Shang Chuan was full of regret.
Deep, deep, deep regret.
At this moment, he was wearing a pair of orange sunglasses, and on the small screen beside him was a pale green crystal.
That was right.
This crystal was the very one Li Wufeng and the others had gathered earlier.
【Thorium】
【Effect: Can be used for alchemy synthesis, item crafting, and golemcraft.】
【Description: A mineral second only to the legendary ore 'Mithril.' It possesses excellent mana conductivity and is the premier choice for crafting many magical items.】
When Shang Chuan saw the identification results for this crystal, his entire mood soured.
What was this?
Ore?
No!
In the eyes of a merchant, this was a means of production—something that could control the market.
Yet, he had handed over seventy percent of it, leaving himself with only thirty percent.
The most critical point was that there might be a lot more of this ore.
After all, for every fork in the path, there was a Mountain Eater.
Although the Mountain Eater's identification results stated that the minerals were random, who could guarantee that good things wouldn't appear?
For a merchant, this was more painful than being killed.
He had originally thought the cave might contain a mine, but it could have also just been a passage.
He never expected it to be a mineral 'second only' to the 'legendary' 'Mithril.'
Just looking at those descriptors told him how precious this stuff was.
Fortunately, most of the people he was splitting these minerals with had no interest in market manipulation.
Li Wufeng's gathering squad went without saying; that ten percent of the ore would eventually have to be handed over to him to be turned into profit.
As for Li Huai, he was basically only interested in combat. He would likely be happy to know that Shang Chuan would handle these matters for him.
And then there was Lan Qingyou.
Like Li Huai, aside from brewing potions, she was all about research. Lately, because she had to attend classes with Professor Seymer, the potions she brewed had become extremely perfunctory.
In this way, the Thorium ore was essentially under his control.
Using it to sway the market wasn't an impossible task.
Of course, that was a matter for the future. After all, the Abandoned Land was still too small, the market was limited, and there was no one capable of using Thorium to craft magical items yet.
Thinking this way served as a form of consolation.
At least it made him feel a bit better.
After this analysis, Shang Chuan managed to let it go.
There was no other way; both Lan Qingyou, the 'major shareholder,' and Li Huai were obstacles he couldn't bypass.
Even though Li Huai hadn't been of much use during this mission, his injuries and the wind wall were real contributions.
He could also sense the risks involved from Li Wufeng's exploration report.
So, no matter what, he accepted the deal!
With that thought, Shang Chuan mailed the piece of Thorium to Lan Qingyou and attached a message.
Shang Chuan: “Before you take this Thorium out, remember to wear your glasses to block the light, or your eyes won't be able to handle it.”
This was a warning Li Wufeng had sent him earlier.
At first, he hadn't understood why, but after reading the exploration report, he got it.
So, for Lan Qingyou's sake—and his own—illegally passing the warning along exactly as he received it.
Along with it, he sent the exploration report.
Since no one knew the exact quantity of Thorium available yet, having this report would likely prevent a smart person like Lan Qingyou from blaming him for not providing a clear number.
In reality, after Lan Qingyou saw the report, she truly had nothing to complain about.
It could even be said she felt the joy of being handed a pillow just as she was nodding off.
Thorium!
In mineralogy, this was the most precious mineral below legendary ores like Mithril.
Its excellent mana conductivity would make her even more proficient when she crafted golems in the future.
Thus, she immediately put on her glasses and took out the Thorium.
The pale green crystal was heavy and felt cold to the touch. It was crystal clear with a slight hint of transparency.
Setting aside all its added value and looking only at its appearance, Lan Qingyou felt this thing surpassed all the hyped-up gemstones from Blue Star.
After turning the crystal block over and over, the joy on Lan Qingyou's face slowly shifted into calm.
While she did need this ore and Thorium was indeed precious, it had one small flaw in mineralogy besides its rarity and mana conductivity: it was too hard.
That was right.
Hard.
According to the records in 《Basic Mineralogy》, this stuff required a specialized furnace or a specific alchemy circle to melt.
Regrettably, she currently had neither.
And alchemy required materials to be in liquid or powder form.
So, while she was excited and delighted, she currently lacked any effective means to process this material.
She couldn't even scrape a layer of powder off it for research.
However, having it was better than not. It was good for building up her material reserves.
Lan Qingyou: “Send me a hundred pounds.”
Shang Chuan: “You can use this stuff?”
Lan Qingyou: “No, but I need to stockpile it for later use.”
Shang Chuan: “No problem.”
Shang Chuan: “How much do you know about this ore? Can it have skin contact? Does it need any protective measures during mining?”
Lan Qingyou: “You can touch it directly with your hands; don't worry too much. As for what I know, I can only say it's very hard. It needs a specialized furnace or a specific alchemy circle to be melted and used.”
Shang Chuan: “Alright. Since there aren't any issues with mining, getting a hundred pounds won't be a problem.”
With Lan Qingyou's words as a foundation, Shang Chuan felt much more relaxed.
After all, this was a mountain of treasure. If it couldn't be mined and could only be looked at, it wouldn't just be painful—it would be the kind of thing that kept him awake at night.
As for Lan Qingyou wanting a hundred pounds, that wasn't even worth mentioning.
It was just a major shareholder taking some stock from the factory; it wasn't a big deal.
With the prompt from Shang Chuan's side, Li Wufeng also felt much more at ease. At least it wasn't something radioactive.
He had harbored that concern when he was nearly blinded. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had Lisara risk everything by going in fully armored to bring a piece back for analysis.
But now it seemed there was no major problem.
Otherwise, every single one of them, including Li Huai, would have been in serious trouble.
Li Wufeng: “Should we hunt the Mountain Eaters at the other forks then?”
Having put his mind at ease, Li Wufeng asked Shang Chuan.
There were quite a few forks, and it was highly likely that each one had a Mountain Eater, which was essentially a random mine. Li Wufeng needed to settle this matter first.
Since they now had a mine, their gathering squad would essentially have to become miners. This concerned their future work, so he naturally had to ask clearly.
Rate on N.U.
