Lin Xuan's swift, unseen dismantling of Director Chen's financial empire was not known to the public, but the quiet satisfaction of having removed a minor obstacle allowed him to focus entirely on the crucial next step: penetrating Industrial Zone 7.
He met Li Mo at the deserted public library, where she spent her days researching the Zone's archived history. She looked tired, having spent days cross-referencing obsolete blueprints with modern land registry data.
"I've found it," Li Mo said, pushing a diagram across the table—a faded image of a complex, layered security gate deep below Sector C. "Your Salvage Access Permit is only valid for the surface levels and the upper scrapyard. The area where the failed plasma core is located, the deepest layer of Sector C, is sealed by a proprietary lock."
She tapped a red circle on the diagram. "This is the security mechanism. It doesn't just read a card; it requires an access key encoded with the biometric and energy signature of the lead researcher, Dr. Wei. He died in prison five years ago."
Lin Xuan studied the lock mechanism. It was ancient technology, but the use of a bio-signature made it functionally equivalent to a low-grade immortal array—a barrier designed to recognize a specific energy fingerprint.
"A mortal attempt at an identity seal," Lin Xuan observed, a hint of disdain in his voice. "It is flawed. The lock seeks a specific sequence of Qi, not merely a fingerprint. If we can replicate the sequence, the body is irrelevant."
"We can't replicate Dr. Wei's entire neural pattern," Li Mo argued, frustrated. "Even the government couldn't breach this for years after the project failed. They just sealed the whole zone off."
Lin Xuan reached into his backpack and pulled out a broken, magnetic stripe keycard he had found on the street and a small, cracked ceramic resistor he'd salvaged from an old television set.
"The material world is abundant in suitable junk," Lin Xuan said, placing the two items on the table. He then placed the official access permit Li Mo had acquired next to them. "The permit holds the basic frequency of the Zone's security system. The keycard provides the form. The resistor offers structural complexity."
He closed his eyes, focusing his core Qi on the objects.
[Synthesis Query Initiated: (Broken Magnetic Keycard (F) + Ceramic Resistor (F) + Official Access Permit Signature (E)) = ?]
[Suggestion: Rank D Universal Access Key (D). Cost: 1 Synthesis Point.]
"Execute synthesis," Lin Xuan commanded.
A faint golden light pulsed beneath his cupped hands, and the materials dissolved into a smooth, silent energy. When he opened his palm, a simple, glossy black keycard materialized. It lacked any visible logo or magnetic stripe, yet it hummed with a concentrated, quiet power that Li Mo, though mortal, felt instinctively.
[Artifact: Rank D Universal Access Key][Grade: D][Effect: Forges and emits any Rank E or lower energy signature required to bypass simple electronic/biometric identity seals. Effective up to 100 meters.]
"This key," Lin Xuan said, holding the new object. "It is bound to the Zone 7 frequency, but with a flexible identity channel. We simply need the data of Dr. Wei's signature."
Li Mo stared at the keycard, then at the empty space where the junk had been. She dismissed the moment of impossibility and focused on the task.
"The biometric data… I archived it with the schematic. It's a low-grade scan I copied from the police records when he was jailed." She pulled up a separate file on her laptop and began projecting the complex, digitized pattern onto the table.
Lin Xuan channeled a wisp of Qi from the keycard, touching it lightly to the light of the projected image. The rank D artifact immediately absorbed the complex signature.
"The key is now Dr. Wei," Lin Xuan confirmed, pocketing the card. "It will open the final gate and every minor lock on the way."
Li Mo stared at him, her research-fueled curiosity warring with shock. "You just… synthesized the keycard out of trash and made it impersonate a dead man's brainwaves?"
"Mortals waste too much time seeking what they believe is rare," Lin Xuan stated, standing up. "The components are everywhere. The insight is not."
He looked toward the north window, where the looming shape of the Industrial Zone could be seen against the darkening sky.
"Prepare the rest of the schematics and the survival gear. Tonight, we enter the scrapyard. There is no time to waste on mortal politics when Immortal Law awaits."