Exploding God

"Haha, easy, easy." Tang Hui chuckled with the group of guests, then turned and glared at them, walking up the stairs where Lu Ze was. He lowered his voice and said angrily, "You brat, come down here! Don't think your Uncle Tang won't beat people up!"

When the last few words were spoken, the tone of his voice was so mournful that it became somewhat distorted.

"Okay." Lu Ze smiled, using his left hand as a fulcrum, and performed a beautiful somersault over the escalator to land.

This action made Tang Hui's pupils shrink sharply. He looked at Lu Ze with a half-smile, "Well, lad, when did you become so skilled? How come I never noticed before? But... do you think you can go toe-to-toe with me like this?"

Tang Hui crossed his arms and scratched his chin, looking at Lu Ze with interest. To be honest, he did seem to see some problems.

That is, although Lu Ze's demeanor remained as nonchalant as ever, the calmness in his eyes and the steady breathing as he stood were consistent with his previous understanding of Lu Ze...

Completely opposite!

"I wouldn't dare, after all, I'm afraid of Sister Yingqi," Lu Ze teased.

"You!—" Old Tang was furious.

"Uncle Tang, how about we discuss a business deal?" Lu Ze tossed a box of soft-pack cigarettes over his shoulder.

Old Tang reached out with lightning speed, and in the blink of an eye, the cigarette case appeared in that rough hand. He squeezed the soft texture, and the uncle's mouth opened into a grin, about to burst into laughter, but he suddenly stopped, his eyebrows shot up, and he glared at the cigarette case and flung it back!

The boy spread his five fingers and caught it.

The middle-aged man stared sharply at Lu Ze, his tone unusually stern, "This pack of cigarettes costs 70 yuan, where did you get the money!"

Lu Ze looked up calmly, and as their eyes met, he grinned and tossed the cigarette pack back.

"Uncle, take this. I didn't steal, rob, or ask for this money; I earned it myself."

His tone was natural, even somewhat gentle, without any eagerness to defend himself.

Lu Ze felt a warmth in his heart; he knew what Tang Hui was worried about.

Given his family's circumstances, Tang Hui couldn't allow even a single penny to be wasted outside of daily life and studies. Although he was strict, he was thinking of himself and his family.

This man is the one who appears rough and uncouth, but is actually incredibly meticulous.

"Really?" Old Tang asked hesitantly, his fingers tightening around the cigarette box, clearly reluctant to part with it.

"More real than real gold." Lu Ze smiled brightly.

"Haha, kid, you've got guts! Alright, I'll accept this pack of cigarettes. But if I find out you're lying later, you know what will happen—" Tang Hui first took a smug sniff of the tobacco aroma, then raised his fist, which was as big as a clay pot, and shook it forcefully twice.

However, Tang Hui keenly noticed a hint of...pity on Lu Ze's face.

Old Tang narrowed his eyes. What did this kid mean?

Could it be that you underestimate my fist, Tang Hui's fist?!

This is simply...

"Bring me the cigarettes." A calm female voice came from behind, the voice was cold, so cold that even Old Tang, a grown man, shivered.

"...Yingqi?" Tang Hui's expression went through a series of changes in just three seconds: anger, blankness, surprise, and then fawning. Finally, he turned around and ran over to present the box of summer cigarettes with both hands. "Hahaha, good girl. Why did you suddenly come back so late at night without telling your dad so I could pick you up?"

Ahead of Lu Ze's gaze, a tall girl wearing a short jacket over a white shirt, paired with cropped leather pants and black boots, was coldly looking at Tang Hui with her arms crossed.

She was about 174cm tall, with long, straight legs, a slightly raised, white chin, a ponytail hanging down her back, and her heroic eyebrows raised. When her gaze fell on Lu Ze, she let out a soft snort of dissatisfaction.

Lu Ze smiled apologetically and spread his hands.

After Tang Hui obediently handed the cigarette box to his daughter, he secretly turned around and glared at Lu Ze with a fierce yet aggrieved look.

"I already told you Tang Yingqi is here," Lu Ze said sincerely.

Tang Hui's expression froze, his eyes gradually hardened, and his muscles bulged as if about to explode.

"You should call her Sister Yingqi!" Tang Yingqi coldly corrected.

"Dad, is this how you quit smoking?" Tang Yingqi asked with a hint of sarcasm, holding the pack of cigarettes between her two fair fingers, instantly drawing Old Tang's attention back to him.

"I didn't smoke. I really didn't smoke!" Old Tang's tone was aggrieved and indignant. "Look, I didn't even tear open the plastic wrap."

"Then why did you accept the cigarette?"

"I... I'll just smell it, is that not okay?"

"no."

Old Tang: ……

"I'm going home first. If I see you smoking again, hmph." Tang Yingqi gave a meaningful warning, arrogantly raised her chin, and turned to walk towards the shop.

"Old Tang's daughter is really beautiful."

"Why is Mr. Tang so rough around the edges?"

"Shh... keep your voice down."

The diners whispered among themselves, glancing at Tang Yingqi with admiration and then subtly casting suspicious glances at Tang Hui, nearly causing the latter to explode.

"Hello, Sister Yingqi."

"Hello, elder sister!"

Three apprentices from the Brilliant Machine Repair Shop bowed and scraped.

Lu Ze looked at the proud back of the white swan with amusement. The warning look it had just given was also directed at Old Tang and himself.

"What's wrong with me, Tang Hui?! Just because someone's handsome is my child! I was a real puppy when I was young!"

"That's right, Uncle, you're absolutely right." Lu Ze nodded with a smile, and then, as the middle-aged man's expression shifted from astonishment to ecstasy, he tossed out a pack of Xia Yan cigarettes.

Glug~~

Tang Hui squeezed the soft cigarette wrapper in disbelief. "How come you still have more?"

"This is a gift for you tomorrow," Lu Ze grinned.

"It's okay, it's okay, today and tomorrow are the same. Lu Ze, you're a good kid. And speaking of which... um, this cigarette tastes really authentic." Tang Hui's eyes welled up with tears. What a good kid.

He couldn't wait to take out a cigarette, light it with his lighter, and exhale a comfortable smoke ring.

"By the way, you just said you had something to discuss with your uncle. Don't worry, for the sake of our years as neighbors, as long as it's not illegal or criminal, everything is negotiable." Old Tang took it all in, and now he found Lu Ze more and more pleasing to the eye.

"Uncle Tang, could I borrow your machine repair shop?"

"A machine repair room? Sure, I'll have Gangdan and the others clear it out for you tomorrow. How many days do you need it for?" Old Tang took another puff of his cigarette and shuddered.

"It's not the one that's open to the public, it's your own." Lu Ze smiled meaningfully.

"Okay... wait, who told you that!" Old Tang raised his eyebrows, staring at Lu Ze with suspicion. He had some real equipment hidden in his own repair shop, and he was certain that he had never told Lu Ze, not even the three apprentices who worked there for a long time knew about it.

"Anyway, Sister Yingqi definitely won't tell me," Lu Ze said sincerely.

"Alright, alright, alright, girls really are outgoing. Now that you know, I won't hide it from you anymore." Tang Hui's face was no longer as casual as before. He stared at Lu Ze's face and said in a serious voice, "I can tell you clearly that the things in this machine repair room are not something you can handle at your age, so don't blame me for disagreeing."

Lu Ze wasn't in a hurry. He understood what Old Tang meant. In Old Tang's view, that machine repair room contained some things that could be called real weapons. With his father and Tang Hui's past background, they might even have heavy weapons. Since the parents hadn't mentioned it to their child, Tang Hui was even less likely to let Lu Ze come into contact with these things.

Perhaps, in Tang Hui's view, the greatest happiness is for his generation to live peacefully and safely.

However, the future usually does not unfold according to one's wishes.

"I won't touch or study the things inside. What I need is the most professional equipment in that room." Before Tang Hui could speak, Lu Ze held up his index finger. "A combat association A-level squad's active-duty construct mech. I need it transported over tomorrow for disassembly. I don't feel comfortable leaving it anywhere else except here with you, Uncle Tang."

This time it was Tang Hui's turn to be shocked. He never expected that Lu Ze would drop such a bombshell so casually!

The current constructs of the A-level teams are probably at least fourth generation or higher, with some constructs even capable of breaking the sound barrier at low altitudes, not to mention the Berserker Mech and Element Mech with their wide-range destructive power!

When it comes to heavy firepower, my limited stockpile is absolutely no match for these humanoid weapons!

The key is……

How did this kid manage to get his hands on all this stuff?!

***

PS: Thank you to "Qingqiu Shisan" for the 3000 reward, and thank you to "Shao Siming Xuan Ning" and "Qi Feng Le l" for the rewards!