Chapter 360: Conditioning Bu Quan Successfully
Bu Quan's feelings for the dragonman youngster were not only felt by the dragonman youngster himself, but also very clearly by Zi Di.
When the two parties signed the contract, Zi Di saw the look in Bu Quan's eyes as he looked at the dragonman youngster.
That intense gaze was all too familiar to Zi Di!
The flush on Bu Quan’s face also betrayed the secret in her heart
“So that’s how it is…” After hearing Zi Di’s response, Bu Quan’s expression darkened slightly.
The smile on Zi Di’s face made her feel repressed.
Zi Di returned to the topic at hand.
She had brought Bu Quan out of the alchemy workshop and to the shop for an inspection not to discuss their relationship, but for a more important purpose.
Zi Di continued directly, “Now, you've seen the situation at the shop.”
“I hope you can focus on producing dragon rider potions from now on, at least to meet the market demand in Snow Bird Harbor.”
“This is our top priority at the moment!”
Bu Quan's eyes flickered slightly.
Looking at the female magician closely associated with Commander Long Fu, she instinctively felt resistant.
But she didn't refuse outright. After a moment's thought, she came up with a reason.
"In the past two days, two more silver level alchemists have joined the mercenary group. Combined with Zhong Yong from before, we could easily delegate these pharmaceutical tasks to them."
But Zi Di shook her head: “I wish we could do that.”
“Unfortunately, they have more important tasks to attend to and cannot spare the time right now.”
Bu Quan slightly pursed her lips.
This subtle gesture caught Zi Di's attention, immediately revealing Bu Quan's displeasure.
Zi Di remained composed.
Bu Quan's reaction was exactly what Zi Di had anticipated.
Bu Quan was a master of alchemy, always approaching it as a researcher rather than a competent producer or merchant.
If Zi Di had Bu Quan's talent and the backing of the Alchemy Guild, her assets would long since have surpassed four alchemy workshops—they would have expanded tenfold or more!
But how to put it?
If Zi Di were Bu Quan, she wouldn't be able to achieve such high alchemy accomplishments either.
“Magician Yao Ma, please take a look at this first.” Bu Quan took out a document.
Zi Di's expression changed slightly upon seeing the document.
The document clearly contained information about the Bloodline Purification formation.
Bu Quan explained, "This is the result I deduced recently. How about it? Isn't it a significant improvement compared to before?"
“That's right. It's a huge improvement!" Zi Di's pupils contracted slightly. She realized that the result Bu Quan had calculated had left her speechless.
Even though she hadn't provided Bu Quan with any additional formation diagrams, he had still made such a breakthrough.
“Such alchemy talent...” Zi Di sighed inwardly, then casually remarked, "Have you been researching the half of your ‘annual salary’ we paid you in advance? Why are you investing so much effort and time into this? In fact, this was just a test question for us; we didn't have any expectations for it."
Bu Quan laughed, “How could it take any effort or time! I just had a sudden flash of insight during my lunch break, resolving many contradictions from previous calculations and figuring out some of the structural concepts of this formation.”
“I have a feeling I’ve finally figured out the direction!”
Zi Di forced herself to suppress her concerns: “How long will it take you at most to calculate this complete alchemy formation?”
Bu Quan shook her head: "It's very difficult. Although we've made a breakthrough, this kind of success is hard to replicate."
"We only have this one diagram. If we had a few more, that would be great. Even if it's just one, it has to be the one in the opposite position."
"Otherwise, even if I succeed in calculating it, the result is likely to be vastly different from the original answer. We've merely created a new formation based on the original."
“That reassures me,” Zi Di thought to herself, but on the surface she comforted her, "It doesn't matter. This formation diagram is just a small part of our adventurous gains; the prospects are slim, and it's not worth wasting time and effort on this."
But Bu Quan shook her head: "This formation has a simple structure and ingenious design; it's definitely the work of a master. The original version must have had significant effects."
“Enough,” Zi Di interrupted her, “Magician Bu Quan, I understand why you gave me this information.”
“Your talent is truly remarkable!”
"You want to prove that the work where you can truly showcase your value is this kind of work. Not to have you act as a human alchemy workshop, endlessly refining potions, is that correct?"
Bu Quan nodded, openly admitting, “Exactly.”
Zi Di sighed deeply, “That is precisely my concern about you.”
When she saw the look of confusion on Bu Quan's face, Zi Di continued, “Magician Bu Quan, we are very welcoming of your joining us.”
“But in fact, we also have our concerns.”
“We have gathered information about you. Although you joined the Alchemy Guild, you have only studied under your mentor and have never truly participated in any organizational activities.”
“You are actually a lone wolf.”
“Your mentor has never involved you in her organization but has focused solely on cultivating your alchemy talents.”
“Am I right?”
Bu Quan nodded.
Zi Di continued, “Precisely because you have long acted as a lone wolf, your thinking has become rigid. You tend to view issues and matters from your own perspective, prioritizing your own interests.”
“However, once you join an organization, this mindset must change. You must learn to consider problems from the collective perspective and resolve issues accordingly.”
“Often, when two ways of thinking clash and cannot be balanced, we must prioritize the collective interest.”
“That is what an individual who truly joins an organization should do.”
Bu Quan furrowed her brows.
Zi Di spoke earnestly, “I’m not asking you to sacrifice your personal interests and emotions for the collective.”
“In fact, we need to establish this positive feedback cycle.”
“Each of us sacrifices a little of our personal interests for the organization, in exchange for the realization of the organization's grand plan and the attainment of significant benefits.”
“These benefits are something we couldn't achieve on our own.”
“When divided among everyone, it might be less than what we'd get on our own, but more often than not, it's more.”
“That's the difference between joining a collective and living as a lone wolf.”
Bu Quan furrowed her brows deeply, pondered for a moment, then said, “Since I agreed to Commander Long Fu's recruitment, I naturally have the resolve to contribute to the collective.”
“Otherwise, I wouldn't have offered my four alchemy workshops.”
"But how can you guarantee that after the organization achieves its plans and goals, our overall personal benefits will be greater? What if the plan fails? Many organizations have collapsed before."
Zi Di wanted to say that giving up her alchemy workshops wasn't contributing to the collective; it's essentially acting on one's own emotions.
Zi Di was actually quite unimpressed with Bu Quan's approach.
If it were her, she would have given gold coins or alchemy tools at most, rather than giving away the alchemy workshop outright. From a business perspective, this was not selling eggs but the hen.
As a leader, Bu Quan had never considered the well-being of those working in the alchemy workshop. She lacked the responsibility of a leader.
Her gift was generous, but at its core, it was merely a personal act.
She did it to make herself feel better.
In comparison, the dragonman youngster was far superior to her.
The dragonman youngster was a believer in justice. Often, he prioritized the organization's interests over his own or suppressed his personal emotions.
Bu Quan couldn't do that—or more accurately, she couldn't do it at this stage.
“Although she has joined the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, can she truly integrate into it?” On the night after the contract was signed, the dragonman youngster and Zi Di discussed this, expressing such concerns.
Zi Di brought her here to inspect the shops this time, partly to increase the production of dragon rider potions, and partly to guide Bu Quan, helping her change from within so she could more smoothly integrate into the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
In response to Bu Quan's questions, Zi Di answered seriously, “The situations you mentioned are objectively real.”
“Organizations can fail, and even collapse.”
“Organizational plans and actions carry risks. But aren't such risks also present when individuals act alone?”
“In fact, an organization's ability to handle risks is far greater than that of an individual.”
“Organizational actions are also far more stable and reliable. Because many factors affect individuals, such as sudden serious illness or traffic accidents, but for an organization, even when many unexpected events occur, the organization can still function normally."
“With lower risks and greater stability and reliability, collective gains become more stable.”
"An organization often has more resources than an individual. Resources that a lone wolf finds difficult to obtain can be more easily acquired by an organization, which can then concentrate its efforts and invest heavily in cultivating a particular member. Once this member makes significant progress, they can break through certain limitations of the organization's capabilities, driving the collective to earn more benefits."
“This is the win-win situation between the collective and the individual!”
After a pause, Zi Di continued, “Let's take the current situation as an example.”
“From your personal perspective, engaging in research work allows you to maximize your own value.”
“However, for the entire mercenary corps, producing a sufficient quantity of dragon rider potions in the short term to capture the market will yield far greater profits.”
“As you mentioned earlier, there is no guarantee that the formation can be reproduced, and it still requires significant investment of manpower and resources.”
"But once the mercenary group's plan is realized, we will reap the profits of the entire Ice Sculpture Kingdom. These profits will greatly fund your various alchemy experiments in the future."
“I think that even if you have a good mentor and are favored by the Alchemy Guild, you couldn't possibly experiment with various materials and conduct trials at will, could you?”
Bu Quan fell into a long silence.
Though she harbored some subtle reservations toward Zi Di, she couldn't deny that Zi Di's words made perfect sense.
“You've convinced me, Magician Yao Ma.” Bu Quan said, her gaze fixed on Zi Di.
"I've always been a loner. Even after I joined the Alchemy Guild, I didn't feel a sense of belonging to it. It’s more like a protective umbrella or a resource platform.”
“Even between me and my mentor, our daily interactions are primarily transactional. Even if I want to acquire alchemy knowledge, I need to make corresponding contributions and exchange them with my mentor.”
“Thank you. You’ve taught me a lesson.”
“Joining the mercenary corps has indeed given me a different life experience.”
“After I return, I’ll put my studies and research on hold and focus on producing dragon rider potions.”
Zi Di smiled upon hearing this: “Bu Quan, trust me, you made the right choice.”
Meanwhile, the ghost girl was secretly thrilled inside: “First successful conditioning!”