it reached its critical threshold.

0, -1… The number violently shuddered, and then, in the very next instant… 10!!

Li Chunsheng’s tightly shut eyes snapped open, revealing a swirling, ethereal golden hue within their depths.

“This is…”