191: Chapter 191 A sixth-order crystal core fell to the ground: should I pick it up or not?

"System, exchange for [Origin Mimicry] immediately!"

[Ding! Host has confirmed the exchange!]

[Deducting 300,000 mass points...]

[Core Sequence [Origin Mimicry] unlocked!]

[Effect: Mimics ordinary carbon-based human tissue from the body surface to a depth of approximately 1 centimeter, including all superficial physiological features such as hair, sebum, and sweat glands. Touch, temperature, and elasticity are indistinguishable from an ordinary human.]

Boom...!

A gentle energy with high-dimensional characteristics surged from the depths of the stellar core, spreading outward along his electron-degenerate body.

It didn't hurt.

In fact, it was actually quite comfortable.

When the energy reached the surface of his body, Su Ming could clearly sense his skin changing. That dense epidermis, which originally appeared metallic at the microscopic scale, began to grow a layer of... carbon-based bionic membrane from the inside out.

His eighteen-year-old iron shell had finally cracked open from the outside.

Wind, temperature differences, the subtle humidity in the air... everything flooded in.

The process lasted for about thirty seconds.

It was over.

Su Ming slowly raised his hand and held it before his eyes.

Skin.

Human skin.

There were pores, fine peach fuzz, and fingerprints. When he pressed down with his fingertips, he could feel elasticity and warmth.

He raised his hand and touched his face.

Soft. Warm. It felt exactly the same as it did back on Blue Star before his Transmigration.

It was no longer that disguise which looked normal but was microscopically hard enough to deflect bullets.

This was a true 'human outer layer'.

Su Ming's lips curled into a grin.

Then, his hand slid down from his cheek.

He felt his collarbone.

He felt his pectoralis major.

Hmm... normal.

Further down.

He hesitated for a second.

Then, he decisively reached down and grabbed a handful.

...

Silence.

One second.

Two seconds.

Su Ming's expression shifted from anticipation to something subtle, and then from subtle to relief.

The shape was there, the touch was there, the temperature was there!

A perfect replica!

But... the System had warned him beforehand,

[Origin Mimicry] only restored the factory settings; the internal drivers hadn't been installed yet.

To resolve the reproductive isolation between stellar core lifeforms and carbon-based lifeforms,

and to make certain functions truly 'come alive,' he still needed to continue upgrading.

Su Ming smacked his lips.

Though it was expected,

actually facing it still brought a tiny hint of disappointment.

"The revolution is not yet successful; comrades must still work hard."

After upgrading a few more times, wouldn't reproductive isolation be resolved in a second?!

Still, being able to restore a normal human's sense of touch was already a massive step forward.

From today onward, the joy of being a man had finally returned!

Su Ming rolled around on the sofa in excitement, then kipped up, standing and rushing to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Looking at the slender, handsome youth reflected in the glass, he grinned, laughing like a child.

Just as he was happily admiring his 'new skin,' the bathroom door opened with a click.

Ye Xiao walked out, wrapped in a bath towel and wiping his wet hair.

"Brother Ming, I'm done washing. Smell me, don't I smell nice and fragrant?"

He had just gotten out of that hellhole of a detention cell; being able to take a hot bath felt like his Soul was being sublimated. He was in an excellent mood right now, thinking that he absolutely had to bond with Brother Ming and cling tightly to this golden thigh in the future.

However, the moment he said those words, he regretted it.

He saw Su Ming standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window,

the lines of his profile outlined in a warm glow by the setting sun.

And Su Ming's right hand was groping all over his own body.

From his face to his chest, and from his chest to his abdomen, his movements were extremely focused. His face even wore an... indescribable expression of intoxication, filled with satisfaction and a hint of exploration.

Ye Xiao's smile froze on his face.

His brain buzzed.

G-Groping himself?!

He subconsciously took half a step back, looked back at the bathroom door he had just come out of, and then looked at Su Ming's slender but upright back.

Is it too late to run now?

Ye Xiao felt the world spinning.

He even subconsciously wrapped his bath towel a bit tighter.

A place like Heaven on Earth really does corrupt people.

Brother Ming is such an upright military captain,

could he have picked up some strange habit here?

Ye Xiao felt a bit creeped out. He even began to suspect if Su Ming had ulterior motives when he pulled him out of the detention cell while he was bare-bottomed.

But on second thought, he felt otherwise.

To clear the name of a Tier 3 nobody like himself, Su Ming had charged into West Frontier all by himself, risking his life against a Tier 6 Peak Beast King that was only ever seen in textbooks.

What kind of deep friendship and loyalty was this?

He had already acknowledged him as his big brother!

Since he had accepted him, then for better or worse, he was his brother!

Ye Xiao forced himself to do some mental preparation.

His train of thought also began to run in a way that ordinary people could not comprehend.

What is a true brother?

Going through fire and water together? That is nothing!

A true brother is when his brother needs a woman...

stepping forward!

And becoming his woman!

At this moment, the look in Ye Xiao's eyes changed, filled with resolve and a tragic sense of mission.

His gaze slowly swept across the vanity.

On the counter lay a bar of high-grade soap provided by the hotel,

"Comfort Grip"!

He stared at that bar of soap for three seconds.

Then looked at Su Ming's back.

Then back at the soap.

Fine, then.

As a man, taking a loss is a blessing.

At worst... he would just soak in the hot springs for a few more days afterward to recuperate.

Just as Ye Xiao had mentally prepared himself to make the ultimate sacrifice, and had even begun rehearsing the wording of his suicide note in his head...

Su Ming turned his head.

He saw Ye Xiao's face, which was contorted with inner conflict, and was stunned for a moment.

Without thinking too much, he just assumed the kid was acting foolish again.

Then, he casually pulled something out of his System Space.

It was the size of a fist.

Deep purple.

Lightning arcs danced across its surface, radiating a pure, Peak-level lightning element energy fluctuation.

The Tier 6 Peak Thunder Horn Rhino crystal core.

"For you, catch!"

Su Ming's tone was as casual as if he were handing over a bottle of Pepsi.

With a flick of his arm, that Tier 6 Peak crystal core—which was enough to make Awakened fight to the death over it—flew toward Ye Xiao in a light arc.

Ye Xiao was still in the middle of his intense inner conflict and didn't react at all.

Seeing the purple light hurtling toward him, he hurriedly reached out to catch it. His bath towel almost slipped off.

*Clack.*

The crystal core hit his palm. The extremely pure lightning Source Energy instantly numbed his entire body. His hand slipped, and the crystal core dropped straight onto the floor.

Ye Xiao was completely dumbfounded.

He looked down at the crystal core by his feet, which was still crackling with electric arcs.

Then he looked up at Su Ming.

A Tier 6 crystal core had dropped on the floor,

should he pick it up or not?!

...

(I've done well today, finished writing three chapters ahead of schedule, hahaha.)