Desert Skin

"Look, this is what I've accomplished over the past few days!"

The next day, in the Black Shop, Little Finger proudly brought out the finished products.

There were three types. The first was a sheet of pale implantable bionic skin. The second was a glass bottle containing a salve resembling skincare cream. The third was a syringe filled with transparent medicinal fluid.

These three products represented three different qualities of "desert skin," and they were used differently. The first required implanting the bionic skin, the second had to be applied to form a cellular immune coating, and the third was injected directly.

Their effects also varied.

High Engineer picked up the slightly rough bionic skin first, and the system automatically displayed its attributes.

Desert Skin (Common): A full-body artificial skin that protects the body's moisture and obstructs the transmission of electronic signals. Stamina +2, Agility +2

Applied Status: Well Hydrated. Stamina regeneration per minute increased by 5%.

"This thing's a little ugly." High Engineer ran a hand over it as if touching a "chameleon's" skin. Its surface was covered in tiny bumps.

"It's good enough as long as it works." Little Finger curled his lip. "Those people wish they could replace all their organs with implantable weapons. Do they still care about looks? Besides, there are virtual experience machines. Can't they play however they want in there?"

"Virtual experience machines. I haven't used that antique in years." High Engineer sounded nostalgic. Players couldn't do certain things unsuitable for children in the game, but every snake had its path and every mouse its way. The virtual experience machine was a special passage.

Back then, he had taken on the identity of Mr. G and developed a super-virtual machine with a realism level of 99.99%. That feeling...

Ahem. A real man didn't boast about his past glories.

High Engineer picked up the "hand cream" next. This stuff was much better than artificial skin. At least you didn't have to peel off your skin before using it.

Desert Skin (Fine): Applied as a salve to form a cellular immune coating. (For long-term use, eight hours of uninterrupted absorption must be maintained.) Stamina +3, Agility +2

Applied Status: Well Hydrated. Stamina regeneration per minute increased by 7%. Slightly resists radiation.

"This one will definitely sell the best."

The salve could be used either long-term or temporarily—the latter only blocked electronic signals. It also didn't need to be applied all over the body. A little on a few key areas was enough.

Unless you were hiding a gun under your crotch or a land mine in your butt, this thing was enough to conceal you from the senses of most radiation beasts.

"Of course." Little Finger was very pleased with it too. "I adjusted the formula to lower the cost. One desert worm gland can make two jars of salve. Add some water to dilute it, and you can make four. Once we enter the black market, we can exchange one jar for ten."

High Engineer drew a breath, gave him a thumbs-up, and said, "Brilliant. Truly brilliant. No wonder you're the number-one black-market doctor in Auto City. Is there not a speck of red in your heart?"

"Of course not."

At the mention of his black heart, Little Finger looked proud. Then he continued, "The last one targets the high-end market and is meant to attract high-level talent. It has no side effects or adverse symptoms, and it won't trigger mechanical rejection."

High Engineer picked up the last syringe. There were only two of this type.

Desert Skin (Excellent): Subcutaneous implant needle

An excellent biochemical agent that completely blocks electronic signals, causing the skin to change with its surroundings like that of a tropical lizard. Stamina +5, Agility +3, Armor +10

Additional Status 1: Skin Respiration—Blood activity reduced; stamina regeneration per second increased by 15%.

Additional Status 2: Immune to the Bleeding status.

Additional Status 3: Cold-Blooded—Reduces the user's infrared radiation and lowers the probability of being detected by enemies.

This time, High Engineer was genuinely astonished. As the saying went, a master could lead you through the door, but cultivation depended on the individual. Although players could produce the same blueprint, the quality of the equipment they made varied.

The highest quality a Level Three blueprint can reach is "Excellent." This guy's prosthetic doctor level must be above ten.

Seeing High Engineer's astonished expression, Little Finger's vanity was instantly satisfied. But after thinking it over, he decided to tell the truth.

"This thing is just an exhibition piece. I went through nearly thirty desert worms and only managed to make two subcutaneous implant needles. Honestly, I was just in the zone at the time. I don't even know how I made them."

"When this thing officially goes on sale, don't let that slip."

"If it's only a sample, then one is enough." High Engineer took one without the slightest hesitation and, before Little Finger could react, injected it into his own shoulder.

As the implant needle's contents entered his body, High Engineer could clearly feel a kind of "mutation" forming across the surface of his skin. It was like rubbing a layer of chili oil over his skin, then adding a layer of sunscreen. Heat and coolness surged over him all at once.

High Engineer frowned and endured it.

The surface of his skin first reddened, then returned to normal. It then turned pale before recovering again, repeating several times.

Then his skin began to mutate. Some areas exposed to the glow of electronic screens turned into blue static, while others reflecting the light from the metal workbench became a metallic silver-white.

Unless one looked carefully, it was impossible to realize there was a person standing before them.

Then, with a thought from High Engineer, all the colors on his skin instantly vanished. So did some calluses and scars, and even his complexion seemed to have become better than before.

In this state, anyone who said High Engineer wasn't a pretty boy would have to answer to him.

High Engineer's eyes shone as he praised it. "The effect is excellent! I'm very satisfied!"

"You—you little brat!"

Watching High Engineer become handsome again, Little Finger regretted it bitterly. His gaze then fixed itself on the last implant needle.

He wanted to give himself an injection too.

But only one exhibition piece remained. If he used it, whether it made him handsome or not was uncertain, but Sister Rose would definitely kill him first.

"All right. Next, let's discuss how we'll split the profits."

The friendly atmosphere changed, and the two immediately became confrontational.

"Bullshit! Seventy-thirty. Do you know who developed this 'skin'? Without me, could you make this money?"

"Cut the crap. In every business, the distributors take the larger share. Without our connections, believe it or not, the Peacekeepers would confiscate this 'skin' the next day, and various factions would swallow it up without leaving a scrap."

"Is money really that important to you? What matters is influence, connections, and having a voice in the desert in the future. What does this little bit of money amount to? Don't be so stingy."

"Bullshit! Is this a small amount? Once this skin is promoted, the income from ten surgeries won't compare to a single day of its sales. Aren't you Sister Rose's lover? How can you have the nerve to snatch a woman's money?"

"What lover? I'm obviously her kept little boy, okay? Isn't it only natural for a rich woman to spend money supporting her lover? Did you think I didn't put in effort at night? This is all hard-earned money!"

"You're shameless!"

"You're disgusting!"

When it came to shamelessness, the two were evenly matched, each having met his match.

Fortunately, neither intended to completely fall out. High Engineer knew that the other could break away and work independently at any time, while Little Finger worried that High Engineer might whisper against him into Sister Rose's ear.

In the end, the two reached an agreement. After deducting costs, they would split the net profits sixty-forty. Little Finger represented the distributors and took the larger share, while High Engineer received forty percent.

According to the agreement, High Engineer would also be responsible for hunting desert worms in the future. The raw materials had to remain confidential, after all, and Little Finger had no mechanical hunters under him whom he could completely trust.

Of that forty percent profit, two-tenths couldn't be withdrawn directly as mechanical coins and had to be exchanged for various supplies. According to Little Finger, withdrawing too much cash would affect their money-laundering business.

Only after signing the agreement did High Engineer realize just how profitable this business was. Even the lowest-grade implantable skin yielded a net profit of 2,000 mechanical coins, while the "hand cream" yielded 4,000.

And despite being so expensive, this batch of "skin" had already been completely reserved. Some customers had even been placed on the waiting list for the third batch.

Those who risked their lives to seek wealth in the desert knew better than anyone how much their lives were worth.

With this stuff, as long as you didn't actively hunt or have the exceptionally bad luck to run into a beast tide, you basically no longer had to worry about the threat of wild beasts.

Even high-level blueprints had difficulty achieving this effect.

This was an essential product for the desert.

High Engineer calculated that this single batch of skin would earn him a net profit of 30,000 mechanical coins.

That was far faster than robbing people.

After their war of words, both men were somewhat tired. Little Finger slumped on the sofa and suddenly said, "You know, Sister Rose is coming back soon."

"Oh? When?"

"Sometime in the next few days."

Ever since Rose Gasoline Bar had been sealed, High Engineer had known that someone was targeting Black Rose.

Naturally, they weren't targeting a single bar, but the underground network Black Rose controlled across more than a dozen oases.

Black Rose had left during this period precisely to deal with the matter.

Judging from Little Finger's current tone, it seemed the problem had already been resolved.

High Engineer asked curiously, "Who exactly made a move against you?"

If this had been the old High Engineer, Little Finger would never have discussed something like this with a mere little lapdog.

But now, the other party had produced two "surgical procedures" in succession, one of which was a hard commodity capable of dominating the market.

Little Finger decided to slightly change his attitude.

"Across the entire Iron Sand Desert, you can count the people qualified to be called tycoons on one hand. And the person interested in an underground intelligence network like ours is naturally one of our fellow sufferers."

"Fellow sufferer, intelligence, tycoon..."

A flash of insight crossed High Engineer's mind. "That newspaper tycoon, Wang Tian?"

"That newspaper peddler, yeah."

"So it was him." High Engineer muttered to himself.

Aside from once being the factory's general manager, this Wang Tycoon also owned the Radiation Daily, the best-selling reading material in the desert.

The newspaper was packed with useful information and was essential reading for mechanical hunters.

But at a time like this, why had the man suddenly become interested in an underground network?

If it was merely normal commercial expansion, then so be it. When soldiers came, they would be blocked; when the water came, earth would cover it. Sister Rose was not lacking in methods.

But—

High Engineer suddenly thought of another possibility. What if this wasn't merely a business war, but was serving a real "war"?

He remembered an old saying.

Intelligence was the lifeblood of war.