However, this fake Sue Ching, who was in the midst of crafting the Shin Engine, was only slightly surprised.
–Hurry up and leave. I’m not open for business today.–
Sue Ching didn’t spare a glance at the other boss standing by Yang Zicang just outside the door. He raised his leather-gloved hand, picked up a mineral embedded with fossil traces, and prepared to toss it into the smelting process.
–If I were you, I’d put that down.–
Yang Zicang stepped onto the stone staircase, leaned against the doorframe, and watched him with his arms crossed.
Sue Ching glanced at the brat, snorted a brief laugh.
Before entering the shopkeeper’s body, he deliberately asked Sue Ching about that person’s memories, making him recall them quickly—and sure enough, he smoothly obtained those memory images of crafting the relic engine. That was exactly how the person had built the engine back then.
Although the items were different, the fossils were relatively complete. With the order correct, the outcome naturally left no room for error.
Yet when he tossed that chunk of fossil into the glowing mass, the energy cluster suddenly burst apart with a bang, scattering a pile of shattered stones across the ground.
……
Sue Ching froze for a moment, muttering to himself.
–How could this be? They clearly did it exactly like this.–
I took such a huge risk coming all the way here, wasn’t it precisely to master the method of making this thing?
Seeing his expression, Yang Zicang knew the information he had obtained was missing a crucial piece. On Matt Chao’s usual turf, this part was also highly confidential.
The Fake Sue Ching turned to look at Yang Zicang: –How do you know I will fail?–
Su Li, outside the house, took advantage of their conversation to duck behind a large tree and quickly ran toward the edge of the forest.
–Because you only successfully pieced together the fossil, that’s all,– Yang Zicang shrugged and spread his hands, –Have you ever seen a fossil of an artificial object? I mean, back then, back in our homeland.–
Sue Ching, inside the house, narrowed his eyes.
–Are you trying to say that clothes or cured meat can become fossils? Ha, how many years have humans on Earth actually existed?–
Shiu Siuchuan pondered from the side and said:
–However… back in school, I did read some materials about how, in coal mines somewhere, there were hammers or nails from tens of millions of years ago.–
–Right, right, I’ve heard of that kind of news too,– Zuo Feixian nodded.
Yang Zicang laughed, –So you see, what’s preserved are things like iron tools. Even with ancient biological fossils, most are bones, dinosaur eggs, and some body outlines, right? So what is it in your hand?–
Sue Ching glanced at the fossil fragments on the ground.
It was a wooden stick.
It was mostly fragile, encased in a hard stone cavity, while on the ground lay a few wooden strips that Sue Ching had just cut, placed there to replace the original log portion that once existed in the fossil.
Yang Zicang raised a finger and said:
–Most human-made artifacts are crafted from easily decomposable materials, such as cloth, leather, and the wood in your hands. For you to see it today, you must first thank the fact that it’s a cast fossil, and second, thank the energy imbued by its original creator, which allowed it to withstand the erosion of time and avoid rapid decomposition.–
Sue Ching looked at this young man. –You seem quite knowledgeable.–
What Yang Zicang had just recited, however, was merely Matt Chao’s labor of research.
–A cast fossil forms over a long period when a relatively hard object dissolves, and its empty space is filled by other materials, resulting in a fossil that matches the original’s shape exactly.–
So that was it, Sue Ching realized with sudden clarity—this piece of wood only retained its form. The material filling it now was long gone from its original timber.
Sue Ching’s expression shifted, turbulent. Having to study its former material through the fossil’s residue—how troublesome that would be.
–May I ask your name?–
–I am Jiazi Term.–
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes: –You are Jiazi Term? Sir, could you do me the favor of building a Shin Engine? I can compensate you for it.–
The others all gave him strange looks, confusion flickering in their eyes.
–You’ve heard of me?–
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the wall: –Wow, you guys are so fast!–
The two who had been kicked out earlier stuck their heads out from the other side of the house, carrying their bags and swaggering out from the edge of the wall.
–Oh, what do we have here? Two little thieves eavesdropping.–
–Don’t make false accusations; we’re all from Earth.–
–Yeah, you’re the thief,– said the assistant, quickly getting a slap on the head from his Professor Chen.
The two straightened their not-so-neat clothes, picked up their suitcases, and walked to the door.
–Whoa, is this an automatic workshop? With a room like this, we can save a lot of energy.–
Professor Chen was overjoyed and full of confidence.
After making one or two Shin Engines in a manual workshop, it was like working all night—a huge drain on mental energy. But with this room, that wouldn’t be a problem.
–Boss, I heard you’re the best craftsman around. I’ve got an ancient blueprint here—no fossils, but I think it’s already a solid draft. However, I keep failing to make it work. Could you take a look? I’ve got the materials.–
The assistant tugged at his teacher’s coat and muttered, –Professor Chen.–
Professor Chen paid him no attention and continued enthusiastically introducing his research experience with magical artifacts to the people inside the shop, completely oblivious to the subtle, uncomfortable tension simmering between the shopkeeper and Yang Zicang.
–Old man Chen!– his assistant said, exasperated. –Our materials are running low—stop messing around, alright?–
–What do you know? I’ve been here this whole time and I’ve never seen a shop with an automatic hoarding system. What are a few materials anyway? Even if we fail, we’ll gain more lessons, won’t we?–
–Do you think those materials just dropped into your lap on their own?–
–Wasn’t that the case?–
The assistant nearly kicked him in the backside. –They were all painstakingly dug up by me, your student, alright!–
–You two also have the fossil relic formula?– Sue Ching, who had intended to kick them out, instead invited them inside.
–Haha, that’s right, that’s right—here’s the formula.–
Once inside, Professor Chen handed over a piece of paper that contained the recipe for manufacturing the Shin Engine. The fake Sue Ching skimmed it briefly, then casually passed the paper on to Yang Zicang.
–Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? You can’t just show that to just anyone.–
Professor Chen stood up and moved to snatch back his prescription sheet from the hands of the material shop’s owner.
The moment his hand reached out, Sue Ching’s wrist flicked, extending through the gap between his hands, folding the paper and flicking it toward the door. The paper landed steadily between the fingers of Yang Zicang. This scene made those watching around, momentarily stir in their hearts.
–Impressive.– Little Liu watched as Yang Zicang caught it effortlessly, his eyes darting between the boss and the man a few times. From that single display, both exuded an air of mastery—like a subtle duel between martial arts experts.
Yang Zicang only glanced at it. Sue Ching spread his palm toward the batch of Professor Chen’s belongings on the ground and said, –Since there happen to be materials here, Brother Jiazi, please go ahead.–
Did he want to use this to confirm whether I could actually make the engine? Where did this person even hear about me…
–You—and you!– Professor Chen pointed at Sue Ching’s nose. –I came looking for you, but you let an outsider read my formula and touch my materials. What’s the meaning of this? Is this how you do business?–
Sue Ching whirled around abruptly, a fierce glint flashing through his eyes before suppressing his momentum, a smile curling onto his lips: –Don’t fail to recognize a great master right before your eyes. The man standing here is someone you couldn’t have found even if you lit a lantern and searched high and low.–
Yang Zicang narrowed his eyes.
How strange… Could he have come from Hubville? After all, my notoriety rising so fast only happened yesterday.
Could he have heard about it from Ning Yang’s Peng Zone? That doesn’t seem right either.
Professor Chen turned his head to look at the three men.
One was disheveled and smug, one looked like a fool holding back mischief, and only the front-most man was somewhat presentable, but still not much different from students he had taught before. Although he carried an air of expertise, there was an undeniable rawness deep down.
–A real expert, huh? Alright then, your turn, Tyrium.–
Professor Chen stepped back, yielding the position to Yang Zicang.
–If I get it done, who gets the credit?– Yang Zicang looked at Professor Chen.
–Ha, fine, it’s yours. Anyway, the key is to nail the recipe.–
Yang Zicang nodded.
Matt Chao had found this formula, too. It circulated among his private circles and was fairly popular—everyone had pieces of it, but no one managed to craft high-quality flame-attributed equipment successfully.
The formula in Professor Chen’s hands was a low-tier version lacking other crucial information, one step further removed—a stripped-down variant of a stripped-down version. Most likely obtained from a merchant on the fringes.
Yang Zicang crouched down to inspect the forged movable iron plates, the polished crystals, and the leather materials. Both minions had already infused them with energy using magic crystals.
–Still need some materials. Can I head into your storeroom to pick a few?–
–Of course.–
Yang Zicang walked toward the back hall room used as a storeroom. As he passed the counter, he caught a glimpse of scattered bloodstains on the floor beneath it and a set of clothes carelessly stuffed under the counter.
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