After making a simple report, Liu Zhong left his phone number with Jiang Ming and departed.
Someone would be called in later to repair the hole in the wall. In the meantime, Nannan and her mother would be staying at a nearby hotel to rest.
Once the room was quiet and empty again, Jiang Ming walked into the bathroom and began to retch.
His senses had become extremely sharp in recent days. The dramatic improvement in his physical stats had heightened his sense of smell, hearing, and vision to an almost unnatural degree.
When he used his hearing to detect Li Dayong and launched a surprise attack, he hadn't initially seen the aftermath clearly. All he noticed was the body collapsing. It wasn't until he looked back at the entrance of the cave that he saw the grotesque mixture of red and white staining the ground.
Whether it was the fact that Li Dayong was still human, or because this was Jiang Ming's first time killing someone, the sight churned his stomach in a way he hadn't expected. The two-headed snake he'd fought earlier had been far bloodier, yet hadn't made him feel like this.
After a few more dry heaves, Jiang Ming leaned against the sink and waited for the discomfort to subside. When he finally regained some composure, he pulled up the panel and reviewed the description of the [Si Shadow Rift] skill.
Its destructive power had far exceeded his expectations.
He had only used it twice before, back in the dungeon. The first time gave him a vague sense of its potential, but he hadn't truly grasped its lethality.
This time, he'd meant to buy Liu Zhong a little time. He never imagined that one blow would end the fight so decisively.
It was important to understand that while the apartment wall wasn't especially thick, it was still more than ten centimeters deep. Yet the Si Shadow Rift had pierced the first wall, obliterated half of Li Dayong's head, and then struck the second wall, carving out a hole nearly thirty centimeters in diameter.
This kind of power was unlike anything Jiang Ming had seen in any superpower video before. It felt real. Unfiltered. Lethal.
Knock knock.
A sudden knock at the door broke the silence.
Jiang Ming blinked, surprised. Who would come at a time like this? Liu Zhong and his daughter had only just left after finishing the report.
He opened the door cautiously.
Liu Zhong stood there again, a cigarette between his lips. In his left hand was a bucket of bricks, and in his right, a bucket of cement.
"Uh, Brother Liu?"
Jiang Ming was momentarily stunned. The image of the cold, trenchcoat-wearing Liu Zhong was completely at odds with the man now dressed like a construction worker.
"What? Never seen a cement worker before?"
Liu Zhong chuckled, crouching down. With a wave of his hand, he snapped a brick into the perfect size, then began expertly applying cement with a trowel. His movements were smooth, practiced, and almost elegant.
Within minutes, the hole in the wall was patched.
He even applied a matching layer of paint on the outside. Once the cement dried, it would be impossible to tell anything had ever happened.
Jiang Ming watched, wide-eyed.
Liu Zhong finished his cigarette, flicked the butt aside, then pulled out his wallet and counted out three thousand federal coins. He held it out.
"Here. Reward for your bravery."
Jiang Ming hesitated and didn't take the money. "You don't need to apply for this? It came that quickly?"
"We're doing things by the book. This is just an advance." Liu Zhong tried to push the money into Jiang Ming's hands.
But Jiang Ming stepped back and shook his head. "It's fine. I can wait, Brother Liu."
Seeing how stubborn he was, Liu Zhong finally relented and pocketed the money again. "Alright, alright. You win."
He stood up, picked up the buckets, and paused before leaving. "I've got a lot to handle. Don't go near Sanjiang for the time being."
"Got it. Thanks, Brother Liu."
Jiang Ming closed the door and stood there for a moment.
Sanjiang referred to the three rivers in Sanjiang City, with the Huilong River being the largest. It was also the place where that strange beast had been seen.
That memory struck him hard. Could something have happened there?
Jiang Ming opened his phone and searched for the latest news about Sanjiang City.
Sure enough, a list of urgent headlines appeared.
At the top:
[Emergency Notice]:[The whereabouts of "Mo Lin" are currently unknown. Please avoid Sanjiang City and surrounding areas, especially near the Huilong River.
If you spot a "Black Scale" or any other abnormal creature near Sanjiang, report immediately to local authorities.]
According to reports from various channels, over a hundred fishermen had gone missing along the Sanjiang River. It was clear the creature, "Mo Lin," was extremely aggressive.
The local troops had already launched a full-scale search.
Jiang Ming stared at the screen, then slowly put his phone away.
It had nothing to do with him, not as long as he stayed away from the rivers.
Once the military tracked down Mo Lin, no number of civilians would be able to make a difference anyway.
What mattered most to him now was mastering his current skill set before entering the dungeon again. With three days of recovery time, he could safely exhaust his spiritual power and gradually replenish it before his next dive.
Buzz—
A message popped up on his phone.
"Dear customer, your account ending in 3722 has received a payment of 50,000 federal coins on May 13. Current balance: 50,223.98."
The money had arrived already?
Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow.
Could someone in the city have bought it?
He opened the Card Manager Mall and confirmed that the transaction was completed.
Out of curiosity, he checked the forums and noticed an official post pinned at the top.
[The Difference Between Natal Cards and Skill Cards]
Intrigued, Jiang Ming clicked on it.
["Dear Card Masters, it has been more than ten hours since the card creation function was officially released.
After studying a number of successfully crafted skill cards, the Card Master Administration has concluded that there is a fundamental distinction between 'natal cards' and 'skill cards.'
Natal cards are innate 'abilities' that every person awakens after the age of sixteen—these can include control over elements like fire, water, ice, lightning, and so on. These abilities are not tangible but represent abstract concepts or forces of control, similar to basic instincts such as eating or sleeping.
In contrast, skill cards grant specific, defined techniques.
For example, 'Frost Shield' allows you to summon a crystalline ice barrier for defense. Although someone with a natal card of the ice element could also create a shield, the strength and precision of a skill card's shield are significantly greater.
Thus, a skill card is essentially a refined application of a natal card's broader capabilities.
While a natal card might allow someone to use elemental manipulation in general, skill cards specialize that potential into optimized, battle-ready abilities.
So far, we have identified 12 types of natal cards: gold, wood, water, fire, earth, thunder, wind, ice, light, darkness, physical body, and telekinesis. Other types may exist but are yet to be confirmed.
Take telekinesis, for instance. A Card Master could use this power to hurl a key as a weapon without needing a skill card. However, if there were a skill card designed specifically to attack using a key, then even if its quality were basic, it would still be three times as effective as ordinary telekinesis.]
Jiang Ming read every word carefully, his mind racing.
If this was accurate, then his [Rage of Si] was just a skill card under the physical category.
It was powerful, yes. But it wasn't a true natal card.
And the reason he'd made it this far in the dungeons at all wasn't due to innate talent. It was thanks to the physical enhancements he'd gained from spiritual points.
All of it was built on the foundation of his Classic of Mountains and Seas destiny card.
That fact alone made it clear.
He needed more time. More control. More understanding.
The next time he entered a dungeon, he'd be ready.
Note:
The term "Black Scale" referred to the fish-like monster that had gone viral in the last video.