Exiting the hall.
After walking a few hundred steps, Wu Hao lowered his voice: "Brother! You just arrived and already met the Gang Lord, and he entrusted you with such an important task. Your future is boundless!"
Tang Wen shook his head: "It's hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse! Brother Wu, you must help me!"
"Of course, we're both under Elder Li's wing. I'll definitely help!" Wu Hao patted his chest with a loud thud.
Wu Hao was very familiar with the Blackwater Gang's headquarters. He led Tang Wen around a few corners and arrived at a heavily guarded courtyard.
"Commander Wu!"
"Commander Zhang!"
Within the Blackwater Gang, Wu Hao was practically a minor celebrity.
Everyone greeted him along the way.
Commander Zhang, who was in charge of guarding the warehouse, also greeted them with a smile.
After a few words of introduction, he made Tang Wen's acquaintance.
When Tang Wen then presented Elder Li's token, Commander Zhang immediately started addressing him as "Brother Tang" left and right.
Those in charge of the warehouse had to be shrewd; otherwise, they couldn't handle the job.
Commander Zhang's predecessor had been incorruptible.
No matter who came to collect supplies, he was meticulous to a fault.
Every item's weight, even if it was a few taels or qian over, had to be recorded.
Later, during an inventory check, a medicinal herb worth three hundred taels was found missing from the warehouse. That man was dismissed, and now he's probably eating dust in some mine!
Similarly, after Commander Zhang took over, during the gang's inventory check, the warehouse was short by over a hundred and thirty thousand taels worth of supplies!
Yet, Commander Zhang's position remained as stable as Mount Tai.
"The blood marrow of an Extraordinary Beast. I wonder which beast's is needed?"
Commander Zhang's cheeks creased into a chrysanthemum-like smile: This was hard currency.
He just didn't know if this new Beast Tamer understood the rules.
Opening the warehouse door, he took out a catalog and led the way inside.
Just as Tang Wen was about to follow, Wu Hao suddenly pulled him back, giving him a meaningful look. When no one was watching, he quickly rubbed his thumb against his index and middle fingers.
"Got it, for Commander Zhang?"
Wu Hao didn't say a word, just smiled slightly and patted his shoulder.
Tang Wen turned and followed Commander Zhang, grumbling inwardly: What kind of culture is this in the Blackwater Gang?
But, to be fair, it's quite favorable for me to establish myself!
Inside the warehouse, they passed through rows of shelves of various sizes.
The two arrived at a sealed stone chamber.
The ceiling was illuminated by naturally glowing crystals.
The room was brightly lit.
"Brother Tang, these stone boxes contain the essence of Extraordinary Beasts, the real hard currency!"
Hard currency?
Seeing the ambiguous smile on Commander Zhang's face, Tang Wen immediately understood.
He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Brother Zhang, I'm new here. I'm not sure how much this Extraordinary essence is worth?"
Commander Zhang glanced at Tang Wen: "If it's the blood marrow of an entire Extraordinary Beast, even fifty thousand taels of silver wouldn't be enough to buy it."
Tang Wen: "I'm just making some elixirs for taming beasts. I don't need that much."
The blood marrow of an Extraordinary Beast was one of the main ingredients of Marrow Protection Fluid.
Marrow Protection Fluid was a protective potion that allowed Martial Masters to safely attempt to break through to the Transcendent level.
Without it, if the attempt failed, one would suffer backlash from the extraordinary energy.
At best, one would never have another chance to reach the Transcendent level; at worst, one could be permanently disabled!
And failure was highly likely.
Although Tang Wen didn't need this, other Martial Masters did.
Imagine if Marrow Protection Fluid were in ample supply; the Flame Camp could easily produce a dozen more Transcendents.
Of course, having it in ample supply was just a pipe dream.
Even the major forces in Mountain Chasing City couldn't possibly have enough of it.
You must know that Transcendent Blood Marrow is just one of the main ingredients.
As for what the other main ingredients are, no one except the master alchemists could figure it out.
Tang Wen then asked, "I wonder, how much can Elder Li's authority allow him to take?"
Commander Zhang's heart skipped a beat: Good heavens, this newcomer is even more ruthless than me!
"Ahem, this?" He prepared to tactfully persuade Tang Wen not to be too greedy.
Unexpectedly, Tang Wen understood his look and directly said, "This is a task jointly assigned by the Gang Lord and Deputy Gang Lord Zhao."
"Really?"
"I've only been here for a few days, how dare I lie about such a thing."
Commander Zhang thought: Whether it's true or not can be confirmed by asking Wu Hao later, he probably wouldn't tell such an easily exposed lie.
"A whole Blood Marrow is ten portions, a single elder can take up to six portions at most. Any more would require the Deputy Gang Lord's approval."
"Then how about we take six portions?"
Commander Zhang's eyelids twitched: Good heavens, six portions, that's at least thirty thousand taels of silver!
If it were to go to auction, fetching forty to fifty thousand taels would be a common occurrence.
This guy, a newcomer, is he really this bold right from the start?
He was scared!
Thinking about himself, managing the storeroom for a year or two, with the help of various commanders, elders, and deputy gang lords, he had only managed to create a deficit of one hundred and thirty thousand taels.
This guy, with one move, is taking thirty thousand.
Commander Zhang was scared, afraid that something would happen and he would be implicated, he didn't dare to take it.
Tang Wen didn't pay attention to him, nor did he care about his inner drama.
Looking at the labels on the stone boxes.
He opened the stone box labeled "Soul Raven" and took three jade bottles, which is three portions.
The Soul Raven is a flying Transcendent Mutated Beast.
Tang Wen planned to use it for his Blood Raven.
He then opened the drawer labeled "Arrow Porpoise" and took three jade bottles.
The Arrow Porpoise is an aquatic Transcendent Mutated Beast.
With six portions in hand, he turned to Commander Zhang and directly handed him a jade bottle.
The latter was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no! Brother Tang, you take it, you take it! Once you've taken it, let's go!"
As he spoke, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to leave.
What's this?
Scared?
Tang Wen frowned and sighed, "Brother Zhang, if you don't take it, how can I take it?"
Commander Zhang hurriedly said, "No, no, Beast Tamer Tang, you can take it! You can take it!"
Huh?
Beast Tamer Tang?
Such an official title has come out?
Tang Wen stepped forward, lowered his voice, and said, "If I don't take it, how can Elder Li take it? If Elder Li doesn't take it, how can we progress in the gang?"
Eh?
Commander Zhang blinked, "Brother, you understand the rules so well?"
Tang Wen smiled, pointed at him, then at himself, and then outside: "Six portions, one, two, three."
Which means Commander Zhang gets one portion for free.
Elder Li takes three portions, and Tang Wen, the one actually doing the work, only takes two portions.
If it were really distributed like this, then it would indeed be foolproof!
Commander Zhang couldn't hold back anymore, reached out and took a bottle, skillfully stuffing it into the hidden pocket in his sleeve.
The two left the stone house one after the other and came to the shelves outside.
Before Tang Wen could ask, Commander Zhang proactively said, "Brother, you need medicinal ingredients for your alchemy, right?"
Tang Wen nodded.
Commander Zhang added, "What a coincidence! There's a batch of medicinal ingredients that are about to be scrapped."
Tang Wen: "Brother Zhang, you really know how to handle things."
The two exchanged a smile.
Commander Zhang suddenly felt a sense of mutual appreciation.
Two sacks were filled with several hundred pounds of medicinal ingredients.
Tang Wen picked up one of the items and headed toward the door.
Commander Zhang praised, "Brother Tang, to have such skills at such a young age, you are sure to shine brightly in the gang in the future!"
Tang Wen humbly replied, "Not at all! Big Brother Zhang has the bearing of a great general. You are destined for high positions in the future!"
"Hahahaha!"
The two of them laughed heartily.
With talents like themselves in the Blackwater Gang, the future was bound to be bright and glorious!
As they approached the door, their smiles faded simultaneously.
Tang Wen stepped out first, sighing as he walked.
He looked as if he had failed to deliver a gift.
Commander Zhang, deliberately lagging a few steps behind, wore a forced smile and a dark expression, as if he hadn't received any bribe.
Wu Hao watched in confusion, thinking: Could it be that Commander Zhang didn't dare to accept it since it was their first meeting?
Or did Brother Tang not offer enough?
Well, there would be plenty of opportunities once they became more familiar.
At Tang Wen's request, Wu Hao led him to Elder Li's residence first.
As soon as they entered, a fragrant breeze greeted them.
Unfortunately, Elder Li's living room was set up near the entrance, so Tang Wen had no chance to go further inside and see the lively atmosphere of his home.
"You're here. Is there something you need?" Elder Li asked with a smile, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
Tang Wen smiled slightly and took out three jade bottles from his robe.