34: Chapter 34 Physical Immunity? Taking a Pulse at the Invincible Shield

"Beware of the Shadow."

Lin Qi stared at these four words for a few seconds, then swiped his finger and deleted them directly.

No matter who sent it, since the other party was hiding their identity, guessing was useless.

In this world full of data monsters, only the strength of one's own fists was the truth.

If that "Shadow" really dared to come, he wouldn't mind farming one more elite monster.

...

Early the next morning, Zhang Wei snuck into Dorm 404 stealthily.

The fatty had two large dark circles under his eyes; it seemed he hadn't slept well last night either.

"Brother Qi, there's new news from the black market." Zhang Wei closed the door tightly and lowered his voice, "It's definitely a big job."

Lin Qi was doing push-ups, supporting himself with a single finger.

"No time."

"The reward is a complete century-old tiger bone."

Lin Qi curled his finger, and his whole body sprang up, landing steadily.

"Who posted it?"

"A strange old man, located in the 'Gray Zone' beneath the black market." Seeing Lin Qi was interested, Zhang Wei quickly added, "That is a true lawless land, it's very chaotic. But this tiger bone is the real deal. I've seen the photos; its color and bone quality are absolutely top-tier for Flesh Refining."

Lin Qi grabbed his jacket and put it on.

During the Skin Refining stage, this kind of highly nourishing item was what he lacked the most.

Tiger bone used as medicine strengthens tendons and bones.

If he had a century-old one, his Physical Body strength could be elevated by an entire level.

"Lead the way."

...

The black market Gray Zone.

This place was even darker than the trading market above, and the air was filled with a mixture of rust and blood.

Many tough characters were squatting by the roadside, their eyes darting between the pockets and necks of passersby.

Lin Qi ignored the malicious gazes and followed Zhang Wei into a dead-end alley.

At the end was a huge alloy door, surrounded by a crowd of people.

Rather than a door, it was more like the entrance to an abandoned underground vault.

At this moment, the vault door was sealed tightly by a pale blue light barrier.

That was a "Data Barrier" formed by an Advanced defensive Formation.

This thing had a disgusting setting in the game: forced HP deduction to 0, and it possessed 100% damage reflection.

"Move aside, move aside! I've already said this thing has physical immunity, stop wasting your time there!"

A middle-aged man wearing a mage robe was cursed and bounced back by the light barrier, looking disheveled and covered in dust, with half of his eyebrows singed off.

A burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings.

"Old Li, your Fireball is no good, you couldn't even leave a mark."

"Forget the Fireball, the Berserker with the epic greatsword from earlier had his web between thumb and index finger split open, and this barrier didn't even budge."

In the center of the crowd stood an old man wearing a monocle.

The old man was dressed in an exquisite tuxedo, leaning on a cane, and shook his head while watching the group of failed challengers.

"Everyone, I have made myself very clear."

The old man tapped the ground.

"This is the Federal Bank's highest-level 'Star Shield' defensive System.

Due to a backup power failure, the System logic locked up, judging all external access as an intrusion.

The System panel attributes it as [Indestructible], physical attacks are ineffective, and energy attacks are fully reflected."

"Old man, what's the point of posting this quest?" someone shouted unhappily, "The System already says it's indestructible, do you expect us to talk it open with our mouths?"

"I only want the files inside." The old man sighed, "If anyone can make a hole in this barrier, even for just a few seconds to let me retrieve the files, that century-old tiger bone will be theirs."

Hearing "century-old tiger bone," many people around were eager to try again, but looking at the light barrier still emitting blue electric arcs, they all chickened out.

This wasn't a quest at all; it was clearly a death trap.

"Brother Qi, why don't we forget it?" Zhang Wei shrank his neck to the side.

"This thing looks extremely ominous; it's a defense at the data rule level. We are just mortals of flesh and blood, we can't go up against code."

Lin Qi didn't speak.

He narrowed his eyes, staring at the layer of blue light barrier.

In his vision, the world turned into black and white lines.

There were no flashy data panels, nor were there any "Indestructible" tags.

Only pure energy flow.

That seemingly perfect light barrier was actually composed of countless tiny blue light spots.

These light spots were like a group of well-trained soldiers, patrolling at high speed along a predetermined route.

Since there is movement, there is a trajectory.

Where there is a trajectory, there is an intersection point.

And at the very moment of intersection, there must be an extremely brief pause.

That is the gap where the old force has been exhausted and the new force has not yet arisen.

In martial arts, this is called a "Qi Gate."

Even in this data-fied world, as long as energy must follow the Laws of physics to flow, there is no such thing as absolute defense.

Lin Qi saw that at a node in the lower-left corner of the light barrier, an extremely tiny energy gap appeared every three seconds.

The time was very short, only about 0.1 seconds.

For ordinary people, this 0.1 second didn't exist at all.

But for Lin Qi, this was practically an open door.

"The bone is mine."

Lin Qi pushed aside the Berserker blocking his way and walked out.

The noisy sounds around them paused for a moment, then erupted into even louder discussions.

"Who is this? He doesn't even have a class badge."

"Wearing a school uniform? A high school student?"

"He's not holding a staff or carrying a weapon; did he come for a spring outing?"

Zhang Wei wanted to stop him but couldn't, so he could only cover his face and hide to the side, pretending not to know this person.

The old man glanced at Lin Qi, his brows furrowing.

"Young man, this isn't a game. That LV.25 assassin from earlier had his hand bones shattered by the recoil; you, with your delicate skin and tender flesh, should just go home and do your homework."

Lin Qi ignored the surrounding ridicule and walked straight to the light barrier.

"Whether it can be opened or not, we'll know after trying."

He turned his head to look at the old man, "No deposit needed, as long as that tiger bone is real."

The old man was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand helplessly.

"The tiger bone is in the box. If you want to suffer, I won't stop you. You'll have to pay for your own medical expenses."

Lin Qi nodded.

He didn't strike an attack pose like the others, nor did he yell and shout to build up power.

He just casually extended one finger and gently pressed it against the blue light membrane.

Sizzle.

A faint sound of electric current rang out.

The energy flow on the surface of the light barrier was still operating at high speed, carrying a certain dangerous trembling sensation.

Lin Qi closed his eyes.

The tactile sensation from his fingertip was very strange, like touching a crystal vibrating at high speed.

He was waiting.

Waiting for that 0.1 second that belonged to him.

The people around him saw him touching the light barrier and not moving for a long time, and they began to lose patience.

"Hey! Can you do it or not?"

"Is he taking the light barrier's pulse?"

"Don't embarrass yourself, get down quickly!"

The mocking sounds grew louder and louder.

Lin Qi, however, seemed not to have heard them at all.

His breathing became very light, and his whole person was like a lifeless stone.

But if someone with sharp eyes were here, they would notice that the finger Lin Qi had pressed against the light barrier was trembling slightly at an extremely high frequency.

That was him synchronizing.

He was adjusting the frequency of his muscles and strength to match the rhythm of the light barrier's energy flow.

Three seconds.

Two seconds.

One second.

Here it comes.