Hao Xuan looked left and right, carefully examining every little detail before he gave the all-clear for Jin Wang to move in.
They both walked up to the edge of the purple river and bent down to observe it. A slightly bluish mist covered the top of the river like a layer of cloud. It wasn't very thick but there was enough of it there to not be ignored.
"You know what it is?" Hao Xuan elbowed Jin Wang.
Jin Wang slapped his arm in response, "What the hell do I look like to you? No, I don't know what it is. And use your words b*tch!"
Hao Xuan looked at him with a blank expression. He wanted to say a great number of things in return but held back as it was neither the time nor the place to argue about something so childish.
He turned towards the only other source of information at his disposal.
"Baracus, can you identify the liquid?"
*Beep*
Hao Xuan held out his left hand and a ray of light fell on the river below from the watch. After a couple of seconds, it retracted.
"The mist above the liquid is acting as an insulator. I can't detect anything below it. You will have to get me a sample so I can run a few tests."
"…"
Baracus purposefully said that out loud so Jin Wang heard him as well. He looked at Hao Xuan with a straight face and made an offer.
"I'll give you 10 gold coins if you put your hand in it."
"…"
Hao Xuan couldn't tell if he was kidding or not but he still decided to make a counteroffer.
"I'll give you 10,000 if you do it. How about that?"
"I'll give a MILLION!"
"B*tch you ain't got a million. But I'll give you a mill if you do it," Hao Xuan scoffed rather arrogantly. Jin Wang's eyes went wide and then became tearful.
"Just because I'm poor doesn't mean you have to rub it in like this," he said wiping non-existent tears from his eyes.
Fortis who was watching from the top of Hao Xuan's head became angry and started slapping him.
"BAD MAN!"
"OW!" Stop, he's kidding, its a joke!" Hao Xuan quickly responded.
Even with his body which was sturdier than an actual tank from back earth, those tentacles of his felt like whips on tender skin.
Jin Wang laughed inwardly but still acted like he was crying in front of Fortis as he stopped low and reached out his hand towards the mist. And as soon as he touched it, the mist that was completely inert until a moment ago reacted like it had been tasered.
*Sssss*
Sound very much like the sizzling of meat on a hot pan came from it as the mist turned into a solid pike and shot straight towards Jin Wang's heart.
Hao Xuan and Fortis both stopped whatever they were doing. Hao Xuan's back muscles expanded like a bear's, almost tearing his shirt apart.
In one smooth motion, he swung the glaive counterclockwise and cut the pike in half before it could reach Jin Wang. He continued the attack and brought the Glaive above his head and then struck down like a hammer.
The Force Qi erupted from the Glaive and fell on the mist. Just as the Qi touched it, purple liquid and the mist for about 30 meters around them started bubbling.
"Holy sh*t, back up!" Hao Xuan shouted when he saw hundreds more sharp blades take shape from the fusion of the mist. It turned from a gas to solid in the blink of an eye.
He grabbed Jin Wang's shoulder and jumped back into the tunnel. The pikes swung around blindly as if they had lost their target and after a few seconds dissolved back into the mist.
Hao Xuan's brows scrunched up in annoyance as he slapped Jin Wang's back.
"The hell is the matter with you, don't just stand there when you're being attacked!"
Jin Wang looked back at him with a smirk and raised his right hand, "Where's my million gold b*atch!"
In his hand was a small glass bottle a few inches wide. It was filled to the brim with the purple liquid which was moving around by itself.
"You sonova…"
Jin Wang had used the opportunity when Hao Xuan was being attacked to swiftly fill up the battle. He waved the bottle in front of Hao Xuan's face like it was the most important thing in the world.
Hao Xuan was taken aback at first but then he smiled and waved his hand. A black card appeared in his palm. He wiped it over his watch and tapped on the watch's screen a few times and then tossed it over to Jin Wang.
This was a one-time usable card which could be cashed in by anyone and at any officially recognized financial institution.
"There," he said before grabbing the bottle out of a dazed Jin Wang's grasp.
A million gold might be a lot to others but it wasn't much to Hao Xuan at all. Just the potions he had thrown out at the beast horde a couple of hours ago were worth several times as much.
For Jin Wang though it was nothing to scoff at. He looked at the black card with glistening eyes.
"My precious," he whispered in a low voice which sent shivers down Hao Xuan's spine.
"Calm down there Gollum," he said jokingly. Jin Wang looked up at him with a confused expression.
Hao Xuan waved his hand, "N-Nevermind."
He placed the glass bottle in front of the watch and Baracus started doing his tests. 5 minutes later he had the results.
"The liquid is….alive somehow. It's actually not a liquid per-say, but a spiritual entity that exists in a liquid form. Close the bottle quickly, it won't survive for very long when it comes into contact with oxygen," Baracus informed Hao Xuan who quickly closed the bottle.
"This is alive…?" he observed the liquid in detail. It was indeed splashing around in the bottle on its own. Even trying to open the bottle from inside.
"Does it have any uses? This….thing?"
"More so than you can imagine. Finding an organism that can exist as a liquid is extremely rare. There are a few implications of its very existence that are pivotal in many research areas. If you're just looking to make money then you can sell it to a financial institution, or you can do a few other 'things' with it."
Jin Wang's eyes lit up when he heard that and he quickly interjected.
"How much do you think it will be worth if we sell it?" he inquired.
"I don't know exactly but judging from its lack of supply and the excessive demand, just this little bottle would be worth several billion in gold. Although no one would be stupid enough to trade for gold when you can ask for so much more."
"S-Several billion?!" Jin Wang stuttered. He looked at the bottle in Hao Xuan's hand and then at the river of the same stuff.
If he was a cartoon, his eyes would have become dollar signs right now.
*Gulp*
"O-Oi, help me get a few gallons of this stuff yeah," he patted Hao Xuan's chest.
