Back at the dark harbor base with Wu Qian, it was already past midnight.
Most of the land and sea demons had gone out hunting, leaving few around the base. After introducing Wu Qian to the Beauties, the chief steward, a fox demon, arranged a temporary room for her. Rooms were plentiful; adjacent to the castle was a hidden small stronghold with over a dozen rooms. While I was away, Chen Ke and the others had also converted them into warm and comfortable guest rooms.
After settling Wu Qian in, I returned to my own room. Yao Yao was meditating cross-legged on the bed, still regulating her qi. It seemed her injuries were not minor.
Yao Yao was the team's medical coffin, and I was her exclusive medical coffin. I had to fulfill my duty.
After some passionate intimacy, Yao Yao, exhausted, stopped regulating her qi and simply collapsed onto the bed, fast asleep.
I, however, found it difficult to sleep. I put on my down jacket, clutched the "martial arts manual," and went to the mountaintop to practice under the moonlight.
After practicing for a while, Daji came up. I was just lamenting the lack of someone to spar with, so I boldly asked Daji Immortal Venerable to be my opponent. Of course, it wasn't a real fight. How could I possibly be her match in a real fight? She was merely helping me by feeding me moves.
Five stances, twenty-eight forms in total. I wasn't sure if they corresponded to the twenty-eight constellations, but after going through them, I had them mostly memorized. I sat on a rock to rest, smoking, and ran through them again in my mind, imagining how to vary the moves when facing different opponents and their attacks. Sometimes, I felt this "mental visualization" method suited me better.
Daji, being a demon, wasn't sleepy at night and stayed with me until past three in the morning, repeatedly drilling the five stances until I was proficient. After the practice, her demon core returned to her body. It had paused for about half an hour during the practice of the self-sacrificing technique.
After practicing, Daji naturally asked for her demon core back, saying she would use it during the chess match.
I readily agreed. However, the mountaintop was too cold, so we went down and to her room.
After the exchange, Daji said her demon core had become noticeably stronger after incubating within me. But I knew it wasn't my credit; it was due to the presence of the other Diana demon core. The two demon cores interacted, advancing together.
What was infuriating was that Daji, to verify if the other demon core was the same, woke Diana from her sleep. She watched firsthand as Diana and I exchanged demon cores. What was there to see? However, Diana had the same feeling; the strength of her demon core had significantly increased. So, she immediately put it back with me for safekeeping.
They treated me like a bank, and the interest was quite high.
Exchanging demon cores repeatedly made me quite tired, and I fell asleep in Daji's room.
In the morning, no, in the late morning, I woke up and immediately activated my qi sensing technique. The demons who had gone hunting had returned. Most were sleeping. There were a few auras by the sea, including a normal red one. Someone was likely accompanying Wu Qian on a stroll.
Through further inquiry, I learned that Wu Qian was not just the head of a subordinate weapons research and development company at the Sabia headquarters. Weapons R&D wasn't her main focus; she only had a superficial understanding of it. Her primary role was in trade.
Sabia was incredibly expensive to fund, and the higher authorities couldn't fully support it. Therefore, Sabia had many private investors. Besides soliciting sponsorships, Sabia also had some of its own industries. They did anything that could make money. For example, Cheng Xiaojuan was involved in real estate, and Wu Qian was Sabia's head of military industry. The results of scientific research were bound to be varied. Top-tier products were for Sabia's elite members, second-tier products were generally equipped by Sabia's various branch organizations, and second-tier and third-tier eliminated products could be sold for money, distributed worldwide, especially to major war zones. They were of good quality and reasonable price, often leading to unexpected victories and deeply loved by consumers.
Moreover, as everyone knew, the "Jun Huo" (likely a specific product or industry) was a highly profitable business, far more profitable than real estate. So, in a sense, Wu Qian was Sabia's "God of Wealth." She also held a significant position at headquarters, roughly equivalent to a civilian position in the military, slightly lower than Lin Xi, and around the same level as Shen Xingyue, a regional manager.
After breakfast, Wu Qian came to say goodbye. She was too busy and had taken a rare three-day leave for travel. She had gotten involved in our affairs. She had half a day left and wanted to return to Beijing to have a good meal with her friends.
Given her status, I called Chen Lu and asked her to prepare for her reception. Since Wu Qian would be traveling back to Beijing by high-speed rail, passing through Shengjing, the two of them might develop many cooperative intentions. Wu Qian was Sabia's God of Wealth, and Chen Lu was ours. This could be called a "strong alliance."