After leaving the wilderness, Zhao Feng quickly returned to the abandoned house.
He eagerly opened the system to check the rewards for completing the mission.
His eyes lit up when he saw the Portable Berry Blender and Weedle Breeding Manual as system rewards.
With a tap of his finger, a machine appeared before him.
He picked up the Portable Berry Blender and examined it carefully.
Although the blender looked somewhat rudimentary and couldn't compare to the luxurious equipment on the market, it was compact, portable, and simple to operate, making it more suitable for him, as he had no fixed abode.
Zhao Feng eagerly concentrated and clicked on the option to claim the Weedle Breeding Manual on the system interface.
In an instant, an invisible yet immense stream of information, like a surging tide, poured into his mind.
He felt his scalp tingle and his head slightly swell, followed by a vast amount of knowledge unfolding in the depths of his consciousness.
And when the basic energy cube recipe, "Bug Poison," appeared, Zhao Feng's heart rate suddenly accelerated.
After a quick tidy-up, Zhao Feng hurried into the black market.
He walked directly to the Pokémon shops, inquiring about prices one after another.
Some shopkeepers had cunning eyes, trying to drive down prices; others were nonchalant, casually giving a number.
Zhao Feng patiently negotiated with them, secretly comparing the prices offered by each shop.
Finally, at one shop, a portly middle-aged boss offered a price that he found quite satisfactory.
(Many people are concerned about the selling price. Firstly, there's no equipment to test Qualifications, and Caterpie isn't worth checking for Qualifications. Selling prices and buying prices are different, and official Breeding House prices are even higher.)
"For this Caterpie with the best Qualifications, I'll give you 1000 yuan. As for the other two, they're 750 yuan each," the chubby boss said nonchalantly while wiping a Poké Ball in his hand.
Zhao Feng frowned slightly, just about to haggle, when the chubby boss preempted him, "Kid, this price isn't low. Go ask elsewhere, I guarantee no one will give you more than me."
Zhao Feng hesitated for a moment, then took out Pidgey's Poké Ball: "What about this Pidgey?"
The chubby boss's eyes lit up. He released the Pidgey and examined it carefully: "Although this Pidgey's Qualifications is average, Flying-type Pokémon are always in demand. I'll give you 3000 yuan, how about it?"
Zhao Feng was secretly delighted; this price far exceeded his expectations. He feigned composure, thought for a moment, and then nodded, agreeing to the transaction.
After the transaction was completed, Zhao Feng's pocket instantly gained 5500 yuan.
He clutched the money tightly, feeling its heavy weight.
Subsequently, he rushed to the Berry stall without stopping.
Zhao Feng carefully selected and spent 1000 yuan, buying enough Berries for Charmander and Weedle for one week.
Looking at the bag full of Berries in his hand, he felt a slight pang of pain, but the cheapest energy cube on the market costs 100 yuan per piece, and this 1000 yuan could make more than 20 energy cubes, so he quickly accepted it.
Immediately after, Zhao Feng arrived at the Poké Ball stall. He unhesitatingly pulled out money and replenished 10 Poké Balls.
At this moment, he only had 2500 yuan left in his pocket, but his heart was filled with a sense of security.
Zhao Feng then unhesitatingly bought several bottles of Moomoo Milk.
The fresh milk was in special glass bottles, glowing with an inviting milky white luster. With a gentle shake, its thick texture resembled flowing cream.
Indeed, expensive things are good, Zhao Feng couldn't help but nod.
Returning to the abandoned house, Zhao Feng arranged the materials one by one on the old wooden table, officially beginning his journey of making energy cubes.
Thanks to the miraculous ability granted by the system, the steps, techniques, and timing for making energy cubes were already clearly etched in his mind, like an instinct.
Zhao Feng skillfully pitted and cut the Pecha Berries, dropping them into the Portable Berry Blender.
The machine whirred, and the Pecha Berries gradually turned into a fine, thick jam as they were blended.
Next, he slowly poured in the finely ground Poison Powder, stirring quickly as he poured, allowing the deep purple powder to blend with the berry jam.
The mixed ingredients were carefully shaped by Zhao Feng, and one by one, the "Bug Poison" energy cubes were born.
They were deep purple in color, with a delicate texture on the surface, subtly emitting a unique aroma.
Subsequently, Zhao Feng began to make "Ember" energy cubes suitable for Charmander, using Kindle Berries as the main ingredient. Under his careful preparation, orange-red energy cubes were formed and produced.
Although the quality of the Berries was average and the Portable Berry Blender couldn't compare to professional equipment, Zhao Feng, relying on the exquisite skills given by the system, still managed to make energy cubes of quite good quality.
He eagerly handed an "Ember" energy cube to Charmander. Charmander, who had been lazily lying in the corner, sniffed lightly and instantly perked up, its eyes wide. With a "woof," it picked up the energy cube and began to chew heartily.
Watching Charmander eat with such delight, the flame on its tail even flared higher.
Zhao Feng also started to wonder if humans could eat energy cubes, but not too much, as it could lead to excessive nutrition.
Zhao Feng tasted Charmander's energy cube. As for why he didn't eat Weedle's, it was simple: it was poisonous.
A spicy taste spread across his tongue, stimulating his taste buds and making Zhao Feng involuntarily exhale.
Looking at Weedle, when Zhao Feng offered it the "Bug Poison" energy cube, it first cautiously touched it. After confirming it was safe, it slowly opened its mouth and took a small bite.
In an instant, Weedle trembled all over, and its originally dull eyes burst with a joyful light. It disregarded its image and swallowed in large gulps, its horn wiggling excitedly, making a "sizzle" sound, seemingly conveying its inner shock and satisfaction to Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng couldn't help but smile as he watched the two little Pokémon eat happily.
This also meant that Zhao Feng had another source of income.
Although they were only basic energy cubes, their good quality could fetch a good price.
Zhao Feng had carefully compared prices in the black market. energy cubes of this quality could sell for about 500 yuan per piece, and this was only for the Bug Poison type. Popular attribute energy cubes like Ember could even sell for a high price of 600 yuan.
Thinking of this, Zhao Feng couldn't suppress his excitement. He calculated that the Berries he had bought earlier for 1000 yuan had made a total of 25 energy cubes.
If all were sold, the income would be as high as 13,500 yuan. This was 10 times the price, nearly a 90% profit, how could he not be excited and his blood boil?
But amidst the excitement, Zhao Feng quickly calmed down. He knew that selling energy cubes required careful planning.
The black market was a mixed bag, full of various forces. If he rashly went to sell energy cubes, once he encountered a situation of being robbed, with his current strength, he would be completely powerless to resist.
He looked down at the Weedle beside him and thought to himself, at least he had to wait until Weedle evolved into Beedrill and possessed Advanced level strength.
Fortunately, Bug-type Pokémon grow relatively quickly. With Weedle's current state, plus continuous feeding with carefully made "Bug Poison" energy cubes, Zhao Feng estimated that the day of its evolution was not far off.
At this moment, Weedle suddenly flashed with white light, and Zhao Feng realized that Weedle was about to evolve!
He clearly remembered the records in the Breeding Manual: Weedle at this stage should accumulate energy through prolonged eating, preparing its body thoroughly, so that it can successfully transform during evolution and gain stronger abilities.
But the Weedle in front of him was still thin, and the scars on its shell had not fully healed. It was clear that its energy reserves were severely insufficient.
Forcing an evolution under such circumstances could very likely result in incomplete evolution or even life-threatening situations.
"Stop quickly, Weedle!" Zhao Feng cried out, his heart burning with anxiety.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing Zhao Feng's call, this little fellow, who had only recently been captured, showed an unusually high level of affection for Zhao Feng and forcefully suppressed its urge to evolve.
The light of evolution flickered a few times, gradually dimmed, and finally disappeared.
Weedle lay weakly on the ground, its small body trembling slightly.
Zhao Feng knelt down, his heart aching, and gently cradled Weedle in his hands, his voice soft yet tinged with apology: "Little one, I'm sorry, I made you suffer. I know you're eager to become strong, but now is really not the time to evolve. Your body is still too weak, and you don't have enough energy. If you evolve like this, it could lead to big problems, and you might even never be able to become stronger in the future. Trust me, give me a little more time, and I'll make sure you eat your fill, accumulate enough energy, and then you'll be able to evolve without any worries."
Weedle looked up at Zhao Feng with its black-bean-like eyes, seemingly trying to understand his words.
After a while, it wiggled slightly, as if responding to Zhao Feng's promise.
Zhao Feng looked at the weak but trying-to-be-strong Weedle in his hands, and a crucial item suddenly flashed through his mind—the Everstone.
He clearly remembered that an Everstone could effectively curb a Pokémon's evolution process.
Weedle only needed to temporarily suppress evolution, so an Everstone of slightly poorer quality would suffice.
However, as soon as he thought about the price of Pokémon items, Zhao Feng's brows furrowed into a frown.
Based on his observations in the black market these past few days, all sorts of Pokémon items were ridiculously expensive.
Take the Everstone, for example. Zhao Feng estimated that an ordinary quality one would cost at least 30,000 yuan.
This was undoubtedly an astronomical figure for him, especially since he had just sold Caterpie and Pidgey and only had less than 5000 yuan on hand.
"It would be great if I could find it at Ouyue Lake…" Zhao Feng murmured, a glimmer of hope igniting in his eyes.
Perhaps an Everstone was lying quietly in some hidden corner of Ouyue Lake.
After all, he had previously found a rare shiny Weedle by the lake, so perhaps Lady Luck would favor him again.
The more Zhao Feng thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He immediately decided to try his luck at Ouyue Lake again tomorrow.
Besides looking for an Everstone, he also hoped to find other valuable items there. Perhaps he could find some precious Berries or other Pokémon items, all of which could bring him considerable income and alleviate his current financial pressure.
