55: Chapter 55 Dragon Blood I

By the time Lin Mo emerged from Huang Guinian's tent, the sky had turned completely dark.

He glanced down at his phone; a bank notification was on the screen: 364,000,680.00.

Three hundred and sixty-four million.

He took a deep breath and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

It was too much money—so much that he, who had grown up in Laoshu Alley and considered a meal of braised pork a holiday feast, didn't know how to react for a moment.

After a moment's thought, he transferred two hundred thousand to his sister.

Note: Mission reward. Don't be afraid to spend it.

Two hundred thousand wasn't too much, so his sister shouldn't worry too much, but it was enough for her to buy some decent furniture, a few new clothes, and have some good meals.

After finishing the transfer, he silenced his phone and walked toward Wu Feng's tent.

The warning pings from the system earlier had been echoing in his mind.

source of corruption.

Mimic.

These were two terms he was hearing for the first time.

Wu Feng was lying in the tent recovering from his injuries. He was startled when he saw Lin Mo enter.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"

Lin Mo sat down beside him, hesitated for a few seconds, and suddenly asked:

"Captain Wu, do you know about the source of corruption?"

Wu Feng's expression changed instantly.

He sat up abruptly, aggravating his wounds and making him grimace in pain, but he ignored it and stared intently at Lin Mo.

"Where did you hear that from?"

Lin Mo didn't answer, instead asking, "What is it?"

Wu Feng stared at him for several seconds before slowly leaning back against the bed.

"It's best if you don't ask about that. It's not something people at our level should know."

Lin Mo said nothing, just looking at him.

Wu Feng felt unnerved by his gaze and sighed.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you a little, but don't go spreading it around."

He lowered his voice:

"The source of corruption is the origin of those Mimics. It's said it can contaminate any living thing. Once contaminated, they turn into Mimics!"

Lin Mo's eyes flickered slightly.

Mimic—he had heard that word again.

"Over on the main battlefield, Zhou Xiong's people captured a live Mimic and interrogated some information out of it."

"That Mimic said one sentence before it died—'He is coming.'"

"'He'?"

"I don't know." Wu Feng shook his head.

"It could be the physical form of the source of corruption, or it could be something even more terrifying."

He paused and looked at Lin Mo.

"Where exactly did you hear this, kid? Ordinary soldiers have no idea about this stuff."

Lin Mo lowered his eyes.

"I heard some veterans chatting and just asked casually."

Wu Feng looked at Lin Mo, half-believing him, but didn't press further.

"Alright, stop poking around. Orders from Headquarters have arrived. We're withdrawing the day after tomorrow. At that time, us veterans will retreat to the second line of defense. You students might have other arrangements. Get yourself ready over the next two days!"

Lin Mo nodded, stood up, and left.

Walking out of the tent, he looked down at the ring on his finger.

The dark red gem on the ring's face glowed faintly under the moonlight.

Zhou Xiong.

That Sixth Battalion commander had personally given him this ring.

Did he really forget to take the heart?

Or was it... intentional?

Lin Mo didn't know.

But he knew one thing.

That heart must absolutely not be touched or taken out.

As for whether to immediately destroy it as the system suggested, Lin Mo was still hesitating; the thing was so miraculous that he felt somewhat reluctant to part with it for a moment.

And according to what Wu Feng said, this thing had likely come into contact with the truly top-tier martial power and secrets of this world.

Lin Mo had always had a question: although the beast herds in Nanling were massive in number, most were low-tier Ferocious Beasts, and the threat wasn't as great as imagined.

Lin Mo knew that the Elite Assault Team alone had several Rank 4 captains, and the battalion commander, Yuan Shoucheng, might even be a Rank 5 existence.

And this was just one battalion of the 2nd Armored Infantry Regiment.

How strong was the entire 2nd Armored Infantry Regiment?

How strong was the entire Southern Military Region?

Facing this beast tide, as long as they reinforced the troops or deployed high-end martial power, they could at least defend perfectly, if not sweep through the entire Nanling.

It seemed now that the high-end martial power might have been deployed to other battlefields, held back by other things.

Or perhaps, the Nanling beast tide was merely a training ground, used to drill the troops.

This also explained why the military would have students like them assist in the defense.

...

Early the next morning, Lin Mo went to the Military Merit Exchange.

The exchange was located in a reinforced concrete building. A dozen people were lined up at the door, all students and soldiers who had just settled their military merit.

When it was his turn, the officer inside glanced at the computer screen, his eyes widening.

"21,240? You're that Lin Mo?"

Lin Mo nodded.

The officer's attitude immediately became more respectful, and he pointed behind him.

"What do you need? Weapons, armor, cultivation resources—we have them all. They're all inside; the stuff out here is just common goods."

Lin Mo looked inside in the direction he pointed.

The interior was much more spacious than the outside. Rows of glass cabinets displayed various items, sabers, spears, swords, and halberds hung on the walls, and wooden crates were stacked in the corners. Every cabinet had a label and a price tag.

"This is the inventory list. Take a look first. Once you've chosen, go straight inside to exchange!"

The officer handed Lin Mo a list.

Lin Mo looked it over carefully.

The first few lines were all weapons—sabers, swords, spears, halberds, all kinds, and even hidden weapons and firearms. The lowest grade was above B-rank.

Lin Mo didn't know how to use firearms at all, so he ignored them.

B-rank saber-type weapons ranged from 1,000 to 3,000 military merit points, while A-rank sabers ranged from 8,000 to 20,000. The prices were very high.

Lin Mo already had zhan chao, so he wasn't interested in these either.

The middle lines were combat suits. Lin Mo scanned them and found they were all hard armor, which would affect his speed.

Further down were cultivation techniques and resources.

Sun-Chasing Sword Technique, B-rank, 800 merit points.

Wave-Breaking Saber Technique, B-rank, 750 merit points.

Piercing Spear Art, B-rank, 1,000 merit points.

Wind-Chasing Movement Technique, A-rank, 7,200 merit points.

...

Lin Mo's eyes widened as he looked at the list of techniques.

"B-rank techniques can be exchanged for just a few hundred merit points?"

"This... this is too cheap!"

Lin Mo couldn't help but click his tongue.

He finally realized what an incredible fortune his 20,000-plus merit points were.

On the market, the most common B-rank technique could be hyped up to eight figures, or even more.

Yet here, a B-rank technique could be exchanged for just a few hundred merit points.

In other words, the exchange rate between military merit and Great Xia Coins reached a staggering 1:10,000!

Of course, this incredible ratio only applied when exchanging for techniques.

If used for weapons or armor, the ratio would be much lower.

A B-rank saber on the market costs hundreds of thousands to a million, but in the military system, it requires one or two thousand merit points. The exchange rate is much lower, roughly around 1:1,000.

Lin Mo continued looking down. While these things were good, they weren't enough to excite him.

He didn't lack techniques for now; for sabers, he had the S-rank Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash, and for movement, he had the B-rank Lingyan Steps. They were enough for the time being.

He looked at the other page of the list, which was all cultivation materials.

Soon, Lin Mo's gaze was drawn in.

dragon blood type i Genetic Enhancement Serum: 20,000 merit points per vial. Developed from the essence blood of Rank 9 Ferocious Beasts. Can improve genes, strengthen the physical body, and has a very small chance of awakening a new trait (Limit: 1 per person).

Dragon Blood Type II Genetic Enhancement Serum: 100,000 merit points per vial. Enhanced version of dragon blood i (Limit: 1 per person. Currently out of stock; requires advance application to the War Zone).

Dragon Blood Type III Genetic Enhancement Serum: 500,000 merit points per vial. Enhanced version of dragon blood ii (Limit: 1 per person. Currently out of stock; requires advance application to Headquarters).

"Genetic enhancement serum!"

"And it's developed from Rank 9 Ferocious Beast essence blood!"

"This must be the top-tier genetic enhancement serum!"

Lin Mo's eyes burned with excitement.

If this item were in the system's gacha pool, it would probably be a top-grade item of at least Gold quality, yet it could be exchanged directly with military merit.

"The cheapest dragon blood type i serum is 20,000 merit points—just enough!"

Lin Mo looked at the price and couldn't help but feel inwardly delighted.

Since it was such a coincidence, how could he not try a vial?

Lin Mo looked at the officer in charge of the exchange.

"I've decided. I'll take this!"

Lin Mo said, pointing at the dragon blood type i Genetic Enhancement Serum.

"I knew you'd pick this. Everyone's eyeing it, but many veterans might not even save up enough for one vial in several years!"

The officer said with a smile.

Lin Mo realized then why Old Hei said he had been saving merit points for nearly two years.

He was probably also eyeing the dragon blood type i serum.

"Of course, everyone wants the good stuff!"

A middle-aged man in his forties walked over, wearing the rank of Major on his shoulders.

"Little brother Lin Mo, you've saved enough for a vial of dragon blood i on your very first mission. It makes the rest of us feel ashamed. Come with me!"

Lin Mo nodded and began to walk slowly between the cabinets.

Lin Mo stopped in front of a glass cabinet.

It was a standalone display case containing three metal tubes side-by-side. The tubes were silver-white with a red dragon pattern printed on them.

The label read: Dragon Blood Genetic Enhancement Serum (Type I).

He stared at the price next to Type I: 20,000 merit points.

Lin Mo looked up at the Major beside him.

"Is this dragon blood type i taken orally or by injection?"

The Major smiled and explained:

"Just take it orally. After consumption, it will directly improve your genes and strengthen your muscles, bones, and internal organs throughout your body."

He lowered his voice and continued:

"This is this year's new product. Not many people on our side have exchanged for it—only thirty-seven in total. Thirty-five of them were successfully strengthened, with their Strength and Constitution increasing by at least 5 to 10 points. And then there were two..."

He paused.

"What happened to the two?"

"Two of them had exceptional luck; their improvement was around 15 points!"

Lin Mo's eyes moved.

"Did anyone successfully awaken a trait?"

The Major laughed. "A secondary awakening isn't that easy. I heard someone in another military region awakened a second trait, but anyway, we haven't had any in the Southeast Military Region."

Lin Mo nodded. No wonder it was called a 'very small chance'; it was probably similar to winning the lottery.

"So, is there any risk in taking this?"

Lin Mo continued to ask.

The Major fell silent for a moment.

"Yes."

"Out of the thirty-seven people, three had rejection reactions after use and were almost beyond saving. Although they survived in the end, their improvement was the smallest, around 5 points."

He added, "But those were early batches. The current Type I is already very stable, with a success rate of over 99%."

Lin Mo nodded.

He thought for a moment and pointed at the dragon blood type i tube.

"This one. I'll take it."

"Alright! I'll get it for you right now!"

Lin Mo thought for a bit and then said, "I also want to exchange for that Turtle Breath Technique."

"Turtle Breath Technique?" The Major was somewhat surprised.

"That's a technique for concealing your aura; it has no offensive power. Are you sure?"

Lin Mo nodded.

The supervisor didn't ask further and handed him the dragon blood type i metal tube.

"Keep this dragon blood i safe. The technique will be sent to your communication bracelet by Headquarters later. Is there anything else you need to exchange for?"

"No, that's all." Lin Mo shook his head.

"Alright, that's 21,000 merit points in total."

Lin Mo took the metal tube. Inside the silver-white body, he could vaguely see a dark red liquid flowing slowly.

The essence blood of a Rank 9 Ferocious Beast.

He remembered the 'source of corruption' the system had mentioned earlier.

Could that power from outside the world also be related to existences above Rank 9?

He didn't know.

But he knew he needed to become stronger.

The faster, the better.

Leaving the exchange, Lin Mo quickened his pace toward the dormitory.

Back at the dormitory, Lin Mo took out the metal tube, looked at the dark red liquid, and took a deep breath.

"System, is there any problem with this thing?"

[Ding~ System scanning...]

[Scan complete: This item is a conventional biological genetic enhancement serum. It contains no source of corruption components and is safe to use.]

Relieved, Lin Mo tilted his head back and downed the liquid in one gulp.

Ten seconds later, his heart began to race.

Thirty seconds later, the blood throughout his body felt like it was boiling.

Lin Mo gritted his teeth and lay down on the bed.

Pain meant becoming stronger.

He just hoped his luck wouldn't be too bad; as long as he didn't hit that 1% and have a rejection reaction, it would be fine.

...

...