Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Windfall-My Best Friend Is the System(Wine, Sword, and Ninety-Nine)

"Ugh, don’t even mention it. Big Sis and the others found a freshly spawned rare ore vein in Demon Gorge, and they’re all in there mining like crazy. I was starving, so I came down to grab something to eat first. Oh, by the way, Lingyue said you struck it rich? Treat us! Come on, treat us! I’m sick to death of eating instant noodles every day," Li Yuetong said, grabbing Ye Chen’s arm and shaking it.

Ye Chen gave a wry smile. "I did strike it rich, but the money won’t be in my account for another three working days. So, tonight, it’s still instant noodles."

"Really? How much did you make?" Li Yuetong’s eyes widened. All she’d heard from Lingyue was that Ye Chen had sealed some high-priced deal with the higher-ups at Dragon Soar, but whether it actually succeeded, Lingyue couldn’t say for sure.

Ye Chen grinned and held up a single finger.

"One thousand yuan?" Li Yuetong patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. "Not bad, not bad. Looks like our logistics guy is finally catching up to the full members."

Ye Chen shook his finger, a slightly smug smile on his face. "You’ve guessed wrong, Yuetong. Not a thousand."

"Not a thousand? Then a hundred? Wow, you really have no ambition," Li Yuetong said, looking at him with an expression full of disappointment.

Ye Chen flushed in annoyance. "Can’t you think bigger? Ten thousand. Ten thousand!"

"Te... ten thousand?" Li Yuetong’s alluring mouth fell open in astonishment as she stared at Ye Chen in disbelief. "You’re not joking with me, are you?"

This time, Ye Chen was quite satisfied with her reaction. He smiled and said, "Not joking, not at all. Sold five hundred gold coins for twelve thousand yuan. After deducting the transaction fee and income tax, it’s just over ten thousand. The money will be in my account in three days."

Yuetong immediately cheered. "That’s great! Then you have to treat me to a feast, okay? I want abalone, sea cucumber, monkey brains... Oh, and bear paw too. I heard it’s delicious with honey."

Ye Chen instantly broke out in a cold sweat. "I still need to save up for my amnesia treatment."

"That can wait a little," she replied.

"…"

After dinner, having escaped from the food-obsessed shirt girl, Ye Chen hurried back to his room to log in to the game. He was eager to produce those pills and sell them for a profit as soon as possible.

He put on his helmet and logged into the game. In an instant, he found himself in the small plaza of Fiery Mountain City, the same place he’d logged off earlier. He ran all the way to the second floor of the Alchemist Guild, ignoring the guildmaster’s scowling face, and squatted in a corner to start refining pills. As the guild’s only apprentice alchemist, Ye Chen had the right to go straight up to the second floor.

He set out bottle after bottle, then took out a heap of herbs, calculating just how much gold he’d make this time. With a mixture of excitement and anticipation, he began refining pills once more.

"Congratulations, you have successfully refined a Blood Coagulation Pill."

He had over two thousand stalks of coagulation herb. Even if he used five per batch, it would still take quite a while. After a full hour of shaking the refining flask until his hands were sore, he finally finished processing all the herbs. Counting carefully, he’d produced exactly 432 Blood Coagulation Pills. At three gold coins each, that was a huge sum of money. His hands were trembling with excitement.

Though tired, Ye Chen was invigorated by the thought of money and pressed on to refine the Wit Pills.

Five stalks of Mind-Focusing Herb, a level-two alchemy furnace, a flicker of second-grade alchemy flame—he set his skills in motion and a fresh Wit Pill emerged.

"Congratulations, you have successfully refined a Wit Pill. Alchemy proficiency +1. As the first player to create this pill, your achievement title has been promoted from Pioneer of Pills to Vanguard of Pills. This title increases your pill success rate by 4%."

Ye Chen’s heart skipped a beat, a wild joy flashing across his face. By the looks of it, every time he produced a new pill, he’d get a new title, and his success rate would increase. In the future, this would be a tremendous advantage!

When all the Mind-Focusing Herb was used up, he’d made 110 Wit Pills, and his alchemy skill had risen from level 2 to level 3. As long as he had enough materials, he could start making the level-three Multi-Experience Pills!

Counting his finished pills: 432 Blood Coagulation Pills, 110 Wit Pills. In gold coins, that totaled 1,846 coins—a fortune, an absolute fortune. If he sold out his entire stock, he’d instantly become one of the richest players in Fiery Mountain City.

Of course, he couldn’t sell all of them. Whether Blood Coagulation or Wit Pills, he had to keep some for personal use and for the studio. Even so, he’d still make a handsome profit.

He sent a message to Dragon Soar Starcutter, arranging to meet at the Alchemist Guild entrance. By the time Ye Chen had packed up and left the guild, Starcutter was already waiting outside. No doubt he’d used the city’s teleportation array again—so extravagant. But soon, Ye Chen thought, he’d be able to afford such luxuries himself. In high spirits, he strode forward.

"Ye Chen, you’re done already? That was fast!" Starcutter greeted him eagerly as he saw Ye Chen coming out.

Ye Chen smiled. "So, do you have the money ready?"

"All set, all set," Starcutter nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, let’s trade. I’ll sell you 350 Blood Coagulation Pills and 90 Wit Pills," Ye Chen said, opening the trade window and placing the pills inside.

This time, they chose not to trade everything in one go, but split it into several transactions. Both were cautious—even Starcutter, usually so lavish, double-checked every time. Clearly, over a thousand gold coins was no small sum for him either.

When the trades were done, Ye Chen’s gold jumped from 125 to 1,625—an increase of 1,500 gold coins. Calculating the cost of materials and recipes, it had only been about 440 gold, so that was a profit of over a thousand gold. Even factoring in the value of the herbs and his own hard work, it was still a massive windfall.

Seeing Ye Chen grinning from ear to ear, Starcutter laughed. "Ye Chen, you’re really the tycoon of Fiery Mountain City now. Fifteen hundred gold—enough for a full set of bronze gear. I’m so envious! How about I talk to Boss Wanderer and get you a set from our armory?"

Ye Chen smiled and shook his head. "Forget it. As the studio’s logistics guy, I can’t bear to spend tens of thousands on gear."

Starcutter chuckled and was about to say something else when he suddenly froze, then looked up at Ye Chen. "Just now, someone in the guild channel said your boss, Sword of Grace, and a few girls from Greenfeather have been cornered by the Fierce Tiger Clan in Demon Gorge!"