"Hello Sir, are you picking out a ring for your significant other? We also offer necklaces and bracelets, guaranteed quality—"(sales lady)

As soon as I stepped inside a pawnshop, the sales lady welcomed me warmly. I picked this pawnshop out of many others because this place doesn't have many customers.

"Do you guys exchange silver here?"

I signaled the sales lady to stop talking and quickly stated my intention.

She paused and processed my question for a second, and then she replied respectably.

"Yes we do, but we only accept silver with high purity. If you have any needs, sir…"

"Get your manager here. You can't decide this deal."

I interrupted her. The sales lady alone could not make a decision on this transaction.

She looked rather disappointed but remained professional. She didn't believe that a guy dressed in a traditional Chinese outfit with a backpack could talk about the deal here. She called out the manager in charge of the pawnshop. A moment later, a chubby guy came out of the back door.

"Hello, Sir. How may I help you?" (Pawnshop manager)

"I want to exchange my silver to money."

I replied curtly and pointed at my backpack. His eyes sparkled and he quickly said, "Please follow me."

I followed him when he guided me to another room. After I sat down, I put the bag on the table in front of me and showed its content. After the manager had looked at the silver bars from my backpack, the manager gasped. He counted the 30 silver bars in it.

Maybe this was the first time he saw someone with so many silver bars nonchalantly putting it in a backpack, and dressed in a chángshān.

Thirty bars of silver; each bar totaling 1 kilogram. After the manager had recovered, he coughed and called an examiner to check the purity of each silver bar. An old man comes in with a few apparatus for checking the purities of a metal and started to examine each of the silver bars. He quickly wrote the result and handed it to the manager.

"All of it weighs a total of 1058 ounces. The purity is flawless. Do you have proof of ownership for the silver, Sir?" (Pawnshop manager)

"None."

The manager thought for a moment and motioned the examiner to leave. Only two of us remained in the room.

"Let me be frank with you, Sir. Dear customer's silver bars come from somewhere unusual." (Pawnshop manager)

The pawn shop manager's eyes flashed with cunningness before fading away. The silver's purity was identical to a bank's. However, silvers from the bank usually have a trademark, but mine didn't. The origin of the silver was questionable, of course, as it came from another world.

"Don't worry. There are no criminal records on these. These silvers are from my work."

I answered without too much emotion on my face. I didn't lie; it was indeed my work back in the cultivation world.

Understandingly, the pawnshop manager didn't inquire further. He quickly stated,

"1058 ounces of silver. The silver is currently trading at $10 per ounce. We'll buy every ounce for $10, which come out to be 10580 U.S dollars. Are you okay with that, Sir?" (Pawnshop manager)

"Yes."

"Would you prefer cash or transfer?" (Pawnshop manager)

"Cash."

The pawn shop manager nodded thoughtfully and called for a staff. After he had received an envelope, he handed it to me and in return, I handed out the bag. It was a successful deal.

"Nice to be doing business with you, Sir." (Pawnshop manager)

I heard the manager's voice as I continued to walk out of the pawnshop.

------------------------

After I got out of the pawnshop, I immediately went to a nearby convenience store. It was beginning to get darker and darker.

On the outside of the convenience store, waiting for me was the hooded girl. She was fidgeting, eyes swimming around. When she saw my figure, she instantly broke into a joyous smile and ran up to me.

"Haaah"

I sighed and recalled our conversation earlier.

------------------------

"T-take me with you! Please!" (Hooded girl)

The girl shouted as she closed her eyes.

"..."

Hearing no response, she slowly opened her eyes and was at a loss when she saw my leaving figure.

"P-please wait!" (Hooded girl)

She once again called out and this time, ran towards me. She desperately chased after me and blocked my path.

I was forced to stop.

"Mister, please take me with you. I don't want to work for them anymore!" (Hooded girl)

She desperately appealed to me as tears run down her face.

"Not my problem." I muttered in a low voice and walked past her.

If I helped her, I know that trouble will come knocking on my doorstep. When she said 'them', she was specifically talking about the kingpin of this area, like the thugs said. Although I can easily make this group of thugs kneel to me, that was when I still have my previous cultivation level. But now, I am just an ordinary person. I'm just starting to cultivate. Heck, I didn't even unlock my genes yet. So asking me to face a whole organization right now is a little overboard.

"They intend to sell me!" (Hooded girl)

When I heard those words, I halted.

"Haaah" I sighed and turned around.

Seeing me turn around, the girl stopped crying. She quickly wiped off her tears and snot and looked at my face seriously. She said,

"Mister, I-I can do a lot of things! I can snatch wallets, an-and, uhm, I-I can…I can… I… u-uuuu"

She quickly appealed her usefulness to me, with her voice growing smaller and smaller until it trailed off.

"I don't need a thief in my house." I replied.

Then, she lightly bit her lips and confessed,

"I am a mutant!"

Wh-what? Did I hear that right? Mutant? As in those who have superpowers?

"Mutant?" I asked, squinting my eyes.

"Yes! Believe me, I'm useful!"

Hmmm. If she's a mutant, then…

"What is your mutation?" I asked again.

This is the most important part. The woman in TV said that mutations are classified in two cases: those who developed superpowers, and those whose physical body just mutated. I don't know the extent of physical mutation, but if it turns out that these mutations can be just 'longer and stronger hair' or 'faster-growing nails', then I can assume that these mutations are basically useless. Thus, I inquired.

The girl, hesitating a bit, finally spoke after some time.

"I can heal wounds." (Hooded girl)

I froze. Instant healing is especially precious in the cultivation world. Cultivating will strengthen your whole body, which can then enhance your regenerative ability. But these will only come later if one steps on the upper-stage of cultivation. During the early and middle stages, the regenerative ability of a cultivator is only at the limit of healing a cut, burn, bruise, swelling, and minor internal injuries. Furthermore, that world was full of wild beasts, so healers were indeed precious there.

If I am not mistaken, when healing, the healer needs to call out the Essences in the surrounding, in his body, or in the body of the person in need of healing and turn that Essence into the Light Element. Light Element is a special element, which is harder to cultivate than other basic elements. In total, there are 8 elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Dark, Light, and Space element. The 5 basic elements are the attributes most commonly seen in the environment: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning elements. While there are special elements that are rare and hard to cultivate: Dark, Light and Space element.

Light element is especially hard to cultivate as the cultivators hypothesized that it is the elements closest to the Gods and fairies. When the Light element is discovered, the world of cultivation took another step in dominating the wild beasts. Healing, in a sense, is a very special ability, especially in this world where no one can access the elements, except me.

I stood there for a moment to think. The girl nervously looked at my face, waiting for an answer. After a few seconds, I spoke.

"Your name?"

------------------------

Back on the current situation, the girl reached the place where I was standing and gave a smile. Her white row of clean teeth is in contrast with her dust-stained face.

I walked past her, going straight to the convenience store, while she followed me around. A guy wearing a traditional Chinese outfit and a poorly dressed girl following behind him is not something you can see every day. The lady on the counter wore a weird expression after seeing our appearances. Nevertheless, she did not chase us out and still respectfully greeted us.

I quickly headed to the clothes section. I picked up several shirts, underwear, denim pants and a pair of shoes and turned towards the girl.

"Choose your clothes" I said.

The girl was surprised. She refused at first but eventually gave up after I said I won't be walking around the city with a poorly dressed girl in tow. That would just cause various misunderstandings. Thus, she also picked several dresses, some pants, and several pairs of underwear, while a red hue appeared on her face. Next, we went to the food section. I picked up a basket and just grabbed whatever snacks and instant noodles I want to eat that can last me and the girl for a whole day.

I went to the counter and asked the lady for a price. I quickly paid it which amounted no less than 500 dollars, mostly because of the clothes. After I'm done paying, I asked if there's a restroom, which she quickly pointed out. I went there first and wore the clothes I bought: A white shirt with a label "Tired...", a denim pants and a pair of white shoes. I used the mirror in the bathroom. I looked like an ordinary civilian now; with my hair still tied up in a ponytail, a face with a high nose bridge and very dark pupils that resembles an abyss. My skin was tender and smooth, all thanks to the Essence circulating inside me.

After I got out, I saw the girl also wearing the clothes we bought. She wore a one-piece white dress, blurring her body figure but emphasizing the bump at her growing chest. I noticed that she also washed her face, revealing a slightly white skin; like her hair. She looks just like a ghost. When she saw me, she dashed towards me with light footsteps, while showing a brilliant smile.

With her on tow, I went out of the convenience store. I immediately brought out some snacks from the plastic bag I'm holding and handed her some. I thought I heard a small voice saying 'thank you', but, whatever. I also ate some snacks. With this, I can now take it slowly on finding an apartment.

I called out a taxi and told him to bring me to a place where I can rent an apartment. After 10 minutes of driving, we arrived at a slightly tall condominium building, just a little outside of New York. I paid him and went out of the car with the girl. The building has 6 floors in total. The driver said that it was a newly erected condominium, thus there were still many vacant rooms.

I went inside the building to be greeted by a middle-aged man wearing glasses. He was the owner. I told him to pick a two-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a bathroom. The monthly payment was $3500, which I paid immediately. Now, my remaining money is roughly $6500. But I was not worried; after all, I can just bring out more silvers if I need cash. What I need right now is a place to stay.

After I was given the keys, I immediately went up the 4th floor, where my room is. When I went inside, it was clean. The tables and chairs are dust-free, even the windows. I can clearly see that they really care about their customers. I put the noodles and snacks inside the refrigerator and turned towards the girl.

"You. Go bath first." I ordered.

The girl slightly pouted, and said strongly,

"Mister, please call me by my name!"

"Haaaah" I sighed, and after a few moments of hesitation, I spoke.

"… Elizabeth, go bath first."

She smiled in satisfaction and said,

"Mister, you can just call me 'Eliza' for short. Instead, what's Mister's name?" (Eliza)

A long silence. Eliza continued to stare at me, demanding for an answer.

A little while longer, I replied.

"Agnus. Call me whatever you want."

"Okay! Master!" (Eliza)

Wait, what?!

Thus, I acquired a slave in a modern world.