Chapter 101: Bewildered Enthusiasm

Amid the forest, Su Qing ran while contacting the tent area several miles away.
{What? Are you serious? Ah Qing’s not here, and this one’s a fake?}
In the sensory vision, the security chief in the settlement, after hearing Su Li’s words, said in surprise.
“Yes, when I sensed something was off and contacted him outside the door through the Mental Link, he was clearly standing right behind me, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea with no response. Besides, Ah Qing never eats breakfast, especially since arriving in this world.”
{Is that all? Could it be he just stepped away…}
Even the security chief couldn’t finish his words.
The model couldn’t be reached, yet the person stood alive right before his eyes—he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
“Though I hate to admit it, I think that person here isn’t him anymore. Their temperaments are vastly different.”
{We’ll be right there.}
The settlement held a protection stake in the two brothers’ shop; their talent for material identification had brought the settlement significant income, both in terms of resources and timing.
Therefore, they took this matter very seriously.
……
Little Liu and Teacher Chen had originally held a grudge due to a verbal conflict with the three, but now seeing that this guy actually had real skills, he felt a bit more at ease.
Yang Zicang borrowed the tools here and steadily infused warm red magic crystals into some ironware through the energy conversion magic array, known only to the large settlement.
After finishing that, he took out the materials Teacher Chen and the other had processed and performed a second refinement, separating out several impurities.
Everyone saw the usefulness of these items; Su Qing and Teacher Chen both nodded, one planning to take it directly and the other intending to make one for themselves.
Half an hour later, the busy group laid out the components for making the soft armor in a row. After inspecting them, Yang Zicang extended a hand to the two.
“What?”
“Don’t play dumb. Even if there’s no fossil, there’s a rubbing—a counterfeit blueprint. Hand it over.”
Teacher Chen reluctantly pulled a soft cloth from a hidden compartment under the box.
“Since we’ve got this, we need an even split. It’s expensive, jaw-droppingly expensive.”
This was something he’d bought from the person who kept the fossil. Though it wasn’t a true blueprint, it could anchor the result of the Forgetting Engine made from these components, pushing its final form closer to that set of ancient equipment preserved in the fossil.
“Looks like we’re about ready. Can we start?” Little Liu asked, seeming guileless.
Over the past half hour, Yang Zicang’s actions had completely won him over.
Yang Zicang nodded.
Su Qing lit a wall lamp in the room, and a mystical, chaotic aura filled the space. The elemental light of the magic crystals began to be drawn away, coalescing like a mist suspended over the magic array as a ball of radiance.
Within the illusory glow were the images of two young men—projections of the Su brothers.
“This is our prepared Lethe.”
Teacher Chen handed over the Lethe Spring contained in a large test tube. No matter how one looked at the transparent resin tube, it always showed a vision of clothes being made.
As Yang Zicang tossed the materials into the glow, the eyes of everyone present grew brighter and brighter.
It truly seemed there was a sign of success.
……
A team of armed individuals swiftly moved through the forest, with Su Li walking alongside them.
“Hurry, there are three more people over there, but it’s still unclear whether they’re friend or foe.”
“Will it be dangerous?”
None of these people could connect to Su Qing’s model anymore, as if he no longer existed in the world.
“It should be fine. Among them, one person has a quadrilateral model. He didn’t give me much trouble, and he truly didn’t recognize the fake Su Qing inside.
“By the way, his ability is very strange—it’s a translucent monster.” Su Li added.
This casual remark made the group almost crash into the back of the team leader, who had suddenly stopped.
“Translucent?”
The team leader pondered for a moment, then wide-eyed said, “Could it be someone with a psychokinetic ability!”
According to rumors circulating around the world, besides physical, sound, or psychic abilities, there seems to exist a psychokinetic type of attack.
“Psychokinetic type?”
The others nearby looked at Su Li and the team leader in surprise.
Moreover, the bloodline sculpture for psychokinetic type is not found in the city, so no one has obtained a field capable of defending against psychokinetic attacks, making this ability nearly invincible.
But correspondingly, those with such an ability are very rare, and it seems one must obtain the ability through special means.
As for what the specific means are, even many experts are eager to figure them out, let alone us; just being aware of this information is already impressive.
“Su Li, you couldn’t be mistaken. If it really is psychokinetic type, even if all of us here go together, we might fall into his hands.”
“Is it that serious?” Hearing these words, Su Li began to feel uncertain.
He glanced at the middle-aged man beside him, feeling bitter inside: “Brother Wang, what do we do then? Should we ask the Wuyou people for help?”
“Sure, we can tell them, but we’ll get kicked out afterward. If what you said is true and he’s not a bad guy, let’s go check things out first before deciding.”
At this moment, in Li Qing’s Material Workshop, the most crucial step was underway.
“Will it succeed?”
Several people watched the young man’s movements closely.
[I, the Great Quadrilateral, am attempting to create a fossil artifact for the first time.]
As Yang Zicang, also a bit tense, placed the final piece of leather armor into the light cluster, transforming it into energy, and then added the line processed from sturdy monster tendons, the light cluster erupted in intense brilliance!
Poof! A murky aura scattered violently as its essence rapidly contracted, and a crystal engine dropped from the air.
Yang Zicang swiftly reached out, caught it in his palm, and let out a sigh of relief. He turned around, a smile spreading across his face as he extended his hand.
“Not bad, take a look. Is this what you wanted?”
Everyone crowded around.
“It actually worked!”
“Good heavens! It’s even better than I imagined.”
Teacher Chen had already frozen into a petrified state as he held the Mind-Loss Engine in his hands.
Though it was just a three-cylinder engine, it emanated a faint fiery glow.
Within the translucent material, the phantom of a deep, ancient suit of armor was constantly shifting—one moment a burst of flames, the next the armor itself.
“It really succeeded! After all my research and the countless efforts poured into this Mind-Loss Engine, it truly worked!”
“Mm-hmm.” Yang Zicang nodded, smiling as he watched the two grip the engine excitedly in their hands.
Through this, he also verified that the information left by Ma Chao was correct, and he had three similar formulas like this one collected—quite a treasure trove.
“Quick, write it down—the steps.”
Teacher Chen tossed the engine back to Yang Zicang, pulled out a pen from the box, and began jotting down notes as he recalled Yang Zicang’s steps and the improved material process.
Su Qing reached out toward the young man before her and said, “Can I take a look?”
Yang Zicang handed the engine to him. Su Qing examined it carefully, as if he were the real boss here.
Neither Zuo Feixian nor Xu Xiuchuan had expected it to actually succeed.
They had already started envisioning the future.
“How do you plan to turn it into equipment?” Yang Zicang looked at Teacher Chen and the other.
“What else can we do? We’ll have to go to Hub Town. Brother Jiazi, how should we split this engine?”
Teacher Chen, who had readily agreed earlier, was now the one most at a loss.
“What do you think?”
“I…” Teacher Chen was deeply troubled.
Little Liu sighed, wanting to say just give it to them. After all, what’s there to agonize over a shabby blanket? The formula was what really mattered.
“Sell it to me, Master Jiazi Jian.” Su Qing said, gripping the Inert-Mind Engine.
“Master?” Teacher Chen looked at Su Qing, then back at Yang Zicang. “You know him?”
“Just met him, actually—well, I heard of his name this morning.”
“Where did you hear my name from?” Yang Zicang looked at him directly, puzzled.
“Where else? Next door at the auction house, of course.”
“Auction house?”
Su Qing glanced at the sky outside the door through the window: “Yeah, if I’m not mistaken, your auction item should be starting soon. What, you didn’t know the auction time?”
Yang Zicang turned his head in surprise, frowning.
Just then, a line of light shot over.
It was an unfamiliar Mental Link.
[Daxinfashack leader Wang Jian wants to invest 1N in me.]
A stranger being able to invest precisely meant this person was nearby.
“Who’s that?”
{Master Jiazi, hi there, I’m the deputy head of Daxinfa. I sincerely invite you to come to our settlement and become one of us.}
{I can pay you an extra five hundred years of lifespan every year.}
On the other end of the Mental Link, the person sitting inside the venue spoke rapidly.
“Hey, how did you know about me?”
Yang Zicang was a bit confused, but he faintly guessed it must have something to do with that auction.
{Huh? Weren’t you the one who had someone auction off your Water Well Engine there?}
“Me?”
The Water Well Engine, and I had someone auction it off?
Many unlikely conjectures immediately sprang to Yang Zicang’s mind.
Several more lines of light shot over. Although there was no connection, he could sense the visitation information they carried.
[Far-reaching Dreamshack leader Zhao Qiangduo wants to invest 5R in me.]
[Light Barrier shack leader (Anonymous) wants to invest 1N in me.]
[Shack of Endless Light wants to invest 10N in me.]
[The King of Compensation at Wuyou Trading Zone wants to invest 1R in me.]
“This, how can there be so much!” Yang Zicang was dumbfounded.
Seeing the model lines flickering out of thin air, Teacher Chen finally realized that the young man before him was likely a big shot.
……
Ning Yang, Zhao Qi, and the others had been sitting on the flatbed cart for most of the day. Relying on the mutated beasts pulling the cargo beneath them, they had already traveled over twenty li from their settlement.
These beasts of burden came from the interlaced new moon scenes; as long as one could afford to raise them, they were highly valuable across this land.
“Chief Ning, why do you seem to be in a bad mood?” a member of the cargo fleet asked with concern.
Ning Yang forced a smile: “We had a traitor who took the engine that was meant to be submitted for evaluation at the Autumn Order Meet. It’s been bothering me the past couple of days.”
Ning Yang had privately suspected whether Zhao Qi had sent someone to steal the engine, but he dismissed that theory.
After all, when the guy left, the engine was still in his hands, and he had checked it both that evening and the next morning—there was nothing wrong with the Lost Grace Engine.
“Oh, your camp is also planning to take part in the Autumn Order Meet? What engine have you guys developed?”
“Don’t make me laugh. It’s a failure, so no need to mention it.”
“By the way, I heard from your people that a couple of days ago, one person from the Jiazijian managed to intimidate all dozens of you. Is that true?”
“Well…” Ning Yang’s expression shifted.
He turned his head to look at the few men he had brought along from his own group—those guys were now chatting and laughing with the cargo fleet members as if they were sworn brothers.
These loose-lipped idiots blurt out everything.