Qin Ziwen had someone bring two one-cubic-meter blocks of granite from the quarry.
They were lined up one behind the other, the massive, solid granite blocks serving as targets.
A Ghost Gold Enchanted Arrow was loaded onto the Car-Mounted Crossbow. Four brawny men worked together to draw the Crossbow String.
Aim. Fire.
"BANG!"
The granite block exploded.
It shattered into pieces. The Enchanted Arrow pierced through the granite, shot forward, and slammed into the second block behind it. The Arrow lodged itself firmly inside, burying itself a third of the way in.
Mogu’s eyes narrowed slightly. This level of power could already pose a threat to him.
Even he wouldn’t dare to catch it with his bare hands.
"Very impressive," Qin Ziwen praised aloud.
At this critical Node, just before entering a new map, the Home would gain a new superweapon with astonishing destructive power.
This wasn’t an elite individual like an Extraordinary Being, which required great effort to cultivate, but a mass-produced product of technology.
"Is it difficult to make?"
Li Yue hesitated for a moment, then walked over and said in a low voice, "Not overly, but there are two key points."
"Go on."
"The first is Lorne’s Enchantment technique."
"The second is Master Li Tieshan’s new technique. The technology for this new model of the Car-Mounted Crossbow utilizes Master Li Tieshan’s Melting Skill."
Qin Ziwen nodded slowly. He knew that a week ago, Li Tieshan had successfully completed a Second Gear mission.
Craft ten weapons, achieve victory in hunting Extraordinary Creatures, and ensure the damage rate did not exceed ten percent.
The core requirement was the damage rate. Li Tieshan had forged ten high-purity Ghost Gold blades and completed the mission with Mogu’s help.
If the previous Car-Mounted Crossbow was the pinnacle of traditional industrial technology, then this version 2.0 before them was a high-end product of advanced materials and Enchantment.
"That does sound rather troublesome," Qin Ziwen mused.
The core technology of the version 2.0 Car-Mounted Crossbow depended on two Extraordinary Beings. Unless being Extraordinary was hereditary, or the techniques could be standardized for wider use, mass-producing it like the regular Car-Mounted Crossbow would be very difficult. It could only be deployed on a small scale.
For now, it was just a specialized, high-end war machine.
"Before we enter the next map, I need five version 2.0 Car-Mounted Crossbows and twenty special Enchanted Crossbow Arrows."
Li Yue pressed his lips together and nodded firmly. "Understood!"
.....
「Deep within the mountain range.」
Mogu’s body was encased in a thick layer of Bone Armor.
His massive body reached out, snatching at the Silver Bobbit Worm still struggling desperately at his feet.
With a flick of his wrist, he shook the Silver Bobbit Worm in his grasp until it went limp.
Its flaccid body hung like a hemp rope in his hand.
For the past few days, he had been roaming the depths of the sea. But after several days without finding any suitable Extraordinary prey, he had once again set his sights on the heart of the undersea mountain range.
After a thorough search, he had finally located a Silver Bobbit Worm hiding deep within the mountains.
After successfully hunting his prey, Mogu’s gaze swept the surroundings. He felt as if a pair of eyes were spying on him from the shadows.
He scanned the area but couldn’t find the source of the gaze. Mogu picked up his prey and turned to leave.
In the darkness of a nearby cave, two long, white whiskers quietly retracted. Deep inside the cave, an enormous Silver Bobbit Worm lay motionless. Only after sensing Mogu had gone far away did it let out a slight sigh of relief.
Its dense cluster of legs twitched, and it began to crawl backward, trying to retreat deeper into the mountain’s core.
Just as it turned, a large hand burst from the darkness and seized its tail from behind.
Immediately after, an irresistible, titanic force descended upon it!
"SKREEE—"
The Silver Bobbit Worm let out a panicked and piercing shriek.
The high-pitched cry traveled through the deep sea, but it was cut off abruptly halfway through.
It was slammed heavily onto the ground, rolling over twice in a pathetic heap.
Using the momentum, a vicious glint flashed in the Silver Bobbit Worm’s eyes.
It twisted the upper half of its body, launching itself up to bite at Mogu’s thigh.
A leg as thick as a pillar slammed directly into its head.
"BANG!!!"
The Silver Bobbit Worm’s head snapped back, and it was sent flying backward even faster than it had come, crashing hard against the wall.
"This one’s a big catch," Mogu said, his tone playful.
This Silver Bobbit Worm was over twenty meters long. Among the creatures in the water that day, its size would have ranked in the top three.
But ever since he had condensed his Level 1 Law Body, things were different. Mogu raised his right hand. The palm that had just grabbed the Silver Bobbit Worm was thick and heavy, bearing only faint white scratches. As time passed, these marks were fading at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The Silver Bobbit Worm sensed the terror of the man before it. Acting on instinct, it tried to flee.
But it had barely taken two steps when a gust of wind descended from above, and its consciousness went dark.
A massive foot crushed its head as easily as stamping on a roadside weed.
Mogu bent down and picked up the Silver Bobbit Worm’s corpse.
He bent his knees slightly.
"BOOM—"
His powerful body vanished, leaving only a long wake in its place.
Returning to the Home, Mogu brought his two Spoils of War to the Eternal Hunting Tomb.
Qin Ziwen, having heard the news, rushed over.
He looked at the Silver Bobbit Worms in Mogu’s hands. This was new prey to be buried in the tomb’s soil.
"Master, should the blood be drained?"
Qin Ziwen stared at the Bobbit Worm. The more complete the buried prey, the richer the rewards.
This Silver Blood was also part of the prey.
After a moment of contemplation, he made up his mind. "No need. Bury it all together."
’This Silver Blood is good stuff. After it’s buried, an unexpected change might occur.’
’Of course, this is all just my speculation.’
’Still, it’s only the blood of one Silver Bobbit Worm. I can afford to splurge; I have the confidence to take this gamble.’
When the tombstone rose again.
Behind the raised burial mound, a slender, silver Long Spear grew from the soil.
The Long Spear was silver from top to bottom, as if cast from pure silver.
The silhouette of a slender Bobbit Worm coiled around the spear’s shaft. The butt of the spear sprouted silver, tail-like whiskers resembling a centipede’s, while the tip was a long point emerging from the worm’s mouth.
The entire Long Spear gave off a sinister and deadly aura.
A hint of appreciation appeared in Qin Ziwen’s eyes. "This spear looks..."
[Hunting Artifact] Silver Insect
[Level] 1 (0/1000)
[Species] Annelida/Gnathostomulida
[Hunting Exhibition]
First Stage: Ejected Blade
Second Stage: Not Activated
Third Stage: Not Activated
"...not quite my style," Qin Ziwen finished, his expression as placid as an old well as he looked away.
"The spear’s design is too sinister, a bit petty. I’ll wait for other Hunting Artifacts."
After speaking, Qin Ziwen pulled the Long Spear from the ground. Although he didn’t plan to use it, he could at least test out its Tier One ability.
"Ejected... Blade!"
As he spoke, the Long Spear in his hand seemed to come alive. The worm’s body coiled around the shaft moved, and the blade-like appendages tucked beneath it all shot out!
It transformed from a Long Spear into a terrifying superweapon, a hybrid of a chainsaw and a spear.
At the same time, the shaft extended forward, increasing the weapon’s total length by nearly half.
...
...