After hearing Fu Zhu's explanation, Gepard's brow furrowed deeply.
"I will need to verify this later. Apologies, Mr. Fu Zhu, but I cannot simply take your word for it."
"Understood. After all, it's your duty."
Fu Zhu nodded in understanding, then looked towards Serval, "Then, Ms. Serval, can you tell us the location of the Stellaron?"
Serval shook her head regretfully. "Unfortunately, I was expelled from the research institute ten years ago. These documents are also from ten years ago. Do you think Cocolia wouldn't have moved the Stellaron in a decade?"
"That's true..."
After pondering, Fu Zhu decided it was best to regroup with his companions first and discuss their next course of action.
Personally, he preferred the option of going all out, fighting his way directly to the Stellaron, and sealing it. Even if the people of Jarilo-VI misunderstood them, as long as the Stellaron was sealed and the Eternal Freeze resolved, it would be a success. Let them say what they wanted afterwards; the truth would eventually vindicate them.
"Alright, let's not dwell on these unpleasant matters for now."
Sensing the somewhat serious atmosphere, Serval smiled and opened the small box placed in front of Fu Zhu, revealing a small pile of diamonds inside, each about the size of a fingernail.
"Fu Zhu, see if these diamonds are what you need? Our Landau family believes in repaying kindness. Since you helped my brother, take as many of these diamonds as you want!"
[Achievement Unlocked: Acquainted with Serval]
[Achievement Points Gained: 5]
An unexpected gain!
"Let me see."
Fu Zhu picked out the largest diamond and examined it in his palm for a moment. He didn't receive the system's conversion prompt. Then, he tried using the JEI item management mod to check the recipe for this diamond.
Unfortunately, although JEI displayed hundreds of pages of recipes, a keyword search yielded no recipes for diamond tools. It was clear that this diamond was different from the diamonds in MC.
As for why it couldn't be converted, Fu Zhu suspected it might be because the diamond was too small. The iron door fragment obtained back on the Herta Space Station was fist-sized, which was why it could be successfully converted into an iron door. This diamond, however, was only the size of a fingernail, so it made sense that it couldn't be converted.
Fu Zhu put the diamond back somewhat regretfully. "Unfortunately, this isn't the diamond I need. But thank you for your kindness, Ms. Serval."
"Is that so? What a pity."
Serval put away the small box with some disappointment, but then she turned to Fu Zhu with a smile and said, "However, I still must repay you. Fu Zhu, feel free to look around my little shop. Take anything you need! Don't be polite!"
"Okay."
Fu Zhu agreed, though he didn't hold much hope for the various items in the mechanical workshop, unless there was Netherite Alloy.
Fu Zhu glanced around, his gaze finally landing on a sack placed in a corner. The mouth of the sack was slightly open, revealing the crimson ore inside.
Curiously, he walked over and reached out to pick up one of the pieces.
[Geomarrow]
[Currently Convertible: Redstone Block, Magma Block]
Fu Zhu: !!!
Upon seeing the system prompt, Fu Zhu's breathing grew heavy.
Whether it was Redstone Blocks or Magma Blocks, both had their wonderful uses, especially the former! It was the very core of Redstone technology!
If he had Redstone and Slime Blocks, Fu Zhu could build all sorts of machines with miraculous effects, including one of the most famous constructions – the World Eater!
If Fu Zhu had the inclination, he could entirely skip searching for the Stellaron himself. He could just build a World Eater and blow up the entire Jarilo-VI. Wouldn't that solve the Stellaron disaster!
Of course, this was just a fleeting thought. Although Fu Zhu considered his moral baseline quite flexible, he wasn't depraved enough to destroy an entire planet just to complete such a task. Besides, this planet produced a valuable mineral like Geomarrow! How could he just blow it up!
But regardless, the importance of Redstone to Steve, in a certain sense, far exceeded that of diamonds!
"Ms. Serval, this Geomarrow... can you give it to me?"
Fu Zhu turned his head and asked Serval, his voice tinged with excitement.
Serval and Gepard, though somewhat perplexed by Fu Zhu's sudden excitement upon seeing the Geomarrow, nodded in agreement.
"Of course, no problem. Take as much as you want."
"Thank you!"
Fu Zhu didn't stand on ceremony with Serval, directly storing all the Geomarrow in the workshop into his system inventory.
Back when he was Steve, he wouldn't bother asking villagers for permission when robbing them; now, he had actually asked for Serval's consent first. He was already being extremely polite!
Fu Zhu felt increasingly convinced that staying behind at the front line last night to help Gepard was an absolutely correct decision; otherwise, he wouldn't have obtained so many achievement points and this much Geomarrow.
After packing away the Geomarrow, Fu Zhu prepared to bid farewell to Serval and Gepard.
"You two, if I continue to stay here and the Great Guardian finds out, I'm afraid it will bring trouble upon you both. So, I should leave now. As for my situation, you can report it directly to the Great Guardian, it doesn't matter."
Even if Gepard reported his circumstances directly to Cocolia, Fu Zhu didn't care. He only cared about his companions and the mission objective; the rest was irrelevant.
Gepard, however, shook his head righteously. "No, Mr. Fu Zhu, you've helped us greatly. I will not report you. Furthermore, I will definitely seek an explanation from the Great Guardian and have her clear your names!"
Fu Zhu merely smiled at this, not holding out much hope.
"Then I'll be going."
After saying goodbye, Fu Zhu left the workshop without looking back, giving the two no chance to persuade him to stay. Just as he'd said, the longer he stayed in the workshop, the more likely he was to bring trouble upon the Landau siblings.
Fu Zhu, guided by his minimap, ducked into a deserted alley in Belobog. He then zoomed in on the minimap to confirm the location of Dan Heng and the others.
"Hmm, they're actually underground? How did they get down?"
Though slightly confused, having confirmed their location, Fu Zhu glanced left and right. Seeing no one around, he directly pulled out his iron pickaxe, dug out the three blocks beneath his feet, and then sealed the opening above him with another block.
"Real men dig straight down! Chain Destruction, activate!"
Gripping his iron pickaxe, Fu Zhu looked down and swung it directly at the block beneath his feet!
With that swing, Fu Zhu began plummeting downwards rapidly. Faintly, he could see a white light emanating from below ground. Just in case, he took out his water bucket, ready to perform a Water Bucket Clutch at any moment.
....
Meanwhile, inside the Robot Settlement, Svarog was chatting with Clara. Suddenly, Svarog detected a target falling from the sky at high speed and immediately pulled Clara back protectively.
The moment Fu Zhu landed, he poured out his water bucket, executing a perfect landing. However, as soon as he looked up, a large metal hand, its palm glowing red, was aimed right at him.
"Intruder, state your purpose immediately, and leave the Robot Settlement!"