Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 189 The Title Leaderboard

“Mister Shuhai truly is affluent, both in body and mind. He can part with one billion like it’s nothing.” A man grew a bit jealous when seeing Qin Shuhai paying such a big sum without much of a thought.

More people nodded to agree.

Even for titled warriors, one billion was no small number. They always needed large amounts of cash on various occasions, such as this one, where they had to buy important treasures from others. If they happened to see multiple items they liked, they’d soon exhaust their savings and start selling essentials to make up for urgent needs. “I don’t mean to brag, but know that I own a 2-star VIP account at the Astral Union Bank. I can make any immediate payments below ten billion,” said Qin Shuhai.

The Astral Union Bank had offices and subdivisions throughout different planets where Federation colonies were established; it was famous for their efficiency. If people were to use a local bank to transfer such an amount of money, they’d need to go through a lot of burdensome processes.

Su Ping nodded, deploying a simple astral barrier around them and messaging his account number using his phone.

Qin Shuhai was quite surprised to see Su Ping showing him an ordinary bank account issued by a common bank in Longjiang City. Titled battle pet warriors were usually allowed to apply for VIP accounts managed by the union bank, which were way more convenient in many aspects.

Although, he didn’t question this matter. He simply entered the account and made the transfer. Even if he accidentally sent the money to the wrong recipient, he had many ways to force a small bank to transfer the money back

Su Ping checked his phone and saw the lovely zeros shown behind his balance. It seemed everything was in order.

“Thank you very much, Mister Su.” Qin Shuhai smiled contentedly.

“Likewise.”

Luo Guxue watched the whole matter and almost felt sad. For a settler, raising a billion would imply taking on many difficult missions. And even if she could earn the money, she had to stay alive after all those missions to enjoy the fruits of her labor. The work of settlers didn’t appear as rewarding as people thought.

“Are you selling this lantern as well, Mister Su?” Qin Shuhai pointed at the Soul Lantern nearby.

“No, sorry.”

To Su Ping, the lantern was way more important than the fruit. Although the other people probably couldn’t see it.

Qin Shuhai didn’t know what the lantern was. He sensed peculiar energy signatures from it and wanted to try his luck. Although he was disappointed in the end.

“My family will always keep its doors open for you, Mister Su Ping. Please be sure to pay us a visit in the future.” Qin Shuhai tried befriending Su Ping as he always did when dealing with influential people.

Su Ping nodded slightly.

Next, it was Zhou Jing’s turn to empty his backpack, which mostly contained more energy crystals and monster body parts.

Naturally, the scales of the Flame Blood Dragon drew a lot of attention. Although, they couldn’t tell the rank of the dragon just by looking at the scales, which meant there wasn’t much to say.

Bit by bit, the inspectors used a specialized device to accurately tell the origins of all the crystals and materials, as well as the properties of the treasures the team had brought back.

SUI

Su Ping was quite surprised to see the device giving a detailed explanation regarding the lantern as well. As far as he knew, the lantern was an ancient item which hadn’t been mass-produced. He had thought modern devices would have been unable to recognize it.

Qin Shuhai saw through his thought process and explained, “We shipped the tool from the ‘outside’. Instead of relying on a database that needs constant updates, the device can analyze the inner structures of all items and work out their general design and effects accordingly. You don’t find many things that can keep secrets here. By the way, this thing might be small, but each one costs almost a trillion to manufacture. I think there are only a few of them currently in service on this planet.”

Su Ping nodded in acknowledgment. “Outside” probably meant other planets. “Let’s see… No Class A objects detected.” Qin Shuhai read the result with his co-workers. “Mister Su, you’re free to take them away.”

The Astral Spirit Fruit was considered restricted and would have to be reported to the higher-ups. Though there was no need for that since Qin Shuhai had already bought it. Such an action was against the rules, but it was usually “no complaint, no case.” Besides, an Astral Spirit Fruit was still not considered to be a forbidden Class A merchandise. Taking it would not get Qin Shuhai behind bars.

As for actual Class A items, the inspectors present didn’t have the right to decide where to put them. They would have to wait for the authorities to arrange them. Or in most cases, fight over them. The team sighed in relief since the inspection had ended swimmingly.

A titled warrior spoke to Su Ping, “Mister Su, I see you brought a lot of energy crystals. Could you sell some of them to me?”

The man tried to be polite after witnessing Su Ping’s level. It was up to Su Ping’s team to decide what to do with the crystals after the checkpoint, so he had to show some manners at the very least. Tyranny and forced trading were not allowed there.

Su Ping shook his head and rejected the proposal. He already had enough money and he wanted to use the crystals as pet food. The speaker stepped away, disappointed. When Su Ping’s team left the inspection room, Lady Feng looked at Qin Shuhai and said to him, “Hey, since when did Longjiang City have such a young rising star?”

Qin Shuhai shook his head with a bitter smile. “No idea. He seems to barely be 20 or so. A titled battle pet warrior… He’ll soon make it into the top ten of the Title Leaderboard, no doubt. And if he’s lucky, he might become a legendary pet warrior.”

Lady Feng frowned and glanced at Qin Shuhai’s fruit. “Top ten? Maybe. But definitely not legendary. That stuff asks for more than good talent and luck. You know, since he was willing to sell that fruit, chances are he ate one already or he found more than one in the Mysterious Realm. If he became a titled battle pet warrior by eating an Astral Spirit Fruit, then he’s not that good.”

Qin Shuhai wanted to agree, since Su Ping’s cheap bank account also told him that Su Ping didn’t have an impressive background.

But still, reaching that level at such an age was already a monumental feat. At least Qin Shuhai had to admit that Su Ping was way ahead of him.

“Gods. I really should have paid more attention to what was happening around my home…”

“Well, the Supremacy League is just after the Elite League, right?” Another titled warrior joined them. “With this fruit, I believe you can get a good result in the end, Mister Qin.”

Qin Shuhai shook his head. “I doubt it. You know well what the Supremacy League is like. It’s a stage for all kinds of scary freaks. An upper ninth-rank warrior like me will only win some matches to eventually be knocked

out.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Mister Qin!” people cheered.

“Yeah, we’ll all root for you.”

Qin Shuhai sighed in frustration, though the gleam of ambition never vanished from his eyes.

The Supremacy League was a gathering for all the titled warriors around the world. It was an important event where he had to participate.

He checked the Astral Spirit Fruit safely stored it.

After leaving the inspection room, Su Ping and the other members found a vacant spot outside and placed an astral barrier around them so they could talk in private.

“Let’s distribute the remaining energy crystals and materials,” Su Ping offered.

“But… how do we do it?” Ye Chenshan asked. He had just learned that Su Ping was a titled battle pet warrior and such a notion was barely sinking in. Out of instinct, he asked for Su Ping’s opinion.

Zhou Jing felt anxious as he waited for his decision. He knew he was mostly a stranger to Su Ping. There would be nothing he could do if Su Ping wished to take all the loot.

Su Ping considered, “We’ll divide everything four-six. I’m four. You guys decide how to share the rest, all right?”

That surprised everyone. It was quite a generous offer.

Luo Guxue spoke up, “Professor Su, we were able to take back so many things thanks to you. I mean, you and the captain handled most of the kills while we only watched from behind. We can’t have such a big portion.”

Ye Chenshan agreed; their captain used to divide their reward similarly, although Nie Chengkong always took the “six”. Deep down, Ye Chenshan would gladly accept the outcome and have his share for free. But since Luo Guxue brought it up, he thought it proper to at least show some courtesy. “What’s your opinion then?” asked Su Ping. “Urm, we can follow our old rules, meaning, we take four while you take six. Is that okay?”. “Sure.” Su Ping nodded. Delighted, Ye Chenshan and Zhou Jing quickly allocated everything accordingly. “And here’s the money I got from selling the Astral Spirit Fruit,” Su Ping continued, “How much should I give you?”

Luo Guxue was shocked, as she never expected to earn anything from that transaction.

“Well, you seized the fruit all by yourself, Professor Su. I mean, we would all be dead if not for you. We already took enough. Please, you can keep the money.”

Ye Chenshan nodded along. His conscience told him that was the right course of action.

Since the other members said so, Zhou Jing had to obey their decision as well.

Su Ping gladly accepted the result. In truth, he didn’t wish to share the money with anyone. It was just that, he found it necessary to pay a price to quench unnecessary trouble. He didn’t want people to hold grudges against him just because he took too much. “Okay, the fruit is all on me. You can have this sword.” He handed over Old Mo’s sword to the others.

Ye Chenshan accepted it. “We’ll later decide who keeps it. If no one wants it, we’ll sell it for merit points and evenly divide the income.”

“Sure thing.” Luo Guxue and Zhou Jing did not reject the proposal.

Since the final work was done, Zhou Jing and Ye Chenshan said their goodbyes and prepared to leave.

Luo Guxue wanted to accompany Su Ping for a bit longer, but Su Ping didn’t let her.

Ye Chenshan saw Su Ping’s action and silently complained in his mind. Man… Guess that’s how you lure a woman slowly.

Left with no choice, Luo Guxue left the Mysterious Realm together with her team. Su Ping placed everything he had gained inside his backpack and headed to the dragon tower.