Above The Sky
Chapter 154 - 154 143 The Big One is Coming 33

154: Chapter 143 The Big One is Coming (3/3) 154: Chapter 143 The Big One is Coming (3/3) The visitor was an old acquaintance.

The tall, middle-aged man with dark skin dressed like a fisherman, revealed a smile upon hearing Ian’s greeting, walking into the shop with a bulging burlap sack in hand.

“It’s Uncle Senan.”

As he descended the stairs, Ian had already recognized the visitor by the Sand Armor Apprentice’s sensitivity to footsteps on the ground.

But he still pretended to be surprised, supporting himself on the banister, “It’s been so long, I thought that once Uncle Senan had your own deep-sea fishing boat, you’d be too lazy to come ashore again.”

Senan was the fisherman who had rushed over first to try to save people on the day Ian’s memories awoken, when he killed the priest and set the old house on fire.

After that, he even gave Ian a Magical Beast level salmon, which helped Ian regain his strength immediately.

Although he indeed had his own ulterior motives, bravely entering into the fire to save someone was truly out of sincerity, no matter the reason.

Not to mention the gifted fish, Ian was willing to accept his kindness.

Over the past few years, Senan had become the captain of a deep-sea fishing ship within the White Chamber Fleet, loved and respected by the sailors and fishermen for his warm and protective nature.

“Hey, didn’t I also bring a large sea anemone for little Elan’s birthday last time?”

Hearing Ian’s words, the dark-skinned, white-haired fisherman showed off a row of shiny white teeth, laughing heartily, “Look, the moment I had an issue, I didn’t even think twice and came straight to you!”

“…Sea anemones aren’t plants, Elan likes flowers and grasses, but sea anemones… can only say they’re really tasty.”

Listening to Senan’s words, Ian almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.

The sea anemone the newly-promoted captain gave last time was indeed beautiful, vibrant with purples and reds and even bioluminescent, and surprisingly non-toxic, clearly a thoughtful choice.

But the thing really wasn’t a flower, it couldn’t survive in a fish tank, and in the end, Ian made it into a pot of soup for himself and his brother, not wanting Senan’s good intentions to go to waste.

“If it tastes good, then it’s fine.

I’m a simple man, I don’t understand all that.”

The jovial fisherman with bushy eyebrows and squinting eyes lifted the burlap sack from the ground; his exposed skin was sunburnt from his recent time at sea—White Folks, if not regularly sunbathed, would fade within weeks and completely recover within a few years.

If one observed closely, one could also see some firm, dark blue scales on the back of the fisherman’s ears and neck, and his fingernails were sharp and sturdy, giving him a somewhat fearsome appearance.

Upon untying the sack, Senan laid out its contents for Ian to see, earnestly requesting, “This time please do me the favor of taking a look, these bags of Fluorescent Algae, just how valuable are they?”

Click.

As the algae were exposed, the dimly-lit general store was immediately illuminated as if a series of white oil lamps had been lit.

“Hmm… Fluorescent Algae,” Ian nodded slightly, pondering.

He noticed that although Senan seemed quite cheerful on the surface, various details of his body betrayed his extreme tension.

Ian didn’t even need to activate his Spirit Energy or use the Silver Chip to notice that the fingers grasping the sack were somewhat white at the joints, breathing much heavier than usual.

——It seems there really is a big issue, even someone of Senan’s nature is nervous.

“This brightness… Uncle Senan, the quality is quite impressive, it should be considered a Sublimator material,” he said offhandedly, while squinting his eyes.

Initially unclear, Ian could now tell that one of Senan’s ancestors was probably from Whale Song Cliff, a Fishperson or Merfolk, which explained his deep affinity with the ocean and these vestigial fish-like features, just as Elder Prude had traits of a Dwarf.

If given the opportunity, Senan could become a Sublimator.

But what’s important wasn’t this aspect, rather it was the current state of the person in question.

“—He is lying to me; he definitely didn’t come to appraise the value of this bag of Fluorescent Algae.”

Ian was certain of it.

He and Senan were acquainted; assisting in appraising the catch wasn’t a first or second-time instance.

Each time Ian evaluated a Magical Beast level catch, Senan would generously offer payment, which Ian would always refuse using reasons like ‘we are both White Folks’ or ‘you once saved my life and gave me a fish.’

And Senan would always find other ways to give irrefusable gifts, such as for Elan’s birthday or when Ian passed the Junior Alchemist certification.

Their relationship had solidified over six years, and even someone as cautious and distant as Ian himself considered Senan a true ‘friend.’ And how much more for Senan, who was openly warm and, to put it bluntly, a bit simple-minded?

Why would he deceive me?

Suppressing his doubts for the moment, Ian picked up the bag of fluorescent algae and carefully selected a strand to observe, then said, “I am going to take a strand up for appraisal… no problem, right?”

He watched Senan’s movements out of the corner of his eye.

Senan’s movements noticeably paused for an instant before he hesitantly replied, “Ah, sure… it should be fine… no problem!”

He seemed to be recalling some clan rule or warning, and only after confirming that Ian’s request was permissible did he reveal a genuinely warm smile in response.

“Taking on a commission as an intermediary for appraisal?”

Ian nodded slightly, sensing some clues.

The White Folks help each other, with various industries offering discounts to one another and some services even being free—Ian’s appraisal fees were not low, but they were quite reasonable for fellow clan members.

This was a normal situation on the Tella Continent; perhaps there were no such rules between different clans, but within a family sharing the same blood, only the cost price was charged.

On ancestral sacrificial days, Ian would sometimes choose a day to offer free appraisals to his kin or give away small handmade props.

Of course, such discounts and waivers were only for clan members.

If someone wanted to shop or seek appraisals on behalf of others, they would be taking advantage of their own siblings and would be severely punished by Elder Prude.

“Forget it, I’ll clarify things with him later and do him a favor—personally, I don’t mind giving a discount, but rules must be followed.”

Ian shook his head slightly with a sigh, “Social niceties.”

As the future heir to Elder Prude, the destined new leader, the new Elder of the White Folks, he naturally had to uphold these rules… of course, limiting discounts only to clan members was narrow-minded and meaningless, but it was also the beginning of a future ‘membership system’ he had a complete plan to advance.

After all, Ian was not yet an Elder, so he did not intend to make any changes at the moment.

He planned to warn Senan later about such behavior, making sure it wouldn’t happen again.

A person like him could not learn to lie.

Appraisals naturally required professional tools, but Ian generally did not need them; when he said he would take the algae upstairs to check, he was merely creating a distraction to conceal his possession of the Silver Chip.

But that did not mean Ian would not follow the normal appraisal process—even without the chip and Foresight View, his professional standards met the qualifications of his certificate.

This was the level of professionalism expected of a new-era certified appraiser!

But today, there was no need to actually activate various instruments, such as a microscopic condenser or a vacuum cabinet, to carry out the tests.

After going upstairs, Ian casually started the smallest energy-consuming crusher to make a clattering noise.

Then, he activated the Foresight View and the Silver Chip, gazing at the fluorescent algae placed on the workbench.

Immediately, the still wriggling, damp seaweed emitting a faint white light was thoroughly analyzed under the silvery cyan glow shimmering in the young man’s eyes.

Silver data fonts emerged before his eyes.

[Taisi Fluorescent Algae (High Spirit Energy Environment Mutant Strain)]

[First Energy Level Spirit Energy Plant·High-level]

[An evolved spirit energy organism from the Taisi green algae found in tropical nearshore waters, it releases slight pheromones at night to attract nearby small shallow-water creatures and capture them with its leaves; the luminous algae juice flickers with fluorescence and has corrosive and slight toxicity, which after processing can be used to produce mid-to-high-grade Light Ink, generally used for inscribing runes or as an amplifying material for casting Spirit Energy Techniques]

[Such algal mutations commonly stem from large-scale abrupt changes in the surrounding Spirit Energy Field, often seen before anomalies like Labyrinth formations, Titan Creatures’ migrations, natural disasters, severe geological shifts, indicating fluctuations in the Spirit Energy Field]

[Warning, if this mutant strain is produced on a large scale, be cautious of sudden environmental changes]

Faint blue fog drifted in front of him, mingled with strands of crimson ripples.

Ian’s eyebrows raised.

“Interesting, behind this algae, it actually involves several human lives in the future?”

His expression gradually turned solemn, “I thought it was just a trivial matter of appraising on behalf to get a discount…”

“But now it seems, something big is really coming.”