Actually, Su Hao had only met Gulang a few times, but for some reason, he had the impression that Gulang was the type of person who was easily swayed by money.
She exuded an air of “no money, no energy” and “with money, I’m the boss” from head to toe.
To be honest, Su Hao had long stopped caring about money.
In no time, Gulang helped Su Hao sort things out: “Twenty high-quality Source Beads, each priced at ten thousand yuan, totaling two hundred thousand yuan; twenty low-quality Source Beads, each priced at one hundred yuan, totaling two thousand yuan. So, you can exchange for two hundred and two thousand yuan in total. The Association charges a five percent handling fee, which is ten thousand one hundred yuan, leaving you with one hundred and ninety-one thousand nine hundred yuan… Ziyang, you’re getting rich!”
Su Hao chuckled, “Give me one hundred and ninety-one thousand one hundred yuan, and nine hundred is your tip.”
Gulang got excited, “Really… really? That’s great! With this, I can afford Awang’s family heirloom whitening cream! But Ziyang, do you want a voucher or cash? The voucher can be issued later, but cash might take a few days.”
Su Hao asked curiously, “What’s a voucher?”
Gulang explained, “It’s a special note used by the Origin Mage Association. With the voucher, you can exchange for cash at any Origin Mage Association hall, very convenient.”
Su Hao decided, “Then give me the voucher!”
He wasn’t afraid of being cheated. If someone dared to cheat him, he had ways to get his money back, maybe even more.
After Su Hao took the special note, he asked directly, “What about your aunt?”
Actually, he knew that Gu Yin was upstairs, but out of politeness, he gave a heads-up.
Gulang coughed and said seriously, “You mean President Gu Yin! Just wait, let me ask for you.”
Grateful for the tip, she was very enthusiastic.
Then she picked up a phone-like gadget and dialed.
In no time, Gulang hung up and said, “President Gu Yin’s office is on the fifth floor. She said you can go straight up if you’re looking for her!”
After thanking Gulang, Su Hao climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and knocked on the door.
Seeing Su Hao, Gu Yin inexplicably smiled and said, “I didn’t expect our talented Master Ziyang to be so bold and fearless. It’s only been half a year since you awakened as a Origin Mage, and you dare to participate in such strange tasks. How should I evaluate you?”
Su Hao smiled, “President Gu Yin misunderstood. I’m actually quite timid and wouldn’t seek death on my own. It’s just luck! “
Gu Yin nodded, “Indeed, you’re lucky. You’ve probably used up all your luck in this lifetime. Next time, you won’t be so fortunate. Listen to me, don’t participate in strange disasters until you’re certified as an intermediate mage. You can find natural disasters and source beast disasters to deal with instead.”
Su Hao said, “It depends on the situation.”
Gu Yin said, “In this strange disaster, only your team and the Thunderstorm Team from Huai Shui Town participated. You’re all fearless young people! Other teams avoid strange disasters, but you insist on joining. If everyone does the same, after a couple of years, all the mages in Huai Shui Town will be dead, and then we can remove the title of Huai Shui.”
Gu Yin was very troubled by these young and arrogant guys. As the president of Huai Shui Town, she was also in a dilemma.
On one hand, she hoped that her mages would actively complete tasks and clear various disasters in the vicinity. On the other hand, she didn’t want her subordinates to participate in too dangerous tasks. If everyone died, she would be left as a useless single president.
More than a year ago, during the illusion-type source beast incident, twenty mages died in Huai Shui Town. Over the past year, three more had been lost in various tasks, and just the other day, two more died, all of them promising young men…
The rate of loss far exceeded the rate of awakening replenishment! How could this continue?
Experienced mages didn’t need to worry too much; those old birds knew what mattered and valued their lives above all else. It was these inexperienced young people who worried her. Each one of them was a good seedling, but they acted recklessly without considering the consequences.
Gu Yin sighed deeply, “Alright, tell me, what did you come to me for? Did you encounter any problems in your cultivation? Let me hear it.”
“There aren’t any major problems with my cultivation. It’s just that I participated in this strange disaster and encountered some confusion. I wanted to ask President Gu Yin for advice and also borrow some books about disasters from President Gu Yin.”
Gu Yin laughed heartily, “Haha, there aren’t many people who can read these days! That’s fine, you can borrow whatever you want to read. However, I myself don’t like reading much, so I don’t have many books. If you like, I can call my friend in Xinji City to send you a few.”
Xinji City was the largest united trading city in this world, extremely prosperous, to the point where many believed that all goods in the world could be bought in Xinji City.
With the facilitation of the Origin Mage Association, the once-independent eighteen powerful empires held a roundtable conference in Xinji City, establishing a unified economic union called the Eighteen Empire Federation, achieving a certain degree of great unification, thus maintaining peace for nearly a thousand years.
The Eighteen Empires were now called the Eighteen Districts, and Huai Shui Town, where Su Hao was located, was within the Hengxuan District. It happened to be not too far from the world’s top metropolis, Xinji City, just a phone call away.
Su Hao said, “Although I’m very grateful to President Gu Yin, I have to say, just sending a few books may not be enough. It would be almost enough to bring the entire library of Xinji City over.”
“Hahaha!”
Gu Yin burst into laughter, apparently amused by Su Hao’s ambitious ‘joke’. At the same time, she marveled at the energy and vigor of the young people, though they didn’t know their limits, their enthusiasm made her envy them.
What she didn’t know was that Su Hao wasn’t joking with her; he really wanted to empty the entire library of Xinji City.
Next, Su Hao asked Gu Yin about some of his doubts, and Gu Yin had no intention of keeping any secrets. She patiently answered Su Hao’s questions in detail, and finally took Su Hao to her study, where she opened up her limited collection of books to Su Hao, saying, “There aren’t many books here, but you’re welcome to borrow them if you like.”
After saying that, she smiled widely, revealing her white teeth, and her muscles trembled uncontrollably.
She could see that Su Hao was genuinely curious about everything around him, and this scholarly pursuit of knowledge made her unable to refuse him.
After several interactions, she had an inexplicable feeling about Su Hao: this young man would become an extraordinary Origin Mage.
Su Hao truly felt the favoritism from President Gu Yin towards him, treating him like her own disciple, a feeling he was quite familiar with.
After all the books were cataloged, Su Hao expressed heartfelt gratitude and promised not to delay if there was anything he could assist with in the future.
Before bidding farewell, Su Hao pondered and asked, “President Gu Yin, I’ve designed a special large-scale mechanical device, requiring higher precision, to manufacture some medicinal pills. However, I only have the blueprints and lack the corresponding manufacturing technology. Do you know where I can get it customized?”
Curious, Gu Yin asked, “A large-scale mechanical device for synthesizing medicinal pills? How big is it?”
Su Hao gestured, “When fully assembled, it can fit into a factory about ten by ten meters.”
Gu Yin had a look of disbelief, as if saying, “You’re saying this so seriously, I almost believed it.” Anyway, she couldn’t understand what these young people had in their minds. When she was young, it wasn’t like this!
Gu Yin swiftly wrote a letter on paper, stamped it with the association seal, and handed it to Su Hao, saying, “I don’t know what you’re up to, but reputable factories usually don’t take on such private tasks, even if you have money.
With this letter stamped by the association seal, it should save you a lot of trouble. Go to the address written on it! Oh, by the way, do you have money?”
Su Hao replied, “I just exchanged twenty thousand with Source Beads. I don’t know if it’s enough.”
Gu Yin laughed heartily, “What can you do with twenty thousand? Save up first! Oh, almost forgot, your team still has some high-quality Source Beads that haven’t been distributed, a thousand Source Beads, which is ten million. Our Huai Shui Town Association takes a cut of three million. After deducting the handling fee, your team should receive over six million. Counting yours, you should have at least two million!
Tsk tsk, becoming a millionaire at such a young age. But unfortunately, to customize large-scale machinery, this amount is far from enough.”
Su Hao’s mouth twitched, “The association takes thirty percent? That’s outrageous!”
After experiencing so many worlds, such hefty deductions were rare.
Gu Yin shrugged, unconcerned, “Hey! It’s a customary practice of the association! How else do you expect to support such a large association? You can say this kind of thing to me without worries, but don’t go spreading it outside, it’ll cause trouble.”
