Chapter 545 Profound Exchange Meeting <TOC> Chapter 547 Vivid Blood Red
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Translator: SumTLMan
Angel furrowed his brow, wondering what was wrong with this person. He had thought the man was like himself, a cool and aloof character, but suddenly his facade crumbled, and he became completely different from the people before him.
Most of the previous speakers had engaged in intellectual discussions; even if they had made some kind of exchange, they had used euphemisms to express that they were seeking rare items that could only be found in private gatherings like this.
They had flattered the organizers and the people they were trading with, accomplishing multiple goals at once.
However, this man was like a rat dropping amidst a refined gathering, instantly dragging the high-end event down to the level of a chaotic, low-class market.
And he repeated his spiel: “Honest trading, the largest talent market on Kirk Street! You can find any talent you’re looking for here! The following is my personal communicator code…”
This time, Angel understood the key point in his speech: a talent market?
Was it a professional recruitment agency, or something like a headhunting company from Earth’s civilization?
As Angel pondered this, Landis, seated at the head of the round table, immediately darkened his expression and strode over to the man, yanking off his hood.
With the hood removed, the skinny man suddenly ballooned in size, becoming a large, fat man about four or five times his original size.
“Of course it’s you, Pierre!” Anger flashed in Landis’ eyes: “I can’t believe you snuck in here again! Get out, do you hear me? Get out!”
By the end, Landis was almost hysterical, cursing and shoving the fat man named Pierre.
The others seemed unconcerned, even amused by the scene.
“Pierre’s disguise was pretty successful this time, huh? He even fooled the magical eye at first.”
“I didn’t recognize him earlier either. His acting skills have improved quite a bit.”
As people talked, Angel gradually understood Pierre’s background. He was a strange merchant from Kirk Street, claiming to have opened a “talent market,” but everyone knew that the so-called “talent trading” was actually a euphemism for slave trading.
For some reason, Pierre had an obsession with attending the Profound Alchemy gatherings. Each time one was held, he would attempt to sneak in and promote his slave shop.
Strangely, despite Pierre causing trouble countless times, the Profound Alchemy Association only kicked him out without taking further action. People speculated that either Pierre knew someone in the association or he had a powerful background. As for which it was, everyone had their own theories, like the arguments happening right now.
Pierre was only a second-level apprentice, while Landis had already reached the peak of apprenticeship. Therefore, facing Landis, Pierre had almost no power to fight back, or rather, he didn’t even try to fight back, and simply surrendered.
Landis dragged Pierre towards the outside of the communication hall.
As Pierre was being dragged away, he showed no sense of being humiliated, and he still shouted at the people inside: “There really are new goods! If you don’t need talents, I also have maids here! Top-quality maids smuggled from the Man Trap Plane! Young wild cat people, cold demeanor types, verbally abusive types, gentle types, I have everything! Absolutely honest transactions!”
“Please remember my communicator code…”
Pierre’s figure finally disappeared behind the curtain.
Everyone at the round table couldn’t help but shake their heads.
A newcomer, seemingly interested in the maids, had a flash of curiosity in his eyes. Someone at the next table immediately laughed: “Don’t bother, if you really want to find beautiful slaves to serve you, go to the slave auctions on Mans Street instead… The shop Pierre runs has too many strange rules, and most of the slaves have to sign an agreement not to force applause with the maids. So, young man, broaden your horizons.”
Hearing this explanation, the newcomer suddenly realized. Why buy a maid if you can’t clap?
However, someone else countered: “Although Pierre has many rules, the quality and caliber of the slaves he sells are quite high, even among ordinary people. Unfortunately, they cannot be taught to walk the path of the wizard, so even if they are bought, they cannot assist in the extraordinary.”
“In fact, many wizards go to Pierre’s shop to buy, but most are passionate about art.”
“It is only art that allows ordinary people to occasionally shine.”
Their conversation all fell into Angel’s ears, and under the hood, his eyes suddenly shone brightly.
After a while, Landis lifted the old red curtain and walked back.
Facing the amused gazes of everyone, Landis’s expression was somewhat awkward, and he forced a smile: “There was a small incident, but it’s not a problem. Our trade continues…”
As soon as his words fell, everyone present couldn’t help but laugh. Landis hadn’t yet realized his mistake, but his sidekick John, with his large ears, whispered a reminder: “Boss Landis, it’s an exchange, not a trade!”
Only then did Landis realize that he had misspoken. His face changed, and he chuckled awkwardly: “Exchange, it’s an exchange. Let’s continue the exchange… Who else wants to participate in the exchange now?”
A tanned, muscular man wearing a tight tank top stood up: “This time, I want to trade a small item…”
Landis had just said “exchange,” but someone immediately followed with “trade,” making his face look a bit unhappy. However, he couldn’t get angry since he was the one who had let the cat out of the bag earlier, breaking the unspoken agreement among everyone.
He only felt wronged in his heart, but he dared not speak up.
One by one, they exchanged knowledge, and still, the focus was on knowledge exchange. After all, it was an alchemy meeting, and many questions revolved around alchemy. Angel knew the answers to many of the alchemy questions. However, the rewards given by those who exchanged with him were not very satisfactory, even low, so Angel naturally refused to sell his knowledge cheaply.
At this time, a blushing, somewhat shy alchemy apprentice stood up.
Her exchange request was still for knowledge assistance, wanting to inquire about a crucial crafting aspect of energy stabilizers.
Energy stabilizers were almost extinct in the Savage Grottoes, and even if someone sold them, they would be quickly bought by others. However, in Sky Mechanical City, many alchemists could craft them, and even produce them in large quantities. But all alchemists who could craft energy stabilizers were unwilling to share their crafting experience because it was an essential item for every extraordinary person.
The market price was stable, but there were so many people in demand that no wizard or wizard apprentice would refuse an energy stabilizer. Moreover, the cost-to-price ratio of the final product was dozens of times higher, making it very profitable. It can be said that as long as you can craft energy stabilizers, you have a stable and generous income.
Under such circumstances, alchemy apprentices naturally wanted to learn how to craft energy stabilizers, but no one taught them, so self-study could only be done by reverse-engineering the finished product, which was very difficult.
This apprentice had bought several energy stabilizers and then reverse-engineered them. She finally managed to reverse-engineer the core area, but the inside was too complicated, and she was completely confused.
She knew that energy stabilizers couldn’t have such a complex core, so it must be an anti-theft measure set up by the crafter.
She was unwilling to get stuck at this final step, so she thought of seeking help at the exchange meeting.
However, she also knew that the chances were slim because energy stabilizers were trendy in the market, and even fewer people were willing to share their crafting secrets. But with a glimmer of hope, she came anyway.
When the shy alchemy apprentice asked her question, almost everyone in the room silently shook their heads. Although no one said anything, their attitude said it all.
Just as she sat down in disappointment,
Suddenly she noticed a row of messages flashing on the communicator in front of her…
“Regarding energy stabilizers, I can exchange with you. After the exchange meeting is over, meet at the Fingernail Alchemy House.”
Her expression was somewhat surprised, and she looked up to see who had sent her the message, but she not only failed to find the person who sent the message but was also speculated by others that someone was trading with her, showing a jealous expression.
Which fool would reveal the crafting secrets of energy stabilizers? Everyone was wondering in their hearts.
And the fool being secretly ridiculed by everyone was Angel.
In front of those who wanted to exchange alchemy knowledge, the majority of it he knew, but he didn’t trade because the price offered by the other party wasn’t satisfactory, not because he was hoarding it for himself.
The exchange condition proposed by this apprentice, however, was very interesting.
It was an ant called the Dreamweaver Ant that she had accidentally acquired, a magical insect rumored to be extinct.
This was a very peculiar kind of ant, one that Angel hadn’t even heard of before today. As the name implies, the sole function of this ant is to weave dreams, crafting dreamscapes for others, whether they are sweet dreams or nightmares.
Though it’s impossible to determine what kind of dream it will weave, simple communication with it before sleep is possible.
It has two antennae, one black and one white. Touch the white antenna before sleep, and it will weave sweet dreams for you; touch the black antenna, and it will weave nightmares.
It sounds useless, and in reality, it truly is. These sweet dreams and nightmares contain no energy attacks, purely weaving ordinary dreamscapes for you.
However, this Dreamweaver Ant was said to have vanished thousands of years ago, so in the present day, it’s considered a novel and curious item.
It’s not a bad thing to collect.
So when she said that the Dreamweaver Ant was the reward for exchanging knowledge, many people were interested. But when she mentioned the question she wanted to exchange, everyone lost their motivation, as they felt the value for the trade wasn’t high.
But Angel thought it was good, as one man’s poison is another man’s meat. He found this ant interesting and was reminded of the stories his mentor Jon had told him when he was young.
A dream of Nanke.
The general idea of the story was about a man who had a great dream, but it all turned out to be false happiness. The mystery was solved in the end; the dream was created by him getting drunk and resting his head on an ant nest, where a group of Nanke ants wove the dream for him.
How similar to this Dreamweaver Ant.
As a child, Angel only listened to the story. When the Nanke ants from the story appeared in front of Angel, he felt an indescribably subtle feeling.
Driven by this faint subtlety, Angel decided to exchange with her.
An energy stabilizer was not top-secret, so it wouldn’t hurt to trade it away. On the other hand, when he returned to the Old Land Continent, giving the Dreamweaver Ant to Jon would surely be a delightful surprise.
Chapter 545 Profound Exchange Meeting <TOC> Chapter 547 Vivid Blood Red