The first Metal Thunder Talisman was officially completed at four in the afternoon. Clutching the talisman in hand, Ding Shi went to check on the road-building robot brothers. Quietly sticking it onto the back of one brother, he pinched a hand seal. A thread of lightning dropped from the sky and struck the brother's back. The brother crashed dead to the ground on the spot, his entire body sparking with electricity and spewing black smoke.
Ding Shi regretted it immediately. He had to have lost his mind to test lightning on a robot packed with electronic components.
A second later, he regretted it even more as a system notification popped up: "Malicious damage to an engineering robot. Fined 20 dao." The amount was deducted straight from his account.
Son of a bitch!
Ding Shi went back and spent another hour producing a second Metal Thunder Talisman. The talisman had no sentience of its own and lacked the movie-style ability to home in on targets as though equipped with infrared guidance. It had to be attached directly to the target, and it had to be pressed on by hand, or it wouldn't stick. On the bright side, the talisman could be attached to anything—metal, stone, grass, even earthworms. As long as it was a tangible object, it would stick.
Because of their special nature, robots couldn't be used for lightning tests. Ding Shi's eyes darted around until they landed on Xiao Tangtang doing a handstand on the beach, his gaze settling on its tender pink rear end. He called out, "Xiao Tangtang."
Xiao Tangtang glanced at the twenty perfect pits it had smashed into the sand with its head, then flew up the mountain and stopped in front of Ding Shi. "What is it?"
Ding Shi countered, "You want playing cards?"
"Yes," Xiao Tangtang replied. "What do you want?"
Ding Shi gestured. "Take a seat inside."
Xiao Tangtang followed him into the house and hovered in midair without taking a seat. Ding Shi motioned to a chair. "Sit down. This is a negotiation. I don't like people looking down on me while negotiating."
Xiao Tangtang looked at Ding Shi, descended, and sat on the small bamboo chair. The Metal Thunder Talisman was stuck to the back of that very bamboo chair. Ding Shi pinched a hand seal, first forming the lotus, and then stopped moving. Xiao Tangtang hadn't spoken, instead watching him with a playful smirk that didn't suit the mood of a negotiation at all.
Ding Shi spoke up: "Xiao Tangtang."
Xiao Tangtang took its time. "Go on."
Ding Shi grabbed the back of his own chair with his right hand and hurled the small bamboo chair out. As the bamboo chair flew over Xiao Tangtang's head, Ding Shi pinched the second seal. A bolt of lightning plunged from above, pierced through the bamboo chair, and struck Xiao Tangtang square on the head.
Haha! I knew it! The little rascal swapped the Five Thunders Talisman onto my chair! What if I had guessed wrong? If I'd guessed wrong, it would have gotten struck anyway.
A wisp of white smoke rose from Xiao Tangtang's head, its hair standing straight on end. It raised its stick, prompting Ding Shi to say hurriedly, "I saw lightning falling just now! As you know, lightning travels at three hundred thousand kilometers per second. Seeing that it was too late to warn you, I had no choice but to throw my chair to block it for you. No need to thank me—really, don't mention it."
Xiao Tangtang gritted its teeth. "Do you think I believe that?"
Ding Shi pondered for a moment before asking, "Which part don't you believe?"
Xiao Tangtang exploded with fury. "I don't believe any of it! Not a single word!"
Since that was the case, it was time to lay his cards on the table. Ding Shi said, "Well, you're the one who stuck the Metal Thunder Talisman on my chair. If I'm guilty, you're an accomplice."
Xiao Tangtang let out an exasperated scoff. "I helped you electrocute myself?"
"As incredible as it sounds, that is indeed how it played out," Ding Shi said. "First, your actions were intentional. You intentionally placed the Metal Thunder Talisman on my small chair. Second, what I detonated was the Metal Thunder Talisman on my own chair."
Xiao Tangtang reminded him, "That Metal Thunder Talisman was originally stuck to the small chair I sat on."
Ding Shi replied, "If it had been stuck to the chair you were sitting on, I wouldn't have detonated it."
"No, you would have."
Ding Shi said, "Please don't speculate on my actions using things that never happened. Xiao Ji, you're the fairest and most impartial robot around. If you were the judge, how would you rule on this case?"
Ji Guan had watched everything unfold and answered, "Under maritime common law, the Master cannot be convicted; under civil law, the Master can be convicted. In the maritime legal system, as long as the Master maintains his statement, the judge cannot prove whether you knew the Metal Thunder Talisman was on your chair. In the civil law system, both the act and the outcome bear a direct relationship to the Master. However, because Xiao Tangtang intervened in the process, the incident may be classified as mutual affray."
"Huh?" Both Xiao Tangtang and Ding Shi gave Ji Guan a skeptical look, as if asking: *Do you even know what you're talking about?*
Ji Guan explained, "Master, you threw a punch at Xiao Tangtang. Xiao Tangtang used a rebound skill—note that its action was capable of harming you. Master, having already anticipated that Xiao Tangtang would use a rebound skill, used a counter-rebound skill to harm Xiao Tangtang. If Xiao Tangtang had not used the rebound skill, it would not have participated in the fight, making the Master entirely liable. Since Xiao Tangtang used the rebound skill, it actively engaged in the fight. The reason it became the victim is not because the Master attacked it, but because it lost the fight."
Ji Guan continued, "Therefore, your actions just now can be classified as mutual affray."
Ji Guan concluded, "The Master is either not guilty, or bears only half the liability."
Ding Shi turned to Xiao Tangtang and spread his hands: *See?*
Xiao Tangtang huffed and turned to fly away.
Ding Shi stood up, thoroughly pleased, and patted Ji Guan on the shoulder. "Xiao Ji, you should think about sticking with me for good."
***
On the eighth day at eight in the morning, the Returning Home instance came to an end. Ding Shi washed his hands and was praying to the deities of all directions when the teleportation array flashed, and Chu Yu appeared on the island. Dumbfounded, she watched Ding Shi cupping his fists, crossing himself, and bowing in every compass direction. She couldn't help asking, "What are you doing?"
Ding Shi was startled. Seeing it was Chu Yu, he laughed aloud. "Just the Five Animal Frolics. Pardon the embarrassment." Glancing at the system interface, he saw that a friend system had been added, and he was already friends with Chu Yu.
Chu Yu looked at the two cards on the stone table, clearly skeptical.
Grinning, Ding Shi walked over, picked up a card, and flipped it open: the Golden Library Card.
"Library Card: Spend 10 dao to construct a paperless library containing over three thousand volumes of various books from ancient and modern times, both foreign and domestic. No maintenance fees required."
"Book Collection Quest unlocked: Collect books from instances to enrich the library's contents. This quest comes with a Four-No Scanner that does not take up inventory space, cannot be damaged, cannot be lost, and cannot be used for any other purpose. Scan books back and forth with the scanner until reaching 100% progress to complete a collection. Each completed collection will add one thousand books to the library's catalog."
Chu Yu sat down on a stone seat across from Ding Shi. Murmuring a quiet chant, Ding Shi turned over the second card: the Golden Wine Cellar Card.
"Wine Cellar Card: Spend 10 dao to construct an underground wine cellar containing one hundred empty oak barrels. No maintenance fees required."
"Alcohol Collection Quest unlocked: The quest provides a Four-No Testing Bottle. Pour Alcohol A into the testing bottle; once validated by the system, one empty oak barrel in the cellar will be filled with Alcohol A."
Why did it require system validation? Because there were conditions. First requirement: It must not be expired or spoiled.
Second requirement: It must meet standard criteria. For instance, the specified alcohol concentration for beer is 2% to 6%; exceeding or falling below this ratio will result in collection failure.
Third requirement: It must not be diluted.
Chapter 63