Chapter 79: Risk
"Name your price."
Su Xiao ordered a cup of coffee for the black merchant 24K, who nodded politely in acknowledgment.
"Mr. White Night, we've cooperated before, so I'll give you a discount. How about 300,000 Paradise Coins?"
Undoubtedly, for the target audience of this blueprint, 300,000 was an astronomical price, even if the blueprint was Gold quality.
Su Xiao just smiled, his gaze fixed on the black merchant 24K, saying nothing.
Ten seconds. One minute. Five minutes.
Cold sweat beaded on the black merchant 24K's forehead, hidden by his hood. Not far away, the coffee shop's female owner swallowed hard and murmured, "What's with this tense atmosphere? Isn't it just a transaction? Does it have to be this terrifying?"
Imagine being stared at by Su Xiao, whose body was shrouded in bloodlust, a smile on his face. The black merchant 24K panicked.
"Ahem, haggling during a transaction is normal, this..."
Although the black merchant 24K was somewhat wary of Su Xiao, he was an experienced businessman. No matter the situation, he had to maintain the basic dignity of a merchant—namely, not selling at a loss.
"50,000 Paradise Coins plus two bottles of Recovery Potion."
Su Xiao couldn't spend too many Paradise Coins; he still needed to create Alchemical Creatures later, which would be a major expense.
"What quality are the Recovery Potions?"
The black merchant 24K didn't immediately refuse. He was a professional merchant, unwilling to reject an offer before hearing the terms, no matter how outrageous.
"Purple quality."
As he spoke, Su Xiao took out a bottle of No. 1 Potion. This was a specially modified version containing very little Hashirama Cells. Drinking it posed no risk of tree transformation, though the recovery amount was slightly lower.
The completed version of No. 1 Potion could restore 87% of health, while this bottle restored 76%. In Su Xiao's eyes, it was mediocre.
Seeing the potion, the black merchant 24K was startled. It wasn't that he hadn't seen higher-grade potions, but he had never seen a Purple-quality potion with such a high recovery rate. Connecting this to Su Xiao's interest in purchasing Alchemical Creature blueprints, the black merchant 24K had a realization.
"Truly surprising. I thought Mr. White Night was a Melee-type, but it seems your Intelligence attribute is astonishingly high."
The merchant's words puzzled Su Xiao. He didn't show it, but inwardly he pondered the meaning.
Clearly, the black merchant was very interested in this modified No. 1 Potion and directly stated that Su Xiao's Intelligence attribute was high. Did that mean Intelligence boosted Alchemy?
No. If that were true, he would have noticed long ago. But there was another possibility: Intelligence might enhance independently developed formulas, which was most evident in Pharmaceutics, such as his self-developed No. 1 Potion.
He had long wondered why No. 1 Potion was so powerful. A Purple-quality potion could restore 87% of health and had a strong effect on internal injuries.
Thinking this over, Su Xiao understood. Intelligence attribute amplified his self-developed formulas. This was undoubtedly important information.
"So?"
Su Xiao looked up at the black merchant 24K.
"It's clear that Mr. White Night doesn't want to spend too many Paradise Coins, probably because you need them soon. How about this: 20 bottles of this potion plus 50,000 Paradise Coins."
"One bottle."
"..."
The black merchant 24K fell silent, his expression turning grim.
"Mr. White Night, this is hardly sincere."
"No, I am very sincere."
In just a few words, Su Xiao realized why the black merchant valued No. 1 Potion. Although it restored a lot of health, it had a minor side effect. Any Recovery Potion with side effects would see its price plummet. That was why Su Xiao never sold No. 1 Potion—it simply wouldn't sell. Even a slight decline in combat performance could be fatal. No. 1 Potion was his exclusive potion, unsuitable for others.
The black merchant 24K was interested in No. 1 Potion because he wanted to reverse-engineer its formula and improve it. If successful, he would hit the jackpot.
The black merchant 24K was overthinking things. The ingredients of No. 1 Potion were so complex that most Alchemists would question their life choices. Based on a special-grade Alchemy Codex, Su Xiao had heavily modified it, adding Hashirama Cells and other materials. The preparation was extremely difficult. Even with a clear formula, other Alchemists might not be able to replicate it. This was Su Xiao's personal formula.
"If that's the case, forget it. There are many other merchant guilds in Paradise."
Su Xiao's meaning was clear: the Black Sail Merchant Guild wasn't the only option. He only approached them first because he frequently cooperated with them.
The black merchant 24K hesitated. Su Xiao was a long-time customer, and a powerful one at that. Losing such a customer was a concern. The Black Sail Merchant Guild owed its success to these loyal customers, more so than to President Qian Dapang's business acumen.
"Deal."
The black merchant 24K made a snap decision. This Alchemical Creature blueprint had cost their guild 40,000 Paradise Coins. Yes, 40,000. Its target audience was too small—so small that individuals couldn't sell it at all. A blueprint that couldn't be used or sold, even if Gold, had no value. The previous owner initially priced it at 250,000 Paradise Coins, then dropped it to 150,000 after two derivative worlds, then 100,000, then 60,000, and finally, in desperation, sold it to the Black Sail Merchant Guild for 40,000.
Su Xiao paid 50,000 Paradise Coins plus one bottle of No. 1 Potion and received the Gold blueprint. It had probably been gathering dust in the Black Sail Merchant Guild for a long time.
As soon as he received the blueprint, Su Xiao used it immediately.
[You have mastered the blueprint for the Fierce Winter Minotaur.]
[Materials required for Fierce Winter Minotaur: High-grade Pseudo-Skeletal Bones (12 units), Magic Beast Core·Large (1 unit), High-grade Bio-Magical Tissue (42 units), Bio-Metal (27 units), Active Hydrogen (50 units), Magical Energy Conduction Pattern (18 units), Aslan Powder (36 units), Soul Fragments (307 units), Mana Points 3000.]
...
This long list of materials would deter over 80% of creators. Each material was expensive. Su Xiao tried substituting with Paradise Coins.
[To substitute materials with Paradise Coins, you need to consume 460,000 Paradise Coins and Soul Crystal (Medium) ×3.]
Hearing this, Su Xiao wasn't surprised. He had a plan.
"I need to purchase other things as well."
"Of course, you're welcome."
After a brief description from Su Xiao, the black merchant compiled a list. An hour later, the transaction was complete.
Leaving the coffee shop, Su Xiao headed straight for the Trade Market. He meticulously searched through countless stalls. It took him the entire morning to finish his purchases. Including the materials bought from the black merchant and those from the Trade Market, Su Xiao spent a total of 130,000 Paradise Coins.
The materials needed to create the Fierce Winter Minotaur were numerous. In a way, that was a good thing. The more materials required, the higher the chance of finding substitutes. For Alchemical products like Apollo, which only needed three materials, it was much harder.
After a massive shopping spree, Su Xiao returned to the Alchemy Laboratory in his Exclusive Room. Soon after, Bubu Wang also returned to the Exclusive Room to act as an assistant.
Su Xiao again tried substituting materials with Paradise Coins. Since he had already purchased many materials, the number of Paradise Coins needed this time dropped significantly, to just 100,000.
As expected, substituting materials with Paradise Coins was a huge loss. Su Xiao only did it when he absolutely couldn't find the required materials.
Paradise Coins were consumed rapidly, and a large number of materials formed from Paradise Coins appeared in Su Xiao's hands. These materials were of extremely high quality—Paradise products were always top-notch.
The threshold for creating a Fierce Winter Minotaur was high. The mere consumption of 3000 Mana Points would block many people. If someone had less than 3000 Mana Points, the creation process might be interrupted, wasting all the materials.
Su Xiao took a deep breath, pulled out three Soul Crystals (Medium), and crushed them, obtaining 312 Soul Fragments.
Everything was ready. It was time to start creating the Fierce Winter Minotaur. Bubu Wang was very excited, as the Fierce Winter Minotaur would be controlled by him in battle and carried by him normally. This meant Bubu Wang's combat power would undergo a qualitative change, gaining a powerful enforcer.
Su Xiao only had one chance. If the creation failed, it would be a loss of 230,000 Paradise Coins. Perhaps that was why Contractors rarely learned Alchemical Creature creation. The rewards were indeed enormous, but the risks were too high.