Chapter Five: The Decomposition Hammer

As he unfolded the newspaper, three stones of different colors tumbled out—one blue, one green, and one red.

Seeing elemental stones, Fang Tang let out a sigh of relief.

“The snowball is rolling slowly for now, but sooner or later, it’ll sweep through the entire underground maze.”

The three elemental stones were the Gale Stone, Azure Water Stone, and Fire Spirit Stone. With this, he now possessed all four elements.

When he picked up the Gale Stone, visible whirlpools spun around it, though they still failed to affect the environment. The Azure Water Stone was a little different—cool and silky to the touch.

After posting the information for his trades, Fang Tang settled onto the table, intending first to process the recent battle.

Even if the fight hadn’t been as intense as he’d imagined, it was still thrilling enough. His life was at stake; he couldn’t afford the slightest negligence.

The power of his eyes had exceeded his expectations, but he’d also realized he couldn’t rely on them too much—at least not for combat prowess.

Collecting and processing information was a process. Sometimes, his eyes would flood him with useless characters, which only slowed his reactions. Against a slow opponent, it was manageable, but against a swift one, there simply wasn’t time to process all that data.

He had to improve his combat skills. If only he could direct his eyes to seek out his enemies’ weaknesses—that would be ideal.

It seemed he ought to communicate more with his eyes, at least to ensure they’d aid him in crucial moments.

[If you’re searching for a way to communicate with me, there’s no need. You and I are one, differentiated only by priority. The stronger you become, the greater my benefit. If you remain weak, I’d be better off hitching a ride with some mutt and finding a curvaceous lady to accompany.]

Fang Tang: “...”

“What benefit do you seek? Don’t tell me it’s just to ogle women?”

[Heh! You’ll understand one day…]

Oh?

Had the enigmatic “Eyes” gone online?

Fang Tang shook his head, pondering quietly to himself.

He realized he’d fallen into a trap; for over an hour, he’d been treating his eyes as a separate person. Yet, they were still his eyes, his to command. No matter how haughty, that truth remained unshaken.

So, his earlier suspicions could be dismissed. He could trust his eyes unconditionally.

“Fantastic!”

Fang Tang exclaimed, glancing at the newspaper.

On the trading page, people were beginning to list their goods.

Yet, Fang Tang’s listings outnumbered them all. Most others were offering iron ingots or copper ingots in exchange for food and water. Unfortunately for them, Fang Tang was keeping prices firmly in check.

For now, everyone’s food stores were pitifully scarce. Only Fang Tang was so extravagant as to swap precious bread and water for items others considered worthless.

Of course, they all knew these things were worth dozens of times more than bread and water. But with everyone’s stocks running low, didn’t that present Fang Tang with a golden opportunity?

Compared to elemental stones, iron ingots and wood were far easier to come by.

Within moments of listing, he had trade offers. Soon, Fang Tang had gathered all the materials needed for the Deconstruction Hammer.

On the second page of the newspaper, after consuming the necessary materials, a circular progress bar appeared. Fang Tang estimated it would take about fifteen minutes to complete.

He thought for a moment, then decided to keep digging.

There were three directions to choose from: left, forward, and down.

[Forward: water and bread; Left: copper ingots, wood, and milk; Down: useful blueprints.]

It seemed his earlier thoughts had influenced his eyes; this time, they provided comprehensive information.

“Remarkable!” Fang Tang exclaimed, quickly making his choice.

He wanted everything in these three underground chambers!

First, he smashed open the wall ahead, gaining two bottles of water and a bag of bread. Then he dashed to the left, where he could access a chamber storing milk.

But this chamber was home to a swarm of bats.

[A swarm of vampire bats. Without an effective weapon, I advise you not to proceed, or you’ll meet a grisly end. Imagine what a desiccated corpse looks like. Take another route!]

Seeing the words, Fang Tang fell silent.

Another detour? It was the best option, but it wasted too much time.

He looked down at his feet, and golden words appeared.

[You’ve found a passable route. I must say, your luck is good—there’s a blueprint for a ladder below.]

“???”

Had he stumbled upon the ladder so quickly? The eyes were truly impressive!

He was about to raise his pickaxe to dig when the eyes chimed in again.

[If you don’t want to fall flat on your rear, descend from here—preferably in the rear right corner.]

Fang Tang considered this; with the cave six meters high, leaping down recklessly was a sure way to get hurt.

He moved to the rear right corner and began digging with the pickaxe.

After ten strikes, a familiar opening appeared.

Without hesitation, Fang Tang jumped down.

He dropped a bit over three meters, landing in a pile of soft sand. The sand, heaped in the corner, formed a steep slope.

Glancing around, he spotted a table in the far corner, a blueprint spread quietly across its surface.

Just as the eyes had said—it was a ladder blueprint.

After collecting the blueprint, the ladder’s crafting recipe appeared:

Telescopic Ladder: 15 iron ingots, 10 copper ingots, 20 wood planks, and 2 ropes.

“Hiss!”

“That’s a lot of materials!”

Fang Tang was momentarily stunned. He blinked, hoping the eyes would explain.

[It’s a ladder! A ladder! A large item—what did you expect, one iron ingot?]

“…Er!” Fang Tang was speechless. After a moment, he nodded slowly, “Would a ladder made of a single iron ingot even work?”

[You’ve redefined the meaning of stupidity for me. You represent the very bottom of the barrel—no one could be more foolish. You’re infuriating!]

Fang Tang just grinned and rubbed his nose in silence.

Building the ladder was clearly impossible in the short term; he abandoned the idea.

He turned to look behind him, where the eyes had mentioned another useful blueprint.

He swung his pickaxe and opened a passage.

Stepping in, he found a table and a wooden chest, just like before.

On the table lay a blueprint—this one depicted a handgun.

“A handgun blueprint?”

Fang Tang’s eyes shone.

Boys, after all, have a natural enthusiasm for guns and mechs. With this blueprint, wouldn’t he be able to shoot all he liked in the future?

After storing the blueprint, the Deconstruction Hammer had just finished crafting.

Its appearance was much like Thor’s hammer, though smaller—about fist-sized, gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Fang Tang gave the blueprint table two hearty knocks.

The uncollectible table broke down into three units of wood.

“A true artifact!”

Fang Tang fondly fiddled with the Deconstruction Hammer, smiling as he walked to the chest in the corner.

He took out the food inside and knocked on the wooden chest twice, instantly gaining two more pieces of wood.

“That’s a quarter of my target already done!”

Fang Tang laughed heartily, gathering the wood and heading for the newspaper—only to find someone had messaged him privately.

It was none other than the ever-adorable girl, Xie Ling.

Xie Ling: “Boss, I have a blueprint on hand. Are you interested?”