Chapter 131: Holy crap, isn't this just a fish bone?

Chapter 131: Damn, isn't this just a fish bone?

Chu Lin suddenly discovered that, provided the quality requirements were met, the classification of the collection in the illustrated guide might be related to the animal's size—or at least, there should be a significant correlation.

Thinking back to the fish and shrimp he had successfully collected—including the scallops and oysters refreshed in Atlantis, as well as the shrimp, cuttlefish, and razor clams he had brought in from the outside—none of them exceeded 30 centimeters in size. However, items of high quality generally had a longer lifespan, and within the same species, they were usually larger than average. The Neptune grouper, the large yellow croaker, and the recently acquired porgy were all relatively large.

Could it be that the higher the level, the larger the fish one could collect? It certainly had nothing to do with price, as price was determined by human demand and had nothing to do with the ocean itself. Whether this was truly the case would have to wait until Liu Fa brought back the seafood to see if any could be collected. With this in mind, he packed the fish and shrimp he had brought in back into the bucket and transported them outside.

By evening, Liu Fa returned in a delivery truck. While unloading, he specifically took out a bag and said, "Boss Chu, I bought a wild big one today—a one-meter-long grouper." He opened the bag, and indeed, inside was a massive grouper. Afterward, he unloaded the rest of the purchased seafood; he had bought over ten bags this time as well.

"Master Liu, the fish caught from the bay aren't what I need. Just pour them back into the bay," Chu Lin instructed.

"Understood, Boss Chu," Liu Fa nodded.

Chu Lin found a moment to take all the seafood Liu Fa had bought into the game, trying them again in the central illustrated guide. The first animal was the one-meter-long wild grouper. As soon as he placed the fish on the collection platform, he received a game notification:

[The current animal exceeds the illustrated guide's level requirements. Please upgrade the guide before collecting!]

Clearly, this wild grouper met the quality standards for collection, but it still required a higher-level guide. Chu Lin immediately picked up the other seafood Liu Fa had bought to experiment. Game notifications appeared one after another, but they were all prompts indicating that the collection standards had not been met.

It wasn't until a venus clam appeared—one that was much larger than the ordinary ones, reaching 20 centimeters—that he felt, upon seeing the remarks, that its quality was definitely sufficient.

[Venus Clam: Common!]
[The venus clam is a type of shellfish. This particular clam is a wild, long-aged specimen. It is very rare, a "poor soul" that was washed up by the waves and accidentally discovered by a beachcomber!]

A long-aged wild animal would definitely have better quality. He immediately placed the venus clam on the central platform, and sure enough, he received a game notification:

[Congratulations, you have successfully collected an animal. Current map: Level 3 Atlantis. Collection progress: 2/5!]

At this point, Chu Lin could basically confirm that the illustrated guide collection was related to the animal's size and age-related quality—at least for now. As for whether there would be changes later, he didn't know yet. After all, he hadn't even leveled up this current tier. The remaining seafood bought by Liu Fa did not meet the collection requirements. He decided he would have Liu Fa send them to the Linyao Restaurant tomorrow after bringing them out of the game.

After exiting the game, he called for Liu Fa and instructed, "Master Liu, I plan to hire someone, with a monthly salary of 10,000, to be responsible for helping me purchase those long-aged, high-quality seafood items from outside."

"This person will report directly to you. Once they buy the seafood, you bring them to the farm. As for who you hire, that’s up to you, but if the job isn't done well, I’ll find someone else."

"Huh??" Liu Fa’s face lit up with joy upon hearing this. "Boss Chu, don't worry, I will definitely handle this well for you and won't let you down." He hurriedly promised. A 10,000-yuan salary was triple what his wife earned as a supermarket stocker. If his wife could take the job, their family could earn over 400,000 a year. This was something he hadn't dared to imagine before, and he looked at Chu Lin with immense gratitude. He would need to go back and discuss it with his wife; if she couldn't do it, he would have to find someone else. Boss Chu hiring someone specifically for this task meant it was very important. Even though he didn't know the reason, he couldn't afford to mess it up.

Over the next three days, Chu Lin had Liu Fa send people to buy seafood. Liu Fa found an assistant—as he had truthfully planned, he hired his own wife. Chu Lin was understanding of this; as long as the work was done well and the rules were followed, he wouldn't say anything more. Moreover, in those three days, the seafood Liu Fa brought back was indeed of very high quality; having been in the seafood business himself, Chu Lin could confirm that. Unfortunately, in those three days, only one sea crab met the requirements, bringing the collection progress to 3/5.

...

At noon, Chu Lin received a call from Huang Bin. Knowing what it was about, he asked, "Any news?"

Huang Bin immediately replied, "I found a rich second-generation heir with a serious condition. His family is no small matter, and he has a very capable older brother who was one of the top ten young entrepreneurs in Min City last year. He’s a very famous figure in the local socialite circles."

"Because of this, the younger brother doesn't pin any hopes on competing for the family fortune or inheriting the company. It’s rumored that he was taught a harsh lesson by his older brother and is completely no match for him. However, he has plenty of money and focuses solely on hedonism. He even opened a bar to pick up women. Once, he went too hard—five women in one night—and, naturally, relying on some imported drugs, he ended up with that condition afterward. The kicker is that a girl who couldn't keep her mouth shut blabbed about it, making him a laughingstock in the socialite circles."

"By the way, you know the bar—the Starry Night Bar on Feifu Road!"

"It's that rich kid, huh." Chu Lin used to frequent bars often, so he naturally knew the Starry Night Bar; it was much larger than the Ultimate Bar. Rumor had it that the bar cost 20 million to open. There had even been rumors that this rich kid had beaten a girl so badly she ended up in the hospital, causing quite a stir with the police. At the time, people speculated it was because he couldn't get the girl and flew into a rage. Now that he thought about it, that wasn't it; it was that the rich kid had been with the girl, and she had been stunned by his premature ejaculation, couldn't keep her mouth shut, and spilled the beans.

Huang Bin continued, "Chu Lin, I’ll come get some of that medicine, and then I’ll go contact that rich kid."

"Sure, come to the farm!" Chu Lin agreed, then went into the game to retrieve a bit of Atlantis cuttlefish bone.

Not long after, Huang Bin arrived at the farm.

"Here you go. Just grind it into powder and take it with water," Chu Lin said, handing the bit of Atlantis cuttlefish bone to Huang Bin.

Huang Bin took it and was stunned for a moment. "Chu Lin, are you kidding me? Isn't this just a cuttlefish bone? Are you sure this can cure premature ejaculation?" This stuff was common in Min City; anyone who had bought dried cuttlefish knew what it was. Now he was saying it could cure premature ejaculation? Wouldn't the price of dried cuttlefish go through the roof?

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Chu Lin retorted.

"How long does it take to work?" Huang Bin realized that this must be like the ambergris from before—not an ordinary item.

"It should have an effect soon after taking it," Chu Lin thought for a moment. After all, it had the attributes of a Level 2 quality item.

"I’ll go find that rich kid right now," Huang Bin said. After taking the item, he headed straight for the Starry Night Bar. He had only learned about this person from the vice president of the Central Hospital, but the phone number the patient had left at the hospital was disconnected. Without a contact number, his only choice was to go to the Starry Night Bar; people on the inside would surely have the owner's number.

In the middle of the day, the Starry Night Bar wasn't open for business. When he entered the inner area, only two burly, tattooed men were present. Their identities were self-evident. In a nightlife venue, regular security was needed, but "internal security" was also necessary to toss out people who drank too much and thought they were the emperor of the world. Regular security usually couldn't handle such people. The two men stood up when they saw Huang Bin enter the inner area.

"Who are you?" one of them demanded.

"I'm here to see Young Master Tu. I can resolve some of his medical issues," Huang Bin stated his purpose. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, an angry voice echoed from inside: "Get out! Get the hell out!"

The shout made the two burly men's expressions change. Then, they saw a sexy girl run out, looking furious. The girl had a great figure, and as she walked out, she complained, "Just because you can't even get through the door, don't blame me. Is having money so great..."

Huang Bin smiled, realizing the person inside was indeed Young Master Tu. It seemed the situation was quite serious—he had reached the point of pacing outside the door, unable to enter. Thinking of this, he said to the two men, "It's exactly that problem. I'm sure your boss would very much like to resolve this condition."

The two men didn't hesitate. One of them went inside to report immediately, and a moment later, he came out and said, "Young Master Tu wants to see you!"

Huang Bin nodded and followed him inside. In an office, he met a young man who looked visibly frail.

"Who are you? Is what you said true?" Tu Shanlin asked, frowning as he looked at Huang Bin. His face was gloomy and carried a warning. Many people knew about his situation and had come to him claiming to have secret prescriptions, giving him hope only to swindle his money without ever curing him. But this only proved how widely his story had spread, making him feel utterly humiliated.

Huang Bin immediately introduced himself: "I am a manager at Bafang Ke. Young Master Tu should know about us. We specialize in solving troubles for people. I happen to be entrusted by someone to find patients for a certain medicine. Young Master Tu, what kind of condition do you think it is?" As he spoke, he handed over a business card.

"Bafang Ke!" Tu Shanlin’s face lit up. "Is there really such a medicine?" He had naturally heard of this broker firm. If a manager from such a company came in person, they must have something.

"The medicine exists, but how much is Young Master Tu willing to pay?" Huang Bin said with a smile. "After all, this isn't something only Young Master Tu needs; others need it too. The highest bidder gets it; if you miss out, it's gone."

"I recently invested in a project, so I don't have much money on me," Tu Shanlin said hurriedly. "However, if this condition can be cured, this bar is worth quite a bit. I can trade this bar for it."

"That's a good price. I'll tell that gentleman," Huang Bin said, placing the piece of cuttlefish bone on the table in front of Tu Shanlin. The Starry Night Bar was indeed valuable, having cost 20 million to open. More importantly, it was managed well; it should be worth more than 20 million now. Trading this bar to restore his dignity as a man—for an ordinary person, this would be foolish, but for a rich second-generation heir like him, it was nothing. For the sake of his dignity, he would truly be willing to part with it.

Tu Shanlin looked at the cuttlefish bone and was stunned. "Manager Huang, are you sure this thing can cure my condition?" He wasn't a fool; he recognized the item.

"Young Master Tu, how will you know without trying? Just grind it into powder and take it; you should be able to feel the effect," Huang Bin said with a smile. He had no doubts about this at all, as Chu Lin wouldn't lie to him.

Tu Shanlin thought it was a scam, but his condition had stripped him of his dignity as a man, leaving him with a shred of desperate hope. So, he had the burly man next to him grind the cuttlefish bone into powder, and then he took it with a gulp of water. After doing so, he felt like a fool—how could a cuttlefish bone possibly work? He couldn't believe he had actually trusted it. He felt a bit of regret in his heart.

However, he hadn't felt regret for long when he suddenly froze. He felt a strange warmth emerging in his groin and prostate area, accompanied by a very comfortable sensation. This made him recall Huang Bin's words with astonishment: "You can feel the effect after taking it."

Was it actually working? That was impossible, right? But the feeling couldn't be wrong; he had never felt such comfort before, and the sour, stinging sensation he had felt since the incident was also subsiding.

Could a piece of cuttlefish bone really be this magical? His eyes lit up. If this worked, his condition could be cured. But trading the Starry Night Bar for it—he was a bit reluctant! Looking at the cuttlefish bone, his eyes darted around. Now that he knew it worked, couldn't he just find someone else to acquire it? Spending a few hundred thousand, maybe a million, should be enough to buy it!

It was worth a try!