16: Make money

Stepping out of his home, it was already late autumn, and the evening air carried a slight chill.

The steam rising from inside the ramen shop on the street blurred the glass.

Ye Chen walked into the shop and directly ordered a large bowl of ramen, and extravagantly added a sizzling, oil-dripping sausage.

This meal, which seemed ordinary to others, was already considered a decent feast for him, given his current low bank balance.

After slurping down the last bit of soup, Ye Chen pulled out a tissue to wipe the oil from the corners of his mouth, and fell into thought, gazing at the neon signs lighting up outside the window.

As a future Divine King, he couldn't possibly be stuck struggling just to make ends meet.

He crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the trash can, then turned and stepped into the commercial street, pondering how to make money.

Regular part-time jobs were not within his consideration; the cost-effectiveness was too low.

He still needed to rely on his divine domain or his identity as a Divine Lord to earn money.

He pushed open the door of a shop named “Extraordinary Card Pavilion.”

Rows of cards were displayed in glass showcases.

Looking at the prices below, Ye Chen’s pupils slightly contracted.

The most basic first-tier stone mine card was shockingly priced at 100 divine power value—which, converted into Federal currency, was a massive sum of one hundred thousand.

He knew that anything related to divine domains was expensive, but he hadn't expected it to be so terrifying.

One hundred thousand Federal currency was enough for a family's living expenses for a year.

No wonder even ordinary people who became Divine Lords found it difficult to rise.

Just setting up some basic resources was enough to bankrupt an ordinary family.

Moreover, most cards were sold in divine power value, and Federal currency could not be used for direct purchase.

Generally, Divine Lords could convert the power of faith generated by their dependents into divine power value.

Or absorb some divine marrow or divine crystals to obtain divine power value.

However, his own dependents did not generate any faith, so Ye Chen's divine power value had never increased.

He glanced at the iron ore card again, priced at 150 divine power value.

Recalling the resources in his abyss, Ye Chen's mind became active.

Under the abyss environment, those flowers, plants, and trees found it difficult to survive long, so it would be better to take them out and convert them into cash.

Iron ore and stone ore, on the other hand, were not very useful for the abyss; the dependents basically relied on their own strength to fight and did not need external help.

Moreover, the abyss did not have blacksmiths, so the ores could not be utilized for the time being.

He looked at the price of a blank card: three divine power value per card.

Spending most of his assets to acquire two blank cards, his balance was left with a pitiful one point.

Clutching the two blank cards, Ye Chen hid in a mall lounge, closing his eyes and concentrating.

Under the illumination of the Blood Moon, the unique putrid aura of the abyss, along with the sickly tree phantoms, surged into the cards.

He deliberately avoided the withered branches, sealing the entire dense forest vibrantly.

He sealed all the dense forests of three divine domains, barely managing to form two “first-tier dense forest cards.”

If it weren't for the natural blindfold of the card's seal, these decaying plants would probably be worse than scrap.

Before the card was used, the state of the trees inside could not be seen from the outside, otherwise, Ye Chen's lifeless trees would be hard to sell.

However, the “lucky recipients” who bought these two cards would surely be cursing.

He found the shop assistant and sold both cards in a package, receiving a total of 110 divine power value.

Dense forest cards were even cheaper than stone mine cards; the shop's selling price was 70 points, so the recycling price was naturally lower.

Estimating the resources within the abyss, Ye Chen acquired two more blank cards.

He repeated the process, sealing and selling the iron ore and stone ore from within the abyss, gaining another 200 divine power value.

His final balance was 305 divine power value, enough for Ye Chen to live comfortably for a while.

He checked the negative aura and elemental materials sold in the shop.

The price of common elemental materials was not high individually.

Things like Fire Element crystals, plant essences, sharp gold stones, etc., were only ten divine power value each.

But if one wanted to create an army, the amount of elemental materials needed would be terrifying.

He still needed a material that was abundant and inexpensive to create an army.

Negative aura, however, was much cheaper; a large mass of negative aura only cost 10 divine power value.

After all, for most Divine Lords, negative aura was harmful and useless to their divine domains.

Few people bought it, so the price was very low.

Ye Chen waved his hand and purchased cards for five types of negative aura: chaos, fear, slaughter, despair, and rage.

He bought four portions of each type, consuming a total of 200 divine power value.

Then he exchanged the remaining odd amount for 5,000 Federal currency for daily expenses.

After buying all this, he left satisfied.

Ye Chen turned and walked out of the shop, not noticing a hooded man behind him who had been observing his every move.

“What use does he have for buying so much negative aura?”

The hooded man was somewhat puzzled but still quickly followed him out of the shop.

Ye Chen, having left the shop, walked towards his home, but then heard a familiar shout from behind him.

“Hey! Brother, we’re quite fated, aren’t we?”

Ye Chen vigilantly turned his head to look, and a face with an intentionally plastered smile came into view.

It was the “kind person” he had met when he first transmigrated, who had intended to take him to the hospital.

Ye Chen glanced at his attire, becoming even more vigilant.

Wasn't this person just a customer in the same shop as him?

Although he was wearing a hood and mask at the time, and his presence was very low, Ye Chen had caught glimpses of him multiple times in his peripheral vision while purchasing items.

Clearly, this guy was deliberately tracking and approaching him, for reasons unknown.

Seeing that Ye Chen didn't respond, the hooded man seemed a bit awkward and could only say to himself:

“Oh, by the way, I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself last time we met.”

“My name is Shen Jin, and I am a member of the Youth Mutual Aid Society.”

With that, Shen Jin extended his right hand, wanting to have a friendly exchange.

Ye Chen ignored his outstretched hand and asked faintly:

“Oh, so you followed me just because you wanted to get to know me?”

Shen Jin coughed dryly after hearing that, silently withdrew his right hand, and awkwardly scratched his head.

“Well, I just saw that you have an extraordinary bone structure and thought you were a promising talent, so why not join our Youth Mutual Aid Society?”

Ye Chen stared at Shen Jin’s face with a look of someone gazing at an idiot.

What nonsense was this guy spouting? Could he really say such childish lies?

Shen Jin, thick-skinned, seemed not to notice Ye Chen's impolite expression and continued speaking to himself.

“Our Youth Mutual Aid Society was jointly founded by senior alumni from various schools.”

“The purpose is to help those ambitious young people who are struggling to break through the resource monopoly of aristocratic families.”

“Many of the seniors in the mutual aid society have already made great achievements, but they are very supportive of the younger generation and have donated many resources.”

“Inside, you can not only purchase various resources at a fair price but also ask the seniors within the society to help you plan and develop your territory.”

Ye Chen listened to Shen Jin's flowery descriptions, his heart unmoved.

Those promises about resource sharing and senior support were, in his eyes, nothing more than bait coated in honey.