Infinite Hunter

Cheng Yijiu felt the knife pierce the lion, and it felt more strenuous than poking hard rubber. After being infected by the T virus, the lion's muscles twisted and grew, reaching a terrifying level of strength. This part was the upper part of the forelimb, which was very muscular. When Cheng Yijiu stabbed the knife into it, the lion let out a terrifying roar, then turned its head to bite but couldn't. It tried to roll over, but Cheng Yijiu was stuck and couldn't move.

Rolling around doesn't generate any power, and a lion's intelligence isn't high enough to resolve this problem through impact. So Cheng Yijiu severed the ligaments in the lion's shoulder with his blade, instantly disabling one of its forelimbs. The knife absorbed Cheng Yijiu's mental energy, so he quickly pulled it out. Black smoke and a foul smell rose from the wound—the odor of burnt, rotting protein—which nearly made Cheng Yijiu vomit.

His second strike came swiftly, stabbing the lion's neck—he had already touched the lion's neck, and this time he aimed for the joints of the cervical vertebrae, thinking that severing the nerves would make the situation easier. From the time he rolled over to the time he delivered the second strike, only two seconds passed. The tip of the knife penetrated where his hand had touched, and Cheng Yijiu's stability and strength were of great help.

Although the knife had penetrated the joint, it hadn't paralyzed the lion. The mutated creature likely no longer had the same neural connections as before. Cheng Yijiu quickly leaped away, landing from the lion's back—the lion had finally used its weight to successfully roll over, and he didn't want to suffer any broken bones. But once he got off, things would be troublesome. There was still a tyrant to deal with—he could already see the tyrant's "corpse" twitching.

After he landed, the lion could still attack him, but Cheng Yijiu couldn't get hurt—he could be hit, but not by the lion's claws or teeth, or he'd get infected and end up in trouble. No one knew if the vaccine would be effective. Fortunately, the lion had also been severely injured, its movements much slower than before, so Cheng Yijiu felt he could still hold his own with his knife. The blow to his neck was nearly fatal.

The damage Cheng Yijiu inflicted was such that the bones and supporting muscles of the lion's skull rapidly carbonized and decayed, unable to support the lion's head. Furthermore, the weight of the mane... At this moment, the T-virus's biological mutations began to take effect. The lion's muscles continued to swell, and it was unknown where this proliferation of organic matter came from. These muscles grew so frantically that the skin was ruptured and cracks appeared between the tendons.

It wasn't that Cheng Yijiu didn't want to take advantage of this opportunity to strike, but the whip of muscle that stretched out from the ruptured tendon prevented him from moving. These whip-like movements were completely unpredictable—to Cheng Yijiu's eyes, they were simply irregular twitches caused by chaotic electrical signals. But these twitches were no less powerful, as evidenced by the snapping sounds and whirring sounds of the wind.

Since there was no pattern to it, Cheng Yijiu couldn't rush in. He could only watch as the lion, infected by the T virus and suffering near-fatal injuries, underwent a transformation. Its mane was falling out, and its head was visibly shrinking. Its front half began to swell, especially its forelimbs, which were unusually large. In contrast, its back half seemed to shrink, and gradually, its hind legs couldn't even touch the ground.

The tyrant on the ground was also whipped to a bloody mess, but his transformation also began - starting with his clothes being burst.

What would the Tyrant's mutation be like? Cheng Yijiu didn't even need to look at it; he'd seen it all before in his gaming days. A Tyrant in full service mutated simply by growing larger, with connective tissue strengthened. His arms, especially his hands, grew larger and longer, his claws transformed into weapons—a definite decrease in combat effectiveness. Of course it did. While the original Tyrant was dumb, at least he could experiment with firearms thanks to the chip. After the transformation, he was just a melee fighter.

This kind of professional hand-to-hand combatant was driven out of the battlefield as early as the 19th century. If the tyrant uses this trick now, won’t his combat effectiveness be reduced?

Cheng Yijiu's opinion was that, when it came to biological weapons, Umbrella was a company that didn't really do its job. The only things they produced that qualified as biological weapons were viruses capable of widespread transmission. As for anything else they developed, it was nothing more than garbage. Take the Tyrant, for example. As the Tyrant began to mutate, he used his hardened palm to block the attack while using the other to drag himself out of the lion's range.

Cheng Yijiu figured that since he couldn't attack the lion, he might as well deal with the Tyrant first. He quickly picked up his gun and began to reload. After a full magazine, the Tyrant was almost done with its transformation, so Cheng Yijiu fired directly at the Tyrant's head. During the transformation, the Tyrant hadn't completely healed its head wound, perhaps because it was severely injured. Unlike the experimental subject, this Tyrant's heart wasn't exposed.

The red organ on his chest could be seen, but only slightly through the skin. To give the Tyrant, who was larger than a human, extreme strength and mobility, the heart had to be enormous—it would have taken up space in the digestive system anyway. Cheng Yijiu believed the Tyrant was likely supplementing its energy with external fluids. Now that the Tyrant hadn't gotten up yet, Cheng Yijiu had the perfect opportunity to give him a blow to the head—though it seemed like the Tyrant wouldn't need his head.

Or a direct blow to the heart would have finished the tyrant off. Cheng Yijiu quickly approached from above the tyrant's head. The tyrant's claws had limited attack range here, so if he could strike him before he stood up, he might be able to solve the problem. Unfortunately, the tyrant was faster than Cheng Yijiu expected. Just when he was about to kill him with a single blow, the big guy had already stood up and swung his claws at Cheng Yijiu.

Cheng Yijiu's experience with experimental subjects allowed him to dodge the claw. Holding the gun in his right hand and the knife in his left, he quickly fired two shots at the Tyrant's heart. Even if the 9mm bullet couldn't penetrate the hardened skin, it could at least transmit the impact. The Tyrant's movements would pause due to the impact on his heart, giving Cheng Yijiu an opportunity to attack. He didn't get greedy and simply used his knife to scratch the Tyrant's claws directly.

The bony claws were very hard and sharp, but they could cut through the leather behind them and sever tendons. Cheng Yijiu's knife was particularly damaging. While the two sides were fighting, Cheng Yijiu also had to pay attention to the mutating lion...

Chapter 21 Vaccines

The completed Tyrant model in actual combat was indeed far stronger than the experimental model encountered previously. Even after having its tendons severed, it was able to continuously regenerate and overcome the additional damage inflicted by the Demon-Slaying Blade. While its movements were slow, its power was immense, sending shreds flying from the wall as its claws tore it apart. Overall, it was manageable. Relying on his greater agility, Cheng Yijiu effectively sapped the Tyrant's strength with his blade.

A monster like this possessed limited "energy," and it wasn't clear how much fat it had. However, this entire world was based on "unscientific" assumptions, so it wouldn't be surprising if this tyrant wasn't like that—in the end, the tyrant would be finished off by plunging a knife into its heart. Cheng Yi had been fighting for a long time, his knife and pistol combined to leave numerous smoking wounds on the tyrant's skin.

Cheng Yijiu also wanted to kill the tyrant as soon as possible. There was also a lion that was mutating. He could still fight for now, relying on his superhuman reflexes. Once the lion completed its transformation, the situation would be out of control. The tyrant's collision and combo were indeed difficult to deal with. Cheng Yijiu also used the combat technique of instant counterattack to dodge the attacks while helping the tyrant bleed.

A deep roar echoed, a sound completely different from the Tyrant's roar. A black shadow flickered in the interplay of moonlight, the window, and the wall, knocking the Tyrant down in a single blow. Cheng Yijiu quickly retreated, his night vision finally allowing him to see clearly what was going on.

That was indeed a mutated male lion. Its two front limbs became surprisingly developed. Although the basic shape had not changed, their length and thickness were at least twice as much as before, fully supporting the lion's body. However, the two hind legs of this male lion had severely atrophied, as if it had polio. The entire injured hind half showed signs of atrophy, while the tail and spine grew abnormally to form a structure like a bone whip.

The structure of the lion's forequarters and shoulders had also changed. In the past, this lion would have had an odd posture, with its forearms pulled back and its chest thrust forward. Only a portion of its mane remained, and its head dangled from its chest like a small, drooping pouch of flesh. This lion had grown a "new" cranial structure—a skull, perhaps? It lacked eye structures. The entire spherical structure was a large mouth, with no exposed fur or flesh. Thick tendons could be seen connecting the upper and lower jaws.

"The bite force of this thing must be terrifying." Cheng Yijiu thought so. The fangs of this thing are all messed up, but after biting, it becomes a terrible cage. Now this big mouth is biting the tyrant, allowing the tyrant to scratch its head with its claws weakly - because the tyrant is bitten face up with its head and shoulders in its mouth, the tyrant's arms cannot exert force backwards at all - the joints are restricted, and the monster's head is healing rapidly after being torn open.

Behind its head, where its shoulders used to be, the lion had sprouted two long, thin limbs with four joints, each tipped with three claws, two facing forward and one facing backward, capable of clasping. These two arms were likely over three meters long. "If I hadn't seen it mutate, I wouldn't have guessed this monster was a lion." Cheng Yijiu had no intention of stopping the monster from killing the tyrant, as it would have been to his advantage. All Cheng Yijiu did now was pull out the double-barreled Holy Flame and load it with two single-shot rounds.

He took out a mint, put it in his mouth and chewed it. A chill rushed to his head. "I should have brought a tube of mustard. I could squeeze it directly into my mouth. It's a great way to refresh myself!" Cheng Yijiu was ready. After the lion killed the tyrant, he would shoot the beast. "One shot! Only one shot!" Cheng Yijiu felt the cost of two shots was too high and too dangerous. He stretched his arms and legs. The previous battle with the tyrant had been very tense, and he needed to relax.

Even with the monster's bite force, it seemed unable to cleave the Tyrant in two. The Tyrant kept trying to escape from its mouth, but it was simply too weak to exert force. Ultimately, the Tyrant's joint structure was still human, and once locked in, it was difficult to escape. Cheng Yijiu waited for a long time. Fortunately, the possible American soldiers on the roof and below must have hit a hard spot and hadn't reached here. The gunfire continued to blaze at a similar distance.

The hospital building has more biochemical monsters than Cheng Yijiu imagined...

The lion's saliva must have been corrosive, because the Tyrant's movements were becoming increasingly sluggish. Cheng Yijiu could see the muscles where he was bitten gradually dissolving, revealing the internal organs protected by the bones beneath. With the Tyrant's strength, he inflicted some damage to the mutant lion in his dying struggle. He exerted force with his legs, breaking his leg muscles and shattering his bones, and lifted the lion high from the ground.

Then it crashed down hard, shattering the floor of the hospital corridor... The two monsters fell to the floor below. "Great!" Cheng Yijiu twirled the shotgun in his hand happily, peered down from the edge, and leaped over, leaning against the wall. He didn't have to fight the monster if he could avoid it. As for who would be left with this monster? That was none of Cheng Yijiu's business. Besides, no matter how this monster mutated, it would be destroyed by a nuclear bomb launched by the US military in 72 hours at most.

Cheng Yijiu walked to the cold storage and started to turn the steering wheel to open the door. "There's still enough time, it shouldn't have thawed yet." As soon as the door opened a little, a stream of white air rushed out. Cheng Yijiu shuddered when he walked in. The temperature inside was at least 50 to 60 degrees below zero, and some individual freezers might be over 100 degrees below zero. Cheng Yijiu was looking for the vaccine, "Please don't play synthesis with me! It's too boring if it's like a game."

It turned out that synthesis was necessary. Because the vaccine had a short shelf life, it had to be adjusted immediately and used within an hour. "Thank goodness I had the memo!" Cheng Yijiu looked at the flow chart on his computer and gritted his teeth as he began to mix the vaccine. Yes, the equipment in the cold storage had its own battery pack to keep it running. After some manipulation, Cheng Yijiu had a cylinder of purple liquid. All he needed was a syringe to inject himself.

There were syringes in the cold storage, but they had to be taken outside before they could be used. The vaccines had already been thawed, so he had to get out quickly to avoid them freezing again. As he was leaving, Cheng Yijiu saw two claws gripping the floorboards as the lion struggled to climb up...

Chapter 22: Battle

Just like in the game, you can't escape your boss fight; it must be fought. This mutated lion hadn't appeared in any of the previous Resident Evil games that Cheng Yijiu remembered—especially in the second and third Resident Evil games related to Raccoon City. Even in the spin-off games, there were no lions mutated like this. So this was probably a boss fight just for him—the same thing happened with the Rat King before.

"Is this really the T-Virus?" Cheng Yijiu was a little skeptical, because such a drastic mutation didn't seem like something a T-Virus could do. Instead, it looked more like the work of a G-Virus. "Perhaps this is a G-Creature. It's possible they've been testing the G-Virus in a lab—so it's not in a zoo. But if they had to test it, wouldn't it be better to use mice? Even if it mutated, it wouldn't be as difficult to deal with as it is now."

Cheng Yijiu was ready, a double-barreled shotgun in his right hand and a large Rambo knife in his left. Though the lion's claws, mutated and elongated, appeared thin and long, almost like bone, they now seemed surprisingly powerful. With a sharp click, the claws dug into the concrete floor, gripping firmly. Then, the mutated monster gradually took shape.

"Why can't it just stay down there? Why does it have to come back to this level?" Cheng Yijiu didn't know why. This creature's brain had likely completely degenerated. As for what controlled its physiological activities, its thoughts, and its instinctive reactions? Cheng Yijiu said he didn't know either. Even if the brain was still there, it certainly wasn't inside the lion's head, which now seemed to have degenerated further into a mere "ornament."

That's right, downstairs, the outcome must have finally been decided. The lion, relying on a sneak attack, devoured the tyrant and, in such a short time, completed another "mutation." In Cheng Yijiu's eyes, the lion's head, which had originally drooped to the chin of the "new head," had now lost more than half of its bones, leaving only a lion's mane "ornament" on the monster's chest. This reminded him of the claws of the Skywalker from Transformers.

The two front paws had grown further, but the joint structure hadn't changed. This gave the creature a strange gait, almost like walking upside down. The biggest overall change was its increased size. If it had been the size of a hippopotamus before, it was now roughly the size of an Asian elephant, making it difficult to maneuver in the hospital corridors. However, that didn't matter. The formerly atrophied hindquarters had been replaced by a splintered whip, with the exception of the spine and tail.

The hind legs had completely disappeared, and the pelvis seemed to have mutated, extending from the ribs at the back to form a petal-shaped mouth with "teeth" that rotated and retracted like a crusher—in other words, this creature now had two mouths. The front one, with its bony structure and upper and lower jaws, had become larger and more prominent, but still lacked eyes. Tiny, wriggling whiskers surrounded both mouths of this monster, which Cheng Yijiu suspected were its enhanced sense of smell.

The monster made an eerie grunting sound, and Cheng Yijiu slowly began to approach it. Unfortunately, he had to fight it, because the monster's position on the ground had placed the hole behind it, which meant it was constantly approaching Cheng Yijiu. The hunter let out a long breath, raised the short-barreled shotgun, and took aim. Where should he shoot this thing? It seemed to be all flesh, but generally speaking, it was best to aim for the center.

When he was five meters away, Cheng Yijiu rolled sideways to avoid the claws and tail sting, and then he opened fire. According to the battle plan he had previously formulated, he quickly retreated after firing—hoping that the time gained from distance would allow him to overcome the dizziness and loss of consciousness after the firing. As he fired, his vision went black. The consequence of losing so much mental energy was that he almost lost control of his body. He relied on strong willpower to move, and then squatted there, motionless.

His vision went dark, a water and land temple was going on in his mind, he was drowsy and loud, he wanted to fall asleep but couldn't, he felt very nauseous in his chest and abdomen but couldn't vomit - his willpower restrained this behavior, but it brought him much more pain than vomiting.

After a long while, he heard a terrible roar in his ears, and his eyes were finally able to focus again. Although he still felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, Cheng Yijiu was able to stand up. He shook his head, as if to shake away the buzzing things, and looked at the monster he had shot. "Wow! That's terrible!" He also exclaimed softly.

He'd struck the area where the lion's head's "breastplate" should have been, but now that area was gone. All Cheng Yijiu saw was a gaping hole, transparent from front to back—the result was that he'd destroyed the monster's mouth from behind. Even the bone whip had vanished without a trace. The edge of the hole was carbonized tissue, still glowing red. Peering through the hole, which was probably fifty centimeters in diameter, it seemed as if even the original tissue had been "vaporized."

The monster was in a very bad state, but Cheng Yijiu was in a similar state. He didn't even have the strength to finish it off—it wasn't that he lacked the strength, but if the other party suddenly counterattacked, he probably wouldn't have the reaction to dodge. Cheng Yijiu looked at the monster and it didn't seem like it could recover—the hole was still expanding, and the creature's tissues were carbonizing and falling off. The power of this demon-breaking single-headed bullet was indeed strong, but the problem was that it was also draining a lot of mental energy.

After two attempts, Cheng Yijiu just wanted to give himself a quick shot and then find a relatively safe place to have a good sleep. As for whether he would be punished for exceeding the hunting time, he had no choice but to ignore it. Cheng Yijiu quickly turned and left, leaving the monster to its own devices. He heard a heavy crash, and the monster must have fallen downstairs. Cheng Yijiu loaded the vaccine into the syringe and injected himself without caring about anything else.

He quickly found a building. The top floor was deserted, and he didn't know if there were any zombies in the six rooms in the hallway. He chose the middle room and shot the door lock. "Great, no one inside, no zombies." However, after he fired, there seemed to be movement in the room in the distance near the emergency escape. Cheng Yijiu ignored it. He closed the door and dragged the furniture over to block it—he was very strong, and the door he blocked was probably something only a tyrant could push open.

He set another pull-ring grenade trap at the bedroom door. Entering the bathroom, Cheng Yijiu was pleasantly surprised to find running water and the power still running—otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen this place. He quickly showered and rinsed his clothes—they were all quick-drying fabrics. The bed was cleaner than he'd imagined; judging by the smell, the original resident must have been a woman.

Cheng Yijiu placed the weapon next to his pillow, pulled down the blinds, and fell into a deep sleep...

Chapter 23 Killing

To restore mental strength, the best way for most people without any side effects is to sleep. Adequate, deep sleep for eight hours is enough to restore a nearly cracked brain to its original state of clarity. Cheng Yijiu woke up after approximately eight hours and twenty minutes of sleep. During this time, the sounds outside the window were the roars of zombies, the screams of civilians, and the sounds of explosions and gunfire, but none of this could wake him.

During this time, no living creatures had attempted to enter the room, neither zombies nor humans. There had indeed been a strange scraping noise outside the door, but no one had come in. Cheng Yijiu woke up, paused for a moment, and checked the clock to confirm that he had slept for eight hours. He then put on his washed and dried clothes, donned his weapon, brushed his teeth, and ate some dry food.

He didn't feel any discomfort after the injection, so it seems the vaccine worked. However, this doesn't mean Cheng Yijiu can just go wild; he still prioritizes staying safe. "As for G-organisms, there might be some juveniles in the police station right now. If we really want to catch them, we'll have to go to the underground research institute. The G-organism William transformed into eventually died at the hands of Li Sanguang, but I wonder if I'll be the one to take its life this time."

Cheng Yijiu retrieved the grenade from the trap. He didn't leave through the door, but instead left the room via the fire escape by the window. There were no zombies on the fire escape, but there were downstairs. From a high vantage point, Cheng Yijiu called out the zombies with his 9mm pistol, firing each bullet at the zombies' heads from less than three meters above. With the 9mm, two shots would be enough to get a headshot. Cheng Yijiu calmly called out the zombies one by one, slowly waiting for all the zombies in the back alley to hear the noise and approach, then he shot them all in the head from below.

About twenty minutes later, Cheng Yijiu set out again, this time aiming for the police station. He continued along the road. The sky was dim, but at least during the day, visibility was good, and he could clearly see the zombies roaming the streets. This made Cheng Yijiu even more relaxed. He could see the zombies that suddenly jumped out from afar, so what was there to fear? He could just dodge around them or shoot them in the head. If he felt like it, he could even use a knife to hack them.

Just like that, Cheng Yijiu quickly arrived at the police station. At that moment, police were still scattered throughout the city fighting—gunfire rang out everywhere, and the police station before Cheng Yijiu might only have a few officers on duty, or even no one at all. After all, when he had been here before, there were already quite a few zombies in the police station, and even Lickers had appeared. Cheng Yijiu pushed open the iron gate and prepared to enter the police station.

After he pushed open the door, he sighed - because what appeared before him was his little house.

"The hunt was successful? It seems that the lion is a G-organism. No wonder. No wonder such a mutation occurred. It certainly shouldn't be a mutation brought about by the T virus." Cheng Yijiu thought that perhaps by now, the mutated lion had finally died. Cheng Yijiu checked the computer and found that the mission had indeed been completed. The reward was indeed quite large, enough to keep him entertained for a while.

Cheng Yijiu placed his weapons on the weapon rack on the first floor wall and walked to the second floor hall. As expected, a massive mutant lion, the size of an Asian elephant, appeared in the specimen hall. It was a mutated form, and it didn't look like a taxidermy specimen. "Is this... a plastinated specimen?" It was clear that the specimen before him was more lifelike, far superior to the taxidermy specimens he had seen before.

"Right. That lion has mutated into that state. Taxidermy is impossible," Cheng Yijiu sighed. Now he could finally examine it up close and personal. "What a hideous monster! That secondary head doesn't resemble a lion at all. More like... something indescribable, a potato with a giant mouth. No eyes or nose. Actually, there's no nose, but those whiskers are probably scent sensors."

This creature's respiratory system should be under its head, with four closable holes that look like they lead directly to its lungs. "Ah, the hind legs are actually still there. That backside, which is probably a butthole that mutated into a chrysanthemum, actually has clawed limbs on both sides that can fold inward. They might be the remains of the hind legs." Cheng Yijiu studied it for a long time and came to a conclusion. "This thing is really ugly. It's fine as a character in a horror game, but whoever wants to use it as a biological weapon must be crazy."

He threw his clothes back into the washing machine, changed into something more casual, put his keys, wallet, and other belongings back on, picked up his phone, and left. The pet shop was still empty, but thankfully he didn't have to worry about rent, and the pet food didn't expire that quickly. His customers were actually a bit odd. Those buying pet food were the most normal, but those buying other items—like the crafts he'd brought with him—were definitely the oddballs.

The guy who came now was even stranger - because this little fat guy reminded Cheng Yijiu of buying a disc in the computer city a long time ago. He secretly ran over and asked, "Boss, do you have any discs?"

The problem was that Cheng Yijiu had no idea where to sell him. The fat guy asked, "Boss, do you have anything good here?"

Cheng Yijiu was at a loss for words. "What kind of good stuff are you talking about?" He really didn't know what good stuff he had. The little fat man looked around with a sly look. Seeing that there was no one else, he lifted his clothes a little, revealing a handle. "That's it." Cheng Yijiu saw a dagger with a blade about 20 centimeters long.

"Wow, this is a prohibited knife. If you carry this thing in public, it will easily be confiscated. If a fight breaks out and your knife is discovered, the situation will be completely different." Cheng Yijiu advised the little fat man seriously, "Let me see." The little fat man seemed to have a mental struggle for a while before he took out the dagger and handed it to Cheng Yijiu, "The brass scabbard... This thing must be very expensive."

After gripping the hilt, Cheng Yijiu immediately knew that this dagger was unusual - because it resonated with his spiritual power, it was obviously a knife made of "alchemy" or "enchanted". No matter which one it was, this dagger must have special effects. Cheng Yijiu didn't want to try out what special effects this thing had, he just pulled out the dagger and took a look. "The steel mouth and other things are just average. As a knife, it's just an ordinary dagger. But with the special effects..."

Cheng Yijiu remained calm. He returned the dagger to the fat boy and said, "Not bad. How much did you pay for it?"

Chapter 24 Weapons

The fat boy stretched out his hand and gestured, "Five thousand yuan!" Cheng Yijiu laughed, "Five thousand yuan for this thing? Buying American branded knives is not that expensive. But it's good that it works. The only thing I'm afraid of is that it doesn't work." After they started the conversation, the fat boy also said, "I heard that you have some very powerful cold weapons here. I want to buy some."

Cheng Yijiu laughed. "Don't do anything illegal. Where did you hear I have cold weapons?" The little fat man grumbled for a long time, but in the end he couldn't explain clearly. Cheng Yijiu directly told the little fat man to leave, but the guy insisted on staying like a slug. "I'll trade with you!" Then he took out a bundle of silver-white rope from his backpack. Cheng Yijiu smelled a fishy smell, and he knew what it was as soon as he touched it.

Cheng Yijiu knew it was an animal tendon, and if he wasn't mistaken, it was most likely from some large cat. He could feel a pulse when he touched it, a strange yet pleasant feeling. Cheng Yijiu's expression suddenly grew more serious. "What kind of weapon do you want to exchange?" Cheng Yijiu decided to listen to the little fat man's request.

There was something wrong with this little fat guy, Cheng Yijiu was certain of that. The thing he took out was also wrong—normal tendons cut and dried in the shade wouldn't give Cheng Yijiu this strange feeling. "I want..." The fat guy hesitated a little. "Let me make it clear first, I don't have any guns or ammunition here, otherwise I'll go to jail." Cheng Yijiu cut off the guy's talk of hot weapons.

The fat man gritted his teeth and said, "I want a dagger." Cheng Yijiu looked at him and said, "You already have one, don't you? And this dagger isn't bad, right? But since you said you want to change it, and I asked you to state your requirements, I can't say you're wasting it. Well, wait a moment." Cheng Yijiu got up and went to the second floor to get something. The next day after returning, he tried to continue playing with alchemy - this thing requires a lot of practice.

And he had indeed used cold iron to forge a regular demon-killing Rambo knife, with a blade about 20 centimeters long. This time, Cheng Yijiu took the knife and the cowhide scabbard. The little fat man's eyes lit up when he saw it, and he reached out to grab it. Cheng Yijiu pressed the scabbard, "Don't you think you're getting a loss?" He pointed at the tendon with his chin, "Let's be frank, this is either a tiger or a leopard tendon. In terms of value alone, it's probably much more valuable than my dagger."

Cheng Yijiu deliberately didn't mention that his knife had the power to repel demons; he wanted to test it out. The fat boy seemed a bit cunning. "What? I just like collecting good knives. Master, this knife you made is really, really good. It's a good deal, a very good deal." Such cunning was worse than nothing.

Cheng Yijiu smiled and let go of his hand, allowing the boy to grab the knife and run away. "He recognizes the effect of this thing." Cheng Yijiu thought, and he put the tendon away, closed the shop and went upstairs.

Arriving on the second floor, he first visited the alchemy lab—yes, after he learned alchemy, an alchemy lab had been added to the second floor, but to him it looked more like a chemistry lab, the only difference being a large marble table with a rather complex-looking circular alchemy array carved into it. The only function of this alchemy array was analysis, analyzing the various indicators and properties of materials—and as Cheng Yijiu's alchemy knowledge became more and more profound, he could continuously add components to it, achieving even better and more precise analytical capabilities, or even directly leaping to a higher level.

He placed the tendon in the middle and activated the analysis array. The output was quite advanced, actually coming from a screen—this thing had a D interface. It was unknown how the alchemy array converted the signal, and Cheng Yijiu had no idea. Anyway, from the screen, it looked like a tiger tendon. The problem was, the estimated number at the end surprised Cheng Yijiu. "Impossible? The age that can be analyzed from this tendon is about 120 years?"

How long can a tiger live? One hundred and twenty years is even longer than an elephant's lifespan. And judging by the appearance of its tendons, this tiger lived for a hundred and twenty years and was still in its prime when it was killed. "There's something very mysterious about this." Cheng Yijiu couldn't help but think of the worlds he'd experienced before—some of which were filled with surreal elements.

"This tendon is probably something similar, more than 120 years old...it can probably say 'demon beast'. But how can I use it?" Cheng Yijiu thought for a long time but couldn't think of a suitable way to use it.

If you can't figure it out, forget it. Cheng Yijiu left the alchemy lab and strolled through the second-floor hall. His prey were now neatly arranged in this vast hall. Whether it was the exquisite taxidermy specimens or the delicate plastinated specimens, Cheng Yijiu felt a sense of satisfaction. "At least my time wasn't wasted." He looked at the prey, at the skeletons before their specimens, at the fatal scars left on them, and felt that he was truly capable.

The wild boar specimen had disappeared for some reason, replaced by a pig's head hanging on the wall—it seemed that even this small house considered a wild boar unworthy of being considered a legitimate prey. "This one looks so small too," Cheng Yijiu smiled as he looked at the hunted Hokkaido brown bear.

What will he hunt next? Cheng Yijiu believes he won't encounter prey that can be easily taken out with rifles and normal bullets. Perhaps supernatural prey that defies common sense will appear. "Will there be hunting of humans?" Cheng Yijiu sighed. "Even if there is hunting, it will probably be werewolves or vampires." In fact, there are many other things. At least Cheng Yijiu thinks there may be a lot of such things for him to hunt in North America.

It would be one thing if it were just a regressive cave bear, but if things go wrong, there might be something even more dangerous.

What's the solution? A double-barreled shotgun is one solution, but the problem is that it consumes too much mental energy. Perhaps working on both the gun and the bullet could effectively reduce the loss of mental energy—something like this actually exists in alchemy. Forging a special bullet, using materials to replace mental energy, and paying a portion of that energy when forging the bullet—while it wouldn't be very versatile, and you wouldn't be able to use just any buckshot, it seems acceptable considering the rifle.

Then let's modify the rifle - it's almost like rebuilding it...

Chapter 25 Transaction

Regarding the creation of a firearm capable of exorcising demons, there's a theory that muzzle-loading flintlock rifles from the 18th and 19th centuries naturally possessed the power of flame, while later metal smokeless powder-loaded rifles lost this ability. Cheng Yijiu dismissed this as complete nonsense. He wouldn't be creating another flintlock rifle anyway, so he'd modify his existing M70 rifle, starting with changing the barrel.

The barrel, like the chamber and bolt, could be modified to wear-resistant cold iron. Then, a few runes could be added to the chamber, with the main runes being on the bullet. This would significantly reduce the difficulty of alchemy—"If I keep refining this kind of thing, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to improve alchemy," Cheng Yijiu thought. The wood of the alchemical rifle didn't need to be treated, so walnut was used.

Refining the rifle didn't consume Cheng Yijiu's energy. He was already quite experienced in refining cold iron. As long as the cold iron wasn't inscribed with runes—the runes in the barrel were hand-carved—refining these components could be considered a form change. The energy consumption was minimal, and the success rate was nearly 100%.

Bullets were a bit more of a hassle. To achieve sufficient lethality, he had to work on the warhead. Since engraving runes on lead was too laborious, he could only make a few bullets a day before falling asleep. Therefore, he had to change the materials and work on them. Cheng Yijiu flipped through the alchemy materials manual, searching for the right ones.

In fact, the alchemy manual already has many solutions for this type of bullet. The cheapest, most effective, and mediocre in effectiveness is the copper bullet. Red copper, a material re-synthesized through alchemy, has a natural ability to break down dark magic structures and is one of the most commonly used materials in the "light" category.

After refining it, he would need to create a special, reusable alchemical array capable of transforming a block of standard copper of standard size and weight into the required standard bullet, and then attach the appropriate runes to enhance its lethality and dispel the dark evil. This process, not only was highly efficient, but it also consumed far less mental energy than crafting bullets one by one.

"That's the cost..." Cheng Yijiu sighed, "Alchemy is really not something that poor people can afford." Although the catalyst can be used repeatedly, the price of the consumable transformation substances is not cheap at all - fortunately, many gems can be artificially produced now, otherwise these things are still completely natural, and you will go bankrupt in minutes if you learn this.

Red copper isn't red; refined red copper is a dull yellow. Cheng Yijiu spent three days and three nights, working fourteen hours a day, to completely complete the alchemy array—he worked three days to carve it according to the diagram in the encyclopedia, and spent another day carefully checking it. Another two days filled the carved lines with the required materials. Each section had its own independent processing method, and each section had to be activated in batches...

In short, by the time Cheng Yijiu had completed the alchemy array, a week and a half had passed, and the money he had spent on it had exceeded six figures, almost reaching seven figures. Fortunately, after such an investment, the alchemy array was very useful, and it could produce twenty warheads at a time according to his requirements. If he expended most of his mental energy in one day, he could produce it three times, which meant sixty warheads.

However, the success rate wasn't that high. Cheng Yijiu spent two days refining only sixty bullets, a half-success rate. As for the copper shells, propellant, and primers for the bullets, he had them in his workshop and could easily load them himself. So, he prepared sixty bullets with considerable lethality against dark, evil creatures. Before he could conduct further tests, something unexpected happened in his life.

Someone came to him to buy "weapons" again, this time it was a young girl. Cheng Yijiu was mentally prepared for this - he had a guess, but there was not enough evidence to confirm it.

Cheng Yijiu looked at the girl in front of him with a bit of helplessness. She was a bit neurotic, not beautiful, but cute, after all, she had the advantage of age. "So, you're here to buy 'weapons' from me, just like the fat guy?" He made a double quotation mark gesture with his hands. The girl nodded frantically. "Oh... I really shouldn't have sold it to that fat guy." Cheng Yijiu sighed. "If this keeps up, I'll end up in jail sooner or later."

He wasn't too scared, though, because he could just stay inside the hut—it didn't seem like there was an option to force someone to leave, so he could stay inside. Since the girl already knew about this, there was no point in hiding it, so he nodded. "Do you also need a dagger like the fat man?" The girl shook her head. "I need a firearm."

"Please leave, sir. Selling knives is one thing, selling firearms is another. You'll go to jail if you do that," Cheng Yijiu said righteously. The girl grabbed his sleeve and said, "It's not a gun! It's not a gun! I just want bullets. Please sell me bullets." Cheng Yijiu was not surprised. "Bullets? This thing is no different from selling guns." The girl immediately took out something, a pair of "gems" that looked like animal eyeballs.

Cheng Yijiu looked at the two balls. "This... is a real tiger's eye. But it feels hard and cold. Are there gems like this? Or..." He touched the objects, and a strange feeling came over him. "Wait a minute." Cheng Yijiu had no doubt that these people wanted more than ordinary bullets. He didn't have a remade pistol at the moment, so he didn't have any bullets, whether 9mm or 45mm.

He only had the sixty rounds of alchemical bullets he had just completed, and how much was he willing to pay for the pair of "tiger eyes"? Cheng Yijiu thought for a moment, took out five bullets, and went downstairs. In front of the girl, he arranged the five bullets on the table. ".300 Winchester Magnum rifle bullets, whether you have a suitable launcher or not, this is my offer." The girl's face showed an expression of joy. She put the five bullets away, ran away with her small bag on her back, "Thank you." A voice came.

Cheng Yijiu put the tiger's eyes away and held them up to the light. "Is this alive?" The ping-pong-ball-sized spheres' pupils shrank to a single line when light shone through them, but transformed into a circle in the dark, exactly like a tiger's eye...

Volume: ???

Chapter 1: Mist

Cheng Yijiu put the pair of tiger-eye "stones" together with the tendons from before. What could this tendon be used for? He also had an idea. In the past, it could be used to make bowstrings, but now there are better bowstring materials than animal tendons. Even those made of twisted steel wire are better than biological ones.

Therefore, this thing can only be used in alchemy, and to analyze these things, Cheng Yijiu has to study alchemy carefully.

Cheng Yijiu checked his equipment again. He had also reforged the Thompson single-shot pistol with cold iron, but the civilian version of the 9mm M17 self-defense pistol had not been modified. This gun was actually hand-made and Cheng Yijiu spent a lot of effort on it.