New skills from the copper piece?

Shen Le happily calculated the uses for this large sum of money.

His fume hood!

His cement-walled, cement-floored workshop!

His new phone!

He could have them all!

Moreover, every single cent of this money would go straight into his own pocket; he wouldn't have to split it with Xiao Ling—and, of course, he wouldn't have to split it with Little Ink Marker either!

Taking someone's money meant doing their bidding. Shen Le walked home quickly. Facing six square tables, twenty or thirty chairs, and a cabinet, he immediately pulled out his phone and began to plan:

"This table has a broken leg and a shattered tabletop; it'll probably need an Elm Wood timber block, half a 4*4*20 piece, and one 10*10 board..."

"This table has a huge hole in it, and good grief, all four legs are shattered. This one needs two 4*4*20 pieces and, hmm, it'll need two 10*10 boards..."

"This chair..."

He recorded everything, calculated it all, organized the list, and began to sort the wood and the corresponding furniture piece by piece according to the markings on the lumber.

"Alright, finally, a big payday is coming." After moving the wood, Shen Le picked up the Lead Weight on the Ink Marker and tossed it in his hand:

"Little Ink Marker, I've fixed you up, so you'd better work hard to help me! The restoration of that batch of furniture depends entirely on you!"

The Ink Line on the Ink Marker hummed and vibrated, expressing joy, excitement, and high spirits.

Unlike Little Puppet, the Ink Marker had been created as a tool. The decades it spent with its first owner had instilled an unbreakable belief:

Labor is the most important thing, labor is the most glorious, and labor is the best reflection of one's own value.

Therefore, when Shen Le handed the work over to it, he didn't need to promise wages or make empty promises; the Ink Marker responded with full confidence:

[Okay! Leave it to me!]

"Give it your all! I'm counting on you! Once these pieces of furniture are repaired, I'll find a way to help your companions come to life sooner, too! Oh, right—one more thing, what is your name?"

"Huh?!"

The Ink Line hummed twice more. A sense of bewilderment reached the bottom of Shen Le's heart:

[Name?]

[What is a name?]

[Why would I need a name?]

Well...

This child's self-awareness hadn't fully awakened yet, unlike Xiao Ling's.

It was likely because Xiao Ling had been active in human form ever since she was created; she naturally felt she was a "person" and demanded everything a "person" should have. Her previous owner had also given her a name and spoken with her.

Whereas the Ink Marker had remained an Ink Marker ever since its creation. Its owner never spoke to it; whenever it was needed, he would just grab it and use it.

Over time, the Ink Marker never felt it needed a name.

"Then... do you want a name?"

Little Ink Marker sent back another wave of bewilderment. Shen Le patiently explained:

"Just like I'm called Shen Le, your very first owner was called Zheng Aijun, and his wife was called Changle. Their son, the owner you had before me, was called Zheng Xiaohua.

You've spoken to the Little Puppet in the house, right? Have you become friends? She has her own name; she's called Xiao Ling..."

[Then what am I called? Ink Marker?]

"I'm afraid you can't just be called Ink Marker." Shen Le opened his computer, searched for "Ink Marker" on Taobao, and clicked on a webpage. He picked up Little Ink Marker and pointed it out to him:

"Look, this is an ink marker, this is also an ink marker, and this is another ink marker. Your first owner didn't just use you, did he? His colleagues all had their own ink markers, too, right?"

[...]

Little Ink Marker fell silent. After a long while, the Ink Line hummed and buzzed, sounding out once more:

[So, I need a name of my own to distinguish myself from these ink markers and other people's ink markers?]

"Exactly! A name that belongs to you, a one-of-a-kind name!" Shen Le finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, he had finally gotten the point across. However, there was one more important thing he had to mention:

"Of course, this name must be something you want for yourself, something you want to use to distinguish yourself from others. If you don't want one, or don't know what you want to be called, you can take your time thinking about it. We'll take it slow."

[Then... what should I be called?]

"We can call you Little Ink Marker for now; after all, you're the only ink marker in this house." Shen Le answered without hesitation:

"You can think about it slowly until you find the name you want. Or, I can suggest a few, and if you're satisfied with any of them, you can use that one?"

[Then help me pick!]

The Lead Weight flew up, dragging the Ink Line to spin a few circles before snapping back. Shen Le tried his best to ignore the tiny ink splatters on the floor as he pondered carefully:

"You are an ink marker... ink markers are used to measure length and snap straight lines, so how about Mo Liang? Or Mo Zhi?"

Little Ink Marker didn't react; it seemed he didn't like those two names. Shen Le thought again:

"Or, should you take the surname of your previous owner? Or my surname? How about Zheng Mo? Or Shen Mo?"

"Zheng Mo! Zheng Mo sounds good!"

The Lead Weight spun a joyful circle. Shen Le wore a smile as he patted its lion-shaped head.

"Alright then, Zheng Mo it is!"

Fair enough. Even after repairing it to look brand new, the bond he had established still couldn't compare to the one it had shared with its original master, who had crafted it by hand and used it for decades.

Perhaps in a few years, if he gave it a name, it would be willing to take his surname?

Shen Le shrugged, consoling himself with the thought that, regardless, the Little Ink Marker was now his. He turned away from the woodworking area, where Zheng Mo was already working with full vigor.

Soon, the east wing, which served as his studio, was filled with a symphony of sounds:

Swish, swish, swish—scrubbing furniture.

Rustle, rustle, rustle—sanding old lacquer off the wood.

Twang, twang, twang—snapping the ink line.

Creak, creak—sawing wood...

Amidst the lively sounds of industry, Shen Le retreated to the main bedroom, which had just been fitted with an air conditioner. He pulled out the Copper Fragment and began to stroke it carefully, pressing and poking at it.

It had grown again; it was time for the third skill, wasn't it?

What could it possibly be?

However, the Copper Fragment did not respond to him quickly this time. It wasn't until Shen Le calmed his mind and focused, performing the Five Animal Frolics three times and cycling through the Spirit Eye Technique once more to guide the heat flow toward the second light spot, that the Copper Fragment let out a "hum" and burst into brilliant light.

In the midst of that radiance, Shen Le's vision flickered, and he was pulled into a strange space.

The surroundings were neither bright nor dark, with breaths of various colors swirling and floating gently around him.

Some moved fast, some slow; some were nearly stationary, while others darted about, occasionally colliding with a soft "crackling" sound.

Shen Le watched for a long time before reaching out to brush against them.

"Huh..."

Those breaths were like fish in water. They looked easy to touch, but as soon as his hand reached out, they would drift away, carried by the current pushed by his fingers.

Shen Le tried to scoop them, but caught nothing; he tried to cup them, but they slipped through. Back and forth he went, always chasing shadows like trying to scoop the moon from the water. After struggling for a long time, he finally figured out a method.

He half-closed his eyes and silently circulated his Internal Energy. As the heat flow extended to his fingertips, the breaths no longer dodged but obediently allowed themselves to be caught in his hands. Shen Le's interest piqued, and he swiped left and right.

"Caught one!"

"Caught another one!"

"Oh, these two are the same—I've caught them both!"

"Pinching two into one... not bad. As long as the breaths are identical, they can be pinched together. This is excellent!"