Level 4 Shelter Upgrade Requirements

Everything!

Shang Chuan really wanted to say that, but he knew he couldn't.

The most important thing for a mature businessman was to keep a straight face in the face of enormous profits.

So he forced himself to calm down and began a wildly convoluted train of thought.

After several interactions over the past few days, he was confident he had gotten to know Lan Qingyou fairly well.

She was the sort of person who didn't care about the price if she thought something was worth it, but would consider it a waste of space even if it were free if she thought it wasn't.

She was also generous and didn't quibble—or rather, she didn't like dwelling on every little gain and loss.

That much was clear from how she'd even given him a little something for his trouble after finding out he'd cleaned her test tubes.

Was that really a little something for his trouble?

It was a fee for saving her time!

That was also why he'd been willing to let Lan Qingyou buy on credit when she came to him that morning.

If he asked her to trade all the Mana Potions for Healing Potions, she would definitely agree—and she'd hand them over right away.

She'd probably still come to him for supplies in the future, too.

But that was exactly why he couldn't do it.

The longer a customer stayed with you, the more carefully you had to maintain the relationship and your own image.

Nobody liked greedy people.

Even if they were greedy themselves.

Shang Chuan: "Th-Then let's make it 30."

In Shang Chuan's view, 30 wouldn't be too many or too few. It was a price she definitely wouldn't quibble over—and one that wouldn't leave him lying awake at night, thinking about this deal.

After sending the message, Shang Chuan leaned back heavily against the wall behind him.

"Phew—"

Only when his clothes pressed against his back did he realize that his entire back was soaked with sweat and already cold.

That had been one hell of a mental battle.

Thank goodness he hadn't let the profits right in front of him cloud his judgment.

Looking at the last message he'd sent in their chat, Shang Chuan couldn't help feeling a little proud.

How many merchants could do what he had—keep to their principles with profit staring them in the face?

Lan Qingyou: "[OK]"

Lan Qingyou quickly sent over the remaining payment. Although the Mana Potions in the deal were +30, Shang Chuan wasn't in the mood to worry about that just then.

After all, they hadn't said whether they were supposed to be +50 or +30.

His eyes were glued to the bright red Healing Potions, which looked so festive.

He reached out and picked one up, examining it closely as if it were some priceless treasure.

He probably looked like a country bumpkin.

But to a businessman, weren't all items with huge profit potential priceless treasures?

With that thought, he upgraded his Shelter while opening the Trading Post and finding Lan Qingyou's Shop.

She'd already given him the potions, so she was bound to put the rest up for sale. Even if she only listed some of them, he had to get in first and buy more Healing Potions.

Since he was buying them from her shop, there was no need to be polite like before. He'd buy as many as he could.

But by the time he'd finished upgrading his Shelter, she still hadn't listed anything.

He couldn't help wondering if he'd misjudged the situation.

Just then, Lan Qingyou's Shop started adding new stock.

First came the +30 Mana Potions, followed by the Healing Potions.

"Holy crap! I opened my desk and saw this explosive news as soon as I got back!"

"Healing Potions! We finally have something to restore health. Too bad my buddy already kicked the bucket."

"Trading Healing Potions for E-Rank Devilish Creature Cores, and two cores for each potion? Isn't that a bit much?"

"She's also trading for blueprints and books right beside them. If you think it's too expensive, go look at those listings."

"Another +30 Rough Grade potion. Not even one +50 Apprentice Grade potion?"

"Don't even ask. They're obviously practice batches. So we're the ones being used to test her potions."

"Then don't buy them. You're snapping them up pretty fast."

"And you can talk? That profiteer Shang Chuan took 36 of them the second they went up. Why don't you complain about him?"

"That damn Black Market Merchant."

"Let me run into him and I'll make him regret it."

Shang Chuan smiled faintly as he looked at the chat messages.

He was used to threats like these. They were nothing new.

If Lan Qingyou's messages were buried under friend requests, then his were buried under friendly greetings.

But why was Lan Qingyou trading Healing Potions for E-Rank Devilish Creature Cores? And a whole hundred of them?

Based on his previous observations, she could produce two hundred potions of a single type in one batch.

Putting half of that stock up to collect Devilish Creature Cores seemed a little strange.

Did upgrading to a Level 4 Shelter require E-Rank Devilish Creature Cores, too?

He'd taken a look earlier. The requirements for upgrading from Level 2 to Level 3 had increased tenfold. It wasn't impossible that the requirements would increase tenfold again for Level 3 to Level 4.

If that was the case, should he buy this information?

He hadn't bought the Level 3 upgrade information before, since going from Level 1 to Level 2 hadn't been that difficult.

But as the required materials increased and the difficulty rose, plenty of people would probably be interested in the Level 4 Shelter upgrade requirements.

After quickly snapping up 36 Healing Potions, he decided to buy the information after all.

With that in mind, he took a blueprint out of the bedside table drawer beneath his desk.

She should be interested in this.

Shang Chuan: "[Disposable Tray Balance Blueprint] Materials included. In exchange, I'll buy the Level 4 Shelter information."

Lan Qingyou: "The basic quantities are ten times higher than for Level 3. You also need 100 units of Obsidian, 10 units of Mana Crystal, and 10 D-Rank Devilish Creature Cores. But everyone's Shelter upgrade requirements are different, so you'll have to work out the specifics yourself."

Lan Qingyou replied quickly.

To be honest, if upgrade materials couldn't be put directly into the upgrade slot to reduce the displayed quantities, she felt that her limited storage space would have overflowed by now.

But Shang Chuan frowned deeply when he saw the message.

He knew about Obsidian, but in seven days he'd only managed to get a dozen or so pieces.

As for Mana Crystals and D-Rank Devilish Creature Cores, he hadn't even heard of them, let alone seen them.

But there was no point thinking about that now.

As a merchant, he knew that everyone's Shelter upgrade requirements were different. But the basic quantities going up tenfold and the Devilish Creature Cores were certain.

Those two pieces of information alone were enough to make him a fortune.

And judging from the information Lan Qingyou had given him, her search for E-Rank Devilish Creature Cores probably had nothing to do with her Shelter. That meant she must be using them for alchemy.

He shouldn't underestimate this information.

Shang Chuan keenly realized that Devilish Creature Cores might be used for more than just Shelter upgrades. Since Lan Qingyou might be using them for alchemy, could they be used for other things as well?

Whatever. Once D-Rank Devilish Creature Cores appeared and E-Rank Devilish Creature Cores started getting cheaper, it couldn't hurt to stock up a little.

That way, even if he was wrong, he wouldn't lose much.

Just as Shang Chuan made up his mind and took out a notebook to write it down, Lan Qingyou was frowning too.