Chapter 2572

She explained patiently, "Mm, we really are buying from the nobility. Shuibei Town is the closest to District 9, so we'll mainly go ask around District 9 — the nobility side has quite a lot of things. When they evacuated back then, they transported a huge amount of supplies to the central nine districts, so going there, we might find quite a bit."

"It's not dangerous, is it?"

Zhao Chi was still a little worried.

Shangguan Ting laughed and said, "It's not like I'm going personally, there's no danger. The nobility side is having a hard time now too. There are plenty of merchants who really know how to seize opportunities. Although it's dangerous now, it's also a good time to get rich. And don't underestimate merchants — they have very massive forces backing them too."

"Understood. If you don't have enough money, come find me again. I'll have quite a bit of money coming in tomorrow."

Shangguan Ting laughed and said, "That's more than enough. You give me 500,000 and it still wouldn't be enough?"

Zhao Chi shook his head and said, "Shangguan Ting, listen to me. I need these supplies right now with no holding back. If a merchant can really get these things, money is absolutely not a problem — I could even double it, or multiply it several times. What I'm short of right now is channels."

Shangguan Ting was taken aback.

Then she said seriously, "I understand. I'll go all out to help you find them. But the nobility side's situation is tough too. Everything you need is useful for combat, so they may have already used it all up. But they will definitely have opened some new things from treasure chests, so we should be able to buy a little, but the quantity probably won't be too much."

Zhao Chi nodded, "I understand."

Shangguan Ting said, "Also… why are you still calling me by my full name just now? I'll give you one chance — call me again."

Zhao Chi laughed and said, "Sorry to trouble you, Sister Tingting."

Shangguan Ting laughed and said, "How cheesy~ But I like hearing it. Then I'll go contact people right now and find these for you as soon as possible."

"Remember to send people to transport the goods."

"Okay, I'll send someone over in a bit. I won't come tonight — I'll come find you tomorrow. I'm not holding you up, am I?"

"You're not holding me up. Being with you was always something I have to do every day."

"Hehe, such high awareness. Big Sis will give you a kiss as a reward."

Smooch~

Then she stared at Zhao Chi with eyes full of smiles, clearly waiting for a response.

Zhao Chi leaned down and gave her one.

Shangguan Ting said contentedly, "Hehe, then I'm off~ Bye-bye Zhao Chi~"

"Mm, bye-bye."

"Call me by my nickname."

"Bye-bye Tingting."

"Hehe, bye-bye~"

Shangguan Ting vanished.

Really didn't expect to get a new piece of intel today.

Turns out quite a few merchants still have connections with the nobility.

Makes sense too…

A certain kind of merchant is also a separate force on its own.

I think I heard before, something like the "World Abandoners Alliance"?

Zhao Chi couldn't remember clearly.

But that "Fragrant Food Street" from before seemed to have been set up by the World Abandoners Alliance.

And so were many of the black markets.

But they operate year-round in unregistered territories and spaces, rarely coming out.

Quite a few merchant guilds have connections with them.

The Ruby Merchant Guild that Shopkeeper Wanyan belongs to also seems to be a member of the World Abandoners Alliance.

Although they are merchants, who says merchants are weak in combat?

Merchants have money, and money can solve many things.

Including force of arms.

Fortunately, right now they only want to make money — otherwise the situation might be even messier.

Not necessarily. If they were willing to step out and fight the werewolves, the werewolves might lose even faster.

But the merchants of the World Abandoners Alliance have never participated in these things…

And… merchants aren't necessarily human either. Every race has merchants, including werewolves.

Especially some goblin nobles — their business sense is extremely strong; they're not even the same species as ordinary goblins.

Also… merchants chase profit.

If they got involved, they might not necessarily help humanity.

They only want money.

It's a bit complicated.

Forget it, no more thinking about it — there's still a lot to do.

Handle what's right in front of me first.

Found Qiyue, entered the garment factory.

The two of them crafted together until a little past 9 AM.

From last night until now, subtracting the 4 hours spent accompanying the women, Zhao Chi and Qiyue had completed 3 major crafting cycles in total.

And now the two of them had made a discovery: right now they could continuously consume 8 Swift-Craft Talismans in one go.

Zhao Chi had always been using crafting cycles of 6 Swift-Craft Talismans — this was only just discovered.

It might be due to Zhao Chi's stat increases.

After all, whether Zhao Chi or Qiyue, their current stats — especially Constitution — were already very strong.

Even though Swift-Craft Talismans double the consumption of physical state and have negative effects.

Added to that, controlling 6 arms requires extra mental expenditure, but it doesn't matter.

With two people of such high attributes sharing the burden, it's enough to sustain eight Speed-Work Talismans.

Besides attributes.

It might also be due to the two people's willpower increasing.

But willpower can't really be quantified.

That's one possible factor.

All are possible.

And it's quite likely it had already improved before, but Zhao Chi had never tested it.

Only discovered it this time.

In any case.

The ability to endure the negative effects of Speed-Work Talismans has grown further.

That's good news.

At least it's very useful for Zhao Chi right now.

In other words, from now on, the two of them can consume sixty-four Speed-Work Talismans per day.

And they can endure it for a long time.

No need to rest in between.

Actually, Qi Yue's willpower in this regard is not as good as Zhao Chi's.

She's roughly at the level of an ordinary female craftsman.

Without Zhao Chi, she might also be able to consume three to four Speed-Work Talismans in a row each time, and work continuously for a day.

But by the second day, if she doesn't rest, her mood drops extremely fast.

With Zhao Chi inside her, she seems to find support.

Her loyalty, submission, and affection all kick in.

She can work alongside Zhao Chi for many days straight without resting.

Of course, every early morning he also has to help her clear things out thoroughly, letting her release pressure and lift her mood.

From last night until now, a total of seven thousand Taming Collars have been made, which can boost submission growth speed by 1,260% and reduce resistance by 330%.

They can be put on those newly bought, most disobedient female slaves.

Once worn, they basically rarely resist.

And they'll be obedient.

Submission rises extremely fast.

Basically skipping one meal can raise submission by one to two points.

A little scare can also raise it by one to two points.