Lu Chen did not ask any further questions or show excessive excitement. He simply and silently engraved this sudden goodwill into his heart.
That night, Foreman Wang brought in another batch of Rotten Bone Demon Wolf corpses.
While processing one of them, Lu Chen deliberately followed Clerk Chen's instructions and found that section of Crisp Bone with a faint bluish tint.
He abandoned his usual brute-force extraction and instead circulated a thread of Turtle Breath Qi, giving the Crisp Bone a gentle tremor at an exquisitely precise frequency.
"Click."
With a light sound, the piece of Crisp Bone, no bigger than a fingernail, came away from the spine completely intact.
The Crisp Bone felt warm and smooth in his hand. Under the dim oil lamp, it actually radiated a faint, soft halo like moonlight.
[Special material discovered: Moonlight Brittle Bone.] [Processing Rotten Bone Demon Wolf (Perfect), obtained 1 year and 2 months of Demon Devil Lifespan.]
Looking at the notification on the System Panel, Lu Chen's heart was thrown into tumultuous waves.
Just by adding one more step, the lifespan he obtained had inexplicably increased by several months!
The quality of the material was worlds apart!
That Clerk Chen in the storeroom was definitely no ordinary old gatekeeper!
He was the true, deep-and-unfathomable expert within the Demon Suppression Division!
From then on, whenever Lu Chen went to the storeroom to hand over materials, he became even more respectful.
He did not deliberately try to curry favor. He merely occasionally asked about some unimportant processing techniques as if it were an offhand question after completing the handover.
Most of the time, Clerk Chen could not be bothered to answer him. But occasionally, when he was in a good mood, or when he saw that the materials Lu Chen had submitted were of excellent quality, he would vaguely offer a word or two of guidance.
However, as Lu Chen processed more and more demon corpses and grew increasingly skilled, Foreman Wang's exploitation of him also intensified.
All kinds of difficult, high-risk jobs were sent to the Corpse Handling Room in an endless stream.
This earned Foreman Wang repeated commendations from Captain Li. The look he gave Lu Chen also gradually gained an indescribable greed, shifting from its initial calculation and contempt.
He began to view Lu Chen as his privately owned hen that could lay golden eggs.
Lu Chen keenly noticed the change, and alarm bells rang in his heart.
Being excessively expected of was not a good thing.
It would place every move he made under Foreman Wang's scrutiny. If he performed abnormally even once, or failed to satisfy the other man's ever-expanding appetite, the consequences would be unimaginable.
It was time to throw a basin of cold water on him and proactively rein in his expectations of Lu Chen.
Lu Chen carefully opened the jade box that had just been delivered, and a chill, sinister demonic aura immediately spread out.
Inside the box lay the corpse of a fist-sized toad, entirely emerald green. Its two eyes were like a pair of dazzling green gems, and even in death, they still emitted a dim, eerie glow.
"Green-eyed Demon Toad!" Lu Chen's heart stirred, and he immediately recognized the thing.
It was a Ranked Demon that dwelled in cold, poisonous marshes. Its strength was not great, but the venom sac inside its body was worth a fortune. It was the primary material for refining certain high-grade poisonous pills and forbidden medicines.
"See that? This is good stuff!"
Foreman Wang pointed at the demon toad, spraying spittle as he spoke. "Captain Li paid a huge price to get his hands on it and specifically ordered us to extract the venom sac intact. In the entire Corpse Handling Room, no one but you can do this! Give it everything you've got. If anything goes wrong, I'll skin you alive!"
After saying that, Foreman Wang moved a chair over and sat squarely in the doorway, making it clear that he intended to supervise personally.
Lu Chen understood. This job really was prone to mistakes.
The Green-eyed Demon Toad's venom sac had extremely thin walls and was tightly connected to the surrounding organs. The slightest carelessness would puncture it and cause the venom to leak. Not only would the material be ruined, but the handler himself would also risk being poisoned.
This was the perfect opportunity to manufacture a mistake.
He drew a deep breath and began.
Cutting, separating, peeling...
Every movement Lu Chen made seemed more focused than usual, and more tense as well.
Even a fine layer of sweat conveniently beaded across his forehead.
Foreman Wang watched from the doorway and nodded repeatedly, growing ever more pleased with himself.
The separation went smoothly. Before long, the pigeon-egg-sized, crystal-clear venom sac had been completely peeled from the demon toad's abdominal cavity.
Only the final step remained—using specially made silver tweezers to lift it out.
Lu Chen held his breath and carefully controlled the silver tweezers as they slowly approached the venom sac.
Just as the tweezers were about to touch the venom sac, his wrist gave a slight tremor at an extremely subtle angle.
The movement was exceedingly minute. To an outsider, it looked entirely like a muscle spasm caused by fatigue after maintaining intense concentration for too long.
"Schk—"
A sound so faint it was almost inaudible.
The tip of the silver tweezers precisely sliced a tiny, nearly imperceptible opening along the edge of the venom sac.
A wisp of pale-green poisonous vapor instantly leaked from the opening like a thread of silk drifting in the air!
"Not good!"
Lu Chen cried out, genuine "horror" appearing on his face.
He abruptly retreated, as if the poisonous vapor had left him utterly helpless.
"What happened?" Foreman Wang sprang up from his chair, his expression changing dramatically.
"Foreman Wang! The Killing Intent... the Killing Intent was too heavy. I lost control for a moment..." Lu Chen explained in a panic, flailing his arms as he tried to fan away the poisonous vapor.
The wisp of poisonous vapor dispersed through the air, and the entire Corpse Handling Room filled with a strange, fishy-sweet fragrance.
In his "panic," Lu Chen picked up a Tattered Palm-leaf Fan from the corner and furiously fanned at the poisonous vapor, only causing it to spread even faster.
In the end, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he hurriedly grabbed a piece of rag, held his breath, and rushed forward. Using the clumsiest method possible, he "snatched" the damaged venom sac from inside the demon toad and threw it into the Cold Jade Box.
After finishing all this, he seemed to have exhausted every last ounce of strength. He collapsed onto the floor and began coughing violently.
Foreman Wang hurried in and snatched the Cold Jade Box away.
He looked at the venom sac inside the box, its edge bearing a tiny flaw and its spiritual radiance slightly dimmed. His face immediately darkened until it seemed capable of dripping water.
Although the main body was undamaged, that small leak was enough to reduce the venom sac's value by at least thirty percent!
"Useless! You're a useless piece of trash who's more likely to ruin things than accomplish them!" Foreman Wang pointed at Lu Chen's nose and cursed furiously. "You can't even handle such a minor task! Do you know how much silver this venom sac can be exchanged for? It could buy ten lives as worthless as yours!"
Lu Chen lowered his head and curled up on the floor, looking terrified and remorseful, as though willing to take any beating or abuse.
"Your subordinate... your subordinate knows his crime. The demon toad's Killing Intent did not disperse after death and affected my mind, so I lost control for a moment..."
Foreman Wang cursed for a full incense stick's worth of time before gradually calming down.
Although he was furious, the venom sac's main body was still intact, and the loss remained within an acceptable range. Thinking of Lu Chen's previous contributions, as well as all the matters he would still need to rely on Lu Chen for in the future, he ultimately forced down the fire in his heart.
"Hmph! I'll let this one go for now!" he said viciously. "For the next three days, you'll be deprived of your Blood Activating Powder supply! Tough it out with your own flesh! If you lose control again next time, I definitely won't let you off lightly!"
With that, he carried away the Cold Jade Box, now worth considerably less, and stormed off in a rage.
Lu Chen slowly climbed to his feet, brushed the dust from his clothes, and wore an expression as still as an ancient well.
Three days' worth of Blood Activating Powder was no more than a drop in the ocean to him.
This deal had made him rich.