Chapter Twenty-Seven: Discovery of the Gas Deposit

Hu Yu had run into Fei Qian’s family by pure coincidence, and a little scheme began to brew in his mind. Since the Commander’s true self was hard to track down, he would use the apprentice as a breakthrough point. The more Hu Yu thought about it, the more convinced he became. He strode over to the family.

"You must be the Commander’s apprentice. He asked me to fetch you; he has some instructions to give."

Fei Qian’s parents, seeing an administrator, didn't dare to speak or even look him in the eye. They turned their gazes toward their son. Fei Qian, who had been watching the approaching administrator with curiosity, tilted his head, wondering what this was about. Upon hearing that his master wanted to see him, he couldn't help but wonder why his master would summon him so late at night. Without much thought, he said, "Alright, let's go. Father, Mother, you two go on ahead; I’ll be home shortly!" With that, he gestured for the administrator to lead the way, feeling a flutter of excitement.

His sturdy parents didn't suspect anything; they simply reminded him to mind his manners before departing. In this world, a master was closer than a parent because they taught things parents couldn't—such as survival skills. Thus, people held their masters in immense reverence.

Half an hour later, Hu Yu brought Fei Qian to a secluded spot and stopped, staring at the boy with curiosity for a long time. Fei Qian, not feeling the least bit awkward, looked back at the administrator with an inquisitive expression.

Hu Yu felt a mix of complex emotions. A grand alchemy master of such caliber had taken a liking to such a useless little brat—it was a complete waste of talent. More importantly, he was the only personal disciple. What was wrong with this world? Could someone explain it to him? He had been using his own abilities to probe the boy’s constitution, and it was quite pathetic—he truly wasn't cut out to be a cultivator.

"You are the Commander’s personal disciple?" The administrator suddenly blurted out, catching Fei Qian off guard.

"Yes, what about it?" Fei Qian retorted, sensing something was wrong but unable to put his finger on it. He continued, "I am Commander Master’s disciple. Everyone under the Master in the city knows that!"

Suddenly, Fei Qian realized something. He looked at the administrator suspiciously and asked, "Who are you? The Master’s subordinates wouldn't possibly not know me!"

Hu Yu painfully pressed a hand to his forehead. It seemed the boy’s comprehension wasn't great either—he wasn't very bright. "Little fool, if you hadn't spoken, I wouldn't have been able to confirm your identity! Tell me, where does the Commander live?" Even as he asked, Hu Yu continued to scan the boy for any hidden worth, but alas, he found none.

"Are you a spy who snuck into the city? You’ve got some nerve!" Fei Qian realized the visitor was hostile and took a fighting stance, ready to risk it all. Fei Qian had a decent build, but in the eyes of Hu Yu, who had seen countless geniuses, he was as useless as they came.

Hu Yu merely flicked his hand, and a gust of mystical wind knocked Fei Qian to the ground, landing him squarely on his backside. "How about that, little fool? Are you going to talk?"

Fei Qian sat on the ground, looking at his enemy. It seemed he couldn't win, and a sense of helplessness washed over him; after all, he was still just a child.

"Don't even talk about it. Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. Kill me if you want, but if you do, you won't be getting out of this city alive!" Fei Qian’s eyes welled up with tears from the pain, but he stubbornly refused to yield.

Hu Yu didn't actually want to kill him; he couldn't bring himself to murder a child, and there was no deep-seated grudge between them. He was feeling a bit stuck when, suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Are you looking for me?" The voice came from the direction of Fei Qian.

Overjoyed, Fei Qian pulled out the phone his master had given him. "Master, kill him! He’s a spy!"

At the same time, a chill crept into Hu Yu’s heart. Five or six Ghost Agents had their weapons trained on him from the surroundings; a single order was all it would take to strike. In the distance, a missile launcher stopped rotating, its dark barrel aimed directly at him.

"So, what do you want with me? I gave you a phone, didn't I? A call would have sufficed; there was no need for all this trouble," Shen Yi said.

Fei Qian was bewildered. Why was his master being so polite? And how did this enemy have a phone?

"Fei Qian, you performed well today. Modify your mech tomorrow." Hearing this, Fei Qian, who had been puzzled, was suddenly overjoyed. "Master, Master, can you install that missile for me? The one that drove away the dragon last time!"

A dark line appeared on Shen Yi’s forehead back in the command center. "Go home first. Don't worry, the Master is fine here. Hanging up now." With that, the call ended. Fei Qian could only glare at Hu Yu before turning to leave.

Hu Yu was not nearly as pleased. He stood there with a cold face, calculating whether he should take Fei Qian hostage. Suddenly, his own phone rang. Hu Yu answered it, and Shen Yi’s voice came through.

"I know what you're thinking. You think that while the things I build are powerful, my true self is fragile. You want to find me, control me, and make me work for you, right?"

Hu Yu instinctively nodded, effectively admitting it.

"Too bad you can't find me. Isn't that infuriating?" Shen Yi’s voice continued through the phone.

"If you're a man, fight me fair and square."

"A true gentleman knows when to bend and when to stretch."

"I knew you wouldn't dare. Don't be too happy yet. If anything happens to me, Hu Yu, you’ll soon follow in my footsteps."

Shen Yi remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I have to admit, you are an extraordinary person to push alchemy to such heights. But what you don't realize is that by being this flashy, you've made yourself an enemy of the entire continent. The more terrifying and miraculous your creations are, the more greedy your enemies will become. Eventually, you will be isolated and without aid, because the human city-states also want to possess your secrets!"

After hearing Hu Yu’s words, a cold sweat broke out on Shen Yi. He was right. Greed was inherent in all intelligent beings, and he was sitting on a gold mine. How could he have overlooked such a simple truth?

"Don't think that just because you helped those cunning humans, they will be grateful. Once the crisis is over, you will be the first one they eliminate!"

"Your words have truly opened my eyes. However, in the face of absolute power, I don't think anyone can get the better of me."

"Haha, don't think you're invincible on this continent. Although you are miraculous, I don't even want to see you destroyed. I really want to see what other amazing inventions you have, but you are too arrogant."

"My mission was to probe your background and see what else exists that we don't know about, since you always have new alchemical products. If there was a chance, I was to control you for our use. If not, I was to seek cooperation. After all, we are very interested in this hidden weapon called a 'gun' and this phone."

"You don't seem afraid at all. I warned you before—are you not afraid I’ll kill you? And you just nearly got my little apprentice killed." Shen Yi had listened to the long rant; while he was interested in cooperation, the repeated provocations were testing his patience.

"According to our intelligence, you must be in great need of ore, My Lord. I wonder if this can serve as an apology?" Hu Yu pulled a stone from his ring.

As he produced it, the system prompted Shen Yi: *Ding: Gas ore detected.*

Shen Yi was shocked. He hadn't discovered gas ore in this world yet—how did Hu Yu have it? "Where did you get this ore, and how much is there?" Shen Yi asked anxiously.

"Of course, if you have plenty of this ore, I would be very happy to cooperate with your house." The tense atmosphere seemed to vanish in an instant.

"Since you value this ore so much, Commander, why don't we talk it over slowly? Consider this piece an apology. How about that?" Seeing that there was an opening, Hu Yu felt relieved; after all, cooperation was one of his objectives.

"That's acceptable. Leave the ore on the ground and you may go. I will have my subordinates talk to you tomorrow."

After Shen Yi hung up, Hu Yu felt the danger around him dissipate. He thought to himself that the puppeteer was indeed unable to resist the lure of ore. He strolled back to his residence, taking the time to study the neighborhood facilities along the way.

Back at his quarters, Hu Yu reverted to his child-like form and went back to listening to music on his phone. After hanging up, Shen Yi had someone retrieve the ore. He was in high spirits; after all this time, he had finally found gas ore! This was crucial for his future developments.

Both Shen Yi and Hu Yu suffered from insomnia that night. For one, it was the excitement of finding gas ore, mixed with the worry about Hu Yu’s warning regarding other powerful entities on the continent. For the other, it was a mix of listening to music and pondering how the Commander managed to create so many strange yet incredibly practical items.

Like the songs on the phone—Hu Yu had listened to them so much that he couldn't help but sing along to one: "I would love you even if I were dead; if it's not intense, it's not satisfying..." It made the neighbors think he was planning to commit suicide for love.

Of course, they weren't the only ones restless. The newly arrived residents were also unable to sleep, overwhelmed by the impact of all these novelties. They were all afraid that this was just a dream. It would likely take a long time for them to adapt to this city.