Mission in another world with my transformed best friend

At Zhang Lan's invitation, Wang Kai walked over without any hesitation, unknowingly breaking the previous warning of "one meter distance".

Zhang Lan, noticing this, didn't say much for the time being, but simply moved slightly to the side, as if to declare and reiterate the sense of distance between men and women.

This "distance" of less than a meter symbolizes a fundamental change in their relationship...

Wang Kai looked over and saw a large cup on the display stand, filled with a brown liquid, in which a piece of metal could be vaguely seen...

"what is this?"

"This is the 'oil quenching' method in quenching. Haven't you seen some short videos about 'knife forging' before?"

Only after being reminded did Wang Kai remember and quietly asked a question.

"Is there no concept of oil quenching here?"

“Yes, the metalworking here has always used water quenching. While this method has its advantages, its disadvantages are obvious. It easily causes the metal to deform and crack, which is why you can now cut a two-handed sword in half with a single blow…”

"No wonder, when I was fighting that petite two-handed sword warrior, her high-grade two-handed sword, which looked very valuable, was intercepted and cut in half. It was quite unexpected. It turns out that the cracks on the sword were caused by the water quenching process..."

In that case, if Zhang Lan's "oil quenching" method is widely adopted, the concern remains: relying solely on such a "steel bar" might quickly diminish our advantage in weaponry. We'll need to find a similar alternative weapon, the hardest kind possible...

"So, through your 'imitation,' you've successfully acquired charcoal and steel, plus the 'oil quenching' method you later mastered and improved. But with nearly two months left, I have a feeling you should have more than that..."

"Yes, but at this time, two things happened that severely hampered my 'copying' process..."

"Which two?"

Zhang Lan chuckled, pointed at him with her eyes, and said.

"You even asked me... You inexplicably went out of town for 'further studies,' leaving without even a glance. Before you left, I don't know what kind of magic you cast on Martha, but without you around, she's been absent-minded all the time. She either makes mistakes or forgets the chores she usually helps me with. Besides, she spends most of her time staring blankly at the living room table, sometimes looking sad, sometimes giggling like an idiot. Now I realize that's the reaction of a 'lovestruck girl'... Now that I think about it, I haven't even settled the score with you yet..."

"Huh? 'A girl in love'? What's going on?"

Zhang Lan took a deep breath and, after thinking for a moment, decided to just say it directly.

"I heard it from her later. She said that you sneaked back that night and hugged Martha, saying things like 'I want to be family.' I guess you just wanted her to be like a 'sister' to you."

"But I don't know if it's a misunderstanding of language or a difference between cultures and races, but she probably didn't think that way."

"After that, Martha couldn't eat or sleep for days and nights. If I hadn't taken the time to eavesdrop on her silly mutterings, I really wouldn't have known what was going on..."

"Oh right, right, you come back now and give her a ring and put it on her finger. You think it might just be some kind of 'huge misunderstanding,' but for her, it's a sign that the relationship has progressed after the return of the person she likes."

"Don't pretend to be naive now. If you want to clear up the misunderstanding, you have to explain it to her yourself. Otherwise, one day this girl might suddenly drag you to a church to have a priest officiate your wedding."

...Wang Kai was stunned for a moment, and when he heard the words, his face was full of disbelief.

"Marriage...? I'm just a middle-aged man who's not even thirty yet and nothing's even going to happen. This misunderstanding is really a bit too much. If it doesn't work today, I'll definitely talk to her and clear things up tomorrow... Sigh, the topic has changed again. Let's get back to what we were saying earlier, about your progress."

Zhang Lan, whose thoughts had been disrupted, composed herself and spoke slowly.

"The research on charcoal, steel, and oil quenching technology has reached this point thanks to those few blacksmiths with whom we had a good relationship."

"But there are always people like this in the world. I shared my technology with them for free and used the steel I smelted to make some 'high-level weapons.' I originally intended to use them for hardness testing, but a blacksmith secretly took them and sold them."

"You know how big a storm it will cause once this new material weapon is exposed."

"Later, a senior investigator from the Hani Chamber of Commerce used 'professional methods' to get the blacksmith to talk and obtained my information."

“At first, the other party was skeptical. Later, he and some colleagues often ‘secretly monitored’ the area around the house we rented, trying to find some decisive evidence to prove that the source of all this was me.”

……

At this point, Wang Kai recalled the information he had learned from Squad Leader Du Li, which now matched the timeline Zhang Lan had mentioned. So he immediately pressed for details.

"I've heard about that. The senior investigator from that chamber of commerce later died nearby, right?"

"It seems you've gathered quite a bit of information since you came back... Indeed, the investigator's death is actually somewhat related to me..."

"Zhang Lan, you wouldn't really... do such a thing?"

"You're overthinking it. That investigator probably took advantage of Martha and me not looking and started investigating those earthen kilns used for 'charcoal burning' in the open space outside. I suspect he sneaked in to explore the internal structure... You know, it's a sealed environment inside. Burning charcoal consumes a lot of oxygen, and with some residual toxic gases, he quickly passed out. Sigh, it was originally his own doing, but now he's inexplicably died of lack of oxygen in the earthen kiln I built. It's impossible to deny any involvement now. By the time I found him and pulled him out, he was already dead..."

Hearing this, Wang Kai finally felt relieved. It was indeed just an accident, but why did it alarm Hani?

Zhang Lan knew they were about to get to the crucial point, so she thought back carefully.

"When Uncle Doolittle and his team arrived at the scene, they couldn't figure out the cause of death even after analyzing it for a long time because the investigator had no external injuries."

"And even though I already knew the cause of death, no matter how I explained to them what 'carbon monoxide poisoning and suffocation' meant, they just couldn't understand."

"And not only could I not understand them, they initially even thought I had used some 'strange' architecture and set up deadly trap magic. I was completely overwhelmed..."

"Given the 'mysterious' nature of the truth, as an Imperial soldier, the only recourse is to notify the investigator's 'Hani Merchant Guild' to handle the matter..."

“Actually, I should be able to guess it now. Hani must be behind all this ‘trade secret spying.’ Maybe he was the one who discovered those ‘inventions’ first, and that’s why he sent investigators to investigate first, which turned out to be a ‘work-related accident.’ But I’ve been dragged into this for no reason and can’t get out of it…”

"We're getting closer and closer to the core point," Wang Kai pressed for details.

"And then, how was it resolved?"

"The solution is actually quite simple. My original purpose in 'imitating' was to create some of these extremely useful things for the world, and then sell them to whoever offered the highest price to acquire them. Since Hani himself is here, I'll just honestly admit it to him."

"Hani, being a seasoned veteran, quickly realized that these 'inventions' would bring immeasurable wealth. As for that 'investigator,' he could be considered an 'unexpected accident.' After handling the compensation, he immediately signed a 'contract' with me, the contents of which are as follows..."

[1. Alice Lan will sign a technology transfer agreement with the Hani Chamber of Commerce as a "partner." Both parties will be equal within the Chamber. Alice can "borrow" all resources of the Hani Chamber of Commerce, including but not limited to—technology reserve funds, networks, residence, personnel, security forces, food, clothing, lodging, and transportation. The Hani Chamber of Commerce has the right to arrange all future business activities related to Ms. Alice's technology, including but not limited to—attending events, participating in technology improvement seminars, and negotiating with other business forces.]

[2. Alice Lan's inventions and technologies will be transferred to the "Hani Chamber of Commerce," including any other derivative inventions and technologies. Alice will own 5% of the total profits generated from these inventions and technologies.]

[3. Alice Lan must transfer at least six 'professional technologies' to the Hani Chamber of Commerce within an indefinite period. After the technology transfer is completed, Alice will become one of the "Ten Elders of the Hani Chamber of Commerce," be granted the title of "Eternal Merit of the Chamber of Commerce," and enjoy the right to "share profits of the Chamber of Commerce" for life.]