Chapter 706: Purchasing a Slot
Xu Huo had learned earlier that the welfare home in Zone 011 received support from many people, but few directly adopted children. Most just provided financial aid for their living expenses and education until they grew up.
"Mr. Dong, do you know why nobles have recently been keen on adopting orphans?" he asked.
"This is a charity event initiated by a noble lady," Mr. Dong said. "Most of those adopting orphans are player families. They also have properties in the subordinate zones of 011, so they usually take the children away after adoption."
"Traveling on non-player trains?"
"Yes," Mr. Dong replied. "Game zones can apply for non-player train tickets on behalf of individuals or groups. Players generally cannot board such trains. If conditions permit, player family members often choose this mode of travel."
"There have been news reports about large-scale orphan adoptions before, but later, almost all those children left Zone 011 and never returned."
Xu Huo looked at the photos in the news. One or two nobles acting out of kindness might be believable, but so many suddenly showing goodwill at once seemed suspicious.
"Sir, are you also considering adopting a child?" Mr. Dong refilled his water. "If you're interested, I can contact the orphanage today. You're now a baron, so the paperwork would be very simple."
"I have no intention of adopting a child." Xu Huo closed the news and went out to report to the game base.
Compared to yesterday's busyness, the department was much quieter today. Once the analysis report was ready, he just needed to hand the samples over to Director Sanyang.
Xu Huo then brought up the matter of purchasing items to Shi Youzhi.
"You've been buying items quite frequently," Shi Youzhi said, looking at him with newfound respect. "Good harvests in the instances?"
"Not bad." Xu Huo smiled. "Are there purchase limits for contract staff?"
"Sort of," Shi Youzhi said. "Applying too often isn't allowed. Each game base has certain quotas, and advanced items have fixed allocations."
He then looked at Xu Huo with a grin. "The last one you bought was an advanced item, and this time too, right?"
Xu Huo had just nodded when Wan Tingfang and Cai Xiangxiang walked in from outside. The former immediately gave him a thumbs-up upon hearing he was buying items. "Brother Xu is amazing! I still haven't saved up enough for an item!"
Wan Tingfang had also looked at items before but couldn't afford them due to lack of funds.
"She could buy one," Shi Youzhi pointed at her. "You could negotiate with her to use her slot. She doesn't have the money to buy items anyway."
Xu Huo looked at Wan Tingfang. She wasn't shy about it and rubbed her fingers together. "You know the drill."
"Final offer, two hundred thousand white notes," Xu Huo said. "That's the limit. If it's more, I'll pass."
Wan Tingfang clapped her hands. "Deal!"
Xu Huo paid, and Shi Youzhi opened the internal system for them to browse together.
"These items look really good." Wan Tingfang's eyes were full of envy, then she sighed. "Too bad I'm broke... What are you planning to buy?"
Xu Huo had his eye on "Inverted Space" last time, but when he clicked on it now, it was gone. He asked Shi Youzhi, "Does the game base's item catalog change frequently?"
Shi Youzhi nodded. "Items are usually requisitioned or bought out, and new ones are added. It's not static. Sometimes there are very few advanced items."
Xu Huo scrolled through the screen and quickly found another B-grade item:
[Compressed Air: Everything can be compressed, so air naturally can too. But this is different from compressing air into a ball. A scientist once conducted an experiment: if three square meters of air are repeatedly compressed to a certain degree, it will have effects similar to a spacetime item, capable of blocking certain traits and item effects.]
[It's like instantly compressing the air within a ten-meter interval down to one centimeter. The ten-meter distance doesn't disappear. As everyone knows, many traits and items have distance limitations. So whether used for prevention or as a defensive item, this is a very good piece of equipment.]
Not only could it prevent traits and items, but it also functioned like an air barrier, and unlike other defensive items, it wouldn't be rendered unusable after a single break.
Xu Huo looked at the price below: fifteen million white notes, and that was the internal price.
"A defensive item, and it's this expensive!" Wan Tingfang exclaimed in shock. "Other B-grade items aren't this costly!"
"Items with spacetime attributes are always more expensive than usual. Not only are they pricey, but they may also have additional conditions." Shi Youzhi scrolled down further. "Look, this item also has a purchase condition: you need to provide a piece of valuable information recognized by the game."
"Ordinary information won't do." Shi Youzhi patted Xu Huo's shoulder. "It depends on what information you use to trade. Even Director Sanyang can't decide this. Only if the system approves will you have the purchase qualification."
"What level of information counts as valuable?" Wan Tingfang asked the question on Xu Huo's mind. "Ore resources? Wanted players? Or instance clearance methods?"
"That's up to the system to judge, but information related to hot topics usually has a higher approval rate," Shi Youzhi said. "Keep an eye on recent game news. Information about major events tends to pass more easily."
"That's a bit difficult," Wan Tingfang said. "Most news reports are about high-level players and game zones. At our level, we can't get involved in big or small events."
"You can buy it on the bounty platform. If you're lucky, you might find something useful." Shi Youzhi mentioned this before being called away by She Ping.
Seeing that Xu Huo was still staring at "Compressed Air" without moving, Wan Tingfang said, "Try the team leader's method. If that doesn't work, look at other options."
Xu Huo continued scrolling down, and Wan Tingfang stopped him at one. "This one looks good!"
[Storm Blade: Small body, big effect. This short blade, only thirty centimeters in total length, can create a cut over six meters long when swung with full force.]