94: Chapter 93 Negotiations

Chapter 93: Negotiation

Inside Huangyan Valley, deep within Huangyan Town.

A young man in a dark-colored coat carrying a briefcase walked quickly to a concrete house deep within Huangyan Town.

He knocked on the door, the thump-thump-thump sound appearing somewhat muffled.

"Come in."

A voice came from inside, and the man with the briefcase pushed the door open and went in.

Following his gaze, a man wearing a respectable short-sleeved shirt with a round, fair face was sitting on a chair.

"Deputy Commander, the shop in the black market received extraordinary materials from an anomalous monster. It seems to be something new, so I've brought it for you to take a look."

"Have new anomalous monsters appeared in the surrounding area again? Bring it here for me to see."

Deputy Commander Liu Song took the case handed over by his subordinate, opened it, and his gaze was instantly drawn to the slightly writhing section of green vine.

He reached out to grab the green vine. The moment he touched it, the vine twisted like a living creature. Just from this contact, he felt the rich extraordinary factors contained within it, thereby concluding in his heart that he had truly never seen this material before.

"What is it called? Where did it come from?"

"I heard from the person trading it that it is called active vine, condensed from a monster called Parasitic Fungus Vine. This monster didn't exist around us before, and it hasn't even been heard of in Jungle Ruins. It should be something newly appeared."

Deputy Commander Liu Song wore a suspicious look: "Which Outpost Camp?"

"They said it's the Outpost Camp. I sent people to check his background, and it's mostly related to Scarecrow Town. I guess a new Infinite Building has descended, and this outpost should be one sent out by Scarecrow Town."

Although it was only investigated through clues, the inferred truth was close enough.

Ren Chuan had followed Fan Da and the others to the black market a few times, and this time during the process of trading supplies, he had more or less revealed his background.

However, neither of them felt surprised. Previously, there had also been occurrences of new anomalous monsters, which were mostly under similar circumstances.

Deputy Commander Liu Song smiled: "Scarecrow Town really has good luck, suddenly getting two Infinite Buildings. If the location is uniquely advantageous and very close to them, others really wouldn't be able to snatch it away easily. Did you ask what type of Infinite Building it is?"

The subordinate wore a bitter smile: "Deputy Commander, that question couldn't be probed out. Generally, specific intelligence about such Infinite Buildings is not easily leaked, nor will they let others in; they aren't as full of confidence and backing as us."

Most Shelters hide the specific details of their Infinite Building's type, output, and so on.

Everyone knows the principle of not displaying wealth. Sometimes showing that you own an Infinite Building is a display of strength, but if you leak everything out, it becomes different; it might attract more prying eyes.

"Well done," Deputy Commander Liu Song nodded slightly, praising his subordinate a couple of times. "Keep paying attention to this Shelter. As for this thing, leave it with me; I'll take it to show the researcher in a moment. If the factor structure of these extraordinary materials is similar to those of the Gardener Pathway, its usefulness will be immense."

The appearance of new materials meant that the potion's formula might be adjusted, or the potion's effects would be more stable, or it could be a lower-cost replacement. Whichever it was, as long as it was useful, its significance to them would be extraordinary.

Currently, for the extraordinary potions of the Gardener Pathway, most of the materials required for the relatively stable formulas were produced by the Infinite Building in Jumu City.

For instance, the flesh wood of withered-branch monsters and tree monsters basically wouldn't be produced in other Infinite Buildings.

Currently, the only known alternative extraordinary material was monster materials such as the rotting frog skin of the withered leaf devil frog in the Jungle Ruins Infinite Building and its polluted area, but the latter was obviously much harder to hunt and the environment was more dangerous.

As a result, although the production of the gardener potion wasn't exclusively tied to Jumu City, leaving room for other Shelters to research and crack the Tier 2 Plant Controller potion, achieving this goal was far more dangerous and difficult.

Now, if new alternative materials and production channels could appear, the significance would probably be different.

Deputy Commander Liu Song waved his hand to dismiss his subordinate, picked up the case, and went out the door, walking straight toward a courtyard inside Huangyan Town.

That courtyard was surrounded by a wall about 3 meters high overall, with a length and width pattern of about 50x50 meters. Barbed wire was placed on top of the wall, and two fully armed Huangyan Town soldiers guarded the entrance.

In the middle of the courtyard was a two-story small building. Although it looked crude with a brick-concrete structure, compared to other houses, this small building was obviously meticulously built, showing how much importance Huangyan Town attached to the person living here.

"Deputy Commander."

Seeing Deputy Commander Liu Song approach, the soldiers immediately saluted.

Deputy Commander Liu Song nodded and walked in with big strides.

He came to the front of the building, and thump-thump-thump, the door was knocked on by him.

A cold, clear female voice came from inside: "Didn't I say? When I am formulating potions, no one is to disturb me."

Deputy Commander Liu Song was choked up a bit, his expression changing slightly, but he still maintained a smile and said through the door: "Miss Huo, it's me. I newly received a kind of extraordinary material that I feel can be used to formulate the gardener potion, and I want to pass it to you to take a look."

With a creak, the door opened.

A tall, short-haired woman walked out from inside, wearing a slightly yellowish white shirt with a cold face.

Seeing that the person coming was Deputy Commander Liu Song, her attitude was slightly better than just now, and she asked: "What material is it?"

"A section of vine. Judging by its appearance, it dropped from a plant-type anomalous monster."

"Come in."

Researcher Huoling let Deputy Commander Liu Song enter the room, while Deputy Commander Liu Song remained expressionless on the surface, but his gaze quietly swept across the first floor.

This was a two-story small building with the stairs located on the right side of the entrance. Although the situation on the second floor could not be seen, judging from the arrangement of the first floor, the second floor should be the area where Researcher Huoling lived and stayed.

The first floor was spacious and almost completely open.

On the left was an open study filled with a large number of books and a large long table with scattered books and notes on it.

On the other side was the research area, where extraction equipment, dissection tables, microscopes, and other instruments were neatly arranged, and quite a few extraordinary materials were placed around.

Researcher Huoling led Deputy Commander Liu Song to a large table, reached out to take the case from Deputy Commander Liu Song's hand, opened it, and saw the active vine inside.

She carefully examined it, put on gloves, and reached out to touch and observe it.

Deputy Commander Liu Song asked from the side: "Can this extraordinary material replace some of the materials of the gardener potion?"

"We have to compare them specifically to know. The possibility is quite high; after all, they are both monsters related to plants."

Monsters of the same type might have converging powers, and in the sequence of extraordinary factor composition, they might have similarities, which was the basis for material replacement.

"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Huo with the comparison. If you can research a new ratio for the Tier 1 gardener potion, or research the Tier 2 Plant Controller potion, then our Huangyan Town will not treat Miss Huo unfairly."

Researcher Huoling sneered: "Don't feed me pie in the sky. Once the ratio for the Tier 2 Plant Controller potion is researched, you must let me leave. This is what you promised me."

"That's naturally the case."

"But I will also give Miss Huo a redundant piece of advice: across the vast wasteland, the Shelters capable of providing conditions for Miss Huo to research extraordinary potions can be counted on one's fingers."

"Although we can't compare to Jumu City, we still have a say in this one-third of an acre of land. If the commander can successfully break through to Tier 2 Blood Warrior, he will be even more capable of keeping Miss Huo safe and sound. Even those people in Jumu City won't easily offend the commander."

"So whether to leave or not is something Miss Huo needs to consider further; after all, we harbor no malicious intentions."

"Keep me safe and sound? Could you possibly help me take revenge?"

Researcher Huoling's words instantly made Deputy Commander Liu Song show a somewhat awkward expression.

Seeing his expression like this, Researcher Huoling sneered and no longer continued to pressure him with words.

She removed a portion of tissue from the active vine and placed it under the microscope to observe.

After watching for a while, she straightened her body, took off her gloves, and said: "Make arrangements. I want to meet the person who provided this material."

Deputy Commander Liu Song frowned slightly: "Is there something to verify? There is no need for Miss Huo to go over in person; I can just call them over."

Researcher Huoling raised her brows, showing disdain: "You guys have quite the nerve, wanting people from other Shelters to penetrate deep into the hinterland of Huangyan Town. You're thinking too prettily, but I'm afraid no one will cooperate with you. Huang Yanwu is also only a Tier 1 Extraordinary, not a Tier 2 Extraordinary."

Deputy Commander Liu Song's face darkened, but he had no way to retort.

Admittedly, their strength was indeed not weak, and Scarecrow Town didn't seem to have any Extraordinaries, making the strength disparity between the two stark.

But no matter what, Huangyan Town was not the superior of Scarecrow Town, and had no way to order them around.

Forcing them by coercion was naturally possible, but it would trigger a series of chain reactions: a crisis of trust from various Shelters and towns toward Huangyan Town, as well as fierce resistance from Scarecrow Town, were all possibilities.

Although Tier 1 Extraordinaries were strong, under a massive firepower encirclement or even artillery siege, they were still just flesh and blood.

Moreover, the main thing was, would Researcher Huoling cooperate?

Researcher Huoling and them were fundamentally not in a superior-subordinate relationship, but a cooperative one.

Right now, they already somewhat meant to place Researcher Huoling under disguised house arrest, and a crack had already formed in the relationship between the two sides.

If they went against Researcher Huoling's temper again and forcibly rejected her request, then by that time, let alone manufacturing Plant Controller potions or Blood Warrior potions, she would probably even stop working on improving the gardener potion.

Thus, Deputy Commander Liu Song took a step back in his attitude: "I will arrange it and make an appointment for them to meet with you then. However, whatever Miss Huo wants to understand, you must tell me first, otherwise the other party might not necessarily come."

Seeing Deputy Commander Liu Song relent, a smile finally appeared on Researcher Huoling's face: "Some factor structures in this section of vine do indeed have similarities with the factor structures of monsters like withered-branch monsters and tree monsters. But whether it has substitutability must also be looked at by combining the monster's status, higher and lower tier monsters and their quantities, and even the number of elite individuals. The more comprehensive the understanding and the more comprehensive the types of extraordinary materials obtained, the more accurate the conclusion drawn will be. Only once it is clearly understood can I go and adjust or replace the formula of the gardener potion. I advise you guys to establish a good relationship with the other party; if they can produce it long-term, your sources of potions will also become more stable."

"Thank you for the reminder, Miss Huo."

Deputy Commander Liu Song nodded, no longer disturbed Researcher Huoling, turned around, and left this two-story small building.

Looking at Deputy Commander Liu Song's retreating back, Researcher Huoling's gaze gradually turned cold: "Since you guys are unjust, don't blame me."

[Successfully survived for one day, starting to settle today's monster points]

[Low-level anomalous body Grafted Mother Vine + 10 monster points]

[Total settlement for today: 45 monster points]

Current monster points: 205 monster points.

"After finishing the trade with Fisherman Town, I'll go for a stroll around Silent Desolate Town again today to record some anomalous monsters, and the number of monster points settled daily can be raised a bit further."

45 monster points per day, and in three days one could get a general trait. This accumulation speed naturally made Wang Ting happy in his heart.

If it could be further enhanced, that would be even better; after all, the monster points required for each servant beast were truly not a small amount.

Wang Ting ate early in the morning, instructed Ren Chuan to handle the matters of the motorcade, and then walked straight inward along the alleys of the main street.

He passed through the alleys, walked straight inward along the relatively wide street, and after walking about one or two hundred meters, he raised his head and saw a city wall about 4 meters high.

The hinterland of Huangyan Town and the outer black market area were separated inside and outside through a city wall.

Outside the wall was the black market area where he currently was, a mix of dragons and fish, with various forces intertwined like dog teeth.

On the surface, it was the soldiers of Huangyan Town who maintained the security here, commanded by Deputy Commander Yan Qihu, one of the deputy commanders of Huangyan Town.

But in reality, there were many other forces that could influence the black market; the Withered Leaf Chamber of Commerce, Blade Head Gang, and Wild Wolf Gang from before were all representatives of the local serpents here.

The inner city area across the city wall was different.

Behind that tall city wall was the true hinterland of Huangyan Town.

The town's residential areas, military camps, and various other buildings were located here, along with residents, soldiers, and their relatives. Huangyan Town's production and daily life were also concentrated in this area.

And Huangyan Town's Infinite Building was actually located at the junction of this inner and outer city.

A protruding section of the city wall presented a "U" shape, connecting with the large section of the city wall to surround the Infinite Building within it.

Wang Ting saw the Infinite Building towering above the wall from afar.

The pale walls were covered with old, mottled shadows, and the entire Infinite Building had no windows, looking just like a white tombstone.

As soon as Wang Ting approached, he was blocked by the soldiers guarding outside the Infinite Building.

"Explorer?"

Wang Ting nodded. Seeing Wang Ting reply like this, the soldier was also quite experienced and spoke directly: "Tickets are 10 bullets per person or items of equivalent value. For the spoils obtained in Silent Desolate Town, our Huangyan Town takes 1/10."

Wang Ting's expression remained normal as he handed a small bag of bullets to the soldier: "Count them."

The small bag made a crisp jingling sound.

The soldier shook it, counted, and then nodded and said: "Go in. If you want to stay longer, you'd better prepare enough weapons, ammunition, and food; there are no such supplies inside."

The guard at the door gave a kind reminder.

Wang Ting nodded and walked in with big strides.

He passed through the long stair passage, his footsteps echoing in the silent corridor.

After about a second or two, his figure passed through space and stepped into Silent Desolate Town, a pitch-black ruined town instantly appearing before his eyes.