Chapter 182 Car Rental (Exclusively Published on Jinjiang Literature City)
"I heard that Yunlu Village gained magical powers because you provided them with elixirs."
Huo Tiankuo stared intently at Lu Xuan, "I wonder what the conditions are for obtaining this elixir? Is it possible for us to get this opportunity?"
Before Lu Xuan could speak, the audience became excited.
[Oh ho, you finally remembered to ask about the evolution fluid?]
I thought he was going to pretend he didn't know anything about it.
Everyone knows that 'immortal arts' can be artificially acquired, so how could anyone not be tempted and want to possess them themselves?
[The reason we didn't mention it before was probably because we were worried about upsetting the streamer and causing him to stop providing supplies to Huo's army, which would leave us with nothing.]
Lu Xuan nodded and said, "As long as you can afford the price, you can obtain the elixir. However, obtaining the elixir does not mean you can obtain immortal techniques, that is, superpowers."
"General, you should already know that everyone in the village has taken the elixir, right?"
Huo Tiankuo nodded.
Lu Xuan said, "Theoretically, the probability of gaining superpowers after taking the elixir is only 10% to 20%. Taking enough mutated fruits in advance to adjust the body to its best condition can increase this probability by more than 40%, but there is still a high probability that you will lose everything."
Huo Tiankuo said with a relaxed expression, "I heard that even people who haven't obtained immortal techniques can increase their strength. This is already very good, and it's far from being a complete loss."
His only worry was that the elixir of immortality was not easy to obtain.
But judging from Lu Xuan's attitude, it seemed that as long as the price was right, he could get it, so Huo Tiankuo felt half relieved.
The remaining half is, "What is the exact price of the elixir?"
Lu Xuan didn't keep them in suspense and went straight to the price.
"Each dose of the elixir comes with 10,000 catties of supplies. Meat from vegetarian animals or refined grains, or mutated grains, can be exchanged; if it is coarse grains, wild boar meat, or other meats with a strong gamey smell, the price will be increased by 50%."
Huo Tiankuo: "!"
Live stream viewers: Oh wow!
Since the recycling feature was launched, the prices of most items from the Covenant have dropped across the board, and even housing prices have plummeted.
Only the prices of portable space and gene evolution fluid remain at a relatively high level, with the former even dropping by half.
But the price of the evolution fluid has actually increased!
[This streamer is really shady!]
[What's with the criticism? Didn't we already say we'd double the price if we sold good stuff to outsiders? That's called keeping your promise.]
[Exactly! We don't even have a chance to buy the evolution fluid, so why can they buy it so cheaply! It should be more expensive! Twenty or thirty thousand wouldn't be too much!]
[Two or three thousand kilograms of natural food isn't enough? Isn't the guy above getting a bit too cocky? Does he forget who he is?]
I think this price is very reasonable! This is a treasure that can turn an ordinary person into a superhuman, something that will benefit them for a lifetime. No amount of money is too expensive.
[+1. Aside from a very few lucky individuals who can snag it at the original price, who doesn't have to pay three to five times the price? If you're unlucky, it might be ten times the price, so it's normal for the streamer to raise it several times over.]
[I also think 10,000 is too little, how about 50,000 or 100,000! Let Huo Tiankuo be reluctant to spend it and give up buying evolution fluid, then use the extra evolution fluid for the lottery, hehe...]
Wow! So that's what they were planning! How cunning!
To be honest, 10,000 jin is quite a lot, and I doubt he can even afford the price.
[What's there to worry about? There's still a lot left from the second harvest. If all else fails, we can give the third batch of grain to the streamer too.]
[It's probably unlikely. The evolution fluid is so expensive that only a very small number of people will get their hands on it. Others won't benefit, yet they'll have to give up their share of food. Would they be willing to do that?]
Lu Xuan: Of course they wouldn't be happy about that.
The problem is not scarcity, but inequality.
It's not just about grain; even if each winter fish harvest yields over 100,000 jin, once the rules for distribution have been established, they can't be changed by Huo Tiankuo on a whim and the disaster victims won't accept them.
If this is really done, the disaster victims in Huo's army will be difficult to manage in the future.
To avoid causing discontent, Huo Tiankuo would have to find another way to obtain resources from other channels.
But tens of thousands of kilograms of supplies are not so easy to obtain.
He was also curious whether Huo Tiankuo would temporarily give up exchanging for the elixir, or...?
While the audience was sharing their opinions, Huo Tiankuo had already recovered from the shock of the exorbitantly priced elixir.
His face showed no sign of retreat, clearly indicating that he had no intention of giving up on obtaining the elixir.
Huo Tiankuo asked, "I wonder if Brother Lu's hoverbus is available for rent?"
Lu Xuan paused for a moment, and the scrolling comments also froze for a instant.
Um? ? ?
Rent a car?
Huo Tiankuo said, "The food and fish in the greenhouse are difficult to distribute, and the harvest from the mountains around the camp has been decreasing recently. I think we might be able to go to more distant places to obtain supplies."
The cost of renting a car shouldn't be too high, and the public resources he left behind in Yunlu Village would be enough to cover it.
If you're lucky, you might be able to obtain several supplies of elixirs on a single trip.
[Wow! As expected of a general, his mind works incredibly fast!]
Instead of cutting costs, why not increase revenue? Using more convenient transportation to collect new supplies is a smarter approach!
Lu Xuan also thought it was a good idea.
After entering the coldest season, he became somewhat lazy and didn't go out even once.
But after several rounds of lotteries, the disaster victims bought a lot of fresh meat from grocery stores, and his meat inventory was depleted quite quickly.
The reduction isn't enough to clear out the stock, but hoarding is like saving money; you only feel secure when things are constantly increasing, and you feel uneasy once things decrease.
It would be good if Huo Tiankuo could get him a lot of fresh meat.
Lu Xuan said, "You can rent a car; the price isn't expensive. I can also provide you with a few suitable hunting locations."
For example, the grassland where he found bison and wild donkeys last time he went out was quite nice.
There are also mountains and hills in the surrounding area, so there will be no shortage of prey.
Huo Tiankuo recalled the scene he had seen a few days ago when he was auditing a course with his personal guards—a scene of cattle and sheep grazing on the grassland in a driving documentary—and his spirits lifted.
If he could find a place with plenty of prey, it would certainly be much easier than him running around aimlessly in the snow like a headless fly.
Then he remembered that there were wild horses in the documentary.
If he's lucky, he might be able to tame some wild horses and bring them back to serve as a new batch of warhorses.
Huo Tiankuo suddenly remembered that there was still an important thing he hadn't asked.
"How many doses of elixir can Brother Lu provide per month?"
After a moment's thought, Lu Xuan said, "Ten per month."
After the villagers finished using the evolution fluid, he hoarded the evolution fluid from the daily fixed quota in the store and the daily discounts.
Put aside the occasional blind box items you get, you can usually buy about 40-45 items a month.
He kept 10-15 for a raffle for the audience, and also wanted to stock up on some himself just in case.
Furthermore, taking out too much at once makes the items seem too easily obtained and worthless.
Ten per month, just right.
However, this "just right" was only Lu Xuan's own opinion.
To Huo Tiankuo, however, it was too much!
He was prepared to get only two or three, but he didn't expect to get ten!
After noticing Huo Tiankuo's change in expression, the viewers couldn't help but feel annoyed for Lu Xuan: Announcer! You said too many numbers!
Everyone says that things are valued for their rarity, but where is the 'rarity' of these ten-piece sets?
One a month is the right amount!
Lu Xuan: One per month, and then maybe two or three months without a single superhuman?
He's not planning on doing just a one-off deal.
If you don't give people a taste of success first, the investment and returns will not be proportional in the long run, and how can you guarantee that they will continue to buy every month in the future?
Besides, even if he can provide so much, Huo Tiankuo might not be able to get that much material every month, or rather, he might not be able to just run around collecting materials to buy evolution fluid and ignore other things in the camp.
It's considered good if you can save up a third or half of the supplies in a month.
...
Having confirmed that the elixir could be purchased and the bus could be rented, Huo Tiankuo learned the basic functions of autonomous driving and how to set the destination on the same day. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, he selected thirty personal guards to set off.
After seeing the person off, the audience belatedly realized a problem they had overlooked.
The people of Yunlu Village are just ordinary folks. Even after taking natural science classes and gaining a lot of knowledge about the world, they still generally just want to live their lives well and don't have any ambition to conquer the world.
It's not that Huo Tiankuo would start any kind of war just because he has superpowers; it's just that he is, after all, an official of this plane.
Is it really appropriate to give the evolution fluid to Huo Tiankuo and his personal guards?
Lu Xuan: "You're only now thinking about this? Don't you think it's too late?"
It's not too late!
[If there really is a problem, we can just make up some excuse and say that we immortals believe the Huo family army shouldn't receive the elixir, and the deal is void!]
Going back on your word is not good, but if there are any additional risks, some unnecessary moral obligations should be discarded.
[The streamer comes from the apocalypse, so they probably don't care much about morality, right?]
Lu Xuan: "..." I'm not that particular, but I'm not that un particular either.
Lu Xuan said, "Let's not talk about whether it's shameful to contradict myself. Just look at my purpose in selling the evolution fluid. As long as the Huo family army can provide me with new special abilities, what does it matter whether they are government officials or not?"
【How can it not be related! After the cataclysmic period, the ancient dynasties will be restored to order, and a traitor like you with excessive power will definitely be feared.】
Maintaining a superior level of strength is fine; they'll be wary of you but can't beat you. But if you voluntarily hand over the evolution fluid to the authorities, and Huo Tiankuo turns against you later, will you regret it?
[Is the person upstairs serious?]
Lu Xuan also wanted to ask if he had thought about what he was saying.
"Me, a level seven ability user with a bunch of special abilities, afraid of someone who's only level one even after awakening? Do you think that's reasonable?"
Even if Huo Tiankuo were lucky enough to obtain a special type of superpower, it would be easy for him to copy it.
If he's still afraid of this and hesitates over it, how useless is he?
[...]
That seems to make sense.
Lu Xuan said, "Besides, precisely because Huo Tiankuo is a member of the imperial court, once he and his personal guards possess supernatural abilities, the villagers will not appear so special."
To hide a single tree, you must cultivate a whole forest.
He can't protect the villagers forever.
Instead of going to great lengths to build an impenetrable wall around them to prevent them from being persecuted by those in power, it would be better to create more of the same kind to divert attention.
Of course, we still need to have a strong defense.
Just like China's peaceful weapons, we may not use them, but we cannot do without them.
·
At that time, Huo Tiankuo and his personal guards had been taken by the hoverbus to the grassland where Lu Xuan had last found the bison herd.
The impact of the extreme cold season on the world is comprehensive.
The grassland at this time was no longer lush and green as before. As far as the eye could see, it was no different from other places, all covered in silver and snow.
Of course, none of the herds of bison, wild donkeys, and wild horses that appeared in the documentary were ever seen.
The Huo family's personal guards, who had been waiting all the way, were speechless.
Coming to the grasslands in the dead of winter, encountering such a scene is hardly surprising.
However, the guards turned to look at Huo Tiankuo, who was also silent, and asked, "General, there doesn't seem to be any prey here?"
"What if they all freeze to death because it's too cold, or starve to death because there's no food?"
"Then we made a wasted trip?"
"Is it possible to obtain the elixir of immortality as well?"
Huo Tiankuo frowned and said, "What's the rush?"
He looked down and scanned the snow-covered ground below. He happened to see some huge rocks covered in snow, and remembered a hunting trip that the Yunlu Village hunting team had mentioned before. A flash of inspiration struck him.
"We need to find the person alive or the body dead. Animals that starve or freeze to death will inevitably leave behind their bodies. We should focus on looking for places on the grassland where the snow is piled up abnormally, and dig them up to see if there are any frozen wild animals underneath."
The guards' eyes lit up, and they immediately shouted, "Yes, General!"
Huo Tiankuo controlled the bus to fly around the grassland, while the other soldiers took the opportunity to stare intently at any unusual protrusions on the grassland, and went down to confirm any they found.
At first, all that was discovered were rocks or mounds of earth covered in snow.
Half an hour later, they actually found a group of wild donkeys that had frozen to death.
"We've really found it!"
The soldiers shouted excitedly and quickly dug down, eventually finding six wild donkeys that had frozen to death in one area.
"These wild donkeys should weigh over a thousand catties, right? If we find a few more batches, we can make enough for one dose of the elixir."
"That's right! Let's search again quickly. There must be many wild animals that have frozen to death on such a vast grassland."
They then continued their search over a larger area.
An hour later, the carcasses of several emaciated bison were discovered.
Two hours later, another herd of frozen bison was found in an area several miles away.
Animals that had died in the extreme cold were dug out one after another. Among them were skeletons whose meat had been eaten by unknown carnivores, but overall, the harvest was still very considerable.
The guards, who had expected to face ferocious, starving beasts, were overjoyed.
This prey came way too easily!
Huo Tiankuo was also very satisfied with this.
This way, they can obtain a large amount of food while avoiding injury to their men—killing two birds with one stone.
The group became increasingly excited as they searched. After two days of confirming that there was no more free prey to be found on the grassland and no trace of the animals that should still be alive, they came close to a mountain.
Since we were already there, we figured we might as well take a stroll and see if we could find any game in the mountains, so we got out of the car and went into the mountains.
·
Huo Tiankuo's departure did not affect the lives of the villagers in Yunlu Village.
Some people who lived in relative isolation didn't even know that General Huo had rented a car and gone out.
The viewers in the live stream were quite concerned.
Especially when the other party has been gone for three days without any communication.
It's been three days, why haven't we heard a single word from Huo Tiankuo?
Could they have run away with the car?
[How is that possible? They're abandoning the remaining soldiers? They're neglecting the disaster victims? They're abandoning thousands of acres of greenhouses and hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain?]
Perhaps they found too much prey on the grasslands and forgot all about home.
[It's great that he's so happy he doesn't want to leave! The more stuff he gets, the more the streamer gets in the end, and we can all benefit too, hehe.]
While the other audience members were discussing how much Huo Tiankuo would gain, someone suddenly made a startling remark:
[Actually, I have a question: Will General Huo drive the hovercar directly to the capital, or return to the Northwest?]
【！！！】
Holy crap! How come I didn't think of that possibility?!
[That's right! The reason he led his personal guards and a group of disaster victims on this arduous journey was to return to the Northwest. Now that he's borrowed the streamer's hoverbus, shouldn't he just go back and check it out?]
Returning to the capital isn't impossible; it would be a good opportunity to see if the new emperor has ascended the throne and what the current situation is.
[If he had already ascended the throne, and saw Huo Tiankuo bring back a flying car, even if Huo Tiankuo didn't intend to keep the streamer's car, the emperor would definitely confiscate it, right?]
【!! Is the streamer's car being wasted?】
No way!
[What's there to be afraid of! If someone dares to steal the streamer's car, we'll just kill them, then the streamer will become emperor and change the dynasty!]
Lu Xuan: "..."
"Huo Tiankuo couldn't possibly be unaware of the consequences of driving the hoverbus there. Given his sense of responsibility, he couldn't possibly abandon the thousands of people in the camp." And there were so many mutated grains that had already grown halfway up in the greenhouse.
I think it's possible that General Huo discovered other disaster victims along the way, and the rescue of those people delayed him.
It's not impossible.
Stop guessing. The streamer should contact you and ask to find out what's going on.
[Yes, anchor, you should contact General Huo quickly to find out more.]
Lu Xuan said, "What's the rush? It's only been three days. It's a rare trip for General Huo, so he must want to bring back as much game as possible. Let's wait another two or three days and see if there's any news."
...
On the fifth day after Huo Tiankuo and his group left, instead of communication, another earthquake struck.
The magnitude was not low, reaching 5.5.
The disaster victims who returned to work were terrified and screamed when they felt the violent tremors.
The villagers, however, clapped and cheered as the snow that had accumulated on their roofs and heated roofs for days was shaken off.
"Hey, this saves a lot of trouble. It's perfect for everyone to take a break during the New Year, and we don't need to shovel snow anymore."
The helpers, pale with fright, were momentarily at a loss as to whether they should continue to be afraid.
Whether they were afraid or not, the audience did not know, but when Huo Tiankuo, who had been waiting for several days, suddenly sent a distress call, the audience was startled.
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