218: The third set of armor.

The taxi jolted along the bumpy dirt road for a long time before finally coming to a complete stop at the edge of a vast, dense, and wild forest.

Ahead, there was no proper road, only a faint footpath disappearing into the depths of the dark woods.

"Young man, this is really it. I can't go any further," the Driver said helplessly, patting the steering wheel and pointing to the overlapping target point on the navigation screen. "The car can't go any further ahead. It's all trees and muddy pits. Where you need to go is probably still a good distance inside."

Wei Ziqing looked out the window at the unnervingly silent Mountain Forest, his heart pounding. But he didn't hesitate. He immediately pulled out his wallet, took out all the cash inside—a few hundred yuan—and shoved it at the Driver.

"Thank you, Driver! Keep the change! I'm in a hurry!"

Without waiting for the Driver's reaction, he opened the car door, jumped out, oriented himself, and plunged into the shadows of the forest.

The trees were dense, the ground beneath his feet was soft with decaying organic matter and tangled roots, making progress difficult. But Wei Ziqing was anxious and had a Martial Artist's foundation, so his pace wasn't slow. As he pushed aside obstructing branches, he checked the coordinates on his phone again. He wasn't far from the final destination.

"This is it," he said, stopping in a relatively clear patch within the forest. He took a deep breath. He couldn't wait any longer. From here on, he had to proceed in "that form."

He looked down at the ornate belt fastened tightly around his waist. A white base with golden patterns and black stripes, it appeared calm and majestic under the faint light filtering through the leaves. He recalled The Forger's last hurried instructions and the two most prominent symmetrical components on the belt.

He raised both hands, his thumbs pressing steadily on the two raised golden buttons on either side of the belt's central disc.

"Urgh—!" The moment he pressed the buttons, an intense, almost living tremor surged from the belt's core, racing up his spine and spreading throughout his entire body! It wasn't pain, but an extreme tingling, an activating sensation.

*Bzzzz————*

A low, resonant hum, as if from an ancient creature, emanated from the central disc of the belt. It wasn't piercing, but carried a powerful sense of presence. Immediately, the gem-like structure embedded in the center of the disc lit up with a blazing white light and began spinning rapidly! The surrounding golden patterns also seemed to come alive, flowing with light.

"Aaaah—!"

Wei Ziqing couldn't help but let out a low roar. He could feel something indescribable, immense, both icy and scorching, pouring into his body from the belt as its source! Every inch of his muscles, bones, and nerves were being washed over, transformed, and covered by this power!

Starting from the belt, pure white biomass surged upward like a fountain of living water, instantly enveloping his torso and limbs!

Black streamlined stripes spread automatically across the white base like inked outlines, forming patterns full of power and a certain arcane beauty.

Golden edging shimmered at his joints and vital points like scattered stars. Lightweight yet incredibly tough armor grew and solidified across his body's surface.

His head was encased in sleek white armor. A single curved, deep red visual organ, resembling an Advanced visor, covered his original eye area. The veins of distant leaves and specks of dust floating in the air were clearly discernible.

His dynamic vision was enhanced to the extreme. The flight path of an insect flapping its wings in the forest seemed to slow down in his sight.

From his waist extended a specialized, flexible structure called the "Flowing Skirt," its surface coated with fine crystalline powder that drifted slightly with his breath.

And behind his waist, he could clearly feel a slightly swollen, special organ tightly connected to his spinal nerves—the "Venomous Scabbard"—had finished forming. Within it, a slender, cold, white biomaterial bone sword, born of the same source as the sheath, lay quietly ready.

All these changes completed within seconds. The humming ceased, the spinning central gem froze in place, its light receding inward.

Wei Ziqing—or rather, the being now clad in this unique, unknown biological armor with its white base, black patterns, and golden trim—slowly lowered his head, looked at his armored hands, clenched them, then relaxed them.

An unprecedented sense of strength, speed, and exquisite, minute control over his body flooded his entire being.

Simultaneously, the faint pulsations from the "Sheath" and "Skirt" at his waist made him understand just what strange and dangerous abilities he now possessed.

There was no time to savor the feeling. The deep red visor looked toward the deeper part of the Mountain Forest, the final location indicated by the coordinates.

He pushed off with his foot, his body leaping up as if weightless, landing on a tree trunk several meters away. Using it as a springboard, he leapt again, transforming into a white streak as he dashed toward the Laboratory's direction with speed and agility far surpassing human limits.

It was a seemingly ordinary forested slope. But at the base of the slope, there was a clearly artificially reinforced metal gate, almost blending into the mountainside, with a simple access control device and ventilation vent beside it.

In front of the door, two guards in gray uniforms, holding compact submachine guns, stood watch somewhat lazily. Their eyes occasionally scanned the quiet woods, clearly not expecting any real threat in such a place.

Wei Ziqing didn't pause, nor did he devise any complex tactics. Time was everything. Lawyer Shen was behind this door.

He lowered his stance, power coiling in his legs, the "Flowing Skirt" at his waist billowing slightly from the infused energy. In the next instant, he shot out from behind the bushes like a white ghost, so fast he almost left an afterimage in the air!

"Huh? What's th—" A guard caught a glimpse of the white streak in his peripheral vision and instinctively turned his head, his words unfinished.

The white streak was already before him!

Wei Ziqing's movements were faster than an ordinary person's reaction limit. His right hand shot toward his back waist. With a soft *shing*, he held the slender, cold, faintly bioluminescent white bone sword in his hand.

On the blade, a barely perceptible pale blue sheen was visible—the potent nerve-paralyzing toxin pre-loaded into it.

There were no dazzling sword flourishes, only the most direct and swiftest of slashes!

*Swish! Swish!*

The first slash precisely cut across the outer side of the first guard's gun-holding arm, avoiding arteries but slicing through the protective suit and skin. The second slash almost simultaneously swept across the second guard's thigh.

The two didn't even have time to fully raise their guns. They only felt a cool sensation on their arm and thigh, followed by a slight sting.

"Urgh!" "Ah!"

They looked down in shock, seeing blood quickly seeping from the wounds. But a more terrifying sensation followed immediately—an intense, irresistible numbness, like a cold tide, instantly spreading from the wounds to the entire arm, the entire leg, then rushing toward the torso and the other limbs!

*Thud!* "Thump!"

The first guard's arm completely lost strength, his submachine gun falling from his grip.

He tried to steady himself, but half his body was no longer obeying him. He staggered and fell sideways. The second guard dropped to one knee, trying to support himself with his other leg, only to find the numbness spreading rapidly. His whole body uncontrollably tipped over and collapsed.

"Cough... my leg... can't... move..."

"Arm... numb... whole body..."

Lying on the ground, the two tried to struggle in terror but found that, aside from their eyes and mouths, the muscles from the neck down were quickly losing control. They couldn't even move their fingers. They could only watch helplessly as the white, ancient Martial Artist-like armored figure, without even a glance at them, charged straight for the metal gate.

Wei Ziqing stopped abruptly before the gate. It was locked. He had no intention of looking for a switch or a password—that would be too slow. He took half a step back, gripped the bone sword with both hands, and aimed its tip at the door's locking mechanism.

The power granted by the armor concentrated in his arms. He drove force from his waist and hips, exhaling sharply—

"Ha!"

The bone sword transformed into a streak of white light, thrusting fiercely into the junction between the gate's lock core and the frame!

*Clang! Crash!*

The piercing sound of metal twisting and breaking erupted! It wasn't cutting with the blade's edge, but forcibly destroying the lock structure through immense kinetic energy and precise targeting of a weak point!

Wei Ziqing raised his foot and kicked hard.

*BOOM!!*

The deformed metal gate swung inward, revealing a downward-sloping passage behind it, filled with cold artificial light and the smell of disinfectant.

Without the slightest hesitation, his figure flashed and vanished into the shadows of the passage, leaving behind the two guards lying paralyzed on the ground, their entire bodies numb, only able to emit muffled, furious whimpers.

"What... what was that thing..."

"How did he... just go in like that... Quick, quick, report it..."