Chapter 19: A Deal with Senior Brother

Chapter 19: A Deal with the Senior

Li Hongshen left the letter from his parents in the treasury, then accompanied Old Uncle Yu to the Legion’s Peng City office, the municipal government center, and other places to handle various formalities—property transfers, asset accounts, and so on.

After all was settled, Li Hongshen invited Old Uncle Yu to a hotel for a lavish meal. After dining, they parted ways, neither mentioning anything about extending the legal consultancy contract. Li Hongshen simply couldn’t trust a legal advisor who might have personal interests at heart, and Old Uncle Yu could no longer serve a lord who didn’t trust him. Their relationship ended there; from now on, even if they met, it would be nothing more than a distant family acquaintance’s polite nod.

Li Hongshen returned to his own house. He had moved out of the Qidian Orphanage at thirteen, but until now he’d only had the right to live there—now, the house was legally his. Not that he cared much; he expected to spend the next several years living at First High School. Only after graduating from university might he return to live here for the long term. He had no intention of renting out the property, so he entrusted its care to the property management company. Today, he was simply back to pick up some clothes and supplies—after all, classes at First High School officially began tomorrow.

While tidying up, he received a call from Fu Lei, who told him he’d enrolled at Sixth High School and invited him to a junior high classmates’ gathering at a bar. Li Hongshen thanked him for the invitation but declined. He was never one for crowds, and especially not for rowdy places like bars. Besides, tomorrow all the theoretical courses at Peng City First High would be completed in a single day—there was no way he would slack off now.

With his luggage packed, he draped white cloths over the furniture once more and gifted any leftover food to his neighbors, then headed to the dormitory assigned to him by the school.

The dorms at Peng City First High were like grand apartments—co-ed, with each person having a private room, all expanded by spatial technology. Each suite included a living room, a bedroom, and an ultra-luxurious bathroom. In the living room stood a virtual pod, the site for daily classes.

Indeed, most of the theoretical instruction there was delivered in virtual space, taught by artificial intelligence. The virtual environment even used neural acceleration technology, which, though it could cause dizziness, nausea, and other discomfort in new lords, was said not to pose any serious problems. Teachers focused more on practical training, and would help students devise suitable development plans tailored to their abilities.

Li Hongshen gave his dorm a quick setup, then headed out, riding an in-campus hoverboard to White Jade Square. Many seniors were there, trading goods from their territories for source points—a way to extend their time in the Endless Wilds.

With the advancement of lord civilization, most lords reached at least Tier Three by the time they graduated from university, so the goods circulating in the market were typically of Tier Three or above. Only within the lord high schools did Tier One items remain common, as the schools cultivated such resources on a large scale and students could gather them themselves in the Endless Wilds. This abundance led to a vibrant campus market, where students bartered or sold resources for source points.

The first day of each new school year, seniors would sell Tier One goods to wealthy freshmen. Li Hongshen was here to make purchases. The seniors sat cross-legged with little concern for their image, their wares spread on sheets before them, each labeled with its price and trade terms. Lacking the funds to create resource orbs, they would complete transactions in school-designated rooms adjacent to the square—rooms the school happily provided for a fee.

“A ton of mineral salt for a hundred Tier One Blood Crystals or a thousand source points.”

“Twenty fresh Tier One Hemostatic Herbs, can be transplanted, for a hundred Blood Crystals or a thousand source points.”

“Ten Tier Two Bone Spears for a hundred Blood Crystals or a thousand source points.”

Such were the posted offers, though the seniors didn’t bother shouting for customers. In this unique high school era, even lords of their own worlds could be seen hawking wares in person; later, such matters would be handled by agents.

Li Hongshen stopped at one particular stall run by a sturdy-looking senior dressed in a leather coat—clearly just returned from the Endless Wilds.

“Looking for anything in particular? The prices are all fair—feel free to buy whatever you like.”

“I’d like to buy fifty cattle and fifty sheep from you, but I want to pay in salt.”

The senior was momentarily surprised. “You must be a freshman, right?”

“Yes, I am. But there’s no rule against newcomers bartering, is there?”

“Oh, that’s not what I meant. I’m just surprised a freshman, fresh from the novice period, already has enough resources to trade with me. My name is Luo Si, second year—pleased to meet you.” He reached out and shook Li Hongshen’s hand.

“So, do we have a deal? Just to clarify, my salt is refined—a lot pricier than mineral salt. Your hundred head of livestock are worth about two tons of refined salt.”

“Deal! Why not—refined salt’s much better, lasts longer than mineral salt, and saves effort. I can resell it in the virtual market in the Endless Wilds and make an extra profit. I’m the one getting the better end of this.”

“In that case, since you’re getting the better deal, how about you cover the transaction fee this time, Senior Luo? Let me thank you in advance.”

“Ah, well…” Luo Si smiled awkwardly, shook his head, but didn’t protest. He got up, marked his stall with a brick to show he’d return, and led Li Hongshen to the transaction center. After paying the fee, they used the school’s technology to open their respective territories and connect them with a spatial channel. Luo Si’s subjects drove out the cattle and sheep, while Li Hongshen’s people hauled bags of salt from the Phoenix Rest Valley cave through the channel for exchange.

“Deal done. The sacks for the salt are my gift to you. Let’s exchange contact info, Senior—you can tell me your territory’s coordinates, and look after me in the Endless Wilds sometime.”

“No, no, you’re bound to do better than me in the future, haha!”

After this round of mutual compliments, they parted ways—Luo Si went back to his stall, and Li Hongshen wandered about. Seeing that no one dared offer Blood Crystals for sale, he returned to his dorm.

These stalls only traded basic goods—livestock, timber, ores, and the like. Few higher-tier items appeared, and those that did seemed meant for wealthy new students. The true experts were always immersed in the Endless Wilds, trading in its virtual market instead.

It wasn’t that the goods outside were inferior; it was just that Li Hongshen had higher standards, and his territory simply wasn’t lacking in such things.

(End of Chapter)