Chapter 51: Song Mingsong

Indeed, it was cautious—extremely similar to the way Song Ting looked whenever she did something wrong and waited with jittery anxiety for Song Chao's judgment.

Just as Song Chi thought it was his imagination, he caught sight of the communication light-screen in front of his father. Upon seeing the projected figure within the light-screen, understanding instantly dawned in Song Chi's eyes.

Amused by his father's awkward predicament, Song Chi walked over quickly and called out softly, "Grandpa."

Hearing this, Song Mingsong, who had been completely expressionless in the communication light-screen, immediately broke into a kind smile.

"So it's Little Chi. Step closer and let Grandpa take a good look at you. It's been several years since we last met. Your grandmother was overjoyed when she heard the news of your awakening not long ago."

"Your grandmother's two-hundredth birthday is coming up soon. When you arrive at White Tower City then, Grandpa will have a grand gift for you."

A bright smile bloomed on Song Chi's face as he nodded repeatedly.

"Thank you, Grandpa. On the day of Grandmother's two-hundredth birthday, your grandson will also present a gift of my own."

Song Mingsong let out a hearty laugh.

"Good, then Grandpa will look forward to it."

...

Beside Song Chi, Song Chao gave his son a thumbs-up, feeling a tremendous weight lift off his chest.

Facing his own old man, the pressure he felt was truly monumental.

With Song Chi stepping into the conversation, Song Mingsong found it harder to keep glaring at his son. Shortly after, he said in a deep voice:

"Very well, let's leave it at that. Remember, not a single one of those one thousand titanium crystals can be missing, or you'll see how I deal with you on your mother's birthday."

With that, his voice paused for a moment as if recalling something, and he added a final warning:

"And another thing, if you ever dare to secretly drag the children of the eldest and second families into such dangerous antics again, I'll personally come to Jiangyuan City and break both your legs."

Having said this, the communication light-screen snapped off.

Song Chi's mouth twitched slightly as he silently muttered to himself that his grandfather's fiery temper hadn't changed at all.

Speaking of Song Mingsong, Song Chi had a profound impression of him. Back when he was a child, he had always lived with Song Mingsong and his wife. It wasn't until his parents moved to Jiangyuan City that he had followed them over.

As for the old patriarch Song Mingsong, Song Chi had only one impression left in his heart:

Blazing hot!

True to form, the old man's personality was exceptionally fiery. He would fly off the handle at the slightest provocation and had never held back when disciplining his sons. According to his mother, Song Chao and his brothers had all been raised with slaps from the old man's bare hands.

It was only after his sons had families of their own and grandchildren that the old man's temper mellowed somewhat—at least when facing his grandchildren, he remained thoroughly amiable.

Song Chi did not dwell on the matter, quickly shifting his attention to the "titanium crystals" his grandfather had just mentioned.

"Dad, did you actually get your hands on the titanium crystals? How many?"

Once the communication was shut off, Song Chao immediately resumed his usual demeanor as the head of the household, speaking unhurriedly:

"The quantity isn't huge. Aside from the one thousand for the old man, I have another seven hundred and fifteen left in my possession. Don't go spreading this outside, especially in front of your grandfather."

Hearing this, Song Chi understood immediately, knowing his father had likely underreported the count or skimmed a portion off the top.

After a moment of thought, Song Chi asked in a low voice:

"Dad, what do you plan to do with these seven hundred-odd titanium crystals? Aside from procuring resources to boost Mom's breakthrough success rate, will there be a surplus?"

A look of surprise flickered in Song Chao's eyes as he turned to give his son a closer look.

"You can actually make use of these titanium crystals?"

Song Chao's tone was solemn. Dealing with a rare resource like titanium crystals required the utmost seriousness. If Song Chi genuinely had a use for such material, he certainly wouldn't be stingy; but if it was mere curiosity, that was an entirely different story.

After all, these were titanium crystals, not ordinary starship enhancement resources. Calling them a hot potato was no exaggeration. If he gave them to Song Chi and the boy couldn't use them, it might end up harming him instead.

Understanding these concerns, Song Chi met his father's gaze without flinching and answered affirmatively:

"Yes!"

Starship components of purple quality and above required titanium crystals once they were enhanced beyond Level 20. Since the *Firmament* was equipped with the Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator, these crystals would naturally be needed down the line.

Hearing Song Chi's reply, Song Chao harbored no doubts. He knew his son's character inside and out.

"Alright!"

With that single, simple word, a faint ghostly radiance flashed between his brows, and a ball of brilliance flew out from his ancestral Starfire aperture, finally hovering right in front of Song Chi.

"These are one hundred titanium crystals. Keep them safe. Remember, whether you use them or not, this material must never be exposed to outsiders until the day you have sufficient strength to protect them."

Having said this, Song Chao waved his hand, signaling Song Chi to go about his business. He then sank his consciousness back into his ancestral aperture, using his Starfire Seed to link into the Starfire Network; he still needed to prepare further resources for Chen Lixia's breakthrough.

Earlier on the Starfire Network, he had already located several resources beneficial to the advancement of Chen Lixia's ship, the *Dragonfly*. However, the sellers' demands were steep, making it difficult for him to gather them all at once. Now, with hundreds of titanium crystals in hand, acquiring those materials shouldn't be too difficult.

Naturally, Song Chao wouldn't use his own identity to trade the titanium crystals. Concealing his identity, altering delivery addresses, and avoiding selling too many at once—he was entirely familiar with these procedures.

Just then, recalling something else, Song Chao severed his connection to the Starfire Network once more and called out to stop Song Chi, who was heading back toward the bedroom.

"Wait, come here. I have something else to give you."

Without overthinking it, Song Chi immediately turned around and walked back to his father.

Just as he was wondering what his father was about to pull out, a ghostly light flashed across Song Chao's brow again, and the next second, two streams of blue radiance drifted out.

Upon seeing the items within the two spheres of light, joy lit up Song Chi's eyes. Suspended before him were undeniably two high-quality shipborne components.

"Two blue-quality shipborne components? Where did you get these, Dad?"

"An incidental harvest while searching for the titanium crystals. Pick one, and leave the other for your mother."

Song Chao spoke casually and nonchalantly, but Song Chi knew very well that these two blue components could not have come easily. These represented two blue-quality Star Sea Wonders—they weren't common cabbages that could be picked effortlessly.

Seeing that Song Chao was unwilling to elaborate, Song Chi didn't press further, turning his gaze instead to the two shipborne components.

Soon, the attributes of both items manifested one after another.

**Obsidian Hull Armor (Lv.0)**
Quality: Blue
Consumption: 4/s
Defense: 15
Upgrade Requirements: 1 wisp of Floating Land Origin (Tier 0), 100 Energy Points, 1 ton of Obsidian.

Song Chi didn't hold much interest in this first item.

After all, the *Firmament* was already equipped with the white-quality Golden Rock Hull Armor. Although its quality was lower than this Obsidian Hull Armor, with the Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator installed, hull armor—whether white or blue quality—was not critically important for now.

Unless it was hull armor of purple quality or higher, the significance was negligible.