Chapter Eight: The Man-Eating Flower

"Boss Fang has put something up in the trading district again. This time it's... whoa, ****?"

"The boss is truly a boss. The event just started, and he already managed to craft a ****. With that kind of gun, who would we ever be afraid of?"

"Check out the price—damn! Three elemental stones, that's outrageous. Fang the Skinner lives up to his name; his prices are insane."

"By the way, how do you even use these elemental stones? I have a red one that's burning with fire, but it doesn't feel hot at all."

"All the pros already have elemental stones. Us newbies haven't even seen one yet, shivering in the corner!"

"Maybe Boss Fang figured out how to use them. Envy! I wonder how many caverns he's explored so far?"

...

One message after another leaped across the newspaper.

Fang Tang watched quietly, his eyes narrowing.

They don't know what elemental stones do? Isn't that convenient! Because I do!

Give me your elemental stones, and I'll make you handguns. Everyone wins!

Fang Tang tilted his head, his fingers flying over the newspaper.

"Now accepting custom orders for ****. Commission: one elemental stone per order. Bullets crafted free, materials must be provided."

After he started exploring the caverns, he discovered that with each new cavern he entered, another little megaphone icon appeared on the newspaper.

Now he had 18...no, 17 megaphones—plenty of messages to send.

As soon as he posted, there was another wave of chatter in the public channel.

"Wow, Boss Fang has appeared in person. Boss, do you need any accessories? The kind that goes 'nyaa nyaa nyaa.'"

"Boss Fang, I'm pretty, skilled, have luscious wavy hair, and can even warm your bed. Interested?"

"Really? I don't believe it! Not unless you post a pic."

"Really? I don't believe it! Not unless you post a pic."

"..."

"Big wavy hair? Where? Where? Where's the photo? Big! Wavy! Hair! If you can't show proof, what's the point? Waste of emotion, recommend blocking!"

At this, Eye popped out, glanced over, grumbled, and left.

Fang Tang could only sigh, a line of frustration on his brow, as he waited in silence.

Sure enough, private messages flooded in one after another.

Before long, a dense trail of red dots appeared on his message board.

He was making a killing!

Fang Tang combed his hair back and began replying to messages.

There were so many that most were just people haggling over price; after a few exchanges, they stopped talking.

Of more than a dozen, only three ended up ordering and sent over the required materials.

Fifteen minutes later, having earned three elemental stones, Fang Tang rose from the table and stretched.

"What a beautiful day!"

His current supplies included:
Bottled water x7, Bread x6, Milk x4, Bananas x3, a pack of Sausages, Watermelon x1, Pork belly x2 jin, Cigarettes x2, Tomato seeds x1 bag, Potatoes x3, Sweet potatoes x2.
Lightning Stones x3, Fire Stones x3, Wind Stones x4, Blue Water Stones x2.
Iron ingot x1, Copper ingot x3, Silver ingot x14, Timber x34.
Blueprints: Changfeng Hunting Knife, Dismantling Hammer, Telescopic Ladder, Mechanical Claw Arm, ****, Water Collector.

In just over three hours, he had amassed resources that would take others several days to gather.

The joy of being rich—I finally understand it!

Like a miser, he counted his supplies over and over until he felt a little hungry, then drank half a bottle of water, ate a few slices of bread and a sausage, followed by some fruit.

After his meal, the **** he had put up in the trading district was bought.

"Wow, someone actually managed to get three elemental stones at this stage. Why didn't they just come to me to have one made?"

Fang Tang looked at the three round stones in his hand, puzzled.

Clearly, ordering from him would maximize their value.

Was it that they simply didn't know what the stones were for?

Full of questions, Fang Tang turned again to his grand adventure.

He looked at the wall ahead; golden letters appeared before his eyes.

"Without a big wavy-haired beauty to watch, Master Eye is feeling listless and unmotivated."

Fang Tang was speechless. "If you want to see a big wavy-haired beauty, you need to let me keep digging, right? Otherwise, if I just wait here, I'd be like a fisherman waiting for a hare—who knows how long it would take! Doesn't that make sense?"

"Emmm... Fine. Ahead, in the next cavern, besides rocks, there are three carnivorous plants. Their vines have barbs, and getting lashed by them hurts. The left is empty, on the right there's some timber and an iron ingot, and in the lower cavern is something I want."

"Something you want?"

Fang Tang hesitated, weighing the choice between the elemental stone and whatever Eye wanted.

After some thought, he decided he needed both, but the elemental stone would have to come first.

Digging through walls wasn't hard; wielding the pickaxe was the tiring part.

When the black hole appeared, he tossed a Fire Stone inside, then charged in.

The first thing he saw in the small cavern was three tall flowers, shaped like flytraps.

Their thick stems, as wide as an arm, supported massive blossoms, with several vines swaying in the air.

The moment Fang Tang appeared, the three carnivorous plants lashed their vines at him.

The vines bristled with visible barbs, writhing like maggots.

"Roll left."

Eye gave a timely prompt.

Fang Tang reacted instantly, rolling left and narrowly dodging the oncoming vine.

"That was close!"

He let out a breath, as the sound of several whips cracking through the air reached his ears.

"Step back, draw your gun."

Fang Tang instinctively stepped back twice, raised his gun, and quickly aimed at the nearest plant.

Unfortunately, he had no professional training.

He only managed to aim at the stem as the vine was almost upon him.

Bang!

The stem exploded, severed in two.

The vine stopped just five centimeters from Fang Tang, then flopped weakly to the ground.

With one companion dead, the remaining two plants seemed agitated, their vines lashing out even faster.

But the distance gave Fang Tang time to aim.

Holding his breath, he sighted down at the stem of the second plant.

Bang!

Another shot. This time, the effect wasn't as good—only half the stem was broken.

Even so, that plant collapsed, feebly waving its vines.

The pressure eased, Fang Tang's nerves unwound. He shifted his aim to the third plant's blossom.

Bang, bang, bang!

Three shots in rapid succession. The enormous blossom, big enough to swallow a person, was blasted to tatters.

But this didn't kill the plant—it only slowed its attacks.

He aimed again for the stem. The explosion echoed, and the third carnivorous plant went down like the first.

Fang Tang shook his arm, numb from the recoil, drew his hunting knife, and approached the second plant.

He drove the sharp blade into the tough stem, and only with all his strength did he manage to cut through.

"I must admit, you've grown—a true calm in the face of disaster."

Eye, for once, praised him.

Fang Tang only smiled quietly, accepting the compliment.

Not that he wasn't excited—he was still shaking from the brush with death.

A moment's hesitation, and he would have ended up in the plant's maw.

"Whew!"

He sat down, gazing at the Blue Water Stone floating in the air.

"It really wasn't easy getting you!"