Chapter 168: Surprise Attack

The two never told Yu Yuan about this, watching Xiao Pangzi boast excitedly about his manual skills, Chen Mu helplessly interrupted him.

"Since that's the case, take me with you."

"Mm, senior, what do you need the lubricant for?"

"To build a machine."

Chen Mu didn't know how to explain it for a moment, so he blurted out a line.

"Wow, you've already industrialized? That's amazing—if I join, can I work as a laborer?"

"We'll assign work and tasks based on each person's ability and interests."

Chen Mu suddenly realized that, even ignoring the Special Ability's effect, this fatty seemed quite capable—at least he didn't know what 8300 lubricant was.

If we really wanted to build an industrial system, such talent would certainly be needed.

"Wow, not only industrialized, but Qiming already has a clear division of labor?"

"Really?"

"How would I not know?"

Chen Mu noticed that folks like Sun Yuan and Yu Yuan could really infect others' emotions; anyone with weak resolve would surely be led astray.

The five walked while chatting.

More precisely, Yu Yuan chatted on, He Ying occasionally replied, while Chen Mu and the other two stayed silent the whole time.

Soon they arrived by the wall.

This wall held a row of glass cabinets as long as the room; not only were the cabinets full of stuff, but the gaps beneath them and the floor were also packed.

"Here, these are them."

Yu Yuan pointed ahead.

But what Chen Mu saw wasn't the plastic bottle Tang Jing had described; it was several items resembling ballpoint pens, only the front part was very thin and the tip was as sharp as a needle.

"Is this lubricant? Isn't it supposed to be a whole bottle?"

"There are whole bottles too, under the desk, but you can't get them out; these are oil-drop pens—we've used them before to move heavy furniture."

"Why are the oil-drop pens just thrown on the floor?"

"Heh heh, Teacher Wan and I aren't particular about details..."

"What's not being particular? Just littering, right?"

You can tell from the mess in this room.

Chen Mu didn't mind, just asking, "Are you sure these few lubricants are all correct?"

Since he couldn't see the outer packaging, Chen Mu couldn't confirm whether the oil inside these so-called oil-drop pens matched what Tang Jing required.

"Of course, I'm a professional."

Yu Yuan, fearing Chen Mu wouldn't believe him, pointed to the variously colored oil-drop pens and said, "8300 is for springs, 9010 for gears..."

"... just as Tang Jing said."

"This guy really isn't bragging."

Chen Mu finally relaxed, walked to the tip of the oil-drop pen, pretended to pull out a handful from his backpack, and suddenly had several plastic boxes in his hand.

Because it was so fast, Yu Yuan and the other two noticed nothing.

Chen Mu wasn't trying to hide it on purpose; he just didn't want to waste breath explaining, especially to Yu Yuan—he could picture the guy's shocked reaction upon learning the truth.

Soon.

Chen Mu filled the containers with the three lubricants, then sealed them without a sound and put them back in his backpack.

"All set, let's head back."

"Okay, okay, okay."

"Do you have anything you need to bring?"

"Nothing."

Yu Yuan and the other two had grown tired of this place and just wanted to leave quickly.

Chen Mu suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked, "Does Xiao Zhou's space currently hold anything?"

Zhou Xu Liang blinked, then shook his head: "Just woke up, haven't put anything in yet; normally I only use this space when I need to move things."

Chen Mu silently sighed, this ability is really a bit wasted on them.

He didn't know in which aspects Zhou Xu Liang's ability could grow, but he guessed spatial capacity was likely one of them.

Currently it's 1 cubic centimeter; maybe it could reach 1 cubic meter someday?

That would be awesome.

It could transport materials by the ton.

But Chen Mu also knew that Special Ability growth wouldn't be that easy; by then, technological and industrial transport might also reach that level.

But at least now, a 1-centimeter-square space can already bring back quite a bit of stuff for home.

Especially Lao Wan's office—it's practically a treasure trove, a paradise of materials.

But just what to bring back, Chen Mu couldn't decide for a moment.

He Ying also understood Chen Mu's meaning and said, "Why not just bring some extra lubricant?"

"Tang Jing said there's no need to bring more; this is enough."

Speaking of Tang Jing, Chen Mu suddenly had an idea and asked Yu Yuan, "Is there any aluminum alloy here?"

"Of course."

Xiao Pangzi seemed to have hit a sweet spot, laughing instantly: "Aluminum alloy is the main material for building aircraft, so it's used most in model planes—let me think... yeah, we can find it on the way out."

Chen Mu made a quick decision: "Since that's the case, let's head back now—I'll trouble Xiao Zhou later to bring some stuff back to the camp."

"Okay." Zhou Xu Liang didn't talk much, but he looked friendly.

Five people set off on the return journey.

As Yu Yuan had said, on the way to the door, after walking not long, they found the aluminium alloy.

It was a paper box containing variously shaped metal pieces; it looked like a model of some airplane, only not yet assembled.

"Is this it?"

"Mm-hmm." Yu Yuan nodded: "Senior, how much do you need? But to fit inside Zhou Xu Liang's space, it has to be very small parts; let me look..."

Chen Mu was about to say it wasn't necessary.

Then He Ying exclaimed in surprise: "Is that soap?"

Several people turned their heads at the same time.

On the ground beside the model lay a white oval soap, almost used up, leaving only a thin layer, and already dried and cracked.

Obviously, soap of this size could no longer be used in the past; it was probably tossed onto the ground carelessly by some 'unfastidious' people.

However, this size is already terrifyingly large for humans now.

Chen Mu understood He Ying's meaning.

"Should we bring it back?"

Lately I've only been washing with plain water, feeling sticky and unable to get clean; although there's no body wash, this hand soap is already not bad, if possible...

Chen Mu calculated that the soap would last everyone several days, wouldn't take up much space, and would hardly affect the size of his aluminium alloy, so he nodded and said: "Alright, I'll go cut a large piece off."

However, just as he was about to walk forward.

Suddenly, a dramatic change occurred.

Only see, from the other side of the paper box, a sudden flash of cold light shot out, aimed precisely at Chen Mu's position.

The speed of that cold light was extremely fast, instantly triggering his time-adjustment ability.

After several battles, Chen Mu's experience grew richer, and for such an attack he was no longer panicked as before.

He stepped forward, drew his weapon from his waist, was about to assume a stance to raise his shield to block, but a feeling of unease welled up in his heart.

It was almost an instant.

His thoughts flashed, the weapon in his hand turned into a long spear, and he thrust it at the attacker.

At the same time, his body suddenly dodged to the side.

That attacker obviously hadn't expected Chen Mu's reaction to be so swift; the momentum of his offense was momentarily blocked by that fierce spear, yet he still pressed on relentlessly.

Only a "ding" sound was heard.

The two brushed past each other.

Only now did He Ying react, while Yu Yuan and the other three still didn't understand what had happened.

After Chen Mu steadied himself, he looked at the spear in his hand and was stunned for a moment.

Only see, the stainless steel spear was left with only a large portion, becoming a long stick, while the spearhead had been chopped off cleanly and fallen to the ground nearby.