"Hoo..."
"Finally, the invitation letter has been explored completely."
Jiang Yaqing, sprawled on the rattan chair, snapped her fingers. A glass of lemonade appeared on the table beside her.
She snapped her fingers again.
A few ice cubes dropped into the cup.
"This long dress is really useful," Jiang Yaqing murmured, sipping her lemonade and looking down at the dress she was wearing. "Even a black bear's claw strike didn't hurt. If this dress is this good, then Chen Yu's rainbow sword must be pretty impressive too."
Jiang Yaqing muttered to herself, her gaze falling upon the wall on one side of the camp.
In the center of the wall—
was a sketch of Chen Yu.
"Hmph, you're taking all the good stuff," Jiang Yaqing wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue at the sketch. Just then, a voice invitation caused her to focus.
"Hello?"
Jiang Yaqing's voice deepened, her entire demeanor shifting as if she were a proud queen.
"What is it?"
"Miss, today's resources have been tallied and presented to you." A young man's voice, magnetic and humble, came from her wristband.
"Mm."
"There's also one more thing. Our casualties have been rather heavy recently. I believe we need a batch of suitable equipment, at least armaments need to be supplied."
"Mm, anything else?"
"About..." The young man's voice paused from the wristband, and he cleared his throat. "Miss, you've been minding your diet, haven't you? We can't look after you by your side, it's very..."
"Don't worry, I eat well and sleep well. You all need to take care of yourselves."
"Of course!"
"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up. I just finished a battle and feel quite exhausted," Jiang Yaqing whispered.
The person in the wristband repeatedly agreed, and the call ended.
After the call concluded.
Jiang Yaqing finally let out a sigh, rubbed her head, and took a sip of lemonade.
Equipment!
She knew her subordinates urgently needed equipment.
The problem was...
Where could she get it?
There were quite a few blueprints that had been obtained, but blueprints for equipment were extremely rare. Furthermore, equipment blueprints were design schematics, disposable consumables.
She had also inquired in the group.
However—
The shortage of equipment wasn't unique to her. Almost everyone in the group was facing a scarcity of equipment.
"Equipment, equipment, where can I get equipment?" Jiang Yaqing was exasperated. She frowned and opened the group chat.
Jiang Yaqing: Has anyone gotten equipment blueprints? I'm in urgent need!
He Suisui: Blueprints, my darling Yaqing, what are you dreaming about? Equipment drops blueprints? If anyone could get blueprints, they'd be soaring already!
Xu Nuo: Even production diagrams are rare.
Guo Zhisheng: How have your families' casualties been recently? Do you feel like the beasts in the underground caves have gotten stronger? The casualty rate has increased significantly compared to before.
He Suisui: +1
Xu Nuo: +1
Dongguo Qishe: My family has already posted a public invitation. Whoever can provide my family with 3,000 sets of equipment, I'll marry my sister to them, regardless of gender.
Dongguo Shuqin: ???
Xu Nuo: o(≧▽≦)ツ┏━┓[Slams the table and laughs wildly!]
Xu Nuo: Old Master Dongguo still has ideas, doesn't he? Shuqin, have you become your family's strategic resource?
Dongguo Shuqin: (╯°□°)╯︵┻━┻
Guo Zhisheng: Whoever can give me three thousand sets of equipment, I'm also willing to marry them, regardless of gender, alright?
He Suisui: Get lost, you bottom.
Dongguo Shuqin: Who says not? And regardless of gender, you can't wait to be a man, right? Preferably a strong, muscular hunk. Why don't you just come to my house and be my dad's adopted son, good sis. kΑnshu伍.ξà
Guo Zhisheng: Hmph~
Fan Dabing: Gross.
Jiang Yaqing, who had been silently lurking for a while, withdrew from the chat.
Meaningless!
It was clear from the group chat that everyone was troubled by the lack of equipment. Of course, it was also possible that someone had already obtained blueprints but hadn't disclosed it.
After all, even though they were in the same group, their relationships weren't that close.
"Sigh, 3,000 sets of equipment, and the Dongguo family is selling their daughter." Jiang Yaqing bit her lip. "It's not like I'll end up like this, will I?"
Jiang Yaqing was full of worry.
Such matters weren't uncommon in families like theirs. Just like when Dongguo Qishe mentioned it earlier, Dongguo Shuqin's attitude wasn't one of strong refusal.
She had accepted it!
Before coming to the underground caves, most girls from noble families were also subject to arranged marriages by their parents, eventually marrying into other families or to individuals who would benefit the family.
After arriving in the underground caves, this situation hadn't changed much.
At this current stage—
If someone could truly provide 3,000 sets of equipment, it would be enough to prove their strength within the underground caves. If one were to marry such a person, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
Dongguo Shuqin understood this well, which was why she appeared so calm.
Jiang Yaqing wasn't particularly confident herself. If someone were to provide the Jiang family with 3,000 sets of equipment at this time, would her father make the same decision as the Dongguo family?
3,000 sets of equipment.
It was enough to elevate the family's strength by a significant level. The sooner more equipment was acquired, the faster one could pull ahead of other families in the early stages.
"It's really difficult."
"I won't be married off so inexplicably, will I?"
"Perhaps, I should gauge the situation?"
Jiang Yaqing murmured, clicking on her friend list to try and probe her father's thoughts. However, she saw a bright red "1" next to Chen Yu's chatbox.
Clicking open the private message box.
"Are you there?"
Pursing her lips, Jiang Yaqing directly sent a voice invitation.
[Massive Broadsword: Forged with earth elemental crystals and iron ingots, its attack power is astonishing. Its weight is also considerably greater than other blades, reducing agility.]
"The sword is good, it's valuable, you can keep it," the little demon whispered.
"What level?"
"Gold tier. What else do you expect? A Black Obsidian or even a colorful tier? It's already very good, you can keep it for yourself... Look at Er Gou, I think this sword would be more suitable for him."
"Him?"
Chen Yu glanced up at Er Gou, who was carrying stone blocks outside, and remained silent for a long time.
"Let's study it further."
Chen Yu tossed the Massive Broadsword he obtained from Giles into his warehouse and then pointed to the pile of other equipment on the ground.
"Are these all worthless?"
"They're all trash, not as good as your Perfect Grade Adventurer Set," the little demon said in a low voice. "Mercenaries these days are really poor, not even a single accessory."
"Who says not?"
Chen Yu also curled his lips in disdain and said.
"Then how much should I sell these for?"
"Didn't you want to sell them to that fat sheep? Just sell them as parts of the adventurer set. She doesn't know how much they're worth anyway," the little demon chuckled slyly. "Bleed her dry."
"Makes sense!"
Chen Yu gave a thumbs-up and grinned. Just then, Jiang Yaqing's voice invitation appeared on his wristband.
He lightly tapped the screen.
The voice call was immediately answered, and Chen Yu's face was filled with a smile.
"Good evening, my little darling!"
--
Author's Aside:
Good evening, my little darlings, have you eaten?