Can't Stop, Won't Stop!

Seeing Tang Ziran's reaction,

Chen Xing understood immediately.

Of course he knew that this thing was slightly expensive.

He also knew that, given Tang Ziran's income, he could afford an ordinary Storage Soul Tool.

After all, this era had already entered the age of Battle Armor, and the price of a small, ordinary Storage Soul Tool would not be excessively high.

The reason he reacted with such a dilemma,

was probably because there was now an extra mouth to feed at home.

Not only that, but little Wulin's appetite was also growing larger by the day.

This was undoubtedly a huge expense.

Just then, Tang Wulin suddenly spoke up:

"Are Storage Soul Tools expensive? I see quite a few classmates at the academy have them."

Tang Wulin's words made both Tang Ziran and Chen Xing pause.

Tang Ziran put down his chopsticks and had no choice but to explain:

"Wulin, even the lowest-tier Storage Soul Tool costs three thousand Federation Credits."

Tang Wulin opened his mouth:

"Three... three thousand?"

"Right, how much do you think your dad makes repairing a mecha? There are so many people in this family who need to eat."

Tang Wulin fell silent after listening to Tang Ziran's words.

He lowered his head, looking at the half-bowl of rice left in his bowl, wondering what he was thinking.

Chen Xing was just about to say, "Then forget it,"

when Tang Ziran suddenly changed the subject.

"However..."

Tang Wulin immediately raised his head.

Tang Ziran looked at his two sons, fell silent for a moment, and seemed to have made a decision:

"Xiaochen, I saw everything you did at my shop today."

Chen Xing was slightly taken aback.

Tang Ziran put down his chopsticks, a rare earnestness in his tone:

"You learn fast and your hands are steady. Those parts you made today were more deft than those two apprentices in the shop back in their day."

"To be honest, at first I just figured you were curious and wanted to play around, but seeing it today, you really might have the talent to learn mecha mechanics."

"Since you have this skill, I want to officially let you be my assistant."

"Come over every day from now on, and I'll count your work hours and pay you by the hour."

A sudden surge of warmth welled up in Chen Xing's heart:

"Dad, you..."

Tang Ziran waved a hand:

"Don't rush to thank me, I'm not just handing it out for free."

"With an extra helper, the work in the shop can be done faster, and I can take on a few more orders. Your salary comes from the extra profits, so I'm not losing out."

Hearing this, Chen Xing nodded firmly:

"I'll definitely work hard."

Being Tang Ziran's assistant was a foolproof, win-win deal.

You had to know that before Tang Ziran opened his repair shop, he was a Level Four Mecha Master.

Following him, he would definitely be able to learn more useful knowledge.

On top of that, he could make money, and it was money from his own family—it couldn't get any more comfortable than this.

"Can I go with older brother too?" Na'er asked timidly at that moment.

Tang Ziran was stunned, but he didn't refuse:

"You can, but don't get too close."

Na'er nodded obediently.

After arranging things for Chen Xing, Tang Ziran immediately turned his gaze to Tang Wulin:

"Wulin, it's the same for you. Go learn forging from Master Mang Tian after school; I'll go talk to him tomorrow."

"If I go learn forging from him, will I be able to make a Storage Soul Tool?"

Tang Ziran smiled slightly: "Of course you can."

Hearing this, Tang Wulin immediately shouted with high fighting spirit:

"Then I want to learn! I'm going to forge a Storage Soul Tool for older brother, and in the future, I'll forge lots and lots of powerful Soul Tools for older brother to use."

As he spoke, he paused and glanced over at Na'er.

"Same for Na'er."

Hearing his words, Chen Xing felt a warmth in his heart.

Look, what did you call a good younger brother!

This was the best younger brother Chen Xing could ask for!

Tang Ziran picked up his cup and took a sip of water:

"Both of you brothers listen up and remember this: learning skills isn't for others, it's for yourselves."

Chen Xing and Tang Wulin exchanged glances and nodded heavily.

After dinner, Chen Xing walked out of the house alone.

He walked along the path to the beach.

The sea breeze blew over with a salty, damp scent, and overhead was a vast expanse of starry sky.

He looked up at the stars, thinking about everything that had happened today.

Na'er was settled in.

Although the house was a little crowded, the atmosphere was livelier than before.

Tang Wulin was more motivated than he had imagined, which made him both gratified and a bit pressured.

After all, his younger brother was working this hard, so he, as the older brother, couldn't possibly fall behind.

He clutched the pistol in his pocket.

Tomorrow, those punks might just walk right into his trap.

He was going to give them a thorough taste of what this Equalizer of All Beings felt like.

However, coming to this beach once more, Chen Xing felt a certain emotion stir in his heart.

Who would have thought.

In just these short two days,

he had gone from an ordinary person with zero soul power

to possessing the Imagenesis Authority capable of turning the tables.

And all of this was thanks to...

Chen Xing's gaze fell upon the beach not far away.

There, an abandoned train lay quietly.

The car body was covered in rust, with a large section buried in the sand.

Several panes of the train windows were shattered, and even the originally exquisite red sofas inside looked battered and tattered at the moment.

But Chen Xing knew.

This was the Astral Express.

That Astral Express that had changed everything for him.

"Martial Soul Paintbrush, zero soul power, trash martial soul."

Trash martial soul.

When those three words came crashing down, he was indeed dazed for a good while.

Transmigrator, art student,

arriving on the Douluo Continent, only to awaken a paintbrush that didn't even have soul power?

That night.

He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, one thought rolling back and forth in his mind:

"Why?"

He thought about it for a long time before he finally found an answer.

"Because this world is just that unreasonable."

In his past life when he took the art academy exams, his teacher had said a sentence:

"If your talent isn't enough, practice until it is. Being slow at drawing isn't to be feared; stopping is what counts as losing."

Across two lifetimes, what Chen Xing feared most was never difficulty, but admitting defeat.

So the next day, he pushed open the window, pulled back the curtains, and sat back down in front of the easel.

For two months, he practiced every single day.

The first thing he did when he woke up in the morning was hold the pen, and the last thing he did before going to sleep at night was still hold the pen.

Wrists so sore he couldn't lift them?

Shake them out and keep going.

Fingertips rubbed raw until they bled?

Wrap them in cloth and keep drawing.

He had tried many methods.

Yet in the end, nothing came of it.

The paintbrush remained that same paintbrush.

But the drawings under his hands grew more and more numerous.

"You can be slow, but you can't stop."

He said these words to himself every day.

Today was no exception.

Chen Xing sat in front of the easel, took a deep breath, and set pen to paper.

He didn't know what he wanted to draw; his hand simply moved on its own accord.

The tip of the pen met the paper surface, sketching out a bold, sweeping arc,

and then, the clear outline of an object gradually emerged.

Thus, his hand began to tremble with excitement,

and the more he drew, the more intense that feeling of excitement became.

Beneath the pen tip, the image slowly grew clear,

countless lines actually coming together to form a train of imposing and majestic momentum!

That train traversed the galaxy, laying down colorful silver rails wherever it went.

Chen Xing stared dazedly at the creation he had drawn onto the paper:

"This is..."

[Why is my game launching on its own?]