103: Chapter 103 Inspiration from Scrap

"Three hundred times?"

Lin Qi raised an eyebrow, looking at the soaring red curve on the screen.

"Is this thing made of iron?"

Old Mo took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with the corner of his shirt, and put them back on.

"It's much harder than iron."

"This is Black Gold."

Old Mo's fingers tapped a few times on the keyboard, pulling up a periodic table and pointing to a gray square.

"A rare metal that is associated with essence veins."

"It usually only appears deep within essence veins of extremely high concentration."

Old Mo turned around and looked at the glass bottle, his gaze becoming somewhat playful.

"There are only two possibilities for such a high concentration of Black Gold particles to be in the essence within Ghost Hand's body."

"First, he has been taking prohibited drugs containing Black Gold for a long time to strengthen his Physical Body."

"Second, he has lived in a high-concentration Black Gold vein environment for a long time, and his breathing and diet have been contaminated with this metallic dust."

Lin Qi rubbed his chin.

"It seems those rats from the Shadow Guild don't just take assassination contracts."

"They're also secretly mining."

In this world, essence veins are strategic resources under strict Federation control.

Private mining is a capital offense.

However, Lin Qi wasn't interested in the Shadow Guild's way of making money.

He only cared about whether this thing could make him stronger.

"Forget about what they're mining."

Lin Qi pointed at the bottle.

"I'll just ask one thing: can I absorb this?"

Old Mo gave him a sidelong glance.

"You can."

"After absorbing it, your bones will become harder than diamond."

Lin Qi's eyes lit up.

Wasn't this exactly what he needed right now?

Although his bone density already far exceeded that of ordinary people after his previous training.

It still seemed somewhat fragile when facing attacks from Second Transition powerhouses.

When he took Ghost Hand's strike head-on last night, although he blocked it, he could feel the groan coming from his arm bones.

If his bones were a bit harder, he could have completely tanked that move and then crushed Ghost Hand into a pulp with a counterattack.

"But."

Old Mo's tone shifted, becoming serious.

"Too much rigidity leads to breakage."

"While Black Gold is hard, it is extremely brittle."

"Once you absorb too much, your bones will lose their toughness."

"When that time comes, never mind fighting; even if you just stomp a bit too hard while walking, your leg bones might shatter directly into dust."

Lin Qi frowned.

He didn't believe in such limitations.

Or rather, he had absolute confidence in his experience with the martial arts era.

In this digitized world, many theories were one-sided.

"I'll give it a try."

Lin Qi unscrewed the bottle cap.

A pungent, metallic fishy smell hit his face.

He didn't drink it directly; instead, he circulated the True Qi in his body, cautiously guiding out a wisp of purple mist.

The mist was inhaled through his nasal cavity.

Wrapped in True Qi, this energy quickly washed over the bones of his entire body.

Crack, crack, crack.

A series of fine, popping sounds came from inside Lin Qi's body.

The feeling was very strange.

It was as if countless tiny hammers were frantically pounding his bones.

Pain.

A piercing pain.

But after the pain, there was an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.

Lin Qi raised his right hand and clenched his fist.

As his knuckles collided, they actually made a metallic clinking sound.

It was indeed harder.

But before he could be happy, his expression changed.

He tried to bend his arm slightly.

A jerky friction sensation came from his elbow joint.

Following that was an extremely faint 'snap' sound.

Lin Qi immediately stopped his movement.

He pulled up his sleeve and looked at his elbow.

There was nothing unusual on the surface of the skin.

But he could feel a hair-thin crack appearing on his ulna.

Just the simple act of bending his arm had caused the reinforced bone to be unable to withstand its own tension.

"Feel it now?"

Old Mo sneered from the side.

"Right now, you're like a porcelain doll."

"You'll shatter with just a touch."

Lin Qi screwed the cap back on, his expression looking a bit grim.

"Is there a way to solve this?"

Since Old Mo could analyze the composition, he must have a solution.

Although this old man had a sharp tongue, he truly had a lot of knowledge.

Old Mo turned and walked to the bookshelf, rummaging through a pile of dusty old books for a while.

Thud.

A thread-bound ancient book was thrown onto the table.

Four large characters were written on the cover: "Five Poisons Scripture."

"This is an obscure martial arts book from the old era."

Old Mo flipped open the pages and pointed to one of the chapters.

"Venom Body Refining."

"Some highly toxic substances, in specific proportions, have extremely strong softening and Fusion effects."

"It's like additives used during steelmaking."

"You need a strongly acidic poison to neutralize the brittleness of the Black Gold."

Lin Qi leaned over to take a look.

The book was illustrated with various poisonous insects and herbs, along with some complex medicinal formulas.

"These herbs have long been extinct."

Lin Qi shook his head.

"No need for herbs."

Old Mo pointed to a computer screen nearby.

"In this digitized world, there is something more potent than ancient poisons."

"source matter waste."

"The residue left after industrial refining of essence is highly toxic and strongly corrosive."

"The System classifies this stuff as 'non-recyclable trash'; touching it deducts 500 HP per second."

"But in ancient martial arts theory, this is the best 'softener'."

Lin Qi's eyes lit up.

source matter waste?

He knew about this.

There was a huge waste disposal center in the western suburbs of Tianhai City.

Tons of this 'trash' were transported there every day to be destroyed.

Not only was it free, but the processing plant even had to pay people to haul it away.

"You're saying I should drink this stuff?"

Lin Qi pointed to the green barrel with a skull and crossbones on the screen.

"If you're afraid of dying, then don't train."

Old Mo closed the book and yawned.

"But I have to remind you."

"The toxicity of this stuff is something even Third Transition professionals wouldn't dare to face head-on."

"With your current Physique, drinking it will most likely result in your intestines rotting away."

The corner of Lin Qi's mouth curled into an arc.

"As long as it doesn't kill me, I'll drink it like my life depends on it."

"Thanks, old man."

Lin Qi grabbed the glass bottle on the table and turned to leave.

Since he had found a path, he couldn't afford to waste a single moment.

Leaving the lab, Lin Qi took out his phone and dialed Zhang Wei's number.

"Hello, Brother Qi?"

Zhang Wei's groggy voice came from the other end; he clearly hadn't woken up yet.

"Get up, we have work to do."

Lin Qi said as he walked toward the school gate.

"Prepare a large truck."

"And bring five hundred thousand in cash."

There was two seconds of silence on the other end.

Then came the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.

"Ho... Holy crap!"

Zhang Wei's voice was instantly wide awake, even carrying a hint of a sob.

"Brother Qi, who are you burying now?"

"What level of big shot is it this time? You even need a truck to haul them?"

"Can't we just take it easy for a couple of days? The ones from last night aren't even cold yet!"

Lin Qi rolled his eyes.

This fat guy's train of thought was always so bizarre.

"It's not for burying people."

"We're going to collect some scrap."

"Hurry up, meet me at the school gate."

Hanging up the phone, Lin Qi quickened his pace.

Half an hour later.

A brand-new heavy truck stopped at the entrance of Longya Academy.

Zhang Wei jumped down from the cab, looking at Lin Qi with a face full of confusion.

"Brother Qi, are you serious?"

"Driving this truck to collect scrap?"

This truck was one he had just called in from his family's logistics company; it even had temporary plates.

Lin Qi didn't waste words, pulled open the door, and sat in the passenger seat.

"To the western suburb waste disposal center."

"Hurry, we're in a rush."

Zhang Wei scratched his head, and though he was full of questions, he still obediently climbed into the truck and started the engine.

The truck roared as it headed toward the western suburbs.

Twenty minutes later.

The vehicle passed the main road from last night.

The police tape had already been removed.

But the large pool of dark red blood on the road was still clearly visible.

And those four large characters carved deep into the concrete.

"Those Who Cross Shall Die."

Although municipal workers had filled them in with some cement, the ferocious brushwork was still evident.

Zhang Wei's hand on the steering wheel trembled slightly.

He subconsciously glanced at Lin Qi beside him.

Lin Qi leaned back in the seat with his eyes closed, seemingly resting.

That calmness formed a sharp contrast with the shocking scene outside the window.

"Brother Qi..."

Zhang Wei swallowed hard.

"Those characters... did you really carve them?"