Soul Guidance Battery

Without waiting for Na'er's reaction, Jiang Dongjun cast the baited hook back down into the water, smiling as he continued:

"Na'er, you're still young now and don't understand, but there will come a day when you finally do. Just keep it in mind for now."

"The planet beneath our feet is like a pond, holding a total of four big fish. Three of them were raised inside the pond, while one forced its way in from the outside.

Among the first three, one is like the fish we just reeled in-already a dead fish, and long since stripped to the bone;

Another is like--"

Whoosh-

Jiang Dongjun retrieved his line once more, and after a bout of tug-of-war, he pulled a live grouper onto the sampan, unhooked it, and tossed it into the water-filled fish tank.

"--another is like this one, already imprisoned and simply being kept alive. It's long since been added to the menu, and the moment the time comes, it will be sent straight to the chopping block."

"As for the last one, look under the water. Can you see a large fish swimming around? That's a shark. Even though it's massive and full of meat, the flesh doesn't taste good, and it poses far greater dangers than the first two. There's no need to haul it up just yet."

Na'er gripped the gunwales of the sampan with both hands, leaning out to peer at the shadow beneath the surface that was nearly her own size, nodding with a look of half-understanding.

"Na'er, you're just like this final fish-equally massive, equally dangerous, but far more delicious and much more likely to make people salivate."

"Now, regarding that last big fish that broke in: it has already bitten the hook and is currently struggling against the angler. It is trapped in a desperate plight yet remains utterly oblivious, foolishly believing itself to be the true angler and the ultimate apex predator, thinking that once it wins the tug-of-war, it will devour every fish in the pond."

The lecture came to an end.

Jiang Dongjun dropped all pretense. A portion of diamond-clear thoughts split from his Yin Spirit and plunged into the sea, soon floating back to the surface with three different large fish in tow.

"Brother Dongjun..."

Looking down, Na'er wore a bitter expression, her mouth pouting and her amethyst-like eyes brimming with watery moisture as she gazed at him, looking utterly pitiful.

Jiang Dongjun reached out to gently tidy the silver hair dampened by the spray of the waves, smiling with indulgent fondness.

"Never mind. If you don't understand, then you don't understand."

"If you truly reach a dead end, as long as you still call me brother, I won't stand by and do nothing."

Truth be told, Jiang Dongjun never intended for Na'er to actually understand these cryptic words. He merely wanted her to record them so that her other personality could recall them later.

"We've reaped a bountiful harvest tonight. Five big fish, every single one nearly two feet long. Let's head ashore for a grilled fish feast."

"Bleh~" At those words, Na'er wore a look of utter resistance, as the previous analogy had left quite a shadow on her. "Brother Dongjun, can we not eat fish later? Na'er doesn't feel like she's quite that hungry."

It was all this strange guy's fault. Now, whenever she thought about eating fish, she couldn't help but inexplicably imagine the fragrant grilled fish turning into herself being grilled.

Gurgle~ Rumbling~

Clearly, Na'er's stomach was not nearly as stubborn as her mouth.

The little girl lowered her head, her concealed face resembling a red apple ripened by the autumn sun.

"If you don't want to eat fish, we won't eat fish. I saw a pastry shop not far from the shore. Let's go see if there's any food left inside."

The small sampan drifted back to the shore. After tying it up, Jiang Dongjun returned the borrowed barbecue seasonings and fishing gear, stuffing all five fish he had brought back straight into the shop owner's frozen soul tool as payment.

Tsk~ A freezer, huh?

Jiang Dongjun cast one final glance at the cabinet-style soul tool before leaving the shop.

In the era of Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King, what Jiang Dongjun coveted most was actually the technology that converted natural forces like wind, water, and solar power into energy approximating Soul Power, along with Soul Guidance Battery technology.

Once he brought it back, it would vastly accelerate the popularization speed of domestic soul tools.

By then, he could harvest a massive amount of sentient thoughts (fame/faith) from all living beings, secure the title of "Father of Soul Guidance Technology," and convert them into vast oceans of Soul Liquid.

In his past life, many book enthusiasts loathed Shrek Academy, but if one truly transmigrated to Douluo II with decent natural talent, Shrek Academy remained quite crucial... Take his own wild ambitions as an example: Shrek Academy could help him drive the soul guidance technology revolution across the Douluo Three Kingdoms and guard the fruits of his soul guidance technology.

Dipping cookies into warm water, Na'er ate with great relish all the same.

Only her appetite left Jiang Dongjun completely dumbfounded. Even with psychological preparation well in advance, he couldn't help but gesture at the size of the rapidly vanishing pile of cookies, and then gesture at the size of Na'er's stomach.

"Brother, aren't you going to eat?"

The exquisitely carved silver-haired girl extended a cookie toward him.

"Haha, Brother accepts Na'er's kind intentions. But Brother's condition is far too poor and requires a period of recuperation before I can eat together with Na'er."

"Brother will get better!"

"Mn, I'll get better."

Once Na'er had eaten her fill, Jiang Dongjun ransacked the pastry shop's cash register, taking 1,000 Federal Credits while leaving behind a square silver ingot five centimeters on each side.

He had hypnotized and questioned the residents of the shops surrounding this beach, gaining an understanding of the prices for gold and silver. A single silver ingot was more than enough to compensate the pastry shop owner for their losses.

They stepped out of the pastry shop.

"Brother, where are we going? I'm a little sleepy. Let's find a shelter from the wind and rest for a bit."

"No need. There's an inn a little over two miles away. We'll stay at the inn, and then have someone give you a bath and change you into a new set of clothes. Is Na'er willing to go start a new life with Brother?"

"I am, Na'er is willing."

The little girl grew much more spirited, responding with a smile.

The Yin Spirit once again enfolded Na'er, soaring into the night sky to seek out the inn they had spotted along the way.

It was already the early hours of the morning, yet the front hall of the inn was still brightly lit. The proprietress, an ordinary mortal, had fallen asleep slumped over the front desk.

Jiang Dongjun altered her memories with effortless ease.

He made the middle-aged proprietress believe that Na'er was entrusted to her care by a close friend she hadn't seen in years. Waking from her slumber, she hurried upstairs to help Na'er wash up and change into a set of old clothes belonging to her own child.

Moreover, influenced by Jiang Dongjun's Yin Spirit, even Na'er's filthy, vagrant appearance was neatly rationalized inside her mind with a plausible backstory.

She had already accepted a square gold block five centimeters tall, promising to help exchange it for Federal Credits the following morning.

Taking advantage of the fact that Na'er had not yet fallen asleep, Jiang Dongjun informed her that he needed to leave for a short while, telling her not to panic if she woke up and couldn't find him, and to simply stay put at the inn because he would definitely come back for her.

Naturally, Na'er was desperately unwilling, glaring straight at Jiang Dongjun with her amethyst-like eyes for fear that he would suddenly vanish from before her.

A single meal and the meticulous subsequent care had caused the relationship between the two to warm up rapidly.

Ultimately, Na'er failed to hold out; in a daze, she drifted off to sleep.

Jiang Dongjun hurried into action. Circling the outskirts of Aolai City, he found a machinery factory, stole a soul guidance battery of appropriate weight, and left behind a block of Dawn Silver Ingot pressed flat into a pancake by the factory's machines as compensation.

"Light of Time and Space," activate!

This time there was no "cutscene." Passing through a dazzling, surreal tunnel, the Yin Spirit returned to the physical body, and a briefcase-sized, perfectly square soul guidance battery abruptly appeared on the bed.

Jiang Dongjun climbed out of bed, locking eyes with his father, Jiang Ming, who was clutching a carving knife and staring at metal with eyes full of astonishment.

"Old Man, how long was I gone?"

"A little over three shichen."

Jiang Ming replied, looking completely relieved as a rich wave of joy spread across his face.

"As long as you're back! As long as you're back... Looking at how you even brought something back, was the harvest good?"

"Good? It's fantastic!"

Unable to suppress his excitement any longer, Jiang Dongjun hoisted the soul guidance battery straight off the bed and rushed over to report the good news to his old man.

"Old Man, the secrets of the Sealed Milk Bottle technology are all inside this thing! There are no security measures set up whatsoever-it's completely open for you to take apart!"

"What?!"