High Martial Arts 2077: I Rely on Beast Taming to Cultivate While Lying Down

Chapter 106 Plant System - Bloodthirsty Green Vine! The Black-Hat Merchant - A Game of Familiarity

Rest area No. 17, East.

Before the apocalypse, this building should have been a commercial complex under construction, seven or eight stories high, with the bottom three floors being a high-ceilinged commercial podium. The walls were not yet closed, and only the thick reinforced concrete frame was exposed, making it look like an unfinished building.

Many vines are intertwined between the lower three layers of the frame.

As the flashlight beam swept across, the dark green vines were densely wrapped around the pillars and beams. The thickest vines were as thick as an adult's arm, and the thinnest were as thick as a thumb. They were interwoven layer upon layer into a dense three-dimensional vine net.

"Boom!"

"These vines are incredibly fire-resistant! And they can even move!"

Jiang Yunxin's fireball slammed into a bunch of vines, and the flames exploded, the dark green vine bark sizzling and emitting a pungent wisp of smoke.

However, after the flames went out, only a charred mark remained on the surface of the vines; the internal fibrous structure was not completely burned through.

The burned vines seemed to feel pain, and slowly retracted half a meter...

Wu Qing made hand seals, and spiritual energy condensed into several black circular blades in her palms.

She pushed forward, and the wind blades spun and cut into the vine net, severing several thinner vines, from which a thick, dark green sap seeped out.

As she manipulated the black blade, she said, "These green vines are clearly plant-type demons that have reached a certain level. However, plant-type demons that can truly be considered opponents are at least elite level. Those below soldier level mostly rely on instinct to hunt, are slow-moving, and have limited killing methods."

She paused, her tone becoming more serious: "But you must remember, within the category of plant-type demons, those that can survive and thrive in the wilderness are all great demons! Their methods are completely different from ordinary magical beasts; they are extremely bizarre."

At this point, her hand gestures slowed down, and her tone became slightly fearful: "During my first year of university, around March or April of this year, I went to Nanhu District with my advisor for training and encountered a purple flower."

"The flower looked about the same size as a rose, with a particularly beautiful color, dewdrops on the petals, and a faint, sweet fragrance. At the time, none of us paid any attention to it, thinking it was just an evolved wildflower, posing no threat."

"As a result, we found many skeletons of monsters near that flower patch, and we felt something was wrong."

"Upon closer investigation, it was discovered that the fragrance of that flower could numb the nerves, and even a martial artist at the Qi Refining Realm would fall asleep if inhaled for too long! Deep within the flower bushes, there were also several man-eating flowers that could open their blood-red mouths, just waiting for their prey to come to them."

She was clearly shaken, and said with a hint of relief, "Luckily, it was during a course project, and our advisor was with us. As soon as they noticed something was wrong, they gave us antidotes immediately. If we had just barged in ourselves, all of us probably would have perished there!"

"Later, my mentor named the flower 'Purple Jade Bewitching Man-Eating Flower,' and even collected seeds to bring back to the lab for research."

Jiang Yunxin listened attentively, her brows furrowing slightly.

She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the dense vines covering the three layers of the building's base: "With so many green vines here, could there be some special individuals hiding among them?"

The bottom three floors of this rest area are completely covered by green vines, with the vines wrapped around the pillars and beams so thick that they look like they are wrapped in a dark green blanket.

The higher you look, the denser the vines become. Dozens of arm-thick vines even hang down from the top beams of the three-story building, swaying gently in the night breeze.

Yang Xin, holding a heavy rifle, scanned the vines with her eyes, her tone tinged with doubt: "Has this rest area been deserted for a long time? Why are there so many green vines? Has no one bothered to clean it?"

Wu Qing shook her head: "The residential area is on the fifth floor and above, and the green vines only climb on the first, second and third floors. This stuff is indeed troublesome to deal with. It can't be burned through, and cutting it with a knife is time-consuming, plus it's not very threatening. Most people just want to save trouble and don't bother with it."

Hearing this, Yang Xin turned to look at Su Chen and said, "The vines are indeed difficult to burn, so is there any need to clear them away?"

Su Chen didn't answer the question, but calmly said, "I'll show you something later, and then you'll know whether you need to clean it up or not."

He walked up to a bunch of green vines that looked ordinary.

This vine was no different from the others around it, with dark green bark, about the thickness of a thumb, lazily draped over the crossbeam.

But in his eyes, the panel had already popped up.

[Bloodthirsty Green Vine Status: Contractable Strength Rank: Second Realm - Early Soldier Level Race Potential: Third Realm - Elite Level Attribute: Plant/Blood Skills:]

Entanglement Iv2 (298/2000): Entangles the target with vines, restricting their movement. The vines are covered with fine barbs; once entangled, the more they struggle, the tighter the constriction. Blood Drinking Iv1 (488/1000): Vines pierce the target's body, draining blood and psionic energy. The rate of blood draining depends on the contact area between the vines and the target. [Related Technology: Omitted]

Just then, a familiar hoofbeat came from afar.

Zhang Yan rode her little purple dog back from the ruins outside the rest area, holding a rope with a tattered net bag attached to the end, inside which was a half-dead demon dog.

The demon hound's right hind leg was broken, and there was a bleeding wound on its abdomen. Its chest was rising and falling slightly, and it was on its last breath.

Little Purple ran up to Su Chen, its four paws suddenly stopping, its tail wagging like a windmill, its eyes full of excitement that said, "Praise me!"

Zhang Yan jumped off its back and shoved the rope into Su Chen's hand: "Here! What you wanted!"

Then, hands on her hips, she glared angrily at Su Chen: "Hmph! It's almost completely dark, and you're sending me out to catch demons all by myself?"

Su Chen smiled and took the rope, then casually pulled a Qi-replenishing pill from his pocket, saying, "Didn't I have Xiao Zi accompany you? And I even paid for the travel expenses."

Zhang Yan grabbed the Qi-replenishing pill, swallowed it, and muttered, "Tch~! Next time, I'll do these errands myself!"

Su Chen didn't reply.

He carried the net to the bundle of bloodthirsty green vines and poured out the heavily wounded demon hound.

The demonic dog lay sprawled on the ground, blood still seeping from the wound in its abdomen, the dark red blood quickly pooling into a small puddle.

At first, the vines did not react at all.

But the moment the demon hound's blood seeped into the cracks in the ground and the stench of blood filled the air, the green vines suddenly moved.

Extremely fast!

The vine sprang down from the beam, its tip piercing precisely into the wound on the demon hound's abdomen. Then, as if activated by some instinct, the entire vine began to coil wildly.

One, two, three, four... In just a few seconds, more than a dozen vines surged in from the surrounding area.

They simultaneously wrapped around the demon hound's body from different directions: its forelimbs, hind legs, waist, and neck, each one desperately tightening its grip.

What's even more chilling are those tiny thorns.

Each vine is covered with a dense array of barbs.

These barbs pierce the hound's fur, penetrate its skin, and embed themselves in its muscles.

Then, the vines began to wriggle rhythmically... as if swallowing!

The demon hound's body quickly withered away as it was entangled by the vines.

The fur loses its luster, the muscles collapse, and the subcutaneous fat layer melts away at a visible rate.

The most horrifying thing is... you can see dark red blood being transported along tiny channels inside the vines towards the main trunk!

The dark green of the vines was quickly stained into an eerie dark red.

A moment later, the demonic hound, the size of an adult wolfhound, withered up!

Everyone around was stunned and subconsciously took a half step back, moving away from the seemingly harmless vine next to them.

Zhang Yan's eyes widened in surprise.

"This...this eating is way too much! Will something bad happen if we stay here tonight?"

Su Chen straightened up, dusted off his hands, and said calmly, "Didn't the textbook say that most green vines have properties like binding, bloodlust, and poison? They may look harmless, but we still need to be careful!"

"You guys underestimated this thing at first! But didn't you find out with just one test?"

After he finished speaking, he raised his flashlight and shone it on the dense vines on the third-floor beam.

Wu Qing took a deep breath, her hands once again conjuring black wind blades, and said seriously, "Everyone, stay alert! Don't just look at the surface. If this building harbors a special entity, it might be ten times more terrifying than encountering the Black Demon Ape King!"

Just as everyone was preparing to start again, a heated argument broke out in the distance.

"What?! The price you offered is way too low, less than half!"

Su Chen immediately looked over.

Zhang He was standing next to a modified van, and in front of him stood a middle-aged businessman wearing an old-fashioned bowler hat and old-fashioned round-framed glasses.

The truck was open, and it was already loaded with a lot of goods. Several shop employees in uniform were unloading packed woven bags onto the truck.

The merchant in the bowler hat, Sun Youcheng, calmly adjusted his glasses and smiled, "The price I've given is already very fair. Take a look at this batch of goods yourself; its main value lies in the red phosphorus beads and red phosphorus powder."

"But recently, the red phosphorus rats have become rampant. According to the latest statistics from the city guards, the number of red phosphorus rats in the East District has reached at least 200,000, which is ten times the previous number!"

"That's just how the market works; when supply exceeds demand, prices naturally go down. I'm just running a small business; I can't afford to operate at a loss, can I?"

Zhang He wasn't new to dealing with itinerant merchants, and he wasn't buying it: "There's no way we'd just cut the price in half! We spent almost an hour just disassembling this batch of goods. The red phosphorus beads were all freshly dug out, in excellent condition. Where else can you find quality control like this?"

"Sigh~" Sun Youcheng sighed, his tone still unhurried, "But it's just that outrageous! The quantity is too large, our warehouse is almost full. And look, we drove all the way from the city, fuel costs, toll fees, the cost of hiring guards, aren't all expenses? Transferring transportation also has costs."

Zhang He gritted his teeth.

He certainly knew that the overpopulation of red phosphorus rats would lead to a drop in purchase prices, but a price halved to this extent was no longer a matter of market conditions.

He said coldly, "Hmph! You're just worried that the red phosphorus beads will lose energy if they're not stored properly because it's getting dark."

"I'd like to see how much energy they can lose in one night! Tomorrow morning, I'll take them to the East City outpost myself to sell!"

"Hey kid, there's no need to get so worked up."

Sun Youcheng took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with his sleeve, put them back on, and said in his usual gentle tone, "This isn't the first time we've done business together. The price I'm offering is absolutely fair for this time of night. If you go to other itinerant vendors, they'll definitely offer you a lower price. After all, everyone knows the market price for red phosphorus rats."

"Besides... the purchase price is naturally lower at night than during the day. You should know this rule."

Zhang He clenched his fist.

Of course he knows this rule.

But he knew even better that he had worked so hard all afternoon, and if he were to sell it at half price, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Su Chen or his classmates.

Just as he was about to retort, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Uncle Sun?"

Sun Youcheng was stunned for a moment, then looked up and followed the sound.

The beam of the flashlight shone on him, and a young man was walking towards him.

Sun Youcheng lowered his head slightly, pushed his glasses up, and looked carefully for two seconds.

He recognized him.

"Isn't this Su Chen's nephew? What brings you here?" His smile changed swiftly, from the lukewarm businessman's smile to a half-hearted familiarity.

Su Chen walked over to the truck, looking quite familiar with it, and said, "Haha~ Aren't we already in our final year of high school? It's time to take on some training missions!"

"This..." Sun Youcheng's tone became more serious. "It's only been a month and a half since you entered your final year of high school, right? Besides, choosing Buffer City No. 16 for your training is far too dangerous. Recently, Abyss Magic Stones have appeared there, and the Abyss Church might be involved!"

"We naturally got this information from the school as well," Su Chen said casually, shrugging. "But there's nothing we can do; this year's students are all too ambitious. You've heard of Wu Junchao from No. 4 Middle School, right? He's even gone to the Beiyuan Mountains to take on outpost missions!"

Sun Youcheng nodded slowly.

He was certainly aware of the situation of this year's graduating class.

After the new college entrance examination regulations were introduced, the entire senior high school environment in Jiangling City was turned upside down.

Several friends who are in the business of taming beasts have been grinning from ear to ear lately, as the price of tamed beasts has been soaring and there is no market for them!

In his memory, Su Guoliang's son had always been of average talent.

I only managed to get into the top class at No. 1 Middle School because of family connections.

They dared to come to Buffer City No. 16 at this time of year; they certainly have a lot of guts.

After processing these thoughts in his mind, the smile on his face remained that of a gentle businessman: "Yes, that's true, but you still need to be careful. Otherwise, your father will worry."

After exchanging a few brief words, his gaze returned to Zhang He, clearly intending to continue the business discussion: "Uncle Sun is discussing business right now. If you have some free time later, I'll chat with you again."

That was just polite talk; anyone could tell.

Sun Youcheng was indeed Su Guoliang's supplier, providing feed ingredients for Thorn Demon Pigs and Fire Feather Chickens.

But Su Guoliang later changed his supply channels.

There was no overt conflict between the two parties; business dealings simply ceased, and their friendship faded to mere nodding acquaintances.

The term "nephew" for Su Chen is, frankly, just a casual way of addressing him.

But Su Chen did not go down the steps.

"Uncle Sun," he took a step forward and naturally stood beside Zhang He, "I happen to have a share of the goods you're buying."

Sun Youcheng stopped in his tracks as he was about to turn around.

He turned back, his gaze lingering on Su Chen's face for a moment, then he raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

He certainly noticed the information revealed in Su Chen's words just now: his share was in this batch of goods.

But Sun Youcheng quickly calculated in his mind: Su Chen is a senior high school student, and he has only been here for training for one day. How much stuff can he have?

Ten red-scaled rats? Twenty?

Although the unit price of Zhanghe's batch of goods was reduced, the total volume was still there, and the transaction amount was at least 800,000 to 900,000 yuan!

What can Su Chen's small shareholding possibly influence?

He smiled, his tone still gentle: "Nephew Su Chen, the price of materials related to red phosphorus rats has indeed plummeted recently."

Even though the price isn't too low right now, we buyers need to consider future price fluctuations. From a business perspective, the price I offered is truly fair!

He paused, then added a subtle reminder in his tone: "Besides, I don't think Su Chen's nephew is short of money, is he?"

It's not worth expending favors for such a small amount of money.

Su Chen nodded, his expression revealing no displeasure: "Indeed! Business is business. There's absolutely no need for Uncle Sun to give face for such a small amount of money."

"But..." he changed the subject, "the team I lead accounts for more than half of the market share. If we sell it too low, I won't be able to explain it to my teammates."

"Uncle Sun, please give me a fair price! Otherwise, I'll have to return it to the No. 1 Middle School. You know how fair the school's prices are for supplies."

Sun Youcheng frowned.

Does Su Chen's team account for half of the total?

He knew Zhang He and his gang after doing business with them a few times. They were sophomores at Beishan University who frequented the No. 16 Buffer City.

Why should Su Chen, a high school senior who has just entered the workforce, occupy half the share?

In his original plan, establishing a stable business relationship with high school seniors was certainly a good thing.

But the problem is... Su Chen's talent is just too ordinary!

Every year, he would select several high school seniors with potential who would be admitted to Gangneung University and provide them with convenient supply channels.

Once they get into the local Jiangling University and improve their skills, they will become a stable source of high-quality goods!

But how much stock can Su Chen provide? It's not worth the investment!

Moreover, Su Chen's words just now sounded a bit inappropriate to him.

Using the school administration to pressure him is practically a threat.

There was a subtle pause in the atmosphere.

Just then, a series of rapid footsteps came from afar.

Everyone's eyes turned simultaneously toward the source of the sound.

Zhou Chengjie was leading Li Yu and the others out from around the corner of the ruins.

All five of them carried bulging equipment bags, and Li Yu also had two woven bags stuffed full on his shoulders, clearly indicating a bumper harvest.

Zhang Yan's eyes lit up, and she immediately called out, "You've come at the right time! The itinerant merchants are still here! But... their prices are a bit steep."

Upon hearing Zhang Yan's shout, Zhou Chengjie quickened his pace.

His tone held a mixture of barely suppressed excitement and surprise: "Oh? You actually know how to contact itinerant merchants?"

"However... I just contacted a traveling merchant, and he's already on his way."

"What should we do?"

Zhang Yan paused for a moment, then turned to look at Su Chen.

Su Chen reacted very quickly upon hearing this.

He immediately gave up the idea of ​​continuing to argue with Sun Youcheng. The closer you are to someone, the more you know their true nature. It's better to deal with a stranger.

Su Chen smiled and went straight to Zhou Chengjie, saying, "Haha~ Great! This merchant is a bit of a rip-off. Let's check the price next time."

"If we really can't sell them, we'll send them to the school's recycling point tomorrow!"

As he walked, he glanced at the sacks and backpacks stuffed so tightly they looked about to burst open in Zhou Chengjie's group.

"So, how much did you guys get with all those bags and packages?"

Zhou Chengjie's voice trembled with undisguised smugness: "About a million!"

"Wow, that's amazing!" Su Chen's exclamation was genuine. "You five people managed to produce so much in just one afternoon? That's like a money-printing machine!"

As he spoke, he had already walked up to Zhou Chengjie.

It was at this distance that he noticed Zhou Chengjie's lips move very quickly after the last syllable of his sentence.

The movements were very light, the speech was extremely fast, and the words were very short, so Su Chen couldn't immediately understand what was said.

He kept walking, still praising, "Tsk~! Our first battle with the Black Demon Ape yielded over a million! The next few hours yielded only so-so results, totaling less than a million."

At this point, he deliberately raised his voice: "These unscrupulous businessmen these days, damn it! How corrupt are they? They're so spoiled!"

""

At the same time, he tilted his head slightly and brought his ear close to Zhou Chengjie's.

Zhou Chengjie said in a low voice, "I'm lying to him, I didn't contact anyone."

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