Under One Person, Engage in Black Technology

Chapter 168

After Liu Ke made that outrageous statement that "the furnace might be useless," the atmosphere at the scene visibly froze.

Of course, there were actually only two people in the courtyard, so the so-called 'frozen' feeling was naturally emanating from Old Ma alone.

Liu Ke wasn't blind; as the saying goes, "communication" requires exchange before there can be flow. After hearing his words, Old Ma stood there dumbfounded, like a wooden statue, and the exchange naturally came to a halt.

Looking at Ma Xianhong's trembling pupils, he knew that the other man's mentally unstable state was due to deep thought.

In fact, it's mostly because Lao Ma felt that... what Liu said made some sense.

After a few breaths, Liu Ke noticed that Ma Xianhong's breathing had calmed down a bit. After observing him for a while, he continued:

"Based on my line of thinking alone, your Body Refining Furnace really can't cure the problem of 'memory'."

"However, common sense is common sense, and extraordinary people are extraordinary people. Which of their methods doesn't break through common sense?"

"Just like the effects that the [Devouring Pouch] can achieve, which I initially found difficult to understand, your Body Cultivation Furnace might actually be useful..."

At this point, Liu Ke looked at Ma Xianhong's strange expression, as if his brain was fighting back and forth, and said, "But..."

"Judging from your expression just now, you probably... really didn't have any extra design features for the stove."

"In other words, my guess was correct."

"right?"

……

Just as Ma Xianhong dislikes forcing others, Liu Ke also dislikes lying.

He had a good impression of Ma Xianhong, so he didn't try to fool Ma Xianhong about the cultivation furnace, which was of great significance to him.

At least from his perspective and understanding, the furnace couldn't cure the 'memory loss' ailment. His evaluation of the cultivation furnace was entirely based on his own genuine thoughts.

As soon as Liu Ke finished speaking, Ma Xianhong, who had been so dashing, showed a strange expression again. A sense of doubt appeared on one side of his face, while the other side showed pain and suppressed emotions.

A few breaths later, Old Ma's facial expression seemed to jump between frames, producing a high frequency of transient tremors.

Then, veins bulged on his temples, and his eyes instantly became bloodshot, as if he were under immense pressure.

"Uh... ah!"

With a low, painful cry, Ma Xianhong suddenly raised his arm and slammed his hand against the spot on his head that was throbbing.

Snapped!
Perhaps feeling that one strike wasn't enough, he raised his hand again and clapped several times.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
It wasn't until more than ten breaths had passed, and the temples and the center of the forehead of Village Chief Ma were slapped red, that he seemed to be relieved and began to breathe heavily.

When Lao Ma unleashed such a smooth combo on his own face, Liu Ke's eyes widened in surprise.

From that moment on, Liu Ke realized that Village Chief Ma hadn't lied; the other man really did have something wrong with his head.

Moreover, based on Liu Ke's own intuition, Lao Ma's condition was definitely not a physiological ailment. After all, judging from his current 'performance,' the other party's 'illness' could only be considered a mental issue.

After a quarter of an hour, Ma Xianhong's expression stabilized. Liu Kecai thought for a moment, controlled his voice, and said, "That was just my opinion. At least from my perspective, that's the conclusion."

"But... I must say, in terms of weapon forging, you, with your Divine Refinement, are the true expert. If you think there's no problem, then there's no problem, and there's no need to overthink it."

Although Liu Ke firmly believed that his analysis was correct, seeing Ma Xianhong's inexplicable 'shattered Dao heart' appearance, he felt that he should first stabilize the other party.

As a matter of common sense, the most important thing when dealing with someone who is suspected of having mental health issues is not to provoke them, especially when they are already experiencing an episode.

Upon hearing Liu Ke's "advice," Ma Xianhong's contorted and painful expression quickly lessened. However, after a while, he cried out in pain again, and it wasn't until almost half an hour later that he regained his composure.

Once Ma Xianhong had calmed down completely, he rubbed his head and said, "No... don't worry about what I think. I think you're absolutely right. It's precisely because you're so right that I feel... like there's something wrong with 'myself'."

"That's why... that's why..."

At this point, Old Ma's voice suddenly turned somber, and he interrupted himself once again.

After another eight or nine breaths, he raised his head again and said, "I'm sorry, Brother Liu, as I said, I'm sick."

"Hey, as a weapon refiner, it's quite embarrassing that your most prized skill is to have a mental breakdown."

Having said that, he stood up, his steps unsteady, and said, "The problem you mentioned does exist, and I should have thought of it before. I must have thought of how this furnace should operate to repair my memories!"

"But now... for some reason, I've even forgotten the most basic thing."

"However, if I had been able to decide to do this back then, this path should have been fine, it would just have required more effort to find the 'key points' again."

At this point, he gritted his teeth and sighed, then continued, "Brother Liu, I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well today. Please wait until tonight or tomorrow, and we can design this furnace again."

"I might... need to rest for a while."

Seeing Old Ma's pale and bloodless face, Liu Ke dared not say a word of objection and quickly said, "No rush, no rush. That's how it is for people like us who overuse our brains; we often 'forget' some of our previous thoughts."

"You rest first, I... I'll head back now too."

……

The first 'technical' meeting between Liu Ke and Ma Xianhong ended abruptly due to the sudden illness of the organizer, Lao Ma.

Although it took more than two hours in total, upon closer reflection, the effective communication time between the two of them did not exceed thirty minutes.

Of course, Liu had no complaints about this. Putting aside the fact that Old Ma's head was really hurting, the fact that he could glimpse some of Ma Xianhong's 'secrets' through this incident made the trip worthwhile.

As for what the 'secret' is, Liu Ke can only say that he seems to have grasped a corner of the 'conspiracy,' but he is still not far from the truth.

This feeling of grasping a certain clue is quite wonderful, just like the sense of mystery that Liu Ke felt when he was a primary school student watching "The Adventure Tigers" back in the day.

Unfortunately, there is no 'decryption card' in reality, and the truth cannot be 'deduced' so easily.

……

Back at his camp, Liu Ke didn't make a fuss. Instead, he stared at the campfire and pondered Old Ma's strange illness.

Upon closer reflection, Lao Ma's situation is indeed quite strange.

After all, the terms "extraordinary person" and "illness" have little in common. Among those extraordinary people who can refine their body's Qi and practice internal observation, regardless of the quality of their methods, the occurrence of organic lesions is ultimately rare.

Conversely, mental illnesses and depression are more common among those who do not practice sexual cultivation.

Although Liu Ke hadn't actually studied weapon crafting, the techniques for nurturing magical treasures were already quite strong. As long as he wasn't afraid of the cold or heat and put in the hard work, he would eventually hone a considerable level of skill. Looking at Ma Xianhong's physique and Han Dan'er's physical strength back at Longhu Mountain, it's likely that he's even dabbled in life cultivation in weapon crafting.

If Village Chief Ma said he was sick when he was a child, that would be quite normal. After all, even if someone had undergone supernatural training during their youth, they might not have been able to suppress the illness due to insufficient skill.

However, after adulthood, purely organic lesions can at least be suppressed by the body's Qi and life force, and mental illnesses should also be suppressed due to the growth of sexual function.

Therefore, Liu Ke felt that Village Chief Ma's explanation of his own "illness" was somewhat unreasonable.

And then there's the fact that Village Chief Ma's 'headache' came at just the right time, which is even more bizarre.

------

Regarding Ma Xianhong's illness, there was ultimately too little 'intelligence'. Liu Ke pondered for an entire afternoon but couldn't reach any conclusion. By the time he came to his senses, it was almost lunchtime.

Liu Ke glanced at the time, then went to the village canteen, had a good meal, and then returned to the camp he had built.

As night fell, Liu Ke stretched his body, then projected several greyhounds onto his body to protect him, relaxed his mind and body, and called Gao Yushan.

……

How is Liupanshui?

Hearing Gao Yushan's question, Liu Ke rolled over a few times on the air mattress before replying, "If you're purely considering the 'vacation' environment, it's really quite nice, with beautiful mountains and clear waters..."

"However, I've found that it's best to avoid playing in the water near streams in mountain villages and farmhouses."

“I’ve noticed recently that the villagers here, and even the village chief who invited me, all really enjoy soaking their feet in the stream.”

"Then tell me, what is that stream ultimately made of? So, isn't it all just foot-washing water?"

Hearing Liu Ke's rather disgusted words, Gao Yushan made a deliberate vomiting sound on the other end of the phone and said, "You're disgusting!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ke couldn't help but suppress a laugh, and then added, "Also, I don't know if it's because there are too many villagers, but the toilet paper in the public toilets is often insufficient."

"I'm thinking of having my roommate mail my treasured books over in a couple of days so I can donate them."

Gao Yushan didn't quite understand what he meant, so she asked, "A book? What do you mean? How can it be used as toilet paper?"

Liu Ke scratched his head and said, "Ah, because... these books are just like toilet paper!"

"There is... the book 'The Rise of Hengda University in China' written by Xu Jiayin."

"That book by Mr. Zong, 'The Richest Man Has No Secrets'.

“Bi Fujian’s ‘The Art of Speaking’”

“Hillary Clinton’s… 'Born to be President'”.

"Park Geun-hwa's 'The Woman Who Married Korea'".

“Gorbachev’s ‘Reform and New Thinking’”.

"Oh, and that book, 'From Letme to Yan Junze'."

"I was young and naive back then, and I bought it without even looking at it. I can't just let it go to waste, can I?"

……

The two chatted for about ten minutes before the topic turned to Gao Yushan's 'mission' that she was preparing for.

"By the way, we're about to set off too. Chairman Zhao said that there are still temporary workers in two major regions who are still on missions. Once they return in two or three days, the missions will be issued together."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ke raised an eyebrow and said, "So I've been here for almost four or five days, and your mission hasn't even started yet?"

"Well, it seems I really will have to ask Village Chief Ma for a small house in a few days."

After hearing this, Gao Yushan sighed and replied, "There's nothing we can do; the company takes this mission very seriously..."

"I also felt a bit strange, but I just did what the leader said, it's a traditional virtue."

After hearing this, Liu Ke simply nodded noncommittally, indicating that there was no problem.

Then, as if she had discovered some 'blind spot', Gao Yushan raised her voice a few decibels and asked, "By the way, judging from your intention to 'stay long-term,' you don't mean you want to join Biyou Village, do you?"

Gao Yushan's question was quite interesting, and Liu Ke simply replied jokingly:

"Join? Not really. The company is a government-affiliated institution, and with the current tough job market, good government-affiliated positions are hard to come by."

However, after saying that, he added, "But... to be honest, the treatment in Biyou Village is actually quite good."

"The villagers here are all working very hard. Thanks to the help of the superhuman workers, the reclamation and construction of the village, the raising of livestock, and the maintenance of public facilities are all being done quite well."

"Especially since you hardly need to spend any money to live here. Perhaps it's this 'Shangri-La' feeling that makes people so addicted."

Hearing Liu Ke say that, Gao Yushan couldn't help but tease him again, "Hey! Didn't you just say you didn't want to join? Now, listening to you, it sounds like you're just praising me?"

After hearing this, Liu Ke couldn't help but laugh a few times, and then said, "...Actually, it's not uncommon to find villages with such a natural and simple style, but the reason why Biyou Village stands out to me is..."

"This village chief is not bad, although... he seems to have some problems now."

“Uh, it’s not a personality issue, it’s… a real, ‘illness’.”

------

While Liu Ke and Gao Yushan were having a long phone conversation, there was also some 'situation' on Village Chief Ma's end.

Tonight, he acted very strangely, not controlling Ru Hua to rush the project, but instead assigning the task of controlling Ru Hua to Qiu Rang.

As for himself, he wasn't exactly idle either. At the moment, he was receiving a special guest, a 'secret' agent from the Yaoxing Society.

"Brother Ma, is your headache any better?"

Upon hearing the question, Ma Xianhong became unstable again.

He clutched his forehead, his face contorted in pain, and after a long pause, he finally said, "Where's my sister? She should be..."

But before he could finish speaking, the female staff member opposite him nodded to herself and said, "It seems it's not ready yet."

(End of this chapter)