After Sofia left, Ji Xinghuo said, "Manying, the Ether Crystals we’ve acquired with this capital, let’s split them half and half."
At that time, he had put up two-thirds of the wagered money.
By that ratio, of the more than 240 billion in compensation, 160 billion belonged to him, and the remaining 80 billion was Zhao Manying’s.
"You’re really too generous," Zhao Manying exclaimed, "to just give away 40 billion with a single sentence, as if money were nothing but dirt."
"Who made you my girlfriend? No need to be polite with me," Ji Xinghuo said with a laugh.
Zhao Manying’s eyes moved, and without playing coy, she straightforwardly accepted the offer.
Ji Xinghuo continued, "The 150 billion Li Xuan lost to me, plus the earnings from the competition, is definitely more than 200 billion by now. I’m planning to entrust this money to a fund or an e-commerce platform for the long-term acquisition of Ether Crystals."
There are several large e-commerce platforms within the Asia-Pacific Community Country that deal with online transactions involving Alien Species, Treasures, and Ether Crystals.
billion is a lot, but when compared to the turnover of e-commerce platforms, it isn’t that exaggerated.
However, if it’s all used to acquire Ether Crystals, it might take three to four years to use it all up and could even drive up the transaction price of Ether Crystals.
This is where professionals come in.
Zhao Manying nodded, "I’ve endorsed an e-commerce platform before, and our relationship is good, they have a solid reputation. I can help you get in touch with them and arrange a detailed discussion."
"Contact them now," Ji Xinghuo instructed.
He wanted to get this matter settled as soon as possible, not wanting to waste too much time and energy on it.
Half an hour later, Ji Xinghuo and his companion were invited to the headquarters of that e-commerce platform, where the CEO personally received them, extremely enthusiastic. During the conversation, it felt as if they had been hit by a pie from the sky; they were offered a very favorable service contract.
The e-commerce platform would take full responsibility for the acquisition of Ether Crystals, promising that the premium would be less than 10%, and they would charge no commission or fees.
Ji Xinghuo wouldn’t have to make any advance payment, only settling the accounts every quarter to receive the Ether Crystals.
Furthermore, the platform committed to not limit the acquisition to domestic sources but would also open channels abroad to accelerate the purchasing efficiency.
This was practically free service.
Ji Xinghuo, of course, knew what they wanted. After discussing the contract, he met with the boss of the e-commerce platform in the evening. The conversation was very harmonious, and they exchanged contact information.
Sofia returned to Chang’an.
She said she would take a week, but came back in just five days. When she saw Ji Xinghuo at his home, her face was tired, but her eyes were spirited, showing an excitement and eagerness she could hardly conceal.
"Mr. Ji, mission accomplished!"
Sofia waved her hand, and two bodyguards each placed a large case in front of them, then opened it.
The cases were filled with Ether Crystals!
The dazzling light spread out, illuminating the entire living room brightly and making everyone hold their breath.
Ji Xinghuo had seen Ether Crystals once before during his transaction with the Void Spirit Guest, so he was relatively composed.
But Zhao Manying’s eyes shone with surprise.
"Each case holds 2,000 Ether Crystals, making a total of 4,000. Please count them, Mr. Ji," Sofia said proudly.
Ji Xinghuo casually picked up an Ether Crystal, a standard hexagonal prism about 10 centimeters in length, semi-transparent, and one could see weak energy flowing inside the crystal, reflecting a faint rainbow light.
Ether Crystals are the crystallization of Ether Energy.
They occur naturally in the Star Realm, but most Ether Crystals in circulation are man-made.
Therefore, their shape, size, and energy content are completely identical, adhering to a unified production standard.
"4,000 crystals?" Ji Xinghuo was surprised.
This was 1,000 more than Sofia had promised before; it seemed she had put in a lot of effort to obtain the "Absolute Hit."
"I have a friend who had collected a batch of Ether Crystals; I bought them all," Sofia answered casually.
Whether Sofia bought them from a friend or used the reserves of the New Roman Empire wasn’t his concern; the main point was that he got the Ether Crystals.
"This is the Alien Species."
Ji Xinghuo took out the "Absolute Hit" from his pocket and handed over the arrowhead-shaped Alien Species.
Sofia finally couldn’t contain her excitement and carefully received the Alien Species, her hands trembling slightly.
"Please allow me to authenticate it," said Sofia cautiously.
Ji Xinghuo was very casual, as being cautious with a transaction worth 2,000 Ether Crystals was only appropriate.
During this visit to Chang’an, Sofia had also brought along an expert on Alien Species from the Imperial, who was right behind her. Sofia handed the Alien Species to him, and the expert, wearing white gloves, with a solemn and serious expression, began to authenticate the Alien Species.
Most of the world’s experts on Alien Species never come across Star-falling Species in their lives.
After half an hour of authentication,
using various tools, probes, and tests, and comparing it with other Alien Species, the expert finally dared to settle on a conclusion and reported, "Your Highness, it is the Absolute Hit, no doubt."
Sofia, who had been watching nervously, breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though she knew it was unlikely that Ji Xinghuo would deceive her, she was worried about the off chance or that both Ji Xinghuo and she had been mistaken.
Now that the Empire’s top expert on Alien Species had confirmed it, there was no doubt left.
"Sorry for making Mr. Ji wait," Sofia apologized.
Ji Xinghuo smiled; after all, unlike him who had the Wanxiang Star Pupil and could get information on Alien Species upon contact, it was reasonable for the authentication to take some time.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" Sofia said happily, "The rest of the Ether Crystals will be gathered within three years, until your 200 billion capital is exhausted."