Chapter 68: A Windfall Makes a Man Rich
Since Nightblade was taken care of, the trio returned to the main battlefield. With a booming shout, Jin Dajun charged forward to help Gong Qian suppress the Perfect Lifeform. Ou Huchen handed the piglet that was once Nightblade to Yu Xian before stepping forward himself. As he advanced, he gradually transformed into a three-meter-tall gorilla.
The little piglet struggled fiercely in Yu Xian's grip. Oink! Oink!
Unfortunately for Nightblade, he was now a pig. Yu Xian held him by the tail, and no amount of twisting or wriggling could free him from that iron grip. Carrying the squealing piglet, Yu Xian returned to the mountaintop, where Zhang Shou had been teleported back after his trip to the armory.
When Zhang Shou saw the plump little pig in Yu Xian's hand, his eyes lit up. "Salted Fish, where did you get a piglet? Are we having a barbecue up here?"
An image of roast suckling pig appeared in his mind, and he unconsciously gulped.
Yu Xian chuckled. "This pig used to be a human. Navy Captain Ou transformed him with Pangu Transmutation. Are you sure you still want to eat it?"
Zhang Shou immediately shook his head. "On second thought, forget it."
Bluebird was struggling to suppress a laugh. "In theory, a creature transformed by Pangu Transmutation has undergone a complete change at the cellular level. As far as biology is concerned, it really is a pig now."
Zhang Shou turned to her. "Then would you eat it, Sister Bluebird?"
Bluebird immediately shook her head. "I don't eat much meat."
Yu Xian created a bubble and tossed Nightblade into it. "Even if you were willing to eat it, now isn't the time. He still has research value. You can think about that after the researchers are finished with him."
Zhang Shou shot back. "Who would even consider that?"
Watching the trio in the distance taking turns pummeling the Perfect Lifeform, Bluebird asked, "Salted Fish, are we just going to sit here and wait?"
Yu Xian pulled a spatial ring from his pocket and looked up at her. "What else are we supposed to do?"
If they dared to join the fight, even the shockwaves from the battle would probably kill them within seconds. It was important to know one's limits. A squishy mage shouldn't be constantly thinking about charging into the front lines.
For example, when Yu Xian had fought Scott and Nightblade, he had never once dared to appear directly in front of them. Both Scott and Nightblade were absurdly more powerful than him. Without his spatial abilities, relying solely on Silver Blood and ordinary bubbles, he would have had no way of inflicting meaningful damage on either of them.
Of course, every loss came with a gain. Scott had lost his life. Yu Xian, meanwhile, had gained a fortune. Since he had killed Scott all by himself, all of the spoils belonged to him.
What he was most curious about was how much wealth Scott had accumulated over the years. He also hoped Scott had the habit of carrying all his valuables with him.
Following the instructions found in the Qilin app, he carefully inspected the spatial ring from top to bottom, paying particular attention to the inner band. He was checking for any hidden mechanisms.
Generally, the interior space of a spatial ring existed independently, which made it nearly impossible to tamper with. The ring itself, however, could still be fitted with traps such as poisoned needles or other concealed weapons.
Fortunately, Scott seemed to have had great confidence in his own abilities. His spatial ring contained no such tricks.
After confirming that it was safe, Yu Xian slipped the ring onto his left hand since he already had a spatial ring on his right. He focused on the ring and immediately sensed a vast space inside it. To his surprise, the spatial ring was even larger than his own.
"That's ridiculous."
The first thing he noticed was stack after stack of cash. A rough estimate put the total at well over ten million. He immediately thought that he could use this money to buy back his family's factory.
Back then, his father had refused to sell the factory to pay for his treatment. One reason was that selling it still wouldn't have raised enough money. The other was that he wanted to leave the factory to Yu Xian so that his son would never have to struggle for a living.
When Yu Xian was diagnosed with ALS, he had decided to sell the factory because he was the last surviving member of his family. If he died, the authorities would eventually reclaim the factory. Rather than let that happen, he had chosen to gamble everything on a final attempt to survive.
What he hadn't expected was that fate would take such a turn. Not only had he survived, but he now had enough money to buy back the factory.
After a moment's hesitation, however, he abandoned the idea. He had already stepped into the world of the supernaturals. It was best not to maintain too many ties with the mundane world. If an enemy ever used the factory against him, the workers there could get in danger.
Still, with this much money, he would never have to worry about finances again. Once he unlocked Super Stomach and Super Gustation from the Perfect Lifeform's ability tree, he could spend his days enjoying the finest food and living life to the fullest.
Having settled on what to do with the money, he continued examining the spatial ring. The next thing he found was a large collection of potions. Each one was stored in an exquisitely crafted bottle labeled with its name.
After taking a closer look, he discovered that there were more than fifty bottles of healing medicine alone. "So many healing potions."
Some potions enhanced defense, boosted reaction speed, and provided various other benefits. Scott had been unable to use them because Yu Xian's attack had completely blindsided him. With every advantage on Yu Xian's side and Scott unaware of the danger, the battle had been decided almost instantly.
The rest of the spatial ring was overflowing with treasures. Next to the potions was an impressive arsenal of weapons. These weren't standard-issue weapons either. Every piece had been custom-made with great care. Judging by their appearance alone, Yu Xian could tell that even the worst of them was probably Eagle rank.
Yu Xian picked up a staff. When he held it, he felt as though the staff had become an extension of his body. His mind grew unusually active, and his senses sharpened dramatically. Even without turning around, he could vaguely perceive the swaying trees behind him. Using gaming terminology, the staff probably granted bonuses like Mental Strength +1, Perception +1, and Mana Recovery +10%.
After playing with it for a moment, he tossed the staff to Zhang Shou. "Zhang Shou, try using an ability with it."
Zhang Shou exclaimed, "Holy shit, a staff?"
Supernatural equipment had always been in short supply. Because Qilin belonged to an eastern nation, it had an especially limited supply of supernatural weapons such as staves. Whenever one appeared, someone within the organization would immediately snatch it up.
Zhang Shou cast Healing Touch. Instantly, a spectral tentacle nearly one-third thicker than usual materialized out of thin air.
Zhang Shou was astonished. "The difference is night and day! This thing is insane."
Yu Xian laughed. "It's yours. Put it to good use."
Zhang Shou's tone turned serious. "This is too valuable. Let me pay you back in merit points for it."
Treating each other to meals and drinks was one thing. Those only cost a little money. But a staff like this was worth far too much to accept for free.
Zhang Shou had spent plenty of time browsing the Qilin app and studying the various aspects of the supernatural world, so he knew exactly how valuable the staff was. If it were listed for sale through Qilin, it probably wouldn't fetch a full hundred million, but seventy or eighty million was easily within reach. Of course, that price was undoubtedly inflated by the severe shortage of supernatural equipment.
Yu Xian dismissed that. "Just use it for now. We can talk about it later whenever you're a bit more flush."
He turned his attention back to Scott's spatial ring. At this point, it almost felt like treasure hunting. The man had simply accumulated too many valuable items.