Chapter 52: The Elderly Version of Qian Qi—Li Hongsheng, Defeated!

If it were any other student, Li Hongsheng might have been able to put on his airs as a dean. However, the president had just repeatedly urged and admonished him not to threaten Qian Qi under any circumstances, leaving him somewhat hesitant about how to make Qian Qi willing to lower the price.

"My student, I will be completely honest with you. Ten million is a bit too much for me."

Li Hongsheng decided to reveal his identity in a subtle manner. "I am currently the dean of the Magic Plant Research Institute. I am not sure if you are aware, but modern society has always held a useless perception and exclusionary attitude toward magic plants. This has kept the research institute in a state of chronic fund shortages and extremely difficult operations."

He sighed deeply. "However, I have always believed that magic plants are beneficial to humanity; it is simply that we have not yet found the correct methods."

After a brief pause, he added, "Even if they are useless to humans, being useful to contracted beasts would still be good. As long as contracted beasts grow stronger, it will become easier for humans to deal with ferocious beasts, and this world will become much safer."

"You chose the magic plant major, so you must think the same way, right?"

Li Hongsheng appealed to both logic and emotion, attempting to make Qian Qi resonate with the significance of studying magic plants.

Qian Qi pondered for two seconds and said sincerely, "No, I'm simply poor and had no choice other than the magic plant major."

Li Hongsheng: ???

"If I could switch to the ferocious beast department or the beast-taming department for free, who knows, maybe by now both ferocious beasts and contracted beasts would be at my service," Qian Qi hinted wildly to the president.

The president: ...

I'll be damned if I believe your nonsense. Don't even think about going to plague the other departments!

Seeing that Qian Qi was completely impervious to reason and persuasion, Li Hongsheng decided to throw caution to the wind. He slammed his hand heavily onto the desk, striking a posture of fierce bargaining.

"Can't it be cheaper? Ten million is far too expensive! Besides, who can guarantee that your cultivation method will actually work? What if the one you give me is fake!"

He was, after all, a veteran at securing investments. Over the years, he had scammed countless wealthy benefactors' money just to keep the Magic Plant Research Institute afloat; there was no way he couldn't win an argument against a mere student!

Unfortunately, Li Hongsheng had kicked an iron plate this time.

When it came to bargaining, Qian Qi had never lost. Furthermore, as the sole seller, she possessed the ultimate trump card—

"Take it or leave it." Qian Qi picked at her ear and said indifferently, "If you're not buying, I'm leaving."

Li Hongsheng: !!!

No! You cannot leave!

I still have 365 bargaining tactics I haven't used yet—

"Have ten million ready before you come back. Don't worry, I'll save it for you and won't sell it to anyone else," Qian Qi waved her hand, her attitude unyielding. "If there's nothing else, I'll be heading off first. Wish you guys a happy day."

With that, she patted her backside and simply walked away.

Li Hongsheng was dumbfounded. He pointed a trembling finger toward the doorway and turned back to ask the president, "Little Zheng! What is wrong with this kid? Why is she so completely impervious to reason? Does she know that with a single word from me, I can make it impossible for her to stay in the Magic Plant Department!"

The president silently corrected him, "She's a young lady, a young lady."

Li Hongsheng: ???

Li Hongsheng pointed at the door, then pointed at himself. "A young lady?!"

Li Hongsheng had never seen a young lady with such rough character. She was suffused with a punk-like rebelliousness from head to toe, and the smile on her little hardened face was practically impervious to blades and spears, completely ignoring both him and the president.

"Do not treat her as an ordinary student," the president said, taking a box containing the defense fruit out of the drawer and opening it for Li Hongsheng to see. "Do you know what this is?"

Li Hongsheng glanced at it dismissively. "Chocolate beans?"

The president: What the hell... "These are the fruits of a magic plant!"

Li Hongsheng froze for a moment. He picked up the defense fruit and examined it closely, furrowing his brow after a long while. "Which kind of magic plant produces this fruit? Even I have never seen it."

The president's gaze grew profound and enigmatic as he murmured, "Not only that, this defense fruit can be consumed directly, and even has zero side effects."

"What?" Li Hongsheng was greatly startled upon hearing this. "It can be consumed directly? Do you mean consumed by Awakeners, or by ordinary people? No, wait!"

Li Hongsheng processed the words. "A defense fruit? What does that mean?"

"After swallowing this defense fruit, it allows a person to become immune to all D-rank ferocious beast damage within a short period of ten minutes, whether it is physical damage or elemental damage," the president slowly explained. "However, spiritual attacks cannot be defended against. I tested this yesterday."

Li Hongsheng: !!!

Defending against D-rank damage—what kind of bodhisattva fruit is this?

Li Hongsheng instantly felt that the defense fruit in his hand was scorching hot. His aged eyes brimmed with excitement and fanaticism as he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Little Zheng, you aren't lying to me, are you? Is this true?"

"It is true." The president tapped the nearby projector twice, playing the recorded competition video of the students present at the time for Li Hongsheng to watch. "Qian Qi held a competition specifically to demonstrate the efficacy of this defense fruit. You should be able to see for yourself that she did not cheat."

Li Hongsheng stared intently at Qian Qi's figure in the video. When he saw the baby fierce-bear beast smash its arms heavily onto Qian Qi, he couldn't help standing up in excitement, "An infant fierce-bear beast is a quasi-D-rank strength and earth-type ferocious beast, and she came out completely unharmed?"

Could this defense fruit truly be this miraculous?

Even though Li Hongsheng had always believed that magic plant byproducts beneficial to humanity could be developed, a magic plant fruit that could be consumed directly and provided such powerful advantages still greatly exceeded his expectations!

"Little Zheng! This defense fruit..." Li Hongsheng couldn't help looking toward the president, asking tentatively, "Can you let me take it back to study?"

The president: "Of course~"

Li Hongsheng: "That's grea—"

The president: "153,000. Pay up."

Li Hongsheng: "—t." ???

"Little Zheng!" Li Hongsheng exclaimed. "Don't be like this! I was hoping to borrow money from you to buy the Fire Kirin cultivation method!"

The president: ???

"Look, you now know how immense the benefits of magic plants are to humanity!"

Li Hongsheng immediately adopted a negotiating posture, tempting him earnestly. "Once I successfully cultivate this defense fruit, money will roll right in! Surely I won't be like before, unable to pay back my debts!"

The president: ... Somehow, I don't think you can cultivate it.

"If you're truly worried, how about this—I can give you a cut of the profits!" Li Hongsheng desperately tried to drag the president onto his sinking ship. "For the sake of a profit share, you must help me persuade Qian Qi to be willing to share the cultivation method for the defense fruit!"

"I just have a feeling that this young lady definitely knows how to grow them!"

The president's mouth twitched.

Now he understood why his tolerance for Qian Qi had been so high previously, and why he hadn't been angry even after being scammed by her. It turned out to be because there was an "elderly version of Qian Qi" right here, meticulously scheming to scam his money just as well!

However, he was indeed tempted by Li Hongsheng's proposal. The value of the defense fruit and the fire kirin fruit was hard to estimate in the early stages, not to mention...

The president leaned close to Li Hongsheng's ear and whispered, "Actually, she still has..."