Chapter 430 - 380
Chapter 430: Chapter 380
"Is... Is this... Crystal Stone?!"
Gu Ning’s mouth hung open, and it took her a long moment to close it.
Hidden beneath the floor was a large chest of Crystal Stones. Not a box, a chest. It was about the size of a microwave oven.
"Awoo." Cook panted, looking at Gu Ning. He puffed out his chest, as if asking for praise. When Ningning didn’t react, he pawed at her and nudged his head into the crook of her neck.
The nudge made Gu Ning lose her balance. Barto steadied her by the waist, and they both looked at Cook at the same time, asking in unison, "You saved up these Crystal Stones?!"
Cook stopped panting and tilted his head, thinking for a moment before panting again with a grin. "Coo...ok... Kaper..."
Gu Ning understood. He and his brother, Kaper, had saved them together. But Cook was still young and had regressed and been sent to Zone 19 right after coming of age. This chest of Crystal Stones must have been mostly saved by Kaper. Cook probably only contributed a tiny fraction.
Seeing all these Crystal Stones, Barto felt more and more that something was off, but for the moment, he couldn’t grasp the fleeting, hazy thought.
"So many Crystal Stones!" Gu Ning scooped up a huge handful. "They’re mine!"
It didn’t matter if they belonged to Cook or Kaper. As their nominal mate, and based on her understanding of the relevant Beast Alliance laws, all the property belonging to the two brothers was now hers.
Barto was amused by her greedy little expression, and his train of thought was broken.
He lightly patted Gu Ning’s hand. "It’s not like you’ve never seen Crystal Stones before. Look at you, drooling over them."
Gu Ning grabbed another handful of Crystal Stones with her other hand. "I’ve never seen this many."
This was an entire chest of Crystal Stones, worth several million at the very least. And it was a complete windfall. How could she not be happy?
"These are currency-grade Crystal Stones." Barto picked one up and examined its quality closely. "If these were Purification Crystal Stones, we’d be truly rich."
To put it bluntly, currency-grade Crystal Stones were just lower-quality Purification Crystal Stones. They could also slow regression, but the effect wasn’t as potent. They were suitable for preventative use by Beastmen and beast cubs who hadn’t officially entered the regression stage. You didn’t have to eat them; just keeping them nearby or wearing them as accessories was enough. They were the most cost-effective type of Crystal Stone and could also be made into Crystal Stone Weapons.
The military’s Crystal Stone Bullets mostly used this grade because consumption was high, and it didn’t hurt as much to use them up.
Gu Ning hadn’t studied Crystal Stone quality much. Right now, she could only tell them apart by color.
The more transparent a Crystal Stone, the more expensive it was. The ones that were both transparent and emitted an iridescent glow were among the most valuable.
She only knew this because she had happened to see a Beastman bragging with a picture in a comment section somewhere.
The Crystal Stones in front of her, for example, were a dark blue color and not very transparent.
"How much are these worth?" Gu Ning asked the little fox, clutching her two handfuls of Crystal Stones.
"This quality is pretty good. One is probably worth ten thousand Universal Beast Coins."
"Ten thousand..." Gu Ning let the Crystal Stones in her hands fall, creating a crisp CLINK CLANK. She stared at the chest and asked, "How many are in this chest?"
Barto pinched her cheek. "Take it home and count them slowly."
Cook chimed in, "Woof!"
For Gu Ning, this chest of Crystal Stones was like winning the lottery, manna from heaven, and finding money on the street all rolled into one. Overjoyed, she hugged Cook and gave him a big kiss. "Cook, you’re the best! My lucky little puppy!"
Cook’s tail wagged so hard it looked like it would fly off, and he splattered Gu Ning’s face with slobber.
Seeing Gu Ning kiss Cook, Barto twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. As he started to lift the chest out, he said, "You little money-grubber. Getting so excited over just a few Crystal Stones."
’Just a few Crystal Stones?’
Gu Ning put her hands on her hips. "Thirty thousand."
Barto: "What thirty thousand?"
Gu Ning: "The pistols. The two you sold me were more expensive than the market price."
At the time, she’d tried to return them but failed. Not knowing if she’d ever earn that much money again, she had checked the price on the black market in case she needed to sell them later. For a similar model, the little fox had overcharged her by three thousand Beast Coins.
He’d even swindled her out of three thousand, yet he had the nerve to look down on this whole chest of Crystal Stones.
Barto pressed his lips together. "...You still remember that."
Gu Ning took three Crystal Stones from the chest and held them out in front of Barto. "Is this a lot?"
Barto knew what she was getting at but deliberately ignored her. He turned to the side to fix up the chest, which had been slightly damaged when Cook smashed it. ’That Kaper,’ he thought, ’hiding so many Crystal Stones but too cheap to get a sturdier chest. So stingy.’
"Is it a lot? Is it a lot?" Gu Ning moved to stand in front of Barto again. She was determined to make him admit that he was obsessed with money and petty about it.
If he was going to be that way, then so would she.
Barto let out a soft hmph and turned away again, holding the chest.
Since he wouldn’t talk, Gu Ning just kept following him around with the three Crystal Stones in her hand.
Barto turned once more, crouching down and burying his head as he used his bare hands to press down the warped edge of the chest.
Gu Ning stared at the little fox for a moment, then pounced onto his back. She threw one arm around his neck and shoved the handful of Crystal Stones right in front of his eyes, nearly smacking him in the face with them.