Myles led Han Shuo, Han Tu and Han Huo into the energy crystal warehouse.
It was only after entering the Goldstone branch that Han Shuo realised the scale of the business. There were shelves upon shelves of rare and strange ores on display. Many of the ores could glow. The shop was brightly lit even though there were only a few magic lamps.
After instructing the clerks to return to their stations, Myles led Han Shuo and his two children to a secret warehouse deep within the shop.
This moderately sized warehouse was filled with shimmering Firespark Stones and HeavenlyFire Stones, muddy yellow Rentocite and Terratomite, and translucent Water Soul Stones and Aquacrystal. Each ore and item inside was extremely valuable and especially useful to Earth, Fire, Water and Wood Elite Zombies.
"For the past ten years, my master has been delivering all sorts of unique and precious ores collected from every branch to this shop in Ethereal City through various channels. He also assigned me to this branch to guard and secure these ores. Haha, Master said these ores are all prepared for you," Myles explained to the astonished Han Huo and Han Tu with a smile.
The variety of ores stored in the warehouse was very useful for the Elite Zombies. There was also a considerable amount of divine essence. Most of the divine essences belonged to the energy of fire, life, water, earth and death. It was obvious that Metal Elite Zombie had collected the items for them.
The depot was filled with a spectacular amount of precious ores and crystals. The pile of Divine Essence alone was worth several million Black Crystal Coins. The other ores and energy crystals inside were also fantastic materials that were no less beneficial to the elite zombies.
"Damn, he's really great!" said Han Huo, his eyes glittering with greed. He threw himself into a pile of fire energy stones and began to absorb the fire energy contained within.
"Little Gold is really generous to give us so much good stuff!" said Han Tu with a foolish smile as he grabbed a handful of terratomite and began to absorb the earth energy contained within.
"It seems that he has really thought of us all these years," a touched Han Shuo remarked.
Even without Myles' explanation, it was obvious to Han Shuo that the reason Metal Elite Zombie had sent and accumulated items in this shop was so that Han Shuo and the others could have all these wonderful treasures when they met again there in Ethereal City.
"Master had instructed us to follow your orders after you arrived in Ethereal City," Myles said as he bowed to Han Shuo, "but the name Master gave you was Han Shuo. Since you used a different name in Ethereal City, we did not know you had arrived."
"You know who I am?" asked Han Shuo with a raised eyebrow.
Myles nodded smilingly and replied, "You are my master's father. Haha, of course I know who you are."
After hearing these words from Myles, Han Shuo was certain that he was a trusted aide of Metal Elite Zombie. Otherwise, Myles wouldn't have known so much and wouldn't have been trusted with all these treasures.
"Where is he right now?" asked Han Shuo. He reasoned that if Metal Elite Zombie had arranged all this in this shop, he should know that it was almost time for their planned reunion and he should at least be on his way to Ethereal City.
"Master should be on his way. He will be in Ethereal City soon," Myles replied with a smile. Then, after a short pause, Myles asked somewhat nervously, "Do you have any instructions for me? You can take anything you want from the shop. If you need crystal coins, I can get you a few million."
Han Shuo shook his head with a smile and replied, "Things seem to be going well here, and I don't see the need to make any changes. For now, I don't need you to do anything for me. I'm not short of crystal coins either."
"Understood," After finding out that Han Shuo was the owner of Celestial Pearl Pharmacy, Myles knew that it was very unlikely that Han Shuo was short of crystal coins.
"Right, I will take some of the ores from this shop," Han Shuo said with a smile after thinking for a while. The goldstone shop had a greater variety of ores than any of its competitors. As he entered the shop, he noticed several extremely rare materials that were excellent for making weapons.
"Go ahead! Like I said, you can take anything you see in the shop," Myles replied straightforwardly.
Since everything in the shop belonged to Metal Elite Zombie, and Myles was instructed to give Han Shuo anything he wanted, Han Shuo had no qualms about taking the items. He started by taking some ores and divine essences from the secret depot, before taking Myles to the outer areas of the shop. There he took a dozen more strange and bizarre rocks and crystals.
After Han Shuo had finished, they waited a moment for Han Huo and Han Tu to come out of the secret depot. The two children seemed very content and happy. They were constantly fondling the space rings they wore on their fingers. They must have kept away all the ores meant for them that were in the secret depot.
"Alright, we will leave now. Please tell him about today's events when he returns," Han Shuo smiled and said goodbye to Myles after Han Huo and Han Tu came out of the shop.
"Don't worry, I will make sure to tell Master everything that happened today," Myles bowed as Han Shuo and his children left.
"Grandpa Myles, who are they? They took many items from our shop, but they didn't pay a single crystal coin. Who in the world are they?" asked the shopkeeper who almost fought Han Huo after the father and sons left.
Not only her, but all the other shopkeepers in Goldstone were puzzled and wanted an answer. They had seen Han Shuo taking items off the shelves and throwing all kinds of mineral stones into his space ring. And after that, not only did he not pay a single crystal coin, he acted as if he owned the shop. Even Myles was humbled and bowed to him constantly. They could not quite understand what was happening.
These insignificant little workers were unaware of the existence of Metal Elite Zombie. Only a few of the core members of Goldstone Trading knew that Metal Elite Zombie was the real owner of the company.
Even fewer people knew about Metal Elite Zombie's relationship with Han Shuo and others. It was normal for these workers to be clueless.
Myles' face became stern. With a deep voice, he said to the workers, "I want you all to remember this: Don't tell anyone about what happened today, and don't try to find out what you don't need to know. Perhaps one day in the future, when you have gained the trust of the owner and become a Dominion Manager of Goldstone Enterprise, you will be qualified to learn these secrets."
Myles scanned the young shopkeepers with his eyes, groaned slightly and said, "If I find out that any of you leaked this, I won't go easy on you! All right. That will be all. Now get back to work."
The shop workers were startled and frightened. They had rarely seen Myles so stern with them, and they realised that these three people must be very important people. They promised to keep the matter quiet and went back to their posts in silence.
*** At the City Lord's mansion.
City Lord Baum wore a puzzled expression as he listened to the report from the divine guard who was at Goldstone Trading.
"Did you say that the guy named Han Huo is also his son?" asked Baum halfway through the report.
Just like Han Tu in the Earth Dominion, Han Huo was quite a famous person in the Fire Dominion, or rather infamous. He often got into fights with others over minor quarrels and had offended many in the Fire Dominion. Since he was supremely skilled in the use of fire energy and wielded the Fire Lotus, the most outstanding weapon of the fire attribute, Han Huo was not afraid to challenge experts of a more advanced realm. He was the most famous among the young people of the Fire Dominion.
Baum was already quite surprised that Han Tu was Han Shuo's son. He was even more surprised when he learned that Han Huo of the Fire Dominion was also his son. Baum became more and more curious about Han Shuo, wondering why he had come to Ethereal City and what he was up to.
The divine guard nodded and respectfully replied, "It also seems that the owner of the Goldstone Enterprise has a close relationship with him. Goldstone is one of the largest stores of energy crystals in our city. They have branches in almost every dominion, and they have more influence than the Celestial Pearl. However, when the manager of the Goldstone branch heard your name, he immediately turned friendly... "
"What?!!!" Baum was gobsmacked.
Although Earth and Fire Elite Zombies possessed decent strengths and had some miraculous abilities, they were just two individuals who weren't even Highgods. Baum had deemed them too weak to be reckoned with. But things were very different when it comes to Goldstone Enterprise. With shops located in almost every Divine Dominion, Goldstone possessed not just tremendous financial resources but also connections. To learn that the mysterious business owner might have a close relationship with Han Shuo, Baum felt threatened.
Was inviting this person to stay in Ethereal City a bad move? pondered the intimidated Baum. After thinking for a moment, he instructed the divine guard, "Pay extra attention to that Goldstone store. Also, try talking to those shop workers.
Try to learn what they have discussed inside the shop."
"My Lord, should I also keep a close watch over Bryan and those few with him?" asked the divine guard after bowing in acknowledgment.
Baum shook his head. He seemed rather grave as he replied, "You should not get close to them. Don't send anyone to monitor them and just leave them alone. I will handle them."
"Yes, my Lord!"
The divine guard immediately dismissed himself and went on to carry out the task Baum assigned him with.
"Bryan, O, Bryan, what exactly are you up to in Ethereal City?" soliloquized Baum with his brows bunched after the divine guard left. He did not know that on the top of a big tree several hundred meters away there was a demon general, observing his every move day and night.