When Zhang Wenda said those words, the cursing battle in the sky eerily came to a halt.
But in the next second, the world changed dramatically—sand flew, and stones rolled.
Elsewhere, the hardcore barrage disappeared completely, and all kinds of mocking and sarcastic text rained down upon the Lamp Spirit.
The Lamp Spirit clearly hadn’t expected Zhang Wenda to use his own move against him.
Caught off guard, he was pummeled helplessly beneath the onslaught of words, looking utterly disheveled.
"I'm so pissed off! Now even the Network World has scammers—how did it come to this!"
Aunt Flo arrived at Zhang Wenda’s side, carrying a massive cat umbrella.
"Isn’t it normal to have scammers in the Network World? What’s so surprising about that? Where’s Jianguo?"
Following Aunt Flo’s pointing finger, they saw that Song Jianguo had been standing aside watching the show for a while, as if the whole situation had nothing to do with her.
"Damn this guy." Zhang Wenda snatched the big cat umbrella and charged toward the Lamp Spirit.Seeing Zhang Wenda rushing at him, the Lamp Spirit tried to retaliate.
However, Zhang Wenda, a battle-hardened veteran, clearly knew far more tired memes than he did.
The Lamp Spirit had no strength to fight back and was forced into a miserable retreat.
When Zhang Wenda, shielded by Song Jianguo’s cat umbrella, reached the Lamp Spirit under the heavy rain, he saw just how wretched the figure had become.
The ceramic jar was dented and misshapen, its base completely flattened, wedged between two Moms.
His true body had been squeezed out like toothpaste, his face battered and bloody.
Zhang Wenda sneered at the miserable Lamp Spirit, picked him up with one hand from the ground, and shoved him forcibly into the deflated tea jar.
"With just this, you dare to mess with me? The number of garbage memes I know far exceeds yours."
Though Zhang Wenda took the Lamp Spirit away, the battle of insults didn’t cease because of it.
By the time Zhang Wenda arrived at the Aminos Grassland outside MD Duomei Body Center, in just that brief moment, a skyscraper made of insult barrages had already formed where he had been.
Confirming there was no danger nearby, Zhang Wenda removed the tightly sealed ceramic lid.
"Lamp Spirit, come out. Let’s talk."
Now bruised and swollen, with even his glasses broken, the Lamp Spirit had lost all his former arrogance and looked evasively at Zhang Wenda.
"You... what do you want?"
Zhang Wenda grinned coldly.
"I don’t want anything. Don’t worry, I’m a good guy."
"Tch." Song Jianguo turned her head disdainfully, clearly seeing through his mischief.
Terrified, the Lamp Spirit cried out immediately.
"I lied to you, yes! But I didn’t get anything out of it! And I’m seriously injured!"
"Listen to yourself. Does a failed robbery not count as robbery? Relax, I won’t stoop to your level. I won’t grant you three wishes."
This guy clearly knew loads of tired memes, so he probably was a native of the Network World.
Just what Zhang Wenda needed—a guide.
"Your name?"
"Jia... Junpeng." The Lamp Spirit adjusted his glasses and answered.
"Huh?" Zhang Wenda paused.
That name sounded strangely familiar.
But he quickly shifted the topic back to himself.
"Never mind what your name is. Do you know where I can find free Qigong?"
Jia Junpeng blinked, clearly stunned that someone would ask that.
"Qigong? What kind?"
"Just Qigong—the powerful kind. The kind that can douse a whole forest fire. But I’ll take anything, really."
To help the other understand better, Zhang Wenda expanded the scope.
"Special powers, dual cultivation of mystery and science—anything that can significantly enhance my strength. I’m not picky. The stronger, the better."
Jia Junpeng thought seriously for a moment, then raised a hand and said to Zhang Wenda, "Well, in that case, I suggest you go to Xinhua Bookstore and buy a handgun. We must believe in science."
"You mother—!" Zhang Wenda roared, swinging his right hand.
A red lightsaber shot out from his flashlight.
"You think I’m joking? Believe it or not, I’ll give you three stabs and six holes right now!"
"No no no!" Jia Junpeng frantically waved his hands, scrambling out of the tea jar, afraid he’d be skewered along with it.
"I... I do know a place. Someone there shares this kind of stuff. I’ll take you there."
Seeing Zhang Wenda’s weapon, Jia Junpeng instantly got smart and stopped wasting time.
"So you can come out of there, huh?" Song Jianguo picked up the ceramic tea jar curiously and peered inside.
After fiddling with it for a bit, she tucked it into her chest.
"This thing’s pretty good. It’s mine now!"
Zhang Wenda reached out and snatched it back.
"Don’t talk nonsense. I already said he’s a scammer. That Lamp Spirit identity of his is obviously fake. Of course he could come out. He probably just found the jar somewhere and had the bright idea to impersonate a Lamp Spirit to scam people."
"I found it first!" Song Jianguo glared at Zhang Wenda, grinding her teeth.
Zhang Wenda shamelessly pretended not to hear.
He turned to the hesitant Jia Junpeng.
"What are you standing there for? Lead the way."
With Jia Junpeng leading, Zhang Wenda began heading deep into the grassland.
On the way, he studied his trophy—the ceramic tea jar.
He discovered it was surprisingly spacious inside.
He put his backpack in and found it only took up a small corner.
No matter how big an item was, once placed at the jar’s mouth, it would quickly shrink in size, making storage and retrieval extremely convenient.
A rough estimate told him it could hold several hundred pounds of stuff.
What’s more, the jar had been conveniently flattened, making it fit perfectly in his pocket.
Aside from the resentful gaze of Song Jianguo and the bitter glare of Jia Junpeng, it was practically perfect.
"This Network World really is something. Dangerous, yes—but full of great stuff," Zhang Wenda thought to himself.
They wandered the Aminos Grassland for nearly an hour.
Just when Zhang Wenda thought he was being led in circles, they stopped before a field of grass taller than a man.
"It’s inside here," Jia Junpeng said, stepping forward.
But Zhang Wenda stopped him.
"Wait. Jianguo, send your cats in first to scout."
Soon, the two cats went in.
Not long after, they returned, placing their paws on Song Jianguo’s calf and meowing.
"What’s inside?" Zhang Wenda asked.
Song Jianguo looked puzzled.
"I’m not quite sure either. Charcoal and Blackie said... it’s a really, really big tree."
"A tree?" Zhang Wenda asked again, looking at the grass that wasn’t all that tall.