The Max-Level Chef’s Magical Town Game

Ye Mu was slightly taken aback but not surprised.

Rent increases are something that can happen in real life as well, with various factors contributing to the price hike, whether a deal can be struck depends entirely on the negotiation between both parties.

Overall, it’s a normal market phenomenon.

In the game world, renting is a bit different from reality, there’s no formal contract, but there is another form of assurance, which is the system.

The system knows everything. When both parties agree and reach a consensus, the system automatically recognizes the rental relationship. Once the landlord has received the payment, they cannot force the tenant out early, and if the tenant defaults, they cannot simply refuse to leave the property.

Therefore, Ye Mu calmly asked the landlord, “How much is the increase?”

The landlord gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and stated the figure: “100,000 copper coins.”

Even he thought that was excessive, and he struggled with it all the way, but ultimately succumbed to greed.

He convinced himself: This tenant pays over 1.2 million copper coins in taxes each month, so her income must be high, asking for 100,000 in rent would be just a small portion for her.

Ye Mu was taken aback. Although she had an idea already, she still confirmed, “Per month?”

The landlord nodded. “Yes.”

That was quite a bold demand.

Although Ye Mu hadn’t been in this world long, the process of looking for a rental had already given her a good understanding of the housing market in Dragon Town.

Generally speaking, the monthly rent for ordinary residences varies based on location and size, typically ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 copper coins. Her independent courtyard, which spans two floors and can operate a business, would be a bit more expensive, but even the best locations were usually under 10,000. The rent she had agreed upon in the first month was 5,000.

But 100,000 copper coins—that was a direct increase of 20 times!

Ye Mu didn’t need to ask much to know that the landlord was envious of her booming business. She suppressed the urge to lash out and sat down at a table not far from the door. “If you raise it a bit less, I might accept it. But 100,000 copper coins? Why wouldn’t I just find another place? A new tenant would probably only be willing to pay 5,000 for this place, right?”

The landlord chuckled lightly. “Everyone in Dragon Town knows you. If you try to rent somewhere else, it might even be more expensive than my place.”

Ye Mu was taken aback.

Though the landlord’s statement was shameless, it was likely true.

Seeing her silence, the landlord confidently sat down across from her. “I think you should just stay here. Moving is a hassle. Why not negotiate a bit? If I can accept your offer, it’ll be a win-win for both of us!”

Internally, Ye Mu thought: Win-win my foot!

At 100,000, how much could she even negotiate down to? 80,000? 70,000? Or 50,000?

Even if it were 50,000, that still seemed like a 50% cut, but why should she pay 50,000 for a place worth 5,000?!

She could only say, “This price is not negotiable.”

The landlord shrugged. “Then you’ll have to find another place.”

The landlord had been standing with his back to the door since he arrived, and now that he was sitting, he still faced away from it, not noticing that the door was ajar.

Recently, the Nightfall Restaurant had gained a lot of attention, and even though everyone knew the restaurant opened at five in the evening, seeing the door open made some passersby curious enough to peek inside.

…What if the owner was in a good mood and decided to work a few extra hours today!

So, a few curious onlookers heard the landlord’s unreasonable demands, and one couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wait… is this how you do business? Aren’t you just being unreasonable?”

Ye Mu and the landlord both turned to look at the door. A few passersby pushed the door open and walked in. Ye Mu recognized one of them as a regular customer, a level 56 water mage, which was quite high among adventurers in Dragon Town.

Alongside him was a level 51 priest, who chimed in, “Exactly. You’re just renting out a space, how her business does is none of your concern. If her business is thriving and you raise the rent by 20 times, will you let her stay for free when her business is down? It’s just renting a house, not investing in shares. Have some shame!”

Seeing that someone was defending her, the landlord’s confidence wavered. After sizing up the two by their gear, he felt even more insecure.

But considering it was his territory and according to the system’s rules, he wouldn’t be harmed here, he gathered his courage, slammed the table, and argued back, “This is a matter between the two of us, it has nothing to do with you!”

“Hey, you…” His words only made more people upset. A few more folks squeezed in, glaring at the landlord.

Someone put their hands on their hips and said, “If you keep being unreasonable, don’t blame us for stepping in! It’s your property, so we can’t do much, but you think you can just go about this without consequences?”

“Yeah, if you insist on this, I might just put out a bounty on you!”

Bounties were a mechanism in this world where two feuding parties could issue rewards, either globally or limited to the current map.

The bounty system has two modes. One is the “defeat the opponent” mode, where the bounty amount can be freely set, and there’s no limit on how many times it can be published. Adventurers who accept the bounty can challenge the target, and as long as the system deems them the winner, they will succeed.

In this mode, the targeted party loses experience and levels every time they are defeated. Of course, if they win, they can also gain experience.

The other mode is the kill mode, where the target must be killed to complete the bounty. However, the bounty amount in this mode is automatically calculated by the system based on various factors like the target’s value, level, and notoriety, typically resulting in a huge sum, making this mode rarely used.

Currently, the existing kill bounties are issued directly by the king, targeting a few heinous criminals, with the bounty funds coming from the royal treasury, meaning completing one could lead to significant wealth.

Even the first mode is terrifying enough for ordinary people.

To this day, there’s a legendary tale that adventurers love to recount—apparently, a count offended the former crown prince for some unknown reason, leading the petty prince to issue 1,000 bounties on him, each with a reward of 30,000 copper coins.

This amount, not too little but not excessive, caused a strong reaction in the capital. For the next two months, the count was beaten up wherever he went, and despite consuming experience potions, he still lost five levels, ultimately avoiding the crown prince whenever possible.

However, he should be “free” now, as the crown prince had a falling out with the king last year, their father-son relationship reaching a breaking point, leading to his self-imposed exile from the capital.

But that has nothing to do with the current dispute. At this moment, the landlord, faced with the crowd’s anger, could only lower his head and sullenly say, “Fine… fine, I was just here to discuss things. It’s business, right? Raising prices and haggling, if we can’t reach an agreement, it’s no big deal, I’m not forcing on raising the price!”

Considering his tough attitude just earlier, this reasoning was obviously untenable. Afraid of being attacked, the landlord quickly squeezed through the crowd and fled.

The spectators’ anger lingered even after the landlord had escaped, with their remaining fury transformed into support for Ye Mu. The level 56 water mage declared with righteous fervor, “If he bothers you again, just tell me, and I’ll help you!”

“Yeah, we’ll all help you!” the crowd echoed.

No one was allowed to bully the culinary master!

Ye Mu felt deeply touched and promised that everyone who stepped up to help her would be treated to dinner tonight, which sparked a cheer.

Once everyone left, she went upstairs alone.

She believed that the people who had just supported her were genuine. Beyond their simple sense of justice, she also held a unique position—those rare attribute dishes could only be made by her, and no one would want her to go out of business.

However, she still didn’t want to rent here anymore.

Moving is troublesome, but now that there’s tension between her and the landlord, she doesn’t feel secure living here. Moreover, even though the huge taxes have taken nearly 80% of her income, she still has over a hundred thousand copper coins left, which should be enough to buy a house here.

If it’s not enough… she could always inquire about installment payments!

Ye Mu then sent messages to two people: the first one is Xibel, she asked about housing prices and the buying process. The second one is Isaac, as she wanted to discuss renovations after buying a house.

Neither of them replied immediately. Ye Mu guessed Xibel was busy leveling up and couldn’t keep an eye on her messages.

Half an hour later, Isaac knocked on her shop door.

Ivy opened it and recognized him right away since he often came to eat.

At this moment, Ye Mu was in the kitchen preparing ingredients, so Isaac went directly to her, politely tapping the island counter as usual.

Ye Mu turned to see him and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Hey? What brings you here? I thought I was just asking about renovations today.”

“I know,” Isaac replied, appearing somewhat contemplative, more serious than usual. After a moment of thought, he looked at her and said, “I want to discuss something else with you, is that okay?”

“Sure.” Ye Mu understood and walked with him out of the kitchen to the small living room on the second floor. She invited him to sit on the sofa and brewed him a cup of red tea before sitting down herself. He didn’t touch the tea and seemed in no rush to speak, staring quietly at the steam rising from the cup, as if unsure whether to speak or not.

Ye Mu was puzzled but didn’t rush him, giving him ample time to think.

After a long pause, Isaac finally spoke: “Compared to buying a house, would you be interested in buying a piece of land?”

“Buying land?” Ye Mu was bewildered, her expression more confused. “What kind of land? Farmland? Or are you suggesting… buying a plot to build a house myself?”

“Neither,” Isaac said with a calm smile. “It’s a large piece of undeveloped land, with no farmland and no buildings at all. Outside of this territory, there’s no lord.”

“Ah???” This proposal struck Ye Mu as incredibly strange, flooding her mind with questions, the most pressing one escaping her lips first, “Can I even afford that?!”