Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 443 383: Tallying the Harvest_1

It was so heavy, he could barely carry it.

Huai Shi panted as he walked along the mountain path, feeling the heavy load in his saddlebag.

As a Divine Artifact, the Sage's Survival Pack wasn't just a civilian version of some almost magical, all-purpose toolkit; it also possessed an internal storage capability similar to a Space Ring.

It wasn't large, roughly two cubic meters in size, just enough to hold all the tools an archaeology team member would typically need, along with a decent supply of food and water.

Even though it looked ancient in design, and the style and materials weren't eye-catching, it undoubtedly could bring extensive and tremendous help to Sublimators.

The only problem was that while you could stuff things into it, the bag itself didn't negate any of the weight.

That's right. Whatever you put in, that's how much extra weight you'd be carrying.

And since the center of gravity was all on one side, walking was particularly arduous. His steps were uneven, one deep and the next shallow. Over time, he worried he might even sprain his hip.

As for the special ability of this Divine Artifact, Huai Shi had gained some insights after studying it twice.

Though the effects were random and uncontrollable, there were still some tricks to it.

The most crucial was this: when using it, you must have a clear understanding of your own situation and a complete, feasible plan to maximize its effect.

If you found yourself in dire straits with a blank mind, the item you pulled out from the backpack... well, that could get interesting.

After all, there was more than one way to solve a problem.

Even if the item pulled out would inevitably help the situation, the degree of help could still vary.

For instance, if Huai Shi fell into a ditch and only hoped the marvelous bag could save him, he might pull out a ladder that was too short, or a disposable phone completely useless in an area with no signal.

To make matters worse, he might even get a bottle of bruise spray.

Only by clearly understanding the situation—knowing whether he needed to call for help or save himself, whether he needed a phone or a ladder, or perhaps a longer rope, or even a pistol loaded with flares—could he make the most of it. After all, he only got one chance, and its cooldown was a full two weeks, half a month.

If he had to wait for the next opportunity, he'd be long dead and cold by then.

Most of the time, this overly random ability was less useful to Huai Shi than the bag's basic storage function.

For example, when you were planning a double-cross...

Carrying the heavy saddlebag, Huai Shi's heart filled with bright hope. He pressed on along the mountain path, bypassing the main road and approaching Stone Marrow Pavilion step by step.

Then, he climbed straight over the wall.

As he landed, he saw Uncle Fang peering out from behind a window.

The old man, thinking a burglar had gotten in, grimly held a Double-Barreled Shotgun. When he realized the person climbing over the wall was his own young master, he froze, utterly confused.

Why not use the front door? Uncle Fang wondered.

Of course, it's because there's a Gold-Devouring Beast at the front door! Huai Shi thought.

Huai Shi's own double-crossing was one thing, but that woman had reached the realm of nesting-doll-like schemes, capable of out-conning any con artist. If she finds out I've returned from a 'confiscation' run, there'd be hell to pay!

Huai Shi quickly raised a finger to his lips, shushing him, then pointed urgently towards the basement.

Uncle Fang glanced back, then gave his young master an 'all clear' gesture.

Huai Shi breathed a sigh of relief. He tiptoed to the back of the house, flung The Sorrow of Index upwards, and used it to pull himself straight to the third floor. He opened the window with the Hand of Confinement, climbed through, closed it behind him, and let out a long breath.

He couldn't suppress an excited smile.

He rubbed his hands together eagerly.

Because time had been short, he hadn't carefully examined the safe's contents earlier. Once he confirmed they were valuable, he'd just scooped them into his bag.

Now, he could finally take a proper inventory.

Ten minutes later, Huai Shi wiped the sweat from his brow. He stared at the small mountain of glittering metal piled on the bed, still in disbelief, wondering if he was dreaming.

"My god... all this Pure Gold?"

Pure Gold was a gold-like metal created through Alchemy.

Though similar in nature to Gold, it had an excellent fusion rate with Source Substance.

As a versatile material in Alchemy, it had always been beloved and sought after, with immense demand.

Apart from costing three times more than regular Gold, it had virtually no downsides.

And precisely because of this, it was essentially regarded as hard currency in the Border region. It was easier to use and circulate than Source Crystals, which could cost millions or tens of millions each, and was a favorite among criminals.

He noticed the imprint: it was the alchemical mark of Cavendish Workshop. This meant the entire batch of Pure Gold was produced by the Cavendish Workshop's refining center.

As a workshop—no, a massive monopolistic enterprise—that best controlled mass-production quality, Cavendish not only exported numerous products but also undertook various large-scale industrial services: subcontracting, extraction, purification, and so on. It was also one of the world's largest raw material suppliers.

If it was stamped with the Cavendish mark, it meant this batch of Pure Gold had a purity of over ninety-nine percent.

No wonder such a small pile was so heavy.

According to Cavendish tradition, each uncut piece of Pure Gold weighed exactly five kilograms, enough for one standard large-scale alchemical operation.

So, fifty-one pieces would be two hundred fifty-five kilograms.

After checking the day's exchange rate for Pure Gold—five thousand seven hundred US Dollars per ounce—he started calculating...

Huai Shi's hands trembled as he fumbled with a calculator for a long time, still unable to get the total. Just as he was getting anxious, he heard a voice from behind him, "It's approximately 51,270,000 US Dollars, which is about two hundred fifty million Dongxia Yuan."

"Oh, so that's it!"

Huai Shi let out a long sigh of relief, unable to contain his surprise and joy. He was about to express his gratitude when he realized who was speaking. His smile froze.

It faded, little by little.

Turning around, he saw the Raven that had landed on his shoulder at some unknown point.

She was also looking at Huai Shi, her watery eyes blinking, and asked curiously, "My wings are clean. Can I touch your Pure Gold?"

"No, you can't! Get away!"

Huai Shi instinctively threw himself over the Pure Gold, glaring at the Raven. "If you have a problem, take it up with me! Don't touch my money!"

Wait, how on earth did this woman know I was back? And how did she find where I was hiding the money so precisely?

The Raven whistled cheerfully. "Kiddo, women are very sensitive to stashes of hidden money, you know."

"It's like the stray hair on a man's shoulder, the lipstick mark on his neck, or the scent of another's perfume. One sniff, and we can smell hidden money... So, let me touch it. A little touch won't make any of it disappear..."

"I don't know about other people, but if *you* touch it, at least half of it will vanish!"

Huai Shi's eyes widened. "I worked my butt off for this!"

"Does 'earned' by double-crossing count?"

"I call this 'delivering justice on Heaven's behalf'!"

"Two hundred million US Dollars is just pocket change," the Raven said sympathetically, looking at this fool of hers and sighing. "It can't even buy a new fighter jet; you'd only get a nerfed version... Seriously, if we're talking expensive, the Pure Gold is the cheapest stuff here... Did you see that little box you tossed aside?"

"Inside are Source Crystal Fragments—crystals forcibly compressed in the depths of Hell. They're lighter than plastic, virtually massless, but their market price is over fifteen times that of regular Source Crystals. A rough estimate would be... around ninety million US Dollars."

Huai Shi was stunned. "That valuable?!"

"And Ding NanKe's four Folding Knives, bearing the Four-Leaf Clover Workshop's mark. A set of four, each with unique effects. The whole set can be rated as an S-level Border Relic."

The Raven assessed, "They don't suit you, and you don't lack for weapons. If you choose to resell them, the auction price would likely be between eighty million and one hundred twenty million US Dollars."

Huai Shi took a sharp intake of breath.

He didn't find the price outrageous.

After all, once anything was associated with Sublimators or Border Relics, it became one thing: expensive. It was like how ordinary pliers often doubled in price when marketed as model-specific.

Most Sublimators weren't short on money, but they also needed it more desperately than anyone else.

That unlucky Naga Huai Shi had killed, the one who was with Qi Wen, had spent over twenty million on four Curved Knives. And he'd only managed to buy them thanks to his membership in the Theravada Tantra.

That these four Folding Knives could sell for such a sum was already a conservative estimate. If Huai Shi were willing to sell the Sword of Virtue, the price would be even more staggering.

It was just that Huai Shi had never entertained the thought.

The hopes and expectations entrusted to it were far too precious—not something Money could buy.

After this preliminary tally of his haul, Huai Shi was deeply shocked.

Four to five hundred million US Dollars? That's insane!

The Raven shook her head. "These prices are inflated. At least a third is tax; otherwise, no one would bother smuggling."

Huai Shi was puzzled. "But how could a bunch of smugglers be so rich?"

"You just got lucky and intercepted someone's major shipment, okay?" The Raven glanced at him. "They're just a bunch of couriers, always ready to skip town. Even if they had money, they'd deposit it in the Magic Gold Bank. Who would convert it into such cumbersome assets?"

"In other words... yup, everything you've pocketed is stolen goods."

Huai Shi's expression twitched.

"Still," the Raven tsk-tsked, "there aren't many out there who can handle such a large haul... And since you have zero experience fencing stolen goods, if you try to offload them rashly, you'll definitely be targeted by the major Border organization that took the loss... I don't need to spell out the trouble that would follow, do I?"

Huai Shi rolled his eyes. "Can't I just wait for things to cool down and then sell them off slowly?"

"Do you have that kind of time?"

The Raven reminded him, "Don't forget, you need to advance within six months, kid. By the time things quiet down enough for you to sell, the daylilies will have gone cold."

She paused, her tone becoming soft and enthusiastic. "And as luck would have it, right beside you is an experienced, generous, helpful, and trustworthy friend who can help you with this little problem."

As she spoke, she winked, leaned in close, and looked at Huai Shi.

"Can you guess who this wonderful person might be?"