Chapter 161: Smooth Transition (Seeking Subscriptions)

After finishing their busywork, the head jailers and prison guards stood at attention obediently.

Du En looked at the new arms that had already grown on the five head jailers and asked directly, "Didn't you say that medicinal pills have restricted quotas, and that you have to watch each other closely to ensure they are consumed and refined? How is it that everyone now has a stockpile of pills capable of regenerating severed limbs?"

"Uh, those strict orders generally only apply to pills for cultivation, pills for recovering magic power, and a few other categories. As for these pills for healing the body, aside from specific periods of martial law, there aren't actually any overly strict requirements."

Hearing Du En's inquiry, the head jailers dared not conceal the truth and answered directly.

The prison guards had originally been curious and concerned, and then they heard this answer, which made their vision go dark.

"Looking at their expressions, why doesn't it seem like that?"

"Uh, well, this, just, managed to embezzle a little, haha."

【Hundred Arts: Appraisal (Lightly Familiar 30/50), Culinary Arts (Small Achievement 20/100), Spirit Seeking (Lightly Familiar 25/50), Artifact Refining (Lightly Familiar 0/50)】

With a source for beast meat and spirit medicine, Du En cooked Third-Grade low-tier spirit meals vigorously, allowing his cultivation to progress steadily.

"Sir, whatever you actually want, you can just say it directly; there's no need to torture us like this!"

"Hmm? As for the matter of protection money, of course, not a single cent can be missing."

It is not hard to imagine that the inner city under Gao Feng's governance is strictly managed, but over in the outer city, under Tang Yiping's administration, it is leaking everywhere, getting worse the more they try to patch it.

Amidst a flurry of flattery, the old head jailer, still harboring a sliver of hope, couldn't help but say, "Sir, then what about this protection money?"

Under the awe-struck gazes of the prisoners, he returned to his single cell once more and, using the artifact-refining repair method he had quietly learned from watching the repairs last time, welded the bars back into place.

"Sir, you... alright, I'll write, I'll write."

【Spells: Earth Cannon Technique (Mastery 80/5000), Flying Sand Technique (Proficient 0/3000), Breath Concealment Technique (Perfected), Earth Armor Technique (Proficient 20/3000), Hundred Control Technique (Entry Level 1724/2000), Fire Ignition Technique (Small Achievement 260/1000)】

Therefore, in a few days, it will be necessary to urge the head jailers and prison guards again.

【Cultivation Method: Firm Spirit Art (Mastery 2000/5000)】

Du En paused here, then continued, "Or are you trying to tell me that you don't have any connections or channels in the outer city at all?"

After they finished writing, Du En had the other head jailers take a look, then had the prison guards look, and by having them cross-reference and identify each other, he utilized their internal conflicts to actually point out quite a few cases of intentionally reduced charges or concealed embezzlement.

They had never imagined before that while serving as guards in the prison, they could actually be extorted for protection money by a prisoner!

It is only worth noting that whether it was the main ingredients of monster meat and spirit beast meat, or other various auxiliary spirit materials, they were just barely enough, with no more than a few days' worth left on hand.

Facing Du En's silent gaze, they could only bite the bullet in the end and write down their own dirty secrets.

A head jailer finally couldn't help it and spoke bluntly.

"No problem! No problem, don't worry! We will definitely bring it to you!"

Du En also nodded and said, "Don't worry, I don't want to be caught by Chief Gao either. You could say we are grasshoppers on the same rope, so I only need you to help me get beast meat, spirit medicine, and other spirit items; I won't make you squeeze them out from the limited finished-product quotas."

The old head jailer bit the bullet and said, "Sir, in this inner city, the flow of all kinds of Third-Grade items is strictly monitored. If it's just a tiny bit, it's nothing, and we might be able to handle it quietly, but if it's too much, we are powerless."

In the five hundred days since being imprisoned, he exhausted all low-grade spirit stones and consumed 6,073 medium-grade spirit stones.

Seeing Du En's calm eyes, which seemed to reveal a dangerous meaning, several head jailers were startled and immediately made their intentions clear, while fiercely glaring at the other prison guards to make them join in quickly.

So by this point, Du En's spirit stone reserves still stood at 40,800 medium-grade spirit stones.

Thinking this, he returned to the cell block.

He didn't believe they had no private channels for reselling!

After all, the embezzled items might not necessarily be suitable for themselves, and there is a limit to exchanging them with each other. The most likely scenario is that they actually flow to the outer city, where they are digested through private channels at either a premium or a flat price.

Thus, with a wave of his hand, five jade slips were retrieved by his magic power.

Tallying up the accounts,

Seeing the prison guards' faces as dark as the bottom of a pot and their fists clenched unconsciously, one knew that their association with past events was not just to a small degree.

Adding the nearly one thousand Second-Grade mid-to-low tier ones from before, the overall reserve is still considered abundant.

Very quickly, nearly four more months passed.

Everything looked very smooth.

These five head jailers were truly adept at deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth from their subordinates, lining their own pockets, which made Du En nod slightly.

But what could be done?

They could only comply!

After all, for one, they couldn't beat Du En, and for another, they had various disagreements and conflicts, making it difficult to work together.

Du En's divine sense enveloped them without being detected by them; seeing that they were still relatively honest, he truly left.

【Age: 27/263】

However, by collecting various fees, he recouped 4,250 stones.

"The regrettable thing is that the spirit energy in the living quarters is also rationed, and one must watch out for Gao Feng's irregular inspections, so I cannot cultivate there, nor can I stay away from the cell for long."

Everything was progressing steadily.

【Divine Ability: Burying Death, Flourishing Life (Lightly Familiar 0/50)】

After Du En said this, he took the jade slips, ignored them further, and turned to leave the living area.

【Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Late Stage (10/100)】

He calculated these things while taking inventory of his magic artifacts.

Leaving behind a group of guys looking at each other in dismay.

"Very good. What else have you all done? Come, since there are jade slips, write it all down yourselves."

Time flowed by smoothly.

"No need for Third-Grade, just Second-Grade high-tier or top-tier. The inner city is strictly managed, so go to the outer city. You all have time off; as long as the excuse is appropriate, there won't be any problems."

It's just that this beast meat and spirit medicine...

"Hmm, always draining the pond to catch the fish will inevitably lead to resentment. Perhaps I should give them a little sweetness, gradually switching to purchasing with spirit stones. Once their mood has eased enough, I'll suddenly hike up the protection money, thereby taking all the spirit stones back."

This is the bottom line for this bunch of guys now. Even if they are threatened further, they cannot easily make big moves in these areas because it is easy to be caught by Gao Feng and then wiped out in one fell swoop.

Those hoarded materials that could not be used as spirit meals had all been refined by him into magic artifacts, totaling three hundred Second-Grade high-tier magic artifacts, within which he had specifically refined three top-tier ones.

【Spiritual Root: Low Grade】

However, before Du En could implement his plan of giving a little sweetness first and then reclaiming it, a slight deviation occurred in the situation.

Simply put, he was released from prison.

(End of this chapter)