Longer Than a Bank Account Number

Wait!

That is 100 units of wood!

Cheng Shuili did not know how many individual logs constituted one unit of wood, but she knew the carriage definitely could not hold all of them!

Cheng Shuili immediately grabbed the Taotie Furnace and teleported into the territory with a thought.

Ailin and Zhou Zhuxing were working at the entrance of the territory. Before they could even greet her, they were stunned into silence by the scene that unfolded before their eyes!

The unassuming small bronze furnace in Cheng Shuili’s hands suddenly erupted with a brilliant, intense light!

The next moment! Boom!

A miniature mountain of wood suddenly appeared out of thin air!

Two hundred standard units of wood! Each log displayed the fresh, pale yellow color of newly cut timber with clear grain, emitting a natural, refreshing woody fragrance!

It was just there—abruptly, neatly, and instantly piled on the open ground in front of Cheng Shuili!

The stack was incredibly high yet remarkably stable. The logs at the very top even shifted slightly, producing a dull, solid thudding sound.

There was no dust, no debris; only the clean, distinct scent of wood permeated the air, quickly filling the entire area.

Sunlight spilled onto the newly appeared woodpile, coating the smooth surfaces in a warm, gentle luster. Each piece looked so standard and perfect.

Ailin’s mouth hung slightly open, her posture frozen in the middle of a greeting, but her expression was one of utter bewilderment.

Even Zhou Zhuxing’s usually indifferent expression cracked for once. She frowned, examining the sudden pile of wood carefully, but upon realizing that Cheng Shuili was behind the commotion, she felt a strange, inexplicable sense of relief.

As for the culprit behind it all, Cheng Shuili herself was also stunned.

She looked at the woodpile, which was nearly two people tall, then lowered her head to look at the Taotie Furnace in her hand, which had returned to its calm, even chilly state.

Oh no... I really pulled something good this time.

But with this kind of luck... I hope I didn't use it all up right here, right?

Cheng Shuili was not one to worry needlessly; she only thought this because the idea had just crossed her mind.

She lifted her head to look at her two dumbstruck companions, a radiant, slightly silly, and extremely excited smile blooming on her face. Her voice trembled slightly with excitement: "How about it? Is this magic amazing?"

It was indeed too amazing.

Leaving the wood in the territory, Cheng Shuili teleported back to her vehicle.

With that settled, the rest of the supplies were manageable, but the Multifunctional Artisan Workshop Blueprint required four types of materials. Although the Taotie Furnace was excellent, it could only be used three times a day.

It was definitely impossible to craft it today.

Since that was the case, rather than wasting the opportunity on that, she might as well get the Abyss Stone and Shadow Essence.

Of course, Shadow Essence had a higher priority than both.

Firstly, it was harder to obtain, and secondly, if Shadow Essence could not be converted by the Taotie Furnace, Cheng Shuili would have to convert three Abyss Stones instead.

Theoretically, the Taotie Furnace could convert anything.

But facts were not theory. If it really required a quantity of materials as long as a bank account number, where on earth was she supposed to find that many?

She shook her head, mentally preparing herself.

Shadow Essence was clearly not a basic material like wood. Cheng Shuili prepared herself for the possibility that it would require many things, but she still wanted to see how many iron nails it would take to convert it.

She set up the panel and pressed confirm. The next second, a number appeared.

Cheng Shuili: "......"

She glanced at it briefly; without saying anything else, it was definitely longer than a bank account number.

She gave up on that decisively.

With that out of the way, anything with a value similar to iron nails was also off the table.

If one were to ask what items were very expensive, Cheng Shuili actually had quite a few...

That would be the Designated Player Duel Card!

Cheng Shuili chose to use the Designated Player Duel Card for conversion, and a new number appeared.

It had several fewer digits than before, but it was still completely unacceptable!

Cheng Shuili frowned and selected several types of materials at once: Energy Stones, vehicle cards, and some captured weapons and equipment.

The resulting number was still huge—many digits long.

Cheng Shuili fell silent. She had chosen to try converting Shadow Essence first precisely because she was worried this would happen, but she had not expected it to actually occur.

Cheng Shuili’s concern, of course, was not unfounded.

The monster merchant had said that this item needed to be planted in soil rich in shadow energy and that she would have to wait for it to bear fruit. The energy absorbed by the seed during this process had to be supplemented entirely by the Taotie Furnace, so the consumption of materials was naturally high.

Although it was reasonable, Cheng Shuili still felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her head. The excitement that had been boiling over because of the woodpile seemed to be drained away in an instant, leaving only a cold, sober clarity.

She slowly let out a long breath, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the cool bronze surface of the furnace.

Right.

How could it be that simple?

If an item like Shadow Essence, which required a special environment and special energy to gestate, could be mass-produced easily with a pile of iron nails or a few cards, wouldn't the rules of this world become a joke?

The power of the Taotie Furnace lay in "conversion," not truly "creating something from nothing."

It was more like an extremely efficient equivalent exchanger capable of crossing material categories.

By putting a large number of low-value or equivalent-value items through some mysterious alchemical process, it converted them into another designated item.

The energy level contained within Shadow Essence was too high, so the required cost was naturally an astronomical figure.

The mountains of basic materials in her warehouse seemed insignificant in the face of this level of demand, even bordering on the laughable.

Cheng Shuili rubbed her temples. She didn't feel much disappointment; instead, she felt a sense of grounded certainty.

Unknown, seemingly omnipotent surprises were the most unsettling, but defining boundaries and rules actually allowed her to plan and utilize them with greater peace of mind.

She closed the Shadow Essence conversion interface and scanned her remaining two usage opportunities.

What about the Abyss Stone?

With a thought, she switched the target product to Abyss Stone.

The panel refreshed. The resulting number was still large, but compared to the dizzyingly long string of digits for the Shadow Essence, it had shortened significantly.

Although it still required an investment of valuable materials, it was at least within a range she could accept.

"One unit of Shadow Essence... is equivalent to over thirty units of Abyss Stone?"

Cheng Shuili muttered to herself, calculating quickly in her mind. "And it seems that using high-quality items as fuel is more efficient than using a massive amount of low-quality items..."

Another limitation of the Taotie Furnace also became apparent: it seemed to prefer high-quality inputs.

Using high-quality materials could significantly reduce the required quantity.

But Cheng Shuili was short on high-quality materials herself.

Cheng Shuili sighed and temporarily abandoned the idea of converting Abyss Stones immediately.

She had also received the dungeon opening card, so rather than wasting so many materials, she might as well go on that trip.