Pioneer Order

"Prices have gone up again!"

After making a round of Chen Jiao City's Spirit Material Wholesale Market, Duke was filled with emotion. The Pioneer War had not even begun, yet the material merchants had already taken their first bite of blood.

But it did not affect him much. If the material costs went up, then so would his card-repair fees when he returned.

The wool came from the sheep, after all. As long as they did not shear his own wool, everything would be fine.

He sent his two assistants to deliver the goods back to the inn, then took his Spirit Dragon Card and made a trip to Chen Jiao City's Spiritual Plant Market.

"Buying spiritual plants, young man? Come in and take a look!" the owner of a spiritual plant shop called out.

Although Duke was young, his bearing did not resemble that of a poor man. The spiritual plant shop owner had a sharp eye for people and thought he might be a potential customer.

Duke did not refuse and entered the spiritual plant shop.

"What type of spiritual plants are you looking for? Spiritual grains, spiritual medicines, or spiritual fruits? My shop has everything. We even have spiritual plants that produce spiritual energy—0-Ring and 1-Ring varieties are all available. I can even get you a 2-Ring Spiritual Plant." There were no other customers in the shop, so the owner seized Duke and hawked his wares enthusiastically.

"Spiritual plant" was itself a broad term. Any plant possessing Spiritual Power was a spiritual plant.

In theory, any type of plant could evolve into a spiritual plant.

Thus, the greenhouse-style shop was filled with all kinds of spiritual plants. Most of them, however, were 0-Ring Spiritual Plants. The genuine 1-Ring Spiritual Plants were kept under tight protection, while 2-Ring Spiritual Plants were not displayed in the shop at all.

"I'd like to look at the spiritual plants that produce spiritual energy."

"Those would be spiritual-energy plants, right? Young man, you're a Spiritual Apprentice?"

"You have a sharp eye, Boss."

"Haha, mainly because you have such a fine bearing. Anyone can see you're no ordinary person." The owner pulled Duke to a corner of the greenhouse. "Come, come, take a look at these spiritual plants. They're all 0-Ring Spiritual Plants that can regulate spiritual energy. Just meditate for a moment and you'll know how dense the Spiritual Power field is here."

"What kind of spiritual plant is this?"

"Wheatheart Grass. Cheap, too—eight Gold Dragons and it's yours."

"What about this one?"

"This is a Lantern Pepper. It can regulate spiritual energy, and see those fruits that look like green peppers? Those are spiritual fruits. They're edible!"

"How much?"

"If you're sincerely interested, seventeen Gold Dragons and it's yours."

Duke silently withdrew his gaze and looked at the other spiritual plants, but after picking through them again and again, he still could not choose a single 0-Ring Spiritual Plant.

The main reason was that he felt somewhat resistant to 0-Ring Spiritual Plants.

The Spiritual Power field regulated by a 0-Ring Spiritual Plant might not even be as effective as moving to a residence closer to the town center, which would provide more spiritual energy.

What he wanted more was a 1-Ring Spiritual Plant, something capable of fundamentally changing the concentration of spiritual energy.

But when he asked the owner about the prices, even the cheapest 1-Ring Spiritual Plant cost more than thirty Gold Dragons. He genuinely could not afford one.

"I can't afford them, Boss. They're all too expensive." Duke spoke honestly.

The owner's enthusiasm did not diminish. "Not buying is fine, too. How about taking a look at spiritual plant seeds? You can grow them yourself."

Spiritual plant seeds were much cheaper, and the varieties were even more diverse.

A pound of spiritual wheat seeds cost only 30 Silver Dragons and contained more than five thousand grains. If one sensed each grain carefully, one could detect a faint trace of Spiritual Power.

"If you have farmland, plant a pound of seeds and you'll definitely harvest several hundred pounds after half a year. Don't underestimate those few hundred pounds of spiritual wheat. They can sell for more than ten Gold Dragons."

"Once I've bought a farm, I'll come back here and buy wheat seeds wholesale, Boss."

Duke humored the enthusiastic owner while sweeping his gaze across a row of shelves. He saw a package labeled "Spiritual Plant Energy-Boosting Fertilizer."

He asked, "What is this?"

"Energy-Boosting Fertilizer. Sprinkle it on your spiritual plants, and it'll let them regulate spiritual energy sooner," the owner replied casually.

"Can some 0-Ring Spiritual Plants that can't regulate spiritual energy also do so after being sprinkled with Energy-Boosting Fertilizer?"

"To be honest, as long as it's a spiritual plant, it has the potential to regulate spiritual energy. It's an innate talent of spiritual plants. It's just that many 0-Ring Spiritual Plants are too weak to awaken that talent. After sprinkling them with Energy-Boosting Fertilizer, there's a chance it can stimulate them to regulate spiritual energy."

"How much is one packet?"

"Not expensive. Three Silver Dragons for a small packet. If you want, you can spend twenty-five Silver Dragons on a large packet, which has ten times the amount. Without using that much, it's difficult to stimulate a 0-Ring Spiritual Plant to regulate spiritual energy."

Thinking of his Earth Orchid, Duke could not help feeling tempted. "Give me a cheaper price, Boss. I'll buy one packet."

"That's already the lowest price..."

"I'm in business too, you know..."

"...All right, I'll give a little. Twenty-three Silver Dragons. I'm selling it to you at cost."

After a round of haggling, they settled on twenty-three Silver Dragons. Duke carried a large packet of Spiritual Plant Energy-Boosting Fertilizer back to his usual little inn.

When he returned to Snakehead Town the next day.

Duke immediately fertilized his Earth Orchid, hoping that this packet of Energy-Boosting Fertilizer could truly awaken its ability to regulate spiritual energy.

If he succeeded, the value of this Earth Orchid could increase tenfold.

Before he had fertilized the Earth Orchid more than a few times, an important piece of news, just as expected, quickly spread through Snakehead Town. The Pioneer Order, signed and stamped by the Seven Towers Federation and the United Tower, had officially been issued to Chen Jiao City, which would preside over this Emerald Sea Valley Pioneer War.

Just like the Black Snake Lair Pioneer War back then.

Afterward, Snakehead Tower in Snakehead Town also posted an announcement of the Emerald Sea Valley Pioneer War's Pioneer Order on bulletin boards throughout the town.

The news immediately sent the entire town into a frenzy.

But once the commotion passed, everyone still had to get back to whatever they were doing. Duke also spent half a day joining the excitement outside, but failed to glean any useful information.

After returning to Little Sam's Card Shop and eating dinner, he continued burying his head alone at Workstation Four, repairing the discarded spirit cards he had scavenged from the Scrap Card Station.

He had thought life would continue as usual.

Unexpectedly, an accident still arrived. When Card Master Murav came to work, he found Duke and said, "Little Boss Duke, someone wants to invite you to lunch."

"Who?"

"I'm not sure who it is either. A relative of mine in the Black Snake Family asked me to pass the message to you. Um, my relative is a squad leader under the Security Brigade. His name is Murashi, and he'll be joining us for lunch too."

"Is that so? All right, I'll go." Duke nodded in agreement.

Murav said no more and continued burying himself in repairing spirit cards.

Duke, meanwhile, fell into thought. He had no idea who wanted to invite him to lunch, or why they had asked Murashi of the Black Snake Family to accompany him as an intermediary.

Compared with Murav, an outer member of the Black Snake Family, Murashi, who had become a squad leader in the Security Brigade, should belong to the Black Snake Family's core.

"Why are they looking for me?"

"Could it be related to Robney? Did they find Robney's remains... Impossible. I went to the place where the body was discarded. Robney had long since been chewed to pieces by wild beasts... Besides, if they wanted to find me, they would have come long ago. They couldn't have waited two or three months."

"Hmm, inviting me to a meal... It probably isn't anything too bad."

When noon arrived, Duke and Murav walked together toward a large hotel in the center of town. In a private room, they met the person in question.

Still wearing his Security Brigade uniform, Squad Leader Murashi said with a faint smile, "Let me introduce you to each other, Little Boss Duke. This is Boss Lucius. He's preparing to do business in Snakehead Town and hopes that the two of you can work together happily."