Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

But she was interrupted by Nian Meilong, "Nian—"

[He said, "You just asked that question, and you're still trying to lie to me? Do you think I'm stupid?"]

Xia Shen looked annoyed and said dejectedly, "Fine, I couldn't fool your clever mind after all. But I'm looking for this to save my friend..."

To deal with this kind of clever elf who isn't actually very bright but thinks he's very smart, you have to first make him think he's discovered the truth, and then hide the lie in the next layer.

As expected, Nian Meilong's smug expression betrayed that he had fallen into Xia Shen's lies.

Xia Shen pressed on, saying, "My friend has contracted a strange illness that can't be cured. I went to ask the great god of knowledge, Yukshi, who told me that you have a magical stone here with healing power. I never expected... Sigh, since that's the case, I'd better go back and prepare for its funeral."

As he continued, Xia Shenmeng shed tears, his sorrowful expression moving all the dragons present, except for Zoroark, who looked on with a strange expression.

[Look sorrowful, preferably with a few tears like I did.]

Xia Shen quickly used telepathy to remind Zoroark to cooperate and not to act like Qin Wuyang, who was a useless person by Jing Ke's side.

I just can't do anything with you...

Zoroark managed to squeeze out a trace of sadness and barely managed to complete the mission.

“Sticky—” A smaller sticky dragon seemed to empathize the most, saying something to the sticky dragon leader.

[She said, "Since we still have so much steel, why don't we share some with them and help their friends?"]

Xia Shen was overjoyed; there really were many good elves in this world!

However, he didn't intend to get something for nothing. He made up a white lie simply to lower their guard and give himself at least a chance to communicate with them.

The time is almost ripe.

"Of course, I won't do it without giving anything in return. I can exchange some of our tribe's most precious possessions with you!"

As he spoke, Xia Shen took out a dragon jade crystal the size of a fingernail from his spatial storage and looked at the sticky dragon leader with a sincere expression.

"sticky--"

The Goomy Dragon, who was initially somewhat dismissive of the idea of ​​an exchange, suddenly brightened up when it sensed the rich dragon-type energy emanating from the Dragon Jade Crystal.

……

Xia Shen's prediction was correct. The Steel Dragon dual-attribute Goodra knew the value of Dragon Jade Crystals, and the light in its eyes revealed its great interest in them.

Xia Shen smiled slightly. "It's good that you're interested. I thought you really had no desires."

Indeed, elves have needs and desires, and as long as you grasp these desires, everything is possible.

The leader of the sticky dragons withdrew his pleading gaze, feigning indifference, and said, "Sticky—"

He said, "Seeing how pitiful you are, I'll trade you some. This little bit of crystal can only be exchanged for one piece of steel."

Xia Shen pursed her lips, thinking, "I thought you were an honest dragon."

Bah, you scumbag dragon!

I wasn't even trying to trick you, and you're trying to trick me first. How can I tolerate this?

"But... this is the last of our clan's Dragon Jade Crystals. How about I add some other things to it and we trade them?" Xia Shen pleaded pitifully.

Dragon Jade Crystals are a non-renewable, god-level resource, uh... unless you're really brave enough to venture into the Crown Snowfield and try to steal some from Regidorago.

However, given my limited capabilities in the short term, I certainly wouldn't do something so dangerous.

Although I still have quite a few in stock, enough for my and Yan Yan's dragon-type Pokémon to use for a long time, I still have to use them sparingly.

There might be other places where it will be needed, such as exchanging goods and resources, just like today.

Therefore, Xia Shen thought of adding some less precious ingredients that were not found in the jadeite or were scarce.

For example, Pokémon items like Steel Gem and Dragon Gem, which are currently easy to obtain from the outside world.

…………

Xia Shen thought this way and did this. He then took out several medium-quality gems of two types from Arceus space.

"How about adding these gems?"

Nianmeilong used its tentacles to sense the purity and content of energy within the gemstone and nodded in satisfaction.

"sticky--"

[While it's not as good as that crystal, it's still pretty good. With these gems, let's exchange it for two steel stones!]

Xia Shen's face darkened. This was going too far.

But since he needed someone's help, he couldn't do anything about this heartless, sticky dragon, so he had no choice but to continue acting.

"But Yuxie said that two stones wouldn't be enough to save my friend. This is all I have... Sigh, never mind, I'll try my luck elsewhere and see if I can find any steel stones."

Xia Shen sounded dejected as he put away the gems and the crystal, then turned to leave with Zoroark.

[After going through so much trouble to find it, aren't we going to exchange it?]

Zoroark was puzzled and asked telepathically.

[Don't worry, it's only ten steps; he'll bring us back.]

Xia Shen smiled confidently.

However, he clearly overestimated Nian Meilong's patience. Before he could take a second step, a slightly anxious voice came from behind him.

"sticky--"

He said he could exchange it for five...

Hmph, so you secretly pocketed the profits from three of them. It's only because Xicui doesn't have streetlights that you're left; otherwise, I would have hung you from one of them.

Xia Shen didn't turn around. "Seven."

"sticky--"

[He agreed...did we negotiate too conservatively?]

[Maybe so, but never mind, there might be a chance to get it back later?]

Xia Shen decided to first check the specific effects of the so-called "steel stone." If a few stones were enough, there was no need to replace it.

…………

The man and the dragon who made the deal walked side by side into the depths of their tribe.

Along the way, the number of Nianmei and Nian Nianbao increased. Xia Shen said that he couldn't find Nian Nianbao before, but it turns out they were all here.

Xia Shen roughly estimated that there were about a dozen Nian Nian Bao and Nian Mei Er each.

Including the less than ten sticky dragons on the outermost edge of this sandbar, their entire group only numbered around thirty.

Xia Shen guessed that perhaps it was because the life level of quasi-gods was higher, making it more difficult for them to incubate offspring.

Perhaps because their tribe rules this territory, these Gooey Pokémon are much bolder than the Zoroans, curiously gathering around to look at the two Pokémon they've never seen before.

Xia Shen distributed some energy cubes to them as a bonus. Since these things weren't worth much anyway, he figured he might as well build a good relationship with them and see if he could recruit a couple of them to the Green Elf Conservation Area in the real world.

As for his own Sticky Dragon, he didn't want to cause any trouble, so he didn't dare to release it for the time being. He would wait until he had a good relationship with this super-strong but somewhat stupid Sticky Dragon before making a decision.

……

Before long, the leader of the Niumi Dragon led Xia Shen and Zoroark to a quarry about the size of a school playground, where countless exposed metal blocks of varying sizes, resembling iron, were laid out.

Under the sunlight, these metals refract a mysterious and dazzling luster.

Sticky Dragon stopped and called out to Xia Shen, "Sticky—"

[This is the place. Take seven dollars and go.]

Xia Shen grinned as he looked at the [steel stone], which was as small as a fist but had a diameter of one or two meters.

Seven dollars? Any seven dollars will do?

Sticky Meilong sized up Xia Shen, who was completely defenseless, and then gave a mocking laugh, "Sticky—"

He said, "As long as you can take it... hahaha"

Zoroark couldn't help but laugh when he got to the end.

Xia Shen turned around and sincerely thanked Zhan Meilong: "Alright, thank you for your generosity!"

After saying that, he stepped on the jagged, small steel stones and walked to the second largest steel stone in the entire area.

To Nian Meilong's astonishment, the steel stone, ten times the size of Xia Shen, suddenly vanished...

Seeing Xia Shen's bright smile, Nian Meilong knew it must be related to him, but out of respect for the powerful, he could only pretend to be magnanimous and act as if he didn't care and wasn't heartbroken.

However, Xia Shen didn't push his luck. He picked out the next six pieces, which were about the size of a soccer ball.

Taking the first large piece was to show that I have the ability, and taking the rest was to show that I am giving you, Mei Long, face.

This combination of a heavy blow and a sweet treat left Nian Meilong completely exasperated.

Even when Xia Shen was being seen off at the end, his attitude towards him seemed even better than at the beginning...

If the order were reversed, and the smaller piece was taken first, followed by the larger one last, then it would be questionable whether Xia Shen would even be able to leave this quarry today...

------

After leaving Nianmeilong's territory, Xia Shen didn't rush back to reality. Instead, he took out the smallest piece of steel stone and used the Arceus phone to appraise it.

The results of the test brought him not only joy but also surprise.

[Steel Stone: A magical stone containing special steel elements. When absorbed by Steel-type Pokémon, it slightly increases the purity of their Steel-type energy, enhancing the power of Steel-type moves. Other Pokémon that absorb it slightly increase their physical defense. It also radiates trace amounts of special steel elements, altering the surrounding environment. Its formation seems to be related to the Steel Stone Slab.]

The wealth of information contained in this short passage left Xia Shen momentarily stunned.

Increase the energy concentration of steel!

Increase the Pokémon's physical defense!

Change your surroundings!

The method of production is related to steel slabs!

Holy crap, we've struck gold!

Xia Shen couldn't help but curse under his breath, but he couldn't be blamed for it, because... he really got a huge bargain this time!

He was still a little heartbroken about the loss of the dragon jade crystals, which were temporarily irreplaceable.

But now, compared to the returns, the return on this investment is 1,000 percent!