Walking Through the Forbidden Zone Wearing a Dog Tag

"My point is, brothers don't distinguish between yours and mine. What's mine is yours."

Milluki stopped and turned to look at him.

"Then give me your knife."

Bai Zhu rested a hand on the hilt, his tone steady.

"Young Master, even brothers need a sense of boundaries."

"You've got the nerve to talk about boundaries?"

Milluki was so angry his blood pressure nearly spiked.

Bai Zhu patted the gold chain on his chest.

The Blue Crystal glowed faintly.

The thorny vines blocking the road ahead seemed to suddenly remember they had something else to do. Slowly, they shifted aside and opened up a path for them.

Milluki looked at the vines, then at the thick gold chain around Bai Zhu's neck, holding it in for a long while.

"Fine. You win."

Bai Zhu raised his chin.

Milluki stared at the values flashing across his terminal, his feelings complicated.

The two continued onward.

The Black Soil was so well-behaved that it seemed like an entirely different patch of ground.

Bai Zhu reached out and touched the Blue Crystal.

"Young Master, how much do you think this thing could sell for if we held an auction outside?"

Milluki did not look up.

"You should first consider whether you'll live long enough to take it out."

"Why are you so pessimistic?"

"Because I'm normal."

Milluki crouched before a sapling, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Wait."

Bai Zhu turned back.

"What now?"

Milluki extended a pair of tool pincers and clamped onto a fallen leaf beside the sapling.

The leaf was small, but its veins glimmered pale blue.

He scanned it with his terminal, and a row of data immediately appeared on the screen.

Milluki's breathing grew heavier.

"Blue-Veined Tree."

Bai Zhu did not understand.

"Blue what?"

"A tree species that appeared in