Jiang Lan quit while he was ahead and smoothly changed the subject.
"By the way, Uncle, I want to visit the trading market tomorrow and sell the materials I got during today's assessment."
Shen Qingqiu let the previous subject drop and asked:
"What do you have?"
"A third-tier Beast Core, two Savage Bull horns, and some hide."
Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow slightly.
He had spent several years with the Salvage Team and knew the market prices well.
Materials from a third-tier ferocious beast were scarce on the market, and naturally fetched a high price.
"A third-tier Beast Core should go for at least eighty to a hundred thousand."
"Savage Bull horns and hide are third-tier materials, too. They're excellent for making weapons and armor. Together, they should fetch over a hundred thousand."
Jiang Lan was secretly delighted.
Two hundred thousand.
If they really sold for that much, he could buy the essence blood he needed for the upgrade outright.
Beside him, Shen Qingqiu paused before saying:
"The Salvage Team has no assignments tomorrow, so I'll go with you. If you go alone, you might get ripped off."
"Hehe, thanks, Uncle."
The next morning.
With a bag on his back, Jiang Lan followed Shen Qingqiu to the Base City trading market.
Come to think of it, his last visit had been just a few days after he acquired his cheat.
Selling a single first-tier Ironback Wolf Beast Core had kept him excited for ages.
As for now...
Jiang Lan glanced down at the bull horns in his arms.
Things certainly weren't what they used to be.
The trading market bustled with people, vendors' cries rising and falling all around them.
Knowing the way well, Shen Qingqiu led Jiang Lan past the miscellaneous stalls on the outskirts and straight toward the larger shops inside.
They entered a materials shop, and Jiang Lan placed his goods on the counter.
The owner examined the horns and hide for a while, surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Horns from a Third-Tier Black-Horned Bull?"
"Yeah."
The merchant took a deep breath, checked the hide again, and quoted a price:
"Fifty thousand per horn, plus thirty thousand for the hide. That makes a hundred and thirty thousand. How does that sound?"
Jiang Lan turned to look at Shen Qingqiu.
Shen Qingqiu gave a slight nod.
"The price is fair enough."
With his uncle's approval, Jiang Lan had no objections.
"All right. Deal."
"Excellent!" the owner replied, clearly delighted.
He could resell third-tier materials for a profit of at least ten percent.
He would have to be out of his mind not to jump at a deal that would net him over ten thousand credit points.
Once the goods and payment had changed hands, Jiang Lan asked:
"By the way, do you buy Beast Cores?"
"Of course!" The owner's eyes immediately lit up. "Is it third-tier, too?"
Normally, his shop didn't buy Beast Cores, but a third-tier one was another matter.
Who would turn down a chance to make money?
"Yeah."
Jiang Lan took out the Black-Horned Savage Bull's Beast Core and placed it on the counter.
The owner carefully picked up the Beast Core and spent a long time turning it over under the light.
"Good condition, excellent quality."
He set the Beast Core down, glanced at Jiang Lan, and gritted his teeth.
"A hundred thousand. How about it? That's absolutely the highest price you'll get."
Jiang Lan looked to Shen Qingqiu again for his opinion.
Shen Qingqiu nodded slightly, indicating that the price was reasonable.
"Deal!"
Jiang Lan didn't waste any time, either.
Two transactions put two hundred and thirty thousand credit points into his account.
Looking at his balance, Jiang Lan could hardly believe it.
Two hundred and thirty thousand.
It might not sound like much, but credit points in this world had a one-to-ten exchange rate with the yuan from his previous life.
That two hundred and thirty thousand was equivalent to two million three hundred thousand in his old world.
That much money could buy a decent home in a second-tier city.
I'm rich!
Now he could afford the essence blood.
"Anything else to sell?"
Hearing Shen Qingqiu's question, Jiang Lan replied, "Nothing else to sell, but I'd like to buy some essence blood."
"All right." Shen Qingqiu asked no further questions.
He knew Jiang Lan's demand for essence blood had always been absurdly high.
Lately, Jiang Lan had used up almost every batch of essence blood as soon as he got his hands on it.
It was only natural that he needed more.
"Come on. I'll take you."
They left the shop and entered another that specialized in essence blood.
"Eighty bottles of first-tier essence blood, please."
The shopkeeper froze.
"How many?"
"Eighty bottles."
The shopkeeper looked at Jiang Lan, then at Shen Qingqiu beside him. After confirming that he had heard correctly, he headed into the storeroom.
A short while later, he carried out two boxes.
"Two thousand a bottle. Eighty bottles comes to a hundred and sixty thousand."
Jiang Lan promptly transferred the money.
Beside him, Shen Qingqiu looked at the two boxes and raised an eyebrow.
He knew Jiang Lan burned through it quickly, but this was a bit much.
"What do you need so much for?"
"To stock up," Jiang Lan said with a smile. "I've got the money. Having some extra on hand can't hurt."
Shen Qingqiu's mouth twitched.
It was Jiang Lan's own money, anyway. He could spend it however he liked.
"Nothing else?"
"Nope." Jiang Lan nodded repeatedly. "Is there anything you want to buy, Uncle? My treat."
Shen Qingqiu glanced at Jiang Lan.
"Your uncle isn't so broke that he needs you supporting him. Come on, let's go home."
Back home, Jiang Lan carried the two boxes of essence blood straight into his room and quickly locked the door behind him.
As he laid out the essence blood, a system prompt popped up.
[First-tier ferocious beast essence blood x128 detected. Use it to upgrade indestructible diamond body?]
"Upgrade."
[Indestructible diamond body advanced to level nine!] [Defense +90, vitality +900, agility +70]
An unprecedented sense of lightness spread from the soles of his feet through his entire body, as though he had become considerably lighter.
He keenly sensed that his physical reactions were also more than a notch faster than before.
He tried a light hop and instantly sprang over half a meter into the air, landing without making the slightest sound.
Although he had been strong before, his high strength and low agility had left his movements somewhat clumsy.
Now, however, things were completely different.
Jiang Lan looked at his system panel again.
[Host: Jiang Lan] [Realm: None (martial talent not awakened)] [Indestructible diamond body: Level nine] [Defense: 450] [Vitality: 5250] [Strength: 118.8 (average person: 10)] [Spirit: 41 (average person: 10)] [Agility: 99.5 (average person: 10)] [Constitution: 80 (average person: 10)] [Upgrade requirement: First-tier ferocious beast essence blood x256]
His agility had shot straight from 29.5 to 99.5.
It had more than tripled.
Speed had been his greatest weakness, and this upgrade had completely fixed it.
Four hundred and fifty defense, five thousand two hundred vitality.
With defense like this, another third-tier ferocious beast probably wouldn't be able to hurt him at all.
Looking at the numbers on the panel, Jiang Lan grinned almost from ear to ear.
But the moment his gaze reached the final line, his smile vanished.
Seriously?
Two hundred and fifty-six bottles? System, are you even human?
Will the next upgrade need five hundred and twelve bottles?
Then a thousand and twenty-four?