18: Chapter 18 Stable Source of Material

January 25th, 2:00 AM.

The back door of the Antique Shop was knocked on three times, slowly, like some kind of secret code.

Yan Zheng pushed open the door. Standing outside was a young man in blue overalls, carrying a large black trash bag on his shoulder.

"Boss Liu asked me to deliver this."

The young man placed the trash bag at the doorway and brushed the dust off his hands.

"He said there will be goods at the end of every month from now on—sometimes two or three, sometimes just one."

Yan Zheng pulled two hundred-dollar bills from his suit pocket and handed them over.

"Thanks for your hard work. Please thank Boss Liu for me."

The young man took the money and turned back into the night.

Yan Zheng dragged the trash bag into the Underground Room and pulled open the seal.

Inside was a male corpse, in his twenties, thin as a rail, with that silver suppressor still hanging around his neck.

There was a deep depression in his chest, his ribs were all broken, and there was severe internal bleeding.

Beaten to death.

Yan Zheng squatted down, and the bone hand of Skeleton Soldier No. 1 pressed onto the corpse's chest.

The system panel popped up a notification.

[Mutant corpse detected. X-Gene type: Epidermal Keratin Strengthening (Low-Level). Gene integrity: 81%. Material rating: D+.]

[Collect?]

"Collect."

Dark green black mist wrapped around the corpse and dissipated after three seconds.

[Mutant gene material × 1 (Epidermal Keratin Strengthening) has been stored.]

Yan Zheng: ( ˊ ᗜ ˋ )

"The first one."

He stood up, brushed the dust off his hands, and walked back to the counter to sit down.

The water in his hot water cup was still warm, and he took a sip.

"This line with Liu Kun is stable now."

Over the next two weeks, Yan Zheng received three more "deliveries."

February 1st, one body.

[Mutant gene material × 1 (Night Vision Gene Enhancement) has been stored. Material rating: D.]

February 8th, two bodies.

[Mutant gene material × 1 (Low-Level Psychokinetic Nerves) has been stored. Material rating: D+.]

[Mutant gene material × 1 (High-Temperature Physiology) has been stored. Material rating: D.]

February 15th, 11:00 PM.

Yan Zheng was sitting in the Underground Room, and on the system panel spread out before him, the material list had already filled an entire screen.

[Ordinary human skeleton material × 12]

[Mutant gene material × 5]

[Epidermal Keratin Strengthening (Low-Level) × 2]

[Night Vision Gene Enhancement × 1]

[Low-Level Psychokinetic Nerves × 1]

[High-Temperature Physiology × 1]

His finger slid across the panel and stopped at the grey blueprint at the very bottom.

The dark red chain pattern on the border of the blueprint had disappeared.

In its place was a ring of pale golden light, like a sign of successful unlocking.

Yan Zheng clicked on the blueprint.

[Stitched Soldier Blueprint (Unlocked)]

[Description: Using human skeletons as a base, fuse at least two different types of biological materials to create an enhanced Undead Creation that surpasses the limits of the original materials.]

[Core mechanism: Gene compatibility.]

[Compatibility value range: 0% - 100%.]

[Compatibility ≥ 80%: Extremely high assembly success rate, excellent creation quality.]

[Compatibility 60% - 79%: Moderate assembly success rate, average creation quality, potential hidden dangers.]

[Compatibility < 60%: Extremely high failure rate, high probability of material wastage.]

[Note: The host can perform simulation tests before assembly; the system will automatically calculate the compatibility value of the selected material combination.]

Yan Zheng: ( ꉺ ᗜ ꉺ )

"Compatibility mechanism."

He leaned back in the folding chair, tapping his fingers on his knees.

"In other words, you can't just throw any two genes together and expect it to work."

"You have to look at the compatibility between the genes."

He reopened the material list and began testing combinations one by one.

First group: Human skeleton + Epidermal Keratin Strengthening + Night Vision Gene Enhancement.

The system panel popped up the simulation result.

[Compatibility: 47%. Assembly failure rate: 68%. Not recommended.]

Yan Zheng: ( ¬ _ ¬ )

"No, the compatibility is too low."

Second group: Human skeleton + Epidermal Keratin Strengthening + Low-Level Psychokinetic Nerves.

[Compatibility: 52%. Assembly failure rate: 61%. Not recommended.]

"Still no."

Third group: Human skeleton + Epidermal Keratin Strengthening × 2.

The system panel paused for two seconds, then popped up a new result.

[Compatibility: 82%. Assembly success rate: 91%. Estimated creation quality: Normal (Above Average).]

[Special ability prediction: Petrified Skin (Immune to small arms damage, can withstand some medium-caliber bullets).]

[Weakness prediction: Slower speed, insufficient defense against heavy weapons.]

Yan Zheng's finger stopped on the panel.

"82%."

He spoke the number, his mouth curving into an arc.

"Feasible."

He stood up from the folding chair and walked to the open space in the center of the Underground Room.

Two Skeleton Soldiers stood in the corner, phosphorus fire burning quietly in their eye sockets.

Yan Zheng spoke to the air, his voice very soft, but every word enunciated clearly.

"System, assemble Stitched Soldier."

"Material combination: Human skeleton × 1, Epidermal Keratin Strengthening gene × 2."

"Execute."

The text on the panel flickered.

[Assembly command confirmed. Estimated time: 60 minutes. Mental Power consumption: 3 points. Continue?]

"Continue."

Dark green black mist seeped out from the ground; this time the mist was at least three times thicker than when assembling the Skeleton Soldiers.

The mist churned in the center of the Underground Room, like a living thing, slowly rotating and condensing.

Yan Zheng stepped back, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.

Mental Power surged out from the depths of his consciousness like a tide, pouring into the black mist along that invisible thread.

He could feel something taking shape inside the black mist.

The skeleton was being assembled.

Bone by bone, starting from the spine, extending upward to the cervical vertebrae and skull, and downward to the pelvis and leg bones.

The ribs spread out in the chest cavity like an opening fan.

The arm bones extended from the shoulder blades, and the finger bones were spliced together segment by segment at the ends.

Then the second layer.

Grey material precipitated from the black mist, adhering to the surface of the white bone like liquid.

It wasn't muscle, it wasn't skin; it was something between organic and inorganic matter.

The texture was rough, the grain like rock, the color a varying grey-brown.

They covered it layer by layer, growing outward from the bone surface, gradually forming a thick outer shell.

The bone joints creaked, like steel bars twisting in concrete.

Sweat began to bead on Yan Zheng's forehead.

The consumption of Mental Power was much greater than he had anticipated.

The values on the system panel were jumping.

[Mental Power: 8/8 → 7/8 → 6/8 → 5/8...]

He gritted his teeth, not opening his eyes.

"Continue."

The rotation speed of the black mist increased.

The grey shell began to harden, fine cracks appearing on the surface, like parched earth, or like the scales of a reptile.

In the gaps between the cracks, the base color of the white bone could be faintly seen.

The shell on the skull finally took shape, covering the entire "face," leaving only two deep depressions where the eye sockets were.

Phosphorus fire ignited in the depressions.

It wasn't the faint, ghostly green light of the Skeleton Soldiers.

It was a brighter, more stable green flame with a hint of metallic texture.

Sixty minutes later.

The black mist dissipated.

Yan Zheng opened his eyes, gasping for air, his clothes soaked with sweat.

He only had two points of Mental Power left.

But he couldn't spare the time to rest.

His gaze was locked on the standing figure in the center of the Underground Room.

Yan Zheng: ( ✧ ω ✧ )

Two meters tall.

Built sturdily, shoulder width nearly one meter, chest cavity as thick as a wall.

The whole body was covered in grey petrified scales, the surface rough, textures intersecting, as if spliced together from countless irregular rocks.

There were fine gaps in the scales at the joints, where the connection structure of the white bones could be seen.

His hands hung by his sides, the ends of the ten finger bones exposed, like ten bone blades.

In the hollow eye sockets, two clumps of green phosphorus fire burned quietly, at least three times brighter than the Skeleton Soldier's fire.

It stood there, motionless, like a stone statue.

Yan Zheng walked over from the wall and circled around it.

"Raise your right hand."

The Stitched Soldier's right arm slowly raised, the movement stiffer than the Skeleton Soldier, but with immense power.

"Make a fist."

The five fingers closed, the sound of the joints colliding like metal striking metal.

"Punch the wall."

The Stitched Soldier turned, facing the red brick wall of the Underground Room.

The right fist pulled back, then smashed out violently.

Boom.

The fist smashed into the wall, red bricks exploded, debris flying everywhere.

The whole wall shook, and dust fell from the ceiling.

Yan Zheng walked over, looking at the twenty-centimeter-deep fist print on the wall.

He looked back at the Stitched Soldier's right fist.

The petrified skin was intact, not even a scratch.

The system panel automatically popped up an evaluation report.

[Stitched Soldier · Stone Armor Guard (Normal)]

[Combat Power Assessment: Approximately equal to five trained armed humans.]

[Special Ability: Petrified Skin (Immune to small arms damage, can withstand some medium-caliber bullets, high resistance to blunt force strikes).]

[Weakness: Slower speed (movement speed is about 70% of an ordinary human), insufficient defense against heavy weapons, sustained high temperatures may cause the outer skin to crack.]

[Control consumption: 2 Mental Power / unit.]

Yan Zheng read the evaluation and was silent for three seconds.

Then he smiled.

Not the gentle, polite, cultured smile from under his suit and tie.

It was a smile of someone who, after suppressing himself for a long time, finally saw results, carrying a hint of morbid satisfaction.

Yan Zheng: ( ˊ ꈊ ˋ )

"Five armed humans."

He reached out and patted the Stone Armor Guard's shoulder; the petrified skin was cold and hard, feeling like touching polished marble.

"In a gang war in Hells Kitchen, you are already an invincible existence."

"But."

His smile reined in a little, and he pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.

"What are five armed humans in the Marvel Universe?"

"Daredevil can take on ten people by himself."

"Captain America can take on twenty."

"Iron Man's repulsor blast could blow you into gravel."

He turned and walked toward the stairs, his footsteps echoing in the cramped Underground Room.

"The Stone Armor Guard is just the beginning."

"I need stronger genes, higher compatibility, more perfect creations."

Yan Zheng stopped on the stairs, looking back at the petrified undead standing in the darkness.

"The scrap from Liu Kun's side is too low quality."

"D-rank, D+ rank, at best C- rank."

"What I need are truly high-value targets."

His gaze passed through the ceiling of the Underground Room, through the roof of the Antique Shop, and landed in a certain direction of the night sky over Hells Kitchen.

"The woman in the boxing ring whose scan failed."

"The system couldn't even read her genes."

"That kind of unknown is the real treasure."