Chapter 96: Preparations Before Departure

Wait a moment!

The appraiser, sweating black lines, pulled Cui Jingli aside and quietly explained the functions of the remaining incenses, making Cui Jingli's eyes grow brighter and brighter.

He grabbed Chen Shicheng's hands and shook them vigorously, saying, "Mr. Zi Shu, as I said before, we'll take as much incense as you have—do you want to settle in cash or with equivalent game items?"

"Let's talk price first." Chen Shicheng pulled his hands out without changing expression, smiling as he spoke.

"Yes, yes, look at my head."

Cui Jingli quickly patted his head, quickly calculated the incense's value in his mind, and finally gave a very reasonable price: "Incense of Nourishment 1 million per stalk, Exorcising Incense and Qi Supplement Incense 500,000 each; as for Soul-Attracting Incense, I'll set it at 3 million per stalk, and as for Concentration Incense, rounding up, I'll make it an even total of 36 million—how does that sound?"

"Of course, you can freely choose cash or equivalent game items, as long as it doesn't exceed this amount, you can choose freely."

Hearing that, Chen Shicheng's heart jumped violently.

36 million! That's 36 million!!

Even though his game currency was worth over four hundred million, it hadn't been converted to cash, so he felt nothing real.

But now, as soon as he speaks, the money he could never earn in a lifetime will instantly appear in his bank account—how could he not be excited?

But after thinking it over, he felt it wasn't much—this amount wasn't even half of a small goal, so what was there to get excited about? Comrades still need to work hard! "I need yin-attribute Wooden Spirit Material and the turtle shell of the Tongling Old Turtle, the older the better. First give me 30 million worth, and the rest can be in cash." Chen Shicheng said after a moment's thought.

"No problem, please wait a moment." Cui Jingli immediately made a phone call, instructing his subordinates to prepare cash.

While waiting for the cash, the three began to chat.

"May I ask, did you obtain these incenses by accident in the game, or did you make them yourself?" the appraiser suddenly asked Chen Shicheng.

Being able to produce forty different types of incense at once, and the materials needed being wooden spirit material, anyone would suspect these incenses were likely made by him personally.

Moreover, selling the finished products to exchange for raw materials to continue production also indicates that the person making the incense is very likely the one before us.

"I obtained them by accident in the game." Chen Shicheng answered without thinking.

This answer really isn't a lie; since learning incense-making, the only two types he has personally made are Yinxiang Incense and Reverence-God Incense, but he hasn't taken those out for trade.

The remaining incenses were each bought from Chu Ma Xian Po Po, and he truly hasn't deceived anyone.

"Like that."

Actually, the appraiser had basically concluded in his mind that these incenses were made solely by Chen Shicheng, but he hadn't expected the other party to answer so bluntly, which instead made him somewhat uncertain.

But regardless of whether he made these incenses, this person's background is certainly clear; if he can continue obtaining them in the game, recruiting him into the guild seems like a good decision.

Thinking of this, the appraiser hurriedly asked, "Mr. Zi Shu, I don't know if you've joined a guild yet?"

"No, I currently don't want to join a guild."

Chen Shicheng could obviously see what the appraiser was up to, so he immediately killed the conversation, giving him no chance. "Um."

Although the appraiser was rejected, he wasn't discouraged at all, smiling as he handed over a business card: "This is my business card; if you ever become interested in joining our guild, our doors will always be open for you."

"Okay."

"Don't strike a smiling face"—anyway, he was just going through the motions; Chen Shicheng directly smiled and accepted the business card, then, in front of the appraiser, solemnly put it away.

Afterward, the three chatted a while longer, and Cui Jingli's subordinates also leisurely delivered the items.

Two suitcases of cash, a large bundle of materials—after Chen Shicheng inspected the goods, the transaction was considered officially completed.

With money and goods settled, he had no interest in staying; he immediately proposed his leave and departed the Xianglan Private Club under their see‑offs.

Standing at the doorway, watching Chen Shicheng's disappearing back, the appraiser asked expressionlessly, "What do you think?"

Cui Jingli recalled the appearance of those incenses and said confidently, "Those incenses clearly weren't newly made; they were obviously stored for a long time—by real‑world standards, at least ten years or more."

"Well, that just means he wasn't lying just now."

"What he said should be true, but judging from the materials taken, even if he didn't make them, he's probably closely related to the incense maker."

"That's exactly what I thought." The appraiser sighed, saying, "It's a shame this person refused to join the guild, and throwing money at him probably wouldn't help much."

"Yeah, with a channel like that to obtain such incense, he won't be short of money in the future; all we can hope is that this business card will have some effect, and we'll try to maintain a good relationship with him."

Meanwhile, Chen Shicheng went through another ordeal, using up all his Illusion Body Talismans, and finally made it home in the evening.

After a simple night's rest, the next day he visited several banks and deposited the six million cash in installments into his bank account.

Fortunately, although we're in the era of digital currency, many people still bring sacks of cash to deposit, and the bank staff didn't ask too many questions about the cash, saving him some trouble.

Having money in his pocket, Chen Shicheng immediately spent 500,000 on the forum to open that map post, memorized the map with his Divine Perception, and then a prompt popped up on the panel.

【After reading the paid post, a Soul Spirit Contract is automatically signed; the contents must not be disclosed to others, otherwise the game will impose penalties.】

"Do we have to be so absolute?!"

Chen Shicheng felt somewhat helpless; he had originally wanted to see if he could plagiarize the map and post a cheaper thread than the original poster, but the game directly blocked that route—although money is important, it isn't yet essential.

Since he couldn't get a quick blood boost, Chen Shicheng stopped thinking about those shady shortcuts and began making large purchases in the game, preparing the supplies needed for the journey.

Huangchi County Town is the nearest prosperous city; after just one day, he had finished his preparations.

Even so, he didn't set off immediately, but waited a few more days here, stockpiling some meat while constantly monitoring the outside world's reaction to the large‑scale closed beta of game version 4.0.

(End of chapter)