Tanqiu's silence made the protection of the thesis an unknown factor. However, Qi Yuan was never one to sit still and wait for death. Hence, he decided to add another layer of protection for himself, and that was the Blazing Angel!
Although the Blazing Angel was currently weak, she was still a Rank 4 energy body. If she could recover her full strength, she would be able to deal with Feng Qian's little tricks.
Hence, Qi Yuan needed energy!
A large amount of energy!
Enough to allow the Blazing Angel to recover her Rank 4 energy!
The laboratory's energy cores were naturally the most abundant. Hence, Qi Yuan set his eyes on Qu Shi first.
"Two thousand energy cores!"
Qu Shi was shocked by Qi Yuan's appetite. Qi Yuan's request was very sudden, but he was smart enough not to ask Qi Yuan why he needed so many energy cores.
After a brief moment of surprise, Qu Shi directly opened the laboratory's energy storage room.
"The energy consumption has been quite high recently. This is all the energy storage in the laboratory. There are also ninety-seven Rank 1 energy cores, twelve Rank 2 energy cores, and five Rank 3 energy cores!"
Qi Yuan scratched his head. Although Qu Shi was willing to take out all the energy cores, he could not really absorb all of them. Otherwise, Qu Shi's laboratory would be in a predicament.
Moreover, although the Rank 2 and Rank 3 energy cores were not of high quality, they were extremely difficult to obtain. Furthermore, their prices were even more expensive. Even if Qu Shi was rich, it would be difficult to obtain more Rank 2 and Rank 3 energy cores in a timely manner.
More importantly, the shortage of energy cores was too large. Even if he took all of them, it would not be enough to fill the gaps between the Blazing Angel's teeth!
"If these aren't enough, are there any other ways?" Qi Yuan asked.
Qu Shi pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.
"If you want to obtain a large amount of energy cores in a short period of time, there are a few other channels.
"The first channel is Arc Light in Songcheng. He has a channel behind him that smuggles energy cores. Moreover, his consumption of energy crystals is also very high. Even if the number of energy cores he has in reserve does not reach the two thousand you need, it can at least meet half of your needs.
"The other channel is the Magic Puppet from the Dark Fairy Tale. He has a chamber of commerce that deals in energy machinery. He should have a lot of energy cores in reserve."
Qi Yuan frowned slightly. Although he had joined forces with Arc Light and the Magic Puppet in the old city, it was not easy to take away so many energy cores from the other party at once.
Even if it was the cheapest Tier 1 Energy Core, according to the price of twenty thousand per piece, two thousand Tier 1 Energy Cores would be a total of forty million. This was a huge sum!
If it was someone like Venom or Bi who controlled a large guild, they might be able to fork out such a huge sum of money, but with his current wealth, he could not afford it no matter what.
How was he going to convince them to hand over the energy cores?
It would be useless even if Wolf's Teeth Hunt was willing to endorse such a large amount of energy cores on credit across gathering points.
"Apart from these two, Black Gold Trade and the Futu Chamber of Commerce, which have set up strongholds in the Iron Chariots, should also be able to take out a large number of energy cores. However, these two companies come out with money on one hand and goods on the other. It would be more difficult to get credit from them than from Arc Light."
After weighing the pros and cons in his heart, Qi Yuan finally locked his eyes on Arc Light and the Magic Puppet.
The main purpose of the two chambers of commerce in the Iron Chariots was to make money, so it was difficult to get credit from them in other ways. However, Arc Light and the Magic Puppet were different. They had other pursuits, which could be seen from the fact that they had taken the risk to enter the old city.
If he could take out something that moved them, he might be able to exchange it for a large number of energy cores.
After Qi Yuan left the laboratory, he found Bi again. As an old man in the Iron Chariots, he definitely knew better than him what Arc Light and the Magic Puppet needed.
"What Arc Light and the Magic Puppet want?" Bi looked at Qi Yuan with a strange expression.
"What Arc Light wants the most is, of course, the opportunity to enter the shelter. You shouldn't be able to take out this opportunity. Apart from entering the shelter, what Arc Light needs the most is a compatible Mechanical Armament!"
"Mechanical Armament?"
Qi Yuan was a little surprised. He then remembered that in the battle in the underground laboratory, Arc Light did not seem to have used any Mechanical Armament. With his strength, he actually did not have any Mechanical Armament!
"Arc Light is an extreme Elemental Domain Ability User. Ordinary Mechanical Armors will not bring any obvious improvement to him. What he wants is an Elemental Domain Mechanical Armament that is compatible with his ability."
"The shelter has very strict control over this type of Mechanical Armament. Even Arc Light has never had the chance to obtain one."
Elemental Domain Mechanical Armament!
Qi Yuan frowned slightly. This was not an easy problem to solve. Blazing Angel still had a lot of things in her stomach, and some of them were Mechanical Armors that could meet the needs of Arc Light. Although he already had the ability to build Mechanical Armors, he did not have much time left. He did not have the time to build a Mechanical Armament that was suitable for Arc Light.
So, use the PowerPoint first and look for Arc Light to raise a wave of financing first?
"Does Magic Puppet have any special needs?" Qi Yuan continued to ask.
"What are you trying to do?" Bi's expression became more and more strange.
First Arc Light, now Magic Puppet. Even if he wanted to do something, couldn't he just look for him?
Why did he have to look for Hunters from other gathering points?
Although Bi was complaining in his heart, his mouth was very honest.
"Magic Puppet has already abandoned his physical body. All of his strength depends on his mechanical body. Although he has obtained Asterite No. 2 this time, he has lost his original mechanical body. There seems to be a problem with the strengthening of his backup mechanical body. He has not been able to go to the Black Steel Shelter to receive the modification. I think he really needs to upgrade his mechanical body now."
Another requirement that could be done, but it would take a lot of time and effort.
Qi Yuan scratched his head. If he had a few more months, whether it was the Arc Light's Mechanical Armament or the Magic Puppet's modification, they could all be easily completed. However, what he lacked the most now was time.
If he could not get enough energy cores, he could only try to kill Insectoids.
However, the efficiency of absorbing energy from Insectoid corpses was too low. More than ten days might not be enough for Seraph to recover to Grade 4.
After bidding farewell to Bi, Qi Yuan decided to look for Arc Light and Magic Puppet to give it a try. If Arc Light or Magic Puppet's needs were urgent, he might be able to pull in a large amount of investment with a PowerPoint presentation!
Qi Yuan's first financing battle was Songcheng's Arc Light.
The reason why Pine City was called Pine City was because there was a huge pine tree in the central square of Pine City. It was said that this was a huge pine tree that had survived since the old era. In the great change that destroyed the old era, this huge pine tree had undergone some strange changes. Not only did it not die in the great change, but it grew even stronger. Only its color changed, from the original green to a grayish white.
Not only that, this huge white pine tree had a strong energy reaction. If one used an Insectoid detector to observe it, they would find that this pine tree actually showed a red dot on the detector. This meant that it had the energy intensity of a Grade 3 Insectoid.
The previous lords of Songcheng had always carefully protected this iconic pine tree, strictly forbidding anyone from destroying it.
The current lord of Songcheng, Luo, often drank alone under the pine tree. However, he did not drink wine, but tea.
Although Luo was not yet forty years old, due to an accident, his black hair had turned from black to white. Coupled with his white clothes, in the eyes of many people, Luo, who rarely made a move, did not look like a lord at all. He looked more like an idler enjoying life.
Under Luo's influence, the environment of Songcheng was more comfortable than other gathering points. There was no tension or oppression.
The white-haired, white-clothed Luo sat under the pine tree. Arc Light sat opposite him. A few guards formed a circle from afar to prevent the two from being disturbed by others.
The hunters in Songcheng were already used to this kind of scene. Luo liked to drink alone, and there were only a few people in Songcheng who were qualified to drink with him. Arc Light was undoubtedly the strongest, and also the most common one.
Luo and Arc Light were both at the peak of Grade 3. They had always been close friends. This time, Arc Light had secretly joined forces with the Iron Chariots and the Dark Fairy Tale because Luo had been persuaded by Ling You to cooperate in the old city.
After the battle in the old city, Arc Light was the victor. Although he did not get the largest Asterite No.1 and No.2, he still grabbed a few fist-sized Asterites. Moreover, he had obtained enough benefits from the Iron Chariots and the Dark Fairy Tale. It could be said that he had gained a lot.
Although Pine City had also lost a few Tier 3 Hunters, compared to Ghost Town and Lionheart Castle, Pine City's losses were much smaller. Originally, Pine City's strength hadn't been at an advantage, but after the Battle of the Old City, Pine City's strength had even surpassed Ghost Town and Lionheart Castle's.
Luo gently blew on the scalding tea and asked.
"Has there been any response from the Shelter this time?"
"No!" Arc Light's tone was obviously a little disappointed.
The Shelter's silence meant rejection. It meant that his application for the Mechanical Armament had been rejected again.
This kind of rejection had happened many times, and the Shelter's rejection had never had a reason.
Arc Light was used to the rejection from the Shelter, but every time his hopes were dashed, it still made him feel a little uneasy.
"The Shelter will always be high and mighty. Except for Ling You, everyone outside is a wilderness refugee in their eyes. Even if you are willing to hand over the Asterite, they will not make an exception for you," Luo said lightly.
"Can you ask Ling You to help?" Arc Light asked.
"Ling You will not agree." Luo shook her head.
"You have not dealt with her, so you do not know her personality. When it comes to the Shelter, even if Scorpion and Zephyr ask her for help, she will not easily help."
Luo paused for a moment and continued.
"I heard that Qu Shanhai can customize some Cyborg Armors. Do you want me to customize one for you?"
Arc Light pondered for a while and finally nodded. In the situation where he could not get the Mechanical Armament, he could only choose to take a step back.
"If Qu Shanhai's Cyborg Armors are compatible with my ability, I can give it a try."
In the past, Arc Light was not very interested in Cyborg Armors, but Qi Yuan's shot that killed Venom made him change his mind.
In addition to Qi Yuan's strength, the most important thing about that shot was the power of the gun.
Although Cyborg Armors were not as powerful as Mechanical Armors, if it was compatible with his own energy, it could play a huge role in a critical moment.
"Be careful of Magic Puppet and Black Sand. The two of them seem to be a little crazy recently. In order to take over the forces left behind by Venom, they have recently broken out in several battles and defeated the forces that tried to touch Venom. They have also lost a lot of people," Luo reminded softly.
The relationship between the several gathering points had always been very subtle. They were not very harmonious, but there had never been a large-scale head-on conflict. Now, Magic Puppet and Black Sand were crazily expanding their forces and amassing wealth. It was not a very smart move. Not only would it cause the leader of Dark Fairy Tale, the Black Knight, to be wary, but it would also cause dissatisfaction in the surrounding gathering points.
In the past, although Black Sand and Magic Puppet would occasionally have conflicts with the outside world, they were not so radical. After the battle in the old city, the two of them seemed to have changed. Not only did they begin to expand on a large scale, but their methods were also quite violent.
Arc Light also said with some doubts, "I've also heard some news about them. After the battle in the old city, they should have obtained a large Asterite. Even if they can't enter the shelter, they should be able to exchange it for enough benefits from the shelter. However, Magic Puppet seems to have taken the initiative to give up on debugging the new mechanical body, and he didn't go to the shelter to change his body. They seem to be secretly plotting something."
Just as the two of them were chatting, a young ability user suddenly ran over from afar. He directly passed the surrounding guards and walked to the two of them, whispering a few words in Arc Light's ear.
"Qi Yuan came to Songcheng and asked for me by name?"
Arc Light was a little surprised. Although the two of them had worked together for a short time in the underground laboratory, they had no other contact. Qi Yuan's visit was undoubtedly a little abrupt.
"Qi Yuan?" Luo raised his eyebrows slightly.
"The newbie who suddenly exploded in the old city and single-handedly killed Venom, Marionette, and Blood Crocodile, three peak Tier 3 powerhouses?"
"That's him!" Arc Light said.
"I was able to kill Ghostface because he used the plasma bomb to severely injure Ghostface. Strictly speaking, the four peak Tier 3 who died in the underground laboratory can't be separated from him."
Luo put down the teacup in his hand and muttered to himself.
As the leader of Songcheng, Luo naturally knew about the peak Tier 3 experts in the surrounding gathering points. After Qi Yuan's sudden rise, the relevant information was naturally placed on his desk. Therefore, although Luo had no direct contact with Qi Yuan, he had some understanding of Qi Yuan from the side.
"I heard that he has a good relationship with Wolf's Teeth Hunt and Qu Shanhai. Those who can gain the recognition of these people are generally not deceitful people. This Qi Yuan can be contacted," Luo said.
Arc Light nodded.
"Since Qi Yuan took the initiative to come here, perhaps he has something to ask of me. I'll meet him somewhere else."
As a participant in the battle of the old city's underground laboratory, Arc Light had always suspected that the missing Asterite was taken away by Qi Yuan. Although Cheng had already explained that no Asterite was found on Qi Yuan, judging from the scene at that time, Qi Yuan was the most suspicious person.
At this time, Qi Yuan was not hiding in the Iron Chariots, but came to Songcheng to find him. He must have something to ask of him.
With Qi Yuan's strength, ordinary things were not difficult for him. Arc Light also wanted to know what could be difficult for Qi Yuan to leave the Iron Chariots and come to Songcheng.
"Come to my place. I also want to meet this interesting young man. In a few years, he may be able to enter the Black Steel Shelter," Luo said.
"He is indeed a young man who makes people jealous." Arc Light sighed.
"The shelter has always favored young people. Every time, the people who pass the assessment are young but talented people like Qi Yuan."
Arc Light said to the informant, "Bring Qi Yuan to Luo's private lounge. I'll wait for him there."