When system cheat becomes rampant!

The stores in the wholesale market were dazzling with goods, mostly system-modified products, but Xiang Beifei could tell at a glance whether these products were good or bad.

The system-modified products actually had some drawbacks, as they generally couldn't be mass-produced. Using the system's capabilities to breed livestock required the consumption of Spiritual Power.

High-level System Awakeners simply didn't bother with such things, and low-level ones didn't have enough Spiritual Power, so system-produced agricultural products were generally quite expensive.

Most shops boasted that their breeding techniques were linked to experts at the SR or SSR level, but it was basically a case of false advertising, at most just using a high-level System Awakener's name as an endorsement.

Of course, some stores specifically advertised various system-modified foods, while others pushed "pure natural, no system preservatives, no system genetic modifications" health foods.

Some people pursued a refined lifestyle, advocating for healthy living, and were influenced by experts who suggested that "system food" could harm their own systems and that genetically modified foods were unhealthy.

Consequently, some people boycotted system-modified genetically engineered foods, which meant naturally grown fruits, vegetables, and livestock also had a large market.

As Xiang Beifei walked along, he saw many naturally grown vegetables, truly planted in the soil without any system assistance, and their prices were actually several times higher than those of system-modified vegetables!

Products made by the system were expensive, and so were naturally grown vegetables and poultry, so the cheapest ingredients belonged to desolate beast meat hunted from outside the domains.

hunting edible types of desolate beasts was relatively low-cost, and most food processing companies had hunters who would hunt desolate beasts in the Qi-Controlling phase, posing little danger to their lives. As long as one was a qualified martial artist, killing a desolate beast was more than achievable.

The two walked along the street for five minutes, turned past a peeling lamppost, and soon saw a conspicuously large shop.

This shop was named "Soup Bowl Embracing the Moon Desolate Beast Ingredients Wholesale" and had spent a fortune to hire the SR-level entertainment star Zaza Hui as the brand ambassador. The advertisement alone was about thirty square meters and dominated the top of the shop, eye-catching and stylish.

The shop door was blue, flanked by two large and imposing stone sculptures, said to be of the legendary Food God Gluttonous. These two figures of Gluttonous were lifelike, with two huge ram horns, and their bodies colored red and green, resembling a sheep-like monster with a gaping maw.

It was recorded in books that Gluttonous was a very fierce desolate beast, yet the two stone sculptures looked quite gentle, probably designed to be endearing rather than frightening to avoid scaring off customers.

Flanking the door were display shelves featuring images of various usable desolate beasts. The store was bustling with customers, busy and thriving.

"This is the largest wholesale store of desolate beast products nearby. Generally, desolate beasts that you can't find in other shops are mostly available here. They also offer excellent service and even home delivery for large quantities. They have all kinds of edible desolate beasts, in the phases of Qi-Controlling, Meridian Opening, dead, alive, or half-dead, as long as they meet the Jiuzhou quarantine requirements, you can buy them here."

Xiang Qingde was clearly a regular here, highly recommending the desolate beast products. He entered the shop with a group, and Xiang Beifei followed closely behind.

The entire shop was filled with a fishy smell. Upon entering, one could see rows of green counters, where many sales associates were patiently handling various purchasing procedures for customers.

In the center of the shop was a very large display screen, showing various recommendations for today's desolate beasts, including Earth Dragons, Heavenly Snakes, Intestinal Pigs, and so forth.

Every desolate beast was priced, and the prices were normally fluctuating, determined by the beast's rarity and breeding season. Many of the desolate beasts from the outer domains were poisonous, with only a small portion being edible, so hunters couldn't just capture them at will.

Of course, the higher the cultivation level of the desolate beast, the more expensive it was. The beginning phase of Qi-Controlling shrimp cost 50 per kilogram, the Meridian Opening phase Meat Wolf priced at 200 per kilogram, with a whole one exceeding eighty thousand!

"Such easy money! Next time I'll also go and slaughter a Meat Wolf to sell."

Xiang Beifei couldn't help but click his tongue when he saw the prices.

Meat Wolves, only in the early phase of Meridian Opening, had delicious meat and grew extremely large and strong, almost like a small mountain, but they were very rare and generally hard to capture.

The reason they were expensive was probably because Meat Wolves were tough-skinned and hard-fleshed. Without the power level of middle phase Meridian Opening, it was very difficult to kill one in a fight, let alone since they were also social animals. Finding one meant there were likely about ten others nearby, watching closely.

Poisonous desolate beasts, according to Jiuzhou food regulations, must be detoxified before they are allowed into the market. Handling a desolate beast involves many steps, and the various costs add up to a considerable base price.

"Coming here can really broaden your horizons! There are many rare desolate beasts here, even more complete than what you've seen at school!"

Xiang Qingde had been frequenting this place for the past half year and had seen many desolate beasts; he almost knew common ones by heart. In his view, Xiang Beifei, who was just a freshman, was still at the stage of studying theoretical knowledge and definitely hadn't seen many live desolate beasts.

Xiang Beifei looked at the dazzling array of desolate beasts and blinked his eyes.

They all seemed... quite familiar.

"Yes, you can learn a lot by observing these desolate beasts. You're just a freshman and haven't been to the outer domains yet, so you probably haven't seen many real desolate beasts. Today's a great opportunity for you to look around more! Grandpa knows quite a bit about desolate beasts, so I can still teach you for the time being!"

Xiang Qingde said patting his chest.

Xiang Beifei smiled. He had already run a few loops through the outer domains.

Not to mention, the first time he went to Liangzhou University, Yuchi Shen had thrown him into the outer domains.

He nodded nonetheless, "Okay, I'll listen carefully."

Xiang Qingde led Xiang Beifei toward the back counters, where there was a gigantic warehouse, as vast as a soccer field, and it was a spatial type of warehouse. Inside were rows of cages, each containing various live desolate beasts.

The cages varied in size, some as small as the palm of a hand and others as big as a sedan. The desolate beasts inside were all alive. The regulations on the Jiuzhou border regarding the allowance of live desolate beasts onto Jiuzhou territory were strict; those exceeding certain volumes must be processed in the wild before being brought back, aggressive ones must be killed, and even those with weaker traits had to be rendered harmless before they could be allowed to live.

"This is the White Bone Scarlet Essence, a desolate beast from the Meridian Opening stage! Take a good look, so if you ever go to the external desolate realms and see such a desolate beast, you'll be prepared!"

Xiang Qingde pointed to a dead white bone scorpion in the cage as he spoke.

"Oh! So this is what White Bone Scarlet Essence looks like!"

Xiang Beifei suddenly realized.

He had killed this desolate beast in less than five minutes the last time.

But he did not say anything, as his grandfather was so eager to introduce him, there was no need to dampen the old man's spirits; he just needed to nod and express admiration with a couple of "Oh! Oh!"

Once people age, they fear not keeping up with the times. When the elderly find an opportunity to teach the younger ones, they find their value being recognized and are delighted to teach.

What Xiang Beifei could do was to provide such opportunities for the elderly, making them happy.

Along the way, Xiang Qingde incessantly explained every desolate beast to Xiang Beifei, most of which he had already killed countless times in the external desolate realms.

For ordinary literary Dao practitioners, these desolate beasts might be novel, but for Xiang Beifei, they were commonplace.

At that moment, a faint, almost imperceptible aura suddenly appeared, spreading in the surroundings, stimulating Xiang Beifei's nerves.

The place was filled with the scents of various desolate beasts, all mixing together, interfering with each other. It was difficult to identify a specific desolate beast using these scents, so it was normal for people to ignore these mixed scents.

Xiang Beifei was no exception.

Unless that aura made a significant impression on Xiang Beifei!

Xiang Beifei slightly furrowed his brow.

He quickly remembered!

During the initial desolate beast attack on the streets, it was the sudden appearance of this scent that led him to see the mutated One-Armed Crab in the sewer!

This aura, mixed among the musky scents of Earth Dragons and Meat Wolves, would not have been noticed by Xiang Beifei had he not remembered its unique characteristics.

But why would the scent of a mutated One-Armed Crab appear here?

Xiang Beifei thought he might be mistaken and searched around for a moment. After carefully discerning the direction of the scent, he turned a corner and soon saw a small office.

This office was located on the side of the warehouse, with a white door adorned with various powerful prohibitions for protection. The door was clean, devoid of any mud or water stains, and untainted by dust, contrasting starkly with the warehouse floor that was covered in water and footprints.

The aura seemed to be emanating from this office!

Xiang Beifei quickly noticed a plaque above the door—

[Wufu Desolate Beast Research Company Office]

Upon seeing these words, Xiang Beifei was astonished.

"Wufu Desolate Beast Research? This again?"

The day before yesterday, when he had become famous, the Alliance Daily was vigorously using him for promotion and even launched a "selection" charity event. Those who participated in the selection event had sponsors donating money for charity.

Underneath, among the names of the sponsors, was the name "Wufu Desolate Beast Research Company!"

Xiang Beifei was so focused on this name because after he had repaired a bit of his father's pioneering stone, it showed some words, among them the term "Wufu."

"Wufu" is another term for the Five Domains of the external desolate realms, but nowadays, almost no one uses "Wufu"; they simply use Five Domains instead.
Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

This name caught Xiang Beifei's attention for another reason—

Xu Yang!

After attending Xu Yang's Desolate Beast Anatomy class for the first time, he had specifically inquired about Xu Yang from Elder Luo, who pulled up Xu Yang's details for him.

At that time, Xu Yang's information showed:

[...in 3019, he worked at Wufu Desolate Beast Research Company, engaged in desolate beast-related scientific research. In 3027, he was recruited as a teacher at Liangzhou University, proficient in knowledge related to desolate beasts, currently a "Desolate Beast Cognition and Anatomy" teacher.]

Meaning that before becoming a teacher, Xu Yang worked for eight years at the Wufu Desolate Beast Research Company!

And now, this eerie aura was coming from this very office!