"Oh, you said you want to make a deal with me?"
Upon hearing Metal Knight's statement, Fang Mo also raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Indeed."
Metal Knight nodded and said, "I've seen your information in the exam records of the association. Honestly, I'm quite interested in your magic, especially your Alchemy, which transforms other materials into gold… This is a feat that interferes with atomic nuclei. How do you do it?"
"Definitely not by picking them up with tweezers one by one."
Fang Mo spread his hands.
"Let's make a deal," Metal Knight proposed. "I want to know the principle behind your Alchemy. In exchange, you can choose any of the scientific technology I have."
"Why are you scientists so intensely curious?"
Fang Mo couldn't help but facepalm.
To be fair, even Fang Mo himself couldn't remember how many science-obsessed characters he had encountered; it seemed there were more and more such characters in this narrative…
Things were still manageable with American comics.
But Japanese comics were definitely a disaster zone.
Characters like Orochimaru from Naruto, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Szayel Aporro Granz from Bleach, Verde from Reborn, Manami Okuda from Assassination Classroom, and Bondrewd from Made in Abyss, including Metal Knight here, were just a few he could think of on the spot.
The actual number was far greater.
These mad scientists in Japanese comics shared one common trait: an intense curiosity, and most of them had experienced disasters due to it.
"Alchemy… I definitely can't teach you that."
Thinking this, Fang Mo nonchalantly brushed it off, "But if you really want to learn, starting with Copper Refining could work… oh, sorry, I forgot that Child Emperor is your assistant. Congratulations, you're now a qualified old coppersmith."
"What?"
Metal Knight was momentarily confused by Fang Mo's bizarre words.
But as a genius scientist, he quickly understood Fang Mo's facial expressions and tone, and immediately grasped the meaning.
"So, you think I'm one of those mad scientists?" Metal Knight unconsciously nodded, then explained proactively, "I'm sorry, I'm not that kind of person. If you don't want to reveal the principle behind Alchemy, I won't force anything. I can buy your gold with money."
"What?"
Fang Mo was also surprised.
Truth be told, he had traveled through several worlds, but this was the first time someone had offered him money…
"I'm willing to buy your gold at market price."
Metal Knight had not anticipated this much, and simply stated, "Some foolish tycoons treat gold as merely a decorative item, but in reality, this metal has extensive applications in cutting-edge technology."
"I can buy your gold at the price jewelers pay for raw materials. By selling the gold to me for use in developing new equipment, we can prevent too much gold from circulating in the market, which could devalue it. It's beneficial for both of us."
"Emmm…"
Hearing Metal Knight's explanation, Fang Mo also began to ponder.
Initially, when he heard Metal Knight's first statement, Fang Mo thought he was dealing with a mad scientist—the kind that stops at nothing to achieve their goals.
But now it seemed not quite the case.
Although not much.
But this guy did have some brains.
"Alright then."
Thinking this, Fang Mo nodded, agreeing to the trade: "How much do you want?"
"As much as you have, I want it all."
Metal Knight didn't think much and simply said.
"Pfft…"
Honestly, this statement alone amused Fang Mo: "No, bro, are you serious?"
"Judging by your performance, you seem to have stored a lot of gold?" Metal Knight asked. "A few hundred tons? Or a thousand tons? If it's only this scale, I can still manage…"
"I'm sorry."
Before Metal Knight could finish, Fang Mo interrupted him: "Actually, I don't even know how much I've hoarded, because it's like sticking boogers under a desk… would you really bother to count how many boogers you've stuck?"
"But seeing that you're quite sincere, I'll start by trading a backpack with you."
"A backpack?"
Metal Knight was taken aback: "Excuse me, but the backpack you mentioned seems a bit…"
"In my case, a backpack is about thirty-two thousand tons."
Fang Mo calmly interrupted.
"…"
Hearing this, Metal Knight fell into a long silence.
Indeed, Fang Mo was not lying; after all, a gold block weighs about twenty tons, and a stack in Minecraft consists of sixty-four blocks, and Steve's backpack has twenty-seven slots…
"What, cat got your tongue?"
Seeing Metal Knight's silence, Fang Mo cheekily spoke: "You wouldn't think that's too little, would you? Should I add ten times more? Or do you want to increase it by a hundred times?"
"I heard your hero name is Metal Knight?"
"That's really a coincidence because my hero name is the Dark Knight!"
"You befriend metal to save the world, and I enslave darkness to rescue China from fire and water. Don't think just because one of us is about technology and the other about magic that we couldn't together whip out an alloy whip in the future!"
"…"
Just as Fang Mo was joyfully mocking the other.
A cough suddenly echoed nearby.
"Ahem…"
A skinny old man who had been standing silently suddenly coughed twice and cleared his throat: "Although I know it's rude to interrupt others, could you please look up? A meteorite is about to fall."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, everyone instinctively looked up.
And as the old man said, due to Fang Mo constantly tormenting Metal Knight, the meteorite had already broken through the atmosphere and was plummeting straight toward them.
"This is my oversight!"
Watching the scene, Genos's face suddenly changed: "It's already so close, damn, I must stop this meteorite right away!"
"It's already too late."
The nearby old man heard this and slowly shook his head: "Just the few of us can't handle this thing. But there's still time. You are S-class heroes, after all. If you run now, you might still make it. Why not take your loved ones and leave?"
"I refuse."
Genos immediately refused sternly: "Sensei said never to retreat in the face of difficulties. Even if my power alone is limited, I am not fighting alone... Metal Knight, please lend me a hand!"
"Sorry, I don't want to."
However, Metal Knight directly declined his invitation.
"What?"
Genos seemed incredulously shocked: "If we don't join forces, we'll all die under this meteorite."
"So you haven't realized it yet?"
Metal Knight explained calmly: "My mecha is remotely operated. As for my body, it's long been hidden away. Who would want to be crushed by a meteorite?"
"So this is..."
"I just explained why I'm here," Metal Knight said as he suddenly transformed, revealing several thick metal cannons behind him: "I specifically came here to use this meteorite to test the firepower of my new weapon."
After saying this.
Metal Knight immediately attacked the meteorite.
With a loud bang, a massive barrage of missiles flew from the cannons behind him, targeting the meteorite precisely. In the next second, all the missiles exploded collectively, and the entire sky seemed to shudder violently from the intense blast wave.
The bright red fire instantly engulfed the entire meteorite.
Its power was so great that it even turned half the sky a fiery orange color.
"Did it… work?"
Looking up, Genos's face was filled with shock; he had not expected Metal Knight's weapon to be so powerful.
But in the next second, a dense cloud of smoke and fire suddenly revealed a massive shadow as the meteorite once again plummeted toward the city below.
Metal Knight's attack was effective.
At least, his missile attack visibly peeled a layer off the meteorite's surface. At this moment, these fragments fell like fireworks, wildly scattering around.
"…"
Seeing this, Fang Mo frowned and then drew the Laevatein Sword from behind him.
Surtur's magic began to surge through the blade, and with a flick of his wrist, Fang Mo sent it flying out, transforming into a fiery net that caught all the fragments, then completely vaporized them.
"Hmm?"
Metal Knight turned to look straight at Fang Mo.
"What are you looking at?"
Holding the Flame Sword, Fang Mo looked annoyed: "If you can't handle it, don't act next time... Do you know how dangerous these falling rocks are?"
"…Are you worried about the shattered meteorite injuring civilians?"
The skinny old man watching the scene couldn't help but nod in appreciation: "The young people today are unexpectedly responsible."
But just as the old man finished speaking.
Fang Mo spoke again.
"Who the hell has a urethra made of iron? It can't fit so many stones!"
"???"
The old man suddenly widened his eyes.
"…"
And not just the old man, even Genos and Metal Knight fell into silence.
"I was actually wondering why you would draw a sword..."
Metal Knight said somewhat exasperatedly: "But what you said afterward has somewhat exceeded my comprehension. But no matter, I have already collected the data I needed for the new weapon."
"Damn, the meteorite is about to fall!"
Metal Knight's words reminded Genos, who looked up and saw the meteorite growing larger in the sky, now almost obscuring it completely, casting a huge, indescribable shadow rapidly enlarging, giving a sense of overwhelming pressure.
"There's no time, I must use all my power!"
Seeing this, Genos didn't think twice, suddenly reaching into his chest and pulling out something resembling an energy core, then stuffing it into his arm.
"Full-Power Super Burn Cannon..."
After completing this action, Genos immediately aimed his mechanical arms at the sky, and with the sound of clicking, numerous cannons of various sizes appeared, all targeting the meteorite in the sky: "Fire!"
With a loud boom, the formidable energy cannon shot toward the meteorite.
"Oh, oh, oh, it seems to be working!"
The old man, seeing this, also shouted: "The meteorite's descent seems to have slowed down!"
"Really?"
Genos also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah... It seems to have been an illusion."
But in the next second, the old man spoke again: "Sorry, my old eyes are a bit blurry."
"You old man!"
Genos suddenly panicked, but in the next second, he made a decision: "Is this really all the strength I have? No choice then, it looks like I have to self-destruct…"
However, before he could finish speaking, a hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Genos, I hope you remember one thing."
Fang Mo, pressing his shoulder, spoke earnestly: "You are just a young man named Genos. You're not a coolie, not a suicide truck, not a potato mine, not Deidara, not Mad Ivan, and not a gas bomb… Understand?"
"This..."
Clearly, Genos didn't understand any of this: "Mr. Fang Mo, what are you saying?"
"In short, don't ever self-destruct again, otherwise you might as well be the top S-class Blast." Fang Mo wiped his face in resignation: "Alright, leave the rest to me."
"But..."
"There's no 'but'. If we dawdle any longer, your teacher might come over and fight me for the module." Saying this, Fang Mo directly raised his hand toward the meteorite in the sky.
"What if a stone gets stuck in the urethra?"
Unlike the confusion of others, Fang Mo appeared as calm as an old Chinese medicine doctor: "Simple, just fire one shot!"
With that, the power of the Celestial Ego was instantly activated, and a piercing beam of white light flashed through the sky. The Doomsday Meteorite was instantly annihilated, not even leaving a speck of residue. Even the sky above the center of City Z was pierced, creating a pitch-black hole.
"Alright, that's settled!"
Fang Mo then clapped his hands, smiling: "Good, good, my Big Iron Rod Hospital has a new department now. It's a joyous occasion indeed, now we can also set up a stone removal department."
And just as Fang Mo finished this saucy remark.
The system prompt sounded as expected.
[System Notification: "Meteorite" concept researched, you have obtained the download permission for the Meteorite Module.]
~~~
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