Shang Lu was stunned.
He didn't like to apply for patents, and had even planned to include this technology in public reading materials with the lowest reading permissions, for future generations to study.
In the eyes of this academic enthusiast, up to now, there were still too few people who could discuss and delve into the subject with him.
This was not conducive to scientific progress.
However, the one who had made this request was Tang Xian, so he had to consider it.
"Why apply for a patent?"
Although he knew that if he applied, it would certainly be approved, Shang Lu was still curious about the reason.
"To prevent the devaluation of money," Tang Xian said, directly addressing the crux of the issue.
Shang Lu was puzzled.
Tang Xian explained,
"There are many disadvantages to monopolizing the market, but opening the market too early will lead many people to indiscriminately lower the profits of said market. If only we can produce rare plants, the base is at least small, and as long as we are not greedy, the value of the plants won't decline too rapidly. On the other hand, if everyone has access to this technology and each individual discovers they can trade with these people, then the market will be in chaos. In short, the bargaining power in such trades will weaken."
Although this was what he said, Tang Xian didn't entirely think this way, because... currently, he was the only one capable of conversing with boss creatures.
Even if he didn't want to monopolize the market, he couldn't.
Shang Lu was still confused,
"Xian, ordinary wealth simply isn't enough to sway you. What kind of wealth could possibly..."
"The wealth is still that wealth. It's just that the trading partner is too special, although indeed there are also some types of wealth that only we can use."
"Such as?"
"For example, information on creatures from mining areas that are still unknown to humans. Even includes Catastrophic and Apocalypse-level creatures."
"They have even that?"
Shang Lu was astonished.
Despite hundreds of years of human exploration in the mining areas, there were still many unsolved mysteries.
In the red zone of Magic Dragon Valley, are there truly dragons?
In the red zone of Red Lotus Hell, are there truly mountain-sized volcanic giants?
In the Ashen Sea, does a Sea Demon truly exist that's larger than a city?
Some of these ancient records had been confirmed, while others remained mysteries.
Tang Xian nodded his head. If he used a Jiuye Biphasic Orchid to inquire about the weaknesses and habits of the Catastrophic-level boss, the White Phosphorus Demon Snake, Qing JiuYu would likely tell him.
A being of Apocalypse-level that grew up in a mining area might not know more than Tang Xian, but would inevitably have secrets unknown to him.
Similarly, as long as one holds the corresponding chips, and gives them to the right person, they could exchange them for knowledge not yet possessed by mankind.
Although Shang Lu did not know who exactly Tang Xian was referring to as the trading partner, he knew that Xian was not a person to boast aimlessly.
"Agreed. Xian, then I'll follow your advice," Shang Lu, after much deliberation, agreed to Tang Xian's request.
Feeling some hesitation from Shang Lu, Tang Xian knew the thoughts of someone like him and said,
"I can assure you that compared to your academic work being generously shared, following my approach will make it much more impactful, and might even change humanity's standing in the mining areas. In any case, I won't let your talent go to waste."
"After my first successful trade with them, I'll let you know whether this plan is viable. But in the meantime, you can start preparing the materials for the patent application."
Tang Xian did not like to owe favors. He also valued talent highly.
Shang Lu had done him a favor, and he intended to repay it.
Turning Shang Lu into someone on his side was, at present, something Shang Lu still couldn't comprehend the full benefits Tang Xian had afforded him.
But in the near future, he would come to truly feel it.
...
...
After chatting with Shang Lu for a while and having a drink, Tang Xian still felt somewhat happy.
It was naturally worth feeling joyous to reconnect with an old friend after so long and still be as close as they had been.
Their meeting was brief, as Shang Lu was eager to improve his nutrient solutions and perfect his plant replication technology.
Tang Xian also had some other affairs to attend to.
Now that he was back at the Pyramid, he wasn't in a rush to "log in".
Pulling out the Soul Crystal Mine from the hellhounds, Tang Xian planned to sell the mine.
He would exchange it for a few antique stoves—he had a Sichuan cuisine stove, but he also wanted a Cantonese cuisine stove, a Hunan cuisine stove, a seafood stove, and a Fujian cuisine stove.
As well as a specialized barbecue rack and a multipurpose seasoning stove.
These items were no longer in production and they were considered impractical by most people today.
They were expensive and deemed useless.
But to Tang Xian, they were treasures.
Before Dong Ran's arrival, he decided to get an appraisal first.
To handle the Soul Crystal Jade from the hellhounds, there are generally two methods if one wants to sell such rare goods: one is to go to the mission department and accept a national conscription to become a mine hunter.
This was indeed an option, but it made one an easy target because hunters who performed well had only one path to take, recruitment by the upper echelons.
The salary was handsome, and many people made it their life goal to be recruited, but Tang Xian didn't like it.
The second option was to sell contraband.
Selling the Soul Crystal Mine to the black market would fetch a lower price, but it offered convenience by avoiding a heap of procedures.
Tang Xian hated making things complicated and wasn't too concerned about the profits, as obtaining high-quality mines wasn't a troublesome issue for him.
His destination was Decay Street, where there was a black market that Tang Xian found relatively trustworthy.
At the same time, this place also housed legitimate trading platforms for stringed instruments, which were very regular, without any of those superficial 'head and foot wash' services. Everything was centered around the highest mission of studying biological reproduction.
There were also many lending institutions here; as long as you were willing to take a loan, they would definitely give one out. You could try to hide with the attitude of not paying back a loan borrowed through your skills, but the outcome would certainly be dire.
There was also the absolute no cheating—yeah, right—casino.
But that's gamblers for you. Even if you tell them that you lose nine times out of ten bets, nothing can stop the unfailing business of the Decay Street casinos from being flooded.
Of course, the most popular among young people were the bars here.
It didn't matter if you were ugly or fat, the drunken women didn't care about looks; as long as you had a piece of green ore in your hand, anything was possible.
This was Decay Street, and as the name implies, it lived up to its reputation.
The only thing that was still not considered corrupt was that this place wasn't lawless; on the contrary, its rules and regulations were very clear.
After all, many of the business tycoons behind the scenes here were "civilized people" from even higher levels.
As Tang Xian wandered around Decay Street for a while, he approached Dong Sanbao's pawnshop and frowned.
This "private mine" Money Bank had actually been sealed off.
Tang Xian was puzzled, but soon he thought of the news he had seen before about an official on the fourth level losing his job because he had offended the son of an official from the fifth level.
The companies under his name had been sealed as well.
It seemed unrelated, but Tang Xian naturally made the connection. After all, there were few secrets in the lower levels that Tang Xian didn't know about.
"Troublesome," he muttered.
Besides Dong Sanbao's shop, there were a few other black markets, but the problem was that these places weren't tight-lipped. Dong Sanbao's pawnshop had one good point—they never betrayed customer information.
Tang Xian didn't do business with those who couldn't keep their mouths shut. Doing business with them was not much better than... becoming a hunter.
After hesitating for five seconds, Tang Xian made up his mind quickly.
"I'll become a hunter," he decided.