108: Chapter 108 Magneto?

Another week passed.

The morning sun spilled across the floor through the blinds.

Qin Ming sat at his desk, opened the drawer, and looked at the three people still grinding monsters on the game console's screen.

[Current Total Points: 999.]

The flickering numbers froze on an extremely pleasing value.

Inside the electronic cage on the screen, the scene was unbearable.

Bee and Esther, the once-vicious pair of non-biological sisters, were now slumped ungracefully on the floor made of code.

Their eyes were hollow, their fingers mechanically pulled the triggers of jammed pixel shotguns, and foam unconsciously bubbled from their mouths.

West was in even worse shape.

His iconic white lab coat had been stained a weird fluorescent green by the slime of virtual monsters; he was huddled in a corner, pulling at his hair like a deranged vagrant.

The high-intensity, non-stop grind had given these three outlaws a taste of true hell.

"Bzzzt... Master, they look like... they're about to break..."

In the top right corner of the screen, Larry's pixelated smiley face popped up, his synthesized electronic voice carrying a hint of lingering regret.

"Turn off the resonator and give them a break," Qin Ming said calmly.

The roar of the pixelated machine on the screen came to an abrupt halt.

Qin Ming tapped his fingers on the desk.

Two days ago, on a whim, he had injected a half-dead low-level extra-dimensional monster with that tube of fluorescent green "Zombie Serum."

The results were a pleasant surprise.

Under the stimulus of the serum, the monster underwent a secondary mutation, doubling its combat power while the system points gained for killing it soared directly to 8 points.

This was a sustainable path to wealth.

"Larry, tell the one in the white coat," Qin Ming said, looking down at West on the screen. "He can rest, but I want him to continue refining that green serum."

"Bzzzt... Understood..."

"Tell him that if the serum's effect can increase the cellular activity of extra-dimensional creatures by more than three times, I can let him stop grinding monsters in the future. He'll have a villa, a pool, and beautiful women to accompany him."

The carrot and the stick—the best way to deal with a mad scientist.

Sure enough.

When Larry relayed Qin Ming's words, West, who had been like a dead dog, suddenly had a fanatical light burst from his eyes.

He even tried to kiss the code on the floor to express his praise for his great master.

Qin Ming closed the screen.

The weekend had arrived.

...

Out in the suburbs, the sun was shining brightly.

A black SUV drove along a winding forest road, flanked by towering ancient coniferous forests, with sunlight casting dappled shadows through the trees.

Robert held the steering wheel with one hand while tapping his fingers to the upbeat country music from the car stereo with the other.

"The weather is great, isn't it, kids!" Robert glanced at the siblings in the back seat through the rearview mirror. "You're going to love Eden Lake, I promise. The water is so clear you can see the pebbles at the bottom."

"Of course, Dad! I can't wait!"

Emma wore a light blue ruffled sundress and a woven straw hat.

Qin Ming leaned against the car window, watching the woods recede rapidly, noncommittal.

Eden Lake.

A remote forest far from the hustle and bustle of the city.

In Qin Ming's memories of his past life, this kind of setting was usually the perfect burial ground prepared for those reckless young people.

Half an hour later, the car stopped at an open beach by the lake.

Just as Robert had said, the scenery here was indeed breathtakingly beautiful. The shimmering lake reflected the blue sky and white clouds, surrounded by lush forests, and the air was filled with the fragrance of pine resin.

"Alright, camp construction begins!"

Robert enthusiastically dragged the tent poles and a grill out of the trunk, beginning to assemble them in a flurry of activity.

Qin Ming ignored the busy Robert.

He took a folding fishing rod out of the car, grabbed a camping chair, and walked straight to a protruding rock by the lake to sit down.

Baiting, casting.

His movements were as skilled as an old man who had been retired for many years.

Emma walked around the beach a few times and quickly lost interest in children's games like picking up shells and building sandcastles.

She squatted under a large tree.

Holding a sharp dry branch, she was precisely crushing a long line of passing red ants; she didn't stop until the last ant was crushed into a mass of red juice, and only then did Emma stand up, bored.

"Vroom—vroom—"

A piercing roar of engines and heavy metal rock music suddenly tore through the tranquility of the lakeside.

Emma frowned slightly and turned to look at the opposite shore of the lake.

Across the few-hundred-meter-wide lake.

A group of teenagers were riding colorful off-road bicycles, rampaging across the beach.

A black Rottweiler followed behind them, barking wildly.

The group shamelessly turned a large portable speaker to full volume, the heavy bass causing ripples in the water on this side.

Not far from this group of delinquent youths.

A young couple was lying on a beach towel, their vacation mood clearly ruined by the sudden noise.

The well-built young man sat up and tried to negotiate with the teenagers.

But all he got in return was a middle finger and even more intensified mockery.

Emma ran back to the car, fished out a pair of military binoculars, and hurried back to the lakeside.

She raised the binoculars and focused on the face of the young man on the opposite shore who was negotiating with the teenagers.

After looking for a few seconds.

A smirk of interest curled at the corner of Emma's mouth.

She turned her head and looked at Qin Ming, who was still sitting on the rock.

"Brother," Emma called out softly.

"Mm." Qin Ming stared at the float on the lake.

"The man across the lake being bullied by that group of stupid brats... he looks a bit familiar."

Emma lowered the binoculars and tilted her head. "He looks a bit like that... Magnetic King we saw on TV?"

Qin Ming's hand holding the fishing rod paused slightly.

"It's Magneto," Qin Ming corrected without looking back.

"Oh, right, Magneto." Emma handed over the binoculars. "But he doesn't look very impressive right now. He can't even handle a few monkeys on bikes."

Qin Ming took the binoculars and brought them to his eyes.

The field of vision zoomed in rapidly.

On the beach across the lake.

A man with deep-set eyes and an iconic jawline was helplessly comforting his blonde girlfriend, who had been frightened by the dog.

And around them.

The group of "bear kids," whose average age was no more than sixteen, were whistling shamelessly.

One of the leaders even arrogantly picked up a beer bottle and smashed it onto the sand at the man's feet.

Glass shattered.

The man could only retreat aggrievedly with his girlfriend.

Qin Ming slowly lowered the binoculars.

The scene before him finally overlapped completely with a blood-pressure-raising movie from his past life memories.

Eden Lake.

That group of teenage thugs who had absolutely no moral compass and treated murder as a game.

"What an interesting coincidence."

Qin Ming casually tossed the binoculars onto the grass.

"What is it, brother? Are you going to help him?" Emma blinked her large, pure, innocent eyes.

"They're too noisy. They'll scare your fish away."