Zhang Shiyao: “Good evening, big brother! The potion-crafting blueprint you left on Guinelia’s desk—was it meant for me, or for Sister Guinelia?”
Bai Qiu: “How long have you been awake? How do you feel? We’ll talk about the blueprint later…”
Zhang Shiyao: “I’m great! I even got an extra skill, Azure Light! It’s a C-rank skill! Aren’t I amazing?”
Bai Qiu: “That’s wonderful. Oh right—there’s a D+-rank secret realm in Zone 2243. Want me to take you there later to farm it together?”
Zhang Shiyao: “Really? But I haven’t unlocked the teleport coordinates over there yet…”
Bai Qiu: “It’s fine. I can take you there, it’ll just cost a bit of Sanctum Coins to unlock the follow-me function.”
Zhang Shiyao: “Really? Then wait for me, big brother! I just woke up, I’ll eat something first! I’ll be quick!”
After finishing the conversation, Bai Qiu said to Ning Xingxue and the other two, “I’ll bring another teammate later—should be fine, right? She and I can share 25% of the resource distribution.”
“No problem!”
“Brother Bai, who are you planning to bring?”
“How strong is she?”
Since Bai Qiu wasn’t asking for additional resource share, they agreed easily.
After all, this medium-sized secret realm was originally recommended for 20 people; one more person meant extra strength.
As for why they didn’t invite others from Zone 2243: aside from the three of them, everyone else was too weak—their individual strength couldn’t even compare to the Dragonfang Cavalry skeleton Ning Xingxue could summon.
Ning Xingxue had the highest level and was the holder of the secret-realm card.
Huang Qi and Zhao Daqiang came after her, and both were close to Ning Xingxue in level and combat ability.
Even though Zhao Daqiang was currently the weakest among the three, he was still a retired soldier with lots of practical skills.
For example, they couldn’t have crossed the swamp without him making the wood raft!
Originally, with their large power gap, a fair resource split could have easily caused conflict.
This wasn’t about personal relationships—most people believe that the more effort you put in, the more resources you should get.
But unexpectedly, Bai Qiu—whose strength far surpassed theirs—was willing to split everything fairly with them.
Compared to the massive gap between Bai Qiu and the trio, their own strengths were practically the same.
Naturally, they couldn’t afford to give up more resources to bring someone else into the secret realm—extra people were nothing but burdens.
Truthfully, even the three of them weren’t very useful inside the realm; Bai Qiu basically carried them through it, and all they had to do was gather resources behind him.
However, trust isn’t built instantly.
If Bai Qiu had taken most—or even all—of the secret-realm resources in their first run, the three of them could only have accepted it, but they would never team up with him again afterward.
Yet fate is full of coincidences and inevitabilities.
Bai Qiu’s personality led to their second team-up.
By the time they finished the second secret realm, the three already trusted Bai Qiu unconditionally.
So when he said he wanted to bring someone else, they had no objections.
And when he said he’d still only take 25% of the resources, they didn’t doubt him at all.
If someone else had said such things, it might have been a trick, and they might go back on their word.
But Bai Qiu absolutely wouldn’t.
That was the impression he had given them in just two short days.
It wasn’t the naïveté of a young man, but a rationality that crushed the greed of human nature!
After agreeing that each of them would prepare for half an hour, Bai Qiu used the teleportation device to return to Zone 2233.
He went back to the potion shop and personally explained to Guinelia the request for her help in making potions, then paid her a deposit of 5,000 Sanctum Coins.
The momentary lassitude she had vanished instantly; she perked up, patting her chest and assuring him she would complete the task.
“Oh right, one more thing.” Bai Qiu was about to leave when he suddenly remembered the Dense Soil he had.
Perhaps Guinelia knew how to use it.
Bai Qiu took out a batch of Dense Soil and said, “Guinelia, I got some Dense Soil. Can you take a look and tell me how it’s supposed to be used?”
His intuition told him that although the soil was high-quality and could make any plant grow rapidly, it surely had a more specialized use.
Everyone has their own field of expertise, and Guinelia—being the youngest among the five great Supporters in the safe zone—might know exactly how to use Dense Soil.
Guinelia, who had just stepped into the workshop, paused and stepped back toward Bai Qiu.
She examined the Dense Soil in the pot he held.
Taking a small piece, she sniffed it and squeezed it between her fingers.
Only then did she reveal a surprised expression and say, “It really is Dense Soil—C-grade quality, no less. You truly keep getting things that are completely unexpected!”
She explained to Bai Qiu the origin and usage of Dense Soil.
The first half was similar to the appraisal description, but the second half was the most important part.
“Dense Soil is a super water-absorbing type of soil—perfect for growing aquatic plants. You’ll need a very large fish tank. Put the Dense Soil inside, fill the tank completely with water, and then throw in the seeds of the aquatic plant. That’s all.” Guinelia raised one finger proudly, as if she knew everything.
Using Dense Soil to plant ordinary plants could increase growth efficiency tenfold, as long as you watered them more.
But if you placed it at the bottom of a large container to simulate a riverbed environment, it could increase the growth efficiency of aquatic plants by fifty times.
And the nutrients it provided were impressive—sufficient to grow C-grade special plants.
If the water used was high-quality spiritual spring water, the growth efficiency could increase even further, and C-grade crops could be replanted repeatedly without worrying about nutrient loss.
All in all, it was an extremely rare and precious type of soil.
At the moment, Bai Qiu didn’t have any suitable plants to grow, and Guinelia didn’t have any either.
She said that Bai Qiu’s materials were simply too high-end—far beyond what she could exchange for in the system shop.
Bai Qiu left nine portions of Dense Soil with her before leaving.
As for why nine—because that way he would have exactly 380 portions left.
It just looked nicer as a clean number.
……
Afterward, he went to Wang Renfeng’s restaurant to have a buff meal, then headed to Zone 2243 together with Zhang Shiyao.
“Ding! Escort fee: 2,000 Sanctum Coins. Standard teleportation fee applies. Distance: 243 kilometers. Total cost: 2,486 Sanctum Coins. Confirm payment?”
“Yes.”
Upon arriving at Safe Zone 2243, Bai Qiu brought Zhang Shiyao to the bulletin board and introduced her to the three: “This is the teammate I mentioned.”
The moment the three saw how round and adorable Zhang Shiyao looked in her Fiery Plume Hunter outfit, they all felt an urge to reach out and pat her head—she was simply too cute.
“Good evening, big brother, big sister, and uncle! Thank you for agreeing to take me into the secret realm with you!” Zhang Shiyao said politely.
They had originally expected her to be shy, but to their surprise, she greeted the three of them with ease and confidence.
When did it start, exactly?
The current Zhang Shiyao had become polite, confident, and sociable.
Perhaps this change came naturally as she grew stronger with her increasing level.
— The end of the Chapter–
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