Chapter 272: Trouble Brewing

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crisp, deep, or sharp gunshots echoed frequently across the huge valley.

Sometimes they came in rapid succession; other times, there were long pauses in between.

Over two hours passed like this, intermittently, until finally, the gunfire died away completely.

Gao Jing let out a long sigh and put the remote control back into his Storage Space.

His current location was Mu Teng Village.

This Village Fort was surrounded by mountains on three sides, facing vast open fields to the west and a large river in the distance.

This place used to be quite prosperous, home to over a thousand Giants of the Muteng Tribe.

Now, the houses in the village were either collapsed and burned or overgrown with vines, presenting a desolate scene.

Gao Jing was here testing guns.

Glock 19, Colt Python, Desert Eagle, Remington M870, along with AK74s and M16s.

Apart from the Barrett M107A1, he tested every firearm he owned.

The target of the tests was Gao Jing himself!

Using a custom-made remote trigger device from the Primary World, Gao Jing fired these weapons at himself from different distances to test the defensive capabilities of his Battle Armor and Dragon-Scale Armor.

After repeated trials, Gao Jing discovered that if he activated his strongest defense state – simultaneously deploying both the Battle Armor and the Dragon-Scale Armor – even a close-range shot from the Desert Eagle couldn’t penetrate his defense. The AK74 and M16 naturally couldn’t breach it either, although sustained automatic fire significantly increased his Battle Qi consumption. Once his Battle Qi was depleted, both the armor and the dragon scales would fail. Deploying only the Dragon-Scale Armor offered noticeably lower defense, though it could still withstand hits from these weapons. However, his body had to endure considerably more impact force.

Back in the Primary World, such defensive capability would be considered impossibly strong, almost superhuman. And Gao Jing had only just become a Great Totem Warrior. As his strength grew, even the Barrett M107A1 might struggle to harm him in the future!

Gao Jing was quite satisfied with these results. With such abilities, he couldn’t claim he could do absolutely anything back in the Primary World, but at least encountering opponents with firearms would no longer hold any fear for him.His combat power had undeniably increased dramatically! Yet, Gao Jing wasn’t content to stop there. His next goal was reaching the level of High-rank Totem Great Warrior.

After ascending to that rank, Gao Jing could transition into studying as a Shaman, becoming a powerful Battle Shaman. In the Great World, a Warrior’s power had an upper limit, but a Shaman’s might had no bounds. Both belonged to the extraordinary, but their tiers and potential were starkly different!

After stowing all the test weapons back into the Storage Space, Gao Jing prepared to return to the Primary World.

Time to make money for Shan Tai’s dowry!

In the deep valley behind him, logs were piled like mountains. These logs were mostly Oak and Fir. All had been cut down by the Giants of the Shan Yue Tribe from the nearby mountains and had undergone rough processing: branches sawn off, leaves stripped, and cuts made.

This was done specifically as Gao Jing had instructed. In the Primary World, Oak trees typically had diameters around half a meter, while Fir might reach two or three meters. But in the Great World, trees of those sizes were merely seedlings or saplings. If Gao Jing didn’t sort them out and do some rough processing first, returning with Oak logs several meters thick would be far too shocking. There would also be no way to explain their origin.

Gao Jing wasn’t entirely sure how many cubic meters of lumber the Shan Yue Giants had stockpiled for him. But just the wood piles he could see now could assuredly be sold for hundreds of millions! And the stacks deep within the valley were easily several times larger! The only challenge was finding the right buyer. A truly powerful and qualified buyer!

Gao Jing already had a solution in mind. He triggered the power of the Bronze Anchor and instantly returned to the Primary World.

Back in his apartment at Huhai One.

Gao Jing quietly went to the bathroom. Standing before the mirror, he trimmed his own hair, restoring his original hairstyle. Since time was effectively frozen between the two worlds, his hair was the detail most likely to raise suspicion. So, he often trimmed it himself, always keeping the same crew cut style.

After trimming his hair, Gao Jing took a shower and changed into a clean bathrobe before heading back to the master bedroom upstairs.

He got back into the large bed.

Beside him, Ji Yu, who had been sound asleep, stirred awake, rubbing her eyes sleepily. “What time is it?”

“It’s still early.” Gao Jing kissed her forehead and smiled. “Go back to sleep.”

Ji Yu rolled over, wrapping her arms around Gao Jing. She buried her head against his chest, inhaling his scent and murmuring, “Did you shower?”

“Mhm.” Holding her warm, soft form, Gao Jing closed his eyes and sleepiness soon washed over him.

The two didn’t wake up until past ten in the morning. Ji Yu hurried out of bed to wash up and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Or lunch, really.

Just as she was frying eggs, her phone rang.

Trouble had struck back in the Provincial Capital.

The caller was Xu Cheng. This middle-aged man in his forties had previously worked at a state-owned enterprise. After the enterprise was restructured and he lost his job, he was hired to work at the Provincial Capital branch of the Great World Trading Company, serving as a Business Manager.

The branch’s activities were currently simple, and the staff size was small. With Xu Cheng’s wealth of work experience and reliable, steady character, he was effectively in charge when Ji Yu wasn’t in the Provincial Capital.

The trouble involved an electrolytic aluminum factory the branch had just acquired. This factory, a small-to-medium-sized enterprise, was located in the old industrial park of Yuncheng. It used to perform quite well.

But in recent years, environmental regulations had tightened significantly. These factories, being significant polluters, faced serious scrutiny. Unless they invested heavily in upgrading their equipment, they couldn’t pass the mandatory environmental tests.

Consequently, the owner put the electrolytic aluminum factory up for sale at a low price.

Gao Jing had found the listing online and decided to buy it.

Gao Jing wasn’t interested in the electrolytic aluminum business itself. He bought the factory because it would be a vastly better place to recharge the Bronze Anchor! Currently, charging the Anchor enough to replenish one Silver Scale took him four to five days. He had spent hundreds of thousands on generators to ensure charging was possible even while in the Great World, but the efficiency was still painfully slow.

Each trip between worlds now consumed 5 entire scales worth of stored energy, equivalent to most the solar energy gathered over half a month. The Copper Anchor currently bore only 7 Silver Scales – barely enough power for a single round trip!

Electrolytic aluminum factories were notoriously huge energy consumers. Their power consumption quotas were vastly higher than regular factories. That’s precisely why Gao Jing had bought this one. With some simple modifications, the factory could be repurposed into a dedicated charging dock, drastically boosting the Anchor’s recharge rate!

Unfortunately, the factory purchase had just been finalized. Before any modifications could even begin, trouble suddenly hit.

Gao Jing said to Ji Yu, “I’ll go back to the Provincial Capital to see.”

Ji Yu looked worried. “I should come back with you.”

“No need.” Gao Jing smiled reassuringly. “It’s probably not a major issue. You stay here and work with Sister Qing on getting the foundation structure of the Charity Foundation ready. I also need to go to Malaysia in a few days.”

Ji Yu was curious. “What are you going to Malaysia for?”

“To make money.”