Chapter 67: Hidden Quest 2
Phosphor Fire Trading Market.
Xia Ling walked slowly to the medium transport vehicle. Her eyes sized up Lin Qi, whom she had not seen for a few days, and a trace of surprise flashed in her golden pupils.
She had not expected that after only a few days apart, the qi and blood in Lin Qi’s body had clearly grown much stronger.
Although she could not judge exactly how much he had improved, from his qi and blood alone it was clear he had definitely reached apprentice level. Placed in a wilderness gang, he would count as an expert.
Yet in Xia Ling’s memory, the last time Lin Qi came he had definitely not reached apprentice level. Even the butler had said it would still take him several years.
“Miss Xia, I have come to trade again. I hope I am not disturbing you.” Lin Qi looked at the approaching Xia Ling and went up to her with a smile.
Xia Ling’s status in the Phosphor Fire Trading Market was not low, and trading with her involved far less risk.
Previously he had really worried that after their last transaction, Xia Ling had already seen through him, knowing that the Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros beef had been picked up, and would not bother with him anymore. Fortunately, Xia Ling still came out.
“Mr. Lin, you are joking. Our Phosphor Fire Trading Market opens its doors for trade. How could we possibly shut our guests out?” Xia Ling no longer probed Lin Qi’s blood qi. Smiling, she said, “I wonder what Mr. Lin wishes to trade this time?”
The Phosphor Fire Trading Market never cared about or paid attention to whether someone was an apprentice or a quasi-martial artist. Any guard there could suppress a quasi-martial artist, and an apprentice was nothing but an ant.
“Miss Xia, take a look inside the cargo box and you will know.” Lin Qi pointed at the medium transport vehicle behind him.
“Mr. Lin does like to be mysterious.” Xia Ling smiled. She felt Lin Qi was making a big fuss. Even if he was trading another ton of Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros beef this time, there was no need to hide it like this.
But Xia Ling was a very casual and friendly person. She did not mind Lin Qi’s act of mystery. She directly opened the side door of the cargo box of the medium transport vehicle and went in alone.
As for safety, Xia Ling was not worried at all. Leaving aside that this was the Phosphor Fire Trading Market, she herself was an extreme apprentice only half a step away from quasi-martial artist. As long as she did not face a martial artist level expert, Xia Ling was confident she could hold out for a long time.
Inside the not-so-large cargo box, there was a big metal box, and also a corpse more than three meters long, looking somewhat like a big gray bear, but with a long tail, lying there quietly.
“Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat!”
Seeing the corpse, Xia Ling froze for a moment, her eyes filled with surprise and confusion.
Although the Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat was the weakest monster, it was extremely difficult to kill. Normally, a quasi-martial artist could confront it head-on for a short time, but could not injure it.
Unless the quasi-martial artist possessed a B-grade series weapon. But the Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat was very cunning. Once it realized it could not match its opponent, it would flee. Moreover, Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rats were usually social, moving in groups of three to five, which even martial artists found troublesome.
Of course, by deploying a large number of people, a group of extreme apprentices or quasi-martial artists wielding B-grade series weapons could kill a Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat. Some large wilderness gangs and suburban gangs obtained monster meat by using this method. But the sacrifices were not small, and not many crazy gangs were willing to do this.
More often, they still purchased from martial artists, letting the gangs continuously accumulate strength. That was the king’s way.
It was hard to imagine a rising wilderness gang that could hunt Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rats.
“Miss Xia, what price can you offer for this Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat?” Lin Qi came up, closed the cargo box side door, and asked in a low voice.
“The market price for one kilogram of Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat meat is 580 bit. I can offer 600 bit here,” Xia Ling said almost without hesitation. “Of course, if Mr. Lin can guarantee a long-term supply, I can offer 620 bit.”
“Miss Xia is truly straightforward.” Lin Qi nodded. Xia Ling’s price was indeed much higher than the market price. “Alright, I can provide Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rats on a long-term basis, but I cannot guarantee the timing.”
As the weakest monster, the Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat naturally had a lower price per kilogram than the more energy-dense Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros beef. A price of 620 bit already made Lin Qi very satisfied.
“As long as you can supply long-term, that is enough.” Seeing that Lin Qi could ensure long-term supply, Xia Ling could not help raising her evaluation of the faction behind him by another notch. Her gaze then swept to the big metal box beside them. “What about that metal box?”
“Five hundred kilograms of Blood Essence Rice. The market price is 400 bit per kilogram. Is Miss Xia interested?” Lin Qi directly gave his quote.
Blood Essence Rice had always been hard currency in the City of Light Chasing, with extremely high demand, though the purchase price was inevitably lower than the selling price. Now that he had stable profits from Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rats,
Lin Qi felt he could keep this mature Blood Essence Rice for himself to eat.
“No problem, I will take it all.” Xia Ling did not even bargain. The corners of her lips lifted as she looked at Lin Qi, even leaning in slightly closer. In her beautiful eyes, she no longer saw Lin Qi as an insignificant nobody. “I wonder if Mr. Lin wishes to buy anything from our Phosphor Fire this time?”
“I want ten sets of second-hand A5 armor and one set of second-hand A6 armor.” After some thought, Lin Qi decided to buy armor from Xia Ling and also get a set for himself.
Although he could have bought from the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop, that would make him too conspicuous. Buying from Xia Ling was different, and second-hand gear was also cheaper.
“No problem. One set of A5 armor is sixty thousand, and one set of A6 armor is one hundred fifty thousand.” Xia Ling was a bit surprised by what Lin Qi wanted. She did not understand what he was going to do with such low-end goods. But since he wanted them, she would not pass up the trade.
Lin Qi and Xia Ling then completed the transaction.
The Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat weighed 5 kilograms, with a total value of 1,435,The Blood Essence Rice had a total value of 200,After deducting the cost of ten sets of A5 armor and one set of A6 armor, Lin Qi had 885,610 bit left, making his cash reserves much more abundant. It was more than enough to buy the materials to repair the entire Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
While Lin Qi was waiting for Xia Ling’s subordinates to bring the goods, he found that quite a few apprentice-level vagrants of various races were coming to join the Phosphor Fire Trading Market.
“Miss Xia, why are there so many apprentices coming to join today? Is your gang recruiting on a large scale recently?” Looking at the many apprentice-level vagrants signing up for the Phosphor Fire Gang assessment, Lin Qi was quite surprised.
Because several genius martial artists had emerged from the Half-Scale Race, their influence in the City of Light Chasing had greatly increased. But that should not have reached the point where they could attract hundreds of apprentice-level experts.
“Not exactly.” Xia Ling glanced at the long line and explained, “Recently, the White Feather Gang’s wilderness planting base was attacked. The White Feather Gang took action against several wilderness gangs they suspected. Those gangs were rather unlucky.”
“The White Feather Gang had long coveted the resources of those ordinary wilderness gangs, but previously they had no excuse to act and were afraid that the ordinary gangs would unite in resistance. Now that the planting base is gone, the White Feather Gang suddenly has a reason. Those gangs were dissatisfied with the conditions the White Feather Gang offered. They were either wiped out, or part of their people joined the White Feather Gang.”
“Many of these people were members of those gangs. In order to avoid trouble from the White Feather Gang, they came here hoping to participate in our assessment.”
“Is the White Feather Gang really that strong? They can wipe out several gangs in one go?” Lin Qi was somewhat astonished.
The White Feather Gang was only ranked in the top hundred among wilderness gangs. He could believe they had the strength to fight a few ordinary wilderness gangs, but wiping out several at once was a bit shocking.
“Recently the White Feather Gang has indeed gained several experts and grown much stronger,” Xia Ling said indifferently. “Especially their gang leader and three vice gang leaders, who have quietly advanced to quasi-martial artist level. With that strength, this is normal.”
“On the surface there does not seem to be much difference in strength between a quasi-martial artist and an extreme apprentice, but there is an essential distinction.”
“Once someone becomes a quasi-martial artist, their blood qi fills their whole body and begins to affect the internal organs. Although this influence is small, the enhancement of the internal organs allows the brain to receive more nourishment.”
“Because of this, even if a quasi-martial artist’s strength and speed are only slightly better than an extreme apprentice’s, their perception and neural reactions are far ahead.”
“This allows one quasi-martial artist to handle three to five extreme apprentices at the same time without issue. If apprentices want to fight quasi-martial artists, under normal circumstances they can only rely on the support effects provided by battle armor to suppress and contend with them.”
“So that’s how it is.” After hearing this, Lin Qi gained a new understanding of quasi-martial artists.
He had not expected that after becoming a quasi-martial artist, the brain would grow. That was far more important than muscle growth. After all, clashes between experts were often decided in an instant.
With faster neural reactions, the balance of victory was obvious.
System: detection shows that a player has independently created a martial artist-level martial skill, Rippling Wave Saber.
System: congratulations to the host for completing the hidden task “Born with Talent.” Reward: the upper limit of introduction quotas is increased by
System: congratulations to the host for triggering hidden task two “Geniuses Are Never Alone.” Have players independently create ten martial artist-level martial skills or cultivation methods. Currently three. Reward: introduction quota upper limit plus 100; reward “martial skill fusion,” which can fuse three player-created martial skills of the same type into a new martial skill that the host can directly master at the perfection realm.
“Fusion martial skill?” Looking at the new hidden task at the bottom of his vision, Lin Qi was shocked by how generous the system was.
Extra quotas were one thing, but he had not expected a fusion martial skill reward. The baseline of player-created martial skills was martial artist level. If three same-type martial skills were fused, the level of the resulting skill could be imagined.
What was more, it would be directly at the perfection realm. If he did not have the players create skills like crazy, it would be letting this reward go to waste.
Lin Qi then bought forty alloy shovels from Xia Ling, as well as one month of synthetic food and water for forty people.
After completing this transaction, Lin Qi drove the medium transport vehicle back to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall without stopping for even a moment.
Forty quotas meant a big wave of newbies. He had to arrange things properly.
As Lin Qi drove the transport vehicle away, a one-armed Winged Youth also rode a small electric motorcycle, following closely and quickly disappearing from the Phosphor Fire Trading Market.
“Miss, it seems someone from the White Feather Gang is tracking them.” A Half-Scale Race guard with a battle saber on his back hurried into the room and reported in a low voice, “Do you need me to deal with it?”
“No need. It is just the White Feather Gang.” Xia Ling smiled, flicked her tail, and said, “If they cannot handle a mere White Feather Gang, then they are not qualified to cooperate with us in the future.”
“Yes!” The Half-Scale Race guard with the battle saber bowed and left, no longer disturbing Xia Ling’s cultivation.
As the sun set in the west, Lin Qi finally returned to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall before dark. Almost the moment he arrived, he had the system open the new forty quotas.
“Captain Mans, I found that gang’s stronghold.” The one-armed Winged Youth looked at the magnificent martial arts hall in the distance and felt that this hall must be the stronghold of Lin Qi and the others. After all, most wilderness gang strongholds were broken-down buildings. There was no way such a well-equipped martial arts hall would not be used as an important stronghold.
“Good. Send me the location. I will report to the gang leader right away. As long as it is confirmed to be them, you will certainly be rewarded.” The man named Mans nodded. After seeing the location sent by the youth, he hung up the call.
“That Obsidian Martial Arts Hall in the human vagrant district?”
Looking at the specific location, Mans left his room, walked slowly upstairs, and arrived at the top floor residence of the White Feather Gang’s gang leader.
