Chapter 385: Dragon City Split
Barter, a special form of transaction, is more common in chaotic times.
In peacetime, paper money is mostly stable.
But once a war breaks out, the value of money will depreciate rapidly, while the value of gold, food, energy, etc. will rise rapidly.
The planet is still on the brink of war, with constant small conflicts, smoke and a tense situation. It is unknown when the war will break out again, so barter has become the default rule for many organizations.
"The batch of lumpfish that was auctioned last time was exchanged for five aquamarine pearls." Andrew told Su Xia the whole story of the auction.
"Aquamarine pearl?" Su Xia was puzzled.
"It's a local specialty, a kind of sea pearl, dark blue in color, which contains some psychic power." Andrew explained.
"Pearls? Psychic power? Are these two related?"
Su Xia was surprised. This was the first time she heard of it.
Andrew continued, "Yes, it is a pearl produced by a mutant sea clam."
"Mutated sea clam?"
"Your Excellency, you can think of it as a zerg in the sea."
"Yes, sure..."
After Andrew's explanation, Su Xia knew what it was.
There are mutant creatures on land, and of course there are also in the sea, and there are even more of them, with diverse races and all kinds of strangeness.
For example, the octopus monster Haidar crawled out of the sea with a face full of octopus tentacles, which made Creek angry.
Several blurry photos were circulated in the player forum - a group of players teamed up to go into the deep sea and captured a terrifying and huge shadow on the bottom of the sea.
With over 70% of the planet covered in ocean, there must be countless monsters in the deep sea.
The Zerg themselves can generate psychic energy, otherwise they would not be kept in captivity by the Mechanical Race.
"Sir, that mutant sea clam will only produce one pearl in its lifetime. The older it is, the deeper the blue of the pearl will be, and the more spiritual energy it contains." Andrud said, "When it is alive, it will automatically absorb the scattered spiritual energy floating in the sea, and it will also generate spiritual energy and condense it in its own pearl."
"So that's how it is. I've learned a lot." Su Xia sighed.
"I thought you knew that kind of clam, sir."
"I'm from the inland, I've never seen river clams, let alone sea clams." Su Xia shrugged, "This time I came to Conch City, it's my first time to see the sea."
"With your ability, sir, you can go wherever you want, right?"
"Um……"
Su Xia would like to go wherever he wants, but he doesn't have the time.
He glanced at the current time, then asked Andrew: "By the way, what is the function of the pearl? To refine spiritual energy?"
Andrew replied: "Yes, each aquamarine pearl contains a large amount of pure psychic energy, which is very easy to refine, much more convenient than refining those land insect creatures."
"Based on the previous auction price, wouldn't one be worth millions?"
"Yes, the spiritual energy potion extracted from the five aquamarine pearls at the last auction must be worth more than five million."
"How big is that pearl?"
"It's bigger than an ordinary person's fist..."
Andrew gestured, then suddenly patted his head and said to Su Xia, "Sir, I have aquamarine pearls in my basement. You will know when you see them."
"Oh? Show me."
"Come with me..."
Andrew immediately stood up and, in a respectful tone, took Su Xia into the next level of this underground safe house.
This is a hidden space that does not store food, weapons and other supplies, but instead contains some of Andrew's personal collections.
He was cautious and did not turn on the light, but instead turned on a flashlight.
Although the people lurking outside the villa cannot see the specific situation inside, once they see the electricity meter start to flow, they can judge that there is someone in the villa.
"You have quite a lot of good things here." Su Xia looked around and saw many valuable items in this hidden space.
There are antique porcelain, valuable paintings, and precious jade. At first glance, it looks like a small museum.
It's normal to think about it. Andrew has been doing business here for more than ten years and has a high status. The people he interacts with are all wealthy businessmen, so it's natural that he can get a lot of good things.
"My Lord, the pearl is here."
Andrew bent down and opened a small wooden box, in which were more than a dozen pearls of different sizes.
These pearls sparkled under the flashlight, like glowing jewels, extremely noble. The smallest one was about the size of a thumb, while the largest one was larger than Su Xia's fist.
[Aquamarine Pearl: Produced by the low-level Zerg "Phantom Blue Sea Clam" in the sea. This Zerg has low attack and defense capabilities, and is extremely slow to escape. It is the bottom creature of the entire Zerg society.]
[Due to its talent for absorbing psychic energy, this creature is often hunted by other Zerg as a supplement]
【……】
A few lines of prompts popped up in front of Su Xia, explaining the origin of this pearl.
This is a very tragic race. They are at the bottom of the entire Zerg food chain, yet they contain a large amount of energy, as if their destiny is to be eaten by creatures of other races.
Even if they are not eaten by the Zerg in the sea, they will be targeted by human salvagers.
"Look, sir."
Andrew picked up the smallest aquamarine pearl, held it under the flashlight, and said seriously, "This pearl has been cultivated by the sea clam for more than three years. Don't underestimate its small size. The price on the black market is at least this much..."
As he said this, he raised two fingers.
Two hundred thousand!
The value contained in such a small thing is enough to cover the expenses of an ordinary family for more than ten years.
"Moreover, this pearl is delicate and gorgeous, warm and bright. Even if it has no spiritual value, it is still top-grade jewelry. It is very rare and highly sought after by noble ladies. Therefore, the price has always remained high."
"Um……"
Su Xia also picked up a pearl, rubbed it gently in her hand, and it felt very comfortable, and had a special cool feeling.
Andrew added, "Sir, the pearl in your hand is worth at least five hundred thousand."
“The price is really not low.”
Su Xia put it down, picked up another bigger one, and said calmly: "When I retire in the future, if I have no source of income, I will go to the sea to catch pearls, and I will take every pearl I catch."
"Your Excellency, you are such a joker." Andrew forced a smile.
"I'm not kidding, I'm serious."
"With your status, you will definitely not be short of money. As long as you ask, countless people will rush to give you money just to make friends with you."
"Forget it, having too many friends is not a good thing." Su Xia shook her head.
"If you really want to fish for this kind of sea clams, you need to consult the fishermen on the coast."
Andrew saw that Su Xia really had an idea, so he said, "In some fishing teams, there are special 'clam collectors'. Many of their ancestors fished for pearls on the beach, and this experience has been passed down from generation to generation. Even some professional frogmen can't compare to them."
"Okay, I understand."
The blue sea clams that produce this kind of pearls are now rare in the shallow sea as too many have been fished out in recent years.
As Zerg creatures, they don't even have the most basic ability to resist, and can't even beat ordinary fishermen. This is a shame for the Zerg.
You know, the Zerg creatures on land, even the lowest-level swift bugs, are not something ordinary people can deal with.
"Sir, please look at this one."
Andrew carefully picked up the largest one, which looked quite heavy.
The surface of this pearl is deep blue, with soft ripples and sparkles under the light, just like the deep ocean or the starry sky in summer, dreamy, beautiful and moving.
This one is worth more than one million and a half.
The clam that produced this pearl lived for at least twelve years, which is quite rare on the seabed.
"It's a pity to only extract spiritual energy from such a large pearl." Andrew said, "Usually, only small pearls that are one or two years old are extracted."
"This is its value, there's nothing to regret." Su Xia said.
"Sir, your values are different from ours." Andrew sighed, "If such a beautiful pearl is placed in the living room, just looking at it twice a day will make people feel relaxed and happy."
In total, this box of pearls is worth more than 10 million.
The two largest ones are more than ten years old and are very expensive.
These pearls are the best choice for barter in coastal cities and are spiritual currency recognized by many companies and wealthy businessmen.
"Sir, I have no use for these things anyway. You must need them, so take them away." Andrew felt a little distressed, and a trace of reluctance flashed in his eyes, but he still put down the pearls in his hand.
If it weren't for Su Xia, he would have died long ago, let alone come back to get these pearls.
In fact, the moment he decided to break away from the control of the group, Andrew decided to give up all his assets. He never thought that he would be able to come back to see these treasures of his.
"good."
Su Xia didn't hesitate and took it away directly.
When it comes to resources, the more the better.
There was not only one box of pearls in this room, but also several similar boxes nearby, all of which were collected by Su Xia.
After putting away the pearls, Su Xia raised her head and moved her gaze, which lingered for a moment on every object in this hidden room.
Andrew has no use for these things, so Su Xia will naturally not let them go.
Su Xia has been in this world for too short a time, his roots are shallow and his basis is weak, so he cannot compare with those veteran psychic creatures.
Before in the Zero O'Clock Tavern, the fifth-level creature Hu Hanhai could throw out a large pile of precious books with just his hand, many of which were unique pieces. This was the confidence of the old psychic creature.
In the basement of the Coral City Pharmacy, Dad also collected a lot of priceless treasures.
And now is the time for Su Xia to enrich his treasure trove.
"receive!"
Su Xia patted a precious jade relief, and the relief instantly disappeared from his hand and entered his personal space.
This scene made Andrew's eyelids twitch.
He had only seen this magical ability in the undead before.
But the legendary masked man is unlikely to be an undead, so how did he do it?
Does he have the terrifying ability to tear space apart with his bare hands?
Also, some kind of special talent?
"Sir, can you teach me this skill?" Andrew shamelessly asked Su Xia for advice. He also wanted to have this ability.
If you can learn it, it will be much easier to escape in the future. You can carry a large amount of supplies with you and don't have to worry about food and clothing.
Su Xia glanced at him and said, "This is my psychic talent. You can't learn it."
"really……"
Andrew sighed: "I have been a psychic creature for more than ten years. Although my level is low, it has been a long time, but I still haven't awakened my talent."
"You haven't awakened in more than ten years?" Su Xia frowned, "Is it that difficult?"
"You are a genius, sir. You can't resonate with a mediocre person like me." Andrew said helplessly, "There are many people like me. Awakening depends on luck. The lucky ones can awaken as soon as they become psychic creatures, while the unlucky ones may never be able to do it in their entire lives."
"Yes, indeed."
This body of Su Xia was awakened when he first became a psychic creature, and it was a very useful talent.
【Death is Gentle】
It was this talent that made him be noticed by his father and become an apprentice in a pharmacy, and he gradually reached his current position.
In previous battles, if it weren't for the support of a large amount of potions, Su Xia might have collapsed long ago.
There are thousands of paths in life, and the initial encounters often determine the final achievements.
"If someone has the ability to help others awaken, that person will definitely be sought after by the entire continent." Andrew said: "Unfortunately, such a person has not appeared so far."
"That's hard to say."
Su Xia shook her head: "Maybe there are such people, but they are afraid of being caught by the mechanical tribe, so they dare not come forward."
You know, every mechanical individual of the Mechanical Clan is a psychic creature, and this race is the one that most wants to awaken their talents.
It is said that they had asked Anluo Company to develop technology to assist in awakening a long time ago, but there has been no result so far.
Su Xia ended the topic and continued to pack up her things in the room.
These supplies were his first major harvest.
In the future, when I need money, I won’t have to sell the things my father left behind.
“Hey, this is…”
He suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on the collection in a glass cabinet in front of him.
It was a five-pointed medal with a red surface. It looked quite old and lay quietly in the corner of the glass cabinet.
This medal was not conspicuous among Andrew's many collections , but it immediately attracted Su Xia's attention.
[Dragon City Hero Medal: A medal of honor. Only those who have been awarded the title of "Dragon City Hero" can receive this medal. It is one of the highest honors in Dragon City.]
How did this medal appear here?
Su Xia was puzzled.
You know, this is the highest honor.
For the person who receives this medal, this honor may be more valuable than his life.
Most of the people who now possess the hero medal are those who made outstanding contributions during the most brutal period of the war between the two races more than ten years ago. Many of them have contributed everything to the establishment of Dragon City.
"Where did you get this medal?" Su Xia asked Andrew.
"Bought it." Andrew answered truthfully.
"Can this thing be bought?" Su Xia frowned. Honor cannot be bought.
"You may not know, sir, that in several small settlements near the Dragon City gathering place, there are some people who came out of Dragon City who sell this kind of medal."
Andrew told the story honestly, explaining the origin of the medal.
He bought this not long ago in a small station near Longcheng when he was transporting a batch of military supplies.
"The price is not expensive, just a few thousand dollars." Andrew said to Su Xia, "The person selling the medal is a little girl. She said it was her father's medal, and now her family is short of money, so she sold it."
“How could a family that received a hero medal be short of money?”
Su Xia's brows furrowed even deeper, forming a "川" character.
Andrew shook his head: "I don't know about that. There was more than one person selling this medal at the time."
"Is that so?"
Su Xia slowly picked up the medal with a deep look in her eyes.
The current situation in Longcheng may be worse than he imagined, and it is on the verge of getting out of control.
At this moment, a line of prompts suddenly popped up in front of his eyes.
[You automatically received the task: Dragon City Split]
