The three Stonehearts looked at the pixelated-style block hovering in Fu Zhu's palm. At first glance, they couldn't see any difference in texture compared to ordinary blocks, and upon closer inspection... they still couldn't see anything special.
Even Jade, who had appraised countless treasures and even ran a Pawnshop of Bonajade dealing in information about various precious items, felt forced to rub her temples in exasperation.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, what you just said is truly too astonishing. Astonishing to the point that... it is impossible to make people believe that this piece of 'Bedrock' before us can actually withstand the existence of [The Void]."
"Wanting to prove this point is naturally very simple."
Since Fu Zhu intended to tease the three Stonehearts before him, he naturally had to prove the Bedrock's capabilities to them first.
Immediately, he put away the Bedrock, turned around to pull out Iron Blocks and a Pumpkin, and began creating an Iron Golem on the spot.
Judging by the Amber Lord's needs from this Civil Engineer Big Bro's perspective, as long as He noticed the Bedrock, He would inevitably be very interested. However, the Bedrock itself didn't have any special aura, and the Amber Lord wasn't like [Remembrance] or [Elation] who left various novelties all over the universe. So, to attract His attention, he could only utilize the Iron Golem, an existence possessing the incomparable purity of the Will of [Preservation].
When Fu Zhu constructed an Iron Golem, just as he had imagined, the Amber Lord appeared once again. Just like before, He summoned Fu Zhu and the Iron Golem into the Path Interstice. Incidentally, He also pulled the three Stonehearts, who also walked the Path of [Preservation], into the Path Interstice along with them.
After all, it was just a convenient motion; it wasn't that He intended to cast His gaze upon these three.
After the three Stonehearts realized they had actually been summoned into the Path Interstice, they excitedly half-knelt toward Qlipoth.
"Praise the Amber Lord!"
Qlipoth paid no heed to His three followers. Instead, He raised the giant hammer in His hand and aimed it at the Iron Golem's location, poised to strike. However, before the hammer could fall, Fu Zhu pulled out the Bedrock and displayed it to Qlipoth.
"Qlipoth, this is a block that absolutely cannot be destroyed. Are you not interested?"
Qlipoth, who was originally about to bring the heavy hammer down, paused His movements instantly upon hearing these words. If anyone else had said this, He wouldn't have believed it one bit. But the person speaking was Fu Zhu, the human who created an existence with the purest Will of [Preservation] like the Iron Golem. His words carried weight.
Jade, who was kneeling to the side with her head lowered, not daring to look directly at Qlipoth, looked up at Fu Zhu in shock after hearing his words.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, what are you doing?! You can't be thinking of..."
Jade recalled that when Fu Zhu introduced the Bedrock just now, he had said that Bedrock is something even an Aeon cannot move. Now that he was suddenly saying this to the Amber Lord, could it be that he wanted to...
Fu Zhu held the Bedrock and smiled slightly at Jade. Then, he raised his hand and placed the Bedrock in mid-air. Although his heart ached a little, to tell the truth, whether it was Bedrock or a Stellaron, their utility to him right now wasn't that great. They were essentially like chicken ribs—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.
But if used as a tool to tease an Aeon and the high-level executives of the Corporation, then it was very cost-effective!
After Fu Zhu placed the Bedrock, he made a 'please' gesture toward Qlipoth, then retreated behind the Iron Golem to hide. He had never seen an Aeon take action, nor did he know if there would be any danger. He didn't want to tease an Aeon only to tease himself to death.
However, he didn't forget to pull out his phone, ready to record this extremely memorable scene.
After Qlipoth sized up the Bedrock, a trace of confusion arose in His heart. Even He couldn't see what was so special about the Bedrock. But since Fu Zhu had said so, it was merely a matter of swinging His hammer once.
Thus, Qlipoth raised the giant hammer in His hand, gathered power upon it, and smashed it down fiercely.
Seeing Qlipoth's movement, the expressions of the three Stonehearts changed drastically, but it was already too late.
When the giant hammer landed on the Bedrock, an incomparably intrepid shockwave spread rapidly in all directions. The first to bear the brunt were the three Stonehearts. Before they could even let out a scream, they were directly shattered by the shockwave, their figures vanishing from the Path Interstice.
Fu Zhu wasn't too worried about them. They were merely spiritual bodies summoned into the Path Interstice, unlike himself who had entered with his main body. The worst-case scenario was just becoming three vegetables. He could cure them after he got out—guaranteed not the drooling kind.
After Qlipoth finished landing the hammer, He slowly lifted the giant hammer. Immediately afterward, He saw the Bedrock remaining in its original spot, still perfectly intact. That massive stone body couldn't help but pause.
It is truly as this human said? This Bedrock cannot be destroyed?!
Qlipoth, still somewhat unconvinced, raised the giant hammer in His hand again, gathered strength, and began to drop the hammer on the Bedrock—one strike after another...
...
On the Radiant Feldspar, the three Stonehearts sitting by the table suddenly coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood and collapsed onto the table. It took a good while before the three of them recovered their senses and struggled to climb up.
"That... that was close. I almost lost my soul..."
Jade patted her chest with lingering fear. That strike from the Amber Lord just now almost turned her directly into a vegetable. It was fortunate that the Amber Lord held back, otherwise, they wouldn't have gotten off with something as simple as coughing up blood.
Aventurine and Topaz also propped themselves up, their faces completely drained of blood. They looked at each other and saw the bitter smiles on each other's faces.
The former couldn't help but complain, "Mr. Fu Zhu is truly crazy. Just to prove to us that the Bedrock cannot be destroyed, he actually specially attracted the Amber Lord..."
Topaz also couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Yeah... Wait a minute, where is Mr. Fu Zhu?"
Only then did the three notice that Fu Zhu hadn't returned to reality like they did. Even his main body, which should have been in its original spot, was gone.
Jade realized something. Muttering to herself, or perhaps explaining to the other two, she said, "According to the intelligence gathered by the Corporation, Fu Zhu seems to have a very special constitution. Whether he is summoned by a Deity or entering the Dreamscape, he enters with his main body. Presumably, he is still in the Path Interstice."
"I hope nothing happens to him... After all, that is the Amber Lord."
Just as the three Stonehearts were still worrying about Fu Zhu, everyone suddenly heard the sound of hammers falling beside their ears. They were very familiar with this sound!
It was the sound of the Amber Lord's hammer! The entire universe calculated the Amber Era based on the sound of this hammer falling. But now, within less than a second, several strikes rang out in succession!
This meant... an Amber Era, which usually took decades to over a hundred years to pass, had now passed by several Eras in less than a second?!
At this moment, a passing tourist heard the sound of the Amber Lord's hammer and couldn't help but complain.
"Am I dreaming? Why is the Amber Lord suddenly hammering so diligently?"
Hearing the passerby's words, the three Stonehearts couldn't help but look at each other.
Others might not know what was happening, but the three of them were crystal clear!
The Amber Lord wouldn't hammer quickly like this for no reason. It could only be that in the Path Interstice, He was frantically hammering the Bedrock. This proved that Fu Zhu's words were not false!
That Bedrock was truly so hard that even an Aeon found it difficult to shake!
...
Inside the Path Interstice, after Qlipoth dropped another dozen hammers in succession, He realized the Bedrock still had no traces of cracking and stopped His hand. Having reached this point, there was no longer any need to continue attacking.
This Bedrock was absolutely the hardest existence He had ever seen. He feared that even [The Voracity] or [The Nihility] could not destroy it!
Qlipoth moved His gaze away from the Bedrock with great difficulty and looked at Fu Zhu. He did not speak, but His voice echoed in Fu Zhu's mind.
'Exchange. Give me the Bedrock. I give you power.'
"Let's see later. Right now, I'm temporarily not lacking in power."
Fu Zhu didn't agree, nor did he completely close the door on the conversation. He wouldn't refuse free power, but right now, the most he could take out was one block of Bedrock, and obviously, one block wasn't enough.
Moreover, taking out the Bedrock this time was merely to tease the Aeon and the Corporation. His goal had already been achieved.
Fu Zhu smiled and raised an eyebrow at Qlipoth, pointing his finger at the Bedrock floating in mid-air. "If you can knock it down, I can provide you with a large amount of Bedrock for free. If you can't, then let's talk about it later. Could I trouble you to send me out first right now?"
Qlipoth nodded. With a lift of His hand, He teleported Fu Zhu directly back to the Radiant Feldspar.
Just as Fu Zhu appeared on the Radiant Feldspar, the three Stonehearts immediately gathered around. But before they could open their mouths to speak, the sound of Qlipoth's hammer rang out again. This time, the speed of His hammering was even faster.
The expressions of the three Stonehearts changed again and again, going from initial shock to final numbness.
And Fu Zhu's phone also rang suddenly at this moment. He took it out and saw it was a call from Xing, so he answered it directly.
"Hello? Little Sis, what's up?"
"Old Bro, Old Bro! Good news!" Xing on the other end of the phone was very excited. "Your Little Sis, I, have become a long-life species!"
"What?"
Fu Zhu was stunned. How long had they been separated? Did some special situation occur on Xing's end? How did she suddenly become a long-life species?
Xing continued, "Just now, in the last few moments, I lived for over a dozen Amber Eras!"
Fu Zhu: "..."
While Xing was saying this, Qlipoth dropped another dozen hammers. Xing paused for a moment, then giggled and said, "Listen! I just lived for another few Amber Eras!"
Fu Zhu said, somewhat between laughter and tears, "Since that's the case, why don't you go find Himeko and ask her for the allowance she hasn't given you for these dozens of Amber Eras?"
Xing pondered for a moment, then said in a very serious tone, "What you said makes sense! Penacony should also give us dividends for dozens of Amber Eras!"
Fu Zhu was speechless. Sometimes he really couldn't tell if his own sworn sister was truly dumb or just acting dumb.
From the other side of the phone came the sound of March 7th laughing and crying at the same time.
"Enough, you! This clearly means something happened with the Amber Lord. How could it be that you lived for several more Amber Eras!"
Xing retorted with some grievance, "Even if something happened to the Amber Lord, they set the rule that one hammer strike from the Amber Lord equals one Era passing. This is the Plot Armor—Rule!"
"Where did you learn such weird sayings! Really..." March 7th roasted her for a sentence, then took the phone from her hand and said to Fu Zhu, "Fu Zhu, when are you free?"
Fu Zhu glanced at the three Stonehearts standing before him, then smiled and said, "Soon. My business here will be over very quickly. I'll come find you immediately after. I've prepared a big surprise for you today, just look forward to it."
After saying that, Fu Zhu hung up the phone. He looked at the three Stonehearts before him and asked with a beaming smile, "Well? The three of you, I didn't lie, right?"
The three Stonehearts nodded repeatedly. They believed it. They truly believed it!
The Amber Lord was currently hammering like a madman; in this situation, how could they dare not believe?
I fear it won't be long before related news all over the universe will be discussing what exactly happened to the Amber Lord. And the three of them, as witnesses, would likely be interrogated by their superiors for a long time.
However, those were matters to be dealt with later.
Jade swallowed her saliva and asked Fu Zhu nervously, "Mr. Fu Zhu, then the Amber Lord is currently..."
"Oh, Him? I told Him that as long as He can destroy the Bedrock, I'll provide Him with a large amount of Bedrock for free. You hear it now, He's hammering the stone like crazy. I estimate this sound won't stop for a while."
The three Stonehearts laughed awkwardly a few times. Subsequently, Jade hurriedly asked, "Then, Mr. Fu Zhu, do you still have Bedrock on hand?"
Fu Zhu nodded and said with a smile, "Of course I do. Although Bedrock cannot be destroyed, it can still be obtained if one uses certain special methods."
Upon hearing this, Jade's eyes instantly lit up. Just as she was about to speak, Fu Zhu raised his hand to interrupt her.
"I know what you want to say. It's nothing more than asking if I can sell this technology. Unfortunately, even if I were willing to sell this technology, you wouldn't be able to use it. Only I can use it."
In MC, the method to break and obtain Bedrock was something only a Player could achieve, and it was extremely troublesome. After experiencing so much, Fu Zhu didn't think the people of this world could follow the same methods he used.
Jade felt a bit of regret upon hearing this, but she didn't doubt the truthfulness of Fu Zhu's words. He had already proven the fact that Bedrock couldn't be destroyed; Mr. Fu Zhu had no reason to lie to them on this point.
Since she couldn't ask for the technology, Jade settled for the next best thing and chose to purchase the object itself.
"Then, Mr. Fu Zhu, could you sell us some Bedrock? Ask for whatever you want! The Corporation will definitely do its utmost to facilitate it for you!"
As long as they could obtain Bedrock, let alone gold, silver, and jewels, even if Fu Zhu opened his mouth right now and said he wanted an Emanator to be his servant, she feared the Corporation would do its best to help him. Even if they couldn't do it... doesn't the Corporation have Emanators too!
Fu Zhu rubbed his chin, smiled, and held up one finger.
"Twenty Stellarons in exchange for one Bedrock."
In his hand, one Stellaron equaled one Bedrock. This instantly flipped the value twenty times. This was the benefit brought by a monopoly!