Chapter 121 Golden City

Gold, a symbol of wealth, is even a symbol of the meaning of life for many. This glittering precious metal is a scarce treasure on most planets in the universe. It can make ordinary people flock to it, even go crazy for it. But for the former Tana people, this stuff was just ordinary material they used to build houses and decorate utensils, not even considered an advanced material.

If a world is full of gold, does gold still have value?

If a person has already directly faced a new realm that transcends mundane matter, does he still need gold?

Hao Ren was indeed shocked by the truth of this golden city of Alamanda at the very beginning. A world full of gold even reminded him of the heavenly paradise in some myths and legends on Earth. These simple creators of myths always used such straightforward ways to depict the perfect world in their minds. But soon Hao Ren realized that these golds were just heavy and cheap building materials for the Tana-Gus world. They were heavy, clumsy, difficult to react with other substances, and useless except for their stable nature. They could only be mixed in cement and other metal building materials to serve as auxiliary materials, used to build the cheapest parts of the city: such as paving roads and building walls, and manufacturing decorative sculptures that could be seen everywhere on the streets.

Even Hao Ren himself couldn't use this: many fields he had come into contact with had already exceeded these mundane substances. If you think about it carefully, he doesn't seem to need these wealth. The troubles they can bring are far greater than their usefulness.

"Gold! This is gold!" Becky jumped up and down, "Why don't we get a few excavators and dig here for half a year? Are you not interested?"

"You can just take some away. You might be able to use it when you go back," Hao Ren nodded to Becky quite honestly, "But don't take too much. Economic officials are not fools. It's a problem to sell half a ton of gold when you go back. The same goes for the others. It's okay to bring some back as souvenirs, but don't expect to carry a few tons of gold bricks back to make a fortune—we don't lack funds. With God supporting us, we have everything we want. Don't bring so much gold back and attract the SWAT team..."

Vivian looked at Hao Ren blankly, and nodded after a long while, "Okay, Landlord, I didn't expect you to be more enlightened than many old guys. I was still thinking about how to calm you down first."

Lily didn't feel much about these golds. This simpleton had a relatively weak concept of money. If it weren't for the need to spend money to buy big bones, she wouldn't even pay attention to how much money she could earn in a month. She just looked at Vivian a little unexpectedly, "Bat, don't you want gold? Aren't you poor?"

"I can't protect myself if I have gold when I'm alone, and I can't spend it when I'm with the Landlord. What do I want this thing for?" Vivian was particularly calm about her being supported, "Speaking of which, are we still going to continue with business?"

The others also woke up at this time, and finally didn't get confused by this world full of gold. Nangong Sanba cut some gold nuggets from the statue: not to sell for money, but to use as casting and repairing materials for demon hunter props. After seeing the righteous appearance of the others, Becky could only pout her mouth hard, with tears in her eyes. Following Nangong Sanba, she also cut a small lump of gold from the statue, and looked at Hao Ren with tears in her eyes after cutting, "...Landlord, my hand shook and I didn't cut enough, can I have another piece?"

Hao Ren was amused by this money-grubbing mercenary, "Okay, okay, cut whatever you want, as long as you can carry it yourself. Anyway, I won't carry it for you this time. I'll help you put it away when we go out later."

Becky was overjoyed when she heard this. Sword light flew and she chiseled a lot of gold nuggets down with clanging sounds. Only then did she stand up and follow the team, waving goodbye to "her own" golden statue while turning her head, her appearance resembling bidding farewell to the remains of a loved one...

This money-grubbing mercenary's greedy appearance is really rare in the world, but her greed is not annoying: because her greed is so clear, without any concealment. She doesn't engage in conspiracies, doesn't hide her desire to make a fortune, and doesn't claim to be a saint or gentleman to anyone. She likes money, but she doesn't steal or rob, and doesn't take advantage of others. Even if she freeloads meals at Hao Ren's house, she has to calculate clearly, and she has been thinking of ways to earn money to pay back from the first day she freeloaded meals.

She would kiss gold bricks in front of her friends, because she didn't think there was anything shameful about it, and didn't think she should hide this hobby from her friends.

Everyone likes this greedy mercenary girl very much, although she is indeed a bit too greedy sometimes.

"I suddenly understand why there were so many golds in the storage space of the first key," Vivian muttered while walking beside Hao Ren, "I used to think the owner of that thing was very rich. Now it seems that he was mostly a bricklayer in this Alamanda..."

Hao Ren raised his eyebrows, "Is it necessary for a bricklayer to put all the bricks in his pocket?"

"Then he's a building material salesman. It's okay to put samples in his briefcase," Vivian poked Hao Ren's arm, "Can you not care about these details..."

"You can tell your father about this place after we go back," Nangong Wuyue suddenly turned her head and said to Anna, "But also tell him that this is the treasure house of witches, and every gram of gold here is accompanied by a curse. Do you know why I want to say this?"

"This is for his own good," Vivian nodded slightly in agreement, "But I think it's best not to tell anyone about the situation in this world at all, not even your father: even if he doesn't care about the gold here, the people around him may not. News always leaks out. Perhaps someone in the castle will not be able to resist the lure of gold, and come here through the rift to dig gold. They will die directly in the poisonous atmosphere of Tana-Gus, or even worse..."

Hao Ren nodded, "It's best to set up more seals and monitoring devices near the rift after we go out. In addition, set up several barriers around the stone platform to strictly prohibit anyone from approaching. Tana-Gus may still have lingering, unscattered angry spirits. It would be no fun if they found the rift and ran out."

"Let's also be more careful. We might encounter angry spirits," Nangong Sanba clenched his crossbow. This was the first time he had set foot in another world, and he was more nervous than the others, "Make sure your fish daughter is in a normal state. If something happens, we're counting on her."

Doudou immediately stuck half of her body out of Hao Ren's collar and shouted hard, "Counting on her! Counting on her!"

It seems that the little guy is in good shape.

Lily sniffed the air for suspicious smells, but she didn't find any living things nearby. In a state of nervousness, she began to mutter, "Speaking of which, the angry spirits came from here... Did they all turn from the Tana people?"

"Perhaps a great extinction occurred on the planet Tana-Gus, and the angry spirits are the souls of the local people," Hao Ren said deliberately in a sinister tone, "Look at this city, not a single person is left. You say how much injustice so many people suffered when they died, they must have all turned into evil spirits."

Lily was immediately frightened and became fluffy, "You... don't use such a scary tone, okay!"

Vivian glanced at her, "You weren't afraid when you were fighting the angry spirits, why are you so cowardly when telling ghost stories at this time?"

Lily said with a matter-of-course expression, "Isn't that nonsense? You don't need to use your brain when fighting, but you have to use your brain when listening to ghost stories, so of course you know you're cowardly!"

Hao Ren was stunned by this husky's logic and straightforward attitude, while Vivian gave the latter a contemptuous look, "What are you being cowardly about? You shouldn't be afraid of ghost stories no matter what you're afraid of."

Lily was stunned, "Why?"

Vivian professionally scanned her up and down, "Dog blood wards off evil, you're the most evil-warding guy here, why are you afraid of ghosts?"

Lily actually lowered her head and thought about it, "...That makes sense!"

This time even Vivian was stunned, "This thing actually believed it!"

At this time, Anna suddenly spoke to interrupt the two's idle chatter, "Those evil spirits you call 'angry spirits' are not the souls of the Tana people, they are the Tana people themselves, Tana people who have transformed their life form."

As Anna spoke, she raised her hand and pointed to another tall tower building not far away, "I remember more things... The Tana people carried out an overall promotion of themselves, transforming the entire race into a spiritual state. They didn't transform after death, but changed actively. The tower in front is one of the Promotion Towers of Alamanda... probably the last one still standing. It must record the situation of the Tana people transforming themselves into... um, transforming into what you call 'angry spirits'."