Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 575

Chapter 575: Chapter 575

Old Zhou was the kind of person who seemed full of stories at first glance.

And as it turned out, he really was a man with stories.

If his stories were expanded and told in detail, they would probably be very interesting and absolutely fascinating.

He studied Thousand Skills but ended up becoming a Tomb Raider, took on the role of Tomb Raider Captain, and even made a considerable fortune in that era. Moreover, he retired with his earnings intact, which was no easy feat.

"Old Zhou, why didn’t you go with your master at that time?" Yang Fan asked.

Old Zhou said, "That was requested by another group of people. Adding one more person meant dividing the money further, and they needed my master, not an apprentice like me who hadn’t yet graduated. Naturally, I was dismissed."

"My master had collaborated with others before, and when they learned about me, they mostly chose to reject as well. Only that time, my master’s luck was really bad. Just as they went down, they were all caught in a sweep. That group had been marked for a long time. In fact, that was their net-closing operation, and sadly my master was just an addition."

Yang Fan: ...

What a vivid metaphor.

Suddenly, Old Zhou began counting on his fingers and said, "Thinking about the time, my master should be getting out soon. As his half-disciple, I’ll have to pick him up when the time comes. He looked like a little old man in his forties back then; now, he must definitely be a true elder."

Yang Fan asked curiously, "Old Zhou, how old were you when you were learning the craft?"

"Ten... hiss, in my teens? Just graduated from high school, so it must have been either eighteen or nineteen." Old Zhou thought for a moment, and then continued to focus on researching the nooks and crannies around him.

Although the two of them kept talking, their hands didn’t stop working.

However, after examining the entire room carefully back and forth, they still couldn’t find where the so-called mechanism was located.

Old Zhou turned back to study the floor tile in detail and muttered, "Hiss, it’s obviously hollow beneath this, how could there be no mechanism? Otherwise, how would this thing open?"

Yang Fan was also thinking seriously, "This thing couldn’t be meant to be pried open, could it?"

"Definitely not," Old Zhou shook his head and said. "With such a fine seam, if it was to be pried, there would definitely be some traces. Look how smooth and even it is all around, no different from the other floor tiles. It’s definitely not meant to be pried. Could it be some high-tech gadget?"

"What kind of high-tech could be on this thing? At most, I guess it might have a motor or something," Yang Fan said with furrowed brows.

Old Zhou thought seriously for a moment and then shook his head, "Hard to say, some things these days are pretty complicated. Never mind, let’s just pry it open. Wait for me to find something."

"Alright."

Old Zhou left the room and soon returned with a large flathead screwdriver and a sword.

"Where did you find these things?" Yang Fan asked.

Old Zhou casually said, "From Bi Gang’s collection. I took a look, and this crappy sword seems to be made of steel and is quite thick. It shouldn’t be that brittle; let’s give it a try."

As he spoke, he squatted down next to the floor tile, first prying open a gap with the flathead screwdriver. Seeing this, Yang Fan immediately poised the sword, "Are you sure this sword isn’t that brittle? If it breaks when we leverage, it will turn into a throwing weapon."

"It should be fine. With this thickness and this material, its compressive strength should be adequate," Old Zhou said.

"Then I’ll start, but you might want to step back a bit," Yang Fan cautioned.

The sword seemed pretty sturdy at a glance, but just to be safe.

Old Zhou heeded the advice and moved aside a bit.

Then Yang Fan slowly applied force.

This sword was very heavy and looked like it must have cost a pretty penny.

Its hardness certainly justified its weight; the floor tile had been pried open with a gap of about five centimeters, and so far, there was no sign of the sword snapping.

Old Zhou stepped forward and grabbed the floor tile, "Come on, brute force can work wonders."

Yang Fan abandoned the long sword and joined Old Zhou in grabbing the tile.

Once it was pried up, the long sword became useless.

Together, they pulled forcefully, and just as they did, a cracking sound came from beneath, as if something had broken, and suddenly the pressure decreased, and Yang Fan easily lifted the tile.

He flipped the tile over and saw a mechanical arm supporting it and a mysterious black box fixed to it with wires extending from it, likely connected to some sort of circuit board inside.

"Look, I told you there might be some high-tech stuff," Old Zhou pointed to the black box, "If I’m not mistaken, the control for this mechanism is probably on a computer or a smartphone."

"They’ve gone pretty deep," Yang Fan said, peering down into the opening where a narrow staircase was faintly visible.

"Let’s go, let’s explore below. If I’m right, we should find what we’re looking for down there." Old Zhou set down the tile and handed the sword to Yang Fan, "Take this, for self-defense, just in case there are any surprises down there."

Yang Fan didn’t take the meter-long sword but instead picked up a flat-head screwdriver from nearby.

"I think I’ll stick with this thing," Yang Fan said.

"Suit yourself!"

Then, both of them energetically descended the stairs.

The staircase was actually fitted with gradient motion-sensing lights that lit up progressively with each step they took.

By the time they reached the bottom, the lights in the basement had also turned on.

A very spacious basement with a seemingly complex layout was fully lit, appearing before Yang Fan and Old Zhou, eliminating the need for them to search for a light switch because it was all automatic.

The closest area to them was a reception area furnished with wine cabinets full of various red wines, a leather sofa, a huge-screen TV, a karaoke set, and more—the works.

Arranged tastefully on the wall were many very revealing and straightforward photographs of beautiful women.

Some even featured Bi Gang.

It seemed that these photos had been produced by Bi Gang himself rather than using material from other places.

"This bastard sure knows how to live it up," Old Zhou grumbled as he touched the leather sofa. "Using a sofa worth tens of thousands in a basement, damn, that’s excessive!" he said, shaking his head and cursing.

"No worries, indulging in luxury is just something you disdain, Old Zhou. Otherwise, you could do it too," Yang Fan said.

Being wealthy himself, there was no point in feeling dismayed by another’s opulence.

Old Zhou nodded, "Fanzi, although that bastard Bi Gang really sucks, I have to say I quite like his basement. It’s luxurious yet gives a sense of security. Especially these photos on the wall—they should be enjoyed slowly in a basement like this. They’ve got a vibe to them, a really strong vibe."

Yang Fan: ...

"Let’s just focus on checking out the other places."

Playing the role of a burglar for once, Yang Fan wasn’t as easygoing as Old Zhou and wasn’t in the mood to appreciate slowly.