Chapter 13: Diamonds and Dollars

The already messy apartment where Qinglang and the others lived now looked as if it had been ransacked. Useless items were scattered everywhere, and almost none of the valuable things remained. It turned out they were skilled burglars who strictly followed the principle of stealing everything.

Dasha, holding a pile of miscellaneous items, looked at Qinglang in shock. “Boss, what should we do now?”

“We have no choice but to turn to Brother Long. If that woman finds out about today’s incident, we’ll be killed!” Qinglang said firmly, glancing at everyone.

At that moment, there was a bang as the door was kicked open. Several burly men armed with guns pointed at them.

The middle-aged man at the head scanned the room and frowned slightly. “Qinglang, you’re quite bold—daring to target Brother Long’s men. Where’s the young man you kidnapped?”

“Brother Tie, he was rescued by a master fighter…” Qinglang said with a helpless smile.

“A master fighter?” Lao Tie stared at Qinglang coldly. “If even a single hair of his is missing, I guarantee you’ll die a horrible death.”

“I’m telling the truth, Brother Tie. Just look at my hands—one is broken, and the other is swollen like a bun. He just crushed them like that.” Qinglang pleaded, holding out his hands.

Lao Tie stepped forward, rolled up Qinglang’s sleeves, and frowned at his wounds.

“What did that man look like?” he asked sternly.

“I don’t know. He covered his face with a hood, only showing his eyes,” Qinglang shook his head.

“This is indeed the work of an external martial arts expert. Ordinary people don’t have such strength,” Lao Tie said, examining his wounds. “It’s good he didn’t crush your neck; otherwise, you wouldn’t be standing here.”

“I originally came here to teach you a lesson, but seeing your condition, it seems you’ve already suffered enough. If I hit you again, it would be taking advantage of your weakness. Still, some punishment is necessary. You guys, come with us and apologize to Brother Long!”

“I’m willing to atone for my mistakes,” Qinglang nodded obediently.

“Brother Tie, can we take our boss to the hospital first to check his hands?” Xiao Liu asked timidly.

Lao Tie turned to look at him and smiled. “This kid isn’t bad. Come on, let’s take him to our hospital.”

After speaking, he waved his hand, and a group of people got into several cars and headed back in the direction they had come from.
…
“How should I deal with all these things?” Ye Feng parked the car in a wilderness, got out, and opened the back door. The car was packed so full that Ye Feng was speechless.
“Boyi, are there any storage rings or similar items like those in novels for sale here?” Out of desperation, Ye Feng reached out with his mental power into the Void Realm.
“Yes, there are space rings, but they’re very expensive,” Boyi replied affirmatively.
“What should I do with all these things? I worked hard to get them, and there’s no place to store them. I can’t drive this car into school and pile them all in the dorm room, right?” Ye Feng crossed his arms, looking at the packed car.
“The Void Realm has storage space. Items can be stored in categories. Domain levels 1 to 9 can store up to ten types of items, with no limit on quantity, but they must be of the same type. Domain levels 10 to 99 can store up to twenty types of items, and so on. Since you previously exceeded 1,000 in domain value, you can have 40 storage slots, allowing unlimited storage of 40 types of first-tier items,” Boyi said, which excited Ye Feng greatly.
“But there’s one thing I need to tell you: once you use external items to occupy storage space here, it will take up space that could have been used for purchased items. For example, if external items occupy 39 slots, and you buy two more items here, you can only store one of them; the other will have to be carried with you and cannot be stored in the space,” Boyi added.
“In other words, the storage space I have is shared between external items and those inside!” After hearing this explanation, Ye Feng immediately understood how it worked.
“That’s right. So, my personal advice is to throw away any useless items.”
“Alright then. It seems there’s nothing I can use to exchange for domain value.” Ye Feng first put a few blue and white porcelain pieces, whose authenticity was unknown, into the space, then started selecting items one by one.
“Hmm, there are quite a few watches. The necklaces also look nice in color… What’s in this bag?” Suddenly, Ye Feng remembered that this small bag was placed on top of the box containing US dollars in the safe. When Da Sha took it out, it was clear that their boss looked very displeased.
“Could it be something valuable?” Ye Feng opened a slit in the bag and saw something surprising—each item inside emitted a yellow glow.

Ye Feng poured out a few items from the bag and held them in his hands. Looking at those crystals, no bigger than a little finger, crystal clear with a yellow glow, he asked, “Are these natural diamonds?”
“There are over a dozen of them…” Ye Feng’s face showed excitement. “Natural diamonds are elemental crystals composed of carbon under high temperature and pressure, taking billions of years to form. Over such a long time, under such extreme conditions, they must have absorbed a lot of energy. No wonder their surfaces have a flowing appearance, smooth and rich in luster. If they were the size of a jade pendant, the energy contained within would likely be much greater!”
Ye Feng couldn’t wait to convert one of the diamonds into domain value.
“A second-tier item, converted to first-tier domain value: 760…”
“A such small thing can be converted into 760 in domain value. There are thirteen in total. With a little more effort, it might even reach 10,000 domain value. But if converted all at once, it should be at least 9,000 domain value.” Ye Feng seemed quite excited.
“I suggest you not let your domain value exceed 10,000 for now. In fact, there are many good items below 10,000. Sometimes, rising too quickly in domain value isn’t necessarily a good thing. You still don’t understand the Virtual Realm well enough…” Boy stopped speaking here, seemingly hesitating and not continuing.
Ye Feng stood there in thought, not immediately converting the diamonds into domain value.
After a while, he put the bag containing the diamonds into his storage compartment. “Thank you, Boy.”
“You’ve made me realize that human desire knows no bounds. The more one has, the more they want. In fact, items worth over 10,000 won’t bring me much benefit right now; instead, they only stir greed. Moreover, many items below 10,000 can serve as substitutes. I must learn to obtain more valuable things with less domain value.” Ye Feng quickly understood what Boy wanted to tell him.
Boy simply smiled faintly and said nothing more.
Ye Feng stored each item in his inventory, left behind an empty vehicle, and floated away.
…
“Brother Long…” Qing Lang, carrying the scent of medicine and with his right hand in a cast, looked at the man around his age with awe.
“Are you Qing Lang?” Long Tian sized up the guy who had kidnapped Ye Feng.
“Yes, I am,” Qing Lang nodded, not daring to make eye contact with Long Tian.

“I heard from a buddy that Ye Feng was rescued? And that guy left you in such a mess?” Long Tian narrowed his eyes slightly, making Qing Lang feel his gaze was even sharper than before.
“Actually, there’s one thing I haven’t mentioned yet. That guy not only left me in this state but also stole all my savings over the years. I was completely helpless in front of him, like a baby.” Qing Lang sighed heavily. “Brother Long, this is all my fault. If there’s any blame to be assigned, just punish me. Those others just followed my orders; they’re mere accomplices.”
“You’re trying to make me think you’re loyal so I’ll let you off easy?” Long Tian shook his head with a smile.
“No, Brother Long. You can punish me however you want, but I have a request.” Qing Lang looked at Long Tian expectantly.
“Go ahead!” Long Tian remained silent for a moment before nodding.
“I now have nothing. I can’t support those guys or the others under me. I hope Brother Long can take them in. After today, I’ll withdraw from all gang conflicts and live a normal life…” Qing Lang spoke with resignation. Indeed, he no longer had the means to support a group of people.
“How many do you have?” Long Tian smiled slightly.
“If I call them together, there are about a hundred people. The core members are just us a few…” Qing Lang glanced at Brother Long shyly. It was indeed hard to say that number out loud.
“As far as I know, Zhen Zhu would make sure none of you would survive if she found out about today’s events. Do you really think you can get away unscathed and live a normal life?” Brother Long smiled faintly. “Stop being hypocritical. You actually want to join me…”
“I heard you’re pretty good to your subordinates. Here, there aren’t many rules—just one: traitors die! Do you understand?” Long Tian patted Qing Lang’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Brother Long!” Qing Lang was stunned after hearing this. He never expected Brother Long to be so lenient. Once he regained his composure, he turned to Xiao Liu Zi and the others. “You fools, hurry up and thank Brother Long!”
“Lao Zhang, have them make a list and bring over the important things. That place isn’t suitable for them to live in anymore.”
“Lao Zhao, take them to see the new house and let them choose!” With just two orders, Brother Long sent Lao Zhao to take them away…

“Dude, what do you think about this incident?” It wasn’t until the figures of several people were no longer visible that Brother Long turned his head to look at his buddy…