Judging by that identity, there might be some loopholes in what Su Mo had said, and anomalies could be found by tracing it back to the source.

But Pei Shao’s plan was absolutely flawless. Even if Su Mo investigated, he would find such a person.

Furthermore, this person’s experiences and the stories that had happened to him would match exactly what Pei Shao was saying now, without the slightest discrepancy.

In this situation, Su Mo wanted to keep playing along.

If there had been no time limit, he might have kept playing dumb a while longer and carefully observed how Pei Shao had changed over the past eight years.

But now...

“Master Pei, please don’t bother with that. I’m not hungry at all right now, but I have a favor to ask you.”

“Oh? Teacher Su, you’re being very polite today. I’m just an old man who can cook a little. How could I possibly help you?”

Startled for a moment, Pei Shao took off his chef’s hat and shook his head repeatedly.

Eight years had passed, and he was now over forty. It was unclear whether the cause was the immense drain on his energy from working hard all day or the unbearable torment of his time in the wasteland.

In Su Mo’s memory, Pei Shao had aged by five years, even ten.

In the real wasteland, Pei Shao had been in his early thirties, as strong as a young man and full of inexhaustible energy.

But now the corners of his eyes had begun to droop, and there were obvious wrinkles and creases on his face.

Even his voice had begun to sound aged, and one could vaguely make out the many trials and tribulations the territory had gone through over the past eight years.

“It’s like this, Master Pei. I need to buy some things, but I feel that only you can get them, so I wanted to discuss it with you in advance.”

“Of course, if you find it troublesome, just pretend I never said anything today.”

Su Mo glanced with a smile at the food preparation area inside the kitchen, his meaning self-evident.

For some reason, Pei Shao did not refuse. He simply nodded with a slightly different look in his eyes, stood up, and walked inside first.

The two walked one after the other until they entered the food preparation area. Only then did Pei Shao turn around, close the door, and sit down opposite Su Mo.

“Teacher Su, there’s no one here now. If you have something you’re having trouble saying, just tell me.”

“Don’t worry. This old man may not be very capable, but I’m good at keeping my mouth shut. Whatever you say today, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it!”

Touching his waist, Pei Shao broke into a smile on his oily face.

It was easy to see that he had now completely embraced the identity of a “kind old man,” and there was almost no flaw in his demeanor.

But knowing the inside story, seeing him like this...

Su Mo could hardly contain his laughter and almost burst out laughing.

After clearing his throat and making sure there were no surveillance cameras or eavesdroppers, Su Mo got straight to the point.

“Master Pei, as you know, I’ve been doing a lot of experiments lately, and the material consumption has been quite high.”

“Some of these things can be purchased by the Zhang Clan for my use, but others require certain permissions to buy.”

“For example?” Pei Shao didn’t understand what Su Mo meant. His heart sank, but his expression remained calm.

“For example, level eight wrought iron alloys, level seven rigid iron alloys, level six hard plastic iron alloys, level six versatile gears, and level six all-alloy tracks.”

Su Mo rattled off more than a dozen different materials, but his eyes stayed fixed on Pei Shao’s face.

Sure enough, upon hearing that none of these materials were below level six, Pei Shao’s expression finally changed slightly and turned cold.

“Teacher Su, do you know what a level six alloy means?”

“I know. Any scientific research product above level three needs alloys of level six or higher to reach the maximum material amplification and so unleash its full potential.”

“No, what I’m asking is, do you know how many trade points a level six alloy takes?” Shaking his head, Pei Shao continued in a deep voice, watching Su Mo feign ignorance.

“A level six alloy costs ten thousand trade points per kilogram and requires D-level contribution to purchase. A level seven alloy costs one hundred thousand trade points per kilogram and requires B-level contribution to purchase.”

“And for high-end models of alloys, the price and the required contribution rise step by step. Specifically...”

Su Mo recited the prices of the various alloys as if they were his own treasures, waiting for Pei Shao to interrupt him first.

Surprisingly, after the initial agitation subsided, Pei Shao, sitting opposite him, calmed down, and even a subtle, enigmatic expression appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Only after Su Mo had finished speaking did Pei Shao reply, “Teacher Su, are you sure I can buy these things?”

“I’m not sure, but I believe you’re qualified, right?”

They traded witty remarks, with Pei Shao willing to play the “riddler.”

Despite the game’s various restrictions, Su Mo didn’t expose them. Instead, he kept secretly hovering on the edge of revealing his identity, testing the game’s limits.

“Can I know what you want these alloys for?”

Even the most cunning old fox can fall into a hunter’s trap when there is an information gap.

After hesitating for a long time, looking at Su Mo, who remained as steady as Mount Tai, Pei Shao finally couldn’t hold back and let out his breath first.

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell anyone what I’m about to do right now, but I can assure you of this.”

“When the time is right, I will definitely tell you everything you want to know.”

As he spoke that last sentence, full of implications, Su Mo’s mind was completely tense, and his eyes were fixed straight ahead.

Fortunately, this faint aside went unnoticed by the game.

Given Pei Shao’s earlier mindset and his understanding of the game, he would never have agreed to these things now.

In short, even though Pei Shao showed a hint of surprise, the game interface still showed no sign of appearing.

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