Chapter 119: Got it! I get it now! The boss definitely likes this!

Inside the shelter.

Ling Xue'er took two scrolls from her storage bag, placed them on the coffee table, and pushed them toward Su Hao.

"Boss, boss, the one on the left is the skill scroll for refining Stitching Monster, the one on the right is the Bone Spur skill scroll—take a look, is that right?"

【Skill Scroll for Refining Stitching Monster】

Learning requirement: Undead-system extraordinary beings can learn it.

Effect: After use, you acquire the Stitching Monster refining skill.

……

【Bone Spur Skill Selection】

……

Su Hao glanced at the two scrolls, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

Once you learn the Stitching Monster refining skill, you can use the Hell Demon construction device and thus refine Hell Demons.

As for Hell Demons, Su Hao is full of anticipation; if an individual's strength surpasses that of a Stitching Monster, it will surely become a powerful force in the future.

"Great, these two skill scrolls are exactly what I need."

After confirming there were no issues, Su Hao placed the two scrolls in the corner of the coffee table, then took another scroll from his storage bag and handed it to Ling Xue'er.

"Now this skill scroll is yours; as for the 100 lethal poisoned arrows, you can follow Hua Yao to get them later."

Afterward, Su Hao looked at Pu Wenyao beside Ling Xue'er.

She was wearing a slightly loose white nun's robe of First Rank today, yet even so, her impressive figure was hard to conceal.

Perhaps due to nervousness, she appeared extremely restrained, clutching her skirt tightly with both hands.

"Don't worry about moving; once this transaction is over, I'll send Gulu Gulu Qi over to help you move your shelter—you can move wherever you like, just tell it when the time comes."

"Hah—!"

After hearing Su Hao's promise, Pu Wenyao let out a big sigh of relief, and her body no longer felt so stiff.

Since learning that the monastery's weird power would affect the surrounding area, she has repeatedly dreamed of turning into a desiccated corpse, hanging upside down above her own monastery.

This caused her to avoid returning to her shelter for several days, either going out on missions or temporarily staying at Ling Xue'er's home.

But not returning isn't a solution either—if her shelter were ever destroyed, no one could guarantee whether her body or soul would be affected.

So these days she has been searching for a relocation order, but unfortunately, there hasn't been any related news at all.

Just as she was gradually losing hope, she learned from Ling Xue'er that Su Hao wanted to trade skills.

She approached with a tentative attitude, asking Su Hao for help with moving.

She never expected it to actually work out! A Bone Spur skill scroll resolving a potential life‑or‑death crisis was something Pu Wenyao dared not even imagine.

In her view, this was entirely an act of care toward her.

Thinking of this, Pu Wenyao immediately stood up, bent her waist ninety degrees, and gave Su Hao a deep bow.

"Thank you, boss; I will never forget your kindness in my lifetime."

With such a deep bow, her slightly loose nun's robe could not conceal Pu Wenyao's deep‑seated guilt; from Su Hao's angle, a large expanse of snowy white was easily visible.

"Honestly, that's quite sizable!"

Su Hao rubbed his nose and lightly tapped his fingers on the table.

"It's just a normal trade; there's nothing to thank me for. Since I accepted your Bone Spur skill scroll, I will naturally send someone to help you move."

"Those two skill scrolls were actually just picked up by me……"

Pu Wenyao sat back down in her chair; having resolved a potential life‑or‑death crisis, her mood improved considerably, and an uncontrollable smile appeared on her face, making her seem less restrained.

"Good luck is also part of one's strength."

Su Hao withdrew his gaze with a hint of regret—who wouldn't like such a freebie?

He then turned his gaze back to Ling Xue'er and asked, "Did you bring everything?"

"Yes, I brought them all."

Ling Xue'er nodded, took out a dull gray storage bag from her bosom, and handed it to Su Hao.

"This storage bag is from Zhu Ge Chang Guan, who asked me to give it to you. It contains ten thousand energy crystals, and Zhu Ge Chang Guan also said that ten thousand energy crystals take up quite a bit of space, so this storage bag is also for the boss to use."

"Thank you."

Regarding Zhu Ge Chang Qing's goodwill, Su Hao did not refuse.

Although Su Hao already had many storage bags, he didn't really need any more extras.

If these storage bags are merged, one can replace several; especially Suo Lu's 1‑kilometer‑by‑1‑kilometer‑by‑1‑kilometer storage bag—if it can be repaired after merging, it would last a long time. Moreover, one can freeload a 20‑meter‑by‑20‑meter‑by‑20‑meter storage bag, and Su Hao naturally would not refuse.

Even if he doesn't use it himself, he can later give it to other members of his territory for their outdoor explorations.

Seeing Su Hao accept the storage bag containing ten thousand energy crystals, Ling Xue'er took out another storage bag, glanced at the clean floor around her, and showed a hesitant expression.

"Boss, this contains sunlight lamps, as well as corpses of monsters like corpse eaters and guard giants, some of whose blood hasn't clotted yet—should we change locations?"

"No problem, just leave it here."

"Oh oh, okay."

Seeing that, Ling Xue'er didn't say much more; as her thoughts turned, a large pile of corpses of various sizes appeared in the hall.

Among these items are sunlight lamps containing light elements, which are prepared to be used as materials for building greenhouses after synthesis.

Also there are corpses of monsters such as corpse eaters and guard giants, used for refining Stitching Monster.

The reason Ling Xue'er didn't bring specific materials this time but brought corpses directly is because Su Hao had specifically instructed her to do so.

In the Stitching Monster materials received previously, Su Hao found that items obtained through artificial division and collection contained more impurities.

These impurities are hard for ordinary people to discern, and even Su Hao initially failed to notice them.

Only after Su Hao placed these materials into the Stitching Monster purification device for refinement did he discover that the refined materials shrank by nearly one‑third.

Afterward, Su Hao applied the Item Refining Technique to an identical material, making the shrinkage even more severe—less than half remained.

Finally, after comparing the raw materials, the purified materials, and the materials obtained through Item Refining Technique, Su Hao finally determined what impurities are.

Objects obtained through Item Refining Technique basically show no impurities, so when crafting Stitching Monsters, the purification step can be skipped.

Furthermore, according to Andelu Daye's notes, the higher the material purity, the lower the failure rate in crafting Stitching Monsters, and the stronger the resulting Stitching Monsters.

Another important reason Su Hao switched to directly purchasing corpses is...

That is, after Su Hao confirmed the impurity issue, he discovered another important matter through experiments.

Extracting a heart from a corpse and refining it alone yields a heart, but its volume is only about half.

However, applying Item Refining Technique directly to the corpse can increase the heart's size by about double.

This is why Ling Xue'er brought so many relatively fresh corpses today.

"Boss, there are still 26 One-eyed Giant Ox corpses here, which I received last night; they are also on your list of needed items, and I brought them over. Do you want them?"

After Su Hao finished inspecting the pile of materials on the ground, Ling Xue'er separately took out another 26 corpses and placed them in another corner of the living room.

All 26 corpses are nearly two meters tall, each with a single large eye on the head—giant ox corpses.

According to Andelu Daye's experimental notes, the heads of these One-eyed Giant Oxen and the hearts of Guardian Giants are the main materials for crafting Minotaur Stitching Monsters.

Among various First Rank Stitching Monsters, the Minotaur Stitching Monster is one Su Hao prefers.

Stitching Monsters themselves hardly feel pain, and with the Ox-head Stitching Monster's huge build and formidable strength, they make excellent warriors.

If we could craft 26 Minotaur Stitching Monsters, they could form a squad.

A squad of Minotaur Stitching Monsters united can hold back, even repel, some Supernatural Second Rank beings.

Moreover, those crafted via the Hell Monster Constructing Device are Hell Monsters, perhaps even stronger. Such a good thing, Su Hao naturally wouldn't miss.

"I'll take all twenty-six One-eyed Giant Ox corpses. What's their offer?"

"The One-eyed Giant Ox corpses are numerous; they offered two Supernatural Weapons plus one Supernatural Armor. After negotiation, they hope to exchange these corpses for one First Rank Supernatural Weapon and one First Rank Supernatural Armor."

After saying that, Ling Xue'er looked at Su Hao with some apprehension.

At the time she thought trading two Supernatural Weapons and one Supernatural Armor for twenty-odd corpses was too expensive, so she instinctively haggled.

But later she realized Su Hao seemingly never had a habit of haggling.

Furthermore, according to Su Hao's list, two First Rank Supernatural Weapons plus one First Rank Supernatural Armor are slightly pricey but still within the listed price range.

After discovering these things, she worried her unilateral decision would dissatisfy Su Hao.

However, Su Hao's following words shocked her greatly.

"Next time, you don't need to tell me; just keep the price difference you negotiate as extra compensation."

"You can use these extra earnings yourself, trade them for other things, or hire people to help you with tasks—I won't interfere."

"But remember, don't push the price too low; don't go below my purchase floor, so as not to affect future procurement."

Su Hao waved his hand, indifferent, even giving Ling Xue'er an extra money-making channel.

As long as Su Hao's procurement plan isn't affected, he won't mind Ling Xue'er making a profit this way.

On the contrary, he hopes Ling Xue'er can gain even more profit to establish a trading organization.

After all, one's energy is limited; if Ling Xue'er truly could build a trading organization...

Even if that trading organization had only two or three people, its procurement speed for Supernatural Items would surpass Ling Xue'er's.

The faster Ling Xue'er procures Supernatural Items, the more Su Hao's personal strength and territory development speed will increase accordingly.

Thus, the greater Ling Xue'er's profit from this, the more benefits Su Hao gains.

You can't expect to just earn a salary and still receive ever‑greater benefits! As for faster procurement possibly outpacing available goods, Su Hao has no such worry.

Now Su Hao has acquired the Stitching Monster crafting skill, and the Hell Forge Three‑piece Set has been synthesized.

From now on we can mass‑produce Hell Monsters; even if Su Hao's Supernatural Weapons and Armor are all traded away...

... Hell Monsters can also serve as trade goods—no one can refuse such loyal guardians.

Hmm…

If Hell Monsters are like Stitching Monsters, then they are loyal.

Even if Hell Monsters can't be trade goods, Su Hao still has plenty of Supernatural Plants of First and Second Rank.

Even Third, Fourth, and Fifth Rank ones will exist!

Take the Blazing Fire Dragon Fruit, for example—it can temporarily boost spiritual power and physique, and there's even a chance to permanently increase fire affinity; who could resist such a thing? What Su Hao worries about isn't that he can't come up with the money for the trade, but that the purchasing speed is too slow.

So, if Ling Xue'er could establish a merchant guild dedicated to serving Su Hao, he would naturally support it to the fullest, even if it meant contributing some resources.

"Boss, you mean…… I can make a profit here?"

Ling Xue'er stared blankly for a while before saying, her face full of disbelief.

As Su Hao's sole agent, wielding such great power, Ling Xue'er had also thought about making a profit from this, but she never dared to act on it, nor even dare to bring up the request to Su Hao.

After all, Su Hao had given her a Clearwind Longbow as wages, and she didn't dare act overly greedy.

But now, Su Hao voluntarily brought this up; with such huge benefits at stake, how could she not be tempted?

"Of course, as long as it doesn't interfere with my subsequent purchases, if you can use this opportunity to set up a small merchant guild, find a few close people to share responsibility, and increase purchasing efforts, it would actually be a good thing for me."

Su Hao gave a faint smile, then glanced at Puyu Yao beside him.

To establish a merchant guild in the apocalypse and have Puyu Yao's familiar companions join it is Ling Xue'er's best option at present.

Naturally, Ling Xue'er saw Su Hao's final gaze; she lowered her head, brows slightly furrowed, revealing a thoughtful expression.

"Boss, are you hinting at something? Are you telling me that if I want to set up a merchant guild, I should prioritize pulling in Puyu Yao and these familiar people?"

"No, no, even if I were truly an idiot, I'd understand this principle for such a small matter."

"Then what is the hint that the boss wants to convey?"

"Could it be that……"

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Ling Xue'er's mind.

"I seem to have overlooked something all along—although the boss is very strong, he is also a man."

I heard that nowadays many people with a bit of ability, in their shelters, have taken in many opposite-sex individuals, living extravagantly,

Could it be that the boss's meaning is to let me, through this matter, by the way help him scout some opposite-sex individuals with good looks, like Pu Wenyao?

"No, no, that's not it!"

But soon, Ling Xue'er shook her head again, denying this guess.

If the boss really had any thoughts about Pu Wenyao, he could have just brought it up when helping her move; why go through all this trouble? Moreover, the boss merely looks like a human male, while that stone person earlier personally asked the boss what kind of monster he was.

So, the boss has over a ninety percent probability of not being human, but rather an unknown species that looks human and harbors goodwill toward humans.

Furthermore, the boss has never shown any desire in this regard, and in his shelter there are no adult human females; most are members of the Flower Spirit Elf Clan.

The rest are Da Xiong Mao, bamboo monsters, water peach monsters, and vine monsters—these strange-looking demon tribes.

Perhaps, with the boss's special aesthetic as such a creature, looking at us humans is like how we look at kittens and puppies, so naturally we wouldn't develop that special feeling.

Maybe in the boss's eyes, bamboo monsters and vine monsters, these special demon tribes, better suit his aesthetic.

Thinking of this, Ling Xue'er's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light, and her tightly furrowed brows relaxed again.

"I get it! I get it now! So that's what the boss meant!"

The boss not liking adult human females doesn't mean he dislikes these other tribes.

So what the boss wants to express is that he hopes my future purchasing direction will not be limited to humans, but should instead target more of these tribes as trade objectives.

And in the trading process, help him notice some special tribes; when encountering a suitable one, bring that person to the boss's shelter, letting the boss choose himself.

That's because wanting to take more tribes as trade targets, the boss feels I can't handle it alone, and hopes I will form a union specifically for this matter.

Yes, that's definitely it!

I'm really clever, I'm not the fool that Da Xiong Mao said, hahaha!

"Boss, I know what to do now!"

Ling Xue'er lifted her head and nodded with a confident expression.

Su Hao: ……

I always feel Ling Xue'er's reaction is a bit off.

Su Hao always feels something is a bit off, but he didn't think much about it.

Isn't it just letting Ling Xue'er take these profit differences to set up a chamber of commerce? For such a small matter, how could there be any deviation? Impossible!

Afterwards, Su Hao handed the trade goods to Ling Xue'er, then had Da Xiong Mao follow the two of them to Pu Wenyao's shelter to help her move it.

After watching the helicopter fly away, Su Hao did not rush to go out exploring.

This time we agreed to take Da Xiong Mao out for training, so we must wait for Da Xiong Mao to return from moving before we go out exploring together! 'I'm a trustworthy good person; how could I abandon Da Xiong Mao and go out playing alone!'

Su Hao smiled slightly, then immediately put everything in the living room into the Storage Bag, using his blood-control ability to clean up all the bloodstains on the floor.

Finally, he left the shelter and headed toward the underground laboratory.

While waiting for Da Xiong Mao to return, it was a good opportunity to practice the skill of crafting Stitching Monsters, to see if we could refine a few hellish creatures.

(End of chapter)