Chapter 24 Is Your Mount Falling Apart?

The owner of the small shop was a bit bewildered and asked blankly, "What did you say?"

"I said, give me ninety-nine more of the toy bicycles I just bought," Chen Yun repeated.

"...Are you planning to wholesale from me and resell them?" The shopkeeper stared at the gold coin in Chen Yun's hand, confused. Was this guy out of his mind? If he wanted to buy in bulk, the market was a much better place for it. How could he possibly make a profit by wholesaling from such a small shop?

"I'm not wholesaling, they're for my own use. Do you have them or not? If not, I'll just head to the toy market," Chen Yun replied, unwilling to explain further.

"I do! Of course I do. Give me five minutes, I'll fetch them from the back," said the shopkeeper, greedily eyeing the gold coin and swallowing hard. In a county like Turkey County, copper and silver coins were the main currency; gold coins were reserved for the upper class. For a mere commoner like him, gold coins were a rare sight. Now that one had finally appeared, he wasn’t about to let it slip away. The shopkeeper hurried to call his supplier, offering a twenty percent markup to have the goods delivered within five minutes.

The power of money was immense. In just four minutes, Chen Yun walked away carrying a large box full of toy bicycles, while the shopkeeper stood there grinning foolishly at the gold coin. This was a windfall: ninety-nine toy bicycles sold at the price of five hundred, earning him several times his usual profit!

Finding a secluded spot, Chen Yun opened the box and began breaking the toy bicycles one by one. At last, after wrecking ninety-eight of them, he heard the prompt he’d been waiting for.

"Player Chen Yun has mastered Level 1 Driving skill. You may now freely operate all Level 1 mounts. Level 1 mounts include: bicycle, unicycle, roller skates, skateboard, and stretcher."

Chen Yun paused, puzzled. The first few were understandable as Level 1 mounts, but a stretcher? Did he really need Level 1 Driving skill just to ride a stretcher? Was the system joking?

Riding his bicycle, Chen Yun returned to the restaurant from the backyard. He hadn’t gone far before another system prompt appeared.

"Player Chen Yun’s Level 1 mount has moved more than ten meters away. Would you like to recall the mount to your mount inventory?"

Mount inventory? Chen Yun was surprised—there was even such a thing?

"Yes."

"Recalling the Level 1 bicycle to the mount inventory requires binding the mount. Would you like to bind it?"

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"Yes."

"Binding the mount requires a fee of one gold coin. Will you pay?"

"What the hell? Are you kidding me? I only spent twenty copper coins to buy this mount, and now you want one gold coin just to bind it? This system is ruthless! No, I won’t pay!" Chen Yun gritted his teeth in anger.

"Player Chen Yun has canceled the binding of the Level 1 bicycle. As the distance between player Chen Yun and the mount exceeds ten meters, the system will reclaim it at the recovery price. Player Chen Yun receives ten copper coins."

...Watching the bicycle outside the door vanish into white light, Chen Yun’s vision went black and he fainted...

The next day, in front of the Fragrant Dishes Restaurant.

"Um, Master Chen, are you sure you want to do this?" General Manager Liu asked, half amused and half helpless, as he watched Chen Yun tie one end of a rope to the Maserati’s rear and the other to the bicycle’s fork.

Today was truly a sight to behold. With a car at his disposal, Chen Yun insisted on riding a bicycle. And since the bicycle was too slow, he let the car tow it. Master Chen’s preferences were certainly unique.

"It’s too hot. Riding outside is cooler. You drive, I’ll follow behind. Just don’t go too fast—I can’t handle it," said Chen Yun, his mouth twitching. Did anyone think he wanted to do this? He couldn’t drive or even sit in a car now. What choice did he have? Was he supposed to cycle all the way to Blue Melody City? Over a hundred kilometers—did they want him dead from exhaustion?

"Chen, I won’t say much more. Come back whenever you have time," Hu Daniu bid him farewell, reluctant to see him go.

"Take care of yourself over there. Your master and I will visit you often," Xi Jiu added, equally unwilling.

"Brother Chen," Xi Lanlan said, eyes red, "I’m so sad thinking I won’t get to eat your cooking anymore."

"Why can’t you? Lanlan, Blue Melody City isn’t that far. By coach, it’s at most two and a half hours. Whenever you want to eat, you’re welcome. I promise you’ll always leave full," Chen Yun laughed.

"Really? That’s wonderful!" Lanlan cheered, only to look dejected moments later. "But your food must be expensive there, right? What if I can’t afford it?"

"For others, my dishes are certainly pricey. But for Lanlan, Master, and Boss, they’re always free. I’m sure General Manager Jiang will grant me that privilege, right?" Though speaking to Lanlan, Chen Yun’s gaze fell on General Manager Liu.

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"Yes, Master Chen holds equal status with the hotel’s general manager in Blue Melody City. Any guest of Master Chen’s dines free of charge."

"That’s wonderful! I’ll visit once a month!"

"Enough with the nonsense," Xi Jiu scolded Lanlan, then turned to Chen Yun. "Chen, before the heat sets in, you two should get going. Keep in touch."

"Alright, everyone, take care." Chen Yun climbed onto his bicycle. When General Manager Liu started the car, Chen Yun nodded at his questioning look.

And so, a flashy sports car towed a simple bicycle with its rider toward Blue Melody City.

On the hundred-kilometer journey from Turkey County to Blue Melody City, this peculiar combination attracted an astronomical amount of attention. Every passerby marveled at the sight.

Even General Manager Liu, usually composed after years of professional experience, blushed deeply. It was mortifying. He, the manager of a branch of the empire’s chain hotels, was now driving a car towing a bicycle along the road. If any acquaintances saw this, how could he face them again? Master Chen’s hobby was—frankly—quite idiotic!

Chen Yun, however, felt nothing amiss. Since acquiring the system, he’d seen far more bizarre things. This was nothing. Besides, it was great—no need to pedal, the cool breeze blowing in his face. Where else could he find such a good deal? He was just closing his eyes, lost in the pleasure, when suddenly the bike made a crunching sound, and both feet slipped. Looking down, he saw both pedals had inexplicably fallen off!

"Player Chen Yun’s mount durability is at ninety; random mount component—pedals—has dropped."

The prompt sent Chen Yun’s soul flying. Was this even possible? They’d only traveled ten kilometers, and at this rate, the bike would fall apart long before reaching Blue Melody City!

He’d never heard of a game where mounts lost parts as their durability dropped. System, do your mounts really shed components as durability decreases?

While he was lost in thought, another crunch sounded. His hands gripping the handlebars suddenly felt empty. Looking closely, his face turned green. Where were the handlebars? Where had they gone?

"Player Chen Yun’s mount durability is at eighty; random mount component—handlebars—has dropped."

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