Back in his new bolt-hole – a storm drain reeking of chemical runoff – Lin Mo faced the energy windfall. 172 Units. Power to break bones. Or mend them.
Yu's face, pale against the hospital pillow, filled his mind. [VITALITY ELIXIR: 300,000 CREDITS]
He needed cash. Fast. The Blackwind Spirit Stone was too hot to sell. Solution? Take it from those who had it.
The ring offered paths:
[FLESH REINFORCEMENT (TIER 2): 40 UNITS - DURABLE ENOUGH TO DEFLECT SMALL ARMS]
[MERIDIAN EXPANSION (PERMANENT): 60 UNITS - INCREASE KI CAPACITY +40%]
[ABSORPTION UPGRADE: VOID FIST (PROJECTILE FEED): 70 UNITS]
Void Fist. The ring projected the technique: channel absorption through a strike, not just touch. Steal ki from a distance. Useful.
He invested:
40 Units: Tier 2 Flesh. His skin tightened, gaining a faint metallic sheen. Bruises vanished. He punched the concrete wall. A web of cracks spread. Knuckles unmarked.
70 Units: Void Fist. Knowledge seared his nerves – how to shape the ring's hunger into a projectile vacuum.
20 Units: Meridian Expansion. His ki channels burned, then widened. Raw power thrummed deeper within.
[COMBAT RATING: PEAK 1-STAR WARRIOR]
[ENERGY REMAINING: 42 UNITS]
He kept 20 Units for Yu's medicine. The rest? A message.
The Viper's Den was a fight club beneath a decaying mall. Illegal. No rules. Bets placed in crypto and blood. Lin Mo, hooded, entered the contender's cage.
His opponent: "Iron" Meng. A 2-Star Warrior built like a brick wall, fists wrapped in spiked tape. The crowd roared for blood.
Meng charged. No finesse. A freight train fist aimed at Lin Mo's head.
Lin Mo didn't dodge. He flicked his wrist. A ripple of distorted air, invisible to most, shot from his fist – a Void Fist pulse.
It hit Meng's incoming fist.
The spike tape didn't tear. The ki fueling Meng's punch did. The brute gasped, his arm going limp mid-swing, strength sapped. Lin Mo stepped inside the guard, a simple reinforced shove sending Meng crashing through the cage ropes.
Silence. Then uproar.
Lin Mo pointed at the bookie. "My winnings. Now."
He left with a case containing 250,000 credits. And a tail. Three men in nondescript gear, moving with military precision. Not Chen's. Not Wang's. Someone new.