"Frog?"
Jingliu looked at the tiny creature of deep blue-green and asked in confusion.
The frog was extremely smooth, its plump little body even somewhat cute.
She slowly landed and lifted the little fellow in her hands. But after carefully checking it, she found nothing particularly unusual about it.
[Travel Frog (Curio Species):A frog that loves traveling. As long as you prepare its travel bag, it will bring you stories from its journeys and return home with various gifts.]
"A [Travel Frog], a special creature that can take care of itself and loves to travel."
Seeing the scene, Sylvester explained the frog's origin in detail. "It spends most of its time traveling. As its owner, the only thing you need to do is prepare a lunch box and such for it."
"It will send you photos, videos, and other travel notes through the Jade Abacus. And when it returns home, it'll bring you all sorts of gifts. It often brings friends home too. If you treat them with gifts, you'll soon receive return gifts as well."
Hearing this, Jingliu said evenly, "Magical, yes… but hardly impressive."
Feixiao, Jade, Aventurine, and Topaz all nodded.
Jingliu wasn't wrong. According to Sylvester, this was nothing more than a frog with relatively high intelligence.
Similar strange beasts were not exactly rare in the Xianzhou.
And judging from its appearance, this little thing clearly had no combat power—otherwise Sylvester wouldn't have avoided mentioning it.
As for bringing back gifts…
Ha. What gifts could a frog possibly bring back?
Lotus leaves and lotus flowers?
At most some lotus seeds or lotus root, but relying on whatever this little thing carried home wouldn't even be enough for a stir-fry.
This one million Credits… hurt far more than the last one. At least that levitation technique actually got used!
Thinking of this, the three IPC employees all let out a bitter laugh.
It wasn't the Xianzhou's money being tossed into the water—it was theirs!
"No. What it brings in return may far exceed your imagination."
Seeing everyone so openly disappointed in the [Travel Frog], Sylvester shook his head. "Let me give you one fact and you'll understand. Every gift this frog brings back is a Curio. Most are low-grade, yes, but there's a 10% chance it will bring back a blue Curio!"
"Huh?!"
Everyone instantly sat upright.
It could do that?
Although green Curios were mostly useless, blue Curios were not.
Many elixirs and recollection bubbles were blue-grade Curios.
In that case, this little frog was unbelievably valuable!
"How does it do that? Does it have some treasure-seeking ability? And how is that ten-percent probability guaranteed?"
Feixiao couldn't restrain her curiosity. A barrage of questions shot straight at Sylvester.
Jingliu, Aventurine, Topaz, and Jade all stared at him.
It was indeed what they all wanted to know.
Where exactly did this little creature obtain Curios? Especially on a man-made giant ship like the Xianzhou—was there really something out there, unknown to the public, for it to find?
"It does… have something like a treasure-seeking ability…"
Sylvester spoke slowly. "This [Travel Frog] has a spatial-shuttling ability similar to a piggy bank. So, it might travel to any place in the universe. As for the Curio probability, all I can say is that it's based on statistical results. If you want to know how it maintains the rate, asking the little guy directly is more reliable."
He sat upright and pointed at the [Travel Frog]. "But one thing is certain—everything I've described about it is absolutely accurate."
"I see. That's enough."
Though she still didn't fully understand, Jingliu didn't dwell on it.
There were far too many Curios Sylvester sold that she couldn't comprehend.
As long as the effects were guaranteed, nothing else mattered.
A tiny creature that could repeatedly bring back Curios—even with an upper limit—its value was self-evident.
She stroked the frog's skin, mechanically expressing her closeness.
Hearing this, Jade frowned.
Thankfully, it could only bring back blue Curios. If it could step up to purple, she might have mentally collapsed right then.
For such a Curio to be obtained by someone else, yet paid for by herself… how could anyone stay calm?
But after thinking for a moment, she shook her head and laughed, her expression softening.
Jingliu opened something bad, she felt heartache. But when Jingliu opened something good, she became jealous again.
This money… what a way to spend it.
It had been a long time since she felt this way. A nostalgic look crossed Jade's face.
Aventurine and Topaz saw Jade relax so much. While they admired her composure, their own worries still remained.
If the Xianzhou really spent funds of the Interastral Peace Corporation only for purple or even gold Curios to end up in someone else's hands—and they returned empty-handed…
That would be a monumental stain on their careers.
Sensing her coworkers' heavy hearts, Jade smiled. "You two. Surely you haven't forgotten the saying: 'In great matters, remain calm,' right?"
They each met her gaze, then forcibly maintained a façade of calm.
Of course they knew. Especially Aventurine—if a gamble had even the slightest chance of winning, he would stake his life without hesitation.
But the problem was… they had no way to participate in this gamble. They could only watch Jingliu perform on stage alone.
They didn't even have the chance to narrate from the sidelines.
Their complete inability to intervene—that was the real source of their anxiety.
"Little Jingliu, do your best!"
Compared to the IPC trio's troubled minds, Feixiao had only grown more carefree and delighted.
Even though she wasn't the one opening the trash cans, that didn't stop her from being happier than Jingliu herself.
"Don't call me that."
Hearing that nickname, Jingliu patted her forehead, her little face full of helplessness.
"Be good. Go wait over there."
She set the [Travel Frog] down, activated her levitation technique, and returned to the shelf.
Her luck today could hardly be called bad.
Though the two Curios so far weren't powerful, they were both useful.
She hadn't encountered a single mostly-useless green Curio, nor any white empty buckets or cursed black buckets.
Maybe… she really could recreate last time's brilliant streak?
She raised her hand and opened the next trash can.
Everyone watched carefully, eager to know what Curio she would obtain.
Purple light filled their vision.
Feixiao clapped with delight, while Jade remained noncommittal. Aventurine and Topaz exhaled heavily.
It happened after all.
When the light faded, a slender long blade fell into Jingliu's hands.
"This is… a cursed blade?"
Examining the blue patterns on the blade, the phantom spirits flickering across it, and the faint, hungry desire for blood emanating from it, Jingliu felt her heart tighten.
This blade was strong.
But certainly not easy to control.
"You could say that."
Sylvester looked at the ominous long sword and answered vaguely.
It did have something sinister about it, but it wasn't entirely a cursed artifact.
The [Thousand Demon Daggers]—a strange blade that focused solely on offense, endlessly shifting in form.
===BREAK===
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