Chapter 104: What If It Won't Break?

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The Blue Rhythm City Steelworks was located on the outskirts of the city; after all, steelmaking was a highly polluting industry, and the city government would never allow it to be built downtown. Chen Yun had ridden his bike for over two hours before finally arriving at the steelworks gate.

After dismounting, Chen Yun pushed his bike toward the entrance, only to be stopped by the security guard.

“What business do you have here?”

“Hello, brother guard. I’m here to discuss a deal with your factory’s management,” Chen Yun replied.

“You? Discuss a deal with our management?” The guard eyed the young Chen Yun suspiciously and shook his head. “Our management is very busy and doesn’t have time for you.”

“I guarantee that when I meet your management, they will have time. Let me in, or at least have your management come out,” Chen Yun insisted.

“Hey, kid, who do you think you are? The mayor’s son-in-law? Asking our management to come out and see you? What makes you so special? Off you go.” The guard started to shoo him away.

Chen Yun chuckled inwardly. He wasn’t the mayor’s son-in-law, but he was the master of the mayor’s daughter—a status far more impressive than any son-in-law.

“Don’t get rough with me; I have legs and can leave on my own,” Chen Yun said. “Are you really not going to tell your management? This is a big deal. If you delay it, can you take responsibility?”

“A big deal? Who doing big deals rides a broken electric bike? Stop pretending to be important and get lost. I’ll call for help and toss you out if you don’t move!” The guard grew impatient.

“What’s going on here?” As Chen Yun and the guard jostled, a middle-aged man in a steelworks uniform approached. He was the workshop supervisor for Workshop 1 in the steelmaking section. Having just finished in the restroom, he noticed the commotion and came over to investigate.

“Supervisor Meng, this kid wants to talk business with the factory’s management. Look at him, riding that electric bike—what kind of business could he possibly have?” the guard said upon seeing Supervisor Meng.

“Supervisor?” Chen Yun perked up. A supervisor was considered a leader; as long as it was a leader, he could negotiate!

“Hello, Supervisor Meng. I’d like to talk business with someone who can make decisions here,” Chen Yun said, shifting his focus now that someone of higher rank had appeared, ignoring the guard altogether.

“You want to talk business with someone who can make decisions? You talk big. Tell me first what kind of business it is, and I’ll decide whether to pass the message along,” Supervisor Meng asked, intrigued.

“Heh, it’s not really a big deal. I want you to smelt down this electric bike of mine,” Chen Yun replied.

What?

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Supervisor Meng blinked in surprise. “What did you say? I didn’t catch that; say it again.”

“Supervisor Meng, this idiot wants our plant to smelt down his broken electric bike,” the guard said, having heard clearly. He looked at Chen Yun with contempt. “Are you crazy? This is a steelworks—steelmaking, not bike recycling.”

“Kid, let’s not talk about whether the plant agrees. Tell me, why would you want to smelt a perfectly good electric bike?” Supervisor Meng had never heard such a bizarre request and was genuinely curious.

“Because I can’t break it,” Chen Yun answered honestly.

“Uh... you can’t break it, so you brought it here to have it smelted?” Supervisor Meng was speechless. Was the bike a sworn enemy? What kind of grudge did he have against it?

“Yes,” Chen Yun nodded seriously. “Supervisor Meng, money’s no object. As long as your plant can destroy it, I’m willing to pay ten purple gold coins!” Chen Yun pulled out ten purple gold coins from his pocket.

Supervisor Meng and the guard’s eyes widened instantly.

Holy crap!

Ten purple gold coins!

This kid was loaded!

Ten billion copper coins in value—enough to equal the steelworks’ annual profit!

“Kid—oh no, young man—you mean as long as someone destroys this bike, you’ll pay ten purple gold coins?” Before Supervisor Meng could respond, the guard couldn’t contain himself, staring greedily at the coins and swallowing hard.

“That’s right. Whoever destroys this bike—whether by smashing, dismantling, or smelting it—if it’s destroyed, I’ll pay them,” Chen Yun confirmed.

“Damn! Young man, leave this to me! I guarantee I’ll smash that bike until it doesn’t look like a bike anymore!” The guard shouted, turning and running into the guardhouse, grabbing a sledgehammer as he went.

“Xiao Wang, why are you carrying a hammer? Planning to start a fight?” Several guards chatting inside the guardhouse asked.

“Brothers, a meat bun just fell from the sky! Let’s grab our tools and go smash that bike!” Xiao Wang’s eyes were red with excitement.

“A meat bun? Smash a bike? What nonsense are you talking about?” The other guards were bewildered.

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“There’s a super rich fool outside who says whoever smashes his electric bike gets ten purple gold coins—purple gold coins!” Xiao Wang shouted.

The guards went crazy. They were all from the lowest rungs of society, earning wages in copper coins—at best 2,000 copper coins a month. They rarely even saw silver coins, let alone purple gold coins. Now, hearing they could earn legendary purple gold coins just by smashing a bike, they went wild, grabbing steel pipes, iron rods, shovels, anything that could damage the bike—even tearing fire extinguishers off the wall.

Outside, Supervisor Meng saw the guards arming themselves and thought, “This can’t be allowed. I’m not letting them make off with all the money.” He kicked the bike’s front end with a firm step. If he couldn’t break the bike’s iron frame, maybe he could break the plastic parts outside. As long as he could damage it even a little, the purple gold coins would be his!

With a loud thud, Supervisor Meng fell flat on the ground.

He stared dumbfounded at the undamaged bike, not even a footprint on the front end, mouth agape.

What kind of electric bike is this? The quality is unbelievable!

At that moment, the guards rushed out, completely ignoring Chen Yun and the prostrate Supervisor Meng, encircling the bike.

“Guys, this is the bike—smash it!” Xiao Wang shouted, raising his sledgehammer and bringing it down on the rear seat.

A huge clang echoed. The imagined scene of the rear seat being crushed didn’t happen. Like everyone except Chen Yun, Xiao Wang stared in disbelief as the seat remained unscathed without a single chip of paint missing.

“My god, what kind of electric bike is this? I’ve smashed steel ingots and left dents, but this bike didn’t even lose a speck of paint!” Xiao Wang muttered.

“You can’t do it? Watch me!” Another guard raised his shovel and jabbed hard at the dashboard with all his strength. He figured if Xiao Wang couldn’t break the iron frame, maybe he could break the plastic parts. There was no way the plastic was this tough!

Two seconds later, the guards stared at the dashboard, which bore no scratches, then at the shovel whose wooden handle had snapped in two, and felt a surge of frustration.

Damn! Is this even an electric bike? Could such a powerful bike really exist? It might as well be a tank!

“Looks like... looks like this money isn’t going to be that easy to earn,” Xiao Wang muttered, “What do we do if we can’t break it?”