The Natives of This World Are Fierce

The key ingredient Doudou’s Wishing Gold Coin lacked wasn’t Gold Ore, but the Shaping Material required to create them.

Back in Magson, Doudou had his own Sukana Crystal Ore mine. To be precise, it was a gold mine; the Sukana Crystal Stone was just a companion mineral to the gold there.

As a mineral containing special energy, it was naturally unlikely to exist on Earth. Qin Xiaoxia had once taken Doudou to browse all sorts of ore markets and Gemstone shops, but Doudou had never been able to find a suitable substance.

But things were different now that they had the Magic Energy Crystal. This high-grade item was practically an all-purpose material, blowing the Sukana Crystal Stone out of the water by a mile.

Hearing his cousin mention his Wishing Gold Coin again, Doudou, who had just returned with more ingredients, was extremely excited.

"Hey, hey, hey!! Mrs. Huang, come look at my treasure!"

He rummaged and rummaged inside his shirt, as if presenting a priceless treasure.

In Gou Junbao’s opinion, it was probably some tasty snack or a colorful pebble. Huang Jiutian knew Doudou was no ordinary child, but he also figured he couldn’t possibly have any real treasures. It was most likely just some fun toy.

But when the Magic Energy Crystal was pulled out, it was so brilliant it nearly blinded them.

Hazy shades of pale purple, pale green, and pale yellow blended into one another, making the Gemstone exceptionally dazzling.

Huang Jiutian almost instantly felt the Magic Power in his arm burn hot. The object before his eyes was truly a priceless treasure!

He glanced at Qin Xiaoxia, who was nonchalantly placing lamb on the grilling paper, as if Doudou were holding nothing more than a toy.

Gou Junbao looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He scrutinized the Gemstone from top to bottom, squinting his eyes into slits and then widening them into saucers, as if trying to find a switch on it, or see wires and a lightbulb inside.

Of course, he found nothing of the sort.

He reached out to take it for a closer look, but Doudou slapped his hand away with a SMACK!

"Get your filthy hands off it! Don’t you dare break my Magic Energy Crystal!"

Doudou tucked the Magic Energy Crystal back into his shirt, then picked up a piece of cooked meat with his chopsticks, dipped it in sauce, and began to eat.

"Little Hero, what was that in Doudou’s hand just now?"

Huang Jiutian was also extremely curious. He felt a strong pull from the object.

Qin Xiaoxia stirred the fresh chili sauce Doudou had just procured into his bowl, answering the question in a calm tone.

"That’s a Magic Energy Crystal. Or by another name you might have heard of."

Qin Xiaoxia paused for a moment before finishing his sentence.

"The Philosopher’s Stone."

"PFFT—" Gou Junbao spat out the mouthful of barbecue he was eating, drawing the attention of both Huang Jiutian and Qin Xiaoxia.

"Brother Gou, what’s wrong? Did you eat so much you’re puking?"

Qin Xiaoxia asked with concern.

"I’m fine, I’m fine..."

Seeing their concern, Gou Junbao quickly laughed it off.

He then picked up the can of ice-cold beer from the table, stared at it, then shook his head.

’Is this beer really that strong?’

Inwardly, Huang Jiutian was also extremely shocked, though for a different reason than Gou Junbao.

The Philosopher’s Stone!

How could he not have heard of such a thing?

In common myths and legends, it was a transformative Gemstone possessing miraculous power—the key to the Stone-to-Gold Transformation, the transmutation of all things, and even immortality.

If all the old legends and records were fake, hearing it come from Qin Xiaoxia’s mouth gave it a different weight entirely.

"So, this... is it like the one in the legends...?"

"It’s a bit different from the legends, of course. The Philosopher’s Stone can’t grant immortality, otherwise the Association’s power wouldn’t have waned to this extent. As for using it for the Stone-to-Gold Transformation... that might not be impossible, but it would be a terrible waste."

"PFFT—"

"What are you doing, Gou Junbao!"

Doudou’s childish voice seethed with anger.

"You sprayed spit all over the hot pot! My prawns were almost ready to eat! You have to pay me back~~!"

Meanwhile, Qin Xiaoxia and Huang Jiutian once again turned to look at Gou Junbao.

"Brother Gou, are you really okay? Maybe you drank too much beer and feel bloated? You need to take care of yourself, even at an all-you-can-eat barbecue!"

"I’m fine, I’m fine. I’ll go get some orange juice, some orange juice."

Gou Junbao used the opportunity to go to the restroom, splash cold water on his face, and then returned to his seat carrying a carton of orange juice.

When he returned, Qin Xiaoxia and Huang Jiutian had moved on to more normal, everyday topics. They were discussing the subject all men love—beautiful women—and debating the importance of a curvy figure versus a pretty face.

They also happened to mention that it was a shame about the girlfriend Gou Junbao had recently broken up with, saying she seemed like a nice person.

Hearing this, Gou Junbao was so miserable he wanted to start chugging alcohol, but he had just switched to orange juice.

So he had no choice but to chug the entire carton of orange juice.

"You guys think I didn’t want to stay with her? I was defeated by reality. She said she was ’DINK’—double income, no kids—and she didn’t want children after getting married, with absolutely no room for compromise! You have no idea how badly my parents want a grandchild; they’re going crazy over it. What was I supposed to do?"

Gou Junbao made a vague gesture, looking like he wanted to say more but couldn’t find the words. With a sigh, he went back to chugging his orange juice.

"Holy shit, really? That happened? I never would have guessed!"

"Yeah, didn’t she really seem to like Doudou?"

"It’s hard to say. Playing with someone else’s kid once in a while is different from raising your own."

This really took Qin Xiaoxia and Huang Jiutian by surprise. Meanwhile, Doudou, still eating nonstop, took a moment to use a phone on the table to search for the meaning of "DINK."

’Gou Junbao’s luck with marriage is just awful! I wonder if the power of a Wish could change that in the future?’

After that, so as not to upset Gou Junbao, Qin Xiaoxia and Huang Jiutian stopped talking about women and switched the topic to Gold Ore.

Women and wealth—two of the eternal topics of conversation for men at the dinner table. Gou Junbao was finally able to chime in, discussing gold mines and gold prices.

By the end of the meal, Gou Junbao’s belly was stuffed, Doudou was overjoyed, and Qin Xiaoxia and Huang Jiutian were each satisfied in their own way.

But things weren’t going so well back at Han Feng Garden.

This time, they couldn’t even figure out why. The ingredients were just disappearing at an inexplicable rate, as if every customer who came in today had been starving for three meals and was fighting to grab food.

’The new owner who had taken over the restaurant suddenly wondered if the previous owner had sold the place simply because the people of Yue City ate too much?’

...

In truth, Qin Xiaoxia had never seriously considered obtaining Gold Ore through conventional, high-profile channels. He only needed enough money to live comfortably with his finances balanced. If he ever needed a huge influx of cash, it wouldn’t be going into his own account anyway.

The source of Gold Ore had ceased to be a problem ever since Mumu appeared. What was more urgent was Doudou’s forging, because Qin Xiaoxia needed to use a Wishing Gold Coin very soon.

After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Gou Junbao went home to sober up and rest, and Huang Jiutian went home to let his family know he was back safely. Qin Xiaoxia, however, got busy. He and Doudou returned to the Secret Realm and began to prepare for their work.

At the edge of the Crystal Forest, Qin Xiaoxia held a brand-new Magic Energy Crystal in one hand. In the other, he held a gold chain he had borrowed from Gou Junbao.

"Cousin, are you really going to do this...?"

Doudou’s eyes were glued to the Magic Energy Crystal, which was slightly larger than the one he had. The words "I want to trade" were written all over his face.

The Shadow of the Red Demoness remained behind them, watching with a vacant gaze.

"Let’s just be extravagant this first time. After all, it’s urgent!"

With that, Qin Xiaoxia enveloped the Crystal in Magic Power and began to draw upon the energy within.

"Hades~Mi Mo Sa~"

As the words of the Magic Language surged along with his Magic Power, a thread of pale purple light flashed in his palm. A few meters in front of him, a circular symbol lit up the air.

A portion of the energy within the Magic Energy Crystal vanished in an instant, and the Crystal itself shrank by half.

In response, in front of the Weaving Technique symbol that represented "change," several clumps of a quasi-Shaping Material formed and expanded. Within seconds, they hardened and fell to the ground with a series of CLANGS.

There were three mottled gold nuggets in total, each not much larger than an egg. Judging by their orange-hued exterior, if they weren’t pure gold, they were very close.

Staring at the Magic Energy Crystal in his hand, which had shrunk by more than half, Qin Xiaoxia didn’t feel happy in the slightest.

"Why do I feel like I got totally ripped off..."

Doudou and the Shadow of the Red Demoness seemed to nod in perfect sync. When Doudou suddenly turned his head to look at the Shadow of the Secret Realm, he found it was simply staring blankly in their direction.

But Qin Xiaoxia, who normally would have noticed despite his "grief," failed to see it.

PS: Chapter 5/5.