Chapter 38: Su Xiao VS Newbie Contractors
The trade market was as lively as ever. Behind various stalls sat contractors dressed in all sorts of bizarre outfits, with the sounds of haggling filling the air.
Su Xiao hadn't sold anything here for a while. During this time, Bubu Wang and Beini had been handling the sales on his behalf.
After renting a stall relatively close to the central area, Su Xiao placed the Duke of Annihilation +13 on display, pricing it at 9,999,999 Paradise Coins. First, he used this +13 enhanced lethal weapon to attract buyers, and second, he was looking for contractors interested in purchasing the Duke of Annihilation. If that epic-grade sniper rifle arrived, the chances of Su Xiao continuing to use a gold-quality sniper rifle were slim.
Compared to the price tag of the Duke of Annihilation, the prices for Vitality Potion and Stigma Potion were much more reasonable. After hesitating for a moment, Su Xiao decided to price the Vitality Potion at 37,000 Paradise Coins and the Stigma Potion at 40,000 Paradise Coins. Although the production costs for both were the same, the latter had greater functionality than the former.
Originally, Su Xiao wanted to sell them at a fatherly price of 30,000 Paradise Coins, but the losses during production were too great. At 30,000 per bottle (with the perfect-quality potion at 100,000 Paradise Coins), he would lose at least 1,090,000 Paradise Coins. Even at the current prices, he would still lose 750,000 Paradise Coins. The current prices were already a friendly deal.
After selling this batch, Su Xiao would quickly produce the next one. Due to a significant increase in success rates during production, the price of his next batch of potions would drop, speeding up sales.
Su Xiao's stall opened quickly. Compared to these potions, the gold-quality +13 enhanced Duke of Annihilation, with its disguise function removed, was far more eye-catching.
"Holy crap."
With that exclamation, a bald man stopped in front of the stall and began inspecting the Duke of Annihilation's attributes. He couldn't afford it, but just looking at its insane stats made him feel good.
"Nice gun, but the stall owner doesn't seem sincere."
A young man with an earring crouched in front of the stall, shaking his head regretfully.
"Kid, don't act tough. You're a second-rank contractor. This thing is beyond your purchasing power, and it's not even suitable for you."
An old man nearby, with sleepy eyes, spoke up. He was thin and balding.
"If you're so capable, go ahead and buy it. Acting tough is human nature. Don't ruin the fun, you know?"
The earring-wearing youth wasn't embarrassed after being called out for his bluff. Instead, he started chatting with the old man. Su Xiao glanced at the old man. He wasn't mistaken; this was a fifth-rank contractor, but one who hadn't been at that rank for long. Su Xiao was confident he could kill the guy within ten minutes.
That's right. Su Xiao now felt that fifth-rank contractors weren't invincible. Both had broken through the 99-point attribute barrier. The mere difference in rank didn't mean much anymore.
More and more contractors gathered around. Many asked Su Xiao about the selling price of the Duke of Annihilation. Su Xiao simply took it off the stall. He had only used it to attract more people.
Most of the crowd dispersed, leaving behind those who looked a bit poor.
Staring at each other, ten minutes passed.
[Vitality Potion sold. You received 37,000 Paradise Coins.]
[Stigma Potion sold. You received 40,000 Paradise Coins.]
Not all first-rank contractors were broke, but they still couldn't afford that bottle of [Vitality Potion (Perfect)], priced at 100,000 Paradise Coins.
Half an hour later, only six potions had been sold. The past half hour had been exceptionally lively. There were those calling him "big brother" and groveling, some more open-minded female contractors offering to do "real groveling" for a 30% discount, and even stranger, newbie contractors asking for the potion recipe, thinking it was a way to make money.
Forget the nearly one million Paradise Coins in startup capital; just the mana consumption alone would make newbies cry in the bathroom. If they could make one bottle per derivative world progress, they'd have to be a magic-type contractor.
The truth was, first-rank contractors were the most numerous and the most eccentric. Their wild, unreliable ideas gave Su Xiao a headache. If this were inside a derivative world, a large number of first-rank contractors would already be dead near the stall.
"Stop wasting my time. Buy if you want, or leave me alone."
Su Xiao rubbed his temple with one hand. He had encountered another joker.
"No way. I only have 30,000 Paradise Coins. A newbie's desire to get stronger—you must have experienced that too, big shot. You're awesome~"
A twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl with twin ponytails crouched in front of the stall. She had been annoying Su Xiao for over ten minutes.
"I'm not your relative or friend. If you have the money, buy it. If not, leave."
"Daddy!"
A crisp shout rang out.
"?"
Su Xiao was stunned, looking at the twin-tailed girl with confusion.
"..."
"I called you daddy, so can I get it for 30,000 Paradise Coins? You're not thinking... I warn you, at my age, that could be a death sentence."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't know how to respond, so he chose silence.
"Daddy~, daddy..."
There was no doubt about it—this girl was the most shameless contractor Su Xiao had ever met, bar none.
Ten minutes later, Su Xiao changed the price of a Stigma Potion on his stall to 30,000 Paradise Coins.
"Thanks, daddy."
The potion was bought instantly. The twin-tailed little girl bounced away happily. She had called Su Xiao "daddy" for a full ten minutes. Su Xiao was so annoyed by her that he didn't really care about losing that 10,000 Paradise Coins.
Four hours later, all the potions on the stall were sold out, earning a total of 1,480,000 Paradise Coins. This was how the early stages of recipe production worked: losses at the start, small profits in the middle, and massive profits later on—an exaggerated level of profitability.
After returning to his exclusive room, Su Xiao first meditated to restore his mana. Once it was full, he began producing Stigma Potions, as they sold the best.
Ten hours later, Su Xiao successfully produced 50 bottles of Stigma Potion, attempting 52 times with only two failures. The good news was that he had produced one bottle of [Stigma Potion (Perfect)].
[Stigma Potion (Perfect)]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: Blue · Rare
Type: Permanent Enhancement Potion
Effect: After drinking/injecting, permanently increases Strength by 2 points, Agility by 2 points, and generates a Stigma.
Stigma: Reduces all damage by 10%, lasting for 20 natural days. After the Stigma expires, it is absorbed by the body, permanently increasing Health Points by 150.
Rating: 70++ (Blue-quality potions have a rating range of 30–70 points)
Introduction: A master's work. Among similar potions, none is more perfect.
Selling Price: 16,000 Paradise Coins
This time, to avoid encountering more weirdos, Su Xiao had Beini sell the Stigma Potions. Beini, who loved managing finances, naturally agreed and just set it to auto-sell, which made Bubu Wang curse her as a "AFK dog" in the team channel.
Beini retorted with "You're the dog," leaving Bubu Wang speechless. He wasn't a dog; over 70% of his bloodline was wolf.
It turned out that abilities like the Plant Alchemy Chapter could be profitable even at low levels. Beini sold the Stigma Potions at 35,000 Paradise Coins each, and within about an hour, all the potions were sold out. Su Xiao's assets grew to 1,800,000 Paradise Coins.
Although he had started making a profit while leveling up the Plant Alchemy Chapter, Su Xiao couldn't devote all his energy to this ability. He had other things to do.