Married by Paper, Loved by Fate 47

47: Mermaid’s Tears

“Cough, cough, cough!” Shen Li, who was drinking lamb soup, choked. He quickly grabbed a tissue, elegantly wiped his mouth, then smiled and got up to walk out the door. “Xiao Tang, brother suddenly remembered I have some urgent matters to attend to. I won’t be able to accompany you today.”

“Don’t run, I’m serious, I’m not tricking you!”

Seeing the sly fox trying to escape the moment money was mentioned, Shen Tang quickly stepped forward to intercept him, “Crack!” She slammed the door shut and locked it.

If he wanted to run today, he’d have to step over her dead body!

“Aiya, when you eat someone’s food, you’re short on words, and when you take their things, your hands are soft. I knew why you were so enthusiastic today. So, you had your eyes on my private savings.” Shen Li looked down at her helplessly, a smile not reaching his eyes.

Shen Tang knew this old fox was difficult to fool. The original host’s bad reputation was deeply ingrained, and she couldn’t completely change his impression in a short period.

Shen Tang thought for a moment, went to the study, and brought back paper and pen. She quickly wrote a letter of guarantee, raised three fingers, and solemnly swore, “I promise not to touch your money rashly, and I will absolutely not gamble again. If I violate any of these agreements, I will divorce you and set you free!”

Shen Li’s expression was slightly taken aback. This female would have no choice but to die alone in the contaminated area without support. Therefore, even if she fell out with them, she would never divorce him.

He had to admit, in that very moment, he had wondered if this female’s recent changes were just a pretense to trick them out of money.

He hadn’t expected her to actually write a letter of guarantee.

A paper guarantee was still legally binding in the Empire.

As long as Shen Tang violated the terms of the guarantee, Shen Li could take this guarantee and unilaterally process the divorce.

“Xiao Tang, saying such things makes us seem like strangers. With the relationship between us, what need is there for a guarantee? Of course, I believe you.” Shen Li said pleasantries, picked up the guarantee, glanced at it, confirmed there were no legal loopholes, and casually stuffed it into his pocket.

Shen Tang’s lips twitched slightly. This sly fox was quite cautious!

Of course, she didn’t say anything. Setting clear boundaries was good for everyone and would avoid future troubles.

Shen Li opened his personal information on the light brain, removed Shen Tang’s account from the blacklist, and re-bound her asset account.

Shen Tang instantly became rich. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at the 15 million redemption points in her account. Once they returned to the Empire, these could be exchanged for Star Coins at a 1:1 ratio!

She never expected this sly fox to be hiding so much private money!

Shen Tang couldn’t hide her excitement and said, “By the way, according to the Empire’s sentencing, how many redemption points do I need to leave the contaminated area?”

Shen Li looked at her with a smile, his warm voice spitting out a chilling, terrifying number: “Ten billion.”

“What?!”

Shen Tang’s jaw dropped. How much of a crime did the original host commit to require a billion in ransom!

Those 15 million suddenly seemed insignificant.

Shen Tang, who had just become rich less than ten seconds ago, suddenly felt burdened by debt, almost suffocating her. She wanted to find a piece of tofu to smash her head against.

Shen Li’s smile grew even gentler. “If you hadn’t squandered it at the casino, perhaps we would have saved up that amount very quickly.”

“…” Shen Tang was speechless. The earning capabilities of these five beast husbands were indeed strong. If the original host had truly lived a good life, perhaps they would have been able to return home not long from now.

“Gambling and drugs harm others and oneself. From now on, I will never set foot in a casino again, or you can break my legs!”

Upon hearing her make such a solemn vow, Shen Li raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded with a smile, “Of course, I believe you.”

The guarantee was written. At worst, he would divorce her.

Shen Tang didn’t care if he truly believed her or not. In any case, she would use her actions to make a change.

After sending Shen Li off, Shen Tang packed several food containers, planning to test the reactions of the other beast husbands.

Lu Xiao came from a military family, had upright conduct, and was well-mannered. He rarely spoke harshly to the original host.

Upon hearing Shen Tang wanted to bind her assets to his, the man frowned slightly and politely distanced himself. “I believe in your sincere determination to reform, but it’s better if I keep this money for now. I can give it to you later when we’ve saved enough.”

It was clear he was unwilling. Shen Tang had no choice but to go find Xiao Jin.

When Xiao Jin heard her intentions, he threw her and the food containers out the door, his tone harsh and cold. “Shen Tang, you were left in the contaminated zone for a whole night? Did the scare scramble your brains? You dare come to me for money? You’re dreaming. I’d rather take this money to my grave than give you a single cent!”

This one was short-tempered. No money to be had here.

Shen Tang hesitated, then knocked on Jia Lan’s door.

This noble prince didn’t even let her in. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his icy blue eyes filled with mockery and disdain. He sneered, “I have no money, and I won’t give you my life. My brain would have to be kicked by a killer whale for me to give you money. Go bother someone else, don’t come to me.”

With that, he “Crack!” shut the door, as if being in the same space with her for another second was torture.

She almost forgot how much this mermaid disliked her.

There was no need to even mention Xue Yinzhou. Shen Tang didn’t dare to walk down that street yet.

After a long detour, only to retrieve private money from one person, Shen Tang was furious for a moment. These dogs really didn’t give her any face!

The system’s prompt sounded in her mind, [Host, don’t forget there’s a side quest: raise the favorability of the five male leads to above average. There are seven days left until the quest deadline. Please speed up your攻略 progress!]

“攻略 can’t be rushed. Being too eager for quick success will make me look like I have ulterior motives. This needs to be done slowly. There are still seven days, no need to rush.” Shen Tang said earnestly, but in reality, she had no clue, especially regarding that cold and gloomy serpent beast.

[What will the Host do now?]

“Take out the inhibitor production manual that was a reward from a previous task. I want to study it.”

[Okay.]

A flash of light passed, and a paper manual appeared in Shen Tang’s palm. It was simple in design, only twenty to thirty pages.

Shen Tang opened the table of contents.

The first half described the materials needed to produce the inhibitor.

She skimmed through it.

[Azure Grass: A rare plant found in B-grade radiation zones and above. Its leaves are deep blue and emit a faint fluorescence at night.

Effect: Contains natural nerve-calming ingredients, serving as the base material for inhibitors.

Obtention: Can only be found in radiation zones deep within ruins. Special protection is required during harvesting.]

[Blood Vine Crystal: A red vine that parasitizes on ruined buildings. Its roots condense deep red crystals.

Effect: Can stabilize beastmen’s blood flow and prevent berserk energy from going out of control within the body.

Obtention: Requires cutting down the blood vine and excavating its roots. Once exposed to air, the crystals will quickly volatilize and must be sealed immediately.]

[Ghost Butterfly Wing Powder: Ghost butterflies are rare creatures found only in A-grade contaminated zones. Their wings are semi-transparent and emit a faint glow.

Effect: Possesses mental soothing effects, which can alleviate anxiety and aggression in beastmen.

Obtention: Capture a ghost butterfly and carefully peel off its wings, then grind them into a very fine powder. Remember to wear gloves. Do not let the scales come into contact with skin before detoxification.]

There were also items like Moon Dew Honey, Shadow Spider Silk Sacs, and various other strange and unheard-of things. Their descriptions all indicated effects of soothing mental power. The inhibitors developed by other imperial companies should also contain these ingredients. She wondered how much better the system’s formula would be compared to inhibitors on the market.

Shen Tang also noticed a bolded section at the end of the ingredient list.

This inhibitor formula contained one more unique ingredient.

——Mermaid’s Tears.

Dylan