Empty Window Period (Final) (Revised)

"This is one of those Big Shots from the Inner World, isn't it? Can't compare, not even close... As expected, little people like us are better off laying the foundation bit by bit and building a 'Sanctuary.' That's more realistic."

Compared with the Osawa Order's fickleness, Old Hand had a stronger resistance to the bizarre scene before him. After a slight stir in his heart, he regained his balance and observed the exquisite structure Mister Mo had planned with nothing but appreciation and a desire to broaden his horizons.

He saw the dark red sheen formed by the repeated processing of the Exoskeleton's bones grow richer, seeming to gleam. It was as though the marrow within the bone material had turned into fluid, flowing through every joint of the Exoskeleton, penetrating joint by joint. Clearly, the latent "mutagenic trait" had already been activated.

Old Hand knew his own work best. At a glance, he could tell the state of the processed bone material. Preserving the vitality of its mutagenic traits while finely processing it had always been the core of this technique, as well as its most valuable aspect.

Generally speaking, such reserved mutagenic traits existed as "stimulants," temporarily drawing out the user's potential and unleashing extraordinary strength, after which the corresponding risks had to be borne.

That Miner Bro from the Soul Order had been half-killed by this very thing.

Yet mutagenic traits generally took effect by seeping into and infecting flesh and blood. Simply activating them did not mean much. Here, however, Mister Mo seemed to be treating them as some kind of "fuel."

As for the first spark to ignite it...

Mister Mo's deeply controlled, rhythmic breathing and his somewhat swollen bodily outline clearly had a causal relationship with it.

Old Hand judged that it was the