"We almost forgot! We're here to buy your paper crafts. How much stock do you have left in the shop? We'll take it all!"
Zhao Mumu patted her waist pouch. "Don't worry, this time we're using public funds. No matter how much you've got, we can cover it."
"Public funds... you mean the SEIU is paying?" Song Miaozhu asked.
"Not exactly the SEIU as a whole," Zhao Mumu clarified. "This is just from the Lingcheng SEIU. We're buying to distribute as part of our internal employee benefits."
After glancing around, Zhao Mumu leaned in closer and whispered into Song Miaozhu's ear.
"My brother couldn't come, so he asked me to apologize on his behalf. He says there are some higher-level decisions he can't control, but here in Lingcheng, he still has the final say. He told me to let you know that our division will be focusing on cultivating talents from the world of the living. These paper crafts are meant for them to use when honoring their deceased loved ones."
Song Miaozhu paused, pressing a sheet of paper into place. "I understand."
So the higher-ups at the SEIU still hadn't given up on probing the underworld. They were walking a crooked path, and they'd pay the price eventually. But that wasn't her concern anymore.
"I'm not sure what happened between you and the SEIU," Zhao Mumu added carefully, "but don't worry, Miaozhu. With my brother supporting you, you won't have to worry about selling your paper crafts."
Chen Shuanghe nodded. "Captain Zhao might be strict, but he's a decent person."
Song Miaozhu looked a little puzzled. "From what you're saying, is the drop in business at my shop recently because of the SEIU?"
"You didn't know?" Zhao Mumu looked surprised.
"You haven't seen the SEIU app lately?" Chen Shuanghe asked, clearly worried.
"I've been busy working on my paper crafting techniques," Song Miaozhu replied. "Haven't checked in a while."
Ever since she started getting one-on-one tutoring from ghost instructors in the underworld, she had mostly stopped watching the master classes on the SEIU's platform. Besides, they didn't update the content that often. When she got busy, it just slipped her mind.
"You should check it now," Zhao Mumu urged.
Miaozhu walked to the counter and picked up her phone, opening the Bureau's app. The top post read:
[New Feature in Contribution Points Shop: Spirit Vendor Certification]
She tapped into the article. It was about a new feature that allowed certain users to open personal storefronts and list spiritual items for sale. Accounts that qualified could apply for Spirit Vendor Certification, which would add a special badge to their profile.
The article listed how to obtain the certification. It would only be granted to key Bureau members or those who had made exceptional contributions.
Curious, Song Miaozhu checked her own profile—and found a record of a failed application. A bright red stamp marked it: Certification Rejected
She clicked on the record. It included a vendor agreement that simply reiterated what the article had said. In the end, the request was denied after a failed negotiation. It had been a while since Miaozhu last opened the SEIU's app, and she couldn't help letting out a quiet laugh.
Looking back, she was starting to think it had been a mistake to ever try collaborating with the SEIU. Her idea had been to accelerate her research into spiritual energy techniques by sharing information with them, thinking it might lead to breakthroughs during this time of spiritual resurgence.
But the SEIU wasn't made up of the sharp minds and capable talents she had imagined. They were starting to look more like an amateur troupe. What else could explain such a ridiculous system?
Did they really think a vendor badge would be enough to control her? That she would obediently agree to make fourth-tier Yin Paper Clothes for them on demand, without conditions?
She opened the contribution points shop and began to understand how they had gotten this false sense of leverage.
Many of the SEIU's so-called masters had already opened their own storefronts, selling handmade spiritual items. Ranking by sales, the top products were all from Master Geng Qiushan of Guangcheng and Master Zhang Yunxi of Xiangcheng—paper ingots, golden lotuses, and paper clothes.
Miaozhu remembered both names from the master classes. Geng Qiushan was known for crafting paper servants, while Zhang Yunxi specialized in colorful phoenix paper sculptures.
So now they were selling low-complexity items like paper ingots, lotuses, and clothing? The quality wasn't bad either, ranging from first to third tier. Prices were half what she charged. That made it a fair price for both realms.
Reading through the reviews, she found that seventy percent of buyers were ghosts affiliated with the SEIU. They praised the items as being very popular in the underworld and easy to resell. Although the golden ingots and lotus flowers sold in the living realm lacked funerary power and were effectively empty shells, they still held value in the underworld and could be traded for money.
No wonder her paper shop had been quiet this week—there was now a cheaper option. She checked her ghost-side warehouse. The stock of golden ingots and lotus flowers had barely changed since the last time she looked. Clearly, very few had been sold lately.
So the SEIU thought a price war would scare her off?
She didn't even rely on those items for income anymore. Her ghost-side business made money mainly from fourth-tier Yin Paper Clothes, plus proxy purchases and resale of certain goods from the world of the living.
Paper ingots and lotuses didn't require spiritual activation and had plenty of substitutes. There were shops all over the underworld selling them. They had never been big sellers to begin with.
Did the SEIU really believe that these two so-called masters could make Yin Paper Clothes that would compete with hers? If it were that easy to replicate, fourth-tier Yin Paper Clothes wouldn't be in such high demand in the underworld.
This posed no threat to her business. But for the underworld paper craft vendors, these ghosts collaborating with the SEIU must have been a nightmare. Using their living-world advantages to undercut prices and disrupt market rates?
According to the Heaven-Tier Ghost Shopkeeper's Code, she wasn't even allowed to use her position in the living realm to dump goods at low prices that had direct competition in the underworld. That would count as market disruption.
If someone reported this to the Ministry of Underworld Commerce, the authorities would have no choice but to investigate. In the underworld, monopolies could only be maintained through legally recognized unique techniques or abilities. What these ghosts and the SEIU were doing clearly broke that balance. It wasn't legal.
Song Miaozhu shook her head. She had said her piece, but if some people in the Bureau still wanted to take shortcuts, there was nothing more she could do. Just as she was about to close the app, a loud banner popped up across the shop interface:
{Flash Sale Tonight: Master Geng's Fourth-Tier Yin Paper Clothes! Only 1 contribution point to enter the lucky draw!]
She took a closer look. It did say fourth-tier Yin Paper Clothes.
Master Geng could craft fourth-tier armor now?
But it hadn't been listed in his storefront. Puzzled, Miaozhu checked again. Still nothing.
Finally, she spotted a note in his profile:
[Master Geng specializes in crafting first to third-tier ingots, golden lotuses, and Paper Spirit Armor. Only first to third-tier items are regularly sold. Fourth-tier Yin Paper Clothes is exclusive to the SEIU.]
And the flash sale event? It wasn't even hosted by Master Geng himself. It was organized by the SEIU.