7: Chapter 7 C-Rank Talent!

Lin Fan scanned his surroundings, his voice suddenly rising in pitch. "Young Master Wang said that if I open something, he'll eat dirt. If I don't, I won't take this money on the floor. I, Lin Fan, will kowtow and apologize on the spot, and get out of Jianghai City forever!"

"It's a bet!"

Provoked by Lin Fan's gaze, Wang Teng felt his brain heat up, and he blurted it out without thinking.

He didn't believe it.

He wouldn't believe it even if he died; he didn't think a few broken wooden boxes could cause any trouble!

The atmosphere instantly tightened to the breaking point.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the fatty's trembling hands and the pitch-black wooden box.

The fatty gritted his teeth, looking at Lin Fan's trusting gaze, then at Wang Teng's nauseating face.

All the humiliation, all the unwillingness, and all the anger gathered into a resolute torrent at this moment.

"Open!"

The fatty let out a deafening roar and slammed the lid open with both hands!

The fatty closed his eyes, like a prisoner on death row waiting for the verdict, and ripped the lid off the pitch-black wooden box.

There was no stench as imagined, nor was it empty.

Boom!

An extremely dazzling earthy-yellow light shot up from the bottom of the box without any warning!

The corner, which was originally dim, dirty, and reeking of urine, was instantly illuminated as bright as day by this pure energy.

The onlookers who were preparing to watch the show subconsciously raised their hands to shield their eyes and let out exclamations.

"What is that?!"

"What blinding light!"

The light didn't dissipate; instead, it twisted and condensed crazily in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye, the originally formless light and shadow transformed into a palm-sized Rot Wolf phantom.

But this phantom was no longer the sickening, rotting appearance seen in the Wasteland Zone; it was crystal clear, as if carved from yellow crystal, exuding a heavy and solid pressure.

"Awoo!"

A faint wolf howl exploded in everyone's ears.

The next second, the stream of light seemed to be pulled by something, tracing a graceful arc in the air, and shot directly into the center of Zhang Hao's forehead!

"Argh!"

The fatty's whole body shook violently, and he let out a roar that was both painful and pleasurable.

The wooden box in his hand clattered to the ground, and he trembled violently as if he had been electrocuted.

Immediately after, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, the fatty's originally fair, loose, and fatty skin began to mutate at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A layer of grayish-black substance spread rapidly from his forehead to his entire body.

It wasn't dirt, but a stratum corneum similar to rock, yet with a metallic luster!

The originally soft fat became hard as iron at this moment, and faint granite patterns even appeared on the skin's surface. A steady, heavy aura, like the earth itself, erupted from this fatty who usually only knew how to joke around.

The whole scene fell into deathly silence.

Even the sounds of bargaining in the distance disappeared.

Everyone was like a duck with its neck throttled, mouths wide open, staring blankly at this supernatural sight.

Someone tremblingly pointed a finger and stammered, "Th-this is the manifestation of a talent? My God, it's a defensive talent!"

"A phenomenon, this is a phenomenon!"

An old mercenary who knew his stuff had his eyes nearly popping out. "Only awakening a high-level talent or a top-tier treasure can trigger energy resonance and produce a phenomenon. This damn fatty... no, this little brother, he's struck it rich!"

Lin Fan remained sitting cross-legged on the ground.

But under the reflection of the sky-filling earthy-yellow light, his calm face appeared exceptionally mysterious and unfathomable.

Only he could see a pale blue system light screen floating before his eyes.

[Ding]

[Transaction successful.]

[Customer Zhang Hao opened a Rot Wolf blind box (Normal Edition), luck exploded.]

[Obtained reward: C-Rank Talent, Hardened Skin.]

C-Rank

Lin Fan's heart gave a fierce thump, and his hand hidden in his sleeve trembled slightly.

Although it was only C-Rank, it might not count for much in the eyes of those top geniuses. But for the fatty who only had a D-Rank talent and was almost about to go move bricks, this was truly defying the heavens and changing his fate!

With a D-Rank talent, the upper limit was nothing more than a low-level martial artist; he would just be cannon fodder for the rest of his life.

But with a C-Rank Talent, as long as the resources kept up, there was a high probability of breaking through to the Martial Master Realm and becoming a true master of his own fate!

How could this be just ten thousand dollars?

Such a treasure that could directly change a talent level would be fought over for a million dollars in an auction house!

"Hoo... hoo..."

The light dissipated.

The fatty opened his eyes in a daze, panting heavily.

He felt as if a volcano had been stuffed into his body, with scalding hot currents rushing wildly through his limbs and bones, finally merging into the surface of his skin. That feeling of being filled with power and being indestructible made him feel like he could smash through a wall right now.

"Brother Fan...?"

The fatty looked down at his hands.

His arms had thickened, and his skin presented a textured grayish-black color. His knuckles were covered with a thick layer of calluses, and when touched lightly, they emitted a clinking sound like metal or stone.

"Try it."

Lin Fan pointed to the ground nearby, where a discarded, rusty steel pipe, as thick as a wrist, was lying.

The fatty swallowed his saliva and subconsciously bent down to pick up the steel pipe.

It was heavy in his hand.

But he felt it was light as a feather, as if he wasn't holding a steel pipe, but a plastic straw.

An instinct from the depths of his bloodline made him exert force suddenly.

He closed his five fingers.

Creak.

The sound of twisting metal suddenly rang out.

In the eyes of everyone, who were shocked to the point of horror.

The discarded steel pipe actually twisted and deformed like dough in the fatty's palm.

The fatty didn't use any technique; he purely relied on brute force and that terrifying layer of hardened skin to squeeze it.

A few seconds later, he let go.

Clang.

The steel pipe fell to the ground, and in the middle of the originally cylindrical tube, five half-inch deep finger marks were clearly left. The prints were visible, and even the rock patterns from his skin were imprinted on it!

Hiss!

A uniform sound of gasping echoed all around.

"Squeezing iron into mud?"

"Is this the kind of power a Martial Apprentice can have? Even a One-Star Martial Artist couldn't possibly squeeze a steel pipe like this with just physical strength, right?"

"C-Rank, it's definitely a C-Rank or higher defensive talent, and it's the kind that combines both strength and defense!"

"Good heavens, wasn't this fatty just a D-Rank loser a moment ago? He turned into a superman in the blink of an eye?"

The crowd boiled over.

It was a longing for power, a worship of miracles, and even more so, regret for missing the opportunity.

Just a moment ago, that opportunity was placed right in front of all of them.

Ten thousand dollars.

For just ten thousand dollars, one could obtain this kind of transformative power.

But what did they do?

They mocked, scorned, watched the show, and treated a real treasure as garbage.

Countless hot, greedy, and crazy gazes instantly shifted from the fatty and were nailed firmly onto the two remaining wooden boxes on the stall.

Where were those just wooden boxes?

They were clearly tickets to heaven!

And at this moment, the most embarrassed, shocked, and unable to accept reality was none other than Wang Teng, who was standing at the very front.

The mockery on his face had completely frozen, like a cheap mask hanging on his face, ridiculous and funny. His mouth was wide open enough to fit an egg, and a "cluck-cluck" strange sound came from his throat, but he couldn't say a complete sentence.

How is it possible? How is this possible!

He, Wang Teng, spent hundreds of thousands of his family's money, bought all kinds of expensive gene reagents, and only then barely managed to improve his physique.

This damn fatty, this loser whose family was dirt poor, just spent ten thousand dollars?

And bought a broken wooden box?

And then obtained a C-Rank Talent with explosive combat capability?

Has this world gone crazy?!

That steel pipe that was just crushed flat felt like it was squeezed onto his own face, stinging with pain.

Those lackeys who were still bootlicking him just now were also like they had their necks throttled, each shrinking their heads, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The ten thousand dollars in pink bills on the ground looked so dazzling and so ironic at this moment.

It was as if it was silently mocking him: Your money as Young Master Wang is money, but others' lives are also lives. You used money to humiliate others, and others used their lives to slap you in the face.

"Awesome!"

The fatty finally reacted.

He looked at the steel pipe on the ground, felt the surging power in his body, and suddenly roared to the sky: "Holy crap! C-Rank, I have a C-Rank Talent, I don't have to move bricks anymore!"

He turned around abruptly, grabbed Lin Fan who was still sitting on the ground, and was so excited that he was incoherent: "Brother Fan, it's magical, it's really magical, you are my godfather!"

Lin Fan was choked to the point of almost not being able to breathe, and he pushed away the fatty's face, which was covered in snot and tears, with disgust.

"Alright, good son, pull yourself together and don't lose face."

Lin Fan patted the dust off his clothes and slowly stood up.

He ignored the crazy gazes around him, stepped over the money on the ground, and walked step by step to Wang Teng, whose face was pale.

The distance between the two was less than half a meter.

Lin Fan could even see the cold sweat seeping out on Wang Teng's forehead.