22: Chapter 22 The Plan to Create an Accident

After that sentence drifted away from the hallway, Yan Zheng kept the Antique Shop closed for two full days.

March 9th, daytime.

In the Underground Room, the light filtering through the blinds was sliced into strips, falling onto the white paper filled with writing in front of Yan Zheng.

He leaned back in his folding chair, twirling a fountain pen in his hand, and spoke to the two Skeleton Soldiers in front of him.

"The problem is simple."

The phosphorus fire of Skeleton Soldier No. 1 flickered.

"The thing I want is still alive and still making money for Liu Kun; he won't just give it to me for free."

Yan Zheng held up a finger.

"Option one: a direct assault. Take the Stone Armor Guard, storm the fighting arena, and snatch the person out."

He shook his head.

"No. Behind the fighting arena is Boss Gao, and behind Boss Gao is the entire underground power network of the East District. My current combat power isn't enough to go head-to-head with an entire gang organization, not to mention that too much commotion would attract other unwanted attention."

Yan Zheng: ( ¬ _ ¬ )

"Option two: buy it at a high price."

He shook his head again.

"That won't work either. Liu Kun said The Silent One is his cash cow. He takes a cut of twenty to thirty thousand from the betting pool per match; eight matches a month is two hundred thousand. How much would I have to offer for him to sell? Five hundred thousand? One million? I don't even have five thousand in my bank account right now."

He set the fountain pen on the table and rested his crossed fingers on his knees.

"So, only option three remains."

"Let The Silent One be 'scrapped' during a match."

Yan Zheng stood up and paced back and forth in the Underground Room twice, his footsteps tapping out a steady rhythm on the concrete floor.

"The rules of the fighting arena are simple: those who can fight are kept to make money, and those beaten to the point of being useless are treated as scrap. Liu Kun said it himself: the scrap belongs to me."

"So, there is only one thing I need to do—make The Silent One's regeneration ability temporarily fail during a match."

"Without his regeneration ability, he is just a frail young man. Three augmented fighters surrounding him for ten minutes would be enough to beat him into a critical state."

"If his regeneration doesn't kick in after he's critically injured, Liu Kun will deem him 'scrapped'."

"Once he's scrapped, he belongs to me."

Yan Zheng: ( ˵ ¬ ᴗ ¬ ˵ )

He walked back to the system panel and flipped through several pages of the function list.

"The key is how to make his regeneration temporarily fail. The suppressor can suppress part of it, but it can't suppress it completely. I need a more precise method."

When he flipped to the very bottom of the panel, a new tab caught his attention.

The tab was named [Material Exchange].

"When did this appear?"

He clicked on the tab, and a row of small gray icons was neatly arranged on the panel, each with a name and exchange price underneath.

Most were gray, marked with "Unlock conditions not met."

But three were lit up.

Yan Zheng's gaze swept over them one by one.

The first: [Bone Armor Enhancer]—Permanently increases the bone density of an Undead Creation. Exchange price: 2 units of ordinary human bone material.

The second: [Phosphorus Fire Amplification]—Permanently increases the perception range of an Undead Creation. Exchange price: 1 unit of Mutant genetic material.

The third.

Yan Zheng's gaze stopped.

[Undead Touch · Trace Amount]

[Description: Injects a trace amount of Undead Energy into a living organism through physical contact, temporarily suppressing the target's cellular activity. The effect lasts for about ten minutes. During this time, all of the target's cellular regeneration, repair, and proliferation functions will be significantly suppressed.]

[Exchange price: 3 units of Mutant genetic material.]

Yan Zheng: ( ✧ ω ✧ )

"Three units of Mutant genetic material."

He opened the inventory list and slid his finger across the panel.

[Mutant Genetic Material Inventory:]

[Epidermal Keratin Strengthening (Low-Level) × 1 (The other unit was used to stitch the Stone Armor Guard)]

[Night Vision Gene Enhancement × 1]

[Low-Level Psychokinetic Nerves × 1]

[High-Temperature Physiology × 1]

"Four units. Spending three to exchange for Undead Touch will leave one remaining."

He stared at the [Undead Touch · Trace Amount] icon for five seconds, his finger hovering over the panel.

"Three units of Mutant genetic material in exchange for a B+ grade Adaptive Regeneration gene."

Yan Zheng slowly sat back down in the folding chair, crossed his legs, and tapped his fingers rhythmically on the armrest.

"No matter how you calculate it, it's a profit."

"Exchange."

The panel flickered.

[Exchange successful. Consumed: Night Vision Gene Enhancement × 1, Low-Level Psychokinetic Nerves × 1, High-Temperature Physiology × 1.]

[Item obtained: Undead Touch · Trace Amount × 1. Usage: The host must make skin-to-skin contact with the target and actively activate it to release.]

Yan Zheng looked down at his right hand.

At the center of his palm, a faint dark green aura floated beneath the skin; it was nearly imperceptible, impossible to spot without looking closely.

He clenched his fist, and the dark green aura disappeared.

"Good."

Yan Zheng stood up, walked to the white paper in the corner, picked up the fountain pen, and began writing the execution plan.

"The next Special Night is March 15th, Saturday."

"The Silent One competes every time; Liu Kun won't change the arrangements."

"Before the match, the contestants are brought to the edge of the ring for a final check; that is the only window for close-range contact."

"Ten minutes of cellular activity suppression. The match usually lasts five to eight minutes. That's enough time."

Yan Zheng: ( ꉺ ᗜ ꉺ )

He put down the fountain pen, folded the white paper and tucked it into his suit's inner pocket, then turned and walked up the stairs.

"March 15th."

The footsteps faded at the top of the stairs, the final sentence carrying the calm of someone confirming a procedure before surgery.

"Mr. The Silent One, please cooperate when the time comes."

"It's only ten minutes; it will pass quickly."