Once the ’Russian’ was finished jotting down all of the details that Bai Yin told him, as she spent a few minutes going into the fine, nitty gritty details of it all, he finally placed his stylus down and let out an irritated sigh.

"Complicated job. And you are wanting this for today?"

"Yes," Bai Yin answered, "A rush job, without compromising on the quality. We heard you were the man to talk to about such things, but if we were mistaken then I’m sure we can find someone else to..." Bai Yin started to explain, before the ’Russian’ scoffed and waved her away dismissively.

"Don’t bother with reverse psychology. It does not work on me. If you want to leave, then you can leave. Go find inferior equipment, and learn why my prices are what they are. See how many people you cut down, or how many steps you take, before their cane snaps while mine stays strong.

If you want to leave, then leave. Otherwise show the money, there will be no problems."

"Yes, speaking of price you seem to have missed that out." Valerie finally said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"It will cost 40 thousand. Take or leave, money upfront."

Such a price, for what amounted to just a cane, was like a stab at Valerie’s heart. Never in her life had she ever spent that much on something she could not live in. But this was worth it, she was sure of it, even if it did seem extremely overpriced for such a basic item.

Even still, dumping that much all at once hurt her spiritually, as someone who had lived paycheck to paycheck every month. It was just like the plants all over again. At least, she had later realised, those could be used to progress Bai Yin or passively increase her own mana when she was in game or having a source remnant dry spell.

So not as useless as she had previously lamented.

As he rose from his seat, ready to get to work, Valerie quickly spoke up grabbing his attention before she could allow it to be snatched away by someone or something else.

"I need a flask too."

"A flask? You seem like a bit of a lightweight to be drinking on the go." The ’Russian’ questioned, looking at Valerie with an expression twisted with suspicion.

"You let me worry about that. Just make the flash along with the cane, something that will keep in the freshness and not allow it to spoil any time soon. Is that something you can manage?"

The ’Russian’ scoffed in irritation, clearly not taking well to his skills being questioned, before turning and storming off into the back to go to work. Reverse psychology might not work on him, but classic tricks with the ego always would.

Surprisingly enough though, it seemed those skills were powerful enough to back up his ego, as it was only two hours later that he returned with the completed items in his hands.

The entire time, Valerie and Bai Yin had been waiting patiently for the job to be complete, as he did not allow them to leave while it was being made for security issues. At least that was what he claimed.

Also, one of them was definitely more relaxed than the other, as Bai Yin stood completely still, keeping the same position and attitude, and still forgetting to breath without the natural instinct to force you. As for Valerie, she had been keeping herself occupied by scrolling the Dawd forums.

When the ’Russian’ returned with tools in hand, Valerie eagerly took the cane from the counter and ran her hands over it. It was sleek black, with a few bands of metal wrapped around the base and underneath the head, where Valerie could control and influence it with her bloodline.

If she wished, and she very much did wish it, she could summon this cane into her hand from across the room. If it were not for her current witness, she would be constantly throwing and retrieving it like a dog with a ball, as she tested out her new toy.

Clicking a small button underneath the head unlocked the hidden sword blade, which was one sided and designed like a long, straight saber.

Atop this intricate hidden weapon of a cane, and acting as the pommel of the hidden weapon side, was the metallic motif of a cat. Clearly designed to resemble Beans, who was still snoozing happily in her lap without a care.

Oddly, that was not something that Valerie had specifically asked for, but he had made sure to add in just to show his skills. The cat had two eye sockets filled, one of them filled with a standard emerald that glittered prettily in the light, while the other was the refined source remnant.

Channelling just a sliver of mana into the cane, Valerie could feel it moving through the construct and flowing into the crystal at its top. When the crystal started to glow, Valerie quickly stopped channelling her mana and let the crystal return to its dormant state.

Compared to the intricate and detailed construction of the cane, the flask was rather tame. It was a standard metallic flask that had been wrapped in a black, faux leather to give it some texture and colour.

Although there was just one issue, it was empty. That could be resolved, however.

Turning to the ’Russian’, Valerie smiled warmly as she made sure to lock eyes with the man in question.

"Your pieces are wonderful, especially for such a short amount of time. Although I am sure there is some kind of printing going on here, the details are still wonderful. However... I was hoping to leave her with a little something inside of here... Care to help?"

She raised the flask, waving it back and forth, demonstrating its issue from the lack of sloshing.

The ’Russian’ scoffed in annoyance, "I have booze here, but they cost extra. A lot extra."

"Oh don’t worry about that," Valerie said with a smile, her eyes slowly gaining a crimson glow, as she felt the man’s mind link with hers as his body grew limp.

"You are going to raise your arm, and allow me to draw some of your blood."

"I will... raise arm and let you drain blood." The ’Russian’ muttered mindlessly to himself, before complying obediently with the orders. With a nod to Bai Yin, Valerie’s thrall stepped forwards and took hold of the raised arm, before gliding a knife across his palm.

She held his hand, squeezing the blood from it and into the flask, before corking it once it was full.

"You will forget what happened between now, and you bringing me the items. You cut your hand demonstrating the sharpness of the hidden sword, and then you let me fill my flash with alcohol."

Valerie pushed the thought into his mind, each word chewing away at her mana as she forced the thoughts over his own. As it turned out, replacing memories and altering events was much, much harder and much more draining than a simple compulsion.

But even if she felt weak in the end, when Valerie broke eye contact, the ’Russian’ blinked softly and shook his head, before grasping his hand and laughing.

"See? I told you. Sharp as can be, can even cut through my tough hide. Now... My payment, with extra for the booze, remember." He said with a chuckle, before holding out the hand with the gash in it and gesturing impatiently for money.

With another nod from Valerie, Bai Yin transferred the money through secure channels to the ’Russian’, who insisted they call him Smith should they come to do business again.

When the two of them left, they barely got to the end of the street when Valerie’s phone bleeped happily. She pulled it from her pocket, checking the notification she had just received, before letting out a deep and heavy sigh at what she read.