Nearly a year had passed since Qin Siyang awakened his sequence ability.
Over that year, Qin Siyang had met all sorts of people. Some had become corpses, some enemies, and some friends.
Most of those who became his friends had started out exchanging favors, helping one another get what they needed.
Qian Wendao helped him sort out his sequence registration, and he helped Qian Wendao clear his name after he was framed.
Li Tianming helped him hunt gods outside the Safe Zone, and he helped Li Tianming gather materials.
Zhao Longfei gave him unprecedented privileges through special admission, and he helped the Zhao Family establish a merchants' association and raise its standing.
Hu Chan, Tang Wangong, Hao Liang, Chu Xiaoang... and many others had all followed the same pattern.
Qin Siyang knew the three steps to making friends by heart-demonstrate his value, express his willingness to exchange benefits, and deepen their cooperation.
But among these friends, there was one exception.
Zhang Kuang.
He had met Zhang Kuang through Li Tianming's introduction. He had grown close to Zhang Kuang because Li Tianming brought them together. And he had become friends with Zhang Kuang entirely thanks to Li Tianming's personal charm.
Hao Liang, Wu Yu, Lu Daoxing, Chang Tianxiang, and even the now-dead Chang Tianxiong had all asked Qin Siyang for god materials. As for Li Tianming, that went without saying. Qin Siyang had solved the material shortages holding back his research.
Zhang Kuang alone had never asked Qin Siyang for anything.
Curious, Qin Siyang had asked Zhang Kuang why. Zhang Kuang merely said there were no materials he needed. His research differed from everyone else's. Most days, he simply hid away in his laboratory watching the stars, then tapped away at a computer to analyze the data.
Qin Siyang had no