ASER - Chapter 85
Chapter 85: Trading House
But after her mood settled down, A'Diao still couldn't help but complain to the Toilet, "Can't you come up with some high-end, grand, classy, elegant skills? Look at this 'XXX Turn into a Pig'... Is that even proper?"
And that "Unable to Control Emotions"—I can't figure out what the heck it is, and it's ridiculously expensive, like opening a blind box, completely unsure of its effect.
A'Diao suddenly recalled the first time she hastily used "Eye Contact Thread Pulling"... the feeling of her soul being dominated by shredded potatoes.
Crap, this skill won't be just as bizarrely cringeworthy, will it?
The Toilet replied aloofly and glamorously: "When you were little and learning Daoist techniques from the Old Daoist Priest, every time you were teased and bullied by the mountain kids, you didn't dare talk back, afraid of being beaten. You liked to drape yourself in rags, hold a wooden stick, jump down the hillside majestically, and point at the sweet potatoes in the field shouting: XXX Turn into a Pig!"
"Was that you?"
A'Diao: "..."
Crap, social death! You even know this!?
So, are all my innate skills related to my embarrassing past?
I'm doomed…………
Thinking about it this way, "Little Fists Pounding to Death" and "Eye Contact Thread Pulling," indeed seemed to be some of her cutesy little tricks from her younger days.
A'Diao, who was "excavating her own past," her face turned pale then green. But she quickly changed the subject, "Let me ask, this 'XXX Turn into a Pig,' is it a curse activated by saying a name? What if the target's name has two characters? Would it be ineffective then?"
Uh... your angle of approach is a bit tricky, but undoubtedly cautious to the bone.
The Toilet: "No, just saying the name is enough."
Only then did A'Diao feel relieved. There was only one thing left to nitpick, "But the Mental Power required is too much."
The Toilet: "It's fine, aren't there still toilets to blow up?"
Hey, did you eat dynamite today, or did leveling up twice make you arrogant?
So sarcastic.
However, as soon as transformation was mentioned, A'Diao immediately became interested, even stopping to pay attention to other skills. She had to think about what to turn the Toilet into.
A'Diao: "Is there anything you like?"
The Toilet was somewhat flattered: "I can choose?"
A'Diao: "Go ahead, tell me what you like, and I'll just avoid it."
The Toilet: "..."
Oh, Master Diao Diao never suffers a loss. Revenge, though late, will surely arrive.
The Toilet just wouldn't say. Alright, A'Diao could only think for herself. This Toilet would definitely be used for external attacks like other Spirit Vessels in the future. Not only did it have to be presentable, it also had to be domineering, elegant, and have a unique presence.
For a moment, she couldn't think of anything. Since that was the case, A'Diao could only deal with other matters first.
Her current Mental Power was 1.5 million. But it wasn't enough, not nearly enough. She could only pick and choose what to buy.
Actually, she didn't think for long. She chose the 303 and "XXX Turn into a Pig" skills.
"The Spiritual Energy release is already 70 wisps, it's multiplied several times. Isn't it comparable to a Medium Spirit Gate?"
She didn't have much Mental Power left, so A'Diao didn't release the Toilet's Spiritual Energy.
The Toilet: "Not quite. Level 7 is a Medium Spirit Gate."
A'Diao frowned, "That's not right. The Toilet's current release amount has long surpassed the upper limit of a Small Spirit Gate. 70 wisps should be a Medium Spirit Gate..."
The Toilet: "In terms of release amount per unit of time, it still belongs to a Small Spirit Gate, but it's at its maximum limit. The reason you feel it far exceeds a Small Spirit Gate is because you can make it release continuously, whereas the Small Spirit Gates of the academies and government offices release intermittently, unless they continuously feed them spirit cores to convert into Spiritual Energy."
A'Diao felt like she had probably overeaten and momentarily forgotten this point. But she also had a realization, "They can all be fed with spirit cores now? It seems this wasn't the case in the First Era."
The Toilet said profoundly: "Times are progressing. The three hundred years of Spiritual Energy absence weren't without benefits. After losing something, people, forced by dire circumstances, will desperately try to tap into other powers, like their brains—don't forget something even more important."
A'Diao's eyes flashed. "Small Spirit Gates can be moved."
This was indeed a huge piece of information. When she first heard it from Chen Ran, she was inwardly shaken, but she didn't show it.
The Toilet: "Correct. This is the extraordinary scientific research technology of this era. The speed of development in this revival is faster than the First Era, precisely because of the power of science. But this also means that those powerful nobles, imperial clans, and so on, can create even stronger Spirit Gate advantages. In other words, their people will grow faster. However, Spirit Vessels should still be more useful for now. They have only temporarily mastered the technology to transfer and fix other Small Spirit Gates, not to carry them around or move them at will. I'm still awesome, so you'd better be polite to me."
Previously, because Small Spirit Gates were fixed in one location, they couldn't be everywhere at once. But now it's different.
Although the Chen family was also a beneficiary, A'Diao still felt a bit heavy-hearted, because she was always aware that there were several heavy mountains pressing down on her in this world.
You are strong, but others are stronger, and there are more of them.
However, A'Diao had a strong mentality, and pressure dissipated very quickly. She ignored the Toilet's demand for better treatment. Next, she busied herself with distributing and dealing with other items. She fed all the edible Spirit Vessels. For those that couldn't be eaten, A'Diao looked at their effects and found some of them lacking.
Eh, not even as good as the Flame Spirit Pupil. Couldn't bring herself to use it. Better to sell them.
As for the Forbidden Items, although A'Diao thought the Red Arc Gauntlet was good, she eventually gave up on it. The other three Forbidden Items were also okay, but they would ultimately struggle to keep up with her pace of improvement. It was better to deal with them all at once, to avoid wear and tear from use.
The main thing was, she was short on money...
A'Diao started pricing them, while contacting personnel.
After finishing everything, she felt increasingly tired. As she drifted off into a drowsy sleep, she was still muttering in her heart: Snacks are unhealthy, next time I'll tell Lao Wang not to buy them. Have him bring roast chicken, roast duck, and stewed pig trotters directly in the future...
In the meantime, a physician came in to change her medicine. A glance at the empty snack wrappers on the table made his head buzz: Oh my god, this looks like offerings at a funeral that have been eaten by something.
It couldn't possibly be the dying Third Miss who crawled out of bed, vomiting blood, to eat them, right?
Song family.
Song Ling indeed hadn't expected that not long after she arrived home, A'Diao would send such a significant piece of intelligence.
This intelligence was personally conveyed to her by the head of the Song family, who was also the Governor-General of Jinling.
Song Ling: "I wasn't aware of this situation. After our training ended, we parted ways with her. She is strong and had strength to spare, which is normal. As for her discovering this matter, it's not surprising. In terms of thesis exams, she certainly wouldn't rank first, but her practical application of knowledge far surpasses anyone else."
She didn't mention that A'Diao had entrusted her to deliberately create a signal. Although at the time she had already guessed A'Diao had made arrangements, out of trust in A'Diao's schemes, she only helped with the task and didn't ask about or meddle in the rest.
She just hadn't expected A'Diao to make such a big move.
As the Governor-General of Jinling, second only to the Grand Governor-General of Danzhou, Official Song carried a heavy official air. But today at home, dressed in casual clothes, facing this junior chosen through meticulous selection from both the main and collateral branches of the family, Official Song restrained himself considerably and said calmly: "You mean her ability to adapt to situations on the spot is very strong?"
"Yes."
"Can your talent sense a person's innate potential? I'm talking about the spiritual or mental state aspect."
Official Song's gaze was like a torch as he suddenly asked. Song Ling, after all, showed her youth; her expression couldn't be completely concealed, but she still admitted, "Yes."
Official Song nodded, "Understood. Your choice was very correct."
"Now that the incident has occurred, the Academy and the Patrol Army will join forces. After resolving this crisis, the people of the Jinxiang Area can avoid disaster, and all parties can profit. The preparation you need to make is—whether to participate? If you go, how can you survive."
The implication was that there would be a battle of a certain scale in Jinxiang.
Song Ling's eyes flickered slightly, and she asked in return: "Previously, the Academy officially did not support students going to the catacombs for training. But when I went to the small catacombs, I found that some sparsely populated catacombs still had training value and could quickly promote student growth. Logically, the Academy should have made arrangements in its teaching plan, but it didn't. Does it seem now that someone is secretly targeting and assassinating Academy students?"
Official Song didn't admit it, but he gave her a deep look and said: "There are many people who don't want to see the Academy grow stronger. Because everyone knows that after the revival of Spiritual Energy, the fastest-growing group will definitely be the students under the Academy. Once they grow up, the fixed resources and power in this world will no longer be distributed according to those people's wishes."
Song Ling thought: The aristocratic families and imperial clans whose power inheritance mechanisms have been disrupted could actually be the instigators of this matter. The reason the Song family didn't get involved was because the eldest son of the direct line happened to have good aptitude and also seized the opportunity to get into one of the top three academies, allowing them to maintain an advantage in the changes brought by the Spiritual Energy revival. Coupled with her own selection, the Song family actually benefited from this. But those families who, looking at their entire clan, haven't produced outstanding descendants and thus cannot ensure the future interests of their family, they must be the most panicked, and when panicked, they resort to any means.
Official Song didn't know what Song Ling was thinking and just continued: "And those organizations that nominally became fierce bandits to seize spirit cores, are actually just a knife for the forces behind them."
Official Song: "But the Academy is ultimately autonomous. The alliance between the imperial court and it is superficial, and there's some apprehension. The Academy cannot use reasonable grounds to control such a situation, otherwise, it would be suspected of meddling in politics, which is detrimental in the long run. But if they can't create a situation where students aren't assassinated as soon as they go, they naturally can't support students going to the catacombs to die. So they can only delay, dragging it out until their people take over certain positions. However, now A'Diao has given the Academy a way out by using the hidden danger of that catacomb. Chen Ran will definitely seize this opportunity. Correspondingly, the Academy will also reciprocate... Anyway, Jinling Academy's awkward situation will soon be alleviated, and you students will be much safer in the catacombs throughout Danzhou in the future."
"The premise is—this cooperation must succeed."
Song Ling understood and said, "I will go."
Official Song nodded, "This opportunity is once in a lifetime. Don't resist the resources the family gives you. Arm yourself to the teeth, obtain the greatest benefits, achieve the best results, and walk a broader path. But the premise is to save your life. If a person dies, everything is lost."
Song Ling responded neither humbly nor arrogantly, and then went out.
Official Song drank tea. After a while, Jiang Chao's father came out. The two quietly drank tea for a while. The latter suddenly said: "She actually holds some reservations towards the Song family. It seems those in your direct lineage are still somewhat resentful. Fortunately, your son sees clearly and won't go down the same path as them, ruining the family's future."
Official Song said calmly: "Resentment is normal. A group of mediocre people, what great foresight can you expect from them? When power crushes them to a certain extent, the mediocre will be more obedient than cats and dogs, not worth mentioning. And it's a good thing she has reservations. But it's not because of those people, but because she is inherently cautious, knows how to control the scale of mutual benefit with the family. Going too far is as bad as not going far enough, and people's hearts are unpredictable."
Actually, the Song family had quite a few talented individuals, and geniuses in various fields. But because these two were the strongest who had fought their way out in the previous generation, looking down on others, they naturally seemed mediocre.
And in their eyes, compared to Song Ling, these people were even more mediocre.
Official Jiang nodded, "Those of the spiritual type are indeed uniquely blessed in this area. Mental state is too difficult to cultivate. You can't send them to die every day, and it's not something that can be taught. Currently, judging from the progress of Academy students, those with strong mental states indeed progress steadily. Those with poor mental states, even with good talent, easily encounter bottlenecks. Their overall progress curve is actually worse than those with lower aptitude but good mental states."
Those who do great things must be able to remain steady. And those who can remain steady, happen to be able to do great things.
For example, A'Diao.
"Yes, those few kids who traveled with Song Ling, they look ordinary, but they are ruthless. Two of them went with their fathers to move corpses to train their courage, one killed fish at the family fish stall for several days. That's why they dared to kill people the first time they went to the catacombs, and dared to kill even more the second time. But how is that old dog Chen Ran so good at siring children?!"
No one's success is achieved in a single step. Rao Xueya and the others never mentioned the efforts they made behind the scenes.
Originally, A'Diao planned to go to the school infirmary. The school doctor there was a wood-element cultivator hired by the school, whose injury recovery effects were MAX. But that old dog Chen Ran had outdone himself; a spaceship directly took her to a hospital exclusively for high-ranking court officials. She recovered extremely quickly, but due to her internal injuries (feigned), she still needed to recuperate for a period.
So A'Diao returned to the Chen family's main residence in Jinling.
The Small Spirit Gate had indeed been constructed. Moreover, specialized spirit gathering arrays and spirit sealing arrays had been set up to prevent Spiritual Energy from leaking. After all, a Small Spirit Gate wasn't like a faucet that could be turned on and off freely; it released energy intermittently. If no one absorbed it, the Spiritual Energy would dissipate. It had to be sealed and allowed to accumulate within. This way, if someone entered, they could still receive a similar amount of Spiritual Energy.
But considering she was currently on the verge of death (feigning), she couldn't very well have someone move a bed in there; it would be too unsightly. She had her dignity to maintain.
She planned to go in after a couple of days. Anyway, the school had granted her sick leave.
Qu Jiangnan's meaning was: I'll send you assignments and make-up lessons online, don't come over. Also, pay attention to this spell. Contact me if you learn it within half a month; if you don't...
A'Diao always felt that this person seemed a bit disdainful of her.
Hmph!
Because she was afraid of being discovered by members of the Fierce Bandit Organization, A'Diao specifically sought out people from Taobao's international business group, requesting to resell the items abroad. Although she had to pay a small intermediate tax, it could prevent exposure.
Of course, this type of business was also colloquially known as cross-border fencing of stolen goods. Those in charge of this business were naturally shrewd individuals; what kind of scenes hadn't they witnessed? After all, there were far too many instances of murder and robbery in the current world. This area was also a highly profitable sector for their company, because the items were usually very expensive.
He wouldn't have direct contact with A'Diao. Instead, A'Diao would first have the bank come and collect the items, and then this person would go to the bank to handle the transaction. In between, there were both Taobao's confidentiality agreement and the bank's confidentiality agreement as double insurance.
For the sake of secrecy, A'Diao didn't mind spending a little extra money.
This was the satisfying feeling of being a VIP.
Three days later, the amount in A'Diao's account remained the same, but the accounts controlled by Sparrow and Xiao Yuanbao collectively held five hundred million.
She needed to buy offensive Forbidden Items suitable for herself.
Quality over quantity.
However, this time A'Diao didn't choose Taobao. She chose the currently world's most powerful private multinational bank, Huayao Bank, because Sparrow's and Xiao Yuanbao's accounts were with Huayao Bank.
Its business covered three countries. Naturally, it had many exquisite treasures, and their value was higher than those available domestically.
An account balance exceeding one hundred million made one a VIP. A'Diao entered the VIP online mall to browse. After looking through a batch, she clicked on the bank's auction system and saw its current auction market...
This type of online auction didn't require one to be physically present. The bank would list treasures for a certain period, with all information and data clearly itemized, and physical items photographed for display. A base price would be set, and then VIP clients worldwide could bid. When the deadline passed, the highest bidder would win.
However, the interesting aspect of this auction was that it wasn't a competitive bidding war where participants called out prices against each other. Instead, others' bids were unknown. You yourself would judge its actual price based on the bank's base price, then submit your bid. Finally, the bank would release the item based on the highest bid.
This was somewhat similar to the rules of ancient stone gambling.
A'Diao didn't look at all the items currently up for auction at Huayao Bank. Instead, she entered her requirements, and the system automatically presented auction items that met her criteria.
Offensive type, staff, focused on aptitude enhancement, price between 100 million and 300 million.
The screen searched. A'Diao immediately saw the auction item ranked first.
Good heavens! Dark gold, sparkling, a grand presence.
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