Chapter 79

If calculated at the official price, two thousand basic runes would only cost 200,000 yuan, and the True Spirit Rune doesn't even require two thousand basic runes; a thousand would be enough. Thus, the true value of the True Spirit Rune is only around 100,000 yuan, which is not really expensive.

After all, the demand for True Spirit Runes is not high; they are only used to save lives in emergencies. If both parties have similar combat strength, it's impossible to use the method of infiltrating the body with spirit energy to erode the organs.

Basic runes are different; the more you have, the better, as they are purely consumable items, and you can never have too many.

"Do you think I can entrust you to purchase 1,800 basic runes?" Du Qian asked.

Upon hearing Du Qian's words, the young man looked up at him in surprise and shook his head, saying, "The quantity you want is too large; it's impossible to acquire them in a short time. Even three months would be difficult."

"How many can you acquire? Where can I acquire them?"

"You don't need to think about Pingchuan City. To acquire such a large quantity of basic runes, you need to go to a first-tier city. I suggest you go to Changping City. In Changping City, there is also a branch of our Ling Snake region. You can pre-order the basic runes here, and you can also get the latest information there."

"Changping City..." Du Qian sighed; it was a very distant place. Pingchuan is an inland city of the empire, far from Zhenhai and Butian. If it weren't for the sea, it could be considered the safest place in the empire, even safer than the capital, Shangjing.

"How long will it take to get to Changping City from here?" Du Qian asked. Transportation was a big issue. Outside the city, there was no safe place, and even with a low-altitude flying vehicle, there was a significant risk.

The sky is the territory of flying spirit beasts. Without these creatures, humans could use high-altitude flying vehicles with current technology, which would be at least several times faster.

After a while, the young man finally looked up and said, "I can help you design a transportation route and method to Changping City. It will take about a month. Are you sure you want to go?"

"Will Changping City be able to prepare the basic runes I need in a month?"

"Of course. Changping City is one of the nine first-tier cities, not the largest, but it is the closest to the Zhenhai Alliance. As you know, although the Zhenhai Alliance's military strength is not strong, their industry and commerce are highly developed. Therefore, Changping City is the most commercially developed among the nine cities. A month is more than enough," the young man said with a smile.

People like Du Qian, who might never leave Pingchuan City in their lifetime, naturally don't know about the prosperity of the nine cities, let alone the capital, Shangjing.

In Pingchuan City, it would take several months or even longer to buy 1,800 basic runes, but in Changping City, it's not a big deal. The city consumes tens of thousands of basic runes every day, making it incomparable.

"Alright, please arrange it for me. After getting the basic runes, I need to get the True Spirit Rune as soon as possible and return to Pingchuan City." Du Qian calculated in his mind. Even if there were some troubles on the way, doubling the time, four months would be enough. A month to buy the True Spirit Rune, and he would still have a month to spare.

"Absolutely no problem, but the money..."

"The money is no problem." Du Qian naturally understood what he meant. The round-trip travel expenses and the cost of buying the basic runes would far exceed the 100,000 yuan storage card he had previously provided.

It was said that there was a religion that believed in the cycle of cause and effect. Du Qian originally didn't believe in it; he didn't believe in any religion. But upon reflection, sometimes it really was the case.

The bald man severely injured Yao Jing, and Du Qian took the winter melon from him, which contained 1.6 million yuan. This huge sum became the hope of saving Yao Jing.

The Flying Tiger Team had money, but it was public funds. How much would actually end up in the hands of the Flying Tiger Team members? Even if it were ten times the salary of an ordinary person, how much would that be? Want to buy a True Spirit Rune? Dream on.

"That's good. This storage card, part of it will be used as the information fee for this time, and the rest will be used as a deposit. Is that okay?"

"Sure."

Damn, it's really expensive. I spent 100,000 yuan at the Information Bureau and saw 210 basic runes. Here, I didn't see anything, just a few questions and a deposit, and 100,000 yuan is gone.

"Sir, you might have to wait a bit. If you want to go back first, you can come back at this time tomorrow. If you are in a hurry, you can wait in the waiting room," the young man said. This was a significant order, and as an information officer, he didn't have the authority to handle it. He needed to report it and have it arranged by someone higher up.

"I'll go back first and come again tomorrow. I hope you can arrange it as soon as possible. If I can leave tomorrow, that would be best." Du Qian was in a hurry; Yao Jing couldn't wait. The Sealing Rune was said to last for half a year, but who knew if it would really last that long?

"No problem," the young man said confidently. The Ling Snake Information Company was not an ordinary company; the backing it had was immense. As a member of the company, he had only heard a little about it.

Du Qian left the small courtyard and returned to the Flying Tiger Team. The first thing he did was to take a leave of absence, and it was a long one.

Fei Xue didn't even ask the reason. Upon hearing that Du Qian wanted a long leave, he knew what Du Qian intended to do, but he didn't think Du Qian had a chance. A war orphan who just graduated, what capabilities did he have? If he couldn't handle it himself, how could Du Qian handle it?

Even if Du Qian could get the quota for the True Spirit Rune, could he come up with over 100,000 yuan in cash?

"Bring your identity card over." Although Fei Xue didn't think Du Qian had a chance, he still had a glimmer of hope. More people trying was always better.

In the Flying Tiger Team, the person closest to Yao Jing was him and Du Qian. Yao Jing was recruited by him to be trained for future use. In his mind, Yao Jing would be the backbone of the Flying Tiger Team and might even take over the team.

As for Du Qian and Yao Jing's relationship, it was even closer than his. So, in the Flying Tiger Team, the two of them were the most eager to save Yao Jing. As for the others, they would help if they could, but if it was too much trouble, they wouldn't go bankrupt to help. Everyone has their own life to live.

"What is this?" Du Qian watched as Fei Xue connected the two identity cards and then handed them back. There was an additional 150,000 yuan in the card.

"Just do your best. If you succeed, it's a blessing; if you fail, it's your fate. Remember to come back alive," Fei Xue said with a cold face.

War masters were quite wealthy. 150,000 yuan was a sum that most people would never earn in their lifetime, but to him, it was just a fraction of his wealth.

Fei Xue, of course, understood that this money was enough to buy a True Spirit Rune with a quota, but Du Qian had no chance of getting the quota. There were True Spirit Runes in the black market, but even he might not be able to afford them.

The 150,000 yuan already included Du Qian's travel expenses and a glimmer of hope from Fei Xue.

"Thank you, Captain Fei."

"Don't say such formalities. As long as you can save Yao Jing, it's worth it." Fei Xue waved his hand and sent Du Qian out of the Flying Tiger Team.

He called his cousin to tell her he would be on a business trip for a while and might not be able to contact her. Then he had nothing to do. The tragedy of being a war orphan was that he didn't know many people, and even if he had time, he had no friends.

To build a social network, it would take years or even decades.

Returning to his residence, Du Qian absorbed a spirit horn. He didn't dare touch the contents of the winter melon anymore; that thing was deadly.

Actually, Du Qian was quite itchy. The last time he almost lost his life, but his combat strength increased rapidly. One spirit horn could increase his combat strength by about 50 points, and that thing increased it by over 120 points, more than twice as much as a spirit horn.

Du Qian vaguely felt that it wasn't that the thing was weak; most of the spirit energy seemed to go somewhere else. If it hadn't been diverted, he might have been overwhelmed.

Not knowing what that thing was, Du Qian didn't dare ask, but he knew it was definitely more valuable than a spirit horn. With 1.6 million yuan in cash and over a thousand of those things, he had the confidence to buy a True Spirit Rune.

In this world, there are always people who can treat money like dirt, and the group of war orphans is the largest among them.

Their parents walked on the edge of life and death, and in the end, they lost their lives. Therefore, war orphans value living the most, and then property. When the two conflict, what is money?

It's quite interesting. War orphans are very poor, and they usually care a lot about money, but when faced with death, they care the least about money.

Among war orphans, there is a widely circulated saying: "Owing money is not a debt, but owing a life must be repaid."

Just as he was about to polish the spirit gun, a knock came from outside. This was strange; Du Qian had only returned a few times to his residence, and he himself found it hard to find, let alone someone else.

Opening the door, Du Qian saw Liu Yan's pretty face: "It's you?"

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Please come in."

Liu Yan didn't come empty-handed. She held a small box and placed it on the floor. They were all war orphans, so there was no need for formalities: "Here are 50 Star-Upgrading Runes. Take them first. If you need anything, you can contact the local Snow Drift Trading Company. This is my name card."

Du Qian's heart warmed. Liu Yan and Yao Jing's relationship was only that of classmates, yet she had found out about Yao Jing's injury and brought 50 Star-Upgrading Runes, which surprised Du Qian. What exactly did this girl do at the Snow Drift Trading Company?

To know that 50 Star-Upgrading Runes, even at market price, cost over 5,000 yuan, and the black market price was at least three to four times that. How long had she been out of school?

After a moment's thought, he understood. The last time she came to him, she mentioned spirit components, which Du Qian didn't know about at the time. Seeing the Star-Upgrading Runes she brought this time, he would be a fool not to understand.

"You... you are a Rune Gatherer?" Du Qian couldn't think of any other possibility.

"Yes, I just started," Liu Yan admitted openly, with a hint of pride. A Rune Gatherer who graduated from the War Orphan School was rare in the entire empire, with only a few each year.