Gold

(PS: For certain reasons, the second volume has been renamed. That's all.)

"Why is there so much gold!?"

Wu Pifu, Yamadai, Lin Heier, and Xu Rongyu all cried out in surprise.

Xu Shilan looked at Wu Pifu and Yamadai with a speechless expression and could not help complaining, "I can understand them being surprised, but what the hell are you two surprised about? Didn't I say this morning that I had to go take care of something? You two just sat there shooting the breeze and never bothered to ask what I was doing, did you?"

Wu Pifu and Yamadai looked at each other, then asked in unison, "What did you go do?"

Xu Shilan was genuinely furious. She angrily tossed down a bag of gold, then sat directly on the ground. "Have neither of you considered how we're supposed to build this special Level Two shelter?"

Wu Pifu scratched his head. "Uh... kill enemies? Kill Empress Dowager Cixi? Or do something earth-shattering?"

Yamadai was somewhat bewildered as well. He thought seriously, looked around, and even roughly measured the distance with his hands. "If we had enough supplies and engineers, I think we could build a long-range missile defense position on the slope behind us, lay minefields in front, and establish hovering... no, that's unrealistic. We could build two pillboxes on either side to support each other. That would make us completely secure."

"Where's the money!?" Xu Shilan roared. "Where are we supposed to get the money? And this is a hotel! Not a Third War barracks, and not your martial arts arena!! Since it's a hotel, we need at least one building, right? A kitchen, a dining hall, lodging areas... they don't need to be fancy, but they have to be built, don't they!?"

"And since it's a hotel, we need employees too, right? Cooks, greeters, waiters, a manager... And then we need ingredients. Not to mention this land doesn't even belong to us yet."

Wu Pifu and Yamadai looked at each other, then obediently sat down.

It was simple enough. Neither of them had any talent for making money. Take Wu Pifu, for example—other than robbery, he had no way whatsoever of earning money. Yamadai was slightly better off. He figured he could work as a mercenary without any issue. Kill people, get paid. Wasn't that only natural?

But Xu Shilan was even more impressive—she could directly produce gold!

Xu Shilan sighed. "You may not be familiar with the technological standards of the twenty-ninth century, but you should at least know something about the civilian technology around you... The machine in the middle of the medical base station is called the Anomaly Removal Instrument. It can treat, eradicate, and alter pathological changes, mutations, and hereditary alterations at the genetic level. Radiation, bacteria, viruses, fungi, or any similar changes caused by anything else—as long as they remain at the genetic level rather than reaching the deeper level of life essence, and as long as the condition has not progressed too far or become too severe, this machine can save the patient. That is something carbon-based nanomachines cannot do."

"So?" Wu Pifu and Yamadai asked in unison again.

Xu Shilan could not even be bothered to sigh anymore and explained it all in one breath. "It works by altering matter at the level of fundamental particles, one level deeper than nanotechnology. With some simple program debugging, it can alter not only human flesh but also rearrange and transform the fundamental particles of other substances. For example, it can turn metal into gold. The closer their properties are, the less energy the transformation consumes. Unfortunately, this is only a medical base station, and the permission quota allocated by the Main Brain is very small. A month's energy allotment can only produce around twenty kilograms of gold."

Wu Pifu was truly astonished. He picked up the gold from the ground, weighed it in his hand, and said, "There's about ten kilograms here, so you used half the machine's energy allotment?"

Xu Shilan nodded. "We have to leave some in reserve in case of emergencies. The remaining energy can probably be used seven or eight more times. After all, one medical base station is meant to serve around a thousand people. With only the three of us, half the energy should last until next month no matter what."

This had naturally been planned out very thoroughly. Wu Pifu silently admired her foresight, then looked at Lin Heier and Xu Rongyu. "How much money can these ten kilograms of gold be exchanged for?"

Xu Rongyu sat down as well and carefully examined the gold. Ten kilograms was not actually much; it all fit into one bag. And because Xu Shilan had transformed steel bars directly, the gold was still in the form of steel bars—one large bar and two smaller ones.

Xu Rongyu picked up one of the smaller gold bars, squeezed it, then bit it. He nodded. "It really is gold, and high-quality gold at that. Unfortunately, I can't contact my father's old subordinates. They're either dead or surely have betrayed him. Otherwise, I would have had channels to sell it."

Lin Heier picked up a bar as well and pondered it. "I do have connections. There are many foreigners in Tianjin, and if that doesn't work, we can send someone to Shanghai. It can be sold there too. I vaguely remember foreigners measure gold by the ounce. I don't know the exact price, but gold is valuable. This is a huge sum of money."

Gold was naturally expensive. Not just in this era—even in the twenty-first century, it was a precious metal used as an equivalent medium of exchange. Even someone as unconcerned with such matters as Wu Pifu knew that if a nation, force, or organization had sufficient gold reserves, it would never have to worry about being squeezed dry.

Ten kilograms of gold was roughly ten thousand grams. Based on the prices from before Wu Pifu was frozen, this was worth at least five or six million.

Wu Pifu thought for a moment, then reached out and gripped the smallest gold bar. With a pinch between two fingers, he snapped it in half. He handed one half to Xu Rongyu. "First, find someone or a shop in Xuanhua Prefecture that can exchange gold for silver dollars, silver, or something similar. Buy rice and flour, hire some craftsmen, and acquire this plot of land. Is this enough?"

Xu Rongyu calculated briefly in his head, then nodded at once. "Enough. Definitely enough. It would even be enough to grease some palms. But I can't handle it alone. I'll need Eldest Sister's help."

Lin Heier immediately said, "The Red Lantern Society has a branch in Xuanhua Prefecture. I have some connections here, as well as some followers. I'll take you to be formally inducted. You can serve as the deputy branch leader of Xuanhua Prefecture for now. Light two sticks of incense, and you'll naturally be able to command them."

Wu Pifu put the other half of the gold bar into his clothes, then pushed all the remaining gold over to Lin Heier. "Then I'll trouble Eldest Sister to take this to Tianjin or Shanghai and exchange it for equivalent value—silver, silver dollars, US dollars, pounds sterling, any of those will do. How about we split it seventy-thirty?"

Lin Heier's expression turned stern. She snorted coldly and rose to her feet. "Why does Master insult me so? I faced those paper men alongside Master and survived only because of Master. I even learned the truth about the evil Buddha, the Unborn Mother. Master saved my life, and Master has saved countless people of China besides. What? Does Master think I, Lin Heier, am some lowly creature who opens her eyes only for money!?"

Wu Pifu remained seated, his expression unchanged. He merely continued, "As the saying goes, even brothers keep clear accounts. This isn't being harsh, nor is it looking down on Eldest Sister. It's fairness. Eldest Sister has a relationship with me, but your subordinates do not. Exchanging all this cannot be handled by just one or two people. It requires favors, connections, and people running about. This thirty percent isn't only for Eldest Sister. It's for all those people."

Lin Heier's expression improved slightly, though she was still displeased. At that moment, Xu Shilan walked over, took Lin Heier's hand, and pulled her back down to sit. "This isn't a one-time deal. Would it be all right if I called you Sister Lin?"

Lin Heier paused in surprise, then sat down with the motion and smiled. "Sister Xu may have misunderstood. I'm already twenty-nine this year. I only look young because I practice martial arts, so..."

Xu Shilan smiled. "I'm seventy-six this year."

"Huh?"

Wu Pifu, Yamadai, Xu Rongyu, and Lin Heier all let out shocked cries.

Xu Shilan glared at Wu Pifu and Yamadai irritably. "I can understand them being surprised, but what are you two so surprised about? I'm a citizen of the Unified Human Government, okay!?"

Lin Heier was still dizzy with shock. She stared fixedly at Xu Shilan and only spoke after a long while. "Are you truly a heavenly being?"

Xu Rongyu was deeply envious. Unlike Lin Heier, he was not so restrained, and he directly asked, "Brother Wu, and you two as well... did you truly come from some heavenly realm, some immortal realm?"

Yamadai chuckled, while Xu Shilan said nothing. Both looked toward Wu Pifu. Wu Pifu considered for a moment before saying, "Not a heavenly realm or immortal realm. If I had to describe it, it would probably be something like another world."

Xu Rongyu asked again, "Like the lesser thousand worlds, middle thousand worlds, and great thousand worlds of Buddhism?"

Wu Pifu nodded. "Something like that, but not entirely the same... I still can't take you to the world I come from, and that world may disappoint you greatly. Later. We'll see if there's a chance later."

Lin Heier and Xu Rongyu's eyes immediately shone.

Wu Pifu might have said they would be disappointed, but neither of them was blind. In just three days, Xu Shilan, who had already died, and Yamadai, whose spine had been bent backward, were both standing safely before them. Not to mention that they could simply produce gold whenever they wanted, and from the sound of it, they would have endless gold in the future. Xu Shilan was already seventy-six, yet she still looked like a young maiden...

The two of them let their imaginations run wild. How could they possibly know the predicament the three were in?

Wu Pifu did not say much more, nor did he make any promises. He did not know what level of shelter would be needed to bring living people to Gaia, what price would have to be paid, or what taboos might be involved. He knew none of it. So he made no specific promises, but he resolved in his heart that if the opportunity arose in the future, he would surely take the two of them to see the truth... if they were willing.

The five continued chatting for quite some time. Since they had fought side by side before and shared the secret of the Unborn Mother and the paper men, Xu Rongyu and Lin Heier had become familiar and close with the three of them.

When Wu Pifu revealed his scheme, Lin Heier and Xu Rongyu were naturally shocked, their faces full of horror. Wu Pifu then explained the specific steps. It was nothing more than lying in wait for a hare, waiting for a certain moment before making his move. Xu Rongyu said nothing, while Lin Heier sank into thought.

After a long time, Lin Heier finally asked, "Brother Wu, if we do this and the court falls into chaos, if China falls into chaos, what then? What if those foreigners take the opportunity to invade our land, slaughter our people, corrupt the laws handed down by our ancestors, and destroy our clothing and culture?"

Wu Pifu fell silent. After a long while, he shook his head. "It's only a preliminary idea for now. I'm still hesitating over what exactly should be done when the time comes. But don't worry. I may not be a good or kind person, but I'm not so utterly vicious that I would harm all the people under heaven for my own selfish desires. Besides..."

Wu Pifu thought of the future after 1900. Heroes and patriots would emerge one after another from China. Its culture would endure, and it would rise again in the future...

Wu Pifu shook his head again and finally said, "I can't see that far ahead. I can barely protect myself. I don't even know whether I'll still be alive in a little over a hundred days. There are still at least four months before Empress Dowager Cixi flees to Xuanhua Prefecture. One hundred and twenty days... It's only an idea I have."

Lin Heier and Xu Rongyu both breathed sighs of relief.

If that was the case, then it seemed normal to them.

With the world in decline and foreigners invading China, every person of ambition had long since become utterly disappointed in the rotten court. There were also countless people throughout the martial world who wished to resort to violence. In the eyes of the two, Wu Pifu was precisely the sort of great hero who would have such thoughts. It would have been strange if he had none. If they were only thoughts, then there was no problem.

That night, they talked about many things: worlds, Buddhism, the Unborn Mother, the future...

Early the next morning, Lin Heier and Xu Rongyu went to Xuanhua Prefecture, while Wu Pifu and Yamadai began clearing the ruins of the charity graveyard. By dusk, a procession arrived from outside the graveyard. Xu Rongyu rode on a donkey, followed by teams of craftsmen, brokers, and transporters carrying construction materials. More than two hundred people had come.

The Peace Hotel began construction that day.