“Number Zero, don't use weapons. Only use your skin to withstand my attacks.”
Li Xiuman swung his Rib Sword.
Number Zero quickly raised her slender, smooth arm, a faint trace of mana emanating from her skin.
Next, Li Xiuman's bone sword was easily deflected.
It seemed Number Zero could indeed use this skin perfectly.
He then quickly slashed a second time, putting a bit more strength into it.
This time, Number Zero clearly injected more mana and raised her arms to block.
Then came the third slash, the fourth slash...
Each strike was heavier than the last, and mana was slowly injected into the blade.
In the end, Number Zero was unable to withstand the pressure, and her skin was sliced open by the blade.
No blood flowed beneath the smooth skin; only a clean slit was cut open.
Li Xiuman withdrew his sword, halting his assault.
He was already highly satisfied with the defensive performance.
Number Zero stared at the slit on her arm, seemingly in thought.
Then, the skin on both sides of the opening began to draw close, growing back together.
“You can self-repair?”
Li Xiuman was somewhat surprised.
He had originally thought he would have to fix it himself.
Number Zero tilted her head, seemingly contemplating and trying to understand Li Xiuman's words.
“Next, let's test elemental resistance.”
After completing the entire suite of tests, the pink-melt stone skin had far exceeded Li Xiuman's expectations.
This skin was practically a set of self-repairing armor equipped onto Number Zero.
Once the testing was done, Li Xiuman recalled Number Zero back into his storage space.
After all, he had sculpted Number Zero to look far too beautiful; keeping her by his side would attract way too much attention.
Furthermore, Number Zero's current level of intelligence didn't allow her to perfectly pose as a human, so keeping her around would only invite trouble.
For the remainder of his time, Li Xiuman paid a visit to the Adventurer's Association, selling off all the Low-Tier magic stones he had on hand in exchange for 148 gold coins.
With no other choice, he had to sell off a batch of Tier 2 magic stones as well, exchanging them for another 200 gold coins.
With gold coins pocketed in his pouch, Li Xiuman finally felt at ease.
Poverty truly was a terrifying thing.
On his way back to the inn, he took a long detour and went to Iron River City's library.
Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of books related to metals, ores, and blacksmithing.
In the end, he still managed to find 《Fire Magic in the Furnace》 and 《Ore Golem Crafting》.
These two books would be enough to help him pass the next three days.
Holding the books in his arms, Li Xiuman headed back to the inn.
Eager to return and dive into the ocean of knowledge, Li Xiuman took a risk and took a shortcut.
Then, as expected, he got lost.
Here, he had to criticize Iron River City's urban planning once again; even a labyrinth wasn't this winding.
The city lord here practically deserved to be tied to a stake and burned alive.
Damn it, he had gotten lost so many times. It was enough to drive a skeleton mad.
Fortunately, however, he now possessed the magic tool, the [Omen Crystal]!
With the [Omen Crystal], he would never get lost again!
Li Xiuman looked at the Omen Crystal, channeled mana into it, chose the intersection on the right, and walked in.
There was no reaction.
It looked like he had taken the wrong turn.
He had a feeling it was this way, but to think it was actually wrong.
Backing out, he went to the left this time, and the crystal lit up with a yellow glow.
He had chosen correctly this time!
Li Xiuman walked straight in without hesitation.
He hadn't walked far before Li Xiuman heard a series of cries for help.
“Is anyone there? Help!”
“Is anyone there!”
“Save me!”
Li Xiuman looked at the crystal, which was still shining with a yellow light.
This was indeed the correct path.
...
Having shaken off that skeleton, Lumina had successfully delivered the goods to her client in Iron River City.
To her surprise, once that despicable client got their hands on the goods, not only did they refuse to pay her, but they also moved against her without a second thought.
Fortunately, however, she had learned the lesson of “trust nobody” from that despicable skeleton.
Pulling off a sleight of hand, she had let that despicable client end up with a counterfeit.
As expected of a genius beautiful young thief like herself.
But even a genius could make mistakes.
She had underestimated her client and sustained severe injuries.
By now, that despicable client had likely realized that the item was a fake.
Fleeing to this spot, she was forced to play dumb and act pitiful, hoping some kind-hearted soul would rescue her.
She was still quite confident in her own looks.
Soon, a dark figure appeared up ahead, walking over.
Let us see the honey trap of this genius beautiful young thief.
She slightly pulled down the collar of her shirt, revealing her less-than-abundant cleavage.
Though not abundant, she was generous with it.
Just in case she actually ended up at a disadvantage, she gripped a dagger in her hand behind her back.
...
Walking forward along the path, Li Xiuman soon encountered the source of the voice.
“Are you alright, miss?”
“Do you need me to help you get some medical treatment?”
Li Xiuman reached out as if to support her.
“Oh, kind traveler, thank you so mu—”
Lumina's voice ground to a sudden halt.
This voice, this getup... without a doubt, it was that man.
How on earth did she run into him everywhere!
Was he sent by the heavens just to torture her!
“I'm fine now.”
She lowered her head, preparing to leave this godforsaken place.
“Hey, you're covered in blood.”
“...I'm on my period.”
“...That's, that's pretty intense.”
“If there's nothing else, I'll be going now.”
“But that knife stuck in your stomach...”
“A toy, used for scaring people.”
“Oh, is that so? It's quite realistic.”
As Li Xiuman spoke, he pulled out the knife with lightning speed.
Blood immediately spurted out with a sizzle.
“Is this... fake blood? Indeed quite realistic.”
“...So... goodbye.”
Lumina gritted her teeth with great difficulty.
“Oh, goodbye. Here's your toy back.”
Li Xiuman stabbed the knife back in, using the opportunity to plug the bleeding wound.
“...”
“Did I stab it in the wrong spot? Why aren't you saying anything? If there's an issue, do you need me to adjust it for you?”
“No... hiss... it's fine.”
“I have things to... do, so I'll be leaving first.”
Lumina only wanted to flee this place as fast as possible.
To think she, the great genius beautiful young thief, had actually fallen to such a state.
“Remember to drink plenty of hot water!”
Li Xiuman offered a caring reminder.
Lumina gritted her teeth and walked to the entrance of the alley.
She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but the wound that had just been pulled out and stabbed back in seemed to feel slightly better.
“Hey, donkey-headed goblin, remember to head left!” Li Xiuman didn't forget to call out.
Lumina felt her head spinning.
That bastard had recognized her! He was clearly teasing her earlier!
Ultimately, she calmed herself down and turned to the left.
The situation couldn't possibly get any worse, so she might as well trust him this once.
Meanwhile, Li Xiuman retrieved a magic stone and a piece of lava iron, then raised two rocks from the ground.
“Golem Creation.”
A humanoid golem and a cat-shaped golem were created.
He then smeared the blood that the donkey-headed goblin had just shed onto the humanoid golem.
“Go to the right, and leave a trail of blood and tracks along the way.”
The humanoid golem left the alley, turning to the right as ordered.
“Go to the left, and clean up the tracks and blood left by the donkey-headed goblin.”
After listening to the command, the cat-shaped golem hopped down from Li Xiuman's arms and obediently turned to the left.
“I really am a kind soul.”
Having finished his work, Li Xiuman clapped his hands, offering a fair self-assessment.
After all, he had set up the donkey-headed goblin quite terribly back then, so he might as well help her out if it was convenient.
Well, for the sake of his own life, screwing others over was understandable.
But he couldn't just wash his hands of it afterward.
He, Li Xiuman, was a truly charitable do-gooder!
“To think that after obtaining [Hyper-Regeneration] and [Self-Healing], my bone dust actually has some healing properties.”
“I can sell medicine in the future.”
“Yet another way to make money.”
“I really am a genius.”
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