25: This one is really expensive!

“How is it calculated to be so valuable?”

Out of curiosity, Xia Qi asked.

The Materials he had personally obtained should be worth around one million, and all other Materials were contributed by the professional team.

“Eight Tree King Seeds, totaling eight hundred thousand; elemental herbs, a total of one hundred thousand; Treant Materials, a total of one hundred twenty thousand. That’s one million two thousand here,” Lina explained in detail, pointing at the large pile of Materials.

Xia Qi nodded, the price was similar to his calculations.

“Here, three bronze weapons, fifty thousand each, totaling one hundred fifty thousand. The skill book counts as ninety thousand. That makes two hundred forty thousand here.”

“Indeed, that’s only a little over two hundred thousand.”

Up to this point, the price was almost exactly as Xia Qi had estimated.

“Exactly. The truly valuable item is right here.”

Wearing gloves, Lina carefully picked out a dark, charred object from the pile of Materials dropped by the professional team. It looked like a tree branch, about the thickness of a baby’s arm and roughly a foot long (national standard).

“A branch?”

“No, it’s a whip!”

“???”

Xia Qi was stunned, momentarily speechless.

“A Barbarian Ox King’s whip is very rare in the wild. You really stumbled upon a great find.”

“This one piece is worth six hundred thousand.”

The Barbarian Ox King is a Level 20 monster and extremely rare. Among low-tier Materials, the Barbarian Ox Whip is considered a very precious material, and its price has always remained high.

“What is its function?”

Xia Qi asked, puzzled. A material priced at six hundred thousand already met the standard for Advanced Materials, so it must have some special use.

Lina gave Xia Qi a half-smile. After confirming his serious attitude, she reluctantly explained, “A whip, what use could it have? Of course, it’s for invigorating Qi.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Carefully placing the whip into her storage space, Lina waved her hand, collecting all the other Materials as well.

“This thing, if you take a little before you go to the island, I guarantee you won’t want to leave the island for three days and three nights.”

Lina brushed her golden hair back, revealing her mature figure. Xia Qi felt a bit parched from her words.

“Alright, I admit my ignorance.”

Xia Qi acknowledged his lack of knowledge and planned to call Lina over when he had time to thoroughly “study” the issue of material prices with her.

“Help me catch up later. I’ll let you know when.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lina instantly understood. She merely rolled her eyes at Xia Qi and didn't respond to his comment.

Next, Lina found an application form, then wrote down the purchase price of the Materials on it, and handed it to Xia Qi.

“If there are no issues, I’ll sign.”

“No problem.”

After confirming the amount was correct, Xia Qi nodded.

Lina decisively signed her elegant name, then transferred the payment via her phone.

With this one million eight hundred seventy thousand, plus the fourteen million nine hundred fifty thousand he already had, he now had a total of seventeen million eight hundred twenty thousand.

His confidence instantly surged.

With the transaction complete, Lina had no desire to linger. Just as she was about to leave the room, Xia Qi stopped her.

“Ah? Young man, what do you want to do…?”

Xia Qi propped the door open with one hand, blocking Lina’s exit. His gaze shamelessly took in the beautiful sight before him, and with a playful smile, he said, “Did you forget something?”

“Forget something? No… I don’t think so?”

They were standing very close, and as Lina caught a whiff of Xia Qi’s unique masculine scent, her thoughts began to race.

“Could it be… that whip just now… made him go wild…?”

The more she thought about it, the more Lina started to sweat. Although she enjoyed playful banter, she truly had no experience in this area.

“Outside… there are people. Not here.”

Although the transaction room was a private room, the transaction hall was just outside. If anything were to happen between her and Xia Qi, the sounds would definitely not be contained.

“What are you thinking? I meant the transaction isn’t complete yet. Where’s the Talent Potion?”

Xia Qi flicked Lina’s forehead with his finger, making her head buzz.

“Damn it, you spent all that time just to say that? You should have said so earlier!”

“I’ll go get it now. You wait here.”

Lina suddenly became angry, her whole body trembling. Then, she opened the door and stormed out.

Watching Lina leave, Xia Qi was somewhat bewildered. Had he said something wrong just now?

Sigh, a woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.

After a few minutes, Lina returned, now holding a box.

The two sat on the sofa, and Lina opened the box, revealing four gleaming Talent Potions inside.

Their appearance was identical to the one Wang Changyuan had given him, so they must indeed be Talent Potions.

“Four million each. You’re buying four, so that’s sixteen million in total.”

Lina gave Xia Qi an annoyed look. She was still a bit miffed about what had happened a few minutes earlier.

“Alright, no problem.”

Xia Qi wasn’t worried about getting fake goods. A black market that had been established for hundreds of years and remained standing wouldn’t likely cheat him.

Just as he was about to pay, Lina pressed down on Xia Qi’s hand.

“You only need to pay fourteen million. Because you have an S-Rank Talent, I applied for a discount for you from the boss.”

“There’s such a good thing?”

Xia Qi was indeed tempted. Two million was not a small sum for him.

However, on second thought, why would the black market want to curry favor with him? Was it because they valued his Talent?

This transaction seemed like Xia Qi was getting a good deal, but in reality, he would owe the black market a favor.

If he only had an S-Rank Talent, then owing a small favor wouldn’t matter much.

But for Xia Qi, an S-Rank Talent was merely a starting point. In the future, the value of his favors would be immeasurable, far beyond two million.

“I refuse. Let’s proceed with the normal price.”

After some thought, Xia Qi shook his head, insisting on paying sixteen million.

Lina bit her lip, her eyes flickering, unsure of what she was thinking. Finally, she nodded, and the two proceeded with the transaction according to the normal process.

After the transaction, Xia Qi left directly, carrying the box.

He probably wouldn’t come in person again for a while.

If he needed anything, he could just call Lina to come to him.

Watching Xia Qi’s retreating figure, Lina silently sighed, “I don’t know whether to call him shrewd or a fool.”

Soon after, a middle-aged man in a black suit entered the room and respectfully said, “Young Miss, the Master has asked for you.”

Lina impatiently waved her hand, “I know, I’ll be there in a bit. Can’t you see I’m annoyed?”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

The middle-aged man could only respectfully retreat.

On the surface, Lina was a small employee at a transaction counter, but in reality, she was the second-in-command of this Jiang City black market.

If Xia Qi knew Lina’s true identity, he would understand why a mere counter clerk could possess resources like Luoli Island.