"Come one, come all! Top-quality monster materials, from low-grade to high-grade, all available!" Yu Jin was loudly hawking his wares beside a bustling street at Chihu Rock.
On the ground in front of him, piles of monster materials, shining with peculiar lusters, were stacked into small mountains, showcasing their differences to the passing crowds.
Because of this, many passersby would turn their heads to look at Yu Jin's stall. Unfortunately, despite looking, only a very small number of people actually came to buy.
Even though there are numerous monsters distributed across the continent of Teyvat, as long as one does not venture outside the city on their own, there is very little danger.
Moreover, in Liyue, there are many ways to get rich without fighting, so only a minority of people are dedicated to Adventure and combat.
This led to Yu Jin setting up his stall here for several days, and while he couldn't say he hadn't sold anything at all, he could only say he had sold very little.
The sun set in the west, and another day passed, with the day's harvest still pitifully small. However, Yu Jin had no thoughts of irritation or discouragement, as his need for Mora was almost zero. He was only doing this for the experience.
Besides, although the harvest was small, it wasn't nonexistent. Coupled with his hard work at the Adventurers' Guild every day, it was still a path to wealth.
Just as Yu Jin was about to quickly pack up the monster materials on the ground, preparing to leave, a sailor-dressed man blocked his path.
"May I ask, brother, how much of this kind of stock do you have left?" The sailor picked up a battle-worn arrow from the ground and examined it carefully.
The arrowhead was rusty and slightly stained with blood. Normally, it couldn't be used as a weapon at all.
However, the fierce aura on this arrow was undeniable, and the power it contained caused the arrow's surface to glow faintly blue in the sunlight.
The sailor knew at a glance that this must be an arrow condensed by a very experienced Hilichurl Shooter.
If an ordinary person were to encounter such a Hilichurl Shooter, they would probably have to pray for good fortune.
But now, there were so many!
The sailor grabbed a handful of arrows, all battle-worn! Not only that, there were even more similar monster materials on the ground.
Looking at Yu Jin, who was fully armored, a feeling of admiration spontaneously arose. He sighed, thinking that only someone like Yu Jin, who had integrated combat into his bones, could have slain so many monsters.
"Lots! Do you want all of them?" Yu Jin was a little surprised, not expecting his luck to turn and to meet a big client!
The sailor nodded. The Crux Fleet was only missing these monster materials for their supplies this time. He had originally intended to ask the large merchant guilds, but unexpectedly found them at a small stall, saving a lot of time.
Without these monster materials, the Alcor's element cannons would all be silenced. In the dangerous outer sea, doing so would be tantamount to seeking death.
After receiving the sailor's affirmative reply, Yu Jin, overjoyed, pulled out another large pile of various monster materials.
"Enough, enough!" Seeing Yu Jin continuously pulling out large piles of monster materials from an unknown place, the sailor's understanding of Yu Jin's strength deepened.
Leaving aside his trick of pulling things from his sleeves, just the waist-high pile of monster materials in front of him was enough to make him uneasy.
"Sir, please put them away first! For such a large business, I ask that you discuss it with our boss." Seeing more and more people gathering, the sailor felt that this was not the place to talk business.
Besides, such a large business was not something he, a small sailor, could decide on.
"Alright, lead the way." Yu Jin immediately waved his hand and put away all the items in front of him.
"Good, sir, you are a straightforward man! To be honest, I am a member of The Crux Fleet, and I'm here this time to resupply the Alcor." The sailor led the way, telling Yu Jin the legendary stories of The Crux Fleet.
Yu Jin nodded in agreement beside him, not speaking. In fact, he had no idea what The Crux Fleet was, and even the legends the sailor spoke of, Yu Jin found a bit dull.
But in business, keeping the client happy is paramount. So, Yu Jin contentedly played the role of a good listener.
Liyue's port is quite massive compared to its urban area. Almost the entire seaward side of the city is used for port construction.
However, this is a necessary measure, as Liyue's ship traffic requires its huge port for support.
And among the coming and going merchant ships, the Alcor is definitely the most conspicuous. Whether it's its enormous size or the huge ballistas and cannons on its hull, they all highlight the uniqueness of this warship.
And its owner, Beidou, is known to everyone in Liyue.
A phrase circulates between Liyue and Inazuma: "Fins turn the Dark Sea, tail points to distant mountains."
The phrase describes the giant sea beast, "Distant Mountains," that roams between Liyue and Inazuma. It is both fish-like and dragon-like, vast as a nightmare, powerful as a god, capable of stirring up giant waves tens of meters high with a single blow.
Yet, such a colossal sea monster met its demise at Beidou's hands. Even more terrifying, at that time, Beidou was an ordinary person who did not yet possess a Vision.
Under such a description, Yu Jin met the owner of the Alcor—a woman with one eye covered by an eyepatch.
[Kaeya, I found your sister!] Yu Jin silently complained in his heart the first time he saw Beidou. However, he was sensible enough not to say it aloud.
"Hahaha, hello!" Beidou, upon seeing Yu Jin, boisterously slapped Yu Jin's shoulder armor.
Could it be that she is indeed a great person? Even her way of greeting is unique.
"Little Zhao told me you have a lot of monster materials. Bring them all out; we can handle it." After a simple greeting, Beidou wanted to get down to business. She wasn't one to procrastinate or dither.
"Alright! Stand back." Yu Jin looked at the curious sailors beside him and waved his hand.
Then, in front of everyone, Yu Jin pulled out one sack after another. Inside were the sorted monster materials.
Beidou looked at the scene before her, slightly shocked. Where did Yu Jin get these things from? How did he get them? She hadn't seen anything clearly just now.
"Did you get all these yourself?" Beidou rummaged through the sacks; there were both low-grade and high-grade materials, and not a small number of high-grade ones.
"Naturally." Yu Jin met everyone's astonished gazes and nodded calmly, without any hint of guilt.
His were his, and the Black Blade's were also his.
"Are you interested in joining me?" After hearing Yu Jin's confident statement, Beidou immediately had the idea of recruiting him. Such a strong person was very rare.
Yu Jin looked at the busy sailors on the Alcor and the cold-gleaming ballista arrows on the deck, asking curiously, "What do you guys do?"
"What do we do? Of course, we go on Adventures in the outer sea!" Beidou laughed heartily; she was very satisfied with her job.
Although The Crux Fleet had other tasks, those weren't the main focus, and it wasn't appropriate to discuss them with an outsider.
"Outer sea? Is it the Dark Sea?" Yu Jin suddenly asked. By the way, Osial had asked him to find his wife in the Dark Sea; he had almost forgotten.
Yu Jin looked at Guyun Stone Forest in the distance, feeling a little embarrassed. If Beidou hadn't brought it up, he might have truly forgotten.
"Dark Sea?" Beidou's exposed eye narrowed slightly; she found Yu Jin somewhat inscrutable.
"Very close, but no. The outer sea is just the boundary waters between the ordinary ocean and the Dark Sea. Although dangerous, compared to the Dark Sea, it's just a small shallows."
Beidou paused, then looked at Yu Jin and asked, "Why do you ask? The Dark Sea is a place of death, filled with turbulent element power and countless evil gods."
As if remembering something, Beidou shivered. She spoke as if warning Yu Jin and reminding herself:
"You cannot go to the Dark Sea. No one can survive there."
"Is that so? Then take these materials, and I'll follow you to the outer sea. After that, I'll swim on my own."
Yu Jin said without changing his expression.
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