Chapter 78

"Too few, I need a large number of basic spirit talismans," Du Qian said. The Flying Tiger Team's quota wouldn't be much, and it had nothing to do with him, Du Qian.

The old man had been in the Information Bureau for decades, a bit slow-witted. After a moment of thought, he understood Du Qian's intention, his eyes brightening. This was a money-making deal. The Information Bureau was a typical clean office, with a good name and a loud sign, but no real benefits. Apart from a meager salary, there were few ways to make money.

Some shrewd people naturally found ways to use the information in their hands to benefit themselves. Over time, as long as they were from the Information Bureau, they all had some means or another.

"A hundred basic spirit talismans?" the old man asked. Was there any need to ask? Checking the auction information, wanting to buy basic spirit talismans, the purpose was already very clear.

"The more, the better," Du Qian nodded, saying that he had money and was afraid of not being able to buy them. The price wasn't an issue; as long as there was stock, it would be fine.

"Then wait a moment, I'll ask someone," the old man said excitedly. A big customer had come. Previously, he had just been going through the motions, after all, the head of the Flying Tiger Team, even the director of the Information Bureau couldn't afford to offend him.

This time was different. It was related to personal interests, and the motivation was strong. The old man's back didn't hurt, and he even had the energy to climb stairs. He jumped around and, in a short while, contacted over a dozen old friends.

More than a hundred basic spirit talismans, he couldn't provide them alone, so he had to mobilize everyone to find a solution.

After more than an hour, the tea in front of Du Qian had been changed once. The old man came over, smiling before speaking, his face full of wrinkles, making Du Qian a bit nervous. It was too ugly.

"Little brother, we old fellows have gathered quite a few for you. Can you handle it?" The people of the Flying Tiger Team had money, but the quantity was quite large, and it was black market goods, so the price was naturally much higher than on the market.

Actually, Du Qian was completely in the dark. He didn't know the value of black market goods, let alone the price of legitimate goods. The martial cultivators who queued up at the merchant's shop knew the official price, which was set by the Zhou Shan Empire. The purpose was clear: to put as many basic spirit talismans as possible on the market, giving more martial cultivators the chance to improve their combat power.

The average combat power of martial cultivators increased, which was equivalent to an increase in national strength. For the country, it was a strategic move, so the price was always kept low.

But with demand, there was supply. People always found ways to turn official goods into private goods to seek greater benefits.

"How many? What price?" Du Qian asked calmly, not knowing was fine, he could pretend.

"150 Star Ascension, 50 Star Chasing, and 10 Spirit Enhancement," the old man said.

It had to be said, expertise had its place. In just an hour, they managed to gather 210 basic spirit talismans, showing that these old fellows had their ways.

Old people might not have much ability, but they had lived long and knew many people. Even without much ability, they could always find some means.

Du Qian naturally didn't know that in Pingchuan City, being able to gather so many basic spirit talismans at once was already quite extraordinary.

These old fellows had monthly salaries, not high but not low, not enough to eat well but enough to avoid hunger. They usually accumulated some basic spirit talismans, grabbing them when the price was low. Today, encountering Du Qian, a big spender, they naturally wanted to make a big profit.

"Price?" Du Qian asked. The quantity wasn't much, 100 basic spirit talismans were just an entry ticket. He naturally didn't think that something like a true spirit talisman could be bought with just over 200 basic spirit talismans.

"500 for Star Ascension and Star Chasing, 3000 for Spirit Enhancement," the old man said with a full smile, the price was a bit steep.

"400 for Star Ascension and Star Chasing, 2000 for Spirit Enhancement," Du Qian countered without hesitation, 'harshly' negotiating the price.

"Deal." The old face was almost beaming with joy. Indeed, he was foolish and had a lot of money. If he had known, he would have set the price even higher.

Du Qian was a bit stunned. Even if he didn't know the price, he could tell he was being taken advantage of.

Of course, this was also because Du Qian had made a lot of money from the bald man. He couldn't even imagine how much 1.6 million was; it was just a number.

"In total, 100,000. How will you pay?" the old man pressed, naturally not wanting to give Du Qian a chance to back out.

Star Ascension and Star Chasing were the basics of the basics, priced at 100 each by the empire, and Spirit Enhancement at 500. This transaction was a pure profit of three times.

"Is an anonymous chip storage card okay?" Du Qian hesitated for a few seconds, deciding to take the loss, as he had no other way and could only use money to open the door.

"Of course." Receiving money, what could be the problem? Especially an anonymous chip storage card. Taking the storage card from Du Qian, he scanned it on the differential machine. A 200,000 card, too rich.

Two hours later, Du Qian walked out of the Information Bureau, carrying a large box containing 210 basic spirit talismans, and a 100,000 anonymous storage card in his pocket.

This thing was far less convenient than using an identity card, but Du Qian didn't dare. If 100,000 suddenly appeared in his identity card, he couldn't explain where it came from. In Pingchuan City, it might be fine, but if the bald man found out, it could be a matter of life and death.

Getting into a taxi, Du Qian said, "Lingshe Information Company."

"Sure, sir."

The location of Lingshe Information Company was quite remote. The taxi headed south and stopped not far from the city gate. The driver pointed to a small road where vehicles couldn't pass and said, "Sir, go in from here, turn left, and the third independent courtyard is it."

Du Qian, confused, followed the direction the driver pointed. Seeing the small courtyard, he was even more puzzled. Could he have met an unscrupulous driver? Was this place Lingshe Information Company?

The small courtyard looked like a farmhouse. The gate was small, with no one watching, and not locked. There was even a stray dog lying in the sun.

Opening the gate, Du Qian walked in. The dog glanced at Du Qian and lazily continued to bask in the sun, showing no intention of guarding the house.

Next was the main house door, which was strange. There was only a corridor in front, and the side rooms had no doors to enter, only a straight path forward.

After the corridor, the back yard was much larger than the front yard. A female attendant greeted him, "Welcome to Lingshe Information Company. What can I help you with, sir?"

"Of course, to buy information. I'm glad I didn't come to the wrong place."

"Please follow me." Du Qian followed the attendant into a bungalow. The room was spacious, with a circle of sofas in the center.

"Please sit, sir."

As soon as Du Qian sat down, the entire floor shook, and the circle of sofas descended into the ground. It was actually an elevator platform.

A few minutes later, the area was bright. The moving platform could not only ascend but also move left, right, forward, and backward, as if on countless tracks. In just a few minutes, Du Qian couldn't tell which direction he was going.

"Please wait a moment, the information officer will be here soon." The attendant said, left the moving platform, opened a corner door, and disappeared.

After a few dozen seconds, a young man with a differential machine came to Du Qian, placed the machine on his lap, and smiled at Du Qian.

"Information is divided into seven levels, each with a different price. Please pay first." He extended the external scanner to Du Qian. Lingshe Information Company was straightforward; no matter what information you wanted, you had to pay first.

Du Qian's identity card had only 3,000 yuan. A few days ago, it seemed like a huge sum to him, but now he was numb. Money came and went quickly.

Moreover, he was more cautious. The money in his identity card was transparent, and if someone wanted to check, it was easy to find out where it went. No wonder someone had developed anonymous storage cards; they were really convenient.

"100,000 storage card, I'll settle the bill after I finish asking." Du Qian placed the storage card on the sofa.

The young man took the storage card, scanned it, and saw that the amount was indeed 100,000. Satisfied, he nodded, put the storage card back, and said, "Please ask your questions, sir."

He didn't mention the seven levels of prices or show Du Qian the price list. This was a big spender, no need for formalities. Lingshe Information Company loved such customers.

"The price of a true spirit talisman?"

The young man manipulated the differential machine and said, "In the past hundred years, there have been 1,821 public and private auctions of true spirit talismans. The highest price was 2,300, the lowest was 680, and the average was around 1,600. In the past three years, the price has risen to about 1,800."

Du Qian sighed inwardly. Indeed, spending money was very professional. The data he provided was far beyond what the City Hall Information Bureau could offer.

"I want to buy a true spirit talisman, the sooner the better," Du Qian said.

The young man continued to operate the differential machine and, in less than a minute, said, "In the past month, there have been four true spirit talismans auctioned. Two in Zhenhai, one in Butian, and one in our empire, at the Black Snow underground auction in three days."

"What is an underground auction?" Du Qian asked, puzzled. There was the Capital Sky Auction, and now there was a Black Snow underground auction?

"Ha ha... I'll answer this question for you. An underground auction is an underground auction, also known as the black market."

Damn, even this has a professional term?

Troublesome. In three days, there would be one, but in three days, he couldn't possibly get 1,800 basic spirit talismans. To get it for sure, he would need at least 2,000.

Thinking about how he spent 100,000 for 210 talismans, ten times that would be 1,100,000. The 1.6 million he took from the bald man would be spent in a short time. This true spirit talisman was really expensive.

Actually, Du Qian had miscalculated. He bought black market prices, which were not the official prices. The prices naturally skyrocketed, and both true spirit talismans and basic spirit talismans had risen sharply, leading to this situation.