Ian looked much more haggard after some time apart, and his already uneven hairline had receded even further.
Zhou Ning couldn't help but be shocked. What was going on? Was the pressure on the Sun Keepers so immense that even a tough guy like Ian couldn't handle it?
"Come in," Ian said, a smile appearing on his usually stern face when he saw Zhou Ning.
He reached out to help Zhou Ning with his suitcase and walked towards the room. However, it was a bit awkward; as soon as Ian turned around, he tripped and fell flat on his face, making intimate contact with the ground.
Zhou Ning was both surprised and amused. He quickly went over and pulled Ian up: "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Ian said calmly, wiping away two streams of blood that flowed from his nose on his rugged face.
After walking into the room and sitting down with Ian, Zhou Ning opened his suitcase on the table: "14 rifles, 17 pistols. Count them. Plus two hundred rounds of ammunition. That comes to a total of 707 vikta. I'll round down the change for you."
Ian silently counted them once, then nodded slightly: "The number is correct."
He took out a stack of banknotes and a card from his Pregnant and placed them on the table, pushing them towards Zhou Ning. "Here is 700 vikta, and the card contains a bounty of 1000 vikta. You can withdraw it at any state-owned bank."
Ian smiled and continued, "If I were you, I'd consider investing your funds in the stocks of the National Military Arms Company and the Gas Mines. You should see steady appreciation. I forgot to mention, besides being a Sun Keeper, I also work as an amateur investor."
"Stocks?" Zhou Ning was momentarily stunned, then chuckled. Stocks did exist in Apocalypse, but they were mainly government bonds, foreign government bonds, mining, and canal stocks. There was even a stock section in the game forum where people constantly boasted about how much money they'd made or lamented how much they'd lost. Zhou Ning wasn't very interested in it. After silently counting the money on the table, he carefully put it away.
Money in his own pocket was real!
1700 vikta! His money pouch had never been so full.
Tap, tap, tap. A moment later, Zhou Ning lightly tapped the edge of the long table and said with a smile, "Ian, I wonder if you could help me get in touch with someone who can make decisions? Sherlock would also work. I have a big deal to discuss."
"What kind of deal?" Ian was slightly startled and asked subconsciously, but then he nodded. "I can, but you'll have to wait a bit, about thirty minutes."
"Alright," Zhou Ning smiled and nodded, crossing his legs into a more comfortable position, watching Ian rush out.
"Although I don't know what stocks are, I advise you not to follow his advice. He seems to have come into contact with something unclean and is currently plagued by bad luck," a clear, cold female voice suddenly echoed in Zhou Ning's mind.
"Who?" Zhou Ning was startled. He glanced around the empty room, then realized that unlike the control panel's notification sound, this voice was forming directly in his mind, which was quite eerie.
The clear, cold female voice continued: "I am in your ring. Don't worry, I am just a remnant soul and have no ability to do anything to you."
Zhou Ning said, "Oh," and then understood. This should be the effect of the purple talent "Old Grandpa." He had originally thought it would bring Roger, but now that he thought about it, the talent's description was: Your ring hides the soul of a local powerhouse. It seemed this person should be the local powerhouse described.
After a moment of thought, he asked with some curiosity, "How long have you been awake?"
"About two days," the clear, cold female voice said. "You can pretend I don't exist; I won't affect you."
What a sly old fox! Zhou Ning was a bit speechless, but he didn't get angry. Through some communication, Zhou Ning learned that this Old Grandpa was named Jasmine. In her lifetime, she worshipped the Sun Goddess and was a rather powerful Weather expert and priest, also knowing a bit of Alchemy and enchanting. As for more details, she couldn't recall them for now.
Zhou Ning was actually quite curious about her story, but he didn't have time to ask in detail right now, because Ian had already pushed the door open and walked in with Keen West.
Zhou Ning hadn't expected Ian to bring Keen. He stood up and tipped his hat in greeting: "Hello, Mr. Keen, I didn't expect it would be you coming."
"It was on my way," Keen smiled and sat down opposite him, looking at Zhou Ning with an inquisitive gaze: "Ian told me you have a big business deal to discuss?"
"Yes," Zhou Ning smiled and nodded, taking out a Devil Fruit from the box and placing it on the table. He then added:
"This thing is called a Devil Fruit, and it's extremely rare. After consumption, it can grant the eater powerful special abilities. More importantly, it doesn't conflict with any profession, including superhumans. I wonder if you are interested?"
"Devil Fruit?" Keen's eyes flickered. He reached out, picked up the Devil Fruit on the table, and rubbed its texture with his fingers. He couldn't help but feel a little tempted. "Will it be like superhuman potions, with a chance of failure? Are there any side effects?"
"100% success rate, but a person can only eat one. As for side effects... does not being able to swim count?"
"100% success rate?" Keen was genuinely moved now. He directly ignored the side effect of not being able to swim. Superhuman potions were not only ridiculously expensive, but even the most potent ones had less than a 50% success rate of awakening as a superhuman. He mused, "How much does this fruit cost?"
Zhou Ning was secretly pleased, thinking there was a chance. After some thought, he said:
"I was originally going to sell it for 1000, but considering our good cooperative relationship, I'll only charge you 800 vikta."
Keen nodded. The Vester Family was already involved in the Alchemy business. The cost of a single potent superhuman potion was nearly 250 vikta, and one also had to consider the chance of failure. If this fruit was truly as effective as he claimed, 800 vikta was indeed not expensive: "700 vikta, and I'll need to test the effect first."
Zhou Ning fell into thought. Once he became proficient, the cost of making a Devil Fruit could probably be controlled to under 200 vikta, leaving a twofold profit margin. Moreover, the Sun Keepers had no conflict of interest with him, so this deal could certainly be made. He put on an act, pretending to be very pained:
"I agree."
Counting out seven hundred vikta and placing it on the table, pushing it towards Zhou Ning, Keen West picked up the Devil Fruit on the table, sniffed it, and asked with a frown: "How do you eat this thing? Just eat it directly?"
"Yes, you must eat it all, otherwise it won't be effective," Zhou Ning said earnestly. He had heard that Devil Fruits tasted worse than shit. Although he didn't know which great god had actually tasted shit to make that comparison, Zhou Ning was quite curious.
"Alright," Keen nodded and casually handed the fruit in his hand to Ian. "This fruit is for you, in recognition of your long-standing contributions to the Sun Keepers."
"Yes, sir!" Ian stood ramrod straight, flattered, and took the fruit with both hands. He bit into it without hesitation, and a moment later, his expression became solemn. His hands, holding the Devil Fruit, also began to tremble.
He closed his eyes, steeled himself, and devoured the entire fruit in large bites. After a long while, he let out a heavy breath, his expression unchanged throughout.
Zhou Ning:...As expected of a tough guy, impressive.
"How is it?" Keen West looked at Ian and asked.
"I think I feel something." Ian closed his eyes. After a while, his body began to swell, his head transformed into a bull's head, and curved horns grew on both sides of his head.
At this moment, even the composed Keen West couldn't help but be dumbfounded. He looked at Zhou Ning: "This is..."
Zhou Ning was also startled by the Minotaur in front of him. There was still a difference between animation and reality. The current Ian was nearly two and a half meters tall, with bulging muscles, quite astonishing.
"This should be the Ox-Ox Fruit – Bison Form, a rather powerful ability. Don't worry, he can revert to human form at any time," Zhou Ning said, raising his voice with a smile, "Ian, try to see how much your physical fitness has increased?"
In the basement of the Xilin Grocery Store, there was a small training ground. After Ian tested it out, he returned to human form and came back to the two of them, saying excitedly, "In Bison form, my strength increased by about 50%, my agility didn't improve much, but my resistance to blows and stamina both increased significantly. And I feel that my physical fitness is still far from its limit. The only drawback is that physical exertion is a bit fast in transformation."
Keen West nodded. Through these data, he could clearly recognize the power of the Devil Fruit. He mused, "The effect is good. I'll order a batch on behalf of the Sun Keepers. I want to know... what is the yield of Devil Fruits?"