Full-time Creation Master

The border beacon tower is now at number 458!

Although its name includes the words "beacon tower," it is by no means a solitary watchtower isolated on the ancient frontier.

In reality, Yikui 458 was a vast military fortress, measuring five li in length and four li in width.

The dark, sturdy alloy wall rises from the ground and is embedded in the fifty-meter-high border defense line.

Like a broken pearl embedded in the endless border—seemingly inconspicuous, yet bearing the heavy responsibility of protecting the homeland.

Inside the fortress, urgent and loud shouts suddenly rang out, shattering the deathly silence of the border:

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"All of you, hurry up! Are you dawdling and asking for a beating?"

No one dared to slack off in the slightest. The chaotic footsteps and the clanging of metal instruments intertwined, creating an atmosphere of extreme tension.

Everyone knows that behind Yikui458 lies the peaceful and serene landscape of the Great Xia Dynasty.

People live in peace and contentment, children play and laugh, and ambitious people pursue their dreams and strive to realize their self-worth in their respective fields, creating a scene of peaceful and harmonious life.

But on the other side of the fortress, beyond the ten-meter-high defensive line, lay a completely different hell on earth.

It was oppressive and cruel; even the howling wind was filled with an atmosphere of impending despair.

On the open ground outside the defensive line, shouts and the sharp crack of whips rose and fell, so piercing they made one's eardrums ache.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?!"

"Make those pigs hurry up! Are their feet welded together?"

Don't delay the affairs of the Great Xia officials, or you'll regret it!

The speaker was a man dressed in tattered jeans, his clothes covered in stains and holes.

With his dark gray-brown skin and awkward accent when speaking Da Xia language, he is easily recognizable as a typical "demi-human".

He openly carried two explosive pistols at his waist, their barrels gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen.

His face was contorted with a ferocious and ruthless expression, and he cracked the barbed leather whip in his hand, striking his men around him every now and then.

But the next second, he abruptly turned his head, the fierceness on his face vanishing instantly, replaced by a face full of fawning obsequiousness.

His back was bent so low it was almost like a shrimp.

She quickly approached a man in a suit and tie, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The man in the suit and tie was Manager Zheng, who received the "goods."

The border winds whipped up sand and dust, covering everyone around him with a layer of grime, but his suit remained spotless.

His face was completely dry, and his expression was indifferent and calm.

It was as if the cruelty and suffering before him had nothing to do with him.

And the subordinates he had just scolded and whipped...

Not only was he not angry at all,

Instead, they immediately unleashed their pent-up anger on those even lower in society.

The crisp sound of the whip striking flesh, mixed with a faint, almost inaudible whimper, sent chills down one's spine.

This escalating brutality ultimately descended upon a group of figures strung together in a row with thick ropes—

They were all demi-human women and demi-human girls, dressed in tattered clothes, their bodies covered with crisscrossing bruises (wounds, pain but no scars).

His eyes were empty and lifeless, his face filled with despair and numbness.

They didn't even have the strength to lift their heads; they were being dragged along by the rope, struggling to move forward.

Manager Zheng slowly walked forward, his gaze casually sweeping over the group of demi-human girls, a subtle, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

His tone was calm, yet carried a barely perceptible hint of satisfaction: "The quality of this batch of goods is not bad."

The demi-human man named Ark immediately bowed deeply, his face plastered with an exaggeratedly fawning smile, his tone obsequious to the core:

"You flatter me, Manager Zheng!"

"It's all thanks to your constant support and guidance, giving me a job, that I dare to work so hard!"

As he spoke,

Holding a gleaming glass of water in both hands, she handed it over, avoiding eye contact with Manager Zheng.

The voice grew increasingly submissive: "Besides, the Great Xia Dynasty is kind-hearted, taking pity on these demi-human girls who have no one to rely on."

They took them in specifically and gave them a place to stay.

This is also me doing good deeds and accumulating merit.

To be able to serve the Great Xia is truly a blessing I've accumulated over eight lifetimes!

Manager Zheng took the water glass, casually placed it on the tray handed to him by his subordinate, and gave him a cold glance.

His tone was devoid of any warmth, filled with impatience: "Stop with the pleasantries. I don't care about your good deeds; I only care about the quality and quantity of the goods."

If there's even the slightest adulteration or use of inferior materials, you know the consequences.

Yak trembled with fear.

He nodded hurriedly, his fawning smile growing increasingly stiff, his voice trembling slightly.

"No, no!"

Manager Zheng, rest assured, I personally oversaw the inspection of this batch of goods, there will be absolutely no problems!

Third-class and second-class products are all carefully selected.

The girls under 12 were all clean and neat.

Those 16 first-class and 6 special-class items were truly exceptional goods, selected from among thousands.

It will absolutely satisfy you and your superiors!

"Oh? One in a million?" Manager Zheng raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of playful pressure.

I hope you are telling the truth.

If I find out you've been lying to me, don't even mention the possibility of no future cooperation.

"You might not even survive."

Manager Zheng is generous, but he's even more generous when it comes to offering rewards.

"I would never dare to deceive you!" A bead of cold sweat instantly appeared on Ark's forehead, and he quickly bowed deeply.

"My success today is entirely due to your support. How could I possibly do anything to betray you? Please investigate!"

Manager Zheng snorted coldly and stopped pressing him, turning to look at the accountant beside him.

The accountant quickly stepped forward.

Holding a neatly organized data report in both hands, he said with a relaxed expression, "Manager Zheng, the data has all been organized."

"Alright, enough with the chit-chat."

Manager Zheng took the report, casually flipped to a page, and quickly scanned the numbers on it.

His years of experience in dealing with people allowed him to immediately understand the situation, and his tone instantly became serious.

He looked up at Ark, who was still hunched over, and read out the data clearly and forcefully, word by word:

There are 600 demi-humans in total.

"Among them, there are 300 third-class items and 300 second-class items!"

"500 girls under the age of 12, according to the rules, will all be counted as second-class goods!"

"Add another 16 first-class items and 6 special-class items."

At this point, Manager Zheng paused, lightly tapping his fingertip on the report, and quickly calculated the final figure:

"After conversion, the total amount owed is 9000 million."

"In addition, the resource exchange quotas for first-class and special-class items,"

Sixteen first-class items, each worth 500,000; six special-class items, each worth 3,000,000.

16乘50，再加6乘300，合计2400万资源兑换额度！」

After saying that, he threw the report back to the accountant.

His gaze was sharp as a knife, fixed on Ark, his tone icy: "You have no objections to these figures, do you?"

Yak quickly looked up, mentally recalculating the numbers, then a fawning smile spread across his face as he shook his head repeatedly.

No objections! No objections!

Manager Zheng's calculations were crystal clear and accurate to the last detail; I have absolutely no objections!

He knew perfectly well that securing this payment and resource allocation was already an enormous benefit.

Even if he had objections, he dared not utter a single complaint and could only obediently agree.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yak quickly took half a step forward, bowing even lower, his voice filled with genuine gratitude:

Of course not!

"Manager Zheng, you're so generous, taking extra care of us small business owners!"

Yak spoke from the heart, without a trace of falsehood.

In the past, even if he had so many "goods" on hand, and it took him a tremendous amount of effort to sell them,

At most, we can only get 1000 million in payment; getting even a penny more is as difficult as climbing to heaven.

But this 1000 million yuan simply can't withstand the spending—

We need to provide resettlement allowances for our men and compensation for the families of our fallen brothers.

They also needed to purchase necessities such as whips, weapons, and food, in addition to paying protection money to the higher-ups.

After calculating everything, there was almost nothing left.

Sometimes they couldn't even gather enough food for their brothers, making all their efforts futile.

In truth, Yak knew better than anyone else.

In the western border region, outside of Great Xia, there are quite a few buyers who want to purchase "pigs".

But none of those buyers were easy to deal with—many were double-crossed, and countless were ruthless.

Small and medium-sized cleaning teams like theirs risk their lives to collect "goods."

The money earned often doesn't cover the expenses.

Forget about saving money; just managing to keep the team from falling apart would be a miracle.

In the past, Yake was constantly worried about money and couldn't sleep at night. He never managed to save a penny.

Only later, when he was truly desperate, did he grit his teeth and steel his resolve—

They tentatively tried to deal and do business directly with the people of Daxia, who were rumored to be "evil," "greedy," and "scoundrels."

He didn't have high hopes at the time; he was just hoping to save on the price difference made by the middlemen.

Give our brothers a little more money so that everyone can have a full meal and no longer have to suffer from hunger and uncertainty.

But he never expected that he would be so lucky to meet such a straightforward business partner as Manager Zheng.

I remember their first collaboration; he only had a mere nine third-grade demi-humans at his disposal.

The goods only amounted to 3 yuan, and the quantity was small and the quality was poor. He didn't even have the confidence to ask for them.

Manager Zheng not only accepted everything without the slightest complaint, but he also refused to accept the industry-standard "bribe fee."

From then on, Yake made up his mind to only work with Daxia and Manager Zheng for the rest of his life.

Those demi-humans are truly horrible!

Manager Zheng looked at Yake's grateful expression, but his face remained expressionless.

He deftly pulled a silver tablet from his storage pocket, quickly swiping his finger to bring up a colorful inventory list.

He casually handed it to Ark, his tone flat and indifferent: "No objections. Just take a look at this and choose what you want."

Once you've selected your items, the settlement will be completed in one go, with the payment for the goods and the exchange credit directly deducted.

As a "respectable person," Manager Zheng, who couldn't afford a storage ring, could still afford a mere ten million yuan 1-cubic-meter storage bag (new, mass-produced).

How civilized it would be to sew storage pockets into clothing pockets!

In reality, Manager Zheng, despite his cold demeanor, was quite pleased. As a frontline employee, being able to share 1/20 of the profits with his dozen or so subordinates meant he was making several million more.

There's no risk involved, since my slave-collecting team doesn't even leave the border.

They only paid for running errands, but earned more than those who subcontract real estate projects!

With the money I've saved, I should have 5000 million, enough to buy a level 2/warrior-grade serum to break through.

Although the first-tier serum is cheap, the cheapest ones only cost 10 to 20, and they are official genuine products!

The level 2 serum that allows you to break through from level 1 to level 2 is cheap, costing only 1.5 million!

(Rumor has it that His Majesty of the Great Xia Dynasty forcibly lowered the price in order to encourage everyone to become dragons.)

However, this ordinary serum (individually rated as "common," with subsequent grades including "superior," "excellent," "one in a thousand," "one in ten thousand," "earth-grade," and "heaven-grade")...

Although breaking through to the second tier is no problem, and one can fight on equal terms with half of the general-level demons, there are no restrictions on breaking through to the third tier of martial arts.

However, compared to the Heaven-level serum (the serum injected into the Iron Warriors emphasizes functionality, a serum fused from 22 kinds of demon bloodlines, and there is also a Heaven-level serum for those other than the Iron Warriors, which is mainly composed of one or two kinds of demon bloodlines), the Earth-level serum is far inferior!

It's no exaggeration to say that a warrior injected with a level-one Golden Dragon Man can easily defeat 100 ordinary martial artists of the same level (assuming their equipment, formations, etc. are identical, and we don't want to make extreme comparisons).

Fighting against opponents of higher levels is now standard practice.

The Heaven-level serum has the ability to self-advance, and can directly reach the fourth-level Martial King.

If it weren't for the fact that the Great Xia Dynasty was very open to humans with registered status, and that the purchase conditions and criteria were not so clear, then one could have bought it simply by asking the question.

Manager Zheng had already casually bought an excellent serum to break through to the second tier of martial arts.