Elite-Quality Gene Armament, Extraordinary Gene

Lu Yuan did not immediately take out the two spoils to inspect them.

After resting for a while, he continued moving across the Gobi, planning to find a sheltered spot before examining his loot.

As Lu Yuan left, elsewhere in the Graystone Forest, there was a group of four human Gene Warriors.

The four were resting, with more than a dozen Graystone Beetle corpses beside them.

Suddenly, a tall, lean man cried out in alarm:

"Look over there!"

The other three raised their heads and looked in the direction he indicated.

Following the tall man's pointing finger, they saw flames soaring into the sky.

Everyone's eyes widened, their faces filled with surprise and confusion.

"What's going on over there? Why is there such a huge blaze?"

"Could some treasure have appeared?"

"Maybe some unusual fierce beast has emerged!"

"Should we go take a look?"

The tall, lean man turned to his companions, seeking their opinions.

Then he and the other two looked toward a burly man clad in black metal armor, with a greatsword propped beside him.

"Boss, what do you think?"

The burly man stared at the distant flames, his eyes flickering. After considering it for a moment, he narrowed his eyes.

"Let's go take a look! But be careful. We may not be the only four people in this area. Such a huge disturbance must have caught the attention of other creatures too, and they might head over there as well. Stay alert when the time comes. Don't get ambushed!"

The other three grinned at his words.

"Don't worry, Boss! We've been getting by in the Origin Land for a while now. We understand something this basic!"

"Then let's go!"

Leaning on his greatsword, the burly man rose to his feet.

The other three stood as well, excitement in their eyes.

The four headed toward the flames.

Before long, the sand and stones in the air had been completely blown to the ground, and the flames gradually began to die out.

As the fire weakened, the two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles let out frenzied shrieks and charged into the wall of flames. After passing through it, they rushed back to the wooden chest.

However, they soon saw that the wooden chest had been opened and everything inside had vanished.

Screech! Screech! Screech!!

The two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles immediately let out furious shrieks, their claws constantly scraping at the ground as wisps of ghostly white light flickered across their bodies.

Then they rushed out, searching everywhere for whoever had taken the things from this place.

Unfortunately, Lu Yuan had erased every trace, leaving not even a scent behind.

Naturally, the two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles had no chance of finding Lu Yuan.

At the same time, the four human Gene Warriors gradually approached the area.

The burly man in metal armor walked cautiously at the front with his greatsword in hand, followed by the other three men.

As they passed through a passage, they suddenly halted.

That was because three elves emerged from not far away—two male elves and one female elf.

The two sides exchanged glances and warily watched each other.

Before anyone could speak, three kobolds emerged from another passage.

The three groups met and sized one another up.

Then a male elf carrying a longbow spoke gently.

"I presume everyone was drawn here by the flames. We still don't know what's there, so how about we join forces to investigate first, then decide what to do afterward?"

Upon hearing this, the humans and kobolds exchanged looks among themselves.

A black-furred kobold over two meters tall gave a savage grin.

"Heh heh, I have no objections."

The human burly man looked indifferent.

"That works for us too."

The three groups continued forward, keeping a distance from one another.

However, after taking only a few steps, they saw two Black Shadows charge out from the distance.

Once they saw what they were, all three groups' expressions changed at once.

"Black-Striped Graystone Beetles?!"

"Fuck! There are two of them?!"

"Watch out!"

The two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles also immediately spotted the three groups not far away.

When they saw them, both Black-Striped Graystone Beetles' eyes turned red.

It was definitely you thieves!!

You damned bastards, die!!

White light flashed around their bodies, and a layer of stone armor covered them as they screeched madly and charged at the three groups.

Combat skill, Petrification Skin.

The three groups: "???"

Watching the Black-Striped Graystone Beetles' crazed behavior, they were completely dumbfounded.

"They used a combat skill right away?! What the fuck is wrong with these two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles?!"

"These two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles have gone crazy!"

"Ranged fighters, attack!"

Several archers drew their bows and fired simultaneously, but the arrows merely left white marks on the Black-Striped Graystone Beetles' stone armor before bouncing away.

The female elf had already inscribed a gene. A fireball the size of a human head appeared in her hand and shot toward one of the Black-Striped Graystone Beetles.

Boom!!

Flames surged as the Black-Striped Graystone Beetle charged out of the fire, its stone armor slightly charred but its momentum undiminished.

Everyone's expressions changed at once.

"Damn!! What incredible defense! Hold them back! Don't let them reach the rear line!"

For a time, the scene descended into chaos.

Meanwhile, the culprit—a particularly handsome man destined to become a pillar of humanity—had already found a wind-sheltered spot atop the Gobi and was humming as he began inspecting his spoils.

He first took out the pale green ball of light.

Inside the ball of light was a greatsword.

Lu Yuan squeezed the ball of light, shattering it. The greatsword fell to the ground.

The greatsword was entirely black and roughly one and a half meters long. Two sections of its blade were thicker, somewhat resembling the joints of a Graystone Beetle.

Lu Yuan placed his hand on the hilt, and information about the greatsword immediately flowed into his mind.

Lu Yuan was not surprised in the slightest. This was one of the peculiarities of the Origin Land: it would explain the functions of certain spoils.

The Origin Land was too mysterious. No one knew why it worked this way.

No one even knew whether the Origin Land possessed its own consciousness.

However, that was not something Lu Yuan needed to concern himself with right now.

After receiving the information, a smile appeared on his face.

This greatsword was called the Beetle Claw. It was an Elite-Quality Gene Armament.

Unlike ordinary weapons, Gene Armaments were made from special materials and could enhance their users.

For example, right now...

The instant Lu Yuan gripped the Beetle Claw, he felt his strength increase significantly, nearly doubling.

That was downright outrageous.

Of course, that was also because Lu Yuan himself was too weak, while an Elite-Quality Gene Armament was exceptionally powerful. That was why it granted him such an immense boost.

Once Lu Yuan became stronger, this degree of enhancement would become less and less useful to him.

But for now, this Beetle Claw was practically a divine weapon to Lu Yuan!

Not only that, when Lu Yuan thrust the Beetle Claw into the ground, it pierced the rock as easily as tofu. Compared to the Blacklight Alloy Sword he had originally used, its sharpness was like heaven and earth.

With this weapon, who needed some Blacklight Alloy Sword? Get lost!

Lu Yuan happily stroked the blade of the Beetle Claw, his mood brightening.

With this weapon, wouldn't killing Graystone Beetles be easy?

Wouldn't his improvement skyrocket then?!

With a thought from Lu Yuan, the Beetle Claw turned into a mass of black light and merged into his body. It passed through the white mist before finally becoming a phantom floating around his Gene Chain.

This was another effect of Gene Armaments: the enhancement they provided could remain active at all times, as long as one's original body could withstand it.

If the enhanced power was too great, the original body would be unable to bear it and would eventually collapse.

After all, the power brought by Gene Armaments was external power in the end.

For instance, merely receiving the enhancement from the Beetle Claw made Lu Yuan feel as though his body had reached saturation. If he added another Gene Armament, his body probably would not be able to endure it.

Now that he had finished examining the Gene Armament, it was time for the main event.

With anticipation in his eyes, Lu Yuan took out the white ball of light.

Inside the ball of light, strange threads continuously intertwined and flowed, seeming to follow some mysterious pattern.

An Extraordinary Gene—the most vital thing for a Gene Warrior.

This was the first Extraordinary Gene Lu Yuan had obtained.