Chapter 67

The Originium on his legs was no longer visible after the explosion. Only chopstick-sized scars remained on his forearms. Mudrock's skin was fair and smooth, and he looked more confident than before.

Leaving aside her internal organs, the only visible part of her body is a lightning-shaped Originium below her right breast. If she were dressed and covered up, it would be impossible to tell that she was an Infected.

"Lord Shi Lei."

Mudrock knelt before him, his eyes filled with reverence.

Theresia was assassinated, and Theresis was unworthy to be the King of Sarkaz. Only the man before her gave her a sense of belonging, hope, and faith.

From this moment forward, Mudrock is willing to give his life and regard Shi Lei as his only master.

Suddenly, a prompt flashed through his mind.

[Bite!]

[System detection indicates the host is about to expand their Personal Faction. Would you like to bind a familiar?]

[To establish a dependent relationship, all of the following conditions must be met; otherwise, the bonus will not apply.]

[1: The ability to master the Geo element.]

[2: Trust in the host reaches 200%.]

[3: Show sufficient respect to the host.]

Please read the following precautions carefully.

[1: You can only have one familiar at a time.]

[2: Once a member is bound to another, it cannot be unbound. A new member can only be bound after the existing member dies.]

After binding a member, you will enjoy the following effects:

[1: Enhanced cultivation effects for companions. Companions near the host receive additional bonuses and boosts to all attributes. The specific bonuses depend on the host's cultivation level and years of cultivation.]

[2: When either the host or a dependent is in danger, the other will immediately sense the exact location.]

[3: Requires increasing the host's cultivation years to unlock.]

After watching the 3D projection

Upon receiving the suggestion, Shi Lei immediately thought of the "Dragon King Tuo," a member of the Rex Lapis's retinue.

This ancient Geo-elemental creature was born with Geo-attribute abilities. When it was struck by the Rex Lapis's Creation Dragon, it likely met the criteria of trust and respect. However, its memories were subsequently Erosion, and it was sealed underground by the Rex Lapis.

Now that we can bind our relatives, could it be that in the future we can bind the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortal?

However, these immortals are unaffected by the Rex Lapis's attributes in Genshin Impact. It's unclear how much of a boost the frustrating system will provide.

Shi Lei originally envisioned Mudrock as Ganyu from Genshin Impact. Both are gentle, somewhat naive women. They would likely get along well, helping out and handling tasks.

However, the unreliable CWM System actually provides a [Family] slot that can increase cultivation speed. He needs to seriously consider whether to bind it to Mudrock.

The Dragon King Tuo is enormous; riding him around is stylish, cool, and impressive, but riding Mudrock...

Ahem, I've gone off on a tangent.

Mudrock is not only beautiful, but also gentle. Her low-key and steady demeanor pleases Shi Lei. Improving her cultivation speed would be a good thing.

Before making a decision, he went through everyone he knew and found no better family member than Mudrock.

Lin Yuxia's Originium Arts are sand manipulation, and now she's learned fire manipulation, starting to pursue the glass element. I wonder if this ability counts as Geo.

Even though Lin Yuxia respected him enough, she didn't completely trust him.

As for the Rat King Lin Gerui... he's already quite old, it just feels strange to tie up an old man like that.

Shi Lei rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought, staring at her two devil horns without saying a word.

Mudrock lowered its head, not daring to look directly at him, its fingers tightly clasped together in a prayerful gesture, like a devout nun.

After a short while, having made his decision, he spoke:

Mudrock.

Hearing Shi Lei's voice, her body trembled:

"My lord, I am here."

"I understand your sincerity. I'd like to reach a verbal agreement with you, but..."

"I do!"

Before he could finish speaking, Mudrock interrupted him. But she quickly realized this was impolite and apologized, saying:

"I'm sorry, sir, I was afraid you would refuse, I was a little too nervous, I'm really sorry! I'm willing to do whatever you ask of me."

Upon hearing this, Shi Lei couldn't help but break into a smile:

"Don't be nervous, I don't intend to refuse. Considering your right to know, some rules must be made clear beforehand. The term of this loyalty contract is for life. Only the death of either of us will void the contract. In return, I can make your Originium Arts training twice as effective, allowing you to become a capable general as soon as possible, understand?"

"Understood, sir."

He nodded in satisfaction, no longer having any concerns. He opened the system interface and bound the other party as a [family member].

In an instant, Mudrock felt full of energy. But his heart was also beating very fast.

108 Fast and comfortable

The Mudrock's Squad had no means of transportation, and all twenty-one members walked from the base to save money.

Even though they had long experience with forced marches in the Ursus wilderness and their stamina was higher than that of ordinary citizens, the journey of about ten kilometers still took them more than an hour. By the time they arrived at the warehouse, their legs were exhausted.

Strangely, after Mudrock and Shi Lei established their Master and Servant relationship, she felt as if she had been injected with an invisible energy, making her whole body full of vitality. The lingering fatigue in her legs vanished instantly.

Wow, that's amazing! Is this all he's capable of?

Mudrock bowed ninety degrees and expressed his sincere gratitude:

"Thank you, Master, my..."

"Stop."

Shi Lei sensed the inappropriate way she was being addressed and immediately interrupted, correcting her pronunciation:

"Calling me that way is easy to cause misunderstandings. It's better to call me Shi Lei, or by my code name Zhongli."

"Yes, Lord Shi Lei."

"I just spoke with those mercenaries, and they swore allegiance. I'll try to find a suitable job for them."

Mudrock mustered up the courage to look up at him, but quickly lowered her head and looked away:

"It is their blessing to be able to follow you, sir. I thank you on their behalf."

Shi Lei grinned and said with a slight smile:

"No need to be so polite. Since I've agreed, I'll take this matter seriously. To be honest, you're probably very clear about the treatment of infected people. Given their current situation, it might be difficult for them to find work."

If they don't mind, I can remove the remaining Originium from their limbs. They should scab over by the new year, giving us more options then.

Shi Lei is currently in the Immortal Realm, and his microscopic manipulation of the Rock Element has increased dramatically. He can detonate Originium in a very small area to expel infected lesions. However, he is still helpless against Originium attached to internal organs.

The essence of the detonation is to destroy the Originium.

However, the wounds that have already occurred at the contact surface after the Originium has been removed are not within the protection range of the Jade Shield.

If organs are recklessly detonated without considering the consequences, massive internal bleeding is highly likely. Without timely treatment, the infected person could be in mortal danger.

Shi Lei is still waiting, wondering if he can solve this problem after advancing to the Archon Realm around April this year.

First remove the Originium from the limbs, then cover them with clothes.

The Originium is located in the body, so it cannot be seen from the outside.

Mudrock was deeply grateful, her red lips parted slightly:

"My Lord... they are suffering from Originium- related complications and will not refuse your blessings."

"It's hard to say, we'll have to ask the parties involved. I'll respect their opinion, let's go."

Shi Lei returned to the table and took the initiative to greet Exusiai:

"Could you please go home and bring me some hemostatic medicine and bandages? I need them."

What are you doing?

"Don't worry about it for now, just bring it over on your motorcycle."

Exusiai seems reluctant, but she's been eating and staying for free these past few days, so it's time for her to do her part.

Okay~

Texas understood instantly upon hearing this:

"Let's go, I'll go back with you."

Sitting at the same table, when Shi Lei mentioned needing medication to stop the bleeding, he looked puzzled and asked:

"What? Did anyone get hurt?"

Shi Lei stood there, frozen for several seconds, trying to figure out how to get her out of the way and avoid getting involved. But since he had to cover up one lie with another, he could only vaguely summarize:

"Miss Nian, I really didn't mean to hide it from you. But the matter that follows is of great importance, and I have to ask for your cooperation in temporarily leaving the room."

"What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"

When pressed for an explanation, Shi Lei didn't know how to respond.

"Oh, I'm really sorry. I genuinely consider you a friend, so I don't want you to get involved in any trouble."

We didn't get an answer that year, but we can make rational inferences based on the intelligence information we have.

What happens next is most likely related to these Sarkaz infected individuals. But they're perfectly fine now, so why would they need hemostatic drugs? Considering the serious implications and the excuse of not wanting to get involved, could it be...?

A very bold idea popped into my head.

Could it be that the Dragon King can cure Originium-related illness?!

If the ship's veteran Doctor knew about this, wouldn't they immediately rush over to conduct scientific research and collect samples?

No wonder Shi Lei stammered, unwilling to explain the reason and trying to get rid of him. If he could really cure Originium-related illness, it would cause a huge uproar on Terra.

I had never heard of Originium-related illness before I fell into a deep sleep years ago. I only learned about it from Rhodes Island after I woke up. It is said that all the world's top researchers have devoted years to trying to cure this incurable disease.

"Okay, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too. I'll go stroll around Temple Street later and see the lantern festival."

"I'm really sorry, please forgive me."

Shi Lei expressed his gratitude for her understanding.

Ten minutes later, Texas and Exusiai returned. They brought two first-aid kits containing many bandages, plasters, and various hemostatic drugs and sprays.

Messenger like them are strong and not easily seriously injured. However, it is inevitable that they will occasionally be grazed by arrows from the shadows, so they always keep hemostatic medicine at home.

For the past month or two, I haven't touched the medicine box at all because of Shi Lei's presence. And I probably won't need it again in the future, so I just brought it all over.

"Texas, haven't you always wanted to go to Temple Street to see the lantern festival? Miss Nian is thinking of going now, so the three of you can go together."

The fact that Shi Lei was able to remove the Originium was known only to the tight-lipped Mudrock's Squad, and to the three Messenger, Texas and Croissant.

He hadn't been to Mudrock's stronghold in years and knew nothing about it. Moreover, he had no intention of letting them know. The more people who knew, the greater the risk of exposure.

When Texas heard that he needed hemostatic drugs, he knew what Shi Lei was planning to do next. His suggestion to stroll around Temple Street immediately resonated with her:

"Good."

"Wait a moment."

Exusiai seemed to suddenly realize something, her gaze sweeping over Sarkaz on the scene, a wicked grin spreading across her face:

"You're not planning to throw a party behind my back, are you?"

Shi Lei was both amused and exasperated; why was Sarkaz's mind filled with nothing but parties?

"What are you thinking? There are kids here who can't drink, what kind of party are you having?"

"Okay, fine, aren't you going?"

"No, you guys go ahead. I'll stay here; I still have some things to take care of."

Exusiai didn't press the matter further. After getting on her motorcycle, she patted the back seat and extended a ride-sharing invitation: