by <unknown>
"A few billion?"
Li Yao's eyes went wide with disbelief. The first thought in his mind was:
"Then wouldn’t I be able to buy two luxury flying shuttles?"
"I would be able to buy a Mystic Bird Battle Shuttle and a Crimson Flame Battle Shuttle! At that time, my prestige will be comparable to Senior Brother Peng and Ding Lingdang!"
Scratching his head, Li Yao pursed his lips into a stupid grin:
"Is this toy so good? However, it would still be okay if I could earn only a few hundred million. Our Refining Department has thousands of pending tasks. If we want to restart Project Mystic Skeleton, we also need to throw in a lot a money. If I can earn a few hundred million, it can be used as initial capital!"
Yuan Manqiu smiled:
"Silly Kid, don't you remember the last failure? Project Mystic Skeleton is a bottomless pit, even the Institute doesn't dare to invest in it. Do you really want to throw in your hard-earned millions into this bottomless hole?!"
"Even if you could somehow earn 40,000 credits, that is still not the endpoint. The future holds infinitely wonderful starting points. The road of cultivation is very long, there will be many times where you might need to use the money. If you can earn some money, it’ll be smooth sailing going forward. As your teacher, this can be also be considered to be my duty!"
Li Yao felt warm in his heart. Rolling his eyes, he said:
"I am not throwing the money at this in vain. Think of it as an investment. After I put in the money, I will be a shareholder and will be entitled to a certain share of the profits once we are successful in crafting the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. Don’t you think this would make me look majestic! Wouldn’t it be a lot better!?"
Yuan Manqiu was angry, but happy as well. Stretching her plump arm, she slapped Li Yao's forehead as she shouted:
"The chicken has not even laid any eggs, and you’re counting your chickens! First, think of some way to earn 40,000 credits!"
"Yeah!!!"
Li Yao started to frown.
Even if the application for the utility patent was approved, it would only earn him 3,000 credits. How could he earn 10,000 or so credits in the next two months?
"I have to fight it out!"
"Next, I need a big kill in the Wasteland!"
"With the Demon Beast Detector, not only my hunting efficiency is improved, I can also notice powerful demon beasts nearby in advance. Now I can venture into more dangerous zones to hunt."
"While hunting, not only can I hone my battle force continuously, I can also discover any defects in the Demon Beast Detector and thereby make subsequent improvements at the same time!"
"On another note, it can also serve as a great advertisement!"
"Since I am just a freshman, it is natural that no one will believe that I can craft my very own magical equipment!"
"Later, it can also prove how useful the Demon Beast Detector is for everyone!"
From this day on, Li Yao began to make hunting trips in the Wasteland like a madman.
Besides occasionally returning to the Institute for some maintenance and recuperation, he would wander in the Wasteland day and night.
All the low-danger demon beast zones had been swept clean by him just like a hurricane.
He avoided the dangerous high-rank Demon Soldiers as well as the low-level Demon Soldiers that were somewhat difficult to hunt but were less valuable thanks to the Demon Beast Detector.
He particularly hunted the low-level Demon Soldiers that had lower battle strength but had valuable and precious materials on their bodies.
Every time, Li Yao would return with a large haul. He was like a tiger heading down the mountain to hunt. He was no different than a hungry wolf pouncing on sheep; his success rate was 100%. This flabbergasted everyone.
On the newcomer ranking list, Li Yao's name was sitting up at the leading position and was followed by a long series of five figures. It had not changed much for a month or so.
Everyone thought that Li Yao had reached a bottleneck and would have to stop for some time.
Even when the amount of credits took a giant leap once in a while, it could all be accredited to luck. Li Yao just so happened to encounter another priceless prey.
However, no one had imagined Li Yao's luck to be so scary that his credits would climb at an explosive speed. He was so fast that his earning speed could be compared with Zhao Tianchong and Lu Tieshan combined, who were in 2nd and 3rd place on the list!
All of a sudden, Li Yao became the talk of the campus forums. Every day, someone would post a comment:
"Once again, the insanity of Li Yao starts!"
"27,000 credits! His credits have broken the twenty-seven freaking thousand mark!"
"28,000! What the hell happened, how did he get a thousand credits? He can't be this fast unless he’s cheating!"
"Today, Li Yao hunted two very precious Silver-Striped Fragrant Foxes!"
"Damn, last time, our team of seventeen to eighteen people wanted to hunt this thing. In the end, we spent three days and three nights and somehow caught two. But when we looked closely, we found out that they were just worthless Grey-Striped Fragrant Foxes. Damn it, I'm about to explode!"
"His luck is truly too good! Every time he’s been hunting, he hasn’t missed, not even once. Moreover, he would return with an amazing haul every time. Just the Silver-Striped Fragrant Fox has been captured by him, and twice at that!"
"This is still nothing; check out some of the missions he has taken, all of them are hunting missions in dangerous zones. Even seniors do not dare to rush into many of these regions, but how could he, who is just a low-level Refinement Stage cultivator, withdraw with at most some minor injuries every time?"
In order to advertise, Li Yao did not hide the Demon Beast Detector and even swaggeringly walked around the campus while carrying priceless demon beast corpses and wearing it a few times.
Such flamboyance naturally didn't go unnoticed.
Discussion about the Demon Beast Detector suddenly appeared in the forums.
"Did you notice? Li Yao was wearing a weird magical equipment on his left eye. It looked a lot like a monocle."
"What is that? Is it some kind of telescopic magical equipment?"
"Idiot, how can it be a telescope? I looked at the list of common magical equipment and did not find this kind of equipment. It seems that it is some kind of magical equipment modified by him. It is certainly not as simple as a telescope!"
"In my opinion, maybe this thing is related to all his good fortune! After all, he has returned with a big haul every time!"
However, many comments posted by the girls were focused on a completely different thing:
"Li Yao wearing a light-red monocle looked… so handsome!"
"Right! Right! His aura was totally astonishing. I secretly took a photo!"
"Wahhh, I so want to go and confess to him. However, everyone said that he is a bit fierce. I heard that his former moniker was 'Vulture', it totally doesn't sound like he is a good man."
"Don't talk nonsense, I’ve talked to him twice. How do I say it... rather than saying he is fierce, he is someone who is immersed in his own world. His eyes would go wide whenever he began to study close combat magical equipment! He is totally unaware of what is happening in the outside world. He only appears cold and detached, that's all."
"Besides, who cares if he doesn't seem like a good person. This year, only the bad boys are sexy!"
Li Yao didn't look handsome; he wasn’t nowhere close to being some dandified, handsome-looking young man.
However, the girls of the Wasteland wouldn't care about some scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken.
They worshipped the strong and liked dauntless and robust men.
Li Yao was one of the three experts among the freshmen. For three to five days, he would hunt alone in the Wasteland, and with the domineering Demon Beast Detector, he looked exceptionally fierce. Very soon, he became the idol of many female students.
However, Li Yao had no time to concern himself with this. The only thoughts in his mind were those of wandering and hunting alone in the Wasteland.
Finally, there was just a month left until the registration deadline for the Refiners' Registration Examination.
Meanwhile, Li Yao's credits had broken through the 30,000 mark!
Chapter 193: One Against Two Thousand? |
"Now, only the last 10,000 credits remain!"
In a cave, Li Yao carefully baked a hare with the help of a fire glyph. Meanwhile, he had also laid down fresh air glyphs around so that all the air would remain in one place and the demon beasts outside the cave would not get a single whiff.
A knowing smile appeared on his somewhat gaunt face. His deep black eyes seemed to appear bigger.
Spending a month alone in the Wasteland, Li Yao's appearance had undergone enormous changes. Not only had he become slender, his skin also had a metallic luster, but it didn’t radiate light like steel.
At first glance, he looked no different than an ordinary rock found in the Wasteland.
However, once he discovered prey, he would suddenly erupt, while his speed and strength soared to the limit. He would turn into a ferocious hunter in the blink of an eye.
Over this month, he had not only amassed credits, he had also accumulated hunting experience.
The demon beasts of the Wasteland were a treacherous, cunning, and vigilant bunch. More importantly, these demon beasts were the best at camouflaging and sneak attacks.
If one wanted to hunt such demon beasts, he or she would need to be even more treacherous, more cunning, and better at camouflaging and sneak attacks.
On one side, Li Yao was hunting, while on the other, he was learning as well. All the demon beasts were Li Yao's teachers.
He learned how to hide like a poisonous snake, crawl like a centipede, kill prey in one attack like a scorpion, glide like a flying chameleon, and even studied how to lay down traps and put out bait like a spider.
Soon afterwards, these techniques, along with a decade or so of techniques honed through surviving in the magical equipment graveyard, turned into even more powerful hunting techniques. With these skills, he became a field survivor as well as a hunting expert. He became a true guerrilla expert!
"One month and 10,000 credits."
"Even if the utility patent is approved, I will only earn 3,000 credits. I'll still be lacking 7,000 credits."
"The demon beasts in the southern regions of the Wasteland are too weak. If I keep hunting in this area, I'll simply be unable to amass 7,000 credits."
"Moreover, it's is not 100% certain that the utility patent will go through. If I fail at the most crucial moment, it will be truly embarrassing."
"It seems I have to take the risk and head deep into northern regions!"
The forces of the Star Glory Federation were concentrated more on the southern regions of the Wasteland. There were fewer cities deeper into the north. Meanwhile, the lesser the signs of humans, the more powerful demon beasts could be found.
In order to acquire 10,000 credits within one month, Li Yao was prepared to play with his life.
He planned to wander fifteen days in the southern regions of the Wasteland.
And if he was unable to save enough credits, or if the utility patent wasn't passed, he then planned to go to the northern regions of the Wasteland and wander in more dangerous regions!
"But first, I should return to the Institute and cash in the prey from this trip." Weighing the heavy, rumbling backpack, a satisfied crept upon Li Yao's face.
Li Yao's harvest from this trip was also pretty good. He would probably be able to exchange it for a few hundred credits.
Having returned to the Institute and converted the spoils of his hunting for credits, Li Yao returned to the medical room to deal with some minor injuries. He had not even taken a rest before he received an invitation from Ding Lingdang, asking him to celebrate breaking the 30,000 mark.
"Li Yao has arrived! Li Yao has arrived!"
In front of a small house amid the sea of bamboo, a colorful and gorgeous parrot squawked as the door automatically opened.
Just as Li Yao stepped into the door, a light breeze brushed his face.
Li Yao was taken by surprise. He had been suddenly caught by Ding Lingdang.
The latter also ruthlessly twisted his arm behind his back, making him grimace in pain.
"What the hell is going on? Didn't you ask me to dinner to celebrate breaking the 30,000 mark?"
"Of course, we are going to eat, but first of all—"
Having twisted his arm a bit again, Ding Lingdang angrily said, "Let this sister first twist your arm for a while so that I can vent my anger. You, Smelly Brat, have so quickly and quietly broken the 30,000 mark. You also broke the record for the fastest student to attain 30,000 credits, taking down Senior Brother Peng!"
"At the beginning, I was the second fastest student to break the 30,000 mark, but now, you have thrown me into third place. Tell me, is that all right? You are truly a monstrous genius. Maybe one day you will even become stronger than me. Then, would I not be bullied to death by you? Absolutely not! While I'm still stronger than you, I'll crush you a bit; I might as well get the most out of it until then!"
Twisting his hand once again, she exclaimed:
"What is going on? In the one month I have not seen you, your muscles are even more solid. Twisting your hands feels like twisting a stone. It's not even a bit interesting, forget it! Let's eat!"
Without uttering even a word, Li Yao followed her to the living room. But when he got to see the dinner placed on the table, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Didn't you say we were going to celebrate? So, did you invite me to eat noodles?"
Ding Lingdang, who was carrying a bowl of noodles, sat down on the ground as she started slurping the noodles. She was eating with one hand and was handling some work on the crystal processor with the other. She muttered:
"I have been swamped with work and had no time to cook fish or meat. Make do with it for now. Didn't I add two soy eggs to your bowl?!"
Having said that, she paused a bit before continuing:
"I have seen your hunting results, you're really doing a good job. From looking at the wounds, you've attained perfection in the 'Desert Storm Saber Technique'. Even if it was me hunting in the southern regions of the Wasteland, I would also be unable to do better than you!"
"However, high-value demon beasts are, after all, rare in the southern regions. If you want to amass 10,000 credits in one month, you have to head north, which is the habitat of high-level demon beasts."
"I know that you are quite crazy and like to take risks. Maybe someday you will secretly head north, playing with your life. So, today, I specifically asked you to come to tell you that you don't need to worry."
"Recently, I have been very busy and could not spare any time. However, I'll be done in ten to fifteen days, after which I have some days off. At that time, I will accompany you to the north and help you hold the line!"
Li Yao felt warmth in his heart.
So this was the real reason why Ding Lingdang asked him to come.
With Ding Lingdang, one of the youngest Building Foundation Stage experts in the federation, holding the line, the danger would drop significantly. He could hunt demon beasts far more easily.
Holding the bowl of noodles, Li Yao was at a total loss; he didn't know what to say.
Ding Lingdang burst into jovial laughter, a noodle dangling at the corner of her mouth. Waving her hand, she said:
"You have been acting as a human sandbag for me for a long while, so why can't I help you a little? Besides, you, 'Vulture Li Yao', are currently at your peak. You are an influential figure among the freshmen of our Grand Desolate War Institution. For a genius like you, the Institute is surely going to provide special care so that we can speed up your progress. This is absolutely normal! If I had not been swamped with work recently, I wouldn
’t have waited to accompany you to the northern regions!"
"Sister Ling, thank you!"
After having hesitated for a long while, Li Yao somehow uttered these words.
Having sat down next to Ding Lingdang, Li Yao took a big bite out off the fragrant soy egg.
"En."
Ding Lingdang's response was just one word as she began dealing with her work with rapt attention.
Li Yao, while slurping the noodles, happened to take a fleeting glance at Ding Lingdang's face. Suddenly, he discovered that as long as this ferocious dragoness in human skin didn't utter one word and concentrated on her work, she looked incredibly beautiful.
This kind of quiet and indifferent temperament gave off the aura of a completely different person, someone completely different from the person that talked non-stop and charged around impulsively.
It appeared as though there were twins who looked exactly the same but had diametrically opposite dispositions. It was extremely weird.
"What are you looking at?"
Ding Lingdang somewhat discontentedly stared at him as she found the strange look in Li Yao's eyes.
"Nothing."
Li Yao's face suddenly flushed red. Instantly, he turned his gaze at the hologram as he changed the topic in a panic. "I'm looking at your work. Recently, you have been so busy. Are you starting a lot of new courses? Hey, 'All-Freshmen Interdepartmental Thunderbolt Cup'? What is this? The winner will be awarded...10— 10,000 credits!"
Suddenly Li Yao sprang from the ground. Half of the bowl of noodles even fell of his chest. Nevertheless, he didn't even care to clean up his mess as he anxiously shoved his head towards the hologram.
"Freshman tournament... the winner will be awarded 10,000 credits? Awesome, I want to register! I am going to register now!"
Li Yao began to dance with joy.
Ding Lingdang forcibly pushed him back. She was angry and found it funny as well.
"Don't get excited, first take a look clearly. This interdepartmental match is a group match where each student union has to act as one unit. It is not an individual match. I admit that you are strong, but you are the only student of the Refining Department. How are you going to participate?"
