Chapter 88: Oil Tyrant
『Oil Tyrant』—Zhang Wenda had seen this thing before, once at a flea market.
Even if that one had been a counterfeit, counterfeits were modeled after the real thing. No matter how fake, the appearance wouldn't be too far off.
Though he had only glimpsed it once, something worth 200 yuan—such a hefty sum—was unforgettable, even at a glance.
Deep in this corner of the Dark Web, it was pitch-black. One could barely see a few meters ahead. Yet, the blackness of that Oil Tyrant stood out starkly.
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That black carried a slick, oily luster. Suspended amidst utter darkness, it was strikingly conspicuous. It wasn’t ordinary black, but rather an iridescent oily black.
「This thing is worth 200 yuan？」Song Jianguo stared at the distant object, her eyes lighting up.
Just as she was about to step forward, Zhang Wenda yanked her back.「Wait. It's not that easy, is it？They’re just handing it over to us like this？Feels a little too deliberate. Could be a trap, don’t you think？」
Thinking it over, Zhang Wenda cautiously took out a flashlight and turned the beam to maximum, aiming in that direction. The surrounding darkness seemed to swallow light itself. The bright flashlight could only emit a beam as wide as a rice bowl.
But with that narrow beam, Zhang Wenda was still able to make out the scene in the distance. Around the droplet of Oil Tyrant, there was no sign of danger—nothing else at all.
Meanwhile, Song Jianguo had sent out her cat to investigate. Cautiously it approached, but nothing attacked it near the Oil Tyrant either.
They waited as 2826 cycled through various light spectrums, conducting a full scan. After triple-checking, they confirmed the Oil Tyrant posed no threat.
Cautiously picking it up, Zhang Wenda was surprised to find the Oil Tyrant resembled a liquid, about twice the size of a regular water droplet.
In his hand, it felt like a small clump of asphalt—radiating a constant warmth.
Just by its appearance, it was obvious the thing was special. Rumor had it that it could turn water into oil, though how it did so was a mystery.
Swatting away Song Jianguo’s reaching hand, Zhang Wenda placed the item into an enamel mug, storing it with care.
With this in hand, he had completed one-third of his goal. Now he just needed to find the remaining two drops to return.
Not easy at all. No wonder it was so expensive—hiding so deep, at the very bottom. Thankfully, despite the twists and turns, things seemed to be going well so far.
After packing up, Zhang Wenda looked toward 2826.「Is the Oil Tyrant really produced at the deepest layer of the Dark Web？Why is it floating mid-air？」
2826 shook his head.「No idea. The records I found did mention this place, but the Dark Web only appeared recently. There must be things the exploration teams haven’t discovered yet.」
Zhang Wenda stepped on the ground—it felt like stepping onto a thick, water-soaked sweater. It was water, but felt more like glue underfoot, with stones of varying sizes embedded in it.
Shining his flashlight around, he saw the entire area was the same. They had likely reached the bottom of the Dark Web.
「Let’s move. Since we’re here, we should stay alert. Let’s quickly find the other two Oil Tyrants, then get out of here.」
That’s what he said, but Zhang Wenda figured he’d have to play it by ear. If the place wasn’t too dangerous, maybe he could find more Oil Tyrants. Who knew—he might achieve financial freedom.
The three of them, along with a group of cats, moved cautiously forward. This time, Zhang Wenda didn’t turn on the flashlight.
In such pitch darkness, holding a flashlight—even after drinking Mosaic—made them too visible to creatures lurking in the dark.
Yet in this kind of darkness, where one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face, navigating without light was nearly impossible.
Fortunately, cats had better vision than humans in the dark. The cats quickly fanned out in a circle around them, serving as their eyes.
Even if visibility was limited, anything that approached would be detected in time.
With the cats around, Zhang Wenda felt slightly reassured. He lowered his voice and asked 2826,「What exactly was that thing just now？The one that snacked on a floating island.」
「I don’t know either.」
「You don’t？Didn’t you say you were fully prepared for the Dark Web？And you don’t even know what kind of monsters live here？」
2826 shook his head again.
「No, you misremember. I only said it was dangerous here. This place is a derivative zone of Thought Stream No. 7’s network. There wasn’t time to send exploration teams, so aside from some anecdotal accounts from returnees, we don’t know much more than you do.」
「Then what was that Atmospheric Creature you mentioned earlier？」
「A filter-feeding organism living in the stratosphere of Thought Stream No. 2. Since most of their bodies are made of air, they’re nearly transparent and constantly airborne.」
Zhang Wenda looked up at the blurry massive net overhead.「There’d be Atmospheric Creatures here too？This doesn’t look like high altitude.」
「That’s why I said this place is dangerous—not because we know of any specific threat here, but because it’s an uncharted zone. The unknown means anything could happen. In this world, the unknown equals danger.」
「I see.....」Zhang Wenda quietly memorized every word the other had just said. Sometimes, intel was the key to survival.
Suddenly, he thought of something crucial and immediately asked,「So, does this count as us surveying uncharted territory for Bureau 507？Shouldn’t I be getting paid？」
Thinking of the pitiful 13 yuan in his pocket, Zhang Wenda looked hopefully to 2826 for a response.
「Of course there's money—quite a bit, actually. But it’s considered my fieldwork bonus. If you'd joined earlier, you’d get a share too.」
「Damn.....you sneaky bastard. You look so honest but you’re double-dipping？When we get back, how about showing me around Bureau 507’s turf？」Zhang Wenda was about to say more when suddenly his eyes lit up.「Look!
There’s another Oil Tyrant over there！Is the yield really that high？」
But before he could take a few steps, Song Jianguo’s voice called from behind,「Mouse！One of the cats is missing！」
Her words hit like a bucket of cold water. Of course this damned place wouldn’t let them relax.
Forget the Oil Tyrant—he drew his lightsaber immediately.「What happened？！Call all the cats back！」
As Song Jianguo whistled, the cats returned from the darkness. After a few quick counts, she firmly declared,「No mistake！One’s definitely missing.」
「Are you sure？Don’t miscount！」
「You think I don’t know how many cats I have？！Are you saying I’ve never been to school and can’t even count？」Song Jianguo’s voice carried both anger and concern.
Zhang Wenda was about to respond, but then he fell silent.
He heard a sound coming from the darkness.
「Meow~~.......meow...
」