Close Combat Mage

Chapter 361 – Searching for Business Opportunities Pt. 2

Suo Jia stared at Nicole for a long while before replying, “Nicole, what exactly is the reason you came to the Greater Trade Routes with me? What is your goal?”

Nicole thought about this for a moment before firmly answering, “I have many reasons for coming here, such as completing my family’s Invisible equipment set, becoming a leading role on the Greater Trade Routes, and reviving my family’s prestige!”

Nicole raised her head to look into Suo Jia’s eyes and earnestly added, “However…these are all side goals. The main reason I came here was to repay Young Master Suo Jia. If it weren’t for you, my siblings wouldn’t have been saved, and I would have sold my life to be bound to that vile duke forever!”

Nicole let out a long breath. “My younger brother can revive my family. As for completing the Invisible equipment set, Young Master has already agreed to help me with this task, right? I believe in Young Master’s abilities!”

Suo Jia hesitantly said, “That’s…” He hadn’t imagined that Nicole would say this kind of thing. He’d thought that any person would have personal reasons for braving dangers and risking their life to come here, but he hadn’t considered the possibility that Nicole’s main reason for coming all this was way himself!

Touched, Suo Jia replied, “Listen to me, Nicole, I’m really very moved by your kind feelings. However, I’m not helping you because I want you to repay me like this. We’re companions, comrades-in-arms that are working and fighting hard for the same objective.”

Nicole had a blank expression on her face, clearly having not understood Suo Jia’s words. Upon seeing her confused look, Suo Jia continued, “You could indeed help me if you followed me, but your strength would not rise as quickly. I’m sure you also know that since I’m a merchant, you, as a thief, would definitely be wasting time if you followed me. Like that, even if you become a figure that has successfully passed through the Greater Trade Routes, would it really matter?”

“Your point is…? Nicole vacantly stared back, completely confused.

Suo Jia patted Nicole’s shoulder and smiled. “My point is that the basis of our group is to wander around as much as we please. I don’t want you to exist for my sake, but rather to struggle through obstacles for your own sake. After you get stronger, you can use it to contribute to the entire group. This is my greatest wish.”

Suo Jia paused here for a moment before continuing, “Nicole, I hope that from now on, you will continue to strive for your best with your own self in mind. You should set yourself free, and do whatever you want or like!”

Nicole trembled and bit her lip, having finally understood what Suo Jia meant to say, and nodded. “Alright, Young Master, I’ll listen to you. However…you have to be careful by yourself! There is danger lurking in every step on the Greater Trade Routes. No matter what, you must stay alive and meet with us again!”

Suo Jia happily smiled. “I will. However…you can’t just direct that towards me. You also have to watch your own safety. Remember, when there’s life, there’s hope!”

Nicole nodded, and reluctantly shot one last glance towards Suo Jia, before turning around and whirling out the door like the wind. In a mere instant, Nicole’s figure had disappeared.

With a sigh, Suo Jia slowly sat back down and closed his eyes, limply leaning back into his chair. How could Suo Jia not hope for everyone to stay together from beginning to end? Putting aside other factors, he’d at least be able to transport three times more goods. However, Suo Jia didn’t want the others to all be restricted because of him. Each of them had their own method of training, and Suo Jia wouldn’t allow himself to be so selfish.

After sitting for a long while, Suo Jia finally recovered his spirits and stood up, walking over to the relay station master’s home. Before officially entering the second checkpoint, there were still many things Suo Jia wanted to inquire about.

The relay station master found it a bit strange to see Suo Jia arrive, but he still warmly welcomed Suo Jia. After chatting a bit, Suo Jia finally brought up the main topic, and calmly asked, “Station Master, I’m sure you know I’m a merchant, so I’d like to ask you something: Would it be possible for you to provide some information and intelligence to me?”

“That’s…” The station master paused for a moment before smiling, “I’ve been at this relay station for over ten years now, yet this is the first time anyone has ever asked me for information. Let me ask you, why do you think I’d have any kind of information?”

“Hm…” Suo Jia replied, “The reason is simple. As a relay station on the Greater Trade Routes, the information here must be extremely plentiful. I’m sure that…the bird’s nest outside the door is there to transmit messages between other relay stations, right?”

The station master laughed, “I hadn’t thought your observation skills would be so good. Alright…what kind of questions do you have? Go ahead and ask!”

Suo Jia’s eyes shone and he smiled, “I believe that the second checkpoint requires some local products from the first checkpoint. I want to know what the most profitable local products would be for me to sell!”

The station master chuckled, “No wonder you came into the Greater Trade Routes as a merchant group, you definitely have a business mind! At the very least, nobody else has ever considered such matters before.”

He pondered the question for a bit before answering, “The product that you could make the most money out of is definitely the magic fruit. I’m sure you also know that the Toughening Fruit is something that every checkpoint has, but the Freezing Fruit and Control Fruit are only produced in Icebound Valley, and magic fruits cannot be preserved for long. Thus…as long as you could transport Freezing Fruit and Control Fruit to here, the second checkpoint, I’m sure you could gain huge profit!”

“Oh!” Suo Jia’s eyes lit up brightly. “Then, aside from magic fruits, is there anything else I could exchange that would give me some more money? Magic fruits are small in size, so if I transport those alone, I’d be wasting a huge amount of space. That would be poor business sense.”

The relay station master smiled in reply. “You’re right, using an empty interspatial ring to run around on business isn’t appropriate. If you want to ship goods around, I recommend you try transporting mining tools. As you already know, Barry Island is where illusion gems are from, and this means that it needs a large amount of tools to extract the ores. Pretty much every adventurer will buy a dozen or so tools to go pick at the illusion gems, so…the value these mining tools have is beyond astronomical!”

“What?!” Suo Jia couldn’t help but break out into cold sweat at this. Truthfully….Suo Jia had also thought of going to the mines to excavate a bit and try his luck at digging up some super illusion stones, but it looked like Suo Jia wasn’t the only one that wanted to do that.

The station master laughed, “There are over a thousand mines total on Barry Island. Each one has 100 miners there collecting the gems, and the excavation tools can only be used for a week. In other words, Barry Island requires a hundred thousand mining tools every week!”

“Heavens!” Suo Jia’s jaw dropped in astonishment; he couldn’t believe his ears upon hearing this number.

The station master glanced at Suo Jia’s shocked expression and added, “Also, there are over 10,000 adventurers scattered throughout Barry Island. Typically speaking, each adventurer needs ten excavating tools, which means there’s another hundred thousand mining tools needed. Recently, an extremely high quality pickaxe was sold for a high price of 10,000 Trade Route coins. Now think about it, how much profit could you gain from all this?”

Suo Jia dumbfoundedly stared at the station master, and swiftly did some mental calculations. Barry Island didn’t produce metal, nor did they have any blacksmiths, so all pickaxes were outsourced. This meant that the amount one could earn from selling a pickaxe had reached a frightening cost of 10,000 coins! The important part was that outside the island, these pickaxes were actually very cheap and could be bought at a negligible price of only 10 coins!