Chapter 88: The Awkward Positioning of Thorium Ore

Shang Chuan regretted it.

He regretted it very, very, very much.

At this moment, he was wearing a pair of orange sunglasses, and resting on the small screen beside him was a pale green crystal.

That's right.

This crystal was entirely the same crystal that Li Wufeng and the others had gathered earlier.

[Thorium]

[Function: Can be used for alchemical synthesis, item crafting, and golem creation.]

[Introduction: A mineral second only to the legendary 'Mithril.' It possesses excellent mana conductivity, making it the undisputed premier choice for crafting many magical tools.]

When Shang Chuan received the appraisal results for this crystal, his entire being felt unwell.

An ore?

No!

In the eyes of a merchant, this was a means of production, something capable of swaying the market.

Yet, he had practically handed over seventy percent of such a thing with his own two hands, leaving himself with only thirty percent.

The most, most critical point was that there might be quite a lot of this kind of ore.

After all, there were as many Mountain-Eating Beasts as there were forks in the cave.

Although the appraisal of the Mountain-Eating Beast stated that the minerals it produced were random, who could guarantee that good stuff wouldn't drop from them?

To a merchant, this was simply worse than killing him.

Originally, he had thought the cave was very likely a mine, though it might have also been some sort of passageway.

But he never expected it to actually be a mineral 'second only' to the 'legendary' 'Mithril.'

Just looking at those first two introductory phrases was enough to tell how precious this thing was.

However, the good news was that the people sharing these minerals with him were basically all folks with no interest in manipulating the market.

It went without saying for Li Wufeng's gatherer team. When all was said and done, that ten percent of ore still had to be handed over to him to be converted into profit.

Meanwhile, Li Huai was basically only interested in fighting. Shang Chuan believed that if Li Huai knew he would help handle these matters, he'd probably be quite happy about it.

As for Lan Qingyou, that didn't even need mentioning.

Just like Li Huai, aside from concocting potions, this fellow only did research. Recently, her potion brewing had become extremely perfunctory because of her classes with Professor Sai.

In this way, these thorium ores could essentially be considered under his control.

Wanting to use them to sway the market wasn't an impossible matter.

Of course, this sort of thing lay in the future. After all, the current Abandoned Land was still too small, the market was too small, and there certainly wasn't anyone capable of using thorium ore to craft magical tools.

Thinking about it this way could probably be considered a form of consolation, right?

At the very least, it made him feel a bit better.

After a round of analysis, Shang Chuan finally came to terms with it.

It couldn't be helped. Whether it was the 'major shareholder' Lan Qingyou or Li Huai, both were hurdles he couldn't bypass.

Although Li Huai had basically been of no use during this mission, his injuries and his wind wall were genuine.

From Li Wufeng's exploration report, Shang Chuan could also sense the degree of risk involved this time.

Therefore, regardless of what was said, he would accept this loss!

Thus decided, Shang Chuan mailed this piece of thorium to Lan Qingyou, attaching a single sentence along with it.

Shang Chuan: "Remember to put on glasses or some sort of protection before taking this piece of thorium out, otherwise your eyes won't be able to handle it."

This sentence had been sent to him by Li Wufeng earlier.

Initially, he didn't quite understand why, but after reading the exploration report, he naturally comprehended.

So, considering Lan Qingyou's well-being—as well as his own—he forwarded this sentence to Lan Qingyou completely unabridged.

Along with it, he also sent the exploration report.

After all, no one knew the exact quantity of thorium currently available. With this report, a smart person like Lan Qingyou probably wouldn't blame him for not providing an explicit figure.

In reality, after Lan Qingyou read this report, she genuinely didn't have much to say.

It could even be said that she felt the joy of 'someone handing you a pillow just when you're dozing off.'

Thorium!

In the study of mineralogy, this was the most precious mineral right below mithril and a few other legendary ores.

Its excellent mana conductivity would allow her to be far more proficient when crafting golems in the future.

And so, she immediately took out a pair of glasses, put them on, and then brought out the thorium.

The entire pale green crystal was very heavy and felt ice-cold to the touch. Amidst its crystal-like clarity, it was also slightly transparent.

If one were to cast aside all added value and look purely at its aesthetics, Lan Qingyou felt that this thing surpassed all the heavily hyped gemstones on Blue Star.

After turning the crystal block over and examining it repeatedly, the joy on Lan Qingyou's face slowly gave way to calmness.

Although she did indeed need this kind of ore, and thorium was undeniably a precious mineral...

However, within mineralogy, aside from its advantages of being precious and having excellent mana conductivity, thorium had one tiny flaw: it was too hard.

That's right.

Just hard.

According to the records in "Basic Mineralogy," this thing required a specially made furnace or a specialized alchemical array in order to be completely melted down.

Unfortunately, she currently didn't have a specially made furnace, nor did she know any specialized alchemical arrays.

Therefore, despite being tempted and delighted, she didn't seem to have any effective means of dealing with this thing at her current stage.

She couldn't even manage to scrape off a layer of powder from its surface to conduct research.

However, having it was better than not; using it to bolster her material reserves wasn't a bad idea.

Lan Qingyou: "Give me fifty kilograms."

Shang Chuan: "Can you use this thing?"

Lan Qingyou: "No, but I need to stockpile some for future use."

Shang Chuan: "No problem."

Shang Chuan: "How much do you know about this kind of ore? Can it come into contact with the skin? Or are there any protective measures needed during excavation?"

Lan Qingyou: "You can directly touch this thing with your hands, no need to worry too much. As for how much I know about it, all I can say is that this thing is extremely hard. It requires a specially made furnace or a specialized alchemical array to melt down and use."

Shang Chuan: "Alright, since there aren't any issues on the excavation front, it'll be a piece of cake to go and get fifty kilograms back."

With Lan Qingyou's words as reassurance, Shang Chuan felt much more relaxed.

After all, it was a mountain of treasure. If they couldn't excavate it and could only stare at it, it would no longer just be uncomfortable; it would be a matter of whether he could even sleep at night.

As for Lan Qingyou wanting fifty kilograms, that was even less worth mentioning.

The major shareholder going into the factory to take some goods didn't count as a big deal.

And with those pointers from Shang Chuan, Li Wufeng's side also felt much more relaxed. Fortunately, at least it wasn't some radioactive material.

When he was blinded earlier, he had worries in that regard. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had Lysara undergo the risk of donning full armor just to retrieve a piece and examine its composition.

But now, it seemed there were no major issues.

Otherwise, all of them—including Li Huai—without a single exception, wouldn't have been able to sleep peacefully.

Li Wufeng: "Then do the Mountain-Eating Beasts at the other forks need to be hunted?"

Setting his mind at ease, Li Wufeng asked Shang Chuan.

There were quite a number of forks in that cave, and it was highly likely that every single fork housed a Mountain-Eating Beast. This was equivalent to a randomized mountain of ore, so Li Wufeng found it necessary to settle this matter first.

After all, now that they had a mine, their gatherer team would essentially be transforming into miners. This concerned their future line of work, so it was naturally something they needed to clarify.