Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1131 573: Old Man, Calm Down

Golden leaves?

No, that's not a leaf. There's a pattern on it, it's a tree.

There's a pattern on the trunk too, looks like a pair of eyes.

What kind of tree grows eyes?

Huashu!

This is a badge, it should be the badge of the Birch Tree Secret Cult.

Why would this badge show up on that sphere?

Li Banfeng exited the Dark Dimension Space, walked out of the factory, found a patch of grass nearby, hid the key, and went into the Portable Residence.

"Old Man, you're awake?"

"Mm, awake!" the Portable Residence answered cheerfully.

Li Banfeng asked, "What treasure did you run into just now, to get you this happy?"

"Sky Heart Stone, two whole pieces!"

"That thing just now was Sky Heart Stone?" This was nothing like the Sky Heart Stone Li Banfeng had imagined.

"That's right, those were two complete Sky Heart Stones, complete ones!"

"Didn't those parts I brought back before also have Sky Heart Stone in them?"

"Those were all fragments, way off. Back then, when Chu Shaoqiang managed to move Rail Ridge to Sage Peak, he used this kind of complete Sky Heart Stone."

Li Banfeng recalled the appearance of those two spheres. "Those things are way too big."

The Old Man sighed. "Good thing there are two. If there were only one, that'd be a problem."

Gloves chuckled. "Old Man, you're too greedy. Even one would be a huge score, no?"

"This isn't about how big the score is. Two Sky Heart Stones cancel each other's pull, so you can still stand next to them. If there were only one, you'd definitely get sucked onto the Stone, and then it'd be a pain trying to save you."

"Sucked onto the Stone?" Li Banfeng was a bit lost.

The Phonograph actually understood some of it. "The pull the Old Man is talking about should be the 'gravity' they talk about in the Outside Provinces."

"Two spheres can have that much gravity?" According to the gravitational formula, gravity depends on mass and distance.

If those two spheres could generate that much gravity, how dense did they have to be?

There was too much information; Li Banfeng needed to sort his thoughts out. After thinking for more than half an hour, he worked out the whole sequence of events.

After Du Wenming hijacked Yu Yaoming, he stashed him in this hideout and, according to Yu Yaoming's requests, re‑set up the lab.

The key parts missing from the lab were because those parts were mixed with Sky Heart Stone. Since the material was hard to come by, Du Wenming chose to steal from Yu Yaoming's lab.

No.

He had two complete Sky Heart Stones right here. Why not use local materials and just make the parts on the spot?

Making the parts would probably take a long time, but going to the lab to steal them meant taking a huge risk.

In fact, Du Wenming's operation had already failed. He hadn't managed to steal the parts from the lab; instead he got himself injured and ended up in a highly unfavorable situation, his identity on the verge of being exposed at any moment.

The only reasonable explanation for him not using the Sky Heart Stone in the Dark Dimension Space as material for the parts was that these two complete Sky Heart Stones were too valuable.

And these two Sky Heart Stones also had other uses. If they could move Rail Ridge, they could definitely also set this Dark Dimension Space in motion.

The clues lined up.

Du Wenming had wanted to use the Sky Heart Stones to move this hideout, but he'd failed, and the Birch Tree Badge on him had even been sucked away by the Sky Heart Stones.

Why did he fail?

"The only ones who can use Sky Heart Stone to move a piece of territory are Craftsman Cultivators, right?"

The Old Man thought about it. "Cultivators from other Taoist Sect branches can try too, but unless their cultivation level is absurdly high, they could try hundreds or thousands of times and still not pull it off."

Du Wenming had tried, and clearly hadn't pulled it off.

So what would he be doing now?

He was from Snowflake Beach, and also from the Birch Tree Secret Cult. At a time like this, he should be out looking for help.

Help that could move a lab.

...

In an office building that hadn't yet been completed, on the stairwell of the twenty‑eighth floor, Du Wenming stood looking at a man on the stairs.

The man held a caliper in his hand, a half‑smoked cigarette dangling from his lips. Keeping half a flight's distance from Du Wenming, he asked, "What do you want with me?"

Du Wenming said, "There's something I need your help with. It's about my experimental base, I want to..."

Before he could finish, the man waved him off. "I don't recall you having any experimental base. Whatever it is, let's talk some other time."

Du Wenming went up two steps. "My situation is extremely dangerous right now, I don't have time..."

The man signaled for him to stop immediately and not come any closer. "I know you're in danger. Which is exactly why it's best if you don't come looking for me during this period."

Du Wenming flexed his toes on the step. "Talking to me like this, you think that's appropriate?"

The man rubbed the caliper in his hand. "I'm not Ferry Gang, and I'm not Snowflake Beach either. However I talk to you, I think it's appropriate."

Du Wenming smiled. I just want to trade on our friendship for a little trust and help.

The man shook his head. "I don't trust you. I've already heard the rumors: you're going around silencing people, and three have already gone missing.

If I go to your lab, I'm afraid I won't be coming back alive."

"I don't know where you heard that nonsense. I haven't silenced anyone; I haven't killed a single person these last two days." Du Wenming went up another two steps.

Bang!

Two floor tiles on the stairs bulged up and clamped down on Du Wenming's right foot.

The man issued another warning. "Stop coming up. Didn't I just say it? I don't trust you.

I can guarantee I won't turn you in. Just get out of here."

Du Wenming's face darkened. "And if I don't?"

The man brought the two jaws of the caliper together. "You really want to fight here?"

Du Wenming was silent for a moment and gave up on using force.

He wasn't afraid of this Craftsman Cultivator, but this office building was downtown. If things got noisy, it'd be hard for Du Wenming to get away clean.

Du Wenming left with Yu Yaoming. The man let out a long breath, then carefully inspected all the mechanisms in the building, afraid Du Wenming might come back to kill him.

When he reached the eighth floor, the man suddenly heard footsteps.

He whipped his head around, the caliper spinning quickly in his hand.

The footsteps drew near. It wasn't Du Wenming—this time it was a middle‑aged man: thin build, square face, thick brows and big eyes, clean‑shaven jaw, with a strip of mustache on his upper lip.

The man let out a breath of false alarm, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and asked, "Boss Lu, what are you doing here?"

Boss Lu was carrying a stack of books. "The books you ordered at my shop came in. I brought them over for you."

...

Walking down the street, Yu Yaoming's stomach was growling nonstop. "At least ask your friend for some money. We don't even have enough for food!"

Du Wenming gave a cold laugh. "Didn't you see his attitude just now? In a situation like that, asking him for spending money—do you have no dignity?"

Yu Yaoming shook his head. "We don't have a single copper coin, we can't even afford a bowl of noodles—what dignity are you talking about?"

"I've got plenty of money. I just don't want to risk going to get it. I'll take you there now—take as much as you can carry."

Du Wenming brought Yu Yaoming to the pond. "Can you swim?"

Yu Yaoming shook his head.

"Then wait on shore, and do not wander off."

Du Wenming went into the water himself. Not long after, he walked out of the pond covered in muck.

"Where's the money?"

Du Wenming grabbed two fish from the pond. "The money's gone, but at least we've got fish to eat."

...

Back at his place, Li Banfeng lay on the sofa, quietly staring at the calendar.

By tomorrow night, the Dye would have faded, and Du Wenming could just go straight back to work.

He had a lot of things he needed to explain, but he'd definitely be able to talk his way through. He'd be heartbroken over losing two Sky Heart Stones, sure, but once he got over that, he'd still have to keep fighting me.

We've gone at it so many rounds already; a few more won't matter. But to drive him to this point and still let him walk away intact—that left Li Banfeng very unsatisfied.

At the very least, he couldn't let him get his position back, couldn't let him come after him again with an official identity.

There was still one day left. What else could he do?

The phone rang. It was Tang Changfa.

"Shopkeeper, those Foreigners are here again. From the way they're sneaking around, it doesn't look like they're here to do business—seems like they're here to stir up trouble again."

Causing trouble on the black market—were they setting a trap again?

Li Banfeng glanced at the golden badge and pondered for a moment.

They've tried to set me up so many times. Maybe I should play along once and walk into it myself?

PS: These two complete Sky Heart Stones are about to be put to great use!