Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

The Resource Allocation and Financial Management Office is a small two-story building with a Chinese-style roof. Under the eaves is a carved, half-human-sized gold-devouring beast, whose adorable appearance is particularly endearing.

The gates of the administration office were crowded with people. Some were beaming with pride and walking briskly because they had received the aid. Others stood before the wizards, their brows bowed and pleading desperately.

Chen Lin waited in the hall for a while before someone came to greet him. The person who greeted him was a middle-aged wizard with an expressionless face, wearing a gray standard robe.

When he saw Liria's magical signature on the guarantee, a slight ripple finally appeared on his usually impassive face.

"Master Liria's guarantee..." The wizard carefully checked the documents and then scanned Chen Lin with a detection spell. "10000 standard magic stones, special loan for the Southern Trial, 5% annual interest, quarterly interest payments, principal to be repaid within two years."

If the loan is not repaid by the due date, the mortgaged property will be taken over by the management office, and the guarantor will be held jointly liable. Is this correct?

"Confirmed." Chen Lin nodded.

The middle-aged wizard nodded slightly. "10000 standard magic stones is too much. I need to report the situation to the director. Please come with me to the reception room to rest for a while."

He slowly turned around, raised his left arm and pointed to a closed room to his left. His head was slightly lowered, and he was very humble and polite. After Chen Lin sat down in the reception room, he smiled and continued, "With Master Liria's guarantee, I believe you won't have to wait too long. Please have a cup of refreshing black tea first."

Watching the middle-aged wizard slowly leave, Chen Lin felt a slight ripple in his heart. Ordinary wizard apprentices could only beg and plead, while he could leisurely enter the reception room and slowly savor the Refreshing Red Tea, which cost 1 magic stone per gram. One magic stone was the monthly income of an ordinary second-class wizard apprentice. He was both glad for his choice and sighed at the disparity.

About half an hour later, the middle-aged wizard strode in from outside. "You've been waiting a long time. The contract is ready. Please confirm that everything is correct before signing."

Chen Lin nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

The wizard said no more, and took out a parchment loan contract that shimmered with complex runes. Chen Lin read it carefully again, and after confirming that the terms were correct, he imprinted his soul mark on it.

Soon, a heavy dimensional bag containing 10000 standard magic stones was handed to him.

Holding this bag of magic stones—enough to drive an ordinary apprentice mad—and feeling the pure energy emanating from them, Chen Lin felt no joy, only a heavy pressure and responsibility. This was capital he had earned with his future and Liria's reputation; he could not afford to lose it.

He acted immediately: he rented the No. 3 Nurturing Cave, located near the leyline node on the outer perimeter of the barrier, for 20 magic stones per month. The cave was quite large, but the facilities were old and needed repair.

Such a large-scale renovation would take a construction team a month to complete on Earth, even with ample funds. However, in the wizarding world, it can be done with just a few cleaning tricks, vines, and basic levitation.

The time-consuming tasks involve calculating the nodes of the defense and monitoring arrays, designing the power supply lines, and designing and arranging the power supply crystals.

Fortunately, with the help of the Seed of Origin's design, it should be almost finished in a day. All that's needed is to buy some materials to keep it clean and stable.

Afterwards, Chen Lin posted recruitment information through the apprentice task hall of the barrier. The requirements were that the apprentices be second-level with rich experience in planting and breeding or third-level in the direction of wood affinity, be hardworking and conscientious, and sign a confidentiality and five-year service contract.

The reward is 2 magic stones plus basic cultivation resources per month, which is far higher than the market average. To further motivate them, Chen Lin also plans to conduct an annual evaluation.

Five Improved Spirit Potions or other products of equivalent value produced by the workshop will be given as a reward to the two best-performing wizard apprentices. The estimated market price for one Improved Spirit Potion is 10-15 magic stones.

Soon, hundreds of qualified young wizard apprentices were excitedly brought before Chen Lin.

Upon seeing this scene, Chen Lin immediately eliminated all the second-level wizard apprentices. After a series of questions and communication tests, five young apprentices with eager and hopeful eyes and flushed faces were selected.

Chen Lin personally signed strict confidentiality agreements with them, which included a soul-binding clause to prevent the leakage of technology.

The next step was to use loans to make large-scale purchases.

Chen Lin went to the Green Seedling Flower Language Magic Plant Shop under the name of Wizard Plant. When the wizard apprentice who received him heard about the types and quantities of the plants Chen Lin was buying, he immediately summoned the fourth-level wizard apprentice who was the shop manager.

"Hello, I'm Berima, the store manager of Qingmiao Flower Language." Berima invited Chen Lin directly into the inner room and got straight to the point, "Your purchase volume is quite large, so we need to adjust the stock. If you have this many orders every month, we can sign a contract, and your orders will enjoy a 20% discount in the future."

Chen Lin neither confirmed nor denied it. The main purpose of the magic plant seeds was to cultivate a large number of basic seeds in the early stages, such as moonlight moss spores and tranquil flower seeds. However, these needed to be optimized by himself to truly produce the raw materials and products that met his standards. Therefore, this was the only transaction. In the future, the cultivated magic plant seeds could be used to continue to mature.

However, the basic energy crystals needed to power lighting, constant temperature arrays, and other arrays, as well as the standard nutrient solution needed to cultivate magical plants, are all daily necessities, so a long-term cooperation agreement can be signed.

The same applies to materials for reinforcing runes and cleaning magic arrays. The refining tools used to produce the basic potion for Breath of Awakening III will not wear out too quickly, so signing a long-term cooperation agreement is sufficient for this purpose.

As for the materials used in the monitoring and defense arrays, those that meet the peak level of a fourth-grade wizard apprentice are selected to ensure absolute control of the core area and prevent interference.

The most expensive item is the custom purchase of two variable frequency mental energy radiation pumps, which together cost 1000 magic stones, as well as a high-speed centrifugal extraction device, which costs 300 magic stones each. Of course, with these devices, Qing Teng Workshop has a unique core competitiveness, ensuring that it can recover its costs within six months.

Chen Lin personally oversaw the cave's renovation and carved out a separate, secret chamber at its deepest point, equipped with multiple layers of alert and defensive arrays. This will be the place where the seed of origin guides and optimizes the core.

He broke down the optimized process: basic training was completed by hired apprentices in the external area; after reaching a certain stage, they were moved into a secret room, where he would provide final energy guidance and nutrient solution preparation before finally moving them out.

A month later, "Qing Teng Workshop" was officially opened.

At the cave entrance, an inconspicuous wooden sign is marked with a symbol of entwined green vines. Inside, the cave has been renovated and looks brand new.

The constant-temperature array maintained a suitable temperature, and the illumination crystal emitted a soft glow. Five apprentice servants were busy in their designated areas, while ten elven slaves carefully tended the lush moonshine seedbeds and the budding tranquility flowerbeds in the fields.

The 10 purchased elven slaves were directly signed with long-term slave contracts, with Chen Lin as the contract master. Each apprentice was to lead two elves to take care of their assigned fields.

The mutual checks and balances between elves and apprentices can reduce many internal hidden dangers.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of herbs and trees, and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted from the makeshift medicine preparation room next door.

Chen Lin stood at the entrance of the secret chamber, watching the bustling scene outside through the one-way observation array. He stroked a cold monitoring crystal core in his hand, which was connected to the hidden runes that were scattered throughout the workshop.

"The assembly line factory... has started work," he muttered to himself. Using borrowed magic stones and cheap labor, they produced high-quality goods optimized by the Seed of Origin, and then exchanged them for more magic stones through Liria's channels and his own sales network.

Chen Lin looked around the workshop with a sense of accomplishment, and walked briskly toward the barrier, his eyes filled with hope.