Chapter 96: By the way, Black Widow, how much do you usually charge per session?
New York, Manhattan, Lower East Side, 1:00 AM.
Lin Zhen was wearing Pikachu boxer shorts with burnt edges, wearing a middle-parted chicken mask, carrying a frying pan in his hand, and swaggered into the Red-light district.
The women on the side of the road all turned their heads to look at him.
A redhead in fishnet stockings whistled: "Hey sweetheart, what happened to your pants?"
Lin Zhen stopped, scanned the redhead up and down, and shook his head, "Your model's resolution isn't high enough, and there are freckles and acne on your face texture. Next one."
The redhead:?
Lin Zhen continued walking forward, picking and choosing under the neon lights, just like shopping in a store.
He stopped in front of a door with a purple neon sign in the middle of the street.
Standing at the entrance was a woman with long, black curly hair, wearing a white T-shirt tied into a crop top, denim hot pants that barely covered her gluteal line, with delicate features, upturned eyes, and an extremely exaggerated body proportion.
As for how exaggerated, at least an F cup!!!!!
Lin Zhen stared at her for three seconds.
"This NPC model is at least SSR grade."
He walked up and pulled a stack of U.S. dollars from his crotch, shaking it: "Beauty, how much for the whole night?"
The woman brushed her hair and held up two fingers: "Two thousand."
"Too expensive, I'll cut it in half."
"Eighteen hundred, that's the lowest."
"Deal." Lin Zhen pulled eighteen hundred from the stack of U.S. dollars and slapped it into the woman's hand, "Let's go, let's get a room."
The woman took the money, hooked her arm around Lin Zhen's, and walked upstairs.
Third floor, Room 206.
As soon as the door closed, the woman pushed Lin Zhen to sit on the edge of the bed, braced her hands on either side of him, leaned in close, and whispered, "Sweetheart, do you want to take off the mask?"
"No, I look handsome like this." Lin Zhen leaned against the headboard and patted his thigh, "Stop talking nonsense, get to work."
The woman smiled and reached out to pull at his burnt Pikachu boxer shorts.
Lin Zhen grabbed her hand: "Wait."
"What's wrong?"
"I have a lot of things in my crotch, don't rummage around. Touching the frying pan would be the least of it; if you touch the C4, we'll both go to heaven."
The woman was stunned, not understanding what he was talking about, but still cooperatively avoided the pants and started from the top instead.
The white T-shirt was pulled over her head and thrown onto the floor.
Under Lin Zhen's chicken mask, his mouth curled into a grin.
"Motherfucker, this physics engine is way too realistic."
... Half an hour later.
The sheets were crumpled into a ball.
Lin Zhen lay on the bed with his hands behind his head, his face beneath the mask full of satisfaction.
The woman lay beside him, panting, her curly hair scattered all over the bed.
"How was it?" The woman turned her head to look at him.
"The feel and modeling were maxed out. I'd rate it 4.9 stars. The 0.1 deduction is because you don't have twin tails, so you can't boost my attack speed."
The woman:...
Lin Zhen rolled over and sat up, pulled a bottle of basic red potion from his crotch, took two gulps, and stuffed it back.
"Stamina restored." He patted the woman's butt, "One more round, no extra charge, right?"
"Five hundred extra."
"Three hundred."
"Four hundred, that's the lowest."
"Deal."
Lin Zhen pulled the quilt over both of them.
... Another forty minutes passed.
Lin Zhen walked out of Room 206, his legs trembling, leaning against the hallway wall as he walked forward.
"Motherfucker, two rounds and my stamina bar is 60% empty. This is more tiring than fighting a World BOSS."
He lit a post-coital cigarette and sat on the bed, lamenting life.
"Baby, want to go again?" the woman asked.
"Get lost! Amitabha, do not disturb my Daoist heart!"
The woman:???
Lin Zhen walked down the stairs with the cigarette in his mouth, pushed open the first-floor glass door, and stepped into the early morning street.
The pink neon lights were still on, and the air was mixed with the smell of alcohol and perfume.
Lin Zhen was about to walk toward the street corner when his peripheral vision caught sight of the alley on the right.
A woman wearing a black leather jacket with a grey tight-fitting tank top underneath was turning the corner from the opposite street.
Her short red hair was tucked behind her ears, her gait was crisp, and there was a pistol at her waist; she was as cool as could be.
Lin Zhen's steps faltered.
That face, that chest...
"Holy shit?"
Natasha Romanoff stopped three meters away, looking at Lin Zhen, who was wearing burnt Pikachu boxer shorts and a middle-parted chicken mask.
Her gaze shifted from Lin Zhen's mask to his boxer shorts, and then to the glass door with the purple neon sign behind him.
"Lin Zhen."
"Ahem, Black Widow."
The two stared at each other for two seconds.
Natasha spoke: "Can you explain why you are appearing in a place like this?"
"I was about to ask you that! 2:00 AM! Red-light district! You're all alone! Black Widow, what are you doing in a place like this in the middle of the night?!" Lin Zhen said.
Natasha:?
"I came to pick you up..."
"Don't give me that!"
Lin Zhen took two steps back, crossed his arms, and looked Natasha up and down. This woman was indeed wearing very little, drawing glances from surrounding men who couldn't help but take a peek.
"Dressed like that, in the middle of the night, appearing in the Red-light district, and you say you're here to find me? Do you take me for a fool?"
Natasha's eyebrow began to twitch.
"What do you mean?"
Lin Zhen let out a long sigh, putting on a heartbroken expression: "Sigh, I never would have expected it. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Natasha Romanoff, codename Black Widow, actually has to rely on this to make extra money."
He shook his head.
"Utterly disappointed."
"My fantasies are shattered."
"The filter I had for you is broken."
Natasha's hand had already reached for the holster at her waist.
"Lin Zhen, try saying that one more time!"
Lin Zhen didn't stop; instead, he took a step closer, lowered his voice, and asked in an extremely serious tone:
"By the way, Black Widow, how much do you usually charge per session?"
Chapter 97: A New Dungeon
"Two thousand or eighteen hundred? I'm someone who values cost-effectiveness. If you offer a reasonable price, I'll get a membership card and only look for you in the future."
Natasha's eyebrows twitched.
"What did you think I came here to do?"
"What else could it be?" Lin Zhen spread his hands. "Two in the morning, Red-light district, leather jacket and hot pants, gun tucked in the waist... Oh, I get it. You're going for a hardcore style, bondage plus roleplay, right? High-end game, I understand the price increase."
Several men on the street poked their heads out to watch the fun, and someone whistled and jeered.
"Nick Fury sent me to pick you up for a full-body checkup!" She said, enunciating every word. "Six thousand tons of TNT equivalent in your pants just exploded over the harbor. He's worried there's something wrong with your body."
"Oh..." Lin Zhen drew out the sound, nodding in sudden realization, then immediately shook his head. "No, that story has too many loopholes."
"What loopholes?"
"If you were really here on official business," Lin Zhenpointed at her outfit, "would you dress like this? Crop top, tight pants—are you here to catch criminals, or to catch customers? Black Widow, being an Agent isn't shameful, but you shouldn't look down on your second profession."
"This outfit is so I wouldn't attract attention while infiltrating the Red-light district to find you!" Natasha was speechless.
"The more you explain, the worse it gets." Lin Zhen sighed, pacing back and forth in front of her with his hands behind his back. "Look, first, you came to find me, which means you knew I was in the Red-light district. How did you know? Were you tracking me? Or... do you work in this area yourself?"
"Second! You didn't arrest me immediately when you arrived, but stood here waiting instead. What do you call that? That's called waiting for customers. Third..."
"There is no third." Natasha stepped forward, poking her finger into his chest. "One more word of nonsense, and I'll pack you up right now to take back for vivisection."
Lin Zhen shrank back, holding up the frying pan in front of him.
"Getting handsy now? That costs extra."
The women around them burst into laughter.
Natasha: "..."
Lin Zhen, however, got interested and turned to wave at the group of women: "Don't misunderstand, ladies. This is your new colleague. She's just starting out and isn't familiar with the business. I'll teach her later."
Before he finished speaking, Natasha's fist had already landed on his face.
The frying pan blocked it in the middle, and the 100% Physical Reflection Mechanism took effect, reflecting the force of that punch right back.
Natasha groaned and took three steps back, shaking her numb wrist.
[You blocked an Elite NPC attack]
Lin Zhen's eyes lit up: "Black Widow, that punch of yours is marked as Elite-level; the drop rate should be pretty good. How about we spar? I promise to only hit and not loot... oh wait, no, if I win, I have to loot the corpse."
Natasha stared at that pot of his and resignedly put her gun away.
She had figured it out: reasoning with this guy was like playing the lute to a cow—only, it was a cow that came with its own armor.
"Lin Zhen." She changed her tone, cold and steady. "Furysaid, if you don't go back for the checkup, from now on, your Stark Industries consultant allowance and S.H.I.E.L.D.mercenary fees won't be paid."
Lin Zhen's face poked out from behind the pot.
"You should have said so earlier."
He hoisted the frying pan onto his shoulder, flicked the hem of his bathrobe to reveal his charred-edge boxers, and reached out to her.
"Let's go, time for the checkup. But let's get this straight: the physical exam fee counts as a work-related injury, and that punch just now was assault. According to S.H.I.E.L.D.labor regulations..."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have labor regulations."
"Then write one now."
Natasha didn't want to deal with this madman anymore and turned to walk toward the street corner.
Lin Zhen followed behind, waving goodbye to the group of women as he walked, promising to come back and patronize their business another day.
Natasha stood by the black SUV, staring at Lin Zhen, who was still waving goodbye to the women.
"Can you walk any faster?" Natasha asked.
"What's the rush? I'm building rapport with the ladies." Lin Zhen walked over slowly.
He opened the passenger door, sat in, and skillfully rummaged through the storage compartment on the car door.
Sunglasses, a flashlight, three packs of gum, and car air freshener were all stuffed into his pants.
Natasha sat in the driver's seat, looked at the empty storage compartment, and took a deep breath.
"You're not planning on leaving me anything, are you?"
"In the game, leaving items sitting there is a waste. This is reasonable resource utilization. What if it refreshes later?" Lin Zhen reached out to pry at another spot. "Black Widow, can this car be exchanged for cash? I guarantee I'll walk back to headquarters, and I won't even claim a cent for travel expenses."
"Put your hand down, that's the bulletproof armor layer!"
The SUV drove into the S.H.I.E.L.D. underground garage amidst constant bickering.
Lin Zhen swaggered after Natasha into the high-risk quarantine zone of the medical department.
"Stand in the center of the aperture and remove your clothing." Medical Department Director Colin issued instructions via the loudspeaker.
Lin Zhen untied his bathrobe and threw it on the ground, gripping the edges of his Pikachu boxer shorts tightly.
"I'm not taking off the pants."
"The scan requires creating a complete 3D model of your body." Colin repeated.
"Whether you build the model or not is up to you. I don't have spare appearance gear. If I really take them off, it'll become restricted-rated footage, and this game won't pass censorship." Lin Zhen held up his middle finger to the glass.
Fury pressed the communication button.
"Lin Zhen, cooperate with the inspection. If you don't finish, your allowance will be suspended."
"You're ruthless, Nick Fury."
Colin looked at Fury, and Fury nodded.
The high-frequency rays started, and a 3D holographic projection unfolded in front of Colin.
Five seconds later, the tablet in Colin's hand emitted a shrill alarm.
Data cascaded across the screen like a waterfall.
Colin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Sir, the data is all messed up. The system has determined that the target is a non-carbon-based life form."
Fury stepped forward.
"Explain."
"There's no heartbeat, no blood circulation, and no body temperature fluctuation." Colin's fingers swiped across the screen. "The most absurd part is the bone density. The scan shows there are no physical bones in his body; instead, it's composed of a high-density energy data stream. The upper limit of physical defense cannot be calculated."
Natasha watched the projection from the side.
"What is that red mass?"
"Residual liquid in the stomach area. Ingredient analysis is... strawberry-flavored pigment plus unknown recovery factors?"
Colin swallowed hard and zoomed the image in on Lin Zhen's pelvic area.
That Pikachu boxer shorts he hadn't taken off—or rather, the inside of his pants.
The screen lit up with dense, high-risk energy alerts, flashing in a sea of red.
Colin's voice trembled.
"Sir, in this part of his body, there is a storage structure folded beyond physical spatial limits. Inside, there are piles of coffee cups, unexploded high-explosive pumpkin bombs, and twelve..."
Colin paused, his eyes pressed close to the screen.
"Twelve Stark Industries micro Arc Reactors?"
Fury's single eye widened.
Stark Industries' top-secret technology, the core equipment that Tony Stark wouldn't even give to the the military.
Lin Zhen had stuffed them all into his pants as inventory!
Inside the examination chamber, Lin Zhen was doing radio calisthenics in front of the one-way glass.
Fury held down the microphone.
"Lin Zhen, why are there twelve micro Arc Reactors in your pants?"
Lin Zhen stopped his movements.
"I was a guest at Tony's place last time. These were scraps left over from when he made his armor. They looked pretty bright, so I took them to use as flashlights."
"Flashlights?" Fury bit his back teeth. "This stuff could buy a small country on the black market!"
"Can't sell them, they have equipment-bound identifiers. I tried; the NPC shop won't take them." Lin Zhen patted his boxers. "Director, is the checkup done? I lost more than half my stamina last night and need to find a place to eat breakfast to recover health."
"Release him." Fury ordered.
The quarantine chamber door opened. Lin Zhen walked out and casually snatched a box of sterile medical gloves from Colin's desk.
Fury looked at him.
"What kind of monster are you? The blast radius of the high-energy compressed explosives didn't burn you to ashes."
"That's called system settings: immunity to fatal damage plus locked health." Lin Zhen stuffed the gloves into his pants. "Director, the checkup fee is fifty thousand, the dangerous work-related injury compensation is one hundred thousand. Pay up."
Fury snorted coldly.
"The money will go through the process. S.H.I.E.L.D. needs new data on your combat effectiveness. There is another field mission for you."
"Not taking it, unless there's a guaranteed Purple-tier item." Lin Zhen walked to the water dispenser to get water.
Fury handed over a file.
"New Mexico. An alien relic was dug up in the desert. There are many runes that don't belong to Earth. The scientific expedition team we sent has lost contact."
Lin Zhen stopped drinking water.
"Alien relic? Unlocked a new dungeon?"
He took the file. The photo showed a huge black stone door with intricate Norse mythology patterns carved on it.
"Is this an exclusive map opened for Thor's relatives?" Lin Zhen's eyes lit up. "I'll take this job. Business trip fee is twenty thousand a day, all loot belongs to me, and it doesn't include taxes."
"Loot must be handed over to S.H.I.E.L.D. for security assessment." Fury countered.
"Then I'm not going. You guys can go in and feed them kills yourselves." Lin Zhen threw the file back onto the table.
"...You can keep whatever is left over after you pick through it." Fury conceded.
"Deal."
Lin Zhen stepped forward, his eyes landing on a stainless steel lighter that Fury was playing with in his hand.
That was a special windproof version Fury had just gotten yesterday.
Lin Zhen reached out and grabbed at the air quickly.
"That lighter is pretty cool, Director. Let me help you consecrate it."
Fury looked down; the lighter in his hand had vanished into thin air.
"Lin Zhen!! Put my lighter down!"
"Mission deposit, thanks, Director!"
Lin Zhen pulled up the system panel and selected the teleportation coordinate for New Mexico.
White light flashed, and Lin Zhen disappeared from the spot.
In the medical room, Colin looked at the place where Lin Zhen had been standing.
"Sir, he swiped another one of our micro blood pressure monitors."
Fury punched the metal door frame.
"Motherf*cker!!!"
Chapter 98: Listen Up, You Blue-Skinned Giants, Hand Over Your Money and Gear
New Mexico, deep in the desert.
Lin Zhen raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunand scanned the surroundings.
Inside the camp, half-collapsed tents were scattered about, and the ground was littered with drills, tablets, and half a box of soggy compressed biscuits.
"The belongings are all here, but where are the people?"
Lin Zhen walked over and stuffed the tablet, walkie-talkie, and two intact satellite locators into his pants all at once.
"Who cares if they're here or not? I'll take the gear first; this is called first come, first served."
He kicked over an insulated cooler, from which a few bottles of mineral water rolled out, and he collected those too.
Two hundred meters ahead, a black stone gate was half-buried in the sand, covered in twisted Norse runes, with a faint blue mist seeping from the cracks.
Lin Zhen's eyes lit up, and he brought up the system interface.
[ Unknown Ruins ]
[ High-dimensional energy fluctuations detected inside the gate. Players are advised to enter only after reaching the level cap. ]
"High energy fluctuations? Sounds valuable just from the name." Lin Zhen rubbed his hands together. "Level cap? What level am I again?"
He counted.
"One, two, three, four... nine zeros. Hiss~ what level am I? Forget it, I'll just dive in!"
He walked toward the gate, and tripped over something hard.
Looking down, he saw a man in a research team uniform frozen in a running posture, covered in a thin layer of blue frost, his eyes wide open as if someone had hit the pause button.
Lin Zhen knocked on him—clack, clack—it sounded just like tapping an ice sculpture.
"Good grief, the missing research team, were they all flash-frozen?"
[ Time-freezing field detected. Target is in a semi-solid state and is not dead. ]
"As long as they aren't dead, I don't have to take the blame."
He crouched down and skillfully fished the wallet, car keys, and a Casio watch out of the man's pockets.
"Anyway, you can't use them while you're paused, so I'll keep them safe for you."
Just as he finished, a guy buried in the sand nearby squeezed out a breathy sound from his throat.
"Don't... don't open that gate..."
Lin Zhen leaned in. Half of this man's body could still move, while the other half was already frozen.
"Yo, there's still one alive. Speak up, what kind of monster is inside?"
"We... we touched the runes while scanning, and something behind the gate woke up... My companions were frozen one by one..." The man's eyes were unfocused. "That thing... calls itself the King of Frost..."
"King of Frost?" Lin Zhen became interested. "What's the drop rate like?"
Man:??
Before he could finish, the runes on the stone gate lit up with a ghostly blue light one after another, and the cold mist from the cracks surged out, causing the temperature to plummet.
Lin Zhen exhaled a puff of white air and pulled the green goblin suit out of his pants to put it on.
"The World BOSS is about to make an appearance, be sensible."
The stone gate made a dull thud and slowly cracked open to both sides.
From the crack, a giant hand covered in frost, as thick as a water vat, reached out, its five fingers gripping the edge of the gate, its nails glowing with a greenish-black light.
Lin Zhen grabbed the frying pan, his eyes shining.
"With this size, if I loot the corpse, I should have enough materials for purple gear."
Just as he was about to rush up, a line of crimson text popped up on the system interface.
[ World BOSS Alert: Frost Giant · Laufey (Elite · Awakened State) ]
[ Carries rare drop: heart of eternal winter × 1 ]
Lin Zhen swallowed hard and weighed the frying pan in his hand.
"Laufey?"
"If I rip out its heart and sell it to Tony, how many sea-view Villas could I get?"
The giant hand pushed hard, and the entire stone gate was overturned into the sand.
A three-meter-tall Frost Giant covered in armor stepped out from the gate, its blood-red eyes locking onto Lin Zhen, the yellow sand beneath its feet freezing into ice as it walked.
It opened its mouth, and instead of words, it spat out an icicle that flew straight at Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen swung the frying pan to meet it, and the 100% Physical Reflection Mechanism lit up.
"Just in time, I'm going to dismantle your broken refrigerator today!"
The icicle hit the frying pan and ricocheted back, striking Laufey right between the brows, shattering into shards of ice.
Its blood-red eyes narrowed.
It raised its other hand, and the stone gate fragments at the edge of the desert vibrated with a hum, the ghostly blue runes connecting, and a second and third giant hand reached out from behind the gate.
Lin Zhen stood on the frozen yellow sand, watching more and more figures crawling out of the gate, and grinned.
"Motherfucker, it can even summon minions?"
The communicator in his pants started vibrating, and Fury's voice came through.
"Lin Zhen, Thor has contacted us. That gate is an Asgardseal... Do not, under any circumstances, open it completely!"
Lin Zhen looked down at the stone gate, which was already half-cracked at his feet.
"Director, there's a small problem."
"It seems, it's already open."
"Get out of there!" Fury's voice cracked. "That is the Frost Prison sealed by Odin himself. What's locked inside isn't just some ordinary monster; it's the entire Frost Giant army of Jotunheim!"
"An army?" Lin Zhen's eyes lit up instantly. "Elite monsters that spawn in groups, with stacked drop rates? Director, you're giving me a year-end bonus!"
"Lin Zhen!"
"Bad signal, hanging up."
Lin Zhen stuffed the communicator back into his pants and looked up at the Frost Giants crawling out of the stone gate one after another.
The three-meter-tall ones were just minions; the one in the very back was a full five meters tall, covered in greenish-black armor, its blood-red eyes glowing terrifyingly in the cold mist—it was Laufey, marked in red by the system.
More than twenty giants formed a semi-circle, the yellow sand beneath their feet freezing into thick ice at a visible rate, and the temperature of the entire desert dropped by over a dozen degrees.
Laufey opened its mouth, and an icicle as thick as a bowl flew straight at Lin Zhen's face.
Lin Zhen swung the frying pan to meet it.
The icicle hit the frying pan, and the 100% Physical Reflection Mechanism lit up with a ghostly light, ricocheting back and hitting the armor on Laufey's chest, shattering into a spray of ice.
[ You blocked a World BOSS attack and dealt reflection damage ]
Laufey's blood-red eyes narrowed, and it let out a low roar.
The twenty-plus giants around it raised their hands simultaneously, and dozens of icicles rained down, covering the sky.
"Whoa, an area-of-effect skill." Lin Zhen kicked off, stepping onto the golden ghost fire hoverboard and darting away.
The icicles missed, turning the empty camp into an ice sculpture exhibition hall.
Lin Zhen flew a semi-circle around the group of giants, pulled three high-explosive shrapnel pumpkin bombs out of his pants, and tossed them one by one into the pile of giants.
Boom, boom, boom!
Three dull thuds knocked over seven or eight minions, scattering shards of ice and cold iron fragments all over the ground.
Lin Zhen was delighted and slid over on his hoverboard, starting to loot the corpses.
"Cold iron fragments × 6, frozen earth crystals × 3. Alright, that covers the gas money."
Just as he was looting enthusiastically, Laufey slapped down, creating a huge crater in the ground.
Lin Zhen tilted his hoverboard to dodge and looked back to give it the middle finger.
"What's the rush? Wait in line, the BOSS is saved for last."
Laufey roared and pointed at the overturned stone gate at the edge of the desert.
The ghostly blue runes on the gate connected, and a dozen new giant hands reached out from deep within the gate.
The smile on Lin Zhen's face froze for half a second.
"Motherfucker, is this an infinite spawn point?"
The communicator vibrated again, and Fury's voice emerged with static.
"Lin Zhen, that gate is two-way. If you don't destroy the seal core, the giants will keep pouring out, and the entire New Mexico will be frozen into a glacier!"
"Where's the seal core?" Lin Zhen asked, sliding to dodge a giant's fist while snatching a shiny frozen earth crystal from its waist.
"Theoretically, it's inside the strongest individual..."
Lin Zhen's gaze shifted and landed on Laufey.
"In other words, that heart of eternal winter is the seal core?"
"Yes, but you absolutely must not rashly..."
"Got it. Rip it out to sell for money and save the world at the same time—killing two birds with one stone." Lin Zhenhung up the communicator and rubbed his hands together. "Director, you should have said so earlier. Turns out fighting a BOSS comes with main quest rewards."
As he was calculating, a line of text popped up on the system interface.
[ Hidden main quest triggered: Frost Prison ]
[ Quest objective: Defeat Laufey, close the Jotunheim rift ]
[ Rewards: EXP + 5000, Points + 80, ruyi jingu bang fragment × 10 ]
Lin Zhen gasped.
"Fifty thousand EXP? Ten ruyi jingu bang fragments?"
"My progress bar is about to take off!"
He hoisted the frying pan onto his shoulder, stepped on the hoverboard to rise three meters, looked down at the giants filling the ground, and pulled out a megaphone.
"Listen up, you blue-skinned giants, hand over the money and gear in your pockets, or I'll stuff you all into my pants and send you back to be re-forged!"
Chapter 99: The Gold Content of the Director's Cup Is Still Rising
Upon hearing this, the giant let out a wild roar. It slammed its massive palm into the ground, and dozens of thick ice spikes erupted from the earth, shooting straight at Lin Zhen in mid-air.
"You don't pay protection money and you dare to strike first? Young man, that's not very honorable!" Lin Zhenstepped on his golden ghost fire hoverboard to dodge easily, then reached into his crotch and pulled out three heavy machine guns he had swiped from Hydra.
He pulled the triggers, and tongues of fire spurted out. The bullets hit Laufey's dark blue-black ice armor, leaving only a few white Marks, with the damage numbers all showing a pathetic "-1".
"Is this armor stat broken? Even a heavy machine gun can't scratch it?" Lin Zhen cursed, casually tossing aside the empty machine guns.
Seeing that the attacks were ineffective, Laufey became even more rampant, opening his blood-mouthed maw to spew out a storm of extreme cold.
Instead of retreating, Lin Zhen advanced. He pulled out Nick Fury's stainless steel windproof lighter, holding a bottle of high-purity chemical fuel he had swiped from Oscorp in his other hand.
"Big blue guy, the times have changed!" He flicked the lighter and tossed the fuel bottle.
The fuel bottle smashed against Laufey's chest armor, and streams of fire crawled all over the dark blue-black plates.
Laufey took half a step back. White steam rose from his chest as the frost was baked into water droplets, which were then sucked back into his body by the blue light in his palm.
Lin Zhen's eyes widened.
"You can even heal? Aren't you a bit overpowered, bro!"
Laufey raised his hand, and the surrounding small giants roared in unison as a rain of ice spears descended from above.
Lin Zhen stepped on the golden ghost fire hoverboard and zoomed through close to the ground.
On his way, he swiped something off the opponent and shoved it into his crotch.
[Obtained: Cold Iron Buckle × 3] [Obtained: Frozen Earth Crystal × 2] [Obtained: Frost Giant's Original Fur Skirt × 1]
Lin Zhen's hand paused on the fur skirt for half a second before he tossed it into his backpack.
"If I give this to Thor as a rag, he might be able to pay twenty less on the money he owes Shaxian."
The fire Marks on Laufey's chest closed up, and the crown-shaped ice horns lit up with blue patterns.
"Midgardian worm, Odin's lock has loosened. Kneel, and you may keep your corpse intact."
Lin Zhen pulled a megaphone out of his crotch.
"Keep my corpse intact? You really understand customer service—even offering after-sales support after death."
As he spoke, Lin Zhen backhanded a pumpkin bomb into the giant's mouth. Bang! Half an ice tooth flew out.
Laufey stepped forward, and a dozen more arms stretched out from deep within the stone gate.
Lin Zhen tutted and pulled out a black mug. The cup body was printed with the S.H.I.E.L.D. eagle emblem, and the bottom of the cup still carried the scent of Nick Fury.
Lin Zhen stuffed the cup into the concave side of his frying pan and swung it toward the rune on Laufey's chest.
The cup flew out and slapped into the center of Laufey's chest armor, with the eagle emblem pressing right onto the blue rune. This strike even interrupted Laufey's spellcasting.
"Damn, that's impressive, Director." "The gold content of the Director's cup is still rising."
Laufey looked down at the cup on his chest, grabbed the rim with both palms, and pulled. The cup didn't budge.
Seeing this, Lin Zhen laughed like a maniac.
"See that? Nick Fury is the true substitute for Odin. Give me some face and hand over the heart today."
The veins on Laufey's forehead bulged, and cold air curled back along the rim of the cup, causing the mug to start frosting over.
Lin Zhen rummaged through his crotch and pulled out a small silver-gray bottle. The bottle read: Nick Fury's Delay Spray, for men only.
Lin Zhen rushed in front of Laufey and sprayed it wildly at that blue face.
[Affected by the spray, Laufey's hardness increased by 100%]
Lin Zhen:???
"Motherf*cker, Nick Fury, what kind of trash did you buy? It can't even delay a boss's casting time."
Laufey's right hand had already gripped the rim of the cup, and the cracks were widening.
Lin Zhen stuffed the small bottle back into his crotch and pulled out the tow rope used to airlift Steve back in the day.
"If I can't land a hard CC, I'll use old-school methods."
The golden ghost fire hoverboard left a trail of colorful smoke as it spun wildly around Laufey's ankles. The tow rope wrapped around his icy legs in circles, and the other end was hooked onto the door ring of the overturned stone gate.
Just as Laufey was about to lift his foot, his entire body was tripped and he lunged forward. Lin Zhen descended from the sky and smacked him on the back of the head with the frying pan. Bang!
Laufey was knocked to his knees on the ice. Lin Zhenstepped on his shoulder and reached out to pry at the blue and white glowing core on his body.
[heart of eternal winter outer protection damaged] [Gathering progress: 3%]
"Good stuff, don't move, I'm giving you a chest ultrasound."
Laufey roared in the Old Jotun language, and the surrounding small giants rushed over swinging axes. Lin Zhen pried at the core with one hand while grabbing his frying pan with the other to deflect the flying axes.
Three axes flew backward, chopping down three unlucky minions. [Experience Points + 150] [Cold Iron Axe Blade × 3]
"Don't line up to deliver kills; I need to organize my backpack slots."
The gathering progress climbed to 27%, and the cup on Laufey's chest made a clicking sound. Just as Laufeystarted to move, he was knocked unconscious by another hit from the frying pan.
He put away his gathering tools, stood in front of Laufey, and patted his own face with his left hand. Slap, slap.
"Come on, you old blue-skinned geezer, hit me! Hit me!" "I have a frying pan, red potions, and the Director's divine cup. What are you going to use to one-shot me?"
Laufey stopped, looked up and stared at him, the blue patterns on his ice horns turning dark red. [Warning: Laufey has entered his second state] [Strength increased by 300%, resistance to sealing and suppression increased]
Lin Zhen blinked. "Hey, so we're ignoring game balance, huh?"
Lin Zhen held the pan up in front of his face. "Old blue geezer, let's talk this out. You hand over the heart of eternal winter, and I'll leave you your fur skirt." "Big brother, can we negotiate? Don't hit the face..."
Laufey raised his hand. The ground cracked, and a dozen ice walls rose up, surrounding Lin Zhen from all sides.
Lin Zhen stepped on his hoverboard and shot upward. He had barely flown three meters when a Frost Giant's axe swept across. He raised his pan to block. The axe flew backward, hacking into another giant's butt. [Experience Points + 50] [Obtained: Frozen Fur Belt × 1]
Lin Zhen glanced down at the notification. "The loot is way too pathetic. Is there no inflation in Jotunheim?"
Laufey didn't waste words, grabbing the air with his right palm. A blue hand emerged from the ice beneath Lin Zhen's feet, grabbing the tail of the hoverboard and pulling it down.
The next second, Lin Zhen and the board were dragged to the ground. Laufey stomped down.
Lin Zhen rolled seven or eight meters across the ground, holding the frying pan in front of his chest. His health bar dropped to 61%. He pulled a basic red potion from his crotch and chugged half the bottle.
"Motherf*cker, this boss doesn't follow the rules of the game; the second phase even has terrain control."
Nick Fury's communicator rang again. "Lin Zhen, are you still alive?!" "Director, that's so hurtful!" "Thor has already departed from New York, hold on!" "Did he finish washing the dishes?" "He tore the sink out of the Shaxian kitchen, and the owner called the police."
Lin Zhen was amused. "Nice, that's the spirit of Thor. Don't embarrass Asgard."
Nick Fury roared: "Cut the crap. Laufey cannot leave the ruins. Once he walks out, New Mexico is finished."
"Don't worry. I even stole the boss's underwear; his aggro is maxed out now. For the moment, this monster will only chase me."
Chapter 100: Since You Are Here, Drop Some Gold Coins Before Leaving
Laufey stomped on the icy surface, his massive body bringing with it a biting cold wind as he charged straight at Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen stuffed the communicator into his crotch, "Motherf*cker, this old blue-skinned geezer really has no sense of martial virtue."
He gripped the handle of the frying pan with both hands and swung it upwards to meet the descending giant Frost Giant palm.
A loud noise rang out as the frying pan's absolute physical defense mechanism took effect, causing Laufey's palm to be jarred backward.
Lin Zhen used the momentum to leap backward, putting five meters of distance between them.
He opened his System Inventory, his gaze sweeping over a pile of miscellaneous items before stopping on a cylinder with yellow characters on a red background.
This was a high-strength industrial solvent he had swiped from Oscorp, specifically for treating all sorts of stubborn ailments.
"Phase two, huh? Grandpa will give you a hot bath."
Lin Zhen unscrewed the cap, flicked a pebble with his toe to launch the solvent bottle into the air, where it shattered, drenching the top of Laufey's head with the pungent liquid.
White smoke hissed and rose as Laufey let out a deafening roar, his crown-shaped ice horns being corroded into deep grooves.
[Laufey's armor value decreased by 20%]
Laufey slammed his hands onto the ground, causing over a dozen ice spikes to burst from the earth.
Lin Zhen stepped onto his golden ghost fire hoverboard, weaving between the ice spikes while casually tossing two high-explosive pumpkin bombs.
Firelight flared on Laufey's chest, blasting away several pieces of the blue-black ice armor.
"The HP loss is too slow; this health bar is ridiculously thick."
Lin Zhen rolled his eyes as he looked at the status bar above Laufey's head, which had only lost a sliver of health.
Clouds rolled across the sky as a thick bolt of lightning shattered the gloom above the ruins.
A blonde, muscular man crashed down between Lin Zhenand Laufey, accompanied by lightning.
Thor was shirtless, wearing the signature floral apron of Sha County Delicacies around his waist, and holding a notched bone-chopping knife in his hand.
"Lin Zhen, hurry up and return the Mjolnir to me."
Thor's eyes blazed with fire as he raised the bone-chopping knife and pointed it at Lin Zhen's nose.
Lin Zhen carried the frying pan on his shoulder, "Buddy, raiding dungeons is all about first come, first served. Shouldn't you be in the kitchen prepping food after washing the dishes instead of running here to steal my experience?"
Laufey was enraged by the small figure that had suddenly appeared and raised his giant foot to stomp down.
Thor rolled to the side to dodge, his bone-chopping knife crackling with lightning as he slashed at Laufey's ankle.
Sparks flew, the bone-chopping knife's edge curled, and Laufey lost a sliver of health.
"Thor, bloodline of Odin, to think you would mingle with these ant-like humans."
Laufey recognized Thor, and the rage in his eyes intensified.
Thor tossed away the scrap metal and shouted upwards, "Laufey, your opponent is me!"
"Good tank, that aggro pull is solid. You hold him off, I'm going to base-race."
Lin Zhen watched from the side, amused.
If he had known, he would have called his underling Thorover immediately.
With Thor tanking the damage, he wouldn't have been so passive before.
He steered the hoverboard into the air and circled behind Laufey.
Laufey's attention was entirely fixed on Thor, his hands forming two massive ice blades as he slashed wildly at him.
Without Mjolnir, Thor could only rely on his alien physique to tank the hits, forced to retreat repeatedly as the Sha County apron on his body was shredded into rags.
Lin Zhen hovered behind Laufey's back, pulled out a pickaxe, and hammered wildly at the area on Laufey's back that was emitting a blue light.
[heart of eternal winter collection progress: 45%]
Lin Zhen sped up his pickaxe swings, sparks dancing across the ice armor.
"Lin Zhen, I can't hold on much longer, give me the hammer!"
Thor was struck in the chest by an ice blade and thrown a dozen meters away.
"A man can't say he can't. Hold on for two more seconds, this monster is about to drop gold coins."
Lin Zhen swung the pickaxe with both hands, the final heavy blow piercing through the ice armor.
[Collection progress: 100%]
A diamond-shaped ice crystal radiating extreme cold popped out from Laufey's body.
Lin Zhen shoved the heart of eternal winter into his four-dimensional crotch.
Having lost its core, Laufey threw his head back and let out a shrill wail, his massive body filling with cracks at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"No, this cannot be..."
Accompanied by a massive shattering sound, Laufeyturned into a pile of ice shards.
[Killed World BOSS: Frost Giant · Laufey (Elite · Awakened State)]
[Obtained EXP + 8000]
[Obtained Points + 100]
[Obtained: heart of eternal winter × 1]
Lin Zhen looked at his skyrocketing EXP bar and patted his crotch with satisfaction.
He landed on the ground and used the frying pan to rummage through the ice shards.
"How stingy. A dignified World BOSS, and it didn't even drop any cash."
Thor limped over, reaching out to grab a cold iron crystal that had dropped on the ground.
Lin Zhen was quick-handed; he swept the frying pan, scooping the crystal into his arms.
"These are all my spoils of war. Don't touch them, you white-tier newbie."
Thor was furious, "I helped you hold him off, you must return the Mjolnir to me."
"If you want the hammer, bring 500,000 U.S. dollars to ransom it. I haven't even settled the bill for the Sha County dishes with you yet."
Lin Zhen rolled his eyes.
"Also, stop trying to scare me with your Thor name when you can't even wash dishes properly!"
"If you want gear, pay the ransom. Your muscles look pretty solid; do you want me to refer you to the Red-light districtin New York? With your physique, you could take on ten rich ladies a night, and you'll have the 500,000 U.S. dollars in no time."
Thor was so angry his face turned red, and he raised his bone-chopping knife, ready to rush forward and fight to the death.
Suddenly, a mass of sickly green magic radiance twisted in mid-air. Amidst the intertwining light and shadow, a Loki's Shadow appeared, wearing a ram-horned helmet and holding a scepter embedded with a sapphire.
Loki looked down at the two from above, his gaze finally landing on Lin Zhen's bulging crotch.
"Foolish mortal, you have taken what does not belong to you. Hand over the heart of eternal winter, and the great Asgardian King Loki can grant you immortality and endless glory; otherwise, you will wail in endless cold."
Lin Zhen stopped looting, stood up straight, looked up at the floating Loki's Shadow, and reached out to pat his own thigh.
"Loki, right? Your entrance special effects are pretty mediocre. You look like a big green caterpillar. If you want the heart of eternal winter, sure, pay a deposit of 100 million first. I see your helmet is pure gold, right? Using that as collateral works too."
Seeing Loki, Thor's anger shifted targets, "Loki, you usurper, you liar! Where is Father, and what have you done to Asgard?"
Loki didn't even glance at Thor, just smiled contemptuously, "My dear brother, you should just stick to being a cook in the mortal realm. Asgard is now under my rule."
After speaking, Loki's scepter pointed at Lin Zhen, and a beam of green psychic magic shot straight at Lin Zhen's face.
Lin Zhen didn't dodge or evade; he pulled the frying panfrom his lower back with his right hand and swung it with a powerful, baseball-style strike to meet the magic beam.
With a crisp "clang," the frying pan's absolute physical and magic reflection mechanisms took effect simultaneously, and the green beam was bounced back along its original path, precisely striking the chest of Loki's Shadow.
Loki's Shadow shook violently a few times, the arrogance on his face replaced by astonishment.
"What kind of artifact is this that it can actually reflect my magic?"
Lin Zhen couldn't be bothered to listen to the NPC's nonsense. He stomped on the golden ghost fire hoverboard, which spewed seven-colored exhaust, carrying him into the sky as he charged straight at Loki's Shadow.
"Don't just stand there talking trash. Since you're here, drop some gold coins before you leave."