104: Chapter 104 New Rules, Purification

It slipped silently into the book of rules.

Zhou Che paused, stunned.

This power was incredibly subtle; no one around him noticed it.

Captain Liu Ruyan was counting the survivors, and Luo Xi was bandaging a wound on her shoulder.

Wang Laowu was still grumbling, saying he would definitely drink three big bowls of wine when they got back.

Everyone was busy with their own tasks; no one was looking his way.

But he could feel it himself.

That power seeped into the pages, cool and gentle, neither burning nor malicious.

The moment it burrowed into the pages, the entire book of rules vibrated slightly in his hands, as if the book were hiccuping.

He lowered his head and flipped open the pages.

"Breath Concealment" was still there.

"Shield" was still there.

Then, he saw a third word.

"Purification."

The two characters lay quietly in the center of the page.

The font was different from both "Breath Concealment" and "Shield."

Those two characters looked like they had been written by hand, with rounded, fluid strokes and gentle penmanship.

It was completely different from the rough, chisel-carved feel of the original text in the book of rules.

But Zhou Che recognized it at a glance; these were indeed words from the book of rules, just written by a different "person."

He stared at these two characters for several seconds, his mind racing.

Purification.

This was the rule of the Rule-based Supernatural Entity from earlier.

What did that Mannequin rely on to kill? It relied on rules.

In the field it set, whoever got dirty or littered would be erased.

This rule itself was "Purification," wiping everything that didn't meet its standards from this world.

And now, this rule had appeared in his book.

In other words, he could use this rule.

Zhou Che took a deep breath and reached out to press his hand on the two characters.

A surge of information flooded his mind, like an instruction manual carved directly into his brain.

Purification: Activate this rule to apply the power of purification to a designated target.

It has a restraining effect on unclean and filthy entities.

Usage consumes Sequence power, not Sequence level.

The last sentence—does not consume Sequence level—made Zhou Che's eyes light up instantly.

Does not consume Sequence level.

In other words, this rule could be used indefinitely.

This was what the book of rules had swallowed on its own after he personally slaughtered that Mannequin.

It wasn't written; it was snatched.

It wasn't peeled from himself; it was plucked from the anomaly.

"Damn it."

Zhou Che couldn't help but curse again.

This time, it wasn't out of heartache, but joy—so joyful that he cursed a string of profanities in his heart.

If not for the others nearby, he really would have laughed out loud.

Kill a Rule-based Supernatural Entity, and get an extra usable rule.

No need to lose Sequence, no need to pay a price, just use it directly.

This kind of deal was fucking worth it.

The heartache over losing levels earlier was now thrown to the back of his mind.

What was losing two levels of Qi Controller Sequence? It was worth it to trade for a "Purification" rule.

From now on, when he encountered dirty, filthy anomalies, he would just "Purify" the bastards.

If ten more Rule-based Anomalies came, he could get ten more rules; who would he have to fear then?

Zhou Che removed his hand from the page, carefully tucked the book of rules back into his chest, and patted his chest.

The look of heartache on his face was gone, replaced by an irrepressible excitement.

But he still had to curse.

"Damn it, it almost drained me dry. This bastard of a Mannequin deserved to die."

He stood up, leaning on the blood moon scepter, his legs still shaking, but his mouth was already twitching.

"I'll have to settle this score when we get back; losing two levels of my Sequence needs to be compensated for somewhere else."

Luo Xi walked over and handed him a bottle of water. Zhou Che took it and gulped down a large mouthful, nearly choking.

"The count is complete." Captain Liu Ruyan walked over, her expression grim.

"A total of eleven ordinary survivors are missing. All the Transcendent are present, and no one is seriously injured."

Eleven people.

The smile on Zhou Che's face faded slightly; he was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"We can't bring back the dead, but the living still have to live. Let everyone rest for ten minutes, then start moving the supplies."

He threw the empty water bottle on the ground and patted his backside.

"With so many people dead, if we go back empty-handed, I won't have the face to walk through the camp gates."

Captain Liu Ruyan and Luo Xi exchanged glances.

They could both tell that although Zhou Che was injured, his steps were lighter than before, and a hint of irrepressible joy lingered at the corners of his eyes.

Luo Xi couldn't help asking: "Mr. Zhou, are you hurt? Why do you keep smiling?"

"Smiling?" Zhou Che touched his face. "I'm not smiling."

But as he said this, the corners of his mouth curled upward again.

He was indeed hurting.

But the extra rule in the book of rules against his chest made him feel cheerful.

Zhou Che steadied his mind and reined in his smile.

He brushed the dust off his knees; his legs were still shaking, but his eyes were already scanning the store.

Luo Xi watched from the side, thinking this man was like a dog; the first thing he did after a fight wasn't resting, but sniffing around.

"What are you looking for?" Luo Xi asked.

"Looking for loot." Zhou Che didn't turn his head.

"Such a big anomaly, just dead like that? Didn't leave me anything?"

He had spent all his effort to take down this anomaly; logically, it should have dropped some gear, right?

He walked over to where the two Mannequins had turned to ash, crouched down, and poked through the pile of ash with his blood moon scepter.

The black ash was very fine, like soot from the bottom of a pot; it drifted up lightly, making him cough twice.

Then, the tip of the scepter touched something hard.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Che reached in and pulled out a bone from the pile of ash.

The bone was as long as a forearm, shining white, as if it had just been painted with white lacquer.

The surface was smooth, comfortable to hold, and much heavier than it looked, feeling like a piece of iron in his hand.

"What is that?" Wang Laowu leaned in, reaching out to touch it.

Zhou Che ignored him and pulled a second one from the ash.

The two bones were identical—both the length of a forearm, both shining white—and he laid them side by side on the ground like a pair of chopsticks.

He picked up one of them, his fingers tightening around it.

A system prompt flooded directly into his brain.

Transcendent Material: Clean-Loving Bone.

This bone possesses the power of elimination; strike a target with the bone, and the more times you strike, the more transparent the target becomes, until it disappears completely.

Cost: The user must keep themselves clean and tidy; if the body or clothing is stained with filth, the bone will backfire on the user.

Zhou Che finished reading this information, his mouth twitching at first, then slowly breaking into a grin.

"Damn it." He cursed. "Clean-Loving Bone? What the fuck kind of name is that?"

While cursing, he gripped the two bones tightly in his hands.

Power of Elimination.

The more strikes, the more transparent, until it disappears.

Wasn't this the exact method that Mannequin used earlier?

Erasing people from this world stroke by stroke, leaving not even a trace behind.

And judging by the quality, these two bones were already very close to being a strange object.