Chapter 708 - A Misunderstanding

Han Wu asked the Will of the Divine Weapon Civilization, and it told him that three materials were required for the Small Locust Blade’s best upgrade path. These were a Tempering Stone, a Gold Beetle carapace, and fluid from a Gold Silkworm.

The Will of the Divine Weapon Civilization also gave him several other options, but they weren’t as ideal. The Small Locust Blade was his main weapon, and he had to ensure it received the best upgrade possible. Han Wu needed to get those three materials no matter what.

With the Small Locust Blade at maximum rank, it could no longer absorb carapaces, so he changed to another Divine Weapon. This time, he decided to upgrade his Locust-V Gatling Gun.

Locust-V absorbed the carapaces like water on dry sand, and its rank quickly rose to 100 as well. Han Wu then used another question to ask the Will of the Divine Weapon Civilization about its upgrade.

The Will of the Divine Weapon Civilization gave him a variety of paths to choose from. The best one was to infuse Locust-V with various elemental effects to turn it into a powerful elemental Divine Weapon.

It was an excellent upgrade choice, but it required a massive amount of resources, eighty-six to be exact. Han Wu had no idea how long he would need to gather all of it.

Skimming through the alternative upgrade paths, he eventually settled on one that only needed three materials: leech jaw, Bloodstone, and Bloodbane Grass. This upgrade path would allow Locust-V to increase its shooting speed by absorbing the blood of fallen foes.

There were still quite a few carapaces left, so Han Wu decided to ask Qin Shuang to melt them into several balls before storing them in his urn. As they were about to leave, they saw several torches approaching from a distance.

Never thought there would be someone rushing to meet their ends here,

Han Wu thought scornfully to himself. He then told Qin Shuang to stay with him as they waited for the torches to get close.

When the deputy of the Noir Group heard that his brother had been killed, he gathered forty reasonably strong men to help avenge him. As they stood before Han Wu and Qin Shuang, the deputy couldn’t help but notice that something was amiss.

According to the intel, there were supposed to be piles of carapaces here, but the place was empty. The others failed to notice this, all too busy glaring at Han Wu and Qin Shuang.

“Boss Hui, it’s them! That couple killed your brother!” blurted one of the earlier survivors.

Boss Hui sized up both Han Wu and Qin Shuang. “You killed my brother?”

“I did,” Han Wu admitted truthfully.

Boss Hui was stunned. After all these years working at the mines, he had become accustomed to the slightly fearful manner with which other miners had treated him in the past.

Han Wu’s contrasting lack of concern caused him to hesitate. He could bully the miners all he wanted, but Han Wu wasn’t a miner, and it appeared that he wasn’t afraid of the Noir Group either. That meant Han Wu either had a background stronger than the Noir Group or that he was physically stronger.

Boss Hui was at a loss. The dead middle-aged man on the ground was technically his cousin, not his actual brother. His cousin had simply treated him with enough respect that he had turned a blind eye to his cousin’s claims that they were instead brothers.

However, his cousin had offended this person before he died. Boss Hui was in a pickle. He could avenge his cousin, but he didn’t know if Han Wu was stronger. On the other hand, if he didn’t avenge his brother, his underlings would lose respect for him.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he ended up shooting a pointed look at his most loyal underling. The underling instantly understood.

Grabbing his Divine Weapon, the underling stepped forward to scold Han Wu, “You idi—”

Han Wu’s Small Locust Blade pressed against his neck. The underling dared not move even a single inch.

Having gained an understanding of the type of foe he was facing, Boss Hui decided to defuse the situation immediately.

“You idiot! Is that what I taught you? You need to treat guests with respect. How could you just attack him like that? Come back here!” Boss Hui scolded.

Then, turning to Han Wu, he apologized profusely, “I’m sorry for the rudeness of my underling. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”

Han Wu was actually quite fair most of the time and was more than happy not to deal with this mess. He recalled his Small Locust Blade, and the underling collapsed to the ground, knees weak from toeing the edge of hell.

“What about your brother?” Han Wu asked.

“What brother? I’m the only son in my family. I don’t have one.” Boss Hui waved his hand dismissively. “You must’ve mistaken him for someone else. It’s all a misunderstanding.”

The underlings following Boss Hui were stunned. They couldn’t believe their ears. On the way over, Boss Hui had been raving about avenging his brother, yet now he was claiming not to have one. It was as if Boss Hui had turned into someone else entirely! How could he just deny having a brother?

Despite their thoughts, none of them dared to poke holes in Boss Hui’s lies.

“My men told me that you gathered a lot of materials and couldn’t transport them on your own,” Boss Hui explained, “so I called some of my men down to help you.”

Only after hearing Boss Hui’s words did the underlings finally realize that the bags of carapaces around them were all gone. There had been at least several hundred thousand catties worth of carapaces. How could they possibly have disappeared?

“What material?” Han Wu asked, mimicking Boss Hui’s feigned ignorance. “There’s only the two of us here, and we don’t have any materials.”

Boss Hui nodded. “Then this is probably all just a big misunderstanding. In that case, I won’t bother the two of you anymore. Good day.”

With that, Boss Hui hastily tried to leave with his underlings.

“Wait,” Han Wu called out.

Boss Hui halted in his tracks, sweat pouring down his back. “Is there anything else?”

“I need some material.” Han Wu patted Boss Hui’s shoulder. “Can the Noir Group help me?”

Boss Hui wanted to decline, but the sensation of cold metal at the back of his neck had him swallowing his words. He tentatively reached back to touch it and flinched at its sharpness. It was a blade! Boss Hui dared not move a muscle, lest Han Wu kill him.

“The Noir Group can help,” Boss Hui quickly agreed. “But we need some time.”

“I don’t have time. You have one day to get all six materials I need. If not... Well, I’m sure I don’t have to spell it out for you, right?”

The blade at the back of Boss Hui’s neck seemed to grow colder, as if ready to pierce through him at a moment’s notice. Body trembling, he stiffly replied. “I understand!”

“I look forward to your good news,” Han Wu said, recalling his Small Locust Blade.

Boss Hui turned around, heart pounding loudly as he lamented to himself,

What misfortune! I lost my cousin, and now I have to help him look for stuff?