96: Chapter 96 Top Recipes

With several large transactions completed, his resource inventory was once again full. Lin Tian's mood improved further as he remembered another matter. He opened his chat interface with Lord Su Wan.

Lin Tian: "Lord Su Wan, are you resting? I'm here to 'restock.' I was in a rush this afternoon and forgot about it. (Attached: embarrassed emoji)"

After sending the message, he waited for a while before Lord Su Wan's reply popped up; she seemed busy as well.

Lord Su Wan: "Not yet, I'm taking inventory of the spirit plants. Lin Tian, you're being too polite. We're allies now, you can just call me by my name from now on. Is it the usual items? How much do you need?"

Looking at Lord Su Wan's straightforward reply, Lin Tian smiled. Just as he was about to state his requirements, his heart stirred. He remembered the [Potential Upgrade Card (Gold)] he had obtained today that he couldn't use yet, and Lord Su Wan's lineup of Rare-grade Forest Whisper Elves. Perhaps...

Lin Tian: "Yeah, the usual: various vegetables, fruits, and spirit rice. I'll leave the quantities to you, but the more the better. Additionally, I need ten thousand units of moon birch spirit wood. Also, what's your current stock of healing potions and holy lotus fruits?"

Lord Su Wan (replied quickly): "The healing potion production was average today, only two thousand vials. A new batch of holy lotus fruits was ripened today, about two thousand as well. Including the other food items, let's call it twenty-five thousand spirit crystals as a bundle. I'll give you the ally price."

The price was very fair. Lin Tian was about to agree, but his fingers paused. He deleted the text he had typed and re-entered a new message.

Lin Tian: "The price is fine. Also, Lord Su Wan, I opened a treasure chest today and got something that... might be more useful to you. See if you're interested?"

He then sent the item information for the [Potential Upgrade Card (Gold)].

Lord Su Wan, who was about to calculate the resources, saw the card information Lin Tian sent. Her emerald-like eyes widened instantly, and her breath hitched!

A Potential Upgrade Card! It could directly upgrade a Rare-grade unit to Excellent-grade! This was exactly what she desired most right now!

Her nature elf units were Rare-grade. Although they had unique abilities, their base attributes and growth potential were shortcomings when facing high-intensity combat.

If she could upgrade the elves to Excellent-grade and gain new skills... it would be of great significance for both the upcoming beast tide and long-term development!

Her heart pounded violently, but she quickly forced herself to calm down and think about the price Lin Tian might ask. The value of this card was hard to measure with ordinary resources.

Lord Su Wan (took a deep breath and replied): "This card... is indeed very useful to me. Lin Tian, what do you want to trade it for? As long as I have it, we can negotiate."

Lin Tian saw the reply and knew she was tempted, so he didn't beat around the bush.

Lin Tian: "When I got this card today, I thought of your elves. How about this: I'll trade this card for the one hundred units of space crystals you got today? Of course, the resource trade we just discussed will proceed as normal."

Lord Su Wan stared at the words 'space crystal' and fell into a brief moment of thought.

space crystals were certainly precious and rare, containing the power of space, but for her current elf system—which focused on nature, life, and moonlight—they were quite difficult to apply. They were far less practical than a potential card that could immediately boost her core combat power. Moreover, the beast tide was tomorrow...

Lord Su Wan (no longer hesitating): "Deal! For me right now, space crystals are indeed not as urgently needed as this card. It's a deal! Let's trade them together with the previous resources."

Lin Tian: "Straightforward! Happy cooperating!"

As the transaction was confirmed, Lin Tian's storage space was instantly filled with mountains of moon birch spirit wood, crates of potions and holy lotus fruits, fresh and juicy fruits, vegetables, and grains, as well as those one hundred starlight-flickering space crystals appearing in his hand once again.

And Lord Su Wan obtained a golden card capable of changing the destiny of her elves.

"Each getting what we need, not bad." Lin Tian nodded with satisfaction. Trading a card he couldn't use for now for urgently needed strategic resources and a solid alliance was a great deal.

Having finished his official business, Lin Tian opened the Trading Platform and Regional Chat Channel again with great interest, browsing through them like a night market to see if there were any unexpected gains or interesting information.

Most of the trade information was unremarkable, mostly basic resource swaps or low-level equipment and medicines.

The chat channel was still filled with complaints about night monsters, party invitations, boasting, or crying poverty. However, just as Lin Tian was about to close it, a listing caught his eye.

[top-tier recipe book]

[Price]: 5 Spirit Crystals/book

[Quantity]: 500 books

[Seller's Note]: Trash item from a Gold Treasure Chest! Taking up space! Clearance sale, no bargaining! Special recipes!

Below it was a long string of complaints from other lords:

"5 spirit crystals for one lousy recipe? Brother, are you crazy for money?"

"Who has the spare time to study cooking these days? Being able to eat your fill is already good enough!"

"A Gold Treasure Chest dropped this? My condolences, man... but the price is indeed ridiculous."

"Disperse, disperse, only a fool would buy this."

...

The seller seemed very frustrated; even after being mocked, they didn't lower the price, maintaining an attitude of "buy it or don't, I'd rather let it rot in my hands."

Lin Tian looked at the words 'top-tier recipe book,' and his eyes gradually lit up.

He remembered that although the canteen was filled with the aroma of meat in the evening, the cooking methods were still simple and crude. The soldiers ate their fill, but they certainly didn't eat well.

More importantly, with over thirty thousand people under his command, he actually didn't have a professional cooking squad!

The soldiers took turns or simply cooked for themselves, which affected efficiency, wasted ingredients, and failed to provide stable logistical dietary support during long marches or special circumstances.

"Recipe... Top-tier Recipe... five hundred books... if I can 'Fuse' them..."

A bold idea took shape in Lin Tian's mind. "Could it... create a special logistics unit with 'Top-tier Cooking,' 'Efficient Logistics,' or even 'Food Buff Effects'?"

This thought made his heart race.

Combat units were certainly important, but stable and efficient logistical support was also a vital component of an army's combat effectiveness, and could even influence morale and sustained combat capability!

Five spirit crystals a book, five hundred books was only two thousand five hundred spirit crystals. To him, it was a drop in the bucket, but the potential value could be immeasurable!

"Bought!" Lin Tian didn't hesitate and chose to buy them all directly.

Amidst the gazes of the lords in the regional channel looking at him like a "sucker" and the seller's ecstatic confirmation, five hundred thick, beautifully decorated "top-tier recipe books" fell into his storage space.

He browsed randomly for a while longer without finding any other particularly valuable information, then closed all the panels and let out a long sigh of relief.

Tonight's "purchasing" and "investing" had come to an end.

Behind him, Lin Yin had been quietly massaging him, witnessing all his trades, browsing, and even the light that flashed in his eyes when he finally bought the recipes.

She could feel Lin Tian's body relax completely; the tension caused by worrying about the future had dissipated significantly.

"Brother Tian," she stopped the massage, her hands resting gently on the back of his chair as she leaned down and whispered in his ear, her warm breath carrying the faint fragrance of her body.