To avoid disturbing the saints' rest,
the Archbishop led Yi Chen out of the hidden vault and toward a lounge inside the church. At the same time, he set up a radiant barrier to prevent the leakage of newborn energy.
As Yi Chen placed the Iron Disease–afflicted sawn-off shotgun on the table,
it was as if he had triggered some ancient switch.
The Archbishop, who looked as though he had been abandoned by the times and resembled a corpse—who could barely even walk—gripped the gun with astonishingly practiced skill. He even spun it in his palm and chambered a round.
Click~ The muzzle pointed at Yi Chen, then withdrew before him for inspection. With his aged, wrinkled fingers, he traced the metallic patterns on the gun's surface.
"This is... Mariano's craftsmanship, right? The essence of the ill-substance has basically been preserved. It's short but heavy, suitable for close- to medium-range combat. A high-grade piece. No wonder you want to have it upgraded."
"Archbishop, you know how to use guns?"
"Did you think this old man had long since fallen behind the times? That I didn't even know what a gun was?
"I don't stay here every day. I occasionally go out to see how the organization is developing and experience new things. Guns are one of my favorite products of technological advancement. I'm also very glad to see the development of these new weapons and their integration with diseases.
"But upgrading an ill-substance involving modern manufacturing techniques like this one will be extremely troublesome.
"Suitable relic materials are only one part of it. We'll also need a large amount of industrial materials and a gunsmith capable of controlling Open Source Ill-substances."
"Then..."
Yi Chen found himself in a quandary. He had even begun considering selecting the most valuable item from