CBD Spirit Ore Company

The repaired 2-Ring Thermostatic Card was definitely far inferior to a new one.

"But it's worth at least 15 gold dragons!" Duke put the 2-Ring Spirit Card into a small box beside his bed. There were several other refurbished Spirit Cards inside, all of them 1-Ring Spirit Cards, of course.

A 2-Ring Thermostatic Card sold for around 40 gold dragons on the market. Selling a refurbished secondhand card for 15 gold dragons was perfectly reasonable.

"Chirp chirp."

Little Dou lay on the edge of the fish tank, watching the Golden Belly Ink Carp swim back and forth inside.

Losing half its tail hadn't hindered the spirit fish's movements. Duke had also found some aquatic plants and stones to put in the tank, making the entire thing brim with life.

The Earth Orchid spirit herb in the flowerpot beside it had already curled up its leaves for the night.

"Come here, Little Dou!" Duke beckoned. Little Dou immediately leaped onto his shoulder.

He walked out of the room, lightly leaped into the air, then hooked both hands over the eaves. With a powerful pull of his waist and back, he jumped straight onto the warehouse roof.

He sat cross-legged on the roof, and the Desert Eagle suddenly appeared in his right hand.

He looked inward into his Spirit Sea.

Xiao Yi's process table was exceptionally clear.

"Process One: Field Meditation, idle operation consuming 40% power..."

"Process Two: Desert Eagle 1.1 Muzzle Compensator version, development consuming 55% power. Current development progress: 51.1%. Time budget: 12 days."

"Process Three: Chat Dialogue Program, reserving 5% power."

After advancing to Three-star Spiritual Apprentice, Xiao Yi's computational ability had increased somewhat. Duke quickly issued an order: "Xiao Yi, idle the Universal Blood Refining Method."

"Understood. I've set it as Process Three: Universal Blood Refining Method. Idle operation consuming 35% power..."

"Chirp chirp!"

Xiao Yi idled the Universal Blood Refining Method, while Little Dou followed passively. Under the curtain of night, they absorbed the spirituality in each other's bodies atop the warehouse roof, circulating it to strengthen Duke's battle aura.

As for Duke himself, he held the Desert Eagle and aimed at Snakehead Tower, the tallest tower in the center of town.

There was a Bright Lamp at the top of the tower.

Snakehead Tower was roughly seven hundred meters from the warehouse. Duke wanted to try and see whether he could use the Desert Eagle to shoot the lamp to pieces.

He took aim through the sights, then raised them slightly.

Poof!

He fired, but the Bright Lamp showed no reaction.

Duke continued adjusting his aim, then squeezed the trigger again and again, unleashing a wild barrage at the Bright Lamp.

Yet after shooting for two hours, until he was utterly exhausted, the Bright Lamp remained bright.

"Even if I were just firing blindly, I should've gotten lucky and hit it once. I didn't land a single shot, which means... this Desert Eagle's range doesn't reach seven hundred meters."

A normal Desert Eagle pistol had an effective range of one to two hundred meters, while its maximum range could reach four or five hundred meters.

Although the Desert Eagle in Duke's hands was an Arcane artifact rather than an ordinary firearm, it had ultimately mutated from an ordinary firearm and retained many of its properties. Its maximum range had probably been retained as well—four or five hundred meters at most.

"Actually, this is just a magic wand shaped like a Desert Eagle..."

He put away the magic wand... then put away the Desert Eagle pistol.

His body had already been left hollow by cultivating battle aura. Duke ended his cultivation, returned indoors with Little Dou, and pulled out several strips of spirit beast jerky to pad his stomach.

The stuffy heat in the room made it difficult to fall asleep.

Duke took the Constant Temperature Card from the small box and decided to indulge himself. He activated the Constant Temperature Card directly, then linked it to a Spirit Storage Card for power.

In an instant, the Constant Temperature Card radiated a gentle glow.

The two-ring spell model activated, and the room's temperature suddenly dropped. Little Dou, perched on his shoulder and not knowing what was happening, quickly hid in Duke's pocket.

"Cooling on the front, heating on the back. The faster the spiritual energy supply, the better the cooling and heating effect..."

Duke soon used the restriction on the Spirit Storage Card's spiritual energy output to adjust the Constant Temperature Card's cooling effect to around twenty degrees. Neither cold nor hot, it was exactly right.

Civilian Spirit Cards like this were designed for foolproof operation, making them convenient for ordinary people to use.

Lying in bed, Duke watched the numbers on the Spirit Storage Card fall with satisfaction. "It really does consume a lot of spiritual energy, but this rate is still acceptable. It'll only cost me a little over twenty silver dragons more per month."

Duke, who had already built up a modest fortune, felt no pressure.

In the blink of an eye, August was nearly over.

Although the official announcement of the Pioneer War had yet to be issued, the changes in Snakehead Town already showed that the Pioneer War would arrive soon.

Construction of Third Vertical Street had begun in full swing. The low houses were demolished, the land leveled, and a partition wall erected.

Nearly every day, clouds of dust filled the western side of town.

Little Sam's Card Shop, located on Second Vertical Street, had to be swept from morning to noon to night every day. Otherwise, the counter, tables, and courtyard would all be covered in a layer of dust.

"Another Mercenary Group has rented a place in Fine Rain Alley, where I live. Several young people go in and out all day wearing leather armor. The old woman next door said they have very nasty eyes..." Sally looked worried as she worked. "With Shawa and Shafu staying at home, I really can't feel at ease."

She was a widow who had raised Shawa and Shafu, her two children, all by herself.

Aunt Abby was warmhearted. Hearing this, she immediately said, "Why don't you send Shawa and Shafu to my house? They can keep my two grandsons company."

"Ah, wouldn't that be too much trouble?"

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all. Just leave them in the courtyard to play. It won't take much effort."

"Then thank you, Sister Abby."

As they chatted, several people dressed like mercenaries entered together. When they saw Sally standing behind the counter, they immediately leaned against it and began teasing her. "The proprietress is manning the counter, but where's the proprietor?"

"I'm not the proprietor. I'm just a shop assistant. Are you gentlemen here to repair cards?"

"We're not here to repair cards. We're here to see you."

"Hehe." Sally didn't respond.

A mercenary who looked like the leader spoke in an accent from another region. "Cut the chatter, Valet. Hurry up and bring out the damaged Arcane Cards for repair. Don't waste time."

"Got it, Captain!" Valet finally gave up on continuing to tease Sally.

The Mercenary Group was covered in dust and grime, clearly having just returned from an adventure in the wilderness. They brought out a full eleven Arcane Cards, some new and some old, for repairs.

After registering them, the mercenaries left.

Sally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Aunt Abby, "Those people are really annoying."

"Ah, the peaceful days are coming to an end. If I weren't short on money, I'd move my whole family to Chen Jiao City." Aunt Abby sighed.

At that moment, Dutlan returned from making deliveries and brought some news. "The CBD Spirit Ore Company has moved into our Snakehead Town. I saw them post a recruitment notice at Snakehead Tower. Workers who sign up in the first batch will be given priority to become regular miners in the future."

"The CBD Spirit Ore Company? Dutlan, do you want to become a miner?"

"Not a chance. Miners may earn a lot, but it's far too dangerous. I'm doing perfectly well at our Card Repair Shop. I'm not going to risk my life."

Dutlan hurriedly shook his head.

He would soon finish his probation and become a regular employee, earning a monthly salary of 25 silver dragons. In a small place like Snakehead Town, that counted as a high-paying job.

It was safe, respectable, and not particularly tiring. Who knew how many people envied him?

The shop assistants chatted with one another for a few moments, then quickly cast the CBD Spirit Ore Company out of their minds. To ordinary people, it was nothing more than a mining company.

But Duke, who was attending a public lecture at the Spirit Society, had a different understanding.

"Spirit ore companies are different from mining companies. Only mines that produce high-energy Spirit Crystals can be called spirit ore mines... Emerald Sea Valley may have more than just a Medium Spirit Spring. It may also have an associated spirit ore mine. There will probably be quite a struggle over that associated spirit ore mine."