"My eyes, my eyes..." Amidst the dazzling light, Zhao Guo'an kept repeating these words, his voice filled with extreme terror.

This is a very normal reaction. After all, any person would be overwhelmed with panic and fear if they suddenly can't see anything.

After a while, as the light gradually diminished, Xiao Feng stormed into the room, angrily pointing at Zhao Guo'an, who was lying on the ground covering his eyes, and cursed, "What's wrong with you? I told you earlier, this thing lights up when you drop it, and yet you still went at it with a hammer. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Recognizing Xiao Feng's voice, Zhao Guo'an's chest heaved continuously, "You... you... and you still have the nerve to blame me? If you hadn't suddenly called out to me, would this have happened? Do you think I wanted to smash a hole in it?"

"Then what?" Xiao Feng frowned. Could there be more to this?

But he clearly saw Zhao Guo'an intending to use the hammer. Although the hammer seemed small and delicate, it would still deliver a stronger impact than just dropping it on the ground, right?

After a while, when he started to vaguely see things, Zhao Guo'an let out a sigh of relief, then tossed the hammer that had fallen at his side and said moodily, "See for yourself!"

Xiao Feng picked up the hammer, examined it carefully under the light, and saw that the hammerhead was not the sharp thing he had initially thought, like a needle tip, but a thin, blade-like object, about as wide as a standard flathead screwdriver.

"What do you mean?" Xiao Feng asked, puzzled, "You're using it to smash; it would still make that spherical object light up."

"Nonsense, light up!" Zhao Guo'an stood up angrily, "I've been researching this thing for most of the night and already concluded that the surface of what you gave me is a kind of patina; merely removing this surface layer does no harm.

But when I was about to break the patina, you just had to suddenly come out with 'Don't smash,' and my hand slipped, and I smashed it instead."

Xiao Feng awkwardly scratched his nose and said reluctantly, "So you're saying it's because of your poor nerve?"

Zhao Guo'an laughed bitterly, "Haven't you heard of the saying 'Frightening people to death'? How about I give you a scare and see what happens? This time, it's a waste for me, so don't come to me with your problems in the future."

"No, no, no, old Zhao, I was just joking." Xiao Feng quickly went up to comfort him, "Aren't you counting on me to keep you well-fed and clothed for the rest of your life? This was just a small accident, and I promise, it won't happen again!"

Hearing Xiao Feng say this, Zhao Guo'an's anger subsided a bit. Although he hadn't known Xiao Feng for long, he'd gleaned enough of his personality to know that getting an apology from him is akin to pulling teeth. So to have him say something like this is rare.

"Wait!" Zhao Guo'an suddenly thought of something and pointed to the balcony door, "How did you get in? I clearly locked the door."

"Ahem, picking that lock is child's play for me. I saw you still had your lights on in the middle of the night and thought something might be wrong, so I came to check." Xiao Feng explained.

Zhao Guo'an couldn't help getting upset again, "There wouldn't have been any incident if you hadn't come, but because you did, something happened."

Knowing he was in the wrong, Xiao Feng didn't plan to argue further on this matter. He took a sniff and curiously asked, "Aren't you a traditional Chinese medicine doctor? Why don't I smell any medicinal herbs in the air?"

Still examining the table, Zhao Guo'an offhandedly replied, "I store the herbs in a separate room. Not everyone is like you, keeping a thousand-year-old ginseng in the kitchen as if it were an oversized radish."

"Is that so?" Xiao Feng's curiosity was piqued, "Can I have a look around?"

Zhao Guo'an immediately became wary and flatly refused, "Private space, no visitors!"

He was genuinely a bit afraid, worried that if Xiao Feng saw the valuables, he might clear him out completely.

"I can't even just take a look?" Xiao Feng protested unhappily, "That's stingy."

"Ha." Zhao Guo'an chuckled coldly, "Don't you think what you just said is like someone insisting they'll just look without going further? Makes me doubt your sincerity."

Having said that, he put down the magnifying glass he was holding, "No hope left. Can't find a single trace; there's no way to replicate it."

"What if I manage to get another one?" Xiao Feng ventured to ask.

"Then we'll talk when you find another one." Zhao Guo'an couldn't help but get annoyed, "If there were two, we could sacrifice one and keep the other as backup, but unfortunately, this sacrificial one was worthless. Even if you find one, there's no guarantee you can duplicate it effectively.

Plus, the thing you gave me doesn't seem to be something made from our country, right?"

"Yeah." Xiao Feng nodded and straightforwardly admitted before questioning back, "How did you tell?"

Zhao Guo'an pointed at the magnifying glass on the table, "There are inscriptions on the spherical object; some resemble Japanese characters. Honestly, I'm really curious about what that outer layer consists of. Its seal is excellent, perfect for preserving medicines."

"I'll see if I can get another one." Xiao Feng promised, only realizing now that Zhao Guo'an valued the golden sphere's sealing technology.

Soon, Zhao Guo'an brought over two cups of tea, placed one in front of Xiao Feng, and contemplatively asked, "To be honest, that light which temporarily blinded me, could it have been some form of radioactive rays?"

Xiao Feng sized Zhao Guo'an up and down, "You're pretty tall, yet so timid?"

"I'm not joking. You know about nuclear radiation, right? That kind of exposure isn't just a one-off thing; it can cause lasting harm over decades to the human body. I don't want to become something neither human nor ghost when I get old." Zhao Guo'an said seriously.

Xiao Feng put away his humor and replied, "I'm not sure if there are any lingering harmful substances, but there shouldn't be because if it were that severe, you would have been blind, not recovering so quickly."

Zhao Guo'an nodded skeptically, having resolved to contact a professional inspection team after sunrise for a comprehensive house check, just for peace of mind.

"Are you still here for something?" Zhao Guo'an finished his cup of tea, signaling a readiness to close the conversation.

Xiao Feng grinned, "No rush. Since it's this late already, we might as well chat until dawn; sleep doesn't matter right now."

"Are you nuts?" Zhao Guo'an retorted, "Your wife's so pretty; wouldn't it be better to cuddle up to her for sleep instead of coming over here to chat? Or are you..."

At this, Zhao Guo'an's eyes widened, the realization dawning on him as he stared at Xiao Feng as if he'd made a groundbreaking discovery.

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