Ch. 278 - What's Most Important When You're Out in the World [1]

"What water? Beats me!"Chen Shu's face stayed calm, but inside he was rattled. Don't tell me he figured it out...Ye Qing's brow furrowed. His mind jumped straight to the gruesome state of the fierce beasts at Lieyang Hills.His glare locked onto Chen Shu, demanding a reasonable explanation!"What do you mean, what water?! You son of a bitch — did you put laxatives in there?!""Uh... I was running an experiment. You drank it yourself..."Chen Shu could only fess up, putting on his best innocent face.Who could've guessed Ye Qing would down the whole thing in one gulp? He hadn't shown Bandit Brand Laxative even a shred of respect..."You little punk! I'll deal with you later!"Ye Qing's stomach churned again. He turned on his heel and left without another word.Chen Shu shook his head. "So unreasonable. Next time, I'm not introducing you to any Square-Dancing Aunties!"

...

The next day, Chen Shu headed to the black market.The Dali Potion Shop was still buzzing — every day's batch of High-Grade Strength Potions sold out fast."Brother Tianbao, from now on, we're pushing twenty bottles of High-Grade Strength Potion a day!"Chen Shu made the call right there. With his sky-high rep in Nanjiang, plus Black Iron-level strength, he was already a figure of consequence.With his power, he could absolutely swallow up the High-Grade Strength Potion market share!Honestly, he could've already gone unlimited — he just didn't have enough time to brew."Also, help me acquire the materials on this list."Chen Shu wrote out a sheet. It was mostly primary ingredients for Black Iron-rank potions, each worth several hundred thousand yuan."No rush pricing. Just buy them up slowly!"Chen Shu said. He had plenty of time — what he lacked was cash. Obviously he couldn't afford to buy at premium prices.With that, Chen Shu dove headfirst into the toilet.The shop had already stockpiled a huge quantity of Power Flowers. He'd probably be leaving Nanjiang City for part of summer break, so naturally he had to max out the High-Grade Strength Potion inventory.Three days straight.Chen Shu holed up brewing potions, finally exhausting every last Power Flower.He gazed at the hundreds of High-Grade Strength Potion bottles lined up before him.Chen Shu nodded with satisfaction. That was roughly enough for a month and a half."Brother Tianbao, I'm counting on you guys to look after the shop!"Wang Tianbao and the others thumped their chests, telling him not to worry."Oh right, Young Master Chen, here's the shop's accumulated earnings recently!"With that, Wang Tianbao transferred twelve million yuan to Chen Shu.By now the shop brought in over three million in pure profit per month — already no worse than the big commercial shops downtown.But unfortunately, for Chen Shu, it was still a little too little.He left the black market shop and headed home.Just as he was about to wash up, his phone rang."Hello? Sis Fang Si?""Chen Pi, congrats! I just got out of an alternate dimension.""What's there to congratulate? It was all within expectations!""Cut the crap! Got any summer plans?"Chen Shu's eyes darted around. He said, "Gonna make some money. Already bought the stockings.""What the hell? You gonna sell your looks?""How is that possible? I, Chen Shu, have principles, okay? They're for wearing over my head...""Get lost!"Fang Si's mouth twitched. She hadn't expected Chen Shu to take it that far."Come find me this summer. One of our Beast Taming Squad teammates had some issues — we need to fill a slot. You're Black Iron now, perfect timing. You in?""Didn't you just get out of an alternate dimension? Why work yourself so hard?"Fang Si sighed helplessly. "I'm about to break through to Silver rank. Takes way too many resources — you think I want to grind like this?!"Chen Shu was about to answer when options appeared before his eyes.

[Option 1: Accept Fang Si's offer and head to the alternate dimension together! Completion Reward: Skill Book — Lightning Strike][Option 2: Accept Ye Qing's offer and carry out a mission alongside his student! Completion Reward: Massive Beast Taming Power][Option 3: Stay at the black market shop brewing potions and earning money! Completion Reward: Two Level 2 Gigantification Fruits][Option 4: Travel with Xie Sunan to relax! Completion Reward: Husky Intelligence +1]

Chen Shu's mouth twitched. The fourth option's reward caught his eye immediately.Was this a joke? What use did a Husky have for intelligence?!He thought over the first three options, then nodded and accepted Fang Si's offer."Fine! When do you guys head out? I'll be there as soon as I can!""Mid-July works."The two hung up. Chen Shu had decided to head to the Capital once again.As for Xie Sunan and Ye Qing — he'd just have to turn them down."Time to rest for a bit."It was still late June, nearly ten days until the meetup. He could kick back for a while.He tidied up and returned to his room."Gotta buy some materials."Chen Shu had a chunk of capital on hand now. He could buy the main herbs at higher prices first.Especially the Slime's Body-type Potion ingredients, Defense Potion ingredients, and the Husky's Elemental Potion ingredients — all huge boosts to combat power.He logged onto the Beast Tamer Association Website, which was flooded with all kinds of purchase listings."Nanjiang Bandit Chen Shu, buying Level 2 Gigantification Fruit, Level 2 Iron Core Fruit at high prices...""If interested, DM me! Complimentary autographed photo included!"Chen Shu nodded, satisfied. With the temptation of his autograph, he'd surely gather the key materials in no time.He stretched, flopped onto his bed, and promptly passed out.

...

Several days slipped by. Soon it was July.Chen Shu sat on his balcony, looking thoroughly dejected. Not a single person had sold him any materials."Could it be that my autograph has zero appeal now?!"Chen Shu raised his head and sighed to the heavens. "Looks like you can't buy materials at half market price..."What he didn't know was that plenty of people had clicked on his purchase listing recently — but almost all of them had left cursing under their breath."High-priced acquisition," his listing said. In reality, it was only half the market rate...

Just then, his phone rang.Xu Xingxing: "Hey, Chen Pi. I'm going abroad soon. Let's meet up one more time.""Sure!"Chen Shu nodded and pocketed his phone.Xu Xingxing was already waiting at a restaurant in the city center. Shen Wushuang sat beside him."Where's Old Xie?"Chen Shu slid into his seat."Buying travel supplies, I think!"Shen Wushuang turned to him and asked, "Chen Pi, what are you up to this summer?""Lately, there've been a few too many Dragon Guards in Nanjiang. My suggestion is — you might want to lay low...""..."Chen Shu shrugged. "I, Chen Shu, walk upright and sit straight — what do I have to be afraid of?""Besides, I'm heading to the Capital. What do Nanjiang's Dragon Guards have to do with me?""You're relocating your crime scene?"A hint of unease showed in Shen Wushuang's eyes. "Going to the Capital to find Fang Si?!"Chen Shu nodded. "What do you mean, relocating my crime scene? This is called making a contribution to the Capital!""Give me a break..."Shen Wushuang's expression was one of pure worry. These two brought him both joy and heartache.

While the three chatted, Xie Sunan still hadn't shown up."What's with Old Xie? Constipated?"Chen Shu frowned and dialed. "Hey, Old Xie!""Chen Pi? What's up?""Xie Bu Rou, you know what's most important when you're out in the world?""Huh? Brotherhood?""When you're out in the world, you've gotta fucking come OUT first!"Chen Shu said, "If you don't get here soon, forget the food — even Teacher Shen'll be cold by now!"

[1] 出来混 (chūlái hùn): A deeply iconic line from the Hong Kong triad film canon, most famously associated with the Young and Dangerous (古惑仔) series. 出来混 means "to make your way in the underworld" or "to be out in the streets." The stock phrase is "出来混，迟早要还的" — "what goes around comes around." Here, Chen Shu subverts the expected answer of "义气" (brotherhood/loyalty) with a literal reading of 出来: "You have to come OUT first!" — a pun on "out in the world" vs. physically "coming out of your house."