177: Chapter 177 The Real Show of Wealth

Lin Fan even started getting creative with it.

He stared at a pile of special powder removed from the joints of the mecha—residue from some high-polymer lubricant—and then looked at a pile of ordinary construction cement dust nearby.

"System, can you synthesize these things?"

Lin Fan had a sudden inspiration. Using the principle of the system's "blind box packaging," he mixed the two and tossed in a low-level Self-healing crystal core he had dug out of an exotic beast.

"Activate [Blind Box Packaging Mode]!"

Hum. Light flickered.

A few minutes later, a pile of gray powder appeared on the ground.

It looked no different from ordinary cement, but when Lin Fan tried pouring a cup of water onto it, the powder actually wriggled rapidly like a living thing, congealing and becoming as hard as iron within seconds.

Lin Fan took out a dagger and forcefully carved a gash into it.

Something miraculous happened.

The scratch actually healed itself automatically within two seconds, returning to its original state!

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for synthesizing a new material: [Nano Self-Healing Cement]!"

"Evaluation: Black technology construction material with extremely strong self-repair capabilities. Earthquake resistance rating: MAX. Using it to build a bunker would be considered a waste."

"This is good stuff, pure black technology. I was just worried about having only plates and how to solve the cement material issue, and here it is."

Lin Fan's eyes lit up. "This stuff can't be bought on the market at all. If I applied for a patent, those old guys at the Academy of Sciences would probably go crazy."

In addition, he took out a portion of the mountain of various materials piled up in the system space. He performed smelting and fusion on them separately, synthesizing various auxiliary materials needed for the renovation.

An entire night passed.

Lin Fan was like a tireless perpetual motion machine, frantically carrying out synthesis and smelting.

It wasn't until the eastern sky turned the color of a fish's belly and the first ray of dawn spilled through the high windows of the warehouse.

Only then did Lin Fan stop his movements and wipe the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.

He straightened his back and looked at the masterpiece before him, grinning from ear to ear.

The originally damp, messy warehouse filled with scrap iron had completely transformed.

On the left, one hundred S-grade star alloy plates were stacked neatly, each emitting a faint blue light as if they were a hundred giant sapphires.

On the right was a small mountain of S-grade memory metal ingots; their silver-white luster was almost blinding.

In the middle were barrels of packaged Nano Self-Healing Cement, as well as dozens of crystal-clear A+ grade high-energy crystal glass panes of incredible thickness.

How did this look anything like the previous abandoned warehouse?

Even before the renovation, it was already full of prestige. Someone who didn't know better would think this was a secret national treasury raw material reserve base for Huaguo.

With a rough estimation, the materials on the ground alone would be worth at least tens of billions if sold on the black market—and that's the kind of price where there's no supply even if you have the money.

"Tens of billions..."

Lin Fan rubbed his chin, a flicker of struggle flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination.

"Selling is out of the question."

"This is my strategic base, the foothold where I'll establish myself in Kyoto in the future."

"Since it's a foothold, I have to use the best. Not only the best materials, but I also need to engrave high-level arrays."

Lin Fan thought for a while and muttered to himself as if planning out the materials while facing the pile of priceless star alloy plates:

"These will all be used for the flooring, and the remainder can be used to reinforce the walls."

"memory metal will be used for reinforcing beams and columns, and top-side measures must be taken to protect against aerial attacks."

"Crystal glass—replace all the windows for me!"

"I'm going to show these Kyoto hicks what true luxury looks like."

...

The next morning, at exactly eight o'clock.

In the open space outside the warehouse, the roar of an engine broke the morning silence.

Since their sports cars had been impounded by Lin Fan, Zhao Wujing could only drive a borrowed pickup truck, arriving on time with a group of listless second-generation heirs.

Everyone's complexion was terrible; clearly, they had suffered continuous nightmares after going back last night.

"Young Master Zhao, do we really have to go in and work? My body is so weak, I really can't take it!"

A girl looked at the tightly closed iron door, shivering. "Did you hear the noises last night? There was blue light and weird sounds coming from inside. Could that Lin Fan really be practicing some evil sorcery in there?"

"Shut up, do we have a choice? He has a Grandmaster's cultivation and an official military identity."

Zhao Wujing, sporting two large dark circles under his eyes, said irritably, "We've run right into his line of fire, where else can we go? The more we resist, the more excited he gets. Hurry up, let's finish the work so we can go home early and catch up on sleep."

At this moment, Zhao Wujing's heart was also in turmoil.

Although he said that, the methods Lin Fan displayed yesterday had truly shocked him, and he was afraid Lin Fan would continue to torment him today.

Especially that highest-level military pass; the more he thought about it after returning, the more afraid he became.

"I just hope he doesn't mess with us again today."

Zhao Wujing sighed, steeled himself, and walked forward to push open the warehouse door with force.

"Chief Lin, we've come to..."

Before the last word could leave his mouth, Zhao Wujing's voice was suddenly stifled, as if someone had covered it; he went mute.

Clang!

The tools held by the several second-generation heirs behind him dropped straight to the ground, hitting their toes, but they forgot to cry out in pain.

Everyone stood frozen at the door as if hit by a binding spell, eyes bulging and mouths hanging open wide enough to fit a fist.

The scene before them completely overturned their understanding.

The original warehouse filled with scrap iron that looked like a junkyard was gone.

In its place was a vast, clean, and even sci-fi-looking space.

The ground was no longer a potholed concrete floor but was covered in a layer of metal plates emitting a faint blue light, as deep as a starry sky.

The morning light spilled onto it, reflecting a dreamlike luster.

In the corners, silver-white metal ingots were stacked neatly, each as smooth as a mirror, reflecting everyone's terrified faces.

"This... this is..."

Zhao Wujing rubbed his eyes, thinking he hadn't woken up yet and was having a hallucination.

He tremblingly stepped forward, walking into the warehouse like a sleepwalker.

The firm yet elastic tactile sensation beneath his feet gave him a jolt throughout his body.

He crouched down and tremblingly reached out to touch the floor beneath him.

Cold, delicate, and hard.

The moment his fingertips touched it, a weak but pure energy fluctuation was transmitted.

As the young master of the Zhao family, whose family was in the mining business, Zhao Wujing naturally had a good eye.

This texture, this luster, and this unique energy fluctuation...

His pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpricks, and his breathing instantly became rapid, like a drowning person suddenly grabbing a life-saving straw, or like seeing some inconceivable monster.

"This... this is S-grade star alloy?"

Zhao Wujing's voice was shrill and slightly out of tune, filled with unbelievable terror.

"This is freaking star alloy! On the market, it's sold by the gram. As long as ordinary alloy weapons are mixed with a bit of this stuff, their performance can jump a whole level."

"One of these floor plates... weighs at least 500 catties..."

"One floor plate is worth twenty-five million..."

Zhao Wujing felt like his head was going to explode.

He jerked his head up and looked around.

The entire warehouse, thousands of square meters of floor space, was entirely covered in these plates!

How much money would that be?

Tens of billions? Hundreds of billions?

Even though they were rich, they had never been luxurious to this extent. All of his family's assets combined probably couldn't afford the flooring of this warehouse.

Gulp.

The sound of synchronized swallowing came from behind him.

Although the other heirs weren't as knowledgeable as Zhao Wujing, hearing keywords like "S-grade" and "sold by the gram," and then looking at this floor full of "tiles," they were all scared witless.

While they were wealthy, they could only afford sports cars worth tens of millions.

Using tens of billions worth of materials for flooring? Is this something a human would do?

Most importantly, where did these materials come from? What they had hauled back yesterday was all battlefield scrap. How did it turn into high-grade materials in the blink of an eye?

"Oh, you're all here?"

Just then, a lazy voice came from deep within the warehouse.

Lin Fan was sitting on a pile of priceless memory metal ingots, holding that cheap thermos in his hand, looking with a smile at this group of heirs who looked as if they'd seen a ghost.

"Since you're here, don't just stand there dazed."

Lin Fan pointed at the floor beneath his feet, his tone as casual as if he were talking about a trivial matter:

"I've processed all the materials. Today's task is simple: lay these floor plates flat for me. The gap error cannot exceed one millimeter."

"If you ruin one plate..."

Lin Fan paused, revealing a row of white teeth with a bright and 'nuclear' smile: "Then call your family elders to come and ransom you."

Zhao Wujing knelt on the ground, his hands death-gripping that priceless alloy plate, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.

He slowly raised his head, looking at the young man sitting on a mountain of gold in the distance, looking completely unperturbed.

At this moment, in the eyes of Zhao Wujing and the other heirs, how was Lin Fan still some country bumpkin?

Zhao Wujing felt a surge of fear. What kind of terrifying existence had he offended?

A peerless monster who was wealthier than a nation, unfathomably deep, and completely beyond common logic!

Now he only wanted to finish the renovation work properly and then go home. He didn't want any more contact with Lin Fan, and he even felt that the entire Zhao family would be no match for him.