My Three Vampire Queens In The Apocalypse-Chapter 22: Striking a Deal with a Charming Pig [2]

"Turn off the broadcast before I tell you my proposal."

{Fine. Ads are running right now. Constellations won’t be able to hear our conversation, so make it quick.}

"I will not choose any constellation as my sponsor in any of the upcoming ’Constellation Selection’ events. Basically, I will never take a sponsor.

I will also not leave your streaming zone. Your channel will be the only one I appear on."

For a moment, there was silence between us as the pig continued hovering in the air. I, on the other hand, was half-submerged in liquid. A single piece of wood kept me afloat.

In this world, Hosts were nothing more than employees of [Starline], an entity that governed everything. Their job was simple in theory and grotesque in practice.

They streamed stories, but not the kind anyone would willingly live through. These were not happy or inspiring tales. They were built on fear, desperation, and people clawing their way out of death.

The constellations watched from afar, drifting between channels like bored spectators.

Some of them were sponsor seekers who hunted for promising incarnations to nurture and exploit. While others were pure spectators who were content to sit back and enjoy the chaos as long as it wasn’t happening to them.

What I offered appealed to both.

By refusing a sponsor, I became an anomaly. Someone no one could control. That alone would attract the attention of spectators who thrived on unpredictability.

At the same time, it would tempt sponsor seekers even more, because nothing drew interest faster than something valuable that no one had claimed yet.

In short, I was selling exclusivity. And Spectre, a low-tier Host struggling to stand out among countless others, had everything to gain from it.

{Do you really think you are worth that much?}

There it was, doubt. Spectre was still not convinced, which meant I had to push harder and sell myself harder which wasn’t a problem. I had worked in sales for six years just for this day.

I smiled, even as the heat around me intensified.

"Tell me something. If I kill this snake, do we have a deal, or are you too scared to bet on someone who is about to die?"

The provocation was intentional. Hesitation in any way right now meant death, and I was already negotiating from inside my own coffin.

The creature’s stomach churned violently around me. Acid surged against my skin, burning through cloth and flesh alike. The stench clawed its way into my lungs with every breath. Each second stretched endlessly, dragged out by pain that refused to peak or fade.

Dying here would not be quick. That much was obvious to me now.

{If you manage to kill a 7-grade creature in that state, we have a deal.}

That was a good offer. Not generous, not kind, but it was enough for now.

"Open the Scenario Shop."

There was a brief pause.

{...You know about the Scenario Shop? Even if I open it, you won’t be able to use it. Basic membership alone costs 3000 coins.}

"I know. Just open it."

For once, Spectre did not respond immediately.

Then—

{...How much do you have?}

I checked without answering.

[Available balance: 6300 coins]

The silence that followed felt heavier than before.

{...Fine. Which membership?}

"Basic. Don’t make me say something depressing in my current condition."

{3000 coins have been deducted. The broadcast will resume shortly.}

The moment the message ended, a translucent interface unfolded before my eyes. Even now, the system worked flawlessly.

Rows of items appeared, categorized with perfect precision. Food, water, weapons, and skills. Everything that could decide whether someone lived or died was neatly listed with a price tag attached to it.

I ignored most of it. There was no point wasting time on things I couldn’t afford or didn’t need.

My body trembled slightly as another wave of acid surged around me. The pain was getting worse, which meant I didn’t have long.

I moved straight to what mattered.

A quick glance at the recovery items told me everything I needed to know. Highly potent ones cost more than I could afford. If I bought it, I wouldn’t be able to buy anything else.

Unsurprisingly, the system never made survival easy.

I shifted my attention to skills, focusing on something simple and immediate. Something that could actually change the situation.

Flame-type skills caught my eye almost instantly.

Of course they did.

I was inside a living creature.

I let out a slow breath, ignoring the way it burned on the way out, and steadied my thoughts. Panic would only waste time, and time was the one thing I didn’t have.

Then, without meaning to, my gaze drifted upward, and a new tab revealed itself.

[Mythic Catalogue]

For a brief moment, I forgot where I was looking.

The numbers alone were enough to make the rest of the shop look like a joke. Millions. Tens of millions. Hundreds of millions. Skills that bent reality, relics that carried the authority of constellations, abilities that turned death into an inconvenience rather than an end.

I didn’t need to read the descriptions to understand.

These weren’t options. They were a reminder of how far I still had to climb.

I steadied my breathing. Fantasies were useless here. Power I couldn’t afford might as well not exist.

What mattered was simple. I had 3300 coins left. And I was running out of time.

I dragged my focus back to the lower sections, scanning with intent this time instead of curiosity. There was no room for hesitation now, no space for greed or imagination.

I wasn’t here to become stronger. I was here to survive.

More precisely, I was here to kill something far stronger than me.

My gaze stopped on a small item that most people would have ignored without a second thought.

[Acid Resistance Capsule – 700 coins]

Ten minutes of resistance against corrosive environments.

It wasn’t impressive, and it certainly wasn’t something that would turn the tide of a battle on its own. But I did needed something to survive a bit longer. To buy me a bit more times. At the current rate, I would dissolve in a minute.

My skin was already melting, and my pain was unbearable. The only reason I was thinking straight was because of ’Dream Boundary’.

[’Dream Boundary’ is currently active. Most of your senses have been numbed.]

Without wasting another second, I purchased the capsule.

It materialized in my hand, already beginning to soften under the surrounding acid. I swallowed it immediately.

The effect was subtle but undeniable. The burning did not disappear, but it dulled, as if a thin layer now separated my body from the acid constantly trying to dissolve it. The pain was still there, but it was no longer overwhelming.

That alone was enough to buy me more time.

I moved on.

Weapons were useless in a space like this. Swinging a blade inside a creature’s stomach would only limit my movement and likely do no actual damage with my current stats.

Any kind of armour that I could afford would only slow me down further, making it harder to move in such a hostile environment.

What I needed wasn’t strength. I needed a reaction.

A chemical reaction to be exact.