A Massive Haul

It was just as Cheng Qi had guessed.

Only the enormous red-furred rats could produce alloy.

And not every red-furred rat had alloy inside its belly.

The final odds were roughly one in eight.

But with such a huge population, even one in eight was an outrageous figure!

Cheng Qi stood atop a towering mountain of garbage.

Pieces of amorphous alloy lay scattered across the ground within a five-kilometer radius.

They were packed densely together, reflecting bright glints of light.

"Guys, can you believe this?"

Cheng Qi's facial muscles began to twitch. "There must be fifty thousand pieces here! How many credit points would that be worth? This is insane!"

Garbage Earth held astonishing treasures.

Ordinary people simply lacked the luck and strength to uncover the immense wealth lying right beside them.

As for the humans from other planets, the instant they discarded this garbage, they had already made a subjective judgment. They were certain that the disgusting heap in their hands would never hold any value again.

They would never have imagined that all of it-

Would become the foundation for a boy from the garbage heaps to turn his life around and secure his future.

The low-grade amorphous alloy littering the ground before him immediately presented a problem.

The pieces were scattered everywhere and covered in red-furred rat vomit.

Cheng Qi had no idea where to start.

After a moment's thought, his eyes shifted, and he suddenly smiled.

He took an intricately constructed metal playing card from inside his clothes and squeezed it gently. Pale blue technological light shone through the X-shaped seams in the card.

Vrrrm!

A four-meter-tall gateway of blue light appeared out of thin air.

Then a third-generation Iron Mom slowly drove out through it.

Once it reached the clearing, the compartment door on its front slowly opened, revealing another Iron Mom inside, reduced to ten percent of its original size.

As the smaller Iron Mom slowly moved forward, ghostly outlines appeared around its body, expanding layer by layer. By the time it had fully cleared the compartment door, it had returned to its standard size.

The surrounding red-furred rats bared their teeth as though facing a formidable enemy. Their understanding was too limited to comprehend the scene before them.

Although Shang Zhizhi, perched on his shoulder, was highly intelligent, he seriously lacked worldly experience. His tiny eyes flickered with astonishment too.

Cluttered, filthy, and scattered everywhere.

This was practically Iron Mom's home turf.

The third-generation Iron Mom had a triangular body covered in matte black metal. The levitation system underneath emitted blue light, keeping it hovering about fifty centimeters above the ground. With a mechanical whir, nine mechanical arms extended from its three faces.

Then its mechanical body began to tremble.

Afflicted with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, it could hardly wait.

Cheng Qi smiled. "Thanks for all your hard work."

Vrrrm!

The two Iron Moms charged into the garbage heaps.

They precisely picked up each piece of amorphous alloy, then deployed synthetic-fiber cleaning cloths and bottles of cleaning solution from within their bodies.

Squeak, squeak.

Spritz, spritz.

They sprayed cleaning solution over the amorphous alloy, then frantically wiped it from every angle, leaving no spot untouched.

Ding!

An Iron Mom held up a freshly polished piece of amorphous alloy. Even in the dim sunlight, the alloy sparkled brilliantly.

Squeak, squeak.

Spritz, spritz.

The two third-generation Iron Moms moved back and forth through the dump, their eighteen mechanical arms flying up and down.

Inside the storage compartments in their bellies-

The spotless pieces of amorphous alloy stood in neat rows like upright eggs, their spacing precise to within 0.1 centimeters.

Securing straps also unfolded from the inner walls of the storage compartments, wrapping around the exact center of each alloy piece to hold it firmly in place. Every strap sat at the same height, all perfectly aligned. The sight was immensely satisfying.

Cheng Qi scratched his head. "Obsessive-compulsive disorder has its advantages. That's so satisfying!"

Although the Iron Moms' work involved numerous steps, their processing speed was extremely fast, their movements precise, and their efficiency astonishing.

Before he knew it, almost all the amorphous alloy on the ground had been collected.

"This is incredible!"

Cheng Qi was thoroughly delighted.

With this enormous quantity of low-grade amorphous alloy added to the haul, he had truly hit the jackpot this time and made a fortune.

More than fifty thousand alloy pieces, a new companion in Zhizhi, and behind Zhizhi, an army of 140 million Killer Rats.

Most importantly, he had secured Boss Mo's antidote!

He activated the miniature stargate again, and the gateway of blue light appeared out of thin air.

Cheng Qi stepped through it.

It felt as though space had folded. To Cheng Qi, he had merely taken a single step, without any physical discomfort. The next second, he appeared inside his underground shelter.

Before leaving, he had already set up the miniature stargate for his return.

As long as he had this device, every journey could be a one-way trip for him.

What he did not know, however, was-

Crow had already passed the outskirts of Kyoto for the third time.

Standing on the Ground Effect Aircraft, he gazed toward the fog-shrouded Kyoto.

"Ah..."

Crow shook his head. "Did Qi fail? What a shame. Such a brave young lad."

Cheng Qi looked around his underground shelter in surprise.

Foolish Boy and Xiao Qiong had also been astonishingly efficient.

Not only had they reinforced and camouflaged the underground shelter's entrance, they had also installed wooden stairs in the downward-sloping tunnel.

Of course, the stairs occupied only half the space. The other half had been left for Xiao Qiong to use as a slide.

As for the shelter's interior-

They had built a wooden platform in front of the Earth Dragon King Expansion Dock, complete with wooden railings.

The platform perfectly solved the problem of the curved floor.

A wooden walkway also extended from the platform, like a winding wooden bridge, connecting all the way to the wooden stairs at the entrance.

Cheng Qi also noticed a small mound of soil piled on the ground beside the platform.

The little tuft of grass he had transplanted earlier had been planted in the center of the mound and was gently swaying.

They probably want to make a vegetable patch or a garden.

It's a great idea. If they can really make it happen, this place will be beautiful.

But soil is scarce on Earth now, and most of it is probably contaminated.

Collecting enough soil will be difficult.

Cheng Qi stared at the little mound, at a loss for words. "Why does it look like a grave mound with weeds growing on it? Foolish Boy loves cremating me so much... now he's even got a burial plot ready. Next time, he can offer the full service."