Chapter 327: Chapter 273: I’d Like to Pay in Installments

As Gu Chengguang’s secretary of many years, Zhang Tai could, to a degree, act as his representative. Opening the Dongli National Treasury required two Guardian Gods to be present, so Zhang Tai took Gu Chengguang’s place.

As for why Gu Chengguang hadn’t come himself, perhaps he was too busy, or perhaps it was to express his trust in Su Ze. ’See? I’m only sending a Butterfly Stage evolver with you into the treasury. I have no intention of monitoring you or showing distrust.’

Su Ze leaned toward the latter explanation.

The Dongli National Treasury was a completely sealed, airtight room constructed from Super Alloy.

A Butterfly Stage evolver and several soldiers stood guard in front of the main gate.

The soldiers saluted when they saw Su Ze and Zhang Tai approach, but they still had to verify both of their identities to prevent anyone from infiltrating in disguise.

Only after confirming their identities did they step aside to let the two men pass.

Arriving before the treasury’s metal gate, Zhang Tai inserted the "key." A moment later, the heavy metal gate slowly swung open.

Zhang Tai gestured for him to enter. "Mr. Su, I’ll wait out here. Please... go on in."

Su Ze pushed open the treasury gate and strode inside.

The pitch-black metal room had no electricity, leaving it without a single ray of light. This had no effect on Su Ze, however, as he began to survey everything inside.

The room was filled with pile after pile of Evolution Items, all neatly sorted and arranged by tier and category.

The most numerous items were low-tier Evolution Items of all kinds, including various materials, extracts, and medicinals. The deeper Su Ze went, the higher the tier of the Evolution Items around him became.

To raise his skills to the fourth tier, he would need Evolution Items of at least the fourth tier. He therefore skipped the Tier 1 through Tier 3 sections and went straight to the Tier 4 storage area.

Curios, extracts, materials, and medicinals—the Tier 4 storage area was primarily divided into these four categories.

’No need to check the extracts.’ Dongli had always been short on high-grade Tier 4 extracts. The only ones left were low-grade, and none of them were what he needed.

He went to the materials section first. Here, metal shelves were densely packed with all kinds of evolution materials.

Su Ze reached out, passing his hand over the items one by one from a slight distance, checking to see if any of them would trigger a somatic response.

Su Ze was well-versed in this process. Evolution materials that produced a strong attraction could upgrade his skills, while those that only created a slight pull could merely strengthen a skill.

After making a full circuit, Su Ze had scanned all the Tier 4 materials in the National Treasury. He did manage to find a few strengthening materials that produced a slight pull.

However, he hadn’t found a single upgrade material—nothing that drew him in strongly and stirred his body’s instincts.

’Just as I thought, it’s not that easy.’ Su Ze shook his head. He gathered the few strengthening materials and turned toward the medicinals section.

Some natural medicinals could also upgrade and strengthen skills. For example, both the Spirit Root Tree’s Tree Marrow and the Earth Core Potato were natural remedies, and both had upgraded Su Ze’s Regeneration Body skill.

Unfortunately, not a single natural medicinal in the Dongli National Treasury triggered a response from him.

He had no choice but to leave the Tier 4 section and head for the Tier 5 storage area.

The moment he stepped inside, Su Ze froze and looked toward the Curio section.

He felt a powerful pull coming from the Curios!

’A Curio can upgrade my skills?’

This was the first time Su Ze had ever heard of someone absorbing a Curio to upgrade a skill, but there was no mistaking the familiar sensation.

He hurried to the Curio section. An exquisite glass display case stood there, containing what were, without exception, Tier 5 Curios—the national treasures of Dongli!

In all of Dongli, there were only three Tier 5 Curios.

Su Ze looked at the three Curios in the display case. Among them was the familiar Eye of Dream Weaving. It was the very item Mrs. Yun had used to drive Feng Bqing insane.

The object exerting a powerful pull on him was another Curio, right next to the Eye of Dream Weaving.

It was also an eyeball, nearly identical to the Eye of Dream Weaving!

The only difference was their color. The Eye of Dream Weaving had a blue iris, while the other had a black one.

As a Guardian God, Su Ze had the authority to view the records for all treasures in the National Treasury. He immediately queried the system and learned the origin of this Tier 5 Curio.

It was called the Eye of Insight. Its function was to perceive a large surrounding area, seeing through all changes, illusions, and mists. It could sense everything within its range, ignoring all terrain.

Its sensory range was vast, capable of expanding to cover the entirety of Dongping City. However, the larger the range, the greater the energy drain.

It also possessed a "domain-like" effect: when its sensory range was contracted to within a hundred meters, it could nullify all illusion-type skills in that area.

’These effects... This must be the upgrade material for my Eye of Truth skill.’

The Eye of Insight and the Eye of Dream Weaving were actually a pair, originating from a Saint-level Venerable Powerhouse in the history of the Dongli Kingdom.

That Venerable Powerhouse had once served as the president of Dongli University. After becoming a Venerable Powerhouse, he traveled to the Sovereign Country, but he returned to Dongli in his later years. Upon his death, he left behind his own two eyeballs, which had transformed into two Tier 5 Curios.

Su Ze desperately wanted the Eye of Insight. After all, it was a material that could directly upgrade one of his skills.

But even as a Guardian God of Dongli, he couldn’t just take things from the National Treasury at will. He still had to pay for them with contribution points.

Su Ze originally had over ten million contribution points. He was awarded another ten million after becoming a Guardian God, but even with more than twenty million points, it still wasn’t enough to redeem a Tier 5 Curio.

Besides, this was one of Dongli’s national treasures!

It would be one thing to borrow it for use, but using it to upgrade a skill would mean destroying the Curio itself.

’Should I take it or not?’

Su Ze barely hesitated before carefully stowing the Eye of Insight in his storage artifact.

’What the hell is there to be afraid of?’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

’I have Tier 5 and Tier 6 extracts in my storage artifact. Am I really worried about not being able to afford this Tier 5 Curio?’

’Worst case, I’ll buy it on credit...’

Next, Su Ze browsed the materials section of the Tier 5 area again and picked out two more strengthening materials.

After that, he found nothing else of value.

The Tier 5 section was the highest level in the Dongli National Treasury; there was no Tier 6 materials section.

But Su Ze was already satisfied. He took stock of his haul: one upgrade material, the Eye of Insight, and another six or seven strengthening materials.

’If I make a trip to Evolutionary Technology later, I’ll probably get a good haul there, too.’

Now his main worry was how to convince Gu Chengguang to let him have the Eye of Insight on credit.

Curios were generally more valuable than extracts of the same tier. The vial of Tier 5 extract Su Ze had wasn’t actually enough to trade for the Eye of Insight. If he used a Tier 6 extract, on the other hand, the Dongli National Treasury would end up owing him the difference.

However, Tier 6 extracts were incredibly rare, and Su Ze was reluctant to part with his.

Back outside the treasury gate, Su Ze took out the various materials he had selected, including the Eye of Insight.

The six or seven strengthening materials cost a total of nine million contribution points, which Su Ze paid on the spot.

But the Eye of Insight... the damn thing was priced at one hundred million contribution points!

"Mr. Gu, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you..." Su Ze immediately dialed Gu Chengguang’s number. "So, uh... I was wondering if I could pay in installments."