The Mysterious Cloaked Man
The spaceship traveled for a full three days.
Over the course of three days, under Ka Le Er's tutelage, Liliath became increasingly adept at illusion magic, just as Ka Le Er had said, the Medusa Family members were all very talented in this area.
Dokter practiced his telekinesis daily, following Ka Le Er's demonstrations. He learned a great deal about telekinesis from her, including various application techniques, which helped him overcome some of his previous shortcomings. Furthermore, he strengthened what he had learned every day within Ka Le Er's dream realm, resulting in a noticeable daily improvement in his Ka Le Er.
The most noticeable progress was seen in Elsa, who battled daily within Ka Le Er's dream realm. This proved remarkably effective. Ka Le Er also recognized Elsa's potential; she was like a wet sponge, always yielding new insights and surprising everyone daily. In just three days, she was already able to smoothly slay One-Star Low-rank God. She could even remain undefeated against an attack from two One-Star Low-rank God.
Gu Ding, who had been refining potions for nearly twenty hours every day in Medicine King Valley, finally finished refining all the C-grade regular potions and left the Medicine King Valley. He planned to eat something to replenish his nutrition, then rest well before continuing his attempt to become a B-Grade Potion.
After leaving his room, Gu Ding headed straight for the kitchen.
As Gu Ding passed through the living room, he found Ka Le Er talking to Liliath, who seemed to be listening intently, which surprised Liliath slightly. After all, he knew that Liliath didn't have much affection for Ka Le Er.
Upon seeing Gu Ding appear, Ka Le Er stopped talking and smiled at Gu Ding, "I've been on the spaceship for three days. You, the homebody, have finally shown up."
"Gu Ding, what have you been busy with these past few days? You haven't even come to eat your meals. Bigge saves you a portion every day, but I've only seen you eat it once," Liliath said, fuming, as she hadn't seen Gu Ding for three days either.
"I finally passed the C-level in my attempt to become a pharmacist in Medicine King Valley. The next step is B-level." Although Gu Ding hadn't been sleeping well or eating much these past few days, he was in great spirits.
"But even if you reach A-rank, it won't help. Everyone's already at rank thirteen. Now we can only use S-rank potions." Liliath felt that Gu Ding was really not doing a very good job as a pharmacist.
"That's why I need to reach S rank, or even demigod status, as soon as possible," Gu Ding said as if it were a matter of course.
"The pharmacist exam isn't that easy..." Ka Le Er couldn't stand it anymore.
"I'm so hungry. I've come to find something to eat, do you have any?" Gu Ding didn't intend to explain anything anymore. He couldn't very well say that he only needed to refine all his potions twice at most to fully master them and then move on to the next level of refining.
Liliath pointed to the insulated box, "After you finish dinner, Bigge left you a portion in the insulated box."
"Thanks!" Gu Ding quickly took the food out of the insulated box. He put it on the coffee table in the living room and started eating. "According to Federation time, it should be evening now, right? Aren't you two going to rest?"
"I was about to go to sleep, but I had some problems with my cultivation, so I've been discussing it with Ka Le Er until now." Liliath seemed to have a good relationship with Ka Le Er. This puzzled Gu Ding.
Just then, Gu Ding's communicator suddenly beeped with a text message. Gu Ding looked down at it and then projected the image onto the screen.
"What kind of Auction House is this? Can we make it in three days?" Liliath was taken aback when she saw the message, but then asked anxiously.
"Don't rush. This is auction and consignment information from our Monster Paradise. As long as you pay attention to the relevant keywords in advance, you will be notified when the bidding items corresponding to the keywords appear." Ka Le Er had obviously used this function before and knew it very well.
Gu Ding then clicked on the information about the auction items.
Below that is a 3D projection of the gun, allowing you to clearly see every detail.
"It only allows redemption with points..." Gu Ding frowned. If it were exchanged for Universe Crystal, it would cost 25 million, which Gu Ding could afford. But now the transaction condition is that it can only be redeemed with points, which is a bit of a headache.
"Can't I buy it with money?" Liliath also saw the words that only points could be used for redemption.
"No, if the seller allows the exchange with Universe Crystal, it will be clearly stated. But it clearly states here that only points can be used for exchange. Most people in the Monster Paradise Camp don't lack money, they only lack points, so this requirement is perfectly reasonable," Ka Le Er explained.
"The consignment period is only three days. In such a short time, it's impossible for the fruit to reach the buyer, and I won't be able to get any points," Gu Ding thought to himself. "If I answer the questions again, the Sea Emperor's Database is very likely to be coveted by X, which is too risky. How can I get points in such a short time?"
Gu Ding frowned, considering several possibilities without success, when suddenly a thought struck him and he dialed Roland's number.
"Gu Ding?" The communicator was quickly connected, and Roland's somewhat surprised voice came from the other end. "Why would a big celebrity like you suddenly think of calling my number?"
"Uncle Roland, how many points do you have in the Monster Paradise?" Gu Ding asked hurriedly.
"You didn't call just to borrow points, did you?" Roland asked suspiciously.
"Uncle, you're so smart," Gu Ding flattered him. "I've seen an item up for auction that I really need, but the consignment period is only three days, and I don't have enough points..."
"I have 180,000 left. I just bought some things a couple of days ago, so I don't have any savings left." Roland was also poor.
"That's still not enough. I only have a little over 50,000 here, but the starting bid is 250,000." Gu Ding said, glancing at Ka Le Er as if he suddenly thought of something. "You can turn it over first, and I'll think of another way."
"Okay, if you can't raise enough, just let me know and I'll see if I can help you borrow some. But borrowing from others will incur interest, so think it over first." Roland said, transferring his remaining 180,000 points to Gu Ding.
"Okay. I'll contact you again if I need anything." Gu Ding said, hanging up the phone and grinning at Ka Le Er sitting across from him.
"Is that the look on your face? Are you asking me to lend you points?" Ka Le Er asked directly.
"You're so smart!" As it turns out, Gu Ding really didn't have much talent for flattering others; both of his sentences were compliments on the person's intelligence.
"How much do you want?" Ka Le Er asked bluntly.
"How many do you have?" Gu Ding was a little worried that it wouldn't be enough.
"Not much. Just around a million." Ka Le Er flicked her hair with a rather aloof air.
"Lend me 100,000 first. After all, it's an auction, and the chances of it selling at the original price are slim." Gu Ding didn't dare to be careless.
"Okay, how much interest are you planning to offer?" Ka Le Er finally got to the point. "Selling two fruits should earn you a good profit, right?"
"As soon as the points from selling those two fruits arrive in your account, I'll immediately return 120,000 to you." Gu Ding was quite generous. The price increased by 20%.
"Since that's the case, let's sign an agreement." Ka Le Er smiled and projected a complete agreement onto the screen, as if she had done this kind of business many times before.
Gu Ding had only read two lines when the Sea Emperor's voice came through, "There's nothing wrong with the agreement itself, but it's essentially a loan agreement with exorbitant interest rates. She's so skilled at it; she must frequently engage in this kind of loan sharking business."
Gu Ding signed with his finger, and Ka Le Er also signed it, then made a copy and sent it to Gu Ding's email.
"Looks like you've been in this business for quite a while now, your movements are so skilled?" Gu Ding chuckled.
"I like simple ways to make money," Ka Le Er without a problem. "Loan sharking is the simplest thing. You lend money out first, and then get more back."
After the agreement was signed, Ka Le Er immediately transferred 100,000 points to Gu Ding's account. In an instant, the total amount in Gu Ding's account surged twice from over 50,000 points to 340,000. Gu Ding immediately submitted a bid, offering a starting price of 250,000 points.
Just as he pressed the bidding button, Gu Ding's communicator rang again. This time, however, it wasn't about the Monster Paradise; the number displayed on the communicator was Ma Dike's.
Gu Ding answered the call with a slight sense of unease, Ma Dike's hurried voice came from the other end of the communicator.
"Gu Ding! Pa Ma has been kidnapped!"
These words stunned Gu Ding for a moment before he came to his senses. "What did you say?"
"Pa Ma has been kidnapped, which is why we haven't been able to contact her for the past few months." Ma Dike still didn't explain the situation clearly.
"How do you know she was kidnapped and not something else? Did the kidnappers notify you?" Gu Ding asked a series of questions.
"The kidnapper just dialed my communicator and said he wanted to speak to you. I'm switching the screen to your end now," Ma Dike said, switching the screen to Gu Ding's wristwatch projection.
"Gu Ding, it's been a long time. Do you remember me?" In the video, a man wearing a black hooded cloak slowly removed the hood, revealing a face that looked somewhat familiar to Gu Ding.
"You're still alive?!" Upon seeing that face, Gu Ding finally remembered the other person's identity.
"Of course I'm still alive. Not only that, I'm much better off than before. I'm now a god-level powerhouse. All of this is thanks to you..." The Cloaked Man said through gritted teeth.
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(There was a typo in the previous chapter about dinner; it should have been lunch. It has been corrected... I always get confused about lunch and dinner. By the way, just a quick P. S.: regular potions are different from commonly used potions. Commonly used potions are those that are used frequently, while regular potions are those of standard specifications, and also include those less commonly used, niche potions.)