Chapter 432: The Older the Wiser

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Seeing that Chen Jinrong had relented, Wang Xiao could not help but be secretly happy. This meant that his plan was at least half successful.

Not daring to give Chen Jinrong too much time to think, Wang Xiao paused for a moment and hurriedly said, “The reason why the [Black Gold Ore] is scarce is not only because of the scarcity of its reserves, but also because of the difficulty of mining it. You should know about this, right?”

“Get to the point!”

‘Yes!”

Wang Xiao nodded. “The [Black Gold Ore] only appears in the [Black Gold Mountain Range], but only a few hundred units can be mined from a mountain range that is a few kilometers long.”

“Is this because the reserves of the [Black Gold Ore] are small? I don’t think so. It’s because the content of the [Black Gold Ore] in the soil is extremely low, so it’s very difficult to form a scale that can be mined.”

Chen Jinrong took a deep breath. “If you continue talking nonsense, get lost.”

“That’s not nonsense!”

Wang Xiao chuckled and opened the interface of the [Metal Devouring Ant]. “This mutated beast is called the [Metal Devouring Ant]. You were the one who gave me the beast egg back then. You should have an impression, right?”

Chen Jinrong nodded. “I know that this kind of mutated beast feeds on rock and sand. Moreover, it can digest and filter the impurities to refine the trace minerals contained in it.”

“That’s right!”

Wang Xiao chuckled with a smug expression. “There must be a lot of residual mineral elements in the secret realm where the military previously mined the [Black Gold Ore], right? They were left behind because they couldn’t be mined, but the [Metal Devouring Ant] can!”

Chen Jinrong nodded. “Is this the solution you came up with?”

‘ ..That’s right.”

Wang Xiao nodded blankly and felt that something was wrong with Chen

Jinrong’s reaction. “You don’t seem to be very surprised?”

Chen Jinrong sighed when he heard this. “To tell you the truth, the military once tried to use the [Metal Devouring Ant] to mine minerals, but do you know why they gave up in the end?”

Wang Xiao shook his head to indicate that he didn’t know. Chen Jinrong extended two fingers and continued, “First of all, it’s extremely difficult to tame the [Metal Devouring Ant]. However, you’re a [Beast Tamer Lord]. This shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

“However, the second problem is more serious. The efficiency of the [Metal Devouring Ant] is very low. Even the most ordinary [Black Iron Ore] needs about an hour for a unit to be produced. As for the [Black Gold Ore], I’m afraid it will take more than ten hours—”

At this point, Chen Jinrong pointed at Wang Xiao’s interface. “It’s fine to mine a few with your [Metal Devouring Ant] yourself, but how can it be so easy to do it at scale?”

“Is that so?”

Wang Xiao chuckled when he heard this. “It’s difficult for one [Metal Devouring

Ant] to mine it at scale, but what if there’s more than one?”

As he spoke, Wang Xiao casually tapped on the interface and an even more detailed introduction popped up.

At first, Chen Jinrong did not take it seriously, but when he saw the number column, his eyes almost instantly widened. “More than 9 ,ooo?! Where did you get so many [Metal Devouring Ants]?!”

“Don’t worry about that. If not for the fact that we lost a portion in the previous battle, there would have been even more now!”

Wang Xiao raised his eyebrows proudly. “How is it? More than 9,000 [Metal

Devouring Ants] should be able to mine the ores at scale, right?”

Chen Jinrong did not answer, but his flickering eyes showed that he had already begun to consider it.

Seeing this, Wang Xiao did not rush him. He put away the interface and sat opposite Chen Jinrong, quietly waiting for the other party’s final decision.

Although it was said that he was waiting, in fact, after Wang Xiao said his plan, he had already seen the final outcome. After all, this was a win-win choice. Chen Jinrong had no reason to refuse.

As expected.

After only half a minute, Chen Jinrong’s somewhat unfocused eyes gathered again. “How do you want to distribute it?”

“Does that mean you agree?”

Wang Xiao confirmed it in the end. Seeing Chen Jinrong nod, he immediately said, “My requirements are not high. I’ll split it 20-80.”

“Hmm… this request is indeed not high.”

Chen Jinrong pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. However, before Wang Xiao could be happy, his tone changed. “After all, this matter is mainly handled by you. It’s reasonable for you to take 20%.”

Wang Xiao was stunned when he heard this. “Did you misunderstand? I mean, I’ll take 80%!”

“That’s impossible.”

Chen Jinrong shook his head and refused without thinking. “The military is currently researching a more efficient mining method. Therefore, even if the secret realm with the Black Gold Ore can’t be mined by human strength, it will still be a military restricted area for a long time in the future.”

Hearing this, Wang Xiao immediately revealed a puzzled expression. “But now that you have my [Metal Devouring Ants] , you can already mine it. Why are you still studying a new mining method?”

“But you’re not in the military yet.”

Chen Jinrong said in a businesslike manner, “The [Black Gold Ore] is a strategic-level scarce resource. Even if we leave those secret realms to the descendants hundreds or even thousands of years later, we can’t let a large number of common people enter.”

Wang Xiao was instantly speechless. He originally thought that after clarifying the stakes, this matter was already set in stone. He did not expect Chen Jinrong to actually use such an inexplicable reason to refuse!

Seeing that Wang Xiao was silent, Chen Jinrong leaned back in his chair and continued, “I won’t say anything else. In short, I can accept giving you 20%. If you can accept it, we’ll start. If not, please leave.”

Looking at the casual expression on Chen Jinrong’s face, Wang Xiao pursed his lips and said, “Commander Chen, this matter is completely carried out by me alone. 20% is really too little—how about 30% and 70%? I’ll take 70% and you take 30%?”

“Twenty percent. ”

“I’ll take 60% and you take 40%! No less!”

“Twenty percent. ”

. Fifty-fifty! Fifty-fifty should be enough!”

“Twenty percent. ”

Ten minutes later, after a cordial and friendly discussion—or rather, after Wang Xiao unilaterally lowered the price—the requests of both sides finally reached an agreement.

Chen Jinrong would provide the secret realm of the Black Gold Ore that could not be mined with human strength. Then, Wang Xiao was in charge of mining with the [Metal Devouring Ants]. In the end, the two sides split the gains 30-70. Of course, Wang Xiao was the one who took 30%.

After the two of them left their lord mark on the [Contract Scroll], Wang Xiao accidentally saw the corners of Chen Jinrong’s mouth curl up slightly. He suddenly had an idea. “Commander Chen, there’s no new mining technology at all, right?”

Chen Jinrong did not say anything and only smiled noncommittally. Then, he picked up his pen and wrote a string of numbers on the paper. He handed it to Wang Xiao and instructed, “Take this to Xiao Qi. He will tell you how to enter the secret realm.”

Wang Xiao took the note and realized that it seemed to be some kind of number. However, the way the military used numbers was very different from the civilians, so he did not know what it meant.

“The older the wiser!”

Wang Xiao teased angrily.. Now, he completely understood that the explanation Chen Jinrong had given was most likely nonsense to lower his

benefits!