Lu Wu, this so-called sucker could be counted on his fingers.
Only a few people were willing to spend money on Lu Wu.
His dad and mom, and Pang Duddu.
But Lu Wu didn't want to take money from the former. As for the latter, well, even if he sold everything Pang Duddu had, it wouldn't amount to fifty thousand.
So, they weren't the suckers Lu Wu had chosen.
The one Lu Wu picked, was his boss, Li Kai!
Actually, to trace it back, he had chosen this sucker from the first moment he saw him.
Lu Wu once wanted to rely on his dazzling talent to blind Li Kai, and make this sucker willingly come to pay him 'stupid tax' and support him.
But later, Lu Wu woke up.
Just showing off his talent like a peacock spreading its tail was useless. Others wouldn't be interested, so Lu Wu's impetuous heart settled down.
But just because his heart settled didn't mean he wasn't scheming about Li Kai.
After all, he still craved Li Kai—first for his knowledge as a Summon Beast Cultivator, and later for the resources he controlled.
So he never intended to let Li Kai off; he just adjusted his approach and changed his strategy.
He spent a whole month gathering information and preparing, and finally, a month after joining, he was ready to launch his formal attack on Li Kai.
His goal this time wasn't just to make Li Kai a sucker to pay this fee.
Or rather, that wasn't Lu Wu's main objective. He didn't care much about the fifty thousand.
Although he couldn't come up with even ten thousand now, in Lu Wu's eyes, tens of thousands were not a big deal.
What he valued was the circle of Summon Beast Cultivators behind Li Kai. Over the past month, Lu Wu discovered this was a relatively closed circle. If you weren't a Summon Beast Cultivator, you couldn't get in, and it was hard to obtain the core knowledge.
So, Lu Wu decided to gamble, to gain entry into this circle.
If he failed, at worst, he'd just lose this job.
After weighing the pros and cons, Lu Wu decided to take the gamble!
July 29th, Quan City, Li Kai's Summoner's Supplies Shop.
On this day, Lu Wu, as usual, arrived early for work.
As usual, he opened the shop, cleaned, organized the goods, and then started busying himself with some item.
The difference was, usually when Lu Wu started working, he wouldn't stop until it was time to clock out. But today he stopped around ten-thirty.
After a month of working, Lu Wu was quite familiar with his boss's routine and knew he should be up by now.
So Lu Wu put down what he was working on and knocked on the door deep inside the shop.
In no time, the door opened, and Li Kai poked his head out, glanced at the empty shop, and then turned his questioning gaze to Lu Wu.
Lu Wu took a deep breath and began his high-stakes gamble: "There's something I'd like to discuss with you, boss."
Li Kai was taken aback. He sensed something unusual about Lu Wu and had a vague feeling that trouble was coming, but still asked, "What is it?"
At the start of the gamble, Lu Wu was a bit nervous, but after speaking, his mind calmed, and he plainly stated his request.
"I'd like to borrow your studio, and, um, some materials."
Lu Wu's request rendered Li Kai silent.
After a month of working together, Lu Wu had come to know Li Kai somewhat. Similarly, Li Kai also had an understanding of Lu Wu.
He knew Lu Wu was always striving to become a Summon Beast Cultivator and that Lu Wu had set his sights on him long ago.
He also knew that Lu Wu's request now was a signal for a formal attack.
As for Lu Wu, Li Kai somewhat approved of him.
Or rather, he appreciated Lu Wu's diligence, but that didn't mean he would take Lu Wu under his wing and lead him into the Summon Beast Cultivators' circle.
On the one hand, Li Kai knew better than anyone that effort was the cheapest thing on the path of a Summon Beast Cultivator.
On the other hand, Li Kai simply didn't have the time or energy to train and guide Lu Wu. After all, he hadn't even managed to gain entry himself!
So, after a moment of silence, Li Kai made a decision.
"I know what you want to do, give it up. I…"
Li Kai started to refuse but was interrupted by Lu Wu.
"If I'm not mistaken, you've been busy this past month trying to advance that Summoned Beast in your studio, right?
No offense, but you've been going about it the wrong way! Your experiment can't possibly succeed!"
Lu Wu's blunt words were shocking, but Li Kai remained expressionless.
Over the past month.
Lu Wu had to clean the studio daily, so it was no surprise to Li Kai that Lu Wu figured out what he was up to.
Lu Wu knew that alone wouldn't shake Li Kai, so he pressed on.
"The Summoned Beast in your studio is called Rope Firefly Grass, a plant-type Summoned Beast, light 1 star, and ordinary quality.
Over the past month, you've conducted three experiments to try to advance it.
Each time, you used a slightly different main material.
You used 'Ancient Wood Vine Juice,' 'Peach Wood Tree Heart,' and 'stinky monkey essence blood,' but all three experiments failed. Am I right?"
This shook Li Kai.
It wasn't surprising that Lu Wu guessed what he was experimenting with since Lu Wu cleaned the studio daily.
But being able to name the three main materials he used was startling.
By the time Lu Wu was cleaning, those materials were mostly reduced to dregs, making it hard to identify them, especially the main ingredients, unless Lu Wu was secretly watching the experiments.
Thinking this, Li Kai's gaze turned dangerous.
"Don't look at me like that. It was easy to deduce.
You took the materials from the shop each time. I have a list of materials here. Analyzing the primary ingredients with the list wasn't difficult."
Li Kai was stunned by this, having forgotten about the list. If that were the case, Lu Wu's deduction wasn't that impressive… No, wait!
"Each of my lists had a different amount of materials, and the ingredients were numerous. You adjusted the supplementary materials every time you changed the main ingredient, so how did you determine the three primary ingredients?"
Li Kai's question made Lu Wu smile.
Finally, Li Kai had asked the key question, and Lu Wu could flaunt his skill.
Having waited so long for this moment, Lu Wu didn't hesitate and handed a notebook to Li Kai.
...
Thanks to [Book Friend 20170712203851813], [I'm the strongest at staying up late and driving], [living without heart and lungs], [Chang Xiaotu], and [Han Han Tai Er] for the support!
Also, I am, after all, a macho man, so stop saying I'm short all the time (macho man crying)!