Armor Upgrade

The two of them, wrapped in yellow light, landed on the ground. The entire apartment vanished like foam, leaving behind a massive crater.

Li Ming stood with his hands on his hips, gasping for breath. Even with Candlelight Armor: First Light enhancing him, that "Li Ming" merely had blood at the corner of his mouth. He looked at Li Ming and laughed wildly. "You're just a wanderer who can never go back. Everyone hates you. Those who care for you will eventually leave. I'll wait for you to come find me again!"

As his laughter spread, "Li Ming" disappeared, and Candlelight Armor: First Light on Li Ming's body dissipated as well.

Li Ming looked around. "Where the hell is this?"

The hollow was deep and dark. The sky that had held the moon moments ago had now become a cave of cold stone.

The stalactites came in all sorts of strange shapes. Li Ming vaguely saw light in the distance and followed it, only to find the air growing hotter and hotter, as though he were being roasted inside an oven.

As he kept approaching the light, the surrounding stone walls changed color, turning a blood-red like the setting sun!

Only after entering that light did Li Ming see what it really was. It was an arched opening covered by something like a membrane of light.

After hesitating for quite a while, Li Ming ultimately stepped through the light membrane. Whatever lay inside, this was his only way out now.

"To hell with it. I'll figure it out after I get in!"

Gritting his teeth, Li Ming rushed inside. The moment he entered, flames scorched his skin and cooked his arm raw. A pair of lantern-like eyes swung toward him, and then he saw a gaping, bloody maw descending upon him.

The sight of those teeth sent chills down his spine. Before Li Ming could react, he was swallowed whole.

I can't breathe.

Am I going to kick the bucket again?

Why did I say "again"?

What... was that thing?

Li Ming's consciousness gradually blurred. Suffocation, falling, palpitations... as every sensation piled onto him, a sudden burst of pain jolted Li Ming awake.

He abruptly sat up. Faint light had already appeared on the horizon; it was probably dawn. Li Ming hurriedly felt his body and his arm. "Huff... huff... I'm fine. I'm fine? I'm fine!"

Li Ming took several deep breaths. There were no burns and no signs of fractures or injuries on his body. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he saw that the Honkai Energy corrosion mark on his right hand had suddenly changed.

Originally, the faint red mark had been a single short line on Li Ming's right wrist.

Now, the corrosion mark looked like tangled vines, growing a main stem and branches. The originally vertical line had stretched sideways and wrapped once around his wrist. Strange patterns covered those branches, as though they had been licked by flames.

This sudden change horrified Li Ming. Though its presence did not seem to cause him any discomfort, he wanted to tear the thing off.

But even after Li Ming scratched his right wrist bloody with his fingernails, the mark remained unchanged.

"What the hell... is this thing?!"

Seeing that it was useless, Li Ming still forced down the palpitations in his heart. He kept breathing, trying to calm himself.

"No, it's fine. It's fine. Nothing will happen. That wasn't me, and what he said wasn't about me..." This was the first time since transmigrating that Li Ming had felt so out of control. He had always carried himself with the carefree air of someone playing through life, but just now, he had felt death brush against him with terrifying reality.

As though he had truly died like that once before.

That feeling of memories washing over him entered his mind again after a long absence. Li Ming felt as though he had suddenly been enlightened, but it came with an inexplicable emptiness, a strange sense of loneliness.

Supporting himself, he got up and went to the living room for some water. There, Li Ming saw the core fragment on the coffee table slowly dissipate into ash.

At that moment, the system issued a notification. "Detected Candlelight Armor: First Light Fragments ×20. Collect?"

Though his mind was still muddled, Li Ming instinctively chose to collect them.

Candlelight Armor: First Light Fragments ×20 collected.

Then Li Ming brought the water to his lips with trembling hands. Only after drinking did he feel like he had recovered somewhat. Steadying his breathing, he opened the system and saw a familiar red notification bubble over the armor section.

When he tapped it, sure enough, he had gathered all the promotion fragments for Candlelight Armor: First Light. But Li Ming was immediately confused. Why was that? Was it because the armor had been made using the Reconstruction Mold: Ability Specialization dropped by that clone?

But why had it dropped a Reconstruction Mold again this time? What exactly was the basis for determining these fragments?

It felt as though his brain had been stirred into a mess, impossible to sort out. "Forget it. I'll deal with it later. I should promote it first."

Li Ming directly tapped Promote. Candlelight Armor: First Light immediately became A-rank. Li Ming glanced at the panel.

Character: Li Ming

Ability: Candlelight Armor: First Light

Star Rank: A, Level: 20, Physical

Weapon: Moon God's Protection

Stigmata: None

Skills: Level 60

That was roughly what the character panel looked like. In the confidential information section, everything else was ordinary enough: no affiliated organization, male, birthplace Shenzhou, birthday February 8, height 181 cm, weight 65 kg.

Armor Story

The candlelight left behind by the Heroes fifty thousand years ago had finally bloomed into its first light in the New Era!

Armor Story (Affinity Required: ??)

A shadow hung over the stories of childhood. What the warrior had never stopped searching for was nothing more than the light a child longed for.

Armor Story (Affinity Required: ????)

Current Affinity: ?? Li Ming wants to know more about you.

Armor Damage: 70% (Repair requires Fluid Alloy ×30 and/or Fluid Alloy Block ×10)

There were no major changes in the data, but familiar red dots had appeared beside his level and skills. Only then did Li Ming notice that his level had already become 40. He had used up all of his Primary Learning Chips to raise Candlelight Armor: First Light to level forty.

He checked his Gold Coins and saw that he had over ten thousand. He opened every skill to examine them. This was Li Ming's first time opening the skill panel. Before, he had known which skills he possessed and felt there was no need to look, but this time, skills that needed unlocking had suddenly appeared.

Once inside, he found that they were two techniques beneath Black Tortoise Returns to Heart and Vermillion Bird Treading Clouds that he had not mastered before.

One was Cunxin Force: Vermillion Bird Treading Clouds: Red Sparrow Chasing the Sun.

After dodging, use Cunxin Force to deal heavy damage to the enemy, with an armor-breaking effect.

The other was a passive skill, Black Tortoise Returns to Heart: Cunxin.

Increase attacks against enemies within three meters by 10%. Against distant enemies, after Cunxin Force hits, increase Crit by 10 points.

Li Ming had not mastered either of these techniques. One was a mental cultivation method, and the other was a movement technique, and both were extremely powerful.

After Li Ming unlocked both skills and maxed them out, he felt his body become much lighter. He also felt, though he did not know whether it was just an illusion, that he had become stronger.

It must be an illusion, Li Ming thought to himself. "But I clearly didn't do anything. Why did I master Black Tortoise Returns to Heart: Cunxin and Vermillion Bird Treading Clouds: Red Sparrow Chasing the Sun?"

More and more questions flooded Li Ming's mind. He felt like a walking encyclopedia of questions, with nothing but question marks filling his head.

Shaking off the questions he could not answer for now, Li Ming got to his feet unsteadily. Since he was already up, he might as well start his morning training.

Once he began training, his head no longer felt so dizzy. Li Ming could clearly sense the airflow driven by each movement, as well as the points where every move exerted force. Though not entirely precise, it gave him a feeling of complete control.

"Does this count as a blessing in disguise?"

After working up a sweat during his morning training, Li Ming entered the bathroom. He had woken up drenched in cold sweat, and he had just exercised too. He might as well take a shower first.

Water ran through his hair and fell to the floor. Refusing to think about so much, Li Ming instead calmed down and began sorting through everything that had happened since arriving here.

First, after getting off the plane, he had encountered the counterfeit Boss Yang. Though they did not look alike at all, Li Ming had chalked it up to immature technology for the time being. Then he had met Raiden Ryoma, Uncle Su, Susanna, Yae... He sorted through each of them one by one.

But Li Ming had not discovered anything particularly strange. He was like a fine steed that had suddenly found its Bole.

But if I'm really so capable, why did I just casually look for work back home?

The moment he thought of that, Li Ming felt that something was off. "Why did I leave home to find Uncle Su in the first place?"

"Because the old man hated seeing me at home every day and kicked me out? Or because college students had a hard time finding work? No, something feels wrong."

Li Ming did his best to remember, but that part of his memories simply did not exist. It was like how the original owner's memories contained nothing related to his parents.

His head began hurting again, so Li Ming stopped thinking about it. "Forget it. I'll call the old man later. It's only five in the morning now?"

After washing up, drying his hair, washing his face, and brushing his teeth, Li Ming noticed while toweling off his hair that it seemed slightly dark red. He gritted his teeth and plucked out a strand, discovering that part of his hair really had turned dark red. It was only a little, though; unless someone looked carefully, they would never notice it.

If that dream had not made Li Ming so jumpy, he probably would not have noticed such a detail.

He changed into a clean white short-sleeved shirt and loose shorts, with slippers on his feet. After fussing around for quite some time, Li Ming felt a little hungry.

He unconsciously touched his stomach. It felt completely empty, as though he had been starving for a long time.

Li Ming went downstairs, bought an egg and ham sandwich, then returned upstairs. He did not wake Raiden or Himeko. After all, it was only six in the morning. Waking a college student at six would drive him insane.

Besides, Raiden had said yesterday that he still needed to deal with his thesis, so there was even less reason to wake him. A thesis... those who knew, knew.

After returning to his room, Li Ming took out a pen and began organizing everything that had happened over the past two months.

Just after transmigrating, I met Ai Yi and was kicked off the ship. I did not transmigrate directly, but instead entered the Elysian Realm space. (Suspicious)

In the Elysian Realm, I mastered the Cunxin Fist Technique at the speed of a martial arts genius. After landing, I arrived in Qinghe City. I had been carrying a snakeskin sack at the time, but Uncle Su later threw away that highly cost-effective snakeskin sack.

Then I met Raiden Yae and Raiden Ryoma, and after that I encountered counterfeit Boss Yang 1.0. After a series of maneuvers, I smashed that Boss Yang to pieces.

Raiden Ryoma invited me to become his bodyguard, saying danger would come and Yae needed protection.

I refused, then went to Uncle Su's place. Before leaving, I discovered signs of Honkai Energy corrosion. After that, Uncle Su warmly received me, as though he had a very close relationship with the old man. (Suspicious)

The next day, he helped replace everything for me, as though he did not mind my presence at all. After learning that I had suffered Honkai Energy corrosion, his first reaction was to take me to the branch to solve my problem.

Afterward, I encountered Raiden Ryoma again and accepted his request. Nothing special happened over the month that followed. Then, while at Mount Taixu, the system began updating.

Aside from its main functions, I could no longer enter the Elysian Realm.

Then I arrived in Changming City, parted ways with Ryoma and Yae, and encountered an HK Organization attack. But it was quickly resolved. I stayed at the Changming branch for nearly half a month and obtained my first armor set, Candlelight Armor: First Light, armor unlike anything from the current era.

After returning to Qinghe City, Uncle Su sent me to America. The day after arriving, I coincidentally met Himeko. After drinking with Himeko, we parted ways.

The next day, I met Himeko and her father, Ryusuke. I went to register at school, Professor Lieserl was absent, and I met the real Boss Yang.

Himeko suddenly took me to a movie. I felt like I was being watched at the time, but I could not find whoever was following us. (Suspicious)

Later, I suddenly encountered the upgraded counterfeit Boss Yang, named Code??? Clone I. Code... a serial number? (Suspicious)

I discovered that Code??? Clone I used Honkai Energy more skillfully, and near the end, Code??? Clone I attempted to use the core to absorb the energy of Candlelight Armor: First Light. (Suspicious)

Code??? Clone I inexplicably kicked the bucket in the end and was crushed into ash. I suspect Boss Yang personally did it, but where had Boss Yang gone before that? What role had Anti-Entropy played in this incident? (Suspicious)

After returning, the "Li Ming" I dreamed about that night was not me. He could not use Azure Dragon Emerging from Water, but he had mastered Vermillion Bird Treading Clouds: Red Sparrow Chasing the Sun. He seemed to have mastered the Comprehending Heart, Empty Heart, and Cunxin of Black Tortoise Returns to Heart.

The space in that dream looked very much like a cave, but I have never been there. What was that monster? (Extremely suspicious)

After organizing the events of the past two months, Li Ming could clearly sense that many things were wrong.

As for the system, it was currently updating and he could not enter the Elysian Realm. There was no way to solve that, so he could only wait until January 10. There was also no way to resolve the matter involving Raiden Ryoma for now. The same went for Uncle Su—since he had not told Li Ming then, asking now would be useless. There was even less to say about Boss Yang; they were not close enough for that. As for the dream, it had no beginning or end, so it was not worth discussing.

After thinking it over and over, Li Ming concluded, "Calling the old man is still the simplest and quickest option."