CHAPTER 370: CHAPTER 31: MECHA MODEL KITS

Shaking his head, Ming Yijie looked at the colorful lights in the venue, the strong smell of alcohol emanating from his body, and mumbled somewhat confusedly, "What time is it now?"

"Who cares what time it is? Keep going!" Luo Kuisan, with a big hand on Ming Yijie’s shoulder, slurred.

Even an Immortal could feel tipsy after non-stop drinking for seven days with their cultivation suppressed.

Ming Yijie shrugged off Luo Kuisan’s hand, expelled the alcohol fumes from his body, and listened to Luo Kuisan’s mocking voice with unusual calmness.

Stepping out of the bar, the blinding sunlight made Ming Yijie involuntarily shield his eyes with a hand.

"Ming Yijie?" Ming Huayu, who was out shopping with Yue Meng, looked at the disheveled Ming Yijie in surprise.

"Huayu?"

Noticing Ming Huayu’s gaze, Ming Yijie bent over to look at his vestment robe, which was covered in some unidentifiable substance emitting a nauseating smell. Ming Yijie’s face flushed with embarrassment as he cast a spell that instantly cleaned the stains.

"Sorry, I think I drank a bit too much."

Ming Huayu, pulling Yue Meng along and eager to get to the sauna, said as they continued, "You didn’t drink just a bit; it’s been seven days."

Ming Yijie was stunned and then quickly caught up. "It’s been seven days? Why didn’t you call me? No, wait, if it’s been seven days, why are you still here?"

Ming Huayu gave a slight smile. "I find this place quite nice, don’t you think?"

Ming Yijie frowned slightly. However, since Ming Huayu was the leader of this mission, he just asked, puzzled, "Surely we can’t keep our clansmen on the Flying Boat forever."

Ming Huayu casually pointed to the Qilin snack shop across the street. "You could explore a bit more."

「 」

The Qilin snack shop was originally the least prestigious among the Spiritual Beast shops.

The main reason was that Da Bai was short of funds. Black Eye did have money, but he did not have much confidence in Da Bai, so his investment was small.

When Da Bai realized his shop was the worst, he shamelessly pestered Chen Jiuge for more Spirit Stones. By now, the Qilin snack shop was actually thriving, with as many as ten branches and a very decent daily income.

As soon as Ming Yijie stepped into the snack shop, he saw his clan members.

Members of the Netherworld King Clan, sweating profusely while eating, were startled when they saw Ming Yijie and immediately knelt on one knee, exclaiming, "My lord!"

Such actions caught the attention of other patrons in the hall, and Ming Yijie frowned. "There’s no need for that out here."

"Yes."

Looking at his several constrained clan members, Ming Yijie curiously looked at the food on the table. "What is this food? It really looks unique!"

"My lord, would you like to try it? It tastes amazing, and it’s got a real kick! But it’s better to suppress your cultivation when eating it, or you won’t feel much," one of them said excitedly.

Ming Yijie showed a flicker of interest. His clansmen were usually so aloof; it was truly rare for them to praise a simple bowl of food like this. "Interesting. In that case, bring me a bowl too," he said.

"Alright, my lord."

"Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, bring me a bowl of insanely spicy snake meatballs, and make it a super-sized portion!" one of his clan members called out.

Tian Que munched on a meatball behind the counter and mumbled, "Right away."

In no time, a bowl of fiery red snake meatballs appeared.

This time, Ming Yijie was more cautious; he didn’t completely suppress his cultivation, leaving a small channel of it active.

Ming Yijie popped a chili-soaked snake meatball into his mouth. Instantly, the burning sensation spread through his body. As his fair face flushed an abnormal red and he gasped for air, his mana inadvertently flowed from the tiny active channel in his cultivation. Although it was just a sliver, a blazing pillar of fire shot out of his mouth.

A Grey Elephant person at the table opposite Ming Yijie felt his head suddenly grow hot. He reached up to touch his scalp. His beautiful black hair was gone?

He turned around in horror. "What did you do? Where’s my hair?"

Using his cultivation to alleviate the discomfort, Ming Yijie tossed a bag of Spirit Stones emotionlessly. "This should cover my apology."

The Grey Elephant person quickly checked the Spirit Stones in the bag and exclaimed joyfully, "Thank you, my lord!"

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Watching the Grey Elephant person run off, the other patrons were very curious. How many Spirit Stones could that be, for even the simple-minded Grey Elephant folk not to press the matter further?

"My lord, perhaps it’s too spicy? Shall we get you something else?" the Netherworld King Clan member who had taken his order asked with a hint of embarrassment.

Ming Yijie looked down at his clansmen’s snake meatballs—all of them insanely spicy. He sneered internally. Could I really be worse than them?

"No need," he said. "I can handle it."

GULP.

PFFT!

"Thank you, my lord!" came another voice from the crowd.

Tian Que watched with curiosity as Ming Yijie managed to set another person’s head on fire just by eating a meatball. Mumbling indistinctly, Tian Que remarked, "This guy’s really interesting. Eating meatballs, putting on a fire-breathing show, and he even seems to enjoy burning hair!"

Because of Ming Yijie’s generosity, everyone who received compensation began calling friends to the Qilin snack shop, creating a peculiar spectacle.

When Da Bai arrived at the snack shop, he saw the overcrowded hall where it was difficult to even find a place to stand. A proud smile curled the corner of his mouth. Indeed, it was right to expand. My groveling on the ground really paid off.

Gauging the lack of space in the crowd, Da Bai felt he probably couldn’t squeeze through. After a moment’s hesitation, he pulled a black mask over his face, levitated, and then stepped on a series of ’braised eggs’—the bald heads of the patrons—to reach the counter amidst a chorus of curses.

"Tian Que, what’s going on here?"

Seeing the oddly dressed Da Bai, Tian Que wasn’t surprised. He just watched the performance in the middle of the hall with great interest. "Watching the show."

Watching the occasional pillars of fire erupt, followed by cheers, Da Bai asked, lines of exasperation on his face, "What in the world is all this?"

Ming Yijie felt somewhat exhausted. After turning everyone in the hall’s foreheads into ’braised eggs,’ he had to admit he truly couldn’t handle spicy food. Ming Yijie, who had always felt somewhat inadequate, suddenly experienced a keen sense of defeat.

"Friend, you’re putting on an acrobatics show on my turf; shouldn’t you pay a venue fee?" Da Bai swaggered over with a ruffian air and casually slapped Ming Yijie’s butt.

Ming Yijie whirled around and said coldly, "Where exactly did you just slap?"

Da Bai, who was considerably shorter, only reaching Ming Yijie’s lower leg, said with a dumbfounded expression, "What do you mean, where? Of course, I slapped wherever I could reach."

Not long after, wails and howls echoed from a private dining room on the second floor of the Qilin Snack Shop.

「 」

「Green Bamboo Realm」

Chen Jiuge handed the blueprint in his hand to Yu Heng and said scornfully, "This is what a handcrafted figurine should look like. What is that junk you’ve been sculpting? It’d be a miracle if anyone bought it."

Looking at the domineering mech model design in the blueprint, Yu Heng had to admit that in this aspect, he was indeed no match for Chen Jiuge.

Mo Yu pleaded from the side, "Brother Chen, can you draw a few more, please?"

Chen Jiuge looked at Yu Heng, who remained silent, and said proudly, "No problem. But the essence of a handcrafted figurine isn’t just about these designs. You need to refine them in separate parts, so those cultivators can assemble them themselves. If the figurines can also obey their commands, that’s what will make them truly love them."

"Separate parts?"

"That’s right. Yu Heng, you can refine a large number of components, starting with the most basic figurine parts. Then you can sell weapon parts, modification parts, and so on, separately. Ideally, the same parts should have many different assembly methods. That will create enough mystery to attract more buyers."

"Of course, the prerequisite is that they possess spirituality and have a chance of truly coming to life. Combining all these features would make them unbeatable," Chen Jiuge suggested.

As he spoke, Chen Jiuge began to reminisce about the handcrafted figurines from his previous life. How awesome would it have been if those figurines could have come to life back then!

「Three days later」

The Infinite Figurine Shop, opened by Mo Yu, launched this new type of handcrafted figurine. They also hired a large number of Grey Elephant people to hand out flyers on the streets.

"Do you want to create life with your own hands? Do you want to craft your very own figurine? Then come to Infinite Figurines! Our newly launched Model Zero possesses infinite possibilities!"

Images of several mech models, each with a different appearance, were displayed at the bottom of the flyers. Their awe-inspiring and domineering look immediately caught the eye of Luo Kuisan, who had just stepped out of a bar.

"Lao Cheng, this thing looks pretty interesting."

Luo Wencheng said disdainfully, "This is a store run by one of the Divine Son’s Spiritual Beasts. They’re just some spiritually-inclined trinkets. Sustaining them requires quite a lot of resources, and they aren’t even that useful—just for show."

"Heh, well, I want to go take a look. Are you coming?" Luo Kuisan didn’t mind. It’s just resources. If worst comes to worst, I can just go steal some.

"I’m not going."

"Then I’ll go by myself."

Thanks to the promotion from the flyers, the newly launched Model Zero mechas indeed sold much better than before, but business hadn’t exactly exploded yet.

Bai Ya, somewhat bored, fiddled with her White Tiger Mecha and said with some disdain, "Can this thing really sell?"

"Master, please issue a command, and I will charge for you," the palm-sized little White Tiger Mecha uttered in a cool, metallic voice.

Bai Ya casually commanded, "Break that Spirit Stone."

"As you wish, Master."

A cannon rose from the back of the White Tiger Mecha, and a tiny Spiritual Energy Bomb shot out.

BIU.

A small pit appeared on the targeted Low Grade Spirit Stone. Looking at the dense cluster of tiny pits surrounding it, it was clear this wasn’t the first time.

"Attack complete. Energy insufficient. Requesting replenishment."

"Replenish, replenish, replenish," Bai Ya muttered, opening the rear hatch of the White Tiger Mecha and dripping a few drops of Spiritual Liquid into it.

"Interesting, it’s got quite a bit of spirit to it," Luo Kuisan, who happened to witness the scene, remarked with a hint of interest.

"Elder, what brings you here?" Bai Ya asked respectfully.

"Is this also a Model Zero mecha?" Luo Kuisan inquired.

"Yes, Elder. This mecha can be freely assembled into any shape. The designs on the flyers are just a few of the possibilities," Bai Ya explained.

"I’ll take one."

"I want one too."

"Old woman?" Luo Kuisan sneered.

"Brute?" Ming Huayu retorted.

"Heh, care for a little competition?" Ming Huayu took great offense at being called an ’old woman.’

"Compete with what? I don’t particularly want to hit a woman," Luo Kuisan said disdainfully.

"You oaf! I meant with these Model Zero mechas. Assemble them, then we fight?" Ming Huayu said, rolling her eyes.

"Sure. Just don’t cry when you lose."

"Um, you two Elders," Bai Ya interjected, seizing the opportunity to make a sale. "The Model Zero mecha also has weapon components, which are sold separately. Would you be interested?"

"Yes! Give me a full set of everything!" they both said in unison.

Seeing the sparks practically flying from their eyes, Bai Ya quickly handed over all the parts for two Model Zero mechas. "Elders, there’s a private room on the second floor. It’s quieter there, and no one will disturb you."

After watching the two, bristling with animosity, ascend to the second floor, Bai Ya immediately contacted Mo Yu and quickly recounted what had happened in the store.

Mo Yu, having just finished her administrative duties, instantly realized this was an opportunity. If two Immortal Great Powers are playing with figurines, it could definitely boost my shop’s business! I need to handle the details carefully, though.

I should ask Brother Chen for his opinion first.