The very first day Li Tianming came to the lab, the lab was still in complete chaos, not even tidied up.
And right away, he was already thinking of researching life-saving methods for himself.
This made a warm current surge up in Qin Siyang's heart.
And this kind of warm current that touched his whole being. It wasn't the first time it appeared.
Back when Li Tianming came to save his life, it was the same.
When the two of them cooperated to leave the Safe Zone, it was the same.
When Li Tianming stood up and supported him during the meeting, it was the same.
All these experiences over the past half year made Qin Siyang feel closer and closer to this potbellied Mediterranean-haired man.
Toward Li Tianming, he had gradually developed a kind of emotion.
But it was an emotion that couldn't be put into words.
Because he didn't know what it was.
He only felt that whenever he saw this man, he felt incredibly steady and at ease.
If it were someone else, they would probably instantly recognize that this was a kind of emotion akin to family affection.
But Qin Siyang didn't realize it.
Though he had lived two lives, with plenty of experience, he knew that the burning passion he once felt chasing Li Jingwen was love. He knew that the close feeling he had when seeing Zhao Sifang was friendship.
But he was an orphan.
As for relatives, he had no idea, none at all.
Not to mention that thing sung by humans for thousands of years, fatherly love, motherly love, to him, it was no different from ghosts.
Something he'd only ever heard of, but never seen.
At this moment.
Facing Li Tianming, the steadiness, the relief, and the gratitude, all merged together.
And toward this unfamiliar emotion arising inside himself, he realized. Perhaps this was the family affection he had never known or understood.
'Family affection, huh?'
Qin Siyang's lips curved slightly upward.
Experiencing it for the first time, it felt, 'Not bad at all.'
He took a deep breath, calming the surging waves in his heart.
He controlled his voice so it wouldn't tremble.
"Old Li,"
He called softly.
Li Tianming turned over and looked at him, "What is it?"
"Just thought of a question before bed, got curious."
"Curious? This late at night, instead of sleeping, what nonsense are you curious about?"
"Just wanted to ask you something. That research of yours, without Yellow Silver Star Ore, it really can't move forward at all?"
Qin Siyang also lay down beside Li Tianming.
"If, I mean if."
"If all the other materials you need were found, but this Yellow Silver Star Ore couldn't be found no matter what. Could your research still move forward?"
Li Tianming turned and looked at Qin Siyang, face full of doubt, "Why are you asking this?"
Qin Siyang's expression was calm, "Just asking. Because I don't understand Yellow Silver Star Ore, haven't even seen it, only heard you all talk about it, so I wanted to know."
Li Tianming immediately sat up from the bed, "Did you get your hands on something good again?"
"No, just curious. After all, you all said too. Whether Yellow Silver Star Ore really exists, or if it's something Zhong Dingming synthesized, nobody knows for sure, right?"
The moment his research bottleneck was mentioned, Li Tianming's expression drooped.
"Sigh, let me put it this way. It's not just Yellow Silver Star Ore. None of those few materials have substitutes. If even one is missing, my research plan gets stuck."
"The foundation of this research is the combination of those few materials."
Li Tianming's lips twisted in a self-mocking smile, "Back then, I was so high-spirited, setting such a research project. Just looking at that pile of rare materials you can tell, I was basically trying to compete with heaven itself."
Qin Siyang looked at Li Tianming, and said, "Those materials, I might be able to help you get them. But that Yellow Silver Star Ore… really no leads at all."
Li Tianming waved his hand, "You don't need to worry about it. Whether it's Yellow Silver Star Ore or anything else, don't bother yourself. I'm already working with Zhang Kuang on other plans."
"People, after all, only come to recognize reality through constant rises and falls, through wavering back and forth."
"My previous plan was just too hard to complete. Two years have passed. I've been vice-principal at Ju'an School for two years, and most of those materials still haven't even shown up once in the Safe Zone."
"I can't keep expecting that plan to succeed."
"A living person can't hang himself on a single tree."
After speaking, Li Tianming lay back down, his back facing Qin Siyang.
"And don't even think about killing Ice Crystal Moths or Lava Crocodiles to get other materials."
"For something impossible, risking your life, it's not worth it.
"You troublemaker, it's better if you just live a bit longer."
Finishing, Li Tianming put on his eye mask, preparing to sleep.
Hearing this, Qin Siyang couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
'So if even one is missing, the research really can't advance?'
'This Yellow Silver Star Ore, there isn't even a substitute?'
Qin Siyang turned sideways, back to Li Tianming.
Since it was useless, he had no interest in telling Li Tianming the truth.
Qin Siyang sighed softly.
'So this is what people mean by "the last step is always the hardest."'
Even though he had already gotten most of the materials, the progress was still the same as if he had gotten nothing.
Yellow Silver Star Ore?
He had no idea what it even looked like.
———
The next morning, Li Tianming went to tidy up the lab.
Qin Siyang made a phone call.
"Hello, Son of God, are you ready?"
["Everything's taken care of. But I've got to ask you first, this time going out, taking me with you, what are you planning?"]
["I asked you before, but you never told me. Now that we're leaving, you've got to say, right? If it's something I can't do, then me going with you is just wasting time and effort."]
Qin Siyang didn't hide it, "Help me find the Blood Moon Tarantula and the Abyss Hound."
["What? You're looking for those two gods? Don't tell me you're already preparing to open the Path of a Believer?"]
The saying goes, "an expert can tell with just one sentence."
Hu Chan instantly realized Qin Siyang was preparing to start the Path of a Believer.
Qin Siyang replied calmly, "What's so shocking about that? I've already accumulated over a hundred thousand points. Is it strange to be Sequence Rank Five?"
["Uh… I just didn't expect you to be this strong."]
"Didn't expect me to be this strong?"
Qin Siyang sneered lightly, "You immediately understood why I'm looking for these two gods. Doesn't that mean you're at least Sequence Rank Five yourself?
"If you're Sequence Rank Five, why is it surprising that I am too?"
Hu Chan was silenced by Qin Siyang's words and counter-question.
Though he really wanted to say that he was way stronger than Qin Siyang. After all, he had the whole Church behind him. In strength and resources, he was top-notch.
But thinking carefully, in front of Qin Siyang, it seemed he couldn't say that.
Strength? He had been robbed by Qin Siyang himself, fleeing in humiliation.
Resources? Now he had to wag his tail and beg Qin Siyang, hoping to get fragments of Titan Foxtail Grass Inner Leaves.
No matter how dissatisfied he was, he could only swallow it down.
["…I understand."]
"My request, can you manage it?"
["It's not easy."]
"Either you can, or you can't. What does 'not easy' mean?"
["I can help. But maybe you don't know, on the Safe Zone's outer edges, those two kinds of gods were already hunted clean long ago."]
While pouring Sequence Potion into the Drill Cabin's fuel tank, Qin Siyang asked, "Who said I was going to look on the Safe Zone's outer edges?"
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