The next morning, Richard found himself standing along Ongpin Street in Binondo while holding a small black jewelry box inside his pocket.

Honestly?

The place felt completely different from Glorietta.

No luxury storefront atmosphere.

No quiet jazz music. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

No polished marble interiors.

They are just stalls right next to roads that are congested by tricycles parked next to the curb and jeepney wading through traffic.

Richard slowly walked through Ongpin while observing the surroundings carefully.

Unlike Glorietta where rich people quietly browsed luxury goods, Ongpin felt like an actual marketplace.

People bargained loudly here.

One customer argued over bracelet prices.

Another asked if the labor fee could be lowered.

A middle-aged woman carried several pawnshop receipts while speaking rapidly with a jewelry buyer.

The entire district practically revolved around precious metals.

Richard liked it more.

This environment felt easier to blend into.

Nobody looked at him strangely.

Nobody cared if he entered a jewelry store wanting to sell gold.

Because that happened every single day here.

For emergency money.

Hospital bills.

Debt.

Tuition.

Business capital.

Gold in the Philippines was practically treated like liquid cash by many families.

Richard quietly adjusted the black jewelry box inside his pocket afterward.

Inside rested the reconstructed necklace.

Thirty-five grams.

18K.

Five hundred fifty thousand pesos minimum if negotiations went well.

Richard still found the number absurd.

That was already approaching the price of a decent secondhand car.

And the necklace itself?

It originally came from a broken fake chain worth less than one hundred pesos.

The margins remained disgusting.

So he went straight to one of the stores and then asked.

"I have a gold necklace here that I’m willing to sell."

The employee behind the glass counter barely looked surprised.

Richard immediately realized this probably happened dozens of times every single day in Ongpin.

The young employee simply nodded casually afterward.

"Sell or pawn?"

"Sell."

The employee pointed toward a small appraisal counter near the side of the store.

"The appraiser can check it."

Richard quietly walked there afterward while observing the surroundings again.

The inside of the store felt cramped.

Glass displays filled with necklaces.

Bracelets.

Rings.

Some customers browsed quietly while others negotiated loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

A middle-aged man nearby was currently arguing about labor charges on a bracelet.

"What do you mean ten thousand for labor? Gold is already expensive enough."

Meanwhile an elderly woman beside him tried negotiating over pawn interest rates.

The entire place felt more like a trading hub than a luxury boutique.

Everything revolved around negotiation.

Margins.

Profit.

Buy low.

Sell high.

That was the atmosphere.

Behind the appraisal counter sat an older Chinese-Filipino man wearing glasses while holding a loupe.

A calculator rested beside him along with a jewelry scale, testing acids, and a black touchstone.

The old man glanced briefly toward Richard afterward.

"Gold?"

Richard nodded before taking out the black jewelry box.

The moment he opened it—

The appraiser’s expression subtly sharpened slightly.

Interest.

Good.

The older man carefully picked up the necklace afterward.

First thing he checked?

Weight.

Experienced gold traders developed instincts over time.

The moment real gold settled into their palm, they usually had rough estimates immediately.

The appraiser lightly bounced the necklace once in his hand afterward.

Then came visual inspection.

The old man raised the necklace beneath the fluorescent light while checking the chain links carefully.

The warm yellow color reflected cleanly.

Not overly bright like fake gold plating.

Not dull either.

Natural.

Professional-looking.

Then he checked the hallmark plate near the clasp.

18K.

Next came the magnet test.

Nothing.

No attraction.

Then came the acid test.

The appraiser carefully rubbed part of the necklace against the black testing stone before applying several acid solutions one after another.

14K.

No reaction.

18K.

Stable.

22K.

Slight fade.

The old man nodded afterward.

"18K."

Richard remained calm externally.

Internally though?

He still found it insane.

The system-created gold passed professional testing perfectly.

Meaning chemically speaking...

The necklace genuinely was real gold.

The appraiser eventually placed the necklace onto the digital jewelry scale.

35.02 grams.

The old man’s eyebrows subtly lifted slightly afterward.

Jewelry pricing in Ongpin heavily revolved around weight and purity.

More grams.

Higher purity.

Higher value.

Simple.

Then finally the appraiser looked toward Richard afterward.

"How much are you expecting?"

Richard already expected that question.

This was where the real Ongpin experience began.

Negotiation.

Bartering.

Testing who folded first.

Richard crossed his arms slightly afterward.

"How much can you offer?"

The old man snorted lightly.

"You’re the seller."

Richard almost smiled internally.

The appraiser tapped several numbers into his calculator afterward while occasionally glancing toward the necklace.

Current gold price.

Purity adjustment.

Potential resale margin.

Labor.

Everything calculated quickly.

Finally.

"One eighty."

Richard nearly laughed internally.

Huge lowball.

He expected it.

No jewelry buyer ever opened negotiations with their best offer immediately.

Especially not in Ongpin.

Richard calmly shook his head afterward.

"Too low."

The old man shrugged casually.

"Gold market fluctuates."

Richard pointed lightly toward the necklace.

"Solid links. Good craftsmanship. Clean finish. Thirty-five grams."

The appraiser leaned back slightly.

"One ninety."

Richard immediately shook his head again.

"Five hundred fifty."

This time, the old man actually paused.

Even another employee nearby briefly glanced toward them afterward.

The appraiser stared at Richard for several seconds.

Then laughed.

"You think this is Cartier?"

Richard almost chuckled.

Fair enough.

Five hundred fifty thousand pesos for a necklace sounded absurd.

Still...

He remained calm.

"Look at the craftsmanship again."

The old man clicked his tongue before inspecting the necklace one more time.

The system’s reconstruction quality really was ridiculous.

The finish looked premium.

The chain links moved smoothly.

The polishing quality looked almost luxury-grade.

Not ordinary mass-produced jewelry.

That alone increased perceived value significantly.

Then suddenly, a woman’s voice interrupted from nearby.

"Can I see that necklace?"

Richard turned slightly afterward.

A well-dressed middle-aged Chinese-Filipino woman had apparently been observing from another counter the entire time.

Several gold bracelets rested on her wrist while a designer handbag hung from her shoulder.

Definitely wealthy.

The old appraiser handed her the necklace afterward.

The woman inspected it carefully beneath the light.

Then lightly bounced it in her palm.

Experienced too.

After several moments, she finally nodded slightly.

"This is beautiful."

Then she looked directly toward Richard.

"How much?"

Richard answered calmly.

"Five fifty."

The woman remained silent briefly afterward.

Then surprisingly.

"That’s actually reasonable."