9: The richer and stronger the gold ingot

Chapter 9: The Richer, The Stronger, Golden Ingots

The insectoid monster before them was already showing characteristics of a Queen.

Once the transformation was complete and it began laying eggs, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Scarface clearly realized this. “Quick, notify the Defense Force immediately! Otherwise, it will be too late.”

Amidst the chaos, one of his subordinates immediately broke away from the group to report.

“Brothers, hold on a little longer! We must stop that bug from transforming, no matter what!”

Though the subordinates were afraid, as those at the bottom, they knew very well what kind of disaster and panic a Queen would bring to the common people of Three Calamities Post.

Scarface led the charge, directly attacking the transforming Queen, while the other subordinates tangled with another insect monster.

Yellow Hair’s [Ice Spray] spewed frost, completely disregarding the consumption of his spiritual power.

Not far away, Wu Xian naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing; after all, the threat of the “Queen” was simply too great.

The scroll unfurled, and golden-red blood light shimmered.

The God of Wealth made a dazzling entrance riding a black tiger, with dense Qi circulating around him like a protective divine light. After the painting spirit’s Rank was promoted to two and a half stars, the God of Wealth’s aura had improved significantly.

Boom!

With a flick of his steel whip, lightning surged.

The “Queen”, which was entangled with Scarface, was struck by the sudden lightning, letting out a strange cry as it tumbled into the corner of the wall. Its cold, malevolent compound eyes instantly locked onto Wu Xian and the God of Wealth behind him.

Compared to facing the Weird in the Mysterious Abyss previously, the God of Wealth’s lightning Dao now seemed significantly “weaker.”

Wu Xian was not surprised by this.

After all, lightning Dao inherently countered ghosts and evil spirits, and even more so the God of Wealth’s lightning Dao, which was definitely a bane to evil spirits.

To put it simply, the current attack effectiveness against the insect monster was the God of Wealth’s true damage level.

Although the God of Wealth was already two and a half stars, his fundamental hardware was still too poor.

It was like the famous saying in the PC world of his previous life: “Lu Bu riding a dog,” meaning he couldn’t unleash the “performance” that a two-and-a-half-star God of Wealth should have.

“?!”

At the same time, Scarface and his companions all widened their eyes, looking at the familiar figure behind them, their expressions fluctuating between dark and light. They thought Wu Xian had come to cause trouble.

“Young Master, why do you, a rich Young Master, insist on making trouble for us trash collectors?” Scarface’s mouth twitched.

“Stop the nonsense,” Wu Xian said, too lazy to explain. “Let’s deal with that Queen first.”

Scarface was stunned for a moment, then quickly cooperated with Wu Xian in battle.

Awoo awoo awoo… The black tiger under the God of Wealth charged out, pinning the “Queen” to the ground and grinding it.

The “Queen” continuously spewed corrosive acid and poisonous water from its mouth, but it was blocked by a faint layer of treasure light on the black tiger’s body—it was the God of Wealth’s protective Qi.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Another bolt of lightning struck, scorching the “Queen” black all over. The other insect monster rushed forward like crazy to protect it.

However, a golden light whistled through the air—it was a gold ingot… no, it should be described as a mountain of gold ingots.

Bang!

The giant gold ingot smashed down heavily, instantly crushing the insect monster into a paste, leaving Scarface and his companions dumbfounded and their scalps tingling.

That was a Tier 2 predatory insect monster! Although they had worn it down for a while, it shouldn't have been instantly killed by a single blow, right?

“Phew~ Is the consumption that great?”

Wu Xian, meanwhile, was secretly panting. That gold ingot was also one of the God of Wealth’s attack methods, and it was his first time using it.

Although its power was immense, it directly consumed half of his spiritual power.

And this [Gold Ingot] could be said to be the God of Wealth’s hidden killing move. Its inherent power was already very impressive. Besides that, the richer Wu Xian was, the greater the weight and power of the Gold Ingot.

Now, with over a million in vast wealth, let alone a Tier 2 insect monster, even a Tier 3 insect monster couldn’t withstand such a smash.

Looking at the “Queen” again, it had already been weakened by the lightning strikes and was torn in half by the black tiger in the blink of an eye.

The crisis was thus resolved.

But Scarface and his companions were still immersed in the shock brought by the earth-shattering smash of the [Gold Ingot].

Especially Scarface, at this moment, he realized that Wu Xian had already shown him mercy last time.

“Fortunately, we discovered it in time, otherwise it would have been troublesome.”

Wu Xian let out a sigh of relief, casually put away the God of Wealth, and looked at the stunned Scarface and his companions.

“Little brother… bah… Little Ancestor,” Scarface and his companions no longer dared to be presumptuous in front of Wu Xian; even Yellow Hair had become much more well-behaved. “Previously, we were blind and ignorant, but you, Sir, are too magnanimous to bother with us petty people. Please, feel free to state any request you have.”

“Look at your behavior,” Wu Xian shook his head in amusement. “I’m here to discuss cooperation with you.”

“Cooperation?”

Scarface and his companions looked at each other, bewildered.

Wu Xian got straight to the point, “Who do you usually sell the leftover pigments and scraps you pick up to?”

“There are a few Little Bosses who specialize in waste recycling. What, Little Ancestor, do you want to sell some Materials too?”

Scarface and his companions had strange expressions. After all, in their eyes, Wu Xian was just a rich Young Master who had “descended” to experience life, and he would actually care about such small money?

“What price do they give you?” Wu Xian pressed.

“Scraps fluctuate between 120 and 130 per jin. For leftover pigments, it depends on the brand and origin, averaging 20 to 50 yuan per gram of pigment. If we’re lucky enough to find some rare stuff, the price is negotiated separately.”

“Selling by jin? That’s so dark!”

Wu Xian had expected them to be exploitative, but he hadn’t expected them to be this exploitative.

“It’s not too bad,” Scarface smiled. “At least it allows us to make a living.”

It was a bit dark, but for those at the bottom of society like them, it was already a pretty good income.

“How about this, I can give you a higher purchase price, and you can sell your goods to me from now on.”

As soon as these words came out, Scarface and his companions were both surprised and suspicious.

So, after all that, he was a buyer?

Combined with their guess that Wu Xian was a “second-generation rich,” their confusion was resolved.

Most likely, he was the Young Master of some factory, wanting to cut costs on raw Materials. Others might not understand the tricks involved, but these trash collectors understood them perfectly.

Which of those who sought their waste recycling services wasn’t involved in some kind of “deceitful” scheme?

“So it’s Little Boss!” Scarface said with a fawning smile. “Look at the trouble this has caused. Come, come, let’s exchange contact information. As long as the price is good, our brothers are naturally willing to work for you.”

Wu Xian chuckled, exchanged contact information with Scarface, and learned Scarface’s real name, Zhao He.

As they spoke, the subordinate who had gone to “report” rushed back in a hurry, and upon seeing Wu Xian, he was visibly startled.

Seeing Wu Xian and his boss chatting happily, he was even more bewildered.

Behind the subordinate was a handsome curly-haired young man, none other than Du Yifan, the Defense Force member from before.

“Where’s the transforming Queen?” Du Yifan rushed over, then saw the two insect monster corpses on the ground. “Uh, it’s already been dealt with?”

“Sir (Military), you’re finally here! If it weren’t for…” Scarface Zhao He subconsciously wanted to take credit for Wu Xian, but Wu Xian stopped him with a look, and he instantly understood.

After all, they were doing something illegal, so it wasn’t convenient to reveal their identities.

“You guys took them down?” Du Yifan looked around at everyone, secretly surprised. “Not bad!”

Especially the insect monster that was smashed into a meat patty, which truly astonished him.

“Just good luck~ good luck,” Zhao He’s eyes darted around. “Sir (Military), since we risked our lives, shouldn’t there be some kind of reward?”

“Don’t worry~” Du Yifan smiled brightly. “I will report to my superiors and give you some commendation. Recently, the dimensional rifts have been unstable, and monster leaks are frequent.

You usually wander around various parts of the city; if you discover anything, you can notify me immediately.”

“Sir (Military) is too kind~” Zhao He responded obsequiously. “It’s our honor to serve Sir (Military).”

Wu Xian remained silent in the crowd, secretly observing this Sir (Military).

At such a young age, he had Tier 4 spiritual power cultivation, and being able to join the Defense Force meant his strength and background were definitely not simple.

“By the way, how did you smash this insect monster like this?”

Du Yifan curiously examined the insect monster’s corpse, suddenly speaking.

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Wu Xian in unison, and this scene naturally caught Du Yifan’s attention.

“A hammer… smashed it.” Wu Xian casually prevaricated.

“Oh, oh.”

Du Yifan didn’t dwell on it too much, assuming it was some powerful hammer-type weapon scroll.

After all, the focus now was on this transforming Queen, and he could feel that these two insect monsters, like the recently leaked monsters, were all somewhat unusual.

“Uh, Sir (Military), you go ahead and be busy, we’ll be leaving first.”

Wu Xian and Scarface’s group didn’t linger and quickly slipped away.