The pearl was the bait. Gesberti was the Giant Octopus Whale.
When Luo Qian said he would give Gesberti such a precious F-grade pearl for nothing, even Futis was shocked. He hurriedly tried to stop him. "Luo, that's a priceless F-grade treasure!" Luo Qian paid him no mind and said to Gesberti, "This pearl is my deposit. We'll be working together for a long time. If I ever break our agreement, it's yours. What do you say?" In the Divine Realm, Gesberti would be his source of goods, while Futis would be his source of funds. Luo Qian had planned everything out.
Gesberti knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. He looked at Luo Qian uncertainly. "You're offering me such generous terms. What exactly do you need me to do?" Luo Qian chuckled. "It's simple. Your pearl shop is a business, so why not make it a bigger one? Surely you're not satisfied with its current size."
Gesberti was sharp enough to understand at once. "What do you need?" "Communication Conches and Storage Rings." Gesberti breathed a sigh of relief. "No problem!" He had been worried Luo Qian wanted him to deal in contraband. Both items were commonplace in the Divine Realm and carried little risk. He ran through the figures in his head and gave his quote. "Communication Conches are valuable and haven't become widespread in the Divine Realm. They're five thousand Energy Coins apiece. You already know the price of Storage Rings. For a bulk order, I can take thirty percent off the market price. That's my quote for now. I'll have to buy them on the market myself, so I can't promise a steeper discount yet. Once I find a suitable supplier, I think I can bring the price down further."
Luo Qian nodded.