Chapter 377

After leaving the port, Gao De stayed in Lagos City for another half a day.

This was because Gao De and those seven "underlings" who raised foul-smelling water salamanders in the Makoko District were not easy for him to handle.

According to the general process, directly open the way with the identity of a Sea Hai Shao Bing mage and temporarily detain them in the local mage prison.

But this matter also involved nobles in the city, so in order to avoid alerting the enemy, it couldn't be done this way.

However, the problem wasn't big; Gao De sent a briefing back to Dorn, requesting support from the Sea Sentinels, and just waited for someone to be sent from there.

He took advantage of this rare leisure time to collect a batch of local tree seeds in Lagos City.

After all, Lagos is 361 kilometers away from Dorn in a straight line, and there are still many differences between local tree seeds and Dorn.

Without sparing money, in less than half a day, Gao De collected 14 kinds of tree seeds not found in Valar Bay.

In fact, even if Lagos is a coastal fishing city, the number of existing tree seeds is definitely far more than this number.

You know, in the pre-existence without supernatural powers, the known tree species already exceeded sixty thousand.

In a supernatural world where the land area is far larger than the pre-existence, the number of tree species will only be more.

But the market law is the same; the tree seeds you can buy on the market will only be those common tree species that have economic value and are easy to plant.

Gao De also understood this point very well, so he was determined to purchase shops in Dorn City so that he could acquire tree seeds and even magic tree seeds for a long time.

Trees are classified by use, which can be roughly divided into six categories:

The first is timber and industrial raw material trees; this category of tree species accounts for the largest proportion, accounting for 30% to 40% of all tree species.

The second is edible trees, including fruits, seeds, oils, sugars, etc., for human or animal consumption; this category accounts for 10% to 20%.

Then there are ecological trees; common functions are windbreak and sand fixation, water and soil conservation; the proportion of this category is also 10% to 20%.

The fourth category is medicinal and special substance trees, which can extract drugs, spices, and other substances from these trees, accounting for about 10%.

Finally, there are ornamental trees and other special-purpose trees, such as various flowering trees or mulberry trees; the proportion of these two is only 5%.

Of course, this classification is relatively rough, and in many cases, the same tree species often spans multiple categories of use.

Tree seeds sold on the market are often dominated by the first two categories.

The 14 kinds of tree seeds Gao De bought in Lagos all belong to these two categories.

There are two kinds of edible tree seeds; one is the red stone grain tree, the fruit is cheap and easy to plant, and boiling the branches in water also has the effect of treating diarrhea; the other is a tree species similar to coconut, which can produce sweet water.

The remaining twelve kinds of tree seeds are all tree species related to shipbuilding or the fishing industry.

For example, the yellow hibiscus tree whose bark fiber is often used by fishermen to make ropes, the casuarina tree whose wood is burned to charcoal for roasting seafood, and the large tree species teak that can produce high-quality wood resistant to seawater corrosion...

These tree species are extremely practical and are tree species that Phoenix is in urgent need of.

Especially in the development plan Gao De envisioned, the Northern Realm will definitely develop its own shipbuilding industry in the future.

Then the raw materials needed for shipbuilding must be laid out in advance.

If you wait until you prepare to build a ship to start planting trees, isn't that a joke!

Another point is that if you cannot be self-sufficient, the cost of shipbuilding will be too high, and it will be easy to be controlled by others and be "sanctioned."

So Gao De bought more than a hundred of each tree species.

Although the quantity was large, it didn't cost much money.

Tree seedlings are better; a plant might be worth a dozen copper, and large seedlings can reach a high price of 1 silver dragon.

Tree seeds are not very valuable; even tree seeds sold on the market are generally not calculated by the piece, but directly by weight.

For example, yellow hibiscus tree seeds, one pound only costs 5 copper stone coins.

However, there was no harvest in terms of magic tree seeds.

Compared to ordinary tree seeds, the price of magic tree seeds is much higher, and more importantly, they are rarely seen on the market.

Gao De, who returned from the market with a full load, prepared to return to the hotel he had just booked. As soon as he arrived at the hotel entrance, he saw two mages wearing Sea Hai Shao Bing uniforms already waiting for him.

One of them was an acquaintance.

"Mage Melia, Lieutenant!"

Gao De hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

He didn't expect the specification of the mage sent by the Sea Sentinels to be so high.

Melia was just a first-class apprentice mage; although she was one level higher than him, she ultimately belonged to the apprentice mage like him.

The point was the other mage he didn't know, who had two parallel gold stripes on the shoulder part of his uniform.

This was the shoulder badge of a lieutenant.

"Mage Gao De, I heard you made a big move." Mage Melia joked when she saw Gao De.

"Coincidence, just bumped into it." Gao De grinned.

"This is Lieutenant Lei Sen." Mage Melia introduced him to Gao De, and the latter nodded to Gao De to indicate.

"Where is the person now?" He asked directly.

"I temporarily placed them in an idle warehouse."

Because Danika was allowed to sign the acquisition contract of Harland Shipyard as an agent on his behalf, in order to avoid others linking him to Harland Shipyard, Gao De had already left the Ronggu Yuan and also transferred Gao De out of the Ronggu Yuan.

"Take us to see."

Gao De took the two to the warehouse used to place Gao De.

"What exactly happened, show me the mission record." Lieutenant Lei Sen saw the person, and only then began to care about the specific situation.

What Gao De sent back was a briefing, just roughly outlining the situation here, but the details couldn't be explained one by one.

He didn't hesitate and neatly handed over the parchment he kept close to his body.

Lieutenant Lei Sen took the parchment and carefully looked at the confession Gao De recorded.

At first, he was somewhat indifferent, but the more he looked, the more shocked he became, and in the end, he actually looked up suddenly and looked at Gao De.

"This Embroidery Nail Gang second-in-command Gao De is a second-circle mage? You took him down?"

"He just promoted to the second circle for less than half a year." Gao De nodded very naturally, which was a rough explanation of the specific reason.

"First circle wins second circle, what a great ability!" Lieutenant Lei Sen raised his eyebrows, shocked in his heart.

But how Gao De took down Gao De, who was a second-circle mage, as a first-circle mage, he didn't ask.

Not only would he not ask, but when Gao De returned to Dorn to report, the Sea Sentinels wouldn't ask either.

It's not that they don't care.

In the mage world, winning against the strong with the weak is not to say it doesn't exist, but it is really too few, so every time it happens, it will attract huge attention.

But first, before mastering 【Spell Permanency】, there is a possibility that a mage will be knocked down by unconventional means.

For example, traps, for example, poisoning, or some other crooked ways.

Another is that the second of the three principles of mages is "never let others know your spells," which is an axiom recognized by all mages.

It says spells, but a broader understanding should be "means."

Including equipment, magic pets, and more private "specialties."

If one insists on asking for the specific "combat win" method, it is equivalent to forcing the mage to reveal his own "specialties" and "spells" one by one.

There is no such reason; even if it is official, one cannot commit this world's great taboo.

Not to mention anything else, if one really does this, it is inevitable that people's hearts will not be united, and everyone will hide things.

In order to avoid possible questioning, no one will dare to do things with all their heart.

Therefore, on the Sea Hai Shao Bing side, they only look at results and evidence; as long as your means in the process are not heinous, no one will ask, and it is not allowed to ask.

Even if Lieutenant Lei Sen was curious, he wouldn't violate this principle.

He put his gaze back on the parchment and finished reading the rest of the confession.

Subsequently, he took a deep breath and handed the parchment back to Gao De.

"A common water beast expulsion mission, the involvement behind it is so large, and it was actually ferreted out by an apprentice mage like you; you can be considered to have made a great contribution." Lieutenant Lei Sen couldn't help but say.

"Lieutenant Lei Sen, how many military merits do you think I can get this time?" Gao De collected the parchment, holding expectations in his heart.

Lieutenant Lei Sen thought for a moment, "I heard this is your first mission?"

"Yes." Gao De nodded.

He pondered for a moment, then raised his right hand and made a three, "Three second-class merits."

"Finding out the involvement behind the Makoko District water beast incident counts as one, taking down the second-circle mage Gao De, who is closely related to the water beast incident, as a first-circle mage counts as one, and as a newcomer, you will be rewarded with an extra second-class merit!"

Three second-class merits!

Even if he had psychological expectations, Gao De couldn't help but brighten his eyes.

Three second-class merits, in the evaluation, are equivalent to thirty third-class merits.

It's just equal in value, but the actual value and significance are not comparable.

For example, military merit exchange, one second-class merit can exchange for the materials that ten third-class merits can exchange for, but the reverse is not true.

For example, military rank promotion; if an apprentice mage wants to be promoted to a sergeant-level mage, there must be a second-class merit in the military merit book. If there is none, even if there are a hundred third-class merits, it is useless.

Melia on the side was even more envious.

Three second-class merits.

She hasn't even gotten a second-class merit yet...

"I'm a bit jealous too; a newcomer, being able to get such a great contribution in the first mission, is also the first time I've heard of it." Lieutenant Lei Sen couldn't help but sigh.

This is the truth; don't look at him already being a lieutenant, but wanting to get a second-class merit is not easy.

Because the evaluation of merit is often related to strength.

Gao De taking down Gao De can get a second-class merit because Gao De is only a first-circle mage.

If he were to do it, it would be a third-class merit at most.

"Good luck, good luck, just happened to bump into it." Gao De smiled "shyly."

"Luck... This Makoko District water beast mission has also had a history of several years, how come others didn't earn this merit, but you did?"

"This is ability, not luck." Lieutenant Lei Sen said seriously.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Lei Sen." Seeing this, Gao De didn't be humble anymore.

"What are you thanking me for for the merit you made? I didn't help you with anything," Lieutenant Lei Sen was very "straight man," waved his hand, "The matter here has nothing to do with you next, you go back to report first."

"Okay."

Packed his things, bought a ticket for the airship, and in the evening, Gao De rushed back to Dorn City from Lagos City.

As soon as he returned, he didn't stop and came to the Sea Abyss White Tower, entering the material department.

If it were any later, people would be "off work."

"Deliver the mission." Gao De handed the parchment scroll of the "Makoko District Water Beast Expulsion Mission" and his mission settlement vouchers: foul-smelling water salamander tail fins and magic octopus eyes, to Mage Neil who was "sitting in" the material department.

Mage Neil glanced at the parchment scroll, counted the number of tail fins and eyes, then looked up at Gao De: "No problem, according to the mission content, you can get a third-class merit.

However, the Makoko District water beast expulsion mission is special, the reward is double, so it is two third-class merits, do you have any doubts?"

"None." Gao De shook his head.

Seeing this, Mage Neil took out a piece of parchment from the drawer and picked up a pen to start recording.

This was making a military merit book for Gao De.

The military merit book is the standard configuration for every Sea Hai Shao Bing mage.

The Sea Sentinels will make detailed records for every military merit obtained by a mage, including the specific content of the mission, the experience of the process, and the military merit points finally obtained.

The staff will record these one by one, stamp them with the official seal as proof, and then seal and save them for filing, placing them in a box with the mage's name on it.

When competing for military rank promotion or any position in the future, the military merit book is a very important reference material.

According to Gao De's words, it is actually equivalent to a file.

Mages with military ranks at the field officer level and above in the Sea Sentinels have heard that their military merit books have accumulated several thick boxes.

After recording, Mage Neil looked up and saw that Gao De hadn't left yet, "Do you have anything else?"

Gao De grinned and handed over the parchment paper recording the confession of Gao De and others, "There is also this..."

"Hmm?" Mage Neil was surprised and took the parchment.

At first, he just looked at it casually, but gradually sat up straight.

After reading everything, Mage Neil looked up at Gao De.

"This military merit recognition still needs to be evaluated, it is beyond my authority, needs to be reported, and decided by those above, it should take a day or two to settle."

"Okay, thank you, Mage Neil." Gao De thanked.

"Two second-class merits are definitely there." Obviously, Mage Neil's understanding of the Sea Hai Shao Bing military merit evaluation is far less expert than Lieutenant Lei Sen, and the guess given is relatively conservative.

"And, just in time for the year-end evaluation, with this great contribution, you will definitely be promoted to a first-class apprentice mage."

"Although the promotion of small military ranks is not particularly difficult, this speed is also rare." Mage Neil's tone carried a trace of amazement.

If it weren't written in black and white, he really couldn't believe that a common Makoko water beast expulsion mission that was disliked by others could involve such a great contribution.

It is one thing for this kid to have good luck, but it is another thing to be able to grasp it.

After delivering the mission, Gao De said goodbye and left, but he didn't leave the mage tower directly, but turned and turned to the financial office on the side.

—There is still reimbursement to do!

It's not a lot of money, but even a mosquito is meat.

Working at one's own expense is impossible.

"Miss Rosan, good evening." Gao De remembered Melia's instructions at the beginning and walked in with a smile.

"Mage Gao De!" The young lady with freckles on her face saw Gao De and whispered, "Are you here for reimbursement?"

"Yes," Gao De nodded, handing over a small stack of vouchers including receipts he had prepared, "Hope I didn't add extra workload to you."

"No," Rosan said seriously: "I still have half an hour before I finish today's work."

After speaking, she took Gao De's vouchers and carefully counted them: "Round-trip airship tickets from Dorn to Lagos, totaling 4 gold 3 silver 20 copper, accommodation, 3 silver dragons per day, 10 days of receipts, that is 3 Jin Quehua coins, and then add the extra meal subsidy and transportation subsidy of 1 silver dragon per day, you went out to perform the mission for 24 days... actually so long, that is 4 gold 8 silver."

"Then add up to..." Rosan was calculating in her heart, and Gao De had already reached the answer in his heart.

12 gold 1 silver 20 copper.

"12 gold 1 silver 20 copper!" She finally calculated the total and checked with Gao De: "Do you see any problems?"

"No problem." Gao De shook his head.

"That's good, but it still needs to be audited first. After the audit is no problem, then you can be reimbursed." Rosan said seriously.

"General audit takes 3 to 5 days. If you don't want to waste time making a wasted trip, you can come back in five days."

"Okay, then I'll come back then." Gao De wasn't surprised; reimbursement, especially in the system, no matter which world it is in, rarely can be settled on the same day.

(End of chapter)