pertwk Chapter 80 The Value of Intelligence
Chapter 80 The Value of Intelligence
Everyone stared at the amber-colored potion, their desire almost tangible.
Jia Zhenxin took in everyone's reactions, chuckled, and slowly put the crystal bottle back into his pocket: "Good things naturally come with a price. Even if a deal falls through, we can still be on good terms. If you all change your minds, you can always... um, find the 'Martial God Caravan' through the worker ants. I'll be hanging around there a lot of time."
His words were both a reassurance and a reminder—the way out and the "opportunity" were right there.
"Have you found any strange items here?" Xu Si asked.
He has so many purification points that he doesn't know what to do with them, so using them to increase his strength is the most appropriate thing to do.
"Of course there are!" The old man's eyes lit up.
Then a tattered cloth was spread out on the ground, and a street stall was set up.
There were five items in total: a twig about the thickness of a chopstick; a withered animal claw; two stones, one dark red and the other white gold; and a small amount of dust in a small bottle.
[Strange Drop Found: Restoration Branch]
[Mysterious Drop Found: Dire Wolf's Right Foreclip]
[Mysterious Drop Found: Gray Raven's Eye]
[Mysterious Drop Found: Chalk Jaw]
[Mysterious Drop Found: Empty Dust]
"This is a strange drop—'Restoration Branch'; it has the properties of 'restoration, replenishment, and purification.' If this were made into a rare item, it would be an extraordinary thing. If it were made into an awakening potion and successfully awakened, it would definitely become the team's number one support!" the old man promoted.
"The dire wolf's right forepaw is also a formidable item. This was dropped by a level 2 dire wolf; that convoy was almost wiped out by it!"
"As for the other three strange drops, they are also good items. Which one do you prefer, young man?"
Xu Si's gaze swept over the five strange objects that had fallen, his scarlet star-like eyes flickering slightly.
The perception of "star trails" quietly enveloped it, carefully discerning the energy fluctuations and characteristics contained within.
The "Restoration Branch" exuded a gentle vitality and indeed contained considerable restorative power; the "Dire Wolf's Right Forepaw" revealed a fierce and sharp aura; the "Grey Raven's Eye" was deathly still and mysterious; the "Chalk Jaw" was heavy and hard; and the "Empty Dust" carried a sense of ethereal emptiness.
"How do we change it?" Xu Si's voice was flat, revealing no emotion.
Jia Zhenxin's small eyes lit up, and she held up five fingers: "If you bring your sword to trade, I'll let you choose any three items; if it's a vehicle, I can give you everything; if that's not possible, I'll even give you two potions at a loss! How about that, you're guaranteed to make a profit!"
Xu Si was somewhat surprised. He knew that the ranking of the "Wax Messenger" was only around three thousand, while the ranking of the "Sword of Punishment" was over one thousand five hundred. How could the vehicle be more valuable than the Sword of Punishment?
"I don't plan to trade either of these!"
"Oh? Then what other good things do you have, young brother?" The old man's eyes lit up even more.
"I have nothing, but I'll trade you information," Xu Si said, his voice still calm.
Jia Zhenxin was taken aback, then chuckled: "Young man, it's not that I look down on you, but ordinary intelligence can't be exchanged for these treasures. It has to be something valuable, like... a mysterious old lair at a high position, or a large undiscovered supply point or something like that."
Xu Si pointed in the direction they had come from, to the depths of the swamp still shrouded in mist.
"Detailed information about the 'Ruinous Swamp Overlord,' including the characteristics and weaknesses of its domain. How much is this information worth?"
Jia Zhenxin's small eyes narrowed instantly, gleaming with a sharp light.
"Detailed information about the Lord of the Rotten Swamp? You not only escaped from it, but also found out its secrets?" He pondered for a moment; such bizarre information was very difficult to obtain.
Intelligence represents the possibility of success and the potential for advancement. It's important to know that the chances of the "War God Car Team" successfully conquering the mid-level mystery are extremely slim, which is why they need the assistance of other car teams.
If we can successfully defeat this level-three monster, the rewards will be enormous.
The old man thought for a moment, then ran his finger over the few strangely dropped items. "If the information is detailed and accurate enough, you can choose one of them."
"Two items. I can also tell you an additional message about the high-order sequence," Xu Si bargained.
"High-level sequence? Are you sure?" He believed the convoy could escape from a level-three anomaly, but he was skeptical about its ability to escape from a high-level anomaly.
"Absolutely true!"
Jia Zhenxin grimaced in pain; for him, information was far more important than supplies.
"Hey buddy, that was way too brutal! At most one item. How about I give you a healing potion too?"
"Then there's nothing to talk about." Xu Si made a move to leave.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't rush!" Jia Zhenxin quickly called out to him, gritting her teeth.
"Alright! Two it is! But the information must be absolutely true and detailed. If there's even the slightest falsehood, I won't be so easily bullied!"
"Don't worry, I'll treat you honestly, young and old alike." A slight smile appeared on Xu Si's lips.
He then selectively, yet clearly, recounted the process of battling the Lord of the Rotten Swamp, the assimilation characteristics of its domain, the methods of mental pollution, the attack patterns of its tentacles, and the key details of finally using the high-ranking aura left by the "insect midge" to scare it away.
He concealed the specific effects of his "Ice Heart" and "Starburst," only emphasizing the role of extreme cold power and high-ranking aura.
Jia Zhenxin listened very attentively, occasionally asking a few more questions about the details, her small eyes gleaming with calculation.
After listening, he let out a long breath, and his gaze toward Xu Si showed a newfound respect.
"Incredible... incredible! This intelligence is worth the price. I didn't expect you to actually encounter a high-ranking anomaly! If what you said is true, the 'Ice Sleeper' can at least be ranked in the top ten anomalies."
"Here, you can choose any two items."
Xu Si naturally chose the "Restore Tree Branch" and that unremarkable bottle of "Empty Dust".
As soon as I caught the two items that had fallen into my hands, a system notification sounded in my mind.
He quietly put them away.
Fu Xiaojian then used the notes he had taken along the way to exchange for the dark red stone "Grey Raven's Eye" from the old man.
Tashan also cleared out all the unused items on the bus and gave them to the old man, such as Wang Hu's battery, excess wax, unused tents, etc., in exchange for two bottles of treatment medicine.
The little girl actually traded a bunch of moss she had just collected for that platinum stone: the Chalk Jaw.
"Is moss really that valuable?" the little girl asked, somewhat surprised.
"Moss isn't valuable, but the discovery of moss is very valuable. Of all the convoys I've encountered so far, this is only the second edible plant I've found outdoors after the apocalypse. If I run into a botanist and trade it, I'm sure I can make another fortune."
"Then I'd be at a disadvantage! You could at least give me an Awakening Potion as compensation, however meagerly you can!"
The old man's face darkened, and he stopped paying attention to the little girl.