Under One Person, Engage in Black Technology

Chapter 189 Casual Chat and the Oven Explosion

While Lao Ma was leading a group of 'village militiamen' and the three black-tube fighters in a fierce battle, Liu Ke also arrived at the 'workshop' where the body-cultivation furnace was located.

Actually, ending up here was quite the opposite of what he initially thought—heading straight out of the village. But there was nothing he could do about it.

The reason is quite simple...

Previously, Liu Ke had the "Black Wall" dismantle Na Du Tong's operational plan and the current personnel distribution in the war zone. Naturally, the artificial intelligence then had to use the data it was "fed" to conduct a rudimentary simulation of the battlefield's trajectory.

The plan of Na Dutong and his group is called "Dismemberment by Chariot". The plan is strategic and very straightforward. It is to lure Ma Xianhong to the westernmost part of the village, and then let Zhang Chulan at the eastern end of the village attack the cultivation furnace to give Ma Xianhong another mental attack.

Given Old Ma's emphasis on the Body-Cultivating Furnace, during the chase, he would only passively take hits to prevent himself from being entangled. This shift in power would give the temporary workers the opportunity to launch a sustained and fierce attack.

The conclusion that Blackwall reached based on this plan was that the 'final round' would happen to be at the workshop where the [Cultivation Furnace] was prepared.

Of course, no speculation about the human being is ever 100% accurate. Even variety shows with a scripted plot sometimes have to be re-recorded due to unforeseen circumstances, let alone a real-life battle between supernatural beings.

However, judging from the current situation, even if the location of the 'final circle' changes due to various events, it will not be far from here.

After all, one of the key data points for the Black Wall's calculations was Ma Xianhong's 'speed'. Unless Ma Xianhong's combat experience was compromised and he was forcibly 'slowed down' halfway through by those individuals' methods, it wouldn't have a significant impact on the time and location of the final battle.

……

When Liu Ke entered the courtyard, he saw Zhang Chulan standing in front of the stove from afar, holding a cigarette in one hand and smoking it heavily, while supporting a large iron hammer with the other.

The other person smoked a cigarette while glancing at their phone, waiting for Gao Yushan, who was temporarily acting as 'chief of staff,' to issue dispatch instructions.

However, Master Bilian's skill was not weak, and Liu Ke, as a half-baked superhuman, did not make any intention to hide his figure. So, his approach naturally attracted Master Bilian's attention.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be keeping a close eye on my 'nephew'..."

Zhang Chulan puffed out his cheeks, took a drag of his cigarette down to the butt, then hoisted the large hammer that Ma Xianhong usually used to fix the furnace onto his shoulder and asked Liu Ke.

Liu Ke shrugged upon hearing this, then pointed behind Zhang Chulan and said calmly, "Want to smash the furnace? Why don't you use the [Mornier] I gave you? Old Ma's hammer is for filling things; in terms of destructive power, it's not as powerful as the one I made."

Zhang Chulan was taken aback upon hearing this, then chuckled twice and explained, "What's wrong with me... you know I'm broke. The hammer you gave me is my most prized possession now, I wouldn't dare use it casually."

"This body-cultivating furnace looks pretty sturdy. I'm just worried that [Mjolnir] might wear down some of it. That would be such a waste."

"What if... you don't come back to the company anymore? Who will make up for it?"

Zhang Chulan's words were interesting, and Liu Ke couldn't help but grin as well, saying, "I heard that Master Wang Ye spent a lot of money on that job, and he specifically asked for you. The company must have given you a lot of commission, right? Where's the money?"

"The company can't keep all of it, can it? Even if nine out of ten are taken... you should still have some pocket money left."

“I remember there is someone in the company who can repair magical artifacts. It’s just a matter of patching some parts. It won’t cost much to hire him.”

After hearing this, Zhang Chulan couldn't help but laugh awkwardly a few times, and said, "If only the company could think like that, but in reality... how could it be so ideal?"

"As Fourth Brother said, without the company as a platform, Master Wang wouldn't have come looking for me!"

"The money that Lao Wang transferred went through headquarters first, then to the regional branch, and finally to the [Special Operations Team]. By the time it reached me, there was only a little over 10,000 left. I just used it to pay off some of my previous Huabei (Alipay's credit service) and then it was all gone."

After saying this, Zhang Chulan swayed his back and turned to stare at Liu Ke. This Master Bilian's attitude was quite clear: he had no desire to attack, but he was on guard.

In Zhang Chulan's view, since Liu Ke had already made his stance clear, then taking down Liu Ke, the weakest member of the "temporary worker team," would be the most convenient way for the other side to achieve "victory."

Liu Ke naturally understood what the other party meant, and simply waved his hand and said, "I just came to chat for a bit. You go about your business, I'm going to take a stroll outside."

"I'll come over after you've finished smashing the furnace."

Zhang Chulan was taken aback upon hearing Liu Ke's words. Although he had long anticipated that Liu Ke would discover their plan, hearing it just like that still made him feel uneasy, as if their 'secret operation' had been exposed.

But seeing the other party leave, he still breathed a sigh of relief, because Liu Ke's actions meant that the other party really did not intend to hinder the 'temporary workers' plan to smash the furnace.

Just then, his phone started vibrating. He looked at the message and, sure enough, it was Erzhuang telling him that he could take action.

"Old Ma, I'm sorry. Anyway, you guys don't need another furnace, so please don't blame me..."

After putting down his phone, Zhang Chulan took a deep breath and then stopped paying attention to what was behind him. He picked up the large iron hammer and strode forward, swung it around a few times, and then used the momentum to rush towards the body-cultivating furnace.

"what!"

As soon as Zhang Chulan exhaled, he leaped up and used the "Splitting Mount Hua" technique to unleash the power of the large iron hammer, slamming it forcefully onto the side panel of the body-cultivating furnace.

……

镑！
This strike was powerful and heavy, causing the cultivation furnace to shake violently.

But what followed was not only the sound of the stove vibrating, but also twenty or thirty little flowers falling from the ceiling like dumplings.

These "flower-like" creatures were naturally Ma Xianhong's backup plan. As soon as they landed, they all bared their teeth and claws and pounced on Zhang Chulan.

Zhang Chulan is no ordinary person these days. Although he is less experienced and decisive than the other temporary workers, it is hard to say who is stronger in terms of lethality and destructive power.

He tossed the large hammer aside, reached for the small hammer at his waist with his right hand, grabbed the pendant's tail cord of [Mjolnir], and swung the hammer around.

As he unleashed his inner energy and activated his lightning magic, the surrounding space began to be filled with constantly leaping lightning.

Swish!
Zhang Chulan gave it a powerful flick, and the [Miao Ernier] was finally spun away, beginning to spin rapidly around its user.

Such a wide-ranging attack naturally struck the group of "Ru Hua" (a type of female character in Chinese folklore), and every "Ru Hua" affected by the hammer and lightning quickly began to break and crumble, eventually turning into dust.

In the end, only one special doll remained, which was clearly not Ru Hua's; it was jet black with a red glow.

Seeing the success of his attack, Zhang Chulan breathed a sigh of relief. He then enveloped himself in a protective golden light spell and charged forward with his hammer, smashing it down on the black puppet. "Preserved Egg, take my Heavy Hammer Spark!"

boom!
The black puppet was quite fast, using an extremely strange gait to retreat several steps in succession, dodging Zhang Chulan's physical attack. However, unexpectedly, a bolt of lightning that came with the hammer blow smashed through the workshop of the Body Cultivation Furnace and landed directly on the puppet's body.

Although it was just a rapid lightning strike simulated by [Mjolnir], its power was not comparable to the real heavenly lightning, and it was even weaker than [Palm Lightning]. However, it could still damage and interfere with the internal structure of the black puppet.

After being hit, Zhang Chulan saw the black puppet's movements begin to slow down. With renewed confidence, he raised his hammer again and smashed the black puppet to pieces.

But in the next instant, black energy uncontrollably escaped from the black puppet's body and flew towards Zhang Chulan.

The black energy was extremely special. Even with golden light protecting him, Zhang Chulan could not block it, and it quickly invaded his mouth and nose.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Chulan was completely exhausted and collapsed to his knees.

……

Zhang Chulan's demolition operations, using a large sledgehammer at 80 and a small sledgehammer at 40, were quite loud; Liu Ke could hear them even without a drone watching.

He said he was going outside for a stroll, but he didn't actually go very far; he was just twenty meters away from the workshop.

Suddenly, the crackling sounds of thunder in the house stopped. He thought that Zhang Chulan, the newly appointed director of the demolition office, had finished the project. But when he switched to the drone's perspective, he found that Zhang Chulan's condition on the ground was not right.

Liu Ke frowned and immediately changed direction, preparing to check on Zhang Chulan's situation.

But before he had taken more than a few steps, he saw Zhang Chulan suddenly stand up with his five orifices shining brightly, and he no longer looked like he had a problem.

What happened next was even more bizarre.

This Chu Lan looked like a sleepwalking infant, getting up unsteadily and then looking around, reaching out his hand like a basic zombie from Plants vs. Zombies.

After stumbling a couple of steps, Zhang Chulan fell to the ground again, and coincidentally touched the [Miao Ernier] hanging behind his waist, which he then began to play with.

With a flick of his wrist, the hammer slammed down on the cultivation furnace again, making a loud banging sound.

Seemingly caught up in childlike wonder and finding the sound amusing, 'Zhang Chulan' repeated it several times, adding some lightning magic to it, thus blasting the cultivation furnace in two.

This action seemed to have exhausted him, so 'Zhang Chulan' stopped in his tracks and curled up.

After resting for quite a while, his expression cleared up, which relieved Liu Ke, who was watching from the drone's perspective.

"Is this Chu Lan's trump card? It's quite something, a mini combo of [sleeping] + [snoring] + [sleep talking]..."

"Tsk, it seems that although he is not very conscious in this state, he can still decompose Qi."

"Old Ma's defeat in this match... if it were a normal confrontation, would definitely be well-deserved. Putting everything else aside, just Chu Lan's trump card alone destroyed most of Old Ma's magical artifacts. He truly deserves to be the protagonist of this world..."

"Fantasy Killer Premium..."

Liu Ke muttered to himself and thought for a moment before leaping onto the roof and finding a hiding place.

The reason is simple: Village Chief Ma and his group have finished their chase and are about to return.

However, not all the people had arrived yet, and it wasn't time for Liu to make his appearance, so he needed to remain hidden for a while longer.

……

About half a minute later, Lao Ma, who had been playing "Running Man" for a while, returned to his own [workshop], and thanks to Zhang Chulan, all he could see now was a pile of wreckage.

As for what kind of remains they were, there were naturally some like flowers, some like houses, but most of them were the remains of the cultivation furnace.

Such a sight naturally enraged Ma Xianhong, who valued the cultivation furnace more than his own lifeblood.

The main reason is that... Old Ma believes he has been completely open and honest with Zhang Chulan, and he has given him an "extraordinary" reception and conducted negotiations. He accepts that Zhang Chulan has deliberately kept him here tonight.

But he never expected Zhang Chulan to treat him like this.

"Zhang! Chu! Lan!"

Subconsciously, Ma Xianhong let out a shrill scream, as if she were learning for the first time that Kong Ci did not love her Qin Shuang.

Although for Lao Ma, rebuilding a body-cultivating furnace wouldn't be particularly difficult if he had enough materials, he truly finds it hard to let go of the fact that everything today is so difficult.

The most crucial point is that he clearly considered Zhang Chulan a 'comrade,' yet he was betrayed by him in this way. For someone who values ​​comrades so much, this was a disgrace. Therefore, he prepared for revenge.

But one must take things one step at a time, and deal with people one by one. Now that there are four experts standing in his way, dealing with Zhang Chulan naturally has to be put on hold.

boom!
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Zizai and Wang Zhenqiu arrived and attacked together. One used the Great Compassion Palm, and the other swung the Ruyi Jingu Bang, striking Old Ma from above and below.

Although Ma Xianhong was protected by the Black Armor, he did not dare to take the attack head-on. The protection of magical artifacts has its limits, and he would choose to dodge as much as possible if he could.

But just then, an old man with a Peking Opera mask jumped out from behind him, holding a Qi whip, and struck Ma Xianhong directly at the waist with a fierce aura.

"You scoundrel! Give me back my Golden Phoenix!"

The old man was none other than Xia Liuqing. His whip strike was solid, sending Ma Xianhong flying eight or nine meters away.

Seeing this, Wang Zhenqiu and Xiao Zizai did not waste the opportunity and followed suit, wanting to beat the dog when it was down, each using their best skills.

But Ma Xianhong knew perfectly well that the other side was going to launch wave after wave of attacks, and he was not about to let them succeed.

He directly unleashed the sonic shockwave from the Sky Howl, slamming it into Xia Liuqing, and then flung out 'Okamoto 001' which flew towards Xiao Zizai's head.

(End of this chapter)