The four words "acting on someone's behalf" carried subtle meaning.
They avoided the trouble of Han Shuo pressing for answers, sparing Qin Siyang from having to explain why, when he himself had little Crimson Crystal, he would still take a loss just to kill Zhang Yingrui.
And they distanced Han Shuo, making him not want to engage too much with a young man like Qin Siyang whose background was complicated.
Even Qin Siyang's willingness to pay extra Crimson Crystals to buy the Wind-Corroded Venom Meteorite, Han Shuo naturally attributed to the orders of that person behind the scenes, not because Qin Siyang had too many Crimson Crystals and nothing better to do with them.
Moreover, that person behind him definitely wasn't from the Zhao family.
After all, the Zhao family also lacked Crimson Crystals.
That made Han Shuo even less willing to get entangled with Qin Siyang.
So, one lie, both pros and cons, it all depended on how Qin Siyang chose.
Qin Siyang had always been a master at calculating.
He believed that, compared with dealing with Han Shuo, it was more important to keep his own cards hidden.
You had to know, he had stirred up waves time and again. Trading with the Zephyr Church, helping the Zhao family, funding Tang Wanjing, tipping the military.
All of this together had only used less than a hundred grams of Crimson Crystal.
If others found out this was just the tip of the iceberg, a drop in the bucket, wouldn't they strip him bare?
So Qin Siyang didn't bother to explain, simply accepted this unpleasant experience of his warm face meeting Han Shuo's cold back.
After handing over the Wind-Corroded Venom Meteorite, Han Shuo left South Glory University.
He didn't even take the time to meet Zhao Longfei once.
Qin Siyang carefully stored away the Wind-Corroded Venom Meteorite and once again came to the [Miracle Building].
———
With his hands behind his back, he stood downstairs and shouted loudly, "Professors! I'm here again!"
This time, the professors responded much faster than last time.
Before his voice had even finished, within seconds, several figures leapt down from upstairs.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
They all landed right in front of Qin Siyang.
Every one of them had enthusiastic smiles on their faces.
Zhang Kuang scratched his messy hair and laughed, "Little Qin, you're back?"
Wu Yu adjusted his golden-rimmed glasses, "Little Qin, these past few days you were outside the Safe Zone, we really were worried about you!"
Hao Liang nodded repeatedly, "Exactly! If you hadn't been outside the Safe Zone, I definitely would've come looking for you these days to exchange ideas on our research!"
Chang Tianxiong chimed in too, "Ah, with you gone from the Safe Zone these days, I really felt like I was suffering through each day!"
Seeing the professors chattering one after another about how much they missed him, the corners of Qin Siyang's mouth gradually lowered.
"Professors, I haven't left the Safe Zone these past few days. I've just been staying at the guesthouse."
"Ah? You didn't go out?"
Qin Siyang pointed at Lu Daoxing, "My drill pod is still with Professor Lu for repairs, how could I have gone out?"
Lu Daoxing took off the ring from his hand and tossed it to Qin Siyang, "It's already repaired."
"Thank you, Professor Lu."
Qin Siyang accepted the ring, but his face showed little joy.
The lively atmosphere instantly cooled, awkwardness filling the space in front of the Miracle Building.
Chang Tianxiang, who had spoken bluntly earlier and not followed the crowd, sighed, unsure how his colleagues were going to smooth things over now.
The professors chuckled dryly, truly at a loss for words.
Hao Liang glared at Lu Daoxing and muttered reproachfully, "Old Lu, if Little Qin hadn't gone outside the Safe Zone, why didn't you say so earlier?"
Lu Daoxing helplessly shook his head, "How was I supposed to know this would happen? You lot are too quick with your mouths. I even gave you looks just now, but you still wouldn't stop talking."
Hao Liang jabbed his garlic-shaped nose at him and snapped, "Your two little eyes aren't even as big as one nostril, who could see your looks?"
"No need to take it out on me!"
"I think you just got your hands on the Bluewater Glazed Star Ore, solved your own problems, filled your belly, and now you're ready to flip our whole table over."
"Hold on a moment!", Qin Siyang cut in, "Professor Lu, you can use the Bluewater Glazed Star Ore I brought back? This stuff can substitute for Bluewater Glazed Ore?"
Before Lu Daoxing could speak, Hao Liang immediately said, "Not just substitute, it's a perfect replacement, with improved performance. Little Qin, the Bluewater Glazed Star Ore you brought back has been a huge help to Old Lu!"
Lu Daoxing chuckled twice, tacitly acknowledging Hao Liang's words.
"Really? That's great!"
Being able to help Lu Daoxing solve a big problem made Qin Siyang very happy too.
"Right, if the Bluewater Glazed Star Ore can cover Professor Lu's research, what about the other professors? Is there anywhere else it could be used?"
Wu Yu said, "We're still basically in the testing stage. Since before, Bluewater Glazed Ore was only applied in God-Hunting tools, and there wasn't much progress in other fields, for now we haven't found where Bluewater Glazed Star Ore might be suitable."
"You mean it might not be useful at all?"
"No, that's not what Old Wu meant," Chang Tianxiong continued, "Bluewater Glazed Star Ore could have applications in many areas, like providing some help in god research."
"But those functions, other more common materials can also achieve. We must find a field where its special properties can be brought out. That's not something that can be accomplished overnight."
"Little Qin, research isn't something done in a day. Finding the right application field for a material is a very large subject."
Qin Siyang nodded, finally grasping the general idea.
He had thought it was like kneading dough. He gave them flour, and the professors would be able to steam buns and rolls.
But now it seemed more like having a key, you had to try it on one lock after another, confirm which door it opened, and then choose the room behind the door with the richest rewards.
Lu Daoxing smiled with a touch of warmth, "Little Qin, how much of the Bluewater Glazed Star Ore do you still have?"
"Professor Lu, how much do you need?"
"As much as you have, I'll take."
"That won't do. I need to leave some for the other professors. What if they also discover a use for it? Just give me a number."
"Uh… then give me a hundred catties first?"
Without a word, Qin Siyang immediately opened his storage box and pulled out about a hundred catties of Bluewater Glazed Star Ore.
Lu Daoxing's eyes widened. Seeing how generous Qin Siyang was, he realized he'd asked too little, and hurriedly said, "I misspoke just now, it should've been a hundred kilograms."
Zhang Kuang yawned, "Enough, Old Lu, that's plenty. Don't be too greedy."
Lu Daoxing reluctantly glanced at Zhang Kuang, then sullenly put away the Bluewater Glazed Star Ore.
"I wanted more only for the sake of everyone's research into God-Hunting tools…"
Then Wu Yu asked, "Little Qin, since you called us all out, you must have more gains, right?"
Qin Siyang nodded.
Seeing this, Hao Liang immediately pressed his palms together and began muttering under his breath, "Little Qin brought the multi-headed mongoose… Little Qin brought the multi-headed mongoose…"