Chapter 300: Automatic Pickup Not Turned Off, Wildly Showing Off Wild Ingredients

Scorching air flowed down his throat, causing a slight stinging sensation in Li Xiao's lungs. Feeling the high temperatures all around him, Li Xiao had no choice but to circulate the spiritual energy within his body, temporarily transforming it into ice-attributed energy to continuously cool himself down. He continued to walk through the dangerous factory area, constantly clearing debris, transporting supplies, erecting temporary fortifications, containing toxic leaks, and assisting with the repair of spiritual energy pathways and formations. Although Li Xiao was extremely careful, an accidental explosion still left him with extensive burns. And after continuously breathing in the toxic substances lingering in the air, his internal organs began to ache faintly, and his limbs gradually felt a slight numbness. Despite this, and despite the dangerous and arduous work, the thought of the five-fold pay made Li Xiao feel a surge of renewed energy in his tired body.

"Once I finish this period of work, the next time Ying Xin and the others ask me to cultivate with them, I won't have to refuse anymore. And I won't have to worry about this month's loan interest either..."

As Li Xiao sped up, transporting a batch of spiritual guiding materials, his nose suddenly caught an unusual fragrance. The next moment, Li Xiao felt a sudden dizziness, his body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud. He struggled to get up, but found his usually strong limbs were now weak and limp, and after a few twists, he still fell back to the ground. Meanwhile, the sweet scent in the air grew stronger, and his consciousness became increasingly hazy.

"This is bad..."

"It's a toxic leak..."

Li Xiao bit the tip of his tongue hard, trying to regain some clarity, but the toxin was too potent and fast-acting, making him feel his strength rapidly drain away until he could no longer feel the muscular strength in his hands and feet.

"No, if this continues, the poisoning will get worse..."

A hint of fear appeared in Li Xiao's eyes as he struggled to keep them wide open, fighting against the increasing drowsiness in his mind. He was truly afraid that if he closed his eyes, he would wake up deep within the Spirit Realm and then discover that to pay for his injuries, his body had been mortgaged, and his soul was awaiting work assignments to repay his debts.

"Damn legs! Get up!"

At this moment, a hint of regret welled up in Li Xiao's heart: "If only I had known, I wouldn't have taken such risks. What if I earned a little less, spent a little less?"

Just as fear and regret gripped Li Xiao, a large pair of hands gripped his neck, lifting him like a kitten. Then, the sound of tearing air echoed around him, and the scene before Li Xiao's eyes shifted rapidly. When he regained his senses, he found himself and several other workers thrown with a thud onto the open ground at the factory entrance. Breathing the normal air outside, Li Xiao felt a wave of relief. He looked up at Zhang Yu's retreating back, his gaze becoming complicated.

Ying Xin, standing nearby, watched this scene and thought to herself, "Rushing in to earn money, risking bankruptcy, and still having time to save people?" She shook her head, too lazy to pay any more attention to the situation, and walked away.

Just then, several security guards approached Li Xiao and the others, saying, "Please cooperate. We need to conduct a search to ensure you haven't accidentally taken any hazardous materials out of the factory." Li Xiao knew this was to prevent them from secretly taking anything out of the factory. At that moment, several packets of raw pharmaceutical materials were found on one of the workers during the search.

The security guard said, "Captain, the person who stole two tons of materials has been found."

The worker, pale with fright, exclaimed, "I only stole these two packets! I didn't steal two tons!"

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu had already re-entered the swirling dust and smoke. Zhang Yu's physical body had already undergone extensive tempering, making it far stronger than others at his level. And with the enhancement of the Earth-Wood Sacred Body, his physical body possessed terrifying protection against all the dangers in the factory area at this moment. The intense heat swept over his skin like a warm breeze. Toxic and harmful substances in the air surged into his nose and mouth, bringing with them a refreshing, sweet scent. As for accidental explosions, fragments flying out from them, and rolling clouds of toxic smoke, none could harm Zhang Yu at this moment. Even if his body was occasionally injured, he would activate his body's vitality with the "Remnant Ox Self-Sacrifice Mind Art" to accelerate the self-healing of his wounds.

Returning to the spot where Li Xiao had just collapsed, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Now there's no one else here." He found the place where the toxic substance had leaked and collected the seemingly abandoned alloy fragments from around the area. Wiping the saliva from the corner of his mouth, Zhang Yu, though he longed to swallow these alloys right then, did not do so. After all, the current environment was quite dangerous, and he still needed the Earth-Wood Sacred Body to ensure his safety. If he didn't switch to the University Sacred Body, without its super digestive power and cultivation technique benefits, both the efficiency and effect of eating would be greatly reduced. So, he decided to collect them first, and before leaving the factory area after work, find a safe spot to switch to the University Sacred Body for tasting.

Thus, Zhang Yu temporarily put the alloy fragments into his embrace and then looked towards another section of the ruins where wild polymer materials from the pharmaceutical workshop lay. For the rest of the time, Zhang Yu worked in the factory area while conveniently gathering some unwanted wild ingredients. Zhang Yu felt like a country bumpkin at his first seafood buffet. His biggest problem, facing the dazzling array of dishes, was not knowing which were more valuable or more nutritious. He could only take a little of each and try them all later. Besides the discarded materials lying everywhere, what made Zhang Yu most envious were the various raw materials from the pharmaceutical factory. But without activating his University Sacred Body, he also wasn't going to eat randomly. He would just collect them first, and after switching to the University Sacred Body, then use its powerful medicinal consumption ability to taste them one by one.

At the factory entrance.

Li Xiao felt that he had recovered a great deal; at least his limbs were no longer numb, and his head no longer dizzy. The pain from his burns also became incredibly clear. While Li Xiao rested, he watched Zhang Yu carry injured workers out of the factory area multiple times and place them on the ground nearby. This made Li Xiao's gaze towards Zhang Yu grow increasingly complex. In his view, wasting one's work time to help others was utterly foolish.

"Hiss..."

Feeling the increasingly painful burns on his body, Li Xiao knew that if he didn't heal them, his future studies and cultivation would likely be affected. Fortunately, the area outside the factory was still connected to the Spirit Realm Network. With a thought, he had already summoned remote medical services. Moments later, a doctor's image appeared in his eye prosthesis and conducted an examination. Five minutes later, a medical student arrived beside Li Xiao. With a few bursts of spiritual energy, several silver needles being inserted, and finally a potion being administered, Li Xiao felt much better. But a few minutes later, when he saw the medical bill appearing in his eye prosthesis, he felt as if he were severely injured again.

"0.78 Spirit Coins? How can it be so expensive?!"

Although part of it was covered by medical insurance, Li Xiao knew it would still be a huge burden for him, and his medical insurance premium would definitely skyrocket next year. Before he could calm down, he discovered that his medical insurance claim had not been approved.

"Why won't they reimburse me?!"

While Li Xiao was arguing with the medical insurance company, today's debt collection reminder arrived. This month's loan interest was already three days overdue. Li Xiao hesitated for a moment, but still contacted his uncle.

"Uncle: First, send me your credit information and spending list."

"Uncle: 30 Spirit Coins?! You spent that much in just five months?"

"Li Xiao: My classmates invited me to cultivate; I couldn't just not go, otherwise how would I keep up with my grades? A better eye prosthesis is also necessary; otherwise, my study efficiency will also fall behind."

Looking at his uncle, who no longer replied, Li Xiao sighed deeply. Just then, Tuli Mountain sent a notification, announcing another pay raise for the factory's rescue and repair work, to eight times the original wage. Looking at the factory area billowing with smoke not far away, Li Xiao gritted his teeth.

"I'll give it my all! As long as I earn this money, as long as I get this eight-fold pay, and as long as I'm more careful, I can definitely get through this..."

Thinking of the various immortal services and products he enjoyed with Ying Xin and the others, thinking of the eye prosthesis he sold, and thinking of his current ranking, Li Xiao could not accept losing these things. He deeply understood that in Kunxu, one could lack anything, but not money. So he stood up again and rushed into the swirling dust and smoke. It wasn't just Li Xiao. As wages increased, workers who had previously withdrawn, been injured, or left, gradually began to return and once again rushed into the smoke-filled factory area.

Inside the factory.

Seeing the increasing number of workers around him, Zhang Yu frowned slightly, thinking to himself that with so many eyes around, it made it inconvenient for him to pick things up. "Especially these Qi Refinement stage guys, how much is their salary really, even if it triples or quadruples? Is it really worth fighting so hard for?" Zhang Yu shook his head. Fortunately, the toxic dust and smoke provided him with the best cover, allowing him to continue his actions.

As he collected more and more items, Zhang Yu simply hid them in several deeper ruins, and then he discovered... that the items from one of those spots had been picked up.

"Damn it... I knew I wasn't the only one picking things up."

Before getting off work, Zhang Yu took out the remaining items and went to a relatively safe location. After confirming there were no cameras nearby using a detection ritual, Zhang Yu opened his Feather Scroll, turned to the Chain Method Diagram chapter, and after dragging various cultivation techniques, switched the Earth-Wood Sacred Body to the University Sacred Body. Unlike cultivation technique specializations, which required a one-day cooldown to switch, the Chain Method Diagram allowed for instant switching, though it took a few seconds.

He then grabbed several metal fragments and swallowed them whole. His peak Foundation Establishment digestive power instantly activated, and with the enhancement of the Earth-Eating Divine Art, it ground the alloys into powder one by one, refining them into Zhang Yu's bones. Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Hmm... this alloy is so hard, it should be useful for strengthening bones. This polymer material has both flexibility and strength. Can it be refined into the skin? What is this gelatinous substance? Sigh, my knowledge isn't enough. I need to go back and check..." So, as Zhang Yu ate, he made a note of the characteristics, appearance, and taste of the various materials. "The wild ones just taste a bit better."

Zhang Yu soon discovered that not everything could be digested by him. At least three materials, which appeared extraordinary at first glance, could not be digested even with his digestive power combined with level 20 Earth-Eating Divine Art, and he ultimately had to spit them back out. After this experience, Zhang Yu became even more cautious about the leaked raw materials from the pharmaceutical factory. He was afraid of eating something even he couldn't handle. Zhang Yu thought to himself, "I need to ask my sister to identify what these things are." Zhang Yu increasingly felt the importance of knowledge and information. Otherwise, it would be like entering a buffet and not even knowing what the good stuff was.