Chapter 108: An Unethical Mentor, Betraying My Affections!
Hearing the old man say that, Zhang Ze immediately became interested and chuckled lightly, “I guess I can take a look~”
“Knew you’d be interested, kid!”
The old man no longer showed his usual grumpy demeanor, instead greeting Zhang Ze with a friendly smile.
The two then headed toward a small warehouse in the logistics department.
...
Actually, Zhang Ze had already learned about the value of these points when he was at the logistics office. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fallen for the old man’s spiel and agreed to check out some “treasures” in the warehouse.
To put it plainly, the 100 points in Zhang Ze’s possession were roughly equivalent to purchasing power of about 500,000 RMB.
In other words, the points circulated within the Anqing Martial Bureau were converted to RMB at about a 1:5000 ratio.
However, since the Martial Bureau focused on training martial artists, items like pills and weapons were priced significantly cheaper than the market.
For example, a top-grade Body Strengthening Pill cost 60,000 RMB on the market in Anqing Province, but inside the bureau, it could be exchanged for just 8 points (equivalent to 40,000 RMB).
This showed how much effort the bureau put into nurturing young martial artists like them.
Yet, for Zhang Ze, the pricing of pills inside the bureau left him somewhat helpless.
He had hoped to make some side money by trading pills using his system wealth value, but now it seemed pointless.
After all, with over 20,000 wealth points—equivalent to more than 20 million RMB—he naturally wouldn’t bother with such small sums.
...
While Zhang Ze was calculating the value of his 100 points, the two had already arrived at the warehouse door.
“I’m messing with you because I see potential in you, kid,” the old man said with a wink.
As he opened the warehouse door, he continued, “This is my personal storage, Fang Huaide’s exclusive warehouse. No other mentor in the entire Anqing Martial Bureau is granted such an honor!”
Seeing the old man so boastful, Zhang Ze grew curious about his stats, but the system gave no information.
“You’re still a mid-grade martial artist?” Zhang Ze asked, surprised by the empty system panel.
“What?!”
“Damn it, I’m a mentor too!”
The old man had quite the stubborn temper. One moment he was joking around, the next he was cursing.
Fortunately, Zhang Ze didn’t expect much decorum from him.
“Boom~”
As they chatted, the old man opened the warehouse door, unleashing a cloud of dust.
“What kind of treasures could be in a place like this?” Zhang Ze wondered, starting to regret.
The old man wore a smug smile. “Don’t be fooled by the dust—these treasures have been collected over many years, and no one else is worthy of them.”
With that, he turned on the warehouse’s hanging lights and led Zhang Ze inside.
“Old man, what’s that iron rod for?” Zhang Ze kicked the iron pillar beside him, amused.
...
It was hard to ignore the rod. About 1.7 meters long, it could almost be called a staff if it weren’t so thick.
Nearly 10 centimeters in diameter—definitely not something anyone could grip easily.
Hearing Zhang Ze, Fang Huaide noticed his prized possession and hurriedly said, “What the hell do you know about it?”
“This is my Ruyi Jingu Bang!”
Muttering under his breath, the old man straightened the iron rod and rubbed his sleeve on it.
The off-white jacket instantly turned dusty gray.
Seeing this, Fang Huaide sheepishly tossed the rod aside.
...
“Come, come, come~”
“Look at my treasure!”
Fang Huaide beckoned Zhang Ze over.
Zhang Ze approached and saw the old man holding a fist-sized gray crystal.
“So it’s just a glass bead?”
Thinking of marbles from his past life, Zhang Ze muttered under his breath.
“Damn it~”
“I told you you don’t understand!”
The old man was furious. “That’s an energy orb, got it?”
“What kind of orb?”
“Energy orb!”
Fang Huaide was exasperated. “This thing is an energy crystal formed from the corpses of many alien beings from the star domain.”
“It’s a valuable item. Absorbing its energy can rapidly enhance your cellular strength! For a third-grade martial artist like you, it’s a treasure!”
Zhang Ze didn’t ask about these star domain aliens but blinked in disbelief. “You know I’m a third-grade martial artist? Is this really that amazing?”
“Damn it~”
“I’m a proper mentor at the Martial Bureau!”
“A legitimate sixth-grade martial arts expert!”
“Would I lie to you?”
Though furious, the old man shoved the orb into Zhang Ze’s arms and sighed, “Originally 1800 points, but I see potential in your bones, 100 points for you!”
“Consider it a helping hand on your martial path!”
Zhang Ze said nothing and turned away.
Original price 1800 points?
Now only 100?
Do they really think I’m a complete fool?
...
Still, Zhang Ze bought it!
Along with a big iron rod!
And oddly enough, he felt pretty good about it!
“Kid, remember my name—Fang Huaide. Come back when you have more points~”
The old man waved tearfully as Zhang Ze left.
But as Zhang Ze’s figure faded into the distance, Fang Huaide shouted after him, “Big fool~”
In truth, he hadn’t lied about the energy orb’s origin—it really was formed from alien corpses and did contain some energy.
But he was certain Zhang Ze couldn’t absorb it!
...
Zhang Ze returned to his dormitory with the spoils.
He happened to bump into Leng Bingbing right outside.
Since their rooms were adjacent, it was almost impossible not to run into each other.
To be blunt, Zhang Ze could even see what laundry Leng Bingbing had washed the day before from his balcony!
“Where did you get this thing?”
Seeing the smile on Zhang Ze’s face, Leng Bingbing followed him into his room.
Zhang Ze smiled and said, “I redeemed 100 points. A mentor from logistics exchanged it for me!”
“Uh...”
“You used all your points?”
Leng Bingbing looked a bit speechless.
“Of course~”
Holding the energy orb, Zhang Ze felt quite pleased.
“Have you seen this?”
She handed Zhang Ze a booklet.
“‘Resource Integration for Lower Third-Grade Martial Artists’?”
“What is this?” Zhang Ze asked, puzzled.
Leng Bingbing explained solemnly, “A senior just distributed it from the Martial Bureau to prevent us from being scammed out of points.”
“The booklet lists commonly used items for lower third-grade martial artists and their point values...”
As she spoke, Leng Bingbing pointed at the energy orb in Zhang Ze’s hand.
...
Flipping to the last page, Zhang Ze read:
“Star Domain Energy Stone, also known as Energy Stone!”
“Each gray energy stone contains about 300 seconds worth of energy and can help lower third-grade martial artists temporarily boost cellular strength.”
At first, Zhang Ze thought it sounded great!
But as he read on, his expression darkened.
“All energy stones require at least a seventh-grade or higher martial artist to absorb the energy. The higher the grade of the stone, the higher the cultivation level needed.”
“Each gray energy stone is valued at roughly 1800 points but is useless to martial artists below seventh grade...”
Zhang Ze was furious!
He had been duped!
...
“Are you okay?”
Seeing his dark expression, Leng Bingbing asked gently.
After several deep breaths, Zhang Ze calmed down.
“I’m going to smash that old man’s face!”
Suppressing his anger, he forced a smile at Leng Bingbing. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“That orb was a gift from that mentor. The iron rod is what I bought with points!”
Leng Bingbing nodded thoughtfully, not exposing Zhang Ze’s lie.
In fact, she already suspected that some unscrupulous mentor had conned Zhang Ze, causing him to squander his freshly acquired 100 points.
As for that iron lump? No need to guess.
It was definitely worthless junk!
...
The two fell silent for a while. Just as Zhang Ze was about to confront the unscrupulous old man, his phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID was Qi Lijun, he hesitated but answered.
“What do you want?”
His mood was sour after being cheated.
The voice on the other end came quickly.
“I’m lost. Come pick me up at the dorm!”
Zhang Ze had suspected the call would be about this and felt a bit annoyed.
Did he really think Zhang Ze was his guide dog?
Glancing at the energy orb in his hand, a thought occurred.
“When did you go out? A senior just brought something from the Martial Bureau. Did you know?”
Qi Lijun was clueless. “I went out last night to buy something and didn’t return. What did the bureau send?”
“Serves you right for ditching me!” Zhang Ze muttered to himself, then quickly said, “It’s nothing much. I picked it up for you.”
“Tell me where you are, I’ll come get you!”
Qi Lijun looked around and said, “I’m surrounded by buildings...”