«The Creator is the last in terms of combat power?»
He Fang looked up at the towering Min Zhizhou. Although this man had been on the brink of death when they first met, he now looked much better—so much so that he genuinely seemed eager to head back to the Nightmare Beast Forest to retrieve his helmet.
“Why do you insist on using plants to make armor?” He Fang asked, confused. “Wouldn’t metal be better?”
“Metal is a precious resource, not something most people can afford,” Min Zhizhou replied.
He Fang blinked.
What a painfully realistic answer…
The two fell into silence, exchanging glances.
At Min Zhizhou’s feet was a pile of discarded metal that he had carefully sorted out during his “garbage sorting” efforts.
Min Zhizhou’s expression turned subtly awkward.
“Feel free to use it. Don’t hold back,” He Fang immediately offered.
Min Zhizhou’s expression shifted unpredictably before he finally sighed, admitting, “I don’t know how to craft armor.”
He Fang went quiet. So this was the truth, huh?
“How about this—give me your plant armor. I’ll take it back to the research institute and see if we can try crafting something similar using metal,” He Fang suggested.
Min Zhizhou shook his head. “The crafting methods for metal armor and plant armor are completely different.”
“How are they different?” He Fang asked, puzzled.
“Metal armor can incorporate light-emitting devices. If it’s infested with seeds, the inner and outer glow can destroy the Nightmare Beast Seeds,” Min Zhizhou explained.
“And plant armor?”
Min Zhizhou’s expression grew serious. He pressed his lips together for a moment before uttering a single word: “Burn.”
“…???”
“If the Nightmare Beast Seeds parasitize someone, they can’t escape the armor. The moment any part of their body is exposed, it will be instantly planted with seeds. Metal can emit light, but the only way for plant armor to emit light is to burn it,” Min Zhizhou said, his voice heavy.
He Fang was dumbfounded. “So if you burn the outside, can the person inside still survive?”
Min Zhizhou nodded, then shook his head.
Was that a yes or a no?
When the outer layer of the plant armor was burned, the Nightmare Beast Seeds attached to it would be eradicated, but the person inside would also end up… half-cooked.
“That’s completely unreliable!” He Fang exclaimed. “Getting roasted alive?”
“Not exactly. Plant armor has multiple layers,” Min Zhizhou explained, though it was clear he didn’t know how to make it sound any less horrifying.
“Either way, using all-metal armor would be much safer,” He Fang concluded firmly with a nod.
Min Zhizhou wanted to argue about cost efficiency. But as he glanced around at the piles of precious metal scattered in this “junkyard”, he decided to keep his mouth shut.
This place… didn’t seem to lack metal at all.
He Fang carefully counted the necessary features. “So, to sum up: it has to be seamless, resistant to parasitism, able to emit strong light… anything else?”
“It needs a breathing filter,” Min Zhizhou added. “The seeds are too small. If they enter through breathing, the person will be immediately taken over.”
“Wait, Nightmare Beast Seeds can think?” He Fang was stunned.
“No, they don’t have intelligence. They only have the instinct to spread,” Min Zhizhou clarified quickly, trying to reassure him. “Once they parasitize a human, the person transforms into a Nightmare Beast almost instantly. At that point, the human’s sole purpose is spreading the seeds. What’s terrifying is that they won’t even realize they’ve been parasitized—they’ll believe they’ve always been Nightmare Beasts.”
“That’s incredible,” He Fang said, genuinely impressed. “This is some next-level mind manipulation!”
Min Zhizhou smiled bitterly. “It is indeed powerful. Otherwise, how could humanity have been reduced to such a desperate state?”
“I think the most impressive thing is that they can even parasitize metal,” He Fang mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“We still don’t know the origin of the seeds,” Min Zhizhou replied. “What we do know is that they can parasitize anything crafted by humans. They can’t infest natural metals but can easily take over shaped or refined metal.”
“So, these seeds… have high standards, huh?” He Fang muttered under his breath.
“There was once a scholar who speculated that the seeds exist to wipe out all life on Earth and reset the planet,” Min Zhizhou said, his expression bitter as he gazed at the sky. “Sometimes, I wonder if Mother Earth intentionally sent the seeds to cleanse us.”
He Fang didn’t know how to respond to that.
The musings of an NPC… were far removed from anything he could relate to.
After all, he was just playing a game. Once he logged out, there wouldn’t be any apocalypse to deal with.
“Guess I’ll head back to the research institute, then?” He Fang said, standing up and brushing the dirt off his clothes. He was surprised to see a fine layer of dust fall away—the game had really nailed the details.
“I’m sorry, but this is all I can offer right now.” Min Zhizhou clutched the massive plant armor tightly. “All the armor-making techniques are monopolized by the mobile cities. Ordinary people have no opportunity to learn these skills.”
“It’s fine. If we can’t figure it out, we’ll just buy some and take them apart for research.” He Fang reached out to grab the enormous plant armor.
Thud—
He Fang found himself flat on the ground, dazed, the weight of the armor pinning him.
Getting back to his feet, He Fang took a deep breath to steady himself. Determined, he bent down again, gripped the seams of the plant armor, and pulled with all his strength…
The armor didn’t budge.
He Fang froze, dumbfounded.
“It is quite heavy,” Min Zhizhou offered quickly, trying to comfort him. “Without professional training, it’s hard to move around in it. Plus, my build is large, so my armor is a bigger size—it’s even heavier.”
Expressionless, He Fang reopened Min Zhizhou’s stats panel. All of Min Zhizhou’s attributes were now restored to their peak values.
Then, He Fang pulled up the stats of the old man sitting nearby, leisurely fanning himself in the sun.
No mistake…
Even at his peak, Min Zhizhou’s stats were lower than the old man’s baseline.
So how could Min Zhizhou lift something He Fang couldn’t?
“Hey, Grandpa,” He Fang called out, walking over to the old man. “Can you try lifting that thing over there?”
“Oh, sure! Sure!” The old man lit up with joy at being spoken to. Shakily, he got up, grabbing a walking stick from nearby as support.
Min Zhizhou looked utterly bewildered. “City Lord, isn’t it a bit much to ask an elderly man to lift armor? That’s… unreasonable.”
Even though Min Zhizhou knew his abilities paled in comparison to the city’s residents, asking a grandpa to lift such a heavy thing seemed absurd.
The old man wore a white undershirt and long shorts, his graying hair balding in the middle. His thick mustache and squinty eyes didn’t exactly inspire confidence. He moved unsteadily, his spindly legs trembling with each step as if he might collapse at any moment.
He Fang frowned. “I just want to know if this game is being unfair to me.”
Min Zhizhou, unsure what He Fang meant, watched along with him as the old man shuffled over, taking three steps and pausing to catch his breath, before finally reaching the armor. The old man bent down slowly…
“City Lord, let’s not push it. If he hurts his back—”
Clang—
To their shock, the old man lifted the armor with one hand.
Grinning with pride, the old man turned to He Fang, his words slurring slightly. “I lifted it!”
Min Zhizhou: “…”
He Fang: “…”
Confirmed…
He Fang grumbled to himself.
He had been critical of Min Zhizhou’s stats before, but never once did he consider that he might actually be the weakest person in the entire city!
Was there something wrong with the game’s settings?
Frustrated, He Fang logged off.
Min Zhizhou, having experienced He Fang’s sudden disappearances before, was no longer fazed by it.
However, the old man in front of him still had a stiff grin frozen on his face, holding the massive armor in a daze.
Min Zhizhou sensed something was off with the old man. He took a step forward to help: “Grandpa? Are you okay?”
Min Zhizhou held great respect for the elderly. In the mobile cities, it was practically impossible to live to such an old age, so he treated older individuals with the utmost care, like a rare and precious species.
The trembling old man, however, slowly set the armor down and shakily made his way back to the big tree to sit down.
Moments later, the old man began crying.
His sobs were heart-wrenching, as if he had lost a child.
The onlookers, who had been watching this whole time, immediately came over to comfort the old man. “Grandpa, don’t cry. The Creator must have had an urgent matter, that’s why they left. You did great. Really, really great.”
The old man continued to cry pitifully.
“Dad, what happened, Dad?” At that moment, a man rushed over, grabbing a nearby person. “What’s wrong with my dad? Why is he crying?”
“Ah, earlier, the Creator asked your dad to lift that big log. He did, but then the Creator seemed upset and left. Your dad probably feels like he didn’t do it right and upset the Creator, so he’s sad now,” explained someone nearby.
The man was shocked. He quickly bent down and spoke to the old man, “Dad, don’t be discouraged. Let’s figure out what the Creator didn’t like. When the Creator comes back, we’ll lift it again and make sure they’re satisfied! Don’t cry, we’ll practice more!”
The old man, sobbing, looked up at his son.
“Dad, no matter what, you were given a task by the Creator. Not everyone gets that kind of treatment. Let’s go lift the log again. We’ll definitely make the Creator happy!”
The old man glanced at the log again, finally nodding in agreement, his face full of regret.
Min Zhizhou stood there, his face filled with mixed emotions as he watched the old man, now supported by his son, trembling as they walked back to the log. They awkwardly lifted and lowered the heavy armor over and over, without saying a word.
He didn’t have enough adjectives to describe the bizarre scene before him.
The precious armor he had spent time and energy acquiring was being described by others as “log”…
Just then, the old man’s son appeared in front of him.
The son nodded politely, his demeanor far kinder than the others. He wore a somewhat forced smile, his expression tinged with a hint of pleading. “Excuse me, how much does it cost to rent your log for a day?”
Min Zhizhou: “…”
Jajajajajaja that poor old man really made me laugh