124: Chapter 124 The Birth of Scorching Flame

"Compatibility simulation: 76%."

As Yan Zheng copied this line to the top of the whiteboard in the Underground Room, the chalk snapped in his fingers. The broken piece rolled under the workbench, hitting an old bottle filled with formalin. The bottle wobbled, and the ninja finger bones soaking in the liquid tapped against the glass, making a soft thud.

Yan Zheng: (ꐦ ㅍ _ ㅍ)

"Breaking the chalk before starting work isn't a good omen."

He bent down to pick up the chalk piece, but the hem of his coat caught on the iron hook of the chair back, jerking him to a halt. He had to take off his coat and hang it to the side first, then leaned down to sweep the chalk out from under the table.

"Mr. System, initiate the Necromancer assembly program."

[Materials confirmed.]

[Main material: Plasma Mutant release gene.]

[Auxiliary material: Fire generation gene.]

[Stabilizing material: The Hand Dark Energy residue.]

[Skeleton carrier: The Hand Ninja No. 3 remains.]

[Risk warning: Energy leakage, skeleton carbonization, mental backlash.]

"Log the risk warnings, continue the operation."

The stitching table in the center of the Underground Room was cleared, and the ninja skeleton was laid flat on it. Fresh inscriptions were carved onto the surface of the bones. The Plasma Mutant sample tube hung above the chest cavity, the Dark Energy residue was held in a black ceramic bowl, and the sealed fire gene injection sat on the tray to the left.

Yan Zheng put on his white gloves. Just as he pulled the glove to his wrist, his cuff knocked over the enamel cup beside him. Cold tea trickled down the edge of the table and dripped onto the floor.

Yan Zheng: (˵ ꐦ ≖ ‸ ≖ ˵)

"This Underground Room might want to resign early today, too."

Mr. System didn't reply. The inscriptions on the edge of the stitching table began to glow. The Plasma Mutant sample tube shattered on its own, and purple light arcs crawled out from the cracks in the glass, pouring inward along the ribs of the ninja skeleton.

As soon as the first round of fusion began, the temperature in the Underground Room shot up.

The soundproofing panels on the walls first made a soft sound of expansion, then curled up from the nails. The foam on the outermost layer turned yellow and curled. The glass walls of the formalin bottle fogged up with water droplets. The Gunner stood against the wall, its purple phosphorus fire blown to one side by the heat wave.

[Temperature rising.]

[Dark Energy stabilization core not fully integrated.]

"I see."

Yan Zheng reached out to press the edge of the ceramic bowl. The Dark Energy residue, like a mass of black liquid unwilling to be tamed, rippled at the bottom of the bowl. The spot where his white glove touched the bowl wall quickly turned gray, and a hole was corroded into the fabric fibers by the energy.

"Integrate the burning layer first; don't let the Plasma Mutant consume the skeleton."

[Fire gene injected.]

The moment the fire generation gene entered the skeleton, dark red flames flared up above the stitching table. The flames crawled along the ribs and spine, scorching the ninja skeleton to a carbon black color. A triangular bone structure began to grow upward from the forehead of the skull, resembling some kind of deliberately polished battle helmet.

Yan Zheng took a step back, his back hitting the workbench. The tweezers in the tray were shaken loose, falling to the floor and bouncing twice.

Yan Zheng: (ꐦ ✧ ‸ ✧)

"Quite the knack for styling itself."

[Energy storm expanding.]

[Suggest interrupting assembly.]

"Denied."

Yan Zheng pressed his palm against the edge of the stitching table, simultaneously mobilizing the pulses of all six creations in his Mental Link. The Knight stood to the left, the Brute jammed the right side, the Thunder Guard's silvery-white electric arcs connected to the ground wires, the cold mist sprayed by the Frost Archer suppressed the heat wave from the outer circle, and the Gunner and Acid Walker retreated to the stairwell to create a barrier.

"Gentlemen, don't let my house turn into an oven."

The Knight's golden phosphorus fire lit up. Its photon module didn't attack but instead maintained a low-power illumination state, providing stable energy lighting to the center of the stitching table.

The Brute extended its petrified arms, pressing down on both sides of the stitching table. The metal of the table groaned as it expanded from the heat. The surface of its arms began to smoke from the heat, but it didn't let go.

The Frost Archer's cold mist was continuously evaporated by the heat wave. Water vapor rose in the Underground Room, and the inside of the desk lamp shade was covered in water droplets. One drop fell onto the light bulb, extinguishing half of the light with a sizzling sound.

Yan Zheng: (˵ ꐦ convex ⌓ convex ˵)

"Put the cost of the light bulb on Mr. Scorch's tab."

[Dark Energy stabilization core integration failed.]

[Failure reason: Plasma Mutant rejection.]

Yan Zheng reached out and picked up the scalpel, inserting the blade into the inscription groove in the center of the ninja's sternum. The Plasma Mutant crawled up the blade, instantly burning through his white glove and searing a red mark into the skin of his palm.

He didn't let go; with his other hand, he poured the Dark Energy residue from the ceramic bowl into the chest cavity.

"Eat it."

As the Dark Energy residue fell into the chest cavity, the entire skeleton arched. One of the stitching table's restraint straps snapped. Flames and purple light arcs mixed together and spilled outward. A gust of hot air rushed through the cracks of the Underground Room door, blowing the newspaper on the stairs a few pages over.

[Mental Power suppression requirement increased.]

[Current Mental Power occupancy: Eighteen.]

Yan Zheng's hair was plastered to his forehead by sweat, and his spectacle lenses fogged up. He couldn't spare a hand to wipe them, so he could only squint at the system panel. The scalpel was jammed in the sternum inscription groove, glowing hot.

"Mr. System, don't remind me that I'm almost at capacity. Pull up the Dark Energy adaptation records for the No. 3 ninja skeleton."

[Records expanded.]

"The third entry: The Hand uses heart remnants as a medium. When the ninja skeleton accepts Dark Energy, it needs an old anchor point."

He kicked open the metal box under the workbench. The lid hit the wall, and a row of old storage tubes rolled out. Two of them rolled to his shoes, their labels curling from the heat.

Yan Zheng glanced down, then bent down to pick up the storage tube labeled with The Hand leader's residual blood.

Yan Zheng: (ꐦ ≖ ω ≖)

"Old bastard, still have to work overtime even after you're dead."

He crushed the storage tube, and the dark red residual blood dripped into the chest cavity. The previously rampaging Plasma Mutant light arcs finally contracted inward. The fire generation layer adhered to the surface of the skeleton, and the Dark Energy stabilization core shrank into a black-purple fireball in the center of the chest cavity.

[Fusion stable.]

[Countdown entering the completion phase.]

In the time that followed, the only sound left in the Underground Room was the buzzing of the exhaust fan before it died. Yan Zheng sat in his chair, his left hand soaking in a basin of cold water, his right hand still maintaining Mental Power suppression. The water in the basin was heated by the residual warmth. He reached out with his foot to kick an ice pack over, but he missed, and the ice pack slid to the Brute's feet.

The Brute looked down at the ice pack, then looked at Yan Zheng.

"Pick it up, thanks."

The dark red pulse brightened. The Brute used two thick, petrified finger bones to pick up the ice pack, its movements so clumsy it almost burst the bag.

Yan Zheng took the ice pack, placed it on the back of his hand, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Service attitude is not bad. I'll rate you as an outstanding employee at the end of the year."

Six hours later, the flames in the center of the stitching table collapsed inward.

A two-meter-tall Undead Creation sat up from the table. Its entire body was carbon black, with dark red Plasma Mutant veins flowing across the bone surface. A dark purple energy ball floated in the palm of each hand. The triangular bone structure on its head extended forward, and green phosphorus fire burned in three eye sockets.

Yan Zheng stood up, the chair legs dragging across the floor with a harsh sound. He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, which were fogged up by the heat. The skin exposed through the tear in his glove was still red.

[Creation generation complete.]

[Necromancer · Scorch, Rare tier.]

[Combat power assessment: B+ tier.]

[Special Ability 1: Plasma Fireball, can be thrown or continuously released, temperature of 3,000 degrees, effective range of 60 meters.]

[Special Ability 2: Dark Energy Shield, can deploy a short-term protective barrier for itself or allies, duration 10 seconds, cooldown 30 seconds.]

[Special Ability 3: Area Scorching, releases a high-temperature zone with a 10-meter radius centered on itself, duration 5 seconds.]

[Weakness: Skeleton suffers heat damage during continuous output, requires intermittent cooling.]

Yan Zheng: (˵ ꐦ ✧ ᗜ ✧ ˵)

"Mr. Scorch, welcome aboard."

The Necromancer lowered its triangular skull. The two energy balls in its palms shrank to the size of walnuts, and the green phosphorus fire pressed gently toward Yan Zheng.

In the corner of the Underground Room, the soundproofing panel that had been blown off by the heat wave finally couldn't hold on any longer. It fell to the ground with a slap, knocking over the empty enamel cup.

Yan Zheng's legion structure had officially entered a mature formation.