Chapter Sixty-Two: Become My Slave

Zhou Yi stood up and waved to Cheng Zhi.
“Let’s go take a look.”
Cheng Zhi didn’t say much, just got up and went to his room to change clothes, then the two of them went downstairs.
The two errand boys hadn’t returned, but Zhou Yi hadn’t planned to bring them along anyway. They left directly in Cheng Zhi’s car.
Half an hour later, they arrived at a courtyard. This wasn’t the site of any mine; Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes, and Cheng Zhi, worried Zhou Yi might get suspicious, hurried to explain:
“The gold mine isn’t far from here. I didn’t dare store the extracted rocks at the mine, so I keep them in this warehouse. I hired a few people to guard the place, but they don’t know what’s inside—they all think it’s waste material, maybe for some experiment or something.”
Zhou Yi nodded.
For someone as cautious as Cheng Zhi, this was exactly the sort of thing he’d do, especially after repeating his life in this world so many times.
“Let’s go in and take a look. Don’t try anything funny—you know what the consequences would be.”
Cheng Zhi made a sound of agreement, turned off the engine, and got out. Zhou Yi followed, and they walked to the entrance of the courtyard. Without knocking, Cheng Zhi took out a ring of keys and unlocked the door himself.
As soon as they moved, the dogs inside the yard started barking. A man shuffled over in slippers, holding up a flashlight.
“Who is it? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
When he saw Cheng Zhi, the man quickly stopped, grinning foolishly and bowing.
“Boss, you’re here at this hour—should I go boil some water?”
Cheng Zhi waved him off.
“I’m just here to fetch something. Go back to sleep; I’ll lock up when I leave.”
The man glanced at Zhou Yi. Clearly, the boss was entertaining a guest, and probably fetching something best kept from prying eyes at this late hour. Smiling, he hurried away.
The lights in the courtyard were bright—almost harsh.
Cheng Zhi led Zhou Yi to the last row of rooms. There was an electronic keypad lock on the door, which surprised Zhou Yi a little. Cheng Zhi didn’t hesitate, just entered the code and opened the door.
“Do you want to go in first, or should I?”
Zhou Yi waved him off.
“No need for all that—let’s go in together.”
Cheng Zhi hunched his shoulders, quickly opened both doors, and the two entered the storeroom.
Though called a storeroom, there wasn’t much inside. Against the east wall was a row of boxes, neatly stacked, some tied up with string.
On the west side stood something like a display shelf, holding various rare minerals—obviously a decoy.

Cheng Zhi went straight to the west wall, picked up a hammer from the floor, and pried open the outermost box. Inside were heaps of shredded paper, which he pushed aside to pull out a piece of pitch-black stone.
Even before approaching, Zhou Yi could feel its pull.
He took the stone, examining it closely. This rock was very different from the one in the geology department—it was irregular in shape, flecked throughout with tiny golden sparks. No doubt about it: this was real gold.
As he tried to sense its properties, Zhou Yi’s breathing deepened. It was comfortable—strangely so—but not overwhelmingly attractive.
He placed the stone back in the box and looked at Cheng Zhi.
“You analyzed these?”
Cheng Zhi nodded.
“I took samples from the surface of each, ran tests—the gold content is high, and the radioactive elements are complex. But my lab equipment can’t detect anything else. I just go by feel—if it warms my hand, or gets my heart racing, I collect it.”
His words rang true. Cheng Zhi had encountered the geology department’s spirit stone before, though only its surface—not the inside.
Looking at the pile of boxes—no fewer than thirty—Zhou Yi thought, if every one was like this, this world was truly blessed. But what could he do with so many?
Cheng Zhi, noticing Zhou Yi’s lack of visible excitement, was a little surprised. Gripping the hammer, he quickly opened all the boxes.
When he’d removed all the lids, he gestured at the stones.
“I’ve spent years accumulating these—this is all I’ve found. I think each one is superior to the geology department’s stone, though I have no idea what they’re for. But I know they’re valuable.”
Zhou Yi nodded. “They’re good things. Let me take another look.”
He squatted and examined each stone in turn—their sizes and energies varied greatly. In the end, Zhou Yi selected a palm-sized piece and weighed it in his hand.
“I’m guessing you didn’t collect these all at once. Back when the world reset, where did you hide them? And how did you know the world was cycling, or could be reset?”
Cheng Zhi’s eyes flickered. He sighed.
“I’m not sure myself. Years ago, I went alone to explore Mount Four Peaks. Just after I found a peculiar stone, I had an accident—fell into a cave, broke nearly every bone, and waited for death. I don’t know how many days I was unconscious.
“When I woke, all my injuries had healed, but I remembered nothing. The clothes I wore were new ones from my university days. I couldn’t get out of the cave right away. At first, I thought someone was playing a prank.
“Deeper in the cave, I found a backpack. At the time, I didn’t know whose it was. Inside was a detailed diary, covering everything from applying to university to the final expedition. The dates and entries shocked me—I had no memory of those five years.
“When I discovered a stone in the backpack, I realized all this was real. The moment I touched the stone, my body felt feverish—I tried to throw it away, but couldn’t. Then, suddenly, all my memories returned, and my injuries were mostly gone.”
It dawned on Zhou Yi: these stones were like the world’s own glitch, providing energy and even awakening consciousness. That cave, perhaps, was a bit like Fatty’s old bomb shelter.
“And after that?”
Cheng Zhi sighed and went on.
“After that, I found another exit to the cave and escaped. I went to report in; I’d already learned all the courses, so I had more time to work and make money—and, of course, play the lottery.
“Once I’d saved enough, I started buying stones wherever I could, not sure what they were, only that they were tied to my rebirth. The years passed quickly. When it was almost time, I’d stash everything in the cave, ready for the next cycle.
“After many cycles, Zhang Linna found me. I was terrified and, to avoid alerting them, used the geology department’s stone as bait. I didn’t dare hide things in the cave again, so I moved everything here. With all the radiation, I hoped it would disrupt their search.”
Zhou Yi nodded. He couldn’t take all these stones with him in one go. But if he hid them, he could always come back for them—once he’d advanced enough to travel freely between worlds.
The man before him had managed all this unaided. He was clever enough. If Zhou Yi could use him, perhaps...
While he considered this, Zhou Yi’s hands did not stop. He replaced all the box lids except for the smallest stone, which he kept. Turning to Cheng Zhi, he said,
“It’s still early. Pack these up—we’re going to that cave you mentioned. We’ll bury them there.”
Cheng Zhi froze, uncertain what Zhou Yi meant. The cave was remote—did he intend to kill him and bury the evidence?
The thought made Cheng Zhi’s face go slack. He dropped to his knees before Zhou Yi—not a cycle reset, but an outright execution by a chosen one. That would mean total erasure.
“Sir—no, I don’t even know what to call you—please don’t kill me, don’t erase me. I’m still useful. I may not be good at much, but when it comes to detecting spirit stones, I’m better than those hunters. They can’t sense them at all. I’ll do anything—be your servant, your beast of burden, just spare me!”
Zhou Yi didn’t hurry to explain. Watching Cheng Zhi grovel, he understood the man’s fear.
“You say you’re useful?”
Cheng Zhi nodded vigorously, pounding his chest.
“I may lack other skills, but I can sense whether there are spirit stones in a mining area, no matter how much other material surrounds them. If I had better equipment, I could analyze them further.”
Zhou Yi twirled the stone in his hand, stepped in front of Cheng Zhi, and waggled a finger at him.
“Not that part. The previous thing you said—did you mean you’d be my beast of burden?”
Cheng Zhi pressed his lips together and nodded hard.
“Yes, anything—so long as I can live!”
Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow and said coolly,
“Then become my slave.”
Cheng Zhi was stunned.
“Uh, a slave?”