Chapter Seventeen: The Ancestral Bird

  Professor Lang went to make a phone call. He is an expert in the collection world and his personal wealth is absolutely substantial. However, for those who are new to collecting, they don't just put tens of millions in the bank to earn interest. On the other hand, his main interest is still focused on bronze ware and pottery from even earlier dynasties.

  When you see something good and want to eat it immediately, that's not a collector, that's a glutton.

  In the room, Luo Xiaoshan hugged Chen Yi and sang and danced, and then said: "I didn't expect you to have a talent for antiquities, next time we'll go treasure hunting again, 30 million is enough to spend a good period of time."

  "That's called spotting treasures. You think you can find undervalued antiques everywhere?" Chen Yi said with a smile that he couldn't stop.

  Lu Fan also gained insight, watching 3 million come so "easily" to hand. As he poured tea and water for the two of them, he sighed and said: "Before, I only heard people say that everyone relies on their own abilities to make a living. When I first arrived at the archaeology department, I thought I could learn from others and pick up some scraps. Later, I realized that it's not about becoming like Professor Lang, but rather being someone who gets picked on."

  He shook his head in envy, saying: "You're students from this school? This scoop is going to make me a superstar tomorrow! I'm afraid countless young girls will come to ask me about it."

  Chen Yi and Luo Xiaoshan exchanged a smile, saying: "This year is the third year of high school, it's said that we should take the entrance exam for Jiangning University, whether we pass or not is another story."

  "After that, he became a junior brother." Lu Fan said enthusiastically.

  The two of them also started calling each other "Shixiong".

  Chen Yizhen asked: "Lu Shixiong, how many years have you been with Professor Lang?"

  "It's been over two years now, and he still has to take his doctoral exams soon." He said in a deliberately low voice: "Endless oppression, ah."

  Everyone laughed again. Chen Yi's mind flashed, but to test a doctoral student, that degree was obviously not bad. So he pulled him over and said: "I have a strange picture here, take a look and see if you recognize it?"

  Luo Xiaoshan discontentedly said: "You two are secretly meeting again?"

  "Off you go." Chen Yi stuffed his big head back in and pulled out a photocopy from his wallet.

  On the paper is a silly bird with sharp teeth, long beak and body covered in feathers, sharp as an arrow.

  It was the pattern he found on the piece of paper he picked up from the subway that day. However, this one in his hand was a photocopy.

  Looking at Chen Yi's expectant expression, Lu Fan thought it was something important and held the picture to examine it carefully for a moment before saying, "What do you want to ask?"

  "What's this thing on the map? Your archaeology department should be used to seeing strange things."

  Lu Fan then covered his face and said mysteriously: "I'll tell you, this bird on the paper..."

  "Uh-huh."

  "It's the Archaeopteryx." Lu Fan said with a "chop" sound, opening his hand and speaking in a normal voice: "Younger brother, you're lucky not to be Professor Lang's graduate student, otherwise you'd really get bullied to death. Which kid in the archaeology department doesn't recognize this thing? It's one of the earliest bird species, with 10 fossils discovered so far, an important transitional part from dinosaurs to birds, first found in Germany, where the geological conditions are truly wonderful..."

  When it comes to his profession, he suddenly has a lot to say.

  Chen Yi didn't pay much attention to listening, knowing that the pattern on his hand was the ancestor bird was enough, and what remained was to consider why such a piece of paper, such a pattern, would appear in the subway.

  As the magical subway connecting the Kingdom of Saint Qiao, it's not something that just anyone can get on. So is this ancestral bird a relic left behind by predecessors or a product of the subway itself?

  Thinking of all sorts of joints and possible variables, Chen Yi gradually became distracted, until Professor Lang turned around.

  Professor Chubby Face smiled and said, "There's an old friend who, as soon as he heard it was Tang Linze's thing, wanted to come down. 3 million will be transferred to your account. The thing can stay here with me. It's too late, it's not convenient to come over directly."

  Chen Yi looked outside and indeed it was pitch black, smiled and reported the card number, then waited obediently for the bank's short message.

  Taking advantage of the weekend, Chen Yi went to the Kingdom of Sanqiao for the fourth time.

  Compared with the previous three times, the paper he brought was more targeted.

  First, any items that did not come out in the first two transactions are completely abandoned; secondly, for items with fewer available materials, change types while keeping some - such as choosing different manufacturers, raw material origins, or even release dates, and make records; finally, for items with more available materials, try to keep the original version, or even increase the proportion, thereby increasing the number of gold coins exchanged, and then buy what you want.

  With a few more records, it will be easier to grasp the rules of the Sacred Empire's choice of scrolls.

  It's easy to get to the Kingdom of Sanqiao, but carrying a large bag of nearly 100 kilograms is indeed a physically demanding task. On the other hand, if the value of the items being carried is too low, it would be inappropriate for a master like him.

  In fact, Chen Yi didn't know that for the entire Sacred Aoi Kingdom's treasury, 300,000 gold coins were a fairly large sum. Not counting the mages' expenses, their annual military expenditure was only about one million gold coins.

  So every time they bring materials worth 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, Timothy and others feel a kind of happy pressure. They are more afraid that Chen Yi will not be satisfied with the resources they have obtained. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the crystal screen, they cannot provide anything that others want.

  However, the existence of this crystal screen has also protected the fragile "ecological" structure of the Santiao Empire to some extent. Otherwise, under the enormous pressure of war and the pressure of unilateral monopoly, they might have sold countless goods cheaply long ago. In the treasury, there are precious items that are not suitable for use in war. Those are the remnants left over from thousands of years of the kingdom's history.

  The subway stopped steadily on top of the Great Wizard Tower in the Kingdom of Sanqiao.

  This Buddhist stupa, built by Master Lu Zeng over two thousand years ago, stands in the southwest of the capital city of Shengqiao Kingdom. The entire structure is made of magical materials and has a unique shape that narrows at the bottom and widens at the top. The highest level covers an area almost as large as the capital city itself, making it a magnificent sight to behold.

  The most formidable thing is that even after a thousand years, the seemingly unsupported mage tower still stands upright and unchanged, coldly observing the transformation of Saint Qiao from empire to kingdom.

  Living in a remote corner, with a small country and few people, the weak and small Kingdom of Sanctia was able to maintain and even rise up in the cruel continental war, relying on the once-in-a-century great master. And the hundreds of years of barren period almost exhausted their last drop of blood.

  Fortunately, the kingdom regained its favor.

  Chen Yi gazed at the towering statue in front of the subway, the Fa Xiang Tower was not only a masterpiece of ghostly craftsmanship, but also contained profound and mysterious techniques that were beyond human comprehension. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave the subway, so he couldn't see the wonders and grandeur of the Fa Xiang Tower.

  "Master." The familiar rustling sound was Timothy, leading two red-robed mages and a varying number of high-ranking mages in greeting.

  Apart from the two Red Robes who take turns being on duty at the Mage Tower, everyone else is scattered throughout the kingdom, especially during these times of frequent warfare, personnel deployment becomes increasingly tense.

  This time, Chen Yi did not see Grandmaster Sande.

  "Hello everyone." Chen Yi smiled, looking like a kind-hearted but cunning good boss. He recognized people while dragging the bag behind him with a grunt, kicking it out of the subway and saying, "This time I've changed some varieties, see if there's anything suitable."

  Timothy looked at the package with a pained expression, as if it contained his own child. The monks beside him also had different expressions, and who knows what they were thinking in their hearts.