Chapter 288 - 286: Red Gold Circle
Yang Shen was indeed spoiled for choice in the Armory.
After ruling out Long Weapons, there were just too many options... probably over ten thousand items.
Even the accompanying administrator couldn’t claim to know them all like the back of his hand. He had to go back and get a tablet to look things up just to give some basic details.
Until... Yang Shen’s eyes landed on three "circles."
Yes, three solid gold metal rings... each about as thick as an egg, 30 centimeters in diameter, heavy and unadorned.
The administrator scrolled through his tablet for a moment. "Found it. They’re called the Red Gold Circle. They come as a set of three. Their characteristic is indestructibility. When source energy is infused into them, their material can generate extreme heat, reaching a maximum of 3500°C."
"But at that temperature, even the user can’t hold them. So they can only be controlled with True Gang, used for throwing and smashing people..."
In terms of properties, 3500°C was a terrifying temperature.
But in terms of design, the shape was a bit awkward. They weren’t large enough to trap someone, and they had no sharp edges, relying purely on "smashing" and "high heat."
Since they had been passed down for several hundred years, no one had considered melting them down and recasting them into a different shape, so they had been preserved to this day.
Additionally, unlike other special materials that were not yet fully understood, this metal could already be partially reproduced. The only issue was the extremely high cost, so it was generally only used for critical components in cutting-edge equipment.
It was classified with a blue label, since it was already understood, but its value... was a bit steep!
It was equivalent to smashing people with three villas in Jianghuai...
The administrator scratched his head, feeling it was a bit inappropriate. "The higher-ups probably didn’t single this one out... Forget it. The procedure says you can pick anything with a blue, green, or white label. If you want it, take it. It’s just the right to use it, anyway."
’This is the number one talent of Jiangti, the top genius in Yanhua. No need to be so petty.’
’Since he can’t sell it, the value doesn’t matter. It’s just a number.’
"But I have to remind you... it’s fine if the weapon is damaged in combat, but if it’s intentionally damaged or lost through carelessness... it will be very troublesome."
This was also a matter of trust. After all, it was difficult to supervise something once it was in someone’s hands.
Only those who were highly valued by Jiangti and had proven their good character were qualified to take items from here.
Yang Shen’s gaze remained fixed on the Red Gold Circle. He hadn’t made this choice because it was valuable, but because it was a logical consideration for his own path.
After entering the True Gang Realm, his greatest characteristic on the Martial Arts Side was a True Gang Strength that far surpassed ordinary people’s, especially in terms of range.
He was already at a Late-stage True Gang level, and it could still increase.
Therefore, supplementing his long-range attacks was an excellent choice.
Especially once his Cultivation Side broke through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, he would possess Divine Sense. Then, even outside the Array at the Yang Residence, he could control it at extreme distances as if it were an extension of his own arm, smashing whatever he wanted with a single thought.
The design of this Red Gold Circle seemed simple, but it also saved him the process of training with a specialized long-range weapon. He could use it right away, needing only to focus on strengthening his True Gang Strength.
"The patterns on them are beautiful. Do they have some special meaning?"
The more Yang Shen looked, the more satisfied he became.
The administrator glanced at his tablet. "No special meaning. Those were added later. For research, they needed to take samples. Scraping off a piece would have been too ugly, so they turned it into a pattern and carved off quite a bit."
Yang Shen: ...
He didn’t pick them up directly. Instead, the administrator picked up the box containing the Red Gold Circle and started walking out.
It was clearly very heavy. The tablet stated that each one weighed 80 kilograms, equivalent to the weight of an adult man, indicating an extremely high density.
If one’s True Gang wasn’t strong enough, they wouldn’t even be able to control them from a distance. The three together weighed 240 kilograms.
Half an hour later, the administrator finally completed all the paperwork and handed Yang Shen a "Weapon Arsenal User Manual" that was dozens of pages long.
Coupled with the fact that he had arrived near the end of the school day, by the time he finished choosing the weapon and came out, the sky had already turned dark.
Yang Shen finally got to touch the Red Gold Circle with his own hands.
They were heavy in his hands, but for him now, it was nothing. The only problem was their unique shape; he wasn’t sure how to carry them around...
Putting them in his backpack was also difficult. His current backpack was a birthday gift from Lei Lv and wouldn’t be able to support the weight. He would have to get a new one made of special material later.
After a moment, Yang Shen simply used a Curse Engraving to form a "rope" around his waist and hung the three Red Gold Circles from it.
Then he used his True Gang to support them, preventing them from throwing off his center of balance.
’I guess this counts as training anytime, anywhere.’
When Sheng Qin saw that Yang Shen had chosen such a strange set of "weapons," she could only think that the ideas of a genius were truly different.
But when she learned that the three Red Gold Circles were worth enough to buy three villas in prime locations in Jianghuai... her jaw dropped.
’That’s a genius for you!’
Sheng Qin checked her watch. It was already past eight in the evening. She was technically working overtime, but she had no complaints.
"Well, that’s all for today. If you need anything in the future, Yang, feel free to contact me anytime, 24/7."
With Yang Shen’s career taking off, she, his counselor, also basked in his reflected glory. The only problem was that she had done so little to serve him.
She actually hoped Yang Shen would run into some trouble in the future and come to her, so she could demonstrate her value.
’Like for a "heart-to-heart with a wise big sister" or something.’
Yang Shen nodded. "Thank you for waiting so long, Sheng. I’ll be leaving now."
The renovations at "Yanglin’s Pharmacy" were nearly complete. This was a crucial part of completing his main quest, so he planned to go take a look.
However, he had only taken two steps when his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen. It was Cao Wei.
"Master, I’ve found the location of the Rebel Species’ New Altar Master..."
Yang Shen’s gaze sharpened.
————
Meanwhile, in a villa dozens of kilometers away, someone else was also reporting the situation.
"Altar Master, we’ve found out a little about what happened that night."
It was the same distinguished-looking middle-aged man with the meticulously groomed beard. Today, he wasn’t holding a wine glass but was lying on his side on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed.
"Took you long enough. Let’s hear it."
"That night, it was Wu Ze’s wife’s ex-boyfriend. Harboring resentment, he paid a large sum of money to a very powerful friend of his to handle the matter."
The Altar Master instinctively sat up straight, wary. "Very powerful? How powerful?"
Although he seemed arrogant, he knew his own limits. Jianghuai was full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons; there were countless people who could crush them with a single finger.
His subordinate replied, "Not that powerful. It was all bluster. He was just pretending to be a big shot, doesn’t even have a steady job. His Martial Cultivation is only at the Bone Training level... When we found him, he didn’t last three minutes before spilling everything."
The Altar Master lay back down.
"Can’t you get to the point? Continue!"
"That ’big shot’ took a million from him, pocketed 600,000, and used the remaining 400,000 to hire a True Gang expert."
The Altar Master sat up straight again. "True Gang? Early-stage? Mid-stage? Or... late-stage?"
"Late-stage True Gang, but that expert was planning to retire, so the job was passed on to his nephew."
The Altar Master lay back down again.
"The nephew was all ambition and no skill. He got scared when he heard it was related to the Rebel Species, so he turned around and outsourced the job for 200,000 to a middleman named Liu Qiang."
For a moment, the Altar Master wasn’t sure if he should sit up or not...
’Who the fuck is Liu Qiang...’
"Liu Qiang thought the profit margin on this job was decent, so he passed it on to a Nightwalker named Zhang Jun for 160,000. Zhang Jun felt the risk was too high, so he shared the job with several friends, offering 100,000 to whoever could complete it. One of them was named Chen Haishan..."
The Altar Master lost his patience. "Why don’t you start from the Pre-Qin Period! Just give me the important parts!"
The subordinate had anticipated this. No one could stand such a long-winded report.
’But if I’m not this detailed, how can I show that even if we didn’t achieve great merit, we certainly toiled hard for it!’
On the surface, he looked terrified, but inwardly, he was thinking, ’Just as planned.’
"The point... the point is that the job was eventually passed to an amateur middleman within Jiangti, a student. The price dropped to thirty thousand. It’s said that this middleman even had to pay a five thousand deposit out of his own pocket just to secure the job. That should be the last link in the chain."
’After all, there wasn’t much room left for further outsourcing...’
"But when my subordinates tried to confirm the middleman’s specific information, they were... they were stopped by people from the Ding Family. They captured two of our men, kept one, and released the other to deliver a message. The message was that we are not allowed to stick our hands into Jiangti, and we are forbidden from investigating this matter any further."
This time, the Altar Master finally sat up for the third time.
The Ding Family... a very special Martial Arts Family in Jianghuai.
Their origins could be traced back to before the founding of New Yanhua. Since then, they had wielded considerable influence in Ye Jianghuai.
Because they had contributed somewhat during the East Japan catastrophe, they were considered patriots. They were not purged afterward and gradually even began to cooperate with the officials, becoming a bridge between the criminal underworld and the legitimate world.
Evil could never be completely eradicated, especially in a Martial Arts Society.
Therefore, a "pressure valve" was very important.
Although they had declined in recent years due to a lack of clan members with absolute, pillar-like strength, their influence remained. Most people who made a living in Ye Jianghuai were willing to show them some respect.
This was news worth sitting up for.
His expression flickered as he said slowly, "Just because the Ding Family stopped us, that doesn’t necessarily mean it was the Ding Family who ordered it, right?"
He couldn’t help but be nervous.
The gray areas managed by the Ding Family mostly involved "ordinary evils" like personal grudges, intelligence gathering, espionage, and corporate secrets.
But the actions of the Rebel Species fell into the category of "extreme evil." If the two sides were to cross paths, the Ding Family’s only choice would be to arrest them and hand them over to the police.
If they hadn’t needed someone to deliver the message, it was likely that none of his men would have returned.
The Altar Master admitted it. He was a little panicked...
But the thought that he had brought five of the newest, most powerful "Dragon Soldiers" with him calmed his nerves somewhat.
He finally sighed and said, "Fine. Let’s just drop this matter..."
He had wanted to regain face and establish a "new branch, new atmosphere" kind of feeling, but now it seemed a bit difficult.
It wasn’t worth going head-to-head with the Ding Family over such a small matter.
Ye Jianghuai was a motley crew. Very few people would call the cops if they couldn’t win a fight.
The Ding Family was one of them.
The reporting subordinate thought so too. After speaking, he bowed and took his leave.
But a few minutes later, he came rushing back, his face pale and beaded with sweat.
"On the man they released... we found a listening device..."
The Altar Master froze for a second, then erupted in fury. "Bastards!!"