Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 185 You lost out? I didn't, I made a killing!

Audrey's sudden large-scale collection of extraordinary properties and materials was primarily due to the Hall family's need for change.

Alfred has already earned the title of demigod, which means that the Hall family will leap to become the most prestigious family in the entire Kingdom of Rune. And such a family must have a corresponding foundation.

However, the Hall family, which has only been around for a few hundred years, obviously does not have enough foundation. Before this, they did not have many extraordinary individuals, and they were concentrated in the two paths of arbitrators and lawyers, and the strongest among them was only Sequence Seven.

This is clearly insufficient for a family that is about to possess a demigod. Take Duke Negan, for example. Even with the protection of a Sequence 6 Beyonder sent by the Church of Storms, he still has a Sequence 5 'secretary' protecting him closely, and this 'secretary' is someone trained by Duke Negan's own family.

The Hall family lacks such a foundation, so they can only start cultivating it slowly from now on.

Fortunately, while the Hall family lacked historical depth, they were not short of money. As one of the nation's leading bankers, Earl Hall's wealth ranked among the top three in the entire Kingdom of Rune! Furthermore, Earl Hall owned his own private bank, so he could borrow money from it even if he needed more.

Therefore, the Hall family's goal is very clear: to buy time with money!

They must use their existing wealth to collect as many potion recipes and extraordinary materials as possible to cultivate a large number of extraordinary individuals. While ensuring that there are enough avenues for cultivating extraordinary individuals, they also need to improve their current rank as much as possible.

However, neither Earl Hall nor Alfred, who is about to become a demigod, has enough connections to collect enough mid-series potion recipes and the extraordinary materials required, which is exactly what the Hall family is currently worried about.

Therefore, upon learning of this situation, Audrey immediately thought of the Tarot Club—

The members of the Tarot Club are highly capable and have extensive networks.

Most importantly, they are short of money!

Both Mr. World and Mr. Hanged Man are extremely short of money. If they weren't, they wouldn't need to borrow from themselves. Their connections ensure they can gather enough potion recipes and extraordinary materials, and they can deliver these things to her through Mr. Fool.

The only problem was that Audrey was worried that this would displease Mr. Fool.

However, what she didn't know was that this was precisely the least worrisome thing, because Mr. Fool was currently very excited.

There's nothing else to it but money!

Klein suppressed his emotions and manipulated the 'world' to say in a hoarse voice:

"Miss 'Justice,' what are your requirements for these items? And what kind of reward can you offer?"

Audrey thought for a moment and then said:

"I will allocate 200,000 gold pounds to purchase a large quantity of extraordinary materials, through any means necessary. There are no particular restrictions, but the 'procurement' of the potion formula will be handled by Mr. 'Lover.' But I can purchase extraordinary materials in large quantities, regardless of the source."

After a pause, Audrey continued, "As for the reward, how about 5% of the value of the items you provide?"

Klein's eyes flickered slightly. No matter how many extraordinary materials and properties he possessed, Miss Audrey could buy them without limit. This was undoubtedly a profitable deal!

As for the 5% compensation, it may not sound like much, but it's actually quite substantial.

Firstly, these kinds of transactions are done in large volumes, so the unit price will definitely be lower. Secondly, a 5% reward isn't low either. Klein initially commissioned Emlyn to purchase the mutated pituitary gland and blood of the Thousand-Faced Hunter, spending a total of £2,300. In addition, he had to provide Emlyn with an extra £150 reward, which is only equivalent to 6.5% of the total price of the items!

As for Miss Justice entrusting the "procurement" of potion formulas to Ember, she must have had her own selfish motives. However, Klein never intended to make money by selling potion formulas, since potion formulas can be reused and are essentially a one-off transaction.

Moreover, Klein himself has a batch of extraordinary traits that he can sell, and the profit from this alone exceeds 10,000 gold pounds!

Fors seemed to understand something, and suddenly spoke up:

"But I imagine you probably don't need the apprentice-level potion recipes. However, I do have some extraordinary materials for the apprentice-level. Would you like them?"

"want!"

Audrey replied without hesitation, "I'll take as many as I want."

When she first met Miss Fors, she even regretted not choosing the apprenticeship path, though she knew how useful it was.

Fors kindly reminded him:

"You need to think this through. The apprenticeship path doesn't provide any practical combat skills before Sequence 6."

Audrey smiled and said:

"It's alright. If we train more extraordinary individuals through the apprentice path, we'll eventually produce a Sequence 6 one."

Fors stopped trying to dissuade her; what else could she say after you've already said that?

At that moment, most members of the Tarot Club had the same thought: being rich really does allow you to be capricious.

The Hanged Man's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly asked:

Do you need a magical item?

"need."

Audrey nodded, but after thinking for a moment, she added, "But we won't accept just anything. We'll only accept those with practical abilities and minimal side effects, and the corresponding reward can be increased to 10%."

"no problem."

The Hanged Man nodded slightly, not surprised by Miss Justice's answer.

However, he knew a craftsman friend who was quite skilled at making magical items, so he didn't have to worry about the supply of magical items.

He has no worries about the supply of goods or the sales channels. All he needs to do is act as a middleman to offer the goods as sacrifices to the fools. It's a sure-fire way to make money, so why not take advantage of it?

Little Sun hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"Should I be able to obtain some extraordinary materials that I can use to repay the debt I owe you, Miss Justice?"

"sure."

Audrey smiled slightly, and kindly reminded him, "I know you don't need the gold pounds, Mr. Sun, but you can accumulate them first. When you need them later, you can use these accumulated gold pounds to trade with other members."

Little Sun thought about it for a moment and felt that it made a lot of sense, so he immediately agreed.

Soon, the others also finalized some details of their transactions, and the Tarot meeting gradually came to an end.

Klein tapped his fingers lightly on the table, drawing the attention of the others. He glanced around and said calmly and without a trace of emotion:

That concludes today's gathering.

-

The Earl of Hall's luxurious villa in Queens.

The cold air was kept out of the windows and walls, and the room was warm and cozy, with an elegant fireplace.

On that exquisite and luxurious bed covered with velvet sheets, the girl was sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face.

In fact, her soul had already gone to the gray mist above the "Nine Heavens".

Upon hearing Mr. Fool dismiss the party, Audrey saw a deep red light before her eyes and felt a slight downward pull on her body.

Then, her vision returned to normal, and she saw the familiar ceiling.

A pleased smile appeared on her lips, but she quickly restrained herself and patted her cheeks.

"Audrey, don't be too proud!"

She quickly got out of bed, went to the door, and gently opened it. Her golden retriever, Susie, faithfully sat in the hallway, guarding the door for her.

When Susie saw Audrey come out, she wagged her tail at her.

"Susie, keep up."

Audrey beckoned to Susie, then turned to her personal maid, Annie, who was also standing guard at the door, and asked, "Annie, where are Daddy and the others?"

Anne bowed slightly:

"Earl Hall and Lord Alfred are in the study."

Audrey blinked and turned to walk towards the study on the second floor.

Susie, who had been half-squatting on the ground, stood up, wagged her tail, and followed.

Boom boom boom!

A knock on the study door interrupted Earl Hall and his son's conversation.

Earl Hall frowned slightly, but Alfred across from him gave him a wink, immediately making Earl Hall's expression turn helpless, and he softly called out:

"Audrey, come in."

"Click!"

Audrey gently pushed open the door, and Earl Hall was sitting in front of the study, while Alfred and Hilbert were sitting on the sofa in the study.

Audrey blinked, then obediently went to Earl Hall's side to massage his shoulders, and asked softly:

"Dad, what's troubling you?"

Earl Hall had no intention of hiding it from his daughter, and shook his head, saying:

"Alfred is about to become a demigod, and the family must cultivate enough extraordinary individuals to support the foundation that a demigod family should have. Your brother and I have each contacted channels to acquire extraordinary materials, but their prices are too high."

Audrey asked curiously:

"How much are they asking for?"

Earl Hall sighed:

"Add 50% to the market price."

"50%?"

Audrey frowned slightly. This price wasn't just outrageous; it was a deliberate attempt to rip off the Hall family!

Earl Hall's connections were undoubtedly with the royal family, while Alfred's were with the military, both of whom possessed a sufficient number of demigods. Therefore, they were not intimidated by the Hall family, who only held demigod status, and even intended to extort money from them.

Ultimately, it's because the Hall family's heritage isn't deep enough and its history isn't long enough.

Alfred comforted him:

"They're just asking for an exorbitant price; we should be able to negotiate it down to below 30%."

Earl Hall shook his head slightly:

"It's still too high."

The Hall family is not short of money, but that doesn't mean they would be happy to be extorted.

As a seasoned banker, Earl Hall understood this perfectly. If they compromised in this deal, the other party would only become more demanding! Even if they managed to lower the price to 30% this time, the other party would raise it back to 50%, or even 60%, next time!

Audrey asked in confusion:

"Dad, brother, since their asking price is too high, can't we find someone else to cooperate with?"

Alfred sighed and said helplessly:

"Audrey, you're thinking too simply. I know you're referring to gatherings of wild extraordinary individuals, but the extraordinary materials they possess are quite limited, and they may not even be what we need. Even if we attend ten gatherings, we might not get what we want even once. If we want to cultivate extraordinary individuals on a large scale, we can only find forces that possess extraordinary materials on a large scale."

"The two channels of arbitration and lawyers controlled by the family are almost entirely in the hands of the royal family and the military. So we have no choice but to cooperate with them."

Audrey countered with:

"Why are these the only two options? Aren't there other options?"

Alfred, both amused and exasperated, patiently explained:

"First, we don't have any other potion recipes. Second, there's the same problem: we need to purchase extraordinary materials in large quantities, and wild extraordinary individuals can't meet this requirement unless we cooperate with those secret organizations. But the consequences of cooperating with secret organizations are not something we can afford; Prince Edsac is a prime example."

Audrey blinked:

"We have potions, you know."

"Um?"

Alfred paused for a moment.

Hilbert immediately realized what was happening and coughed lightly, saying:

"In fact, before you returned, Alfred, I purchased some potion recipes and secretly trained some extraordinary individuals."

Alfred raised an eyebrow slightly and pressed on:

"Where did you get your potion recipe?"

Hibbert glanced at Audrey out of the corner of his eye and subtly reminded her:

"You know this person too."

Alfred was stunned for a while before finally reacting when he followed Hippo's gaze to Audrey.

Alfred, his right fist pressed against his chin, asked:

"What types of potion recipes can Ash provide?"

Audrey smiled gently and said:

"All pathways, but only up to sequence 5."

"That's enough."

Alfred's furrowed brows relaxed; he hadn't expected to obtain a potion recipe of Sequence 4 or higher anyway.

Earl Hall asked calmly:

"What about the extraordinary materials? The potion recipe isn't a problem, but Ash can't possibly provide the extraordinary materials, can he?"

Audrey was prepared and said seriously:

"I have a friend who can provide us with a wealth of extraordinary materials, and not just through one particular means."

Earl Hall hesitated for two seconds, then asked:

"What about the price?"

His bottom line is a 20% markup, but he's open to considering a price if Audrey's "friend" offers a suitable deal.

As for who this friend is, those who know, know.

"Add 5% to the market price."

"5%?!"

Earl Hall and his two sons exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Only a 5% price increase? Are you doing charity here?

Audrey emphasized:

"Yes, 5%, but my friend has one requirement: the total transaction amount must be no less than 20 gold pounds."

Yes, she didn't actually get Earl Hall's approval to acquire the extraordinary materials. In fact, she just wanted to secure the source of the goods first, and then use the source to ask Earl Hall for payment! Although she didn't show any expression on her face, Audrey was actually a little nervous because it was the first time she had done something like this, and she had to act first and ask for permission later.

Her inspiration came from a short story about Emperor Roselle:

A young man went to a bank claiming to be the son-in-law of a wealthy man and wanting to become the bank's vice president. He then went to the wealthy man, claiming to be the vice president and wanting to become his son-in-law. After verifying his claim, they found it to be true. Thus, he became both the bank president and the wealthy man's son-in-law.

Of course, it doesn't matter if Earl Hall disagrees—

Audrey has 40 pounds in her own savings, which she can use to fill the hole and ensure that the Tarot Club doesn't suffer a loss.

Earl Hall frowned immediately:

"20 million?"

Earl Hall replied without hesitation:

"20 isn't enough, Audrey. Tell your friend to buy as many extraordinary materials as possible, regardless of their origin!"

They're only adding 5% to the price, so they have to buy as much as they can. Even if they don't need it themselves, with the Hall family's connections, they can easily resell it to other nobles at a higher price. Buy at a 5% markup, then sell at a 50% markup—a sure-fire profit!

(End of this chapter)