Chapter 42 Purchasing Agent

"Alright, alright." Captain Zeng Fu stopped his questioning. He rubbed his temples.

Even though he was the one asking Yun Bai the questions, after a few exchanges, he felt flustered instead.

Because Yun Bai's answers were far too detailed, sometimes even incorporating multiple pieces of information from the intelligence report, making it difficult for him to handle.

This made him suspect for a moment whether Yun Bai had collected intelligence beforehand, or if Supervisor Zhou Shengtai had already told him about it.

Yun Bai stopped. He grinned at the four of them and said, "Captain, I've proven my innocence now, right? I really did just read it once, and I've basically memorized all the important parts."

"You brat, stop playing dumb with me!" Captain Zeng Fu laughed heartily and slammed a hand down hard on Yun Bai's shoulder. "Stop pretending, you brat, you're impressive! I'm convinced!"

"Yun Bai, as the captain, I should trust my team members, trust in our unity! Only by being united can we be invincible! Here, I solemnly apologize for my behavior just now!" Captain Zeng Fu took a step back, bowed slightly, and said to Yun Bai with a serious expression.

The dissatisfaction in Yun Bai's heart had already dissipated. Seeing this captain apologizing so sincerely, he felt a bit embarrassed instead: "Captain, there's no need for this. I'm new to our team, and everyone isn't familiar with me yet. Perhaps I acted too abnormally just now, which is why everyone became suspicious."

"Lianchuan, you need to apologize to Yun Bai as well." Captain Zeng Fu tugged at Fu Lianchuan, who was still standing to the side, silent and "acting cool."

"Captain, I—" Fu Lianchuan's face burned. "Yun Bai, you—I, I apologize to you. However, just talking on paper is useless; we'll see the results on the battlefield."

"Hahaha, good. I will definitely work hard." Yun Bai found this person interesting.

In the team, being eager for battle is a good thing.

"Alright, that's it for today. You are dismissed. Everyone, put the booklets away and remember, they must not be leaked. Oh right, Yun Bai, stay behind; I have some things to go over with you." Seeing his team members high in spirits, Captain Zeng Fu felt relieved, so he waved his hand and dismissed the team.

"Yun Bai. Have you bought your equipment?" After the others left, Captain Zeng Fu asked Yun Bai with concern.

"I only selected a Cultivation Technique. I haven't bought anything else yet."

"You are a newcomer, and there are many things you aren't clear about yet. The team has already prepared the essential weapons, equipment, and other supplies for you." Captain Zeng Fu took out a Storage Pouch and handed it to Yun Bai. "Don't refuse. These things aren't expensive, there are just a lot of miscellaneous items."

"This." Yun Bai said in surprise, "Thank you for your concern, Captain."

He took the Storage Pouch and looked inside. It contained weapons like muskets, crossbows, short swords, and daggers; Medicinal Pills like Blood Coagulation Powder and Barrier-Breaking Pills; as well as Talismans, Formation Plates... Equipment that might be needed in various scenarios was all prepared.

"Is there anything else you need to buy? I might be able to help. My authority is higher than yours, and I still have two quotas this year for buying things for others." Seeing that Yun Bai was straightforward, Captain Zeng Fu promised generously.

There are restrictions on items purchased within the State Religion. Usually, the higher the authority, the wider the range of items one is allowed to purchase.

"Hiss. There is actually one thing I need to trouble you with, Captain." Yun Bai's eyes lit up. "Captain, may I ask if you can purchase a soul-stabilizing pill?"

"A soul-stabilizing pill?" Captain Zeng Fu was stunned. He looked at Yun Bai with surprise. "You need this?"

"Yes, I really need it." Yun Bai said seriously.

Seeing that the other party was not pretending, Captain Zeng Fu said: "The original price of a soul-stabilizing pill is 1.2 million. My authority is higher, so the State Religion gives me a ten percent discount, but it still costs 1.08 million. Do you have that much money?"

"1.08 million?" Yun Bai was delighted to hear this.

Compared to the original price of 1.2 million, this was equivalent to a net profit of 120,000.

He currently had 160,000 on hand. If he could buy it for 1.08 million, it meant he was still short by 920,000.

"That's right. And this is within the State Religion. A Medicinal Pill like the soul-stabilizing pill, which can help improve Divine Sense, has always been something countless Cultivators dream of. If it were outside, it would be priceless." Captain Zeng Fu said.

"This soul-stabilizing pill can improve Divine Sense?" Yun Bai was surprised.

"You don't know?" It was Captain Zeng Fu who was stunned this time. "Oh, although the soul-stabilizing pill cannot directly improve Divine Sense in terms of efficacy—I see you are also practicing Daoist Cultivation Technique—taking the soul-stabilizing pill when transforming a Golden Core into a Nascent Soul, even if one's Divine Sense cultivation has not reached the 'Object Control' level, can still greatly increase the success rate."

"In other words, it's not much different from improving one's Divine Sense cultivation." Captain Zeng Fu spread his hands. "Also, this Medicinal Pill must be refined on the spot and taken immediately. You know about this, right?"

Ready-made soul-stabilizing pills require special wooden boxes for storage, and compared to pills refined on the spot, the price is at least doubled.

All Cultivators usually pay for the cost of the raw Materials for the Medicinal Pill and the Alchemist's labor fee to have one refined on the spot.

The 1.08 million Captain Zeng Fu mentioned was the price for refining the Medicinal Pill on the spot.

"I naturally know. Captain, I really do need this soul-stabilizing pill. Once I have saved up enough money, I will come to trouble you again!" Yun Bai was overjoyed. If he could ask the captain to help him buy it, wouldn't that save him a lot of effort and Spirit Stones?

Captain Zeng Fu gave Yun Bai a strange look, nodded, and ultimately said nothing more.

...

When Yun Bai hurried back home, he happened to bump into his younger sister coming out of the study.

"Brother!" Seeing her brother return, Yun Qian shouted excitedly, "You're finally back! I was just looking for you for something!"

"Qianqian! Why are you already up?" Yun Bai hurriedly walked toward his younger sister, reaching out to help her.

Yun Qian took the opportunity to hug her brother's arm and said, "Brother, I'm fine. You know, as long as I get through the episodes, I'm no different from a normal person."

"Sigh, you girl..." Yun Bai saw that ointment had been applied around Yun Qian's lips and on her head. The shocking bloodstains from last night had already faded, and it seemed that after a while longer, everything would be as if it had never happened.

"Brother! Let's not talk about that. I'm going to the school tomorrow, right? I've been reading a lot of books lately. I'm especially interested in the parts about Formation, so I asked Aunt Yang to help me buy some items for setting up Formations. But I'm missing one thing, and I need your help."

"What thing?" Yun Bai was quite surprised to hear this. He had originally thought his younger sister would be more interested in Medicinal Pills, after all, she could be considered a long-term patient who had become a doctor.

"I need some spirit mineral. Not much, just a few pieces, maybe... a few catties in weight?" Yun Qian didn't have much experience either, and said hesitantly.

"spirit mineral..." Yun Bai pondered for a moment. He really didn't have this in his Storage Pouch.

spirit mineral is a type of natural ore, mostly found within earth veins rich in Spiritual Qi. After Cultivators mine it, it is widely used for setting up Formations and Cultivating. For example, when the Dantian is empty and one needs to restore the spiritual power within the body, holding a piece of spirit mineral to absorb the concentrated pure Spiritual Qi within is much cheaper and more efficient than absorbing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.

spirit mineral is also divided into three grades: High, Medium, and Low. Low Grade spirit mineral circulating in the market is relatively common. Spirit Stones, which serve as currency, are made by processing the scraps of Low Grade spirit mineral.

A thought struck him, and he remembered the Storage Pouch Captain Zeng Fu had just given him. As a strategic material, spirit mineral is basically an essential item, and Captain Zeng Fu would most likely not have omitted it.

Sure enough, Yun Bai successfully found a small mountain-like pile of Low Grade spirit mineral and a small bag of Medium Grade spirit mineral inside.

"Do you want the Low Grade or the Medium Grade?"

Yun Qian was stunned, her eyes lit up: "Uh, brother, you even have Medium Grade spirit mineral! That's amazing! But I don't need such good ones for now, Low Grade spirit mineral is enough!"

"Alright, take these." Yun Bai took out a burlap sack. With a wave of his hand, a large pile of Low Grade spirit mineral clattered into the bag.