Chapter Forty-Six: News of the Memory Metal

The cave grew dim, gradually engulfed by darkness.

Fang Tang stepped down from the large, soft bed, his expression tinged with melancholy.

"After working hard for two or three years, it all goes back to square one in a single night—I'm broke again!"

Shaking his head, Fang Tang poured himself a glass of water, took a bite of bread, and began processing the remaining orders. There were still more than twenty left, each one worth money!

On the next page of his work, he stuffed the newspaper into his pocket, slung the explosive bow over his shoulder, and headed out to inspect his spoils.

The supplies from the three people weren’t much, just a small amount of food—hardly surprising, as three mouths to feed meant a huge consumption. There was, however, a decent amount of basic materials, and the stash of silver ingots gave Fang Tang a slight surprise. Only one elemental stone remained, and the rest of the blueprints had already been cataloged; a cursory glance revealed nothing of high value.

Ye Qing had said the three of them had searched at most forty or so caves. To have gathered this much could already be considered lucky.

When Fang Tang returned to his dwelling, he found Ye Qing already awake, sitting in the living room, gazing at him with a look of grievance, very much like a wronged young wife.

"Do you have anything to eat? I'm hungry!"

"Only this," he replied, tossing her a bag of bread and a bottle of mineral water before sitting down on the sofa to deal with the bulletproof vests he had finished making.

Ye Qing took the bread and water, pouting as she ate slowly, one bite at a time.

A heavy silence hung between them until Ye Qing spoke: "I want to follow you."

Fang Tang looked up expressionlessly. Ye Qing hurriedly added, "I don't eat much, and I can even help you."

"No," Fang Tang refused coldly, his demeanor the very picture of a heartless man.

Ye Qing fell silent, her eyes dimming.

Fang Tang tossed the rest of the group's belongings to her. "Eat and then go. I haven’t touched your food, but I’m keeping the basic resources."

"Alright," Ye Qing nodded, quietly finished her bread, gathered up her gear, and left the cabin.

"Um... can I contact you in the future?"

"I only keep in touch with useful people." Fang Tang got up and grabbed the door, pointing to the left wall. "Since you’re alone, you’d better head in that direction."

Ye Qing gave Fang Tang a long, searching look. "Thank you."

Fang Tang said nothing; his only reply was the heavy thud of the closing door.

[Good brother, for life! Say no more, from now on, I’ll have my eye on you!]

Fang Tang’s eye twitched, but he ignored the message.

Truth be told, there were a half-dozen moments when he’d been tempted to let Ye Qing stay. Having a woman around would certainly liven up life. But then he thought it through—this was the underworld. One more person meant double the danger. Not to mention, he was now a fat sheep—his resources were like a Pandora’s box of desire for others, full of temptation.

Anyone can be a thief for a thousand days, but who can guard against one for a thousand days?

For the sake of his own life, he dared not keep anyone close. Especially someone like Ye Qing, whom he’d only just met—not a stranger, but certainly far from familiar.

Hadn’t she just sold out her two teammates earlier that day?

Ye Qing was a ticking time bomb at his side, ready to go off at any moment.

In the end, reason prevailed and he chose to go on alone.

"Whine?"

Sensing her master’s distraction, Yueyue leapt onto his shoulder, her tender little wolf tongue licking his face.

"Why does this little thing act more and more like a dog? Could it be some strange wolf breed?"

Fang Tang gathered Yueyue into his arms, checked her carefully, and, satisfied to confirm she was indeed a wolf, let out a sigh of relief.

"Let’s hope you don’t start tearing up the place!"

Hugging Yueyue, he finished processing all the orders before getting up to cook.

He poured water from all three water collectors into a wooden bucket, sliced some ham, added lobster and king crab, and tossed in two packs of instant noodles.

Man and wolf—together they feasted luxuriously.

Sated, he sprawled out on the sofa, Yueyue stretched out across his belly, neither of them inclined to move.

"I earned thirty-four elemental stones today from making bulletproof vests—just enough to make up for what I’d spent. Now I’m sitting on almost sixty stones. Why do I feel a bit inflated?"

Fang Tang muttered to himself, the sense of sudden wealth growing stronger the more he thought about it.

Yes… Even after several days, the feeling lingered. In fact, he’d let it get to his head today—he’d even indulged himself a little, sharing all his knowledge with Ye Qing.

"No, I need to rein myself in. I should set new goals—small goals are easy to achieve, but they also make one complacent."

Mulling this over, Fang Tang remembered the mechanical arm and hurriedly flipped open the newspaper, sending a private message to Xie Ling.

"Have you found the blueprint for memory metal yet?"

Xie Ling: "No, none of the four blueprints I found today were any good."

Fang Tang: "How many caves did you dig today?"

Xie Ling: "Fifteen. Why, big boss?"

Fang Tang: "Nothing… Just let me know when you find something. The mechanical arm is only missing the memory metal."

Xie Ling: "Mm, will do! Boss, I have roast chicken wings here—want some?"

Fang Tang: "Just finished eating lobster, not really hungry right now."

Xie Ling: "Boss, you’re so mean! Eating lobster and not even telling me!"

Fang Tang laughed, then listed the remaining lobster for trade and sent it to Xie Ling.

"There’s one left—enjoy it."

Xie Ling: "Boss, you’re the best! I’ll send you a pair of wings in return—my roast wings are delicious!"

With that, a trade link arrived.

Two fragrant chicken wings appeared in Fang Tang’s hands. He sniffed—there was black pepper on them.

"Not bad at all!"

Though he was already quite full, he couldn’t help but eat one, giving the other to Yueyue.

Just as he was about to get up for some exercise, Liu Xu sent a message.

"Mr. Fang, this is a token of my gratitude!"

Liu Xu sent a link—three elemental stones and two blueprints.

Fang Tang was a little surprised; he hadn’t expected such generosity, thinking one stone would have sufficed.

He accepted without hesitation, clicked the link, and collected the goods.

"How did you do today?"

Liu Xu: "Very well, thanks to your advice. If we ever meet again, I’ll be sure to thank you properly."

Fang Tang: "You’ve already done enough. The AKMs should still sell well for another day or two, but once high-level weapons become common, there’ll be no more profit. So make the most of this chance and stockpile resources."

Liu Xu: "I understand. I’ll seize the opportunity."

Fang Tang: "By the way, I need a material called memory metal. If you come across it, please let me know."

Liu Xu: "Memory metal? I just got some today!"

Fang Tang: "???"