The most shameless alchemist in history

However, since nothing was prepared this time, the contestants had no clues to guess.

“It’s not that we were completely unprepared. Look over there.” Du Lei’s observation skills were a bit sharper than Kotetsu’s. He pointed to the corner on the right.

"Over there? Are those people over there... from the Magic Energy Association?" Kotetsu recognized the group of people in the corner as Dure pointed out. They were wearing Magic Energy Association uniforms with the association's unique insignia on their clothes.

“That’s right, those few have been setting something up over there from the beginning. If I’m not mistaken, they’re probably... setting up some kind of barrier.” Du Lei had been keeping an eye on the people in the corner for a long time and made reasonable inferences based on their actions.

"Set up a barrier? What kind of barrier?" Leopard Tail became interested and leaned over to ask curiously.

"I think it's a barrier that teleports us somewhere," Dure thought for a moment and offered this conjecture.

"What, are you going to teleport us somewhere else? But the teleportation barrier is very short, and if so many people are to be teleported, it will consume a lot of magic energy." Hu Che knew the rules of teleportation very well; it wasn't something you could just do whenever you wanted.

Otherwise, there would be no railway, such a revolutionary means of transportation, on the mainland.

"I think it's similar to the teleportation system in our Maple Leaf Academy's simulation training grounds, artificially creating a magical energy space, that's the principle." Du Lei recalled his experience at Maple Leaf Academy, where the simulation system caused quite a stir.

"Is that so? But what is their purpose in doing this?" Kotetsu nodded; he knew what Dure was talking about.

“The first round is registration, the second round is a written test, the third round is finding balloons, and the fourth round… I guess it might be related to the Ababa family’s businesses?” Dure continued to respond. He didn’t have much more clues than Hu Che; the only difference was his ability to filter information.

"Industry? What do you mean by that?" Leopard Tail continued to press.

“Ababa is a big businessman, and he must have many businesses under his control. His son, Harry, is a good-for-nothing, so the businesses will eventually be handed over to his son-in-law. He certainly wouldn’t choose an uneducated person as his son-in-law; he must have some business acumen,” Hu Che explained.

"Wouldn't that give Jin a huge advantage?" Leopard Tail looked at Jin in the distance again, finding Jin's appearance repulsive no matter how he looked at him.

“That’s right, Jin does have a lot of advantages, but things aren’t always so absolute. Sometimes an advantage can turn into a disadvantage.” Du Lei shook his head; he wasn’t entirely sure what Leopard Tail was saying.

"What does this mean? What are the advantages and disadvantages?" Leopard Tail was completely confused.

"It's nothing, it'll be announced soon. Let's hear what the fourth round has to say." Du Lei waved his hand, signaling Leopard Tail to listen carefully.

At this moment, the staff stepped forward.

"It's a pleasure to see you all again. Everyone here has been carefully selected and is an outstanding individual. However, as you all know, only one person can ultimately win. So, before that person appears, there are still many twists and turns to come. Therefore, I won't say any more and will take you to the main venue first." After the staff member said this briefly, he put his hands together.

"What main venue? Isn't this the main venue?" a contestant immediately asked, expressing surprise.

"Of course not. Everyone, please stand in the center of the square. That's right, just like that. Now, don't move around. It's about to begin." After the staff gave their instructions, the previously ordinary square began to change.

A faint light rose from the center of the square, enveloping everyone present and creating a dazzling spectacle.

"What's going on? What's wrong with them?" asked a spectator who had already lost his seat in the audience, puzzled.

"This must be... a teleportation barrier, right? Is it going to teleport them to the main venue? I thought we could continue watching, but they were teleported away, so we can't see anything now," a spectator said regretfully.

"Hey, where are you sending me? At least ask for my opinion first! Hey, stop, stop!" Some contestants were startled by this sudden turn of events, as they were completely unprepared for it, and some shouted loudly to try to stop it.

"I'm sorry, but once it starts, it's not so easy to back out. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the master. Alright, it's starting now. See you at the main venue." As the staff member spoke, the light grew stronger and stronger, enveloping everyone in it.

Soon you can't see anything anymore.

522 Acquire Wealth

Dure had already noticed that the Magic Energy Association was setting up a teleportation barrier, so he wasn't alarmed by this sudden scene. The same was true for Kotetsu and the others, who had been reminded by him. So when the light appeared, they simply closed their eyes, and soon their feet felt light.

They were surrounded by a dazzling array of colors and couldn't see anything, but this didn't last long. After just a few breaths, they felt their feet firmly planted on the ground, and the surrounding light gradually faded, allowing them to see the scene before them clearly.

"This is... a city? Shouldn't we be in Storm City? How did we suddenly get teleported to another city?" Leopard Tail was startled when he saw the scene in front of him. He clearly remembered that he was in the central square of Storm City before.

But now it is a completely unfamiliar city. The main structure of the city is made of stone. It is grand in scale, solemn and austere. It is not as fancy as a modern steam-powered city, nor does it have all kinds of popular products. It is like an ancient city that has been buried in history.

"Teleporting to another city? That's impossible. Even teleporting a distance of just a few kilometers would be a massive undertaking, requiring a huge amount of magical energy. And to teleport two hundred people at once is simply impossible." Hu Che repeated "impossible" twice.

He was experienced and knowledgeable, and knew that this was not just difficult, but simply impossible.

“Uncle Kotetsu, you’re absolutely right, but there are still two possibilities.” Du Lei agreed with Kotetsu’s point of view. In his understanding, it was indeed impossible to teleport two hundred people to another city at once. This was not a matter of the strength of magical energy.

It's a problem that's theoretically impossible, and it's written into magic power textbooks.

"Two possibilities? Which two?" Kotetsu frowned. With his limited knowledge, he couldn't recall anything he had overlooked for the time being.

“One possibility is an illusion. We are led into a virtual world where everything we see is unreal. Don’t forget, we’ve experienced this several times before,” Dure reminded, giving concrete examples.

"Are you referring to the encounters at Nightmare Mountain and Spring Breeze Town? That's certainly a possibility." Hu Che thought about it carefully and agreed with Du Lei on this point. Young people are indeed young; they are quick-witted and immediately connected the events that had occurred.

"What's the other one?" Leopard Tail asked from the side.

“There’s another possibility… that we were teleported to a real spatial fragment. This spatial fragment is located in Storm City, not far away, so even if we teleport two hundred people in, it won’t consume too much magic energy,” Durei continued to explain.

“Spatial fragments? That’s a possibility too. How come I didn’t think of that before?” Kotetsu nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"Space fragments? What are those?" Leopard Tail chimed in, something quite new to him.

“Spatial fragments are the real space we live in. Some kind of change has occurred, such as violent crustal movement or something else, causing spatial compression, which causes a certain space to separate and be refined into a small fragment through a special method and entrusted to something.”

Du Lei explained in detail, trying his best to make Leopard Tail understand.

"A special method? You mean... alchemy?" Leopard Tail nodded, then continued to voice his doubts.

“That’s right, it’s alchemy. Spatial fragments are made using alchemy.” Du Lei confirmed this.

"I see. Alchemy is truly amazing. It can create anything, not only magical weapons, but even this spatial fragment." Leopard Tail was very impressed. These were all very powerful techniques, and none of them were things he knew.

“Let’s see what that gentleman has to say first.” Du Lei didn’t continue the topic of alchemy. He pointed to the staff member in front of him. He had been hosting the conference for the past two days, and the contestants who had just arrived in this completely unfamiliar place were looking at him with confusion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main venue for the fourth round. As we all know, Mr. Ababa has amassed a fortune that rivals that of a nation through business. If you win this matchmaking event and marry into the Ababa family, you will certainly need a talent for business to manage such a large amount of wealth. Therefore, the content of the fourth round is for you to acquire as much wealth as possible from this city within four hours."

The staff member explained the content of this round, and his words immediately sparked a discussion.

"Acquire wealth? Acquire what kind of wealth? Hey, why does this sound like it's very advantageous for rich people?"

"Yes, those who are already rich and powerful can easily bribe others, which is unfair, isn't it?"

Many contestants discussed this, while Jin nodded in satisfaction, just as everyone was saying, this was indeed very advantageous to him.

"It's important to clarify here that acquiring wealth must be done in a fair and just environment. That's why we've brought you all here. As you can see, the currency circulating here is this." The staff member noticed the people's confusion and took something out.

"What is this?" People looked over, puzzled as to what the staff member was up to.

"These are gold leaves. Each gold leaf has a unique mark that cannot be counterfeited. The people living in this city all possess these gold leaves. Make full use of your methods to earn as many gold leaves as possible from them. That is the condition for winning."

The staff member held up a gold leaf and explained its contents.

"Earn gold leaves? I think I understand now. Any means are acceptable, right? Then I'll take action now."

"Hey, wait for me! Don't run so fast, that's really too cunning. Wait for me!"

Once people understood the rules, they rushed over in an instant, and the two hundred or so people scattered, leaving only a few people still standing in place.

“Looks like you guessed right again. This round is indeed related to Ababa’s businesses. So what should we do now?” Kotetsu looked at Dure. Before coming here, Dure had roughly guessed what this round would be about, although Dure didn’t have much confidence.

However, it turned out that his speculation was quite accurate.

"What we need to do now? Well, it can be summed up in one word."

"Wait!"

523 Place to Use

After being teleported to the fourth round venue, everyone began to move. This round venue was a large-scale ancient city with huge stone slabs everywhere. Whether on the stone slabs or the ground, ancient patterns were engraved, giving people a sense of historical vicissitudes.

Of course, for contestants who are focused on winning the competition, they will not care about such details. Whether this is the real world or a simulated fictional space, they only need to achieve their destination.

There are quite a few native residents in the city. They do all sorts of business in the city and are not surprised by the influx of outsiders. When people try to communicate with them, they find that language is a barrier, as they do not use the same language family.

However, language was merely a barrier, not a problem. They could still communicate to some extent through gestures. As Dure and his group walked down the street, they noticed that some people were starting to use their special skills to talk to the indigenous people and try to obtain gold leaves from them.

"Oh, old man, where are you moving all this stuff? Can you carry it all this way? But don't worry, I'm here. How could I let you do such heavy work? Leave it to me, I'll do it." Someone saw the old man worrying about the huge pile of goods.

He immediately stepped forward and helped move the goods into the yard with words and gestures. He put on a big smile to prove that he was not a robber. After a brief moment of suspicion, the old man understood what he meant, smiled and pointed to the location. Soon, the old man paid him two gold leaves as a reward.

"Let me tell you, this thing of mine is very useful. Do you know what it's called? Matches, matches. Come and take a look at this thing... You just need to use it like this, see, there's a fire. It's very convenient, right? I'll sell it to you for only three gold leaves."

Someone else took out the matches he carried with him and gathered a group of indigenous people. Although the indigenous people couldn't understand what he was saying, they could clearly see his demonstration. The matches hissed and burst into flame, leaving the indigenous people stunned.

The indigenous people also understood the gesture of "three," which is universally applicable. Soon, someone took out three gold leaves to exchange for matches, successfully acquiring such a convenient item and beaming with joy. Of course, the contestant was even happier.

"Hehehehe, those idiots still go to work as laborers, carrying things around. How many gold leaves do they earn after working so hard? Look at me, I only need to open my mouth a little and I get gold leaves. But... I only carried one box of matches with me, and now that's sold, what should I sell next? I need to think about it."

These business-minded people looked down on the contestants who did manual labor, but once they sold their goods, they had to think about what to sell next. Everyone did their best to try to earn the most gold leaves within the allotted time.

Du Lei and his group kept a close eye on these people's every move, walking along the street and observing them.

"Is it really possible to do this? How come I didn't think of that? What are these people's brains made of? How can they be so clever? If I were to do this, I wouldn't be able to come up with such a good method. I probably wouldn't even earn a single gold leaf, right?" Leopard Tail was quite self-aware.

He observed along the way and was full of admiration for the contestants' ingenious ideas.

"It's not that they're smart, it's that your brain is too barren. I've told you to read more books and learn more, but you don't listen. All you do is fight all day long. Now you know how great knowledge is, right?" Kotetsu teased Leopard Tail from the side.

"That's as if you, Tiger Che, have read a lot more books. Actually, you haven't read that many more than me," Leopard Tail muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Kotetsu was furious and rushed over to grab Leopard Tail by the collar.

"No, it's nothing, sob sob sob, Boss Kotetsu, I was wrong... Hey kid, an hour has passed, we only have four hours in total, what are you still wandering around here for? So far we haven't even gotten a single gold leaf, look at others, they've got more than a dozen!"

Leopard Tail realized he had said the wrong thing and immediately changed the subject. Shifting the topic to Du Lei was the wisest choice. Moreover, it wasn't just a simple matter of changing the subject, because he was also puzzled. He could completely understand why Du Lei said to wait a while.

They could learn something from seeing how others do it, but now they've been waiting for an hour and Du Lei hasn't done anything yet, which is making Leopard Tail a little anxious. He didn't come to the competition hoping to be eliminated without doing anything.

"What's the rush? If you're in such a hurry, why don't you do it yourself? Honestly... By the way, Du Lei, what are you planning to do?" Kotetsu scolded Hyo-o-Tai. Hyo-o-Tai couldn't find a good solution, so his complaining was just making things worse.

However, he still turned back to ask Dure about the matter, hoping to get a clear answer as well.

"Do you know how many gold leaves the best 196 out of the 200 participants, excluding us, have earned so far?" Du Lei didn't answer Kotetsu's question directly, but instead asked him a question in return.

"The best result? Well... I think I just saw someone earn more than thirty gold leaves." Kotetsu thought for a moment and gave his answer.

"So how did he earn it?" Dure continued to ask.

"I saw him come out of a room, with people guarding him. I don't understand how he did it." Kotetsu frowned. He wanted to know the answer, but since the others wouldn't let him in, there was nothing he could do.

"If I'm not mistaken, that should be the casino down there," Dure said after thinking for a moment.

"A casino?" Leopard Tail was taken aback.

“That’s right, he made his money through casinos. Among two hundred people, it’s not surprising that some of them are experts at gambling.” Du Lei thought it was only natural and not at all unexpected.

"Is there really such a thing? Then can we go there and try it out? I have quite a bit of experience with this stuff," Leopard Tail said confidently.

This is finally the time for him to show his skills!

"Then we should..." Kotetsu thought for a moment and decided that going to the casino was a good idea.