9 Billion!

After returning to the base city, Lin Fan first went back to his villa, took a thorough shower, and changed his clothes before hailing a taxi to the HR Alliance Building.

At this moment, he wore a pair of oversized sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and a set of casual clothes, but on his back, he carried a bulging, massive backpack nearly two meters tall that looked completely disproportionate to his frame.

He even dragged a giant suitcase with his right hand, which was stuffed full of monster materials.

"Make way, please make way."

Lin Fan's pace was steady and unhurried, the heavy travel bag swaying with his steps and emitting a dull thudding sound.

Several elite individuals passing by instinctively frowned and stepped aside, their eyes filled with a hint of disdain.

When they saw the backpack and the suitcase Lin Fan was dragging, however, the contempt in their eyes instantly turned into shock and suspicion.

Could it be... that these were filled with monster materials?

Just then, a well-groomed attendant in a uniform hurried over to meet him.

She had a sharp eye and immediately sensed that Lin Fan was extraordinary.

Even though his clothes were simple, the cold, hard aura of slaughter that radiated from his very bones was something only a warrior who had truly seen blood and killed could possess.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

The attendant's voice was sweet and respectful, her face wearing an impeccable professional smile.

"I'm looking for Manager Wang."

"Very well, please follow me."

The attendant dared not delay, immediately reporting in a low voice through her headset before turning to the side and gesturing for him to follow, leading Lin Fan toward the exclusive elevator.

On the 32nd floor, in one of the VIP acquisition rooms.

Manager Wang watched Lin Fan push the door open, his face instantly shifting into a fawning smile even more affectionate than the one he would give his own father.

"Oh! You've arrived, please, sit, sit!!"

Lin Fan ignored him, walking straight to the massive alloy table and setting the backpack down.

Thud!

The bulging bag slammed heavily onto the table with a dull impact, causing the teacup on the table to jump.

Manager Wang's gaze lingered on the backpack, his Adam's apple bobbing as he smiled even more obsequiously.

At this moment, two senior appraisers and an assistant pushed a piece of precision testing equipment into the room.

"Same old rules."

Manager Wang rubbed his hands together, smiling brightly.

"You lay out the items, and I'll give you a quote on the spot. You can trust the reputation of the HR Alliance; we will never let you suffer a loss."

Lin Fan nodded. He pulled the zipper of the backpack and pulled out the first item he intended to sell, tossing it onto the weighing platform.

It was a dozen sections of bone, each a meter thick and ten centimeters long, pitch-black as ink.

"Hiss..."

The two appraisers gasped, exchanging a look before immediately picking up their instruments to begin scanning.

But Lin Fan's movements did not stop.

Whoosh.

A complete silver-white pelt was spread out by Lin Fan as if he were laying out a bedsheet.

The fur was cold and sharp, each strand as tough as a steel needle yet as smooth as silk, flowing with a luster like liquid mercury.

Most importantly, the integrity of this pelt was extremely high; the edges were cut straight, with no signs of messy tearing.

The smile Manager Wang had managed to maintain stiffened for a split second before his eyes suddenly lit up.

He could no longer sit still, circling the table and hurrying to the weighing platform.

He wanted to reach out and touch it, but fearing he might soil it, he could only "scrape" his greedy gaze across it inch by inch.

"This is... a work of art."

"The main spine of a Black Rock Giant Ape... the complete pelt of a Silver Moon Dire Wolf..."

Manager Wang's voice dropped, trembling slightly.

These two were incredibly troublesome characters among the low-level lords!

Especially the Silver Moon Dire Wolf; its speed was like lightning, making it extremely difficult to hunt, let alone preserve such a complete pelt.

What level of strength must this be? What level of blade technique?

"Mr. Lin, your technique is truly... clean."

This praise came from the bottom of his heart.

To achieve this required not just strength, but the surgical precision of a master.

Lin Fan did not look at him, his expression remaining devoid of fluctuation.

He continued to pull items out.

Clatter, clatter.

High-level beast general-grade claws, teeth, scales, tendons, joints...

Like dumping trash, one piece of blood-stained material after another was brought out.

Then he opened the suitcase and poured out a pile of materials, quickly filling the appraisal table to the brim.

Finally, Lin Fan took several sealed black material bags from the innermost compartment of his pack and tossed them onto the corner of the table.

Upon seeing the contents of these bags, Manager Wang's pupils suddenly contracted.

Those were... several combat uniforms clearly marked with bullet holes and bloodstains.

But in the HR Alliance, one did not ask what one shouldn't ask, and one did not know what one shouldn't know.

The smile on Manager Wang's face did not change in the slightest; if anything, it became even more radiant.

He merely raised a hand, and the appraisers immediately stepped forward, expertly sampling, weighing, and scanning.

For a time, the room was filled only with the buzzing of instruments and the frantic clicking of calculator keys.

Manager Wang stood to the side, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, yet he grew more spirited and excited the more he saw.

"Good stuff... it's all damn good stuff."

Ten minutes later, the counting and calculation were finished.

Manager Wang straightened his collar, turned the electronic screen toward Lin Fan, and even his speaking pace became exceptionally respectful.

"Mr. Lin, the quote is ready."

"The materials from the two low-level lords are in perfect condition. Calculated at the highest standard, they total 5.8 billion Huaxia Currency."

"The remaining beast general-grade materials total 1 billion."

"Additionally..."

Manager Wang pointed to the pile of gear in the corner that had been "picked up along the way," his eyes suggestive.

"These miscellaneous items, calculated at current market prices, total 1.2 billion."

Having said this, he took a deep breath and announced the total.

"A total of 9 billion Huaxia Currency."

After speaking, he looked at Lin Fan cautiously, his smile fawning to the extreme.

"Are you planning to take cash this time, or as usual, buy metal?"

Lin Fan shook his head.

"No money. Exchange it all for metal."

"This time I need alloy raw materials of grade 5 or higher. If there are grade 6 alloys, even better. I want as much as you have, until all 9 billion is spent."

"And deliver it to my place. You know the address."

Manager Wang was stunned for a moment, then burst into ecstasy.

"Good! No problem!"

Manager Wang slapped his chest with a resounding thud.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lin, I will mobilize the inventory immediately! I guarantee you will be satisfied!"

That evening, at the Bright Moon Residential Quarter.

Several heavy armored transport vehicles bearing the HR Alliance logo slowly drove up to the front of Lin Fan's villa.

Hiss.

The air pressure valves released, and the heavy rear doors of the cargo compartments slowly opened.

Inside, rows of neatly stacked, high-grade alloy ingots radiated a cold, eerie luster.

The purchasing power of 9 billion was still terrifying; even the expensive grade 5 and 6 alloys were piled into a small mountain inside the cargo hold.

Looking at this "fodder," the corners of Lin Fan's mouth curled into a satisfied arc.

"This should be enough for a full meal, right?"

After verifying his identity, the HR Alliance staff carried the alloy ingots into the villa's Martial Arts Hall.

It took a full hour to move all the metal ingots.

After sending off the HR Alliance staff, Lin Fan pressed the button on the wall.

Rumble.

The heavy alloy door slowly closed, completely isolating the Martial Arts Hall from the outside world.

"Dinner time."