Chapter 44 : But it’s a vending machine!

Feeling the familiar touch of her trusty machine tool, Yijinmo’s eyes brimmed with nostalgia.

Back then, to piece together such a manufacturing station, she and Vita had worked tirelessly day and night for a long time, pouring in countless efforts before finally crafting a reliable companion by hand.

Boss-chan kept it well-maintained; there was barely any dust visible on it.

“Boss-chan, there’s something else I want to ask of you.”

“What is it? Can it be more important than me farming the Abyss?”

“It is!”

Yijinmo grabbed the gray-haired girl’s fragrant shoulders very seriously.

“There’s a company in Jiangnan City hunting down weak modified humans, and the ice spikes have already fallen into their hands.”

“I urgently need electric shock equipment to save people, the faster the better!”

“…But it’s useless asking me. I know nothing about this stuff.”

Boss-chan had heard a bit about the modified humans being stirred up, but as long as they caused trouble somewhere else, it wouldn’t affect her own little domain.

If it could even trigger the return of the Thunder Modified Human, that would be perfect.

“I mean, I need a suitable mold!”

To Yijinmo, equipment wasn’t so much an upgrade as it was a restraint.

Her lightning abilities were always in a scattered state; she could feel the wild, powerful force within her, but it was like trying to catch a crayfish—difficult to capture, impossible to tame.

However, if there were a medium to channel that power to a specific place, everything would become much easier.

And that was the principle behind Yijinmo forging equipment.

This medium only needed excellent conductivity; its shape didn’t matter.

Yijinmo basically made whatever came to hand—gloves, belts, long spears, and all kinds of blades.

“Don’t you have a lot of collectibles here? I think I can use one!”

“…I don’t think so…”

Here it comes again. This one’s trying to freeload from her again.

Boss-chan rolled her dead-fish eyes, feeling like she’d gone back to the old days.

That loud, brash girl and the foul-mouthed little loli always came to her shop to mess with this and that.

At first, she wanted to kick those two idiots out to keep her peace.

But over time, she got numb.

They were just two little brats; let them cause trouble.

Besides, the stock in the warehouse was all gifts from those trying to curry favor with her—it was a waste to keep it.

If the little rascals wanted it, just pay up.

“Ah, you want money too?”

“…What kind of expression is that? Do I look like I’m running a charity?”

“Xiao Yi, let’s run, bleh bleh bleh, the trashy boss, we’re not paying for anything we can steal!”

“Watch this, electromagnetic acceleration!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!!”

“The exit’s over there, idiots! You’re running the wrong way, that’s the bathroom!”

All in all, a ruckus broke out.

Not only did they freeload stuff from the warehouse, but they even lost a bathroom in the process.

Yet, these two little rascals had some principles—they only took one item at a time and returned the previous one after use.

They basically treated her warehouse like their own.

“Waaah, Boss-chan~”

How old were they? They still acted like the little kids from three years ago.

Faced with Yijinmo’s hugs and teary-eyed gaze, Boss-chan couldn’t quite hold her ground…

“Tsk, wait here for a moment.”

“Yay! I knew Boss-chan was easy to deal with!”

After rummaging through the clutter, the gray-haired girl finally pulled out a jet-black long blade.

It had once been a friend’s sword, but after that friend got married and retired from battle, they gifted it to Boss-chan.

Drawing the blade revealed crimson veins running along the black steel—it was clear at a glance that this was no ordinary weapon.

“Wow, so cool.”

Steel Spike tried to reach out to touch it but was casually blocked by Boss-chan.

“Don’t touch, this sword’s fragile.”

“Wah!”

“It should suit you.”

With that, she sheathed the sword and tossed it into Yijinmo’s arms. “Take good care of it.”

Yijinmo quickly caught it, terrified of dropping it.

“I remember wanting this sword before, but you refused to give it to me no matter what!”

Yijinmo was more familiar with Boss-chan’s warehouse than Boss-chan herself.

She naturally recognized this treasure and had wanted to play with it before but got her head knocked for a whole day and almost lost a few IQ points.

Unlike other collectibles in the warehouse, this sword seemed to hold a unique significance for the modified humans.

“Is that so? It’s just a broken sword.”

“Take it and go quickly, don’t bother me anymore.”

…………

By the time Yijinmo left Boss-chan’s place, it was already noon.

She sent a message to Vita about her situation, then took the two little ones to find food.

“Today, we’re eating out.”

“Ah, are we having a feast?”

At the mention of a meal, Steel Spike immediately raised his hand enthusiastically, but Spring Breeze had an inexplicable feeling it wouldn’t be that simple.

“Hmph, that’s right, a feast!”

“Will there be steamed lamb, steamed bear paws, steamed deer tail, and so on?!”

“Of course—not at all.”

If Miss Luo were here, she might really treat them to such delicacies, but unfortunately, she was probably at school now.

And Yijinmo was famously frugal (by force), so she naturally wouldn’t waste money.

Besides, Boss-chan certainly wouldn’t save lunch for the three of them.

So their destination was naturally—the noodle shop downstairs!

Vita had taken her there once in Chapter Two.

The taste lingered with Yijinmo, even diluting the shadow of losing all her underwear.

“Anyway, we’ll go to the market to buy some things first, then…”

Just as Yijinmo was about to give further instructions, she suddenly froze and shifted her gaze to a corner by the roadside.

“?”

Spring Breeze and Steel Spike followed her line of sight, but there was only a brand-new vending machine there.

That was normal—no enemies around.

Did Thunder Boss discover something?

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

Nodding solemnly to the two, the girl strode toward the solitary vending machine with an imposing aura. Lightning arcs flickered faintly through her hair.

Like a cowboy duel in the desert, facing off against the vending machine, Yijinmo used her powers to ensure no bystanders were within 500 meters!

“Bang!”

A perfect kick struck the vending machine, the powerful impact shaking several canned sodas right off the shelves and into the retrieval slot below.

“Impressive, right?”

Grabbing the freed soda, Yijinmo proudly showed off to the two little ones.

She’d wanted to try this for a long time but never had the chance.

If she did this in front of Vita, she’d be scolded as an idiot by the foul-mouthed loli.

“Boss… doesn’t your foot hurt?”

“It does, but this pain is nothing!”

“But Boss, if you want it, why not just short-circuit it with electricity instead of kicking?”

This vending machine was definitely tougher than that rusty old door at the grocery store.

“Spring Breeze…”

“Hm?!!”

The black-haired girl suddenly appeared before her, those terrifying red eyes glaring so hard that Spring Breeze broke into a sweat, feeling guilty enough to confess all her childhood bedwetting secrets.

“You young people need to understand that looking cool…”

“Is a lifelong matter!”

Ignoring her swollen ankle, Yijinmo made her declaration.