Fixed Source of Modification Points

Afterward, Ding Yu looked at Hu Qi.

Somewhat nervously, he asked, "What do you think?"

Hu Qi had finished inspecting it by then.

He nodded.

The duck's feathers probably hadn't been dyed.

"Not bad. How much are you planning to sell it for?"

At that, A faint smile appeared on Ding Yu's face.

Then, he held up two fingers.

"Twenty thousand!"

"Hehe, goodbye!"

Hu Qi nodded.

Then he turned and left, swift and decisive, without the slightest bit of dawdling.

The moment Ding Yu saw this, he panicked.

He hurriedly reached out and grabbed Hu Qi.

"Hey, don't go. The price can still be negotiated."

Although exotic beasts generally sold for a high price on the market, paying twenty thousand for a duck was obviously impossible.

Seeing how anxious Hu Qi had been, Ding Yu had assumed that he urgently needed this exotic beast.

So he had intended to fleece him thoroughly.

But he hadn't expected Hu Qi not to fall for it at all. He did not even haggle over the price before turning to leave.

Seeing this, Ding Yu had no choice but to speak up.

Back in school, because his family gave him too little money and it was not enough to spend, He had taken out a two-thousand-yuan campus loan, and now he could not repay it.

They had given him one final month.

Originally, he had been prepared to get a job or come clean to his family if things truly came down to it.

But after seeing Hu Qi's post, he suddenly had a new idea.

How could he possibly let Hu Qi leave so easily now?

"How about you name a price?"

At that, Hu Qi stopped as well.

After all, he had not truly intended to leave.

Though he was not short on this bit of money now, Letting himself be obediently butchered like a fat pig was clearly not in his nature.

He glanced at Ding Yu.

He raised one finger.

And said flatly, "One thousand!"

Following the haggling principle of cutting strangers in half and taking a blade and a half off acquaintances, The two of them could count as acquaintances by now.

So Hu Qi directly cut off a zero, then cut the remainder in half. An offer of one thousand yuan was therefore perfectly reasonable.

"That's too low. This is a rare breed—where else could you find a duck like this? Forget ten thousand; at the very least, you should give seven or eight thousand!"

Ding Yu said.

"What's so rare about it? I just want to buy it and see what it tastes like. It can't fly me to heaven after I eat it."

Hu Qi waved a hand.

"If you're unwilling, forget it."

"That's not how you put it. This is a female duck—it can lay eggs too."

At that moment, As if recalling something, Ding Yu pointed at the duck and said.

"A female duck can lay eggs?"

Hu Qi's expression shifted slightly.

His gaze couldn't help but turn toward the duck.

A duck's sex could usually be distinguished by its appearance.

Under normal circumstances, one with a larger head, a rounder body, and a sharper tail pointing downward was a drake.

Conversely, one with a smaller head, a flatter body, and a fanned-out tail that curled upward was a female duck.

However, this duck already looked different from others of its kind. Judging by its appearance alone, it was indeed difficult to tell.

As if afraid Hu Qi wouldn't believe him.

Ding Yu turned and ran into the courtyard, returning with a woven bamboo basket.

Inside were four or five duck eggs, each as large as a fist.

They were no different in size from ordinary duck eggs, except their shells bore several faint purple stripes.

"The ones it laid before were all eaten. There are only these few left now.

This duck is special. It can't mate with other drakes, so it can't hatch ducklings. But these duck eggs taste really good."

Ding Yu spoke with an earnest expression.

"I've told you everything I know. One thousand is too low—add a little more, and I'll throw in these eggs too."

Afterward.

Following an intense round of haggling.

The price was finally set at 3,500 yuan.

After probing him with a few words, Hu Qi understood that this was Ding Yu's bottom line.

So he closed the deal on the spot.

"Oh, right. If you find any more Exotic Beasts like this later, call me anytime. There'll be something in it for you—but only if you don't try to fool me with fakes."

Hu Qi took a stack of cash from his bag and handed it over.

"Don't worry. If I get any news, I'll definitely contact you first thing."

Seeing the bills in his hand, Ding Yu's face immediately blossomed into a grin.

Then, he eagerly helped Hu Qi stuff the duck into a burlap sack.

Hu Qi carried it away.

Behind him, Ding Yu and the old woman could faintly be heard talking.

"Xiao Yu, you sold that duck for several hundred yuan. Wasn't that too expensive?"

"Grandma, you don't know. Rich people just love eating these strange and unusual breeds. They're after the novelty."

Clearly, Ding Yu had pocketed most of the money and only told her it had sold for a few hundred yuan.

Hu Qi paid it no mind.

After all, that was their business.

More than half an hour later.

Hanlin Garden residential area.

Inside the rental apartment.

A faint fragrance drifted through the air.

Quack! Quack!

Perhaps because it had arrived in a new environment, or perhaps because it smelled the scent of its own kind.

The duck quacked from time to time, struggling constantly inside the sack.

Hu Qi ignored it for the moment.

With a light flick of his arm, he tossed the wok.

A fragrant fried egg slid out of the pan.

It looked no different from an ordinary fried duck egg.

"This thing shouldn't be poisonous, right?"

Hu Qi thought for a moment, then used his chopsticks to break off a small piece and toss it into his mouth.

He then summoned the panel.

His gaze fixed on the Modification Points entry. As he stared at it.

The percentage behind it appeared.

Modification Points: 1 (91%)

"Just as I thought—it works!"

Hu Qi's eyes flickered slightly.

Over the past few days, he had checked the Scarlet Modification Panel several times a day. It had already become a habit.

Naturally, he knew the previous figures like the back of his hand.

After modifying the Comprehensive Combat Technique to completion, his Modification Points stood at 1 (89%).

In other words, that small bite of duck egg had raised it by 2%.

Without further hesitation, Hu Qi cracked open the remaining duck eggs, fried them all, and ate every last one.

Modification: 4 (36%)

There had been five duck eggs in total. Calculated out, each one had provided him with roughly 50% Modification Points on average.

"Too many fried eggs get a little greasy. Next time, I can try making them another way."

Hu Qi was thoroughly satisfied.

He glanced at the duck still flapping about inside the sack, his mood soaring.

He had originally planned to make old duck soup tonight.

But he had never expected it to lay eggs.

That meant he couldn't kill it.

After all, with this thing, he had a steady source of Modification Points.

He reached into the sack and grabbed the duck.

Quack! Quack!

The moment the duck emerged and saw the unfamiliar surroundings, it began beating its wings frantically and quacking at the top of its lungs, opening its beak to bite Hu Qi's arm.

Smack!

The next moment, its head was struck by Hu Qi's slap.

"Make another sound, and I'll boil water and stew you right now!"

Hu Qi frowned, his gaze ice-cold.

Whether it was the effect of that slap or whether Hu Qi's words had frightened it, the duck actually stopped struggling.

"Not bad. From now on, I'm your master. Since that's the case, I'll give you a name."

Hu Qi muttered to himself.

His gaze swept over the duck from top to bottom.

"Your feathers have a purple sheen, and your meat is plump and tender. I'll call you Camphor Tea Duck!"