Chapter 53:

“Import-export business?” “Arms-trading.”

Jing Qizhen repeated what the Earth had just said.

Tang Song immediately understood and chuckled. “It seems the Ball hopes we’ll handle that erosion area?”

Manman: “Isn’t that obvious?”

The Earth: “I…”

Jing Qizhen: “No need to explain!”

The Earth: “QAQ? Why not?!”

Jing Qizhen: “Because explaining is just covering up!”

The Earth’s voice suddenly sounded bashful. “…I just want to see what’s goin’ on inside that erosion area,” it said hesitantly.

Jing Qizhen: “Hmm?”

The Earth: “De’ erosion area in de’ Yunhai Wancheng Department Store has ended and de’ one in Shennongjia has ended too, but de’ erosion area in that Massachusetts villa has lasted longer than de’ combined duration of de’ two ye’ have experienced. Aren’t ye’ curious?”

Jing Qizhen chuckled twice, lowered his head to continue eating breakfast, and casually replied, “Not really. What’s there to be curious about? It’s all just strange and bizarre events. Honestly, playing games on a computer or reading novels is a similar process. At most, entering an erosion area is just a fully immersive experience.”

The Earth: “…”

After being unceremoniously shot down by Jing Qizhen, the Earth started racking its brains while trying to figure out how to convince the members of the volunteer team saving the Earth, especially Jing Qizhen who could communicate with it, to resolve the Massachusetts erosion area.

Meanwhile, Tang Song fell deep in thought ever since he heard the Earth’s ‘subtle’ suggestion, seemingly considering something else entirely.

Suddenly, Yan Hong, who had been silent since joining the group, broke the silence. “By the way, where’s Wilcox? I haven’t seen him.”

The mention of Wilcox brought a collective look of realization to the group.

Jin Guijuan exclaimed, “No wonder I felt like something was missing at the table.”

“Wilcox, with that big golden head of his and his Sichuan hotpot-accented Mandarin, is certainly hard to miss.” Grandma Fang chuckled.

Everyone turned their curious and puzzled gazes toward Tang Song.

Tang Song smiled but didn’t get a chance to explain before Jing Qizhen, sitting next to him, picked up his phone and opened WeChat.

The Earth, still inside Jing Qizhen’s head, piped up, “I know where Wilcox went. Ye’ can ask me!”

Jing Qizhen ignored the Earth and tagged Wilcox in the group chat to send a voice message, “Hey, brother, where are you?”

Wilcox’s response came almost instantly in his signature Sichuan-flavored Mandarin, exclaiming with excitement, “You’re out of the erosion area already!”

Jing Qizhen: “Yep, we’re out.”

The rest of the group also took out their phones and opened the group chat.

Wilcox’s voice continued, calling out to God and uttering surprised cries as he explained, “I’m in Boston, USA! Remember that erosion area in Massachusetts where all those Ivy League students fell in? I just found out a kid from my extended family also got caught in it!”

Lu Lingxi, who had just handed Tang Song his notebook, pulled out another one and began scribbling furiously. “It seems that humans’ resonance with erosion areas might be linked to blood relations.”

When he looked up, he noticed Tang Song staring at him with a thoughtful expression.

Lu Lingxi shivered slightly and asked in a whisper, “Uh, boss?”

Tang Song nodded. “Your guess makes sense. I’m thinking of selecting some volunteers from the military who are twins or at least closely related siblings to test this next time.”

Meanwhile, Wilcox continued explaining his situation, “My brother found out I’ve been in erosion area before and thinks I’m experienced, so he cried and begged me to return. The families of the missing people even hired a large rescue team. I’m with them now.”

“You’re going into that erosion area?” Old Xiao instinctively asked.

Wilcox quickly denied it, “No, no, no. I’m just helping with rescue operations around the villa’s perimeter. If I accidentally fall in, my brother would never forgive them.”

Everyone: “…”

Tang Song added, “Last time when you disappeared from the Yunhai Wancheng Department Store, the situation caused quite a stir. Since Wilcox is a foreign citizen and his family noticed his disappearance quickly, we contacted his family and promised to update them as soon as you were safe.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what happened. Life is just so unpredictable. This world is amazing!”
Wilcox sighed.

Jing Qizhen glanced at an image in the group chat that Tang Song had recently posted. It was a picture of the ‘Ribbon of the Red Dancing Shoes’. It was clear that Tang Song didn’t mind Wilcox knowing about it, even if he was far away in the U.S.

“Wilcox, take a look at the messages above in the chat,” Jing Qizhen said.

Wilcox did as instructed and immediately exclaimed, “Is this a special item you brought out from the erosion area?”

Jing Qizhen: “Of course not. It’s an auction item on the dark web.”

Instead of asking more questions, Wilcox had his rescue team investigate.

A few minutes later, both sides exchanged the information they’d gathered. Wilcox, who had been digging around the villa for two days, finally realized the global scope of those mysterious currents.

Jing Qizhen and the others learned more details about those trapped in the Boston villa.

“Except for the maid, they’re all from wealthy families?” Si Jiayang commented, “That’s a pretty targeted strike.”

Manman added, “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have hired such a powerful private rescue team so easily.”

“So, are we going to this erosion area?” Lu Lingxi asked.

The Earth was immediately touched. “Little Lu is so kind. I lov’ him so much!”

Jing Qizhen: “…” As if I trust you at all.

Turning to Lu Lingxi, Jing Qizhen asked, “What’s your reasoning?”

Lu Lingxi blinked, his Bambi-like eyes shining. “To save the Earth. Sooner or later, we’ll have to deal with erosion areas. If we go now, we might be able to collect more special items. But since it’s in the U.S., it could get complicated…”

“Not necessarily.” Tang Song shook his head. “To rescue their loved ones, the families of the missing people will handle the logistics.”

Wilcox was shocked and excited as he exclaimed, “Are you coming? I can arrange a private jet!”

But the group at the dining table was still deep in discussion, too busy to respond to their enthusiastic foreign teammate.

“Should we join Wilcox’s rescue team as individuals?” Jing Qizhen asked.

Tang Song nodded, then shook his head. “If you decide to go, it will be as private individuals. However, I’ll still negotiate with those families using my current position and treat you as my domestic contractor. I might even get you some side income.” 0.0

Everyone: “…” Aside from the subsidies, there would also be side income?

Noticing their incredulous expressions, Tang Song grinned wide and revealed his tiger tooth. “This is called increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. Anyway, we’re risking our lives. Might as well make a little extra.”

Lu Lingxi who treasured his job and could only curse his boss silently: “…”

You just want their data and special items from the erosion areas!

Tang Song then asked Jing Qizhen, “Ask the Ball what would happen if those special items being auctioned on the dark web start circulating widely?”

“What could happen? Those items carry de’ unique energy of the erosion areas,” the Earth immediately responded.

Jing Qizhen understood the logic of ‘the Ball did not care’ and clarified, “Tang Song means the impact on modern human society that’s quite safe and stable nowadays, not you.”

“That, that… it depends on what ye’ humans think,” the Earth hesitantly answered.

Jing Qizhen immediately saw through its words and relayed, “These special items from the erosion areas can affect ordinary humans. The exact consequences are unpredictable.”

Tang Song nodded gravely and then sent Wilcox a phone number. “We can come but it’s complicated. Someone will discuss the details with you and the families of the missing.”

“Got it! No problem!” Wilcox replied promptly.

Tang Song, after finishing his statement, opened his contact list and sent a quick message about the situation to someone.

Jing Qizhen noticed Tang Song’s actions and, already guessing the answer, asked for confirmation, “That person is—”

Tang Song smiled and replied tactfully, “A negotiation specialist in export trade. He’s better at handling situations like this than I am.”

“Oh? You know someone in the import-export business?” Old Xiao asked out of curiosity.

Tang Song nodded. “Yes, they are mainly involved in arms trading.”

Old Xiao who closed his eyes in silent awe: “…!!!”

Jing Qizhen who remained calm: “…” I knew it.

After breakfast, the exhaustion from their overnight ordeal in the erosion area started to hit everyone. The members who couldn’t stay up late like Grandma Fang, Old Xiao, and Jin Guijuan yawned and retired to their rooms to rest.

Meanwhile, Si Jiayang was scrolling through his phone while discussing lunch plans with Manman. However, as Manman glanced at the weather forecast on his phone, she noticed something unusual and softly exclaimed, “Huh?”

She pointed at the forecast, which now included a new section labeled ‘Erosion Area Alert’, alongside the usual temperature, humidity, sunlight, wind speed, and precipitation indices. Intrigued, she asked, “What’s this about?”

“Oh, this is one of our latest achievements!” Si Jiayang quickly explained, “Since the weather and earthquake monitoring centers are already in discussion, and the energy waves from the erosion areas can now be detected by the seismic monitoring, we added this alert to the forecast.”

Tang Song, still seated at the dining table, leaned back slightly in his chair. His normally upright posture relaxed, and a heavy look crossed his face. With a sigh, he said, “Originally, I hoped that when the seismic monitoring center detected energy fluctuations from the erosion areas, we could use that information to evacuate nearby civilians in advance.”

“To minimize unnecessary casualties,” Jing Qizhen nodded in understanding.

“Exactly,” Tang Song agreed, “Looking at the overseas cases that occurred almost simultaneously with the Yunhai Wancheng Department Store incident, many people remain missing to this day. It’s clear that the erosion areas are highly dangerous.”

Yan Hong added gravely, “But the special item being auctioned on the dark web disrupted your plans.”

Tang Song smiled wryly. “What can we do? Since ancient times, money has been a great motivator. While it’s true that erosion areas are perilous, the moment word about the auction spreads, those areas will become gold rush destinations for countless people.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? More people, more power!” the Earth piped up excitedly.

Jing Qizhen immediately dampened its enthusiasm. “More people can also mean more infighting. There was nothing like human rivalry for endless drama.”

The Earth hesitated, “Oh… is that how it works?” QUQ

“Yep.” Jing Qizhen smirked.

The Earth suddenly remarked, “Hey, Little Jin’, ye’ ar’ soundin’ awfully snarky today!”

Jing Qizhen quickly denied, “I am not. Don’t make things up!”

“Hmph! Whatever!” the Earth snorted.

Jing Qizhen: “…”

Tang Song exhaled deeply, straightened his posture, and smiled again. “But don’t worry about these matters and leave them to the professionals.”

“But—” he paused, deliberately slowing his speech to emphasize his next words.

“The rescue teams hired by the families of the missing people in the erosion area at the Boston villa are likely to be a mixed bag. Some of them may inevitably have ulterior motives,” Tang Song remarked.

Jing Qizhen and the others nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Lu Lingxi asked, “Can I go?”

“Of course, you can go. I’m going too!” Tang Song responded matter-of-factly, “But we need to change outfits. Remember to say you’re a mercenary. Also, the rest of our volunteers will need some training once you’ve all rested up.”

Lu Lingxi nodded silently. “Got it…”

Jing Qizhen: “=口=” Tang Song, why are you so professional at this!?