Mission in another world with my transformed best friend

From Wang Kai's serious expression, Zhang Lan knew that his words should have been taken seriously. If he continued to act carelessly and angered Hani, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Wang Kai seemed to be thinking the same thing. He looked down at the imitation spring in his hand, thought for a while, and asked.

"I feel like I should transfer this 'spring' technology to you. You can do whatever you want with it, just don't let Honey cause me any trouble, okay..."

"Huh? You want me to play dumb and act cute? Are you out of your mind? I already told you that you've 'monopolized' this imitation technology, and in the end I'll still have to give you away."

"I'm not afraid of giving it away; at worst, I can just run away..."

"You ran away, leaving me to clean up this mess?"

"Let's just leave together then."

"Let's all run away together? That would be considered a 'breach of contract,' and I wouldn't get a single penny of the money I'd worked so hard to earn over the past few months..."

Money is just an external thing.

Zhang Lan shook his head, his expression becoming somewhat serious, and then slowly spoke with a very calm and earnest expression.

“As I just said, my purpose in making money is to better deal with the Four Heroes in the future. You've always thought that the heroes are like some kind of boss in a dungeon, and that you can just ‘eliminate’ them and be done with it. But the reality is completely different. They are now heroes in the hearts of most ordinary people, almost like gods. Although some big shots in the empire may see them as thorns in their side, they wouldn't dare to openly ‘remove the thorns’... As for us, we are just ordinary people in appearance and name. How can we deal with the heroes without some other means?”

"Yes, but money isn't everything..."

"Money isn't everything, but it can be used to gather intelligence, win people's hearts, find allies... and even save your life in a critical moment. Your idea of ​​'strength' might just be 'surpassing the hero,' but when the day comes that you have to raise your sword against the hero, you won't just be facing those four people, but also their troops and the glory they've accumulated over the past decade or so by 'defeating the Demon King's army and saving the continent.' If we don't plan ahead and proceed steadily step by step according to the plan, we won't even know how we die one day."

Faced with these realities, Wang Kai had to admit, whether he wanted to or not, that even the strongest person can't fight against many. Zhang Lan was working hard behind his back to meet the requirements for completing the "main quest," while he kept finding fault and backing down. Was "a man is a boy until he dies" just an empty phrase? If he gave up on anything, even if it seemed impossible, without even trying, could he still be considered a "passionate young man" with an adventurous spirit?

Thinking of this, Wang Kai seemed to regain some confidence from his "avoidance" attitude. As his expression changed from the previous nonchalant one to a slightly more serious one, he nodded slightly and turned to run towards the "blacksmith shop".

Watching her friend's retreating figure, Zhang Lan knew it was time for Wang Kai to share some responsibilities. Rather than creating conditions, it was better to elevate them. Only through mutual understanding and support could they truly be considered partners...

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Lan took out the "sensing ring" given to her by Wang Kai. Looking at this symbol of "partner," she smiled faintly, preparing to put it on, but hesitated for a moment about which finger to wear it on. Finally, she gritted her teeth and put it on the index finger of her left hand, smiling with slight satisfaction…

"Uh, the food has been too good lately, my fingers have gotten thicker and are really tight... Although my ring finger is just right, I'm afraid that guy will misunderstand... I'll just have to make do."

Upon returning to the blacksmith shop, Wang Kai immediately sought out Glenn and, with utmost seriousness, began to research methods to achieve smelting using "ordinary magic."

Additionally, at Glenn's suggestion, several molds were made to cast the springs; the remaining task was to increase the melting temperature...

Anyway, after a series of miscellaneous but dedicated collaborative research sessions, by the time the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky, and Glenn, who had been working overtime for a long time, had gone home, Wang Kai looked at the table full of spring products and let out a long sigh of relief...

"These 'samples' should be enough. I'll take them to Hani sometime. If there's any potential, I'll credit Zhang Lan. That way, there'll be one item left in the 'Contract,' and her plan will be close to success. As for what to do next, we can only take it one step at a time and be careful in everything we do... Sigh, I'm not going to think about that for now. I'm all sweaty from being in this big room with four or five furnaces. I need to take a shower first."

"Wow, this feels so good. Even in my original world, taking a bath was just standing under the shower and rinsing off haphazardly. Swimming in such a high-end and classy bath is what I call a real bath... I've wasted the last thirty years of my life."

After a busy afternoon, Wang Kai finally taught Glenn how to use the rudimentary technique of "wind-based heating." This young blacksmith was also incredibly quick to learn. With his comprehension and the boost from his own wind magic, he could make several springs from the molten iron he smelted before his magic power was exhausted. If he were to increase his level to boost his maximum magic power and magic level, his manufacturing efficiency could double.

Don't ask why we can't just set out dozens of magic MP potions like in the game, and smelt them while drinking them.

Firstly, most people recover their magic MP through rest and don't usually rely on recovery potions. Potions are expensive, and adventurers mostly use them only in extremely dangerous situations.

And there's an even more crucial reason: consuming large quantities of these potions in a short period reduces MP conversion efficiency, essentially creating "tolerance." Each short-term use results in less restored magic, a phenomenon inherent in adventure mechanics that poses a serious threat to sustained adventures. Experienced adventurers rest for several days after using these potions before resuming their missions, precisely to eliminate this "tolerance" debuff.

Wang Kai had been "farming" attribute points for a long time, and in the early stages, he only drank the healing potion once or twice. Not only did it taste bitter and unpleasant, but it also caused him to lose his sense of taste for a short period of time, making everything tasteless... Later, as his attribute points gradually increased, the healing and mana regeneration speed provided by his attribute bonuses became sufficient, and he never used such potions again. In other words, as long as he didn't use a large amount of magic in a short period of time, he "could fight monsters all day long"...

No wonder Zhang Lan said that he currently "monopolizes" the "spring technology". This kind of blacksmithing, which relies on wind magic for heating and melting, is really impossible to "imitate" without finding some high-level blacksmiths with high comprehension and mastery of wind magic.

After all, blacksmithing is just a livelihood profession, and the level requirements aren't very high, making it incomparable to the life-and-death adventurers. However, both are earning a living, and they shouldn't be treated differently just because of their different character attributes. Therefore, in terms of social status, there isn't actually an absolute hierarchy between the two.

“Brother Kyle, I’m here to ‘serve you in your bath’…”

Just as Wang Kai was enjoying the comfortable feeling of being enveloped in hot water with his eyes closed, and was about to drift off to sleep, a girl's soft murmur suddenly rang out.

"Oh, it's Martha! You're here to 'serve the bath'... That's great, wait a minute!"

Wang Kai opened his eyes and turned his head to see Masha standing behind him with a smile on her face, holding a wooden basin. Through the steaming water vapor... Fortunately, she was still wearing that cool "Lafite Girl" outfit, and there was nothing else "unpleasant to look at".

When Masha suddenly appeared, Wang Kai stared at her blankly, and she couldn't help but turn her face slightly away. Perhaps it was because the temperature in the bathhouse was too high, but her entire face, hands, and feet had become slightly red. She put down the wooden basin she was holding, took a large towel from it, spread it on the ground, and began to prepare herself.