Could This Ink Marker Turn Into a Monster?

"To be fair, if the instrument readings weren't showing normal, I'd really think that couple was about to turn into zombies."

"I think so too. If they weren't turning into zombies, why would the ink line be snapping against them like that?"

The two brothers grumbled all the way. They walked down to the sixth floor, exited the residential compound, and headed to the local police station to communicate. This wretched, broken compound was actually unmanaged; there was no property management, and no surveillance cameras were installed at the main gate. If they wanted to know who the Ink Marker had been sold to, they would have to rely on the police's capabilities...

"Sigh, it wasn't sold to a scrap collector, but to a stranger. Otherwise, the police would surely have a lead on a specialized profession like a scrap collector and find them in no time!"

Shen Le did not know that the brothers he had dealt with last time were looking for him again. He activated his Spirit Eye, observing the Ink Marker in his hand and the layer of mist swirling around it with great effort.

Remembering Xiao Ling—no, the Little Puppet—she had similar mist on her as well. In fact, the furniture in the room, the ceiling, and even the Great Camphor Tree, Ah Lu, had similar mist. The thickness varied; the mist on the Ink Marker was similar to that on Xiao Ling, much denser than that on the room's furniture, yet far less than that on the Great Camphor Tree and the ceiling.

The colors were different: the Great Camphor Tree was green, the ceiling was red, Xiao Ling was a flame-like orange-red, and the Ink Marker was...

Black?

Along with the other tools in the wooden box, it was also stained with a thin layer of black, though in terms of the volume of mist, it was about the same as the furniture in the room. Therefore, the source of the mist on these tools was the Ink Marker, and the reason the Ink Marker was wrapped in black mist was...

Had it turned dark?

Would it become a monster?

Would it do evil things?

Or was it simply because it was an Ink Marker, its belly filled with ink, and its mist was naturally supposed to be black?

There was too little data to judge. Fortunately, Shen Le had a unique skill in this regard:

Why don't I just fix you?

The Little Puppet was fixed and could develop spiritual intelligence and talk to me; you, this Ink Marker, have mist similar to the Little Puppet's, so if I fix you, you should also be able to develop spiritual intelligence and talk to me, right?

Having made up his mind, Shen Le calmed his heart and focused his mind, beginning to observe the Ink Marker to see what needed repair. Upon closer inspection, the Ink Marker had truly been through quite a lot:

Over time, the paint had peeled, and the lion-head portion of the Ink Marker had suffered more than one knock, leaving the lion's mane in tatters. A chunk of the mane on the top of its head had been knocked off, making the chrysanthemum-like pattern of the mane no longer perfect.

There was a scratch on the lion's right ear that had almost split it in two. On the lion's body and its four legs, there were countless scratches of varying sizes and depths; some were superficial, while others had seeped deep into the grain, carrying external grime along with them.

The wheel winding the ink line didn't move very smoothly, and the metal axle in the center seemed a bit rusted. The thread inside the wheel felt a bit off, and he wondered if it had been unused for too long and needed replacing...

"These aren't too difficult." Shen Le cheered himself on. These were all within his capabilities; one could even say they were easy, something he could handle with a flick of his wrist. The only problem was...

"Oh, come on!"

Shen Le cursed. The thing he feared most had happened: that Devil's Work Ball needed repair! Something had gone wrong inside that Devil's Work Ball!!!

Whether it had been smashed or knocked, the surface of the Devil's Work Ball had cracked, and a piece had even flown off, exposing the inner spheres.

The outermost layer was missing half a dragon, and the next layer was also missing a piece of its carving.

He poked it and turned it, and disaster struck—another piece fell out from the inside!

I can't fix this. If I want to handle this, I have to replace it entirely. The problem is, I specialize in ancient building restoration; I can barely handle wood carving, but I've never touched ivory carving!

The Devil's Work Ball is a technique of ivory carving! Even though it's made of wood, it falls under the category of ivory carving!

I don't know a single thing, not even a quarter of a thing, about it. I've never touched it, I have no clue, and I don't know where to start!

Shen Le muttered to himself, angry at his own predicament. After venting his anger, he gritted his teeth—he still had to fix it:

Fortunately, this Ink Marker was carved from a single piece of wood, so he was spared the trouble of using a Rubber Hammer to tap and tap, tapping the mortise and tenon joints apart to pull the parts out one by one. He just needed to pick up a wrench, loosen the nut on the other side of the spool, and then carefully, bit by bit, pull out the axle of the spool...

"Sigh! Removing rust from metal parts is a whole other craft... It requires skill, tools, and chemical solutions..."

Shen Le sighed as he stood up and searched the kitchen, but as expected, there was no suitable rust remover. Fortunately, during the process of ancient building restoration, he often had to repair metal parts as well, so he had sufficient experience and connections. He pulled out his phone and placed an order with practiced ease:

Hmph, when working on projects out of town, I often need to buy this or that. Whoever among my senior brothers and sisters is free buys it; I'm very familiar with these reliable shops!

After placing a flurry of orders, Shen Le set the spool's axle aside, having pulled it out from the outer wooden handle, wiped it clean, and laid everything out neatly. Then, he picked up the Devil's Work Ball and began to observe and measure it carefully:

"Ah... this thing is only 15 millimeters in diameter! Do you have to be so insane! A 15mm diameter, and you made a three-layered Devil's Work Ball!"

"The material should be... is..."

To be fair, for someone doing ancient building restoration, identifying common wood materials is a basic skill. After all, ancient building restoration emphasizes "repairing the old as the old," and as long as it isn't an exceptionally expensive material, like Golden Phoebe Wood for large pillars, they try to use the original material for repairs and replacements.

However, those objects of identification are usually pillars, main beams, bracket sets, rafters, or at the very least, a plaything like a brush pot.

The Devil's Work Ball in Shen Le's hand was only 1.5 centimeters in diameter, yet it was intricately carved; the dragon claws, dragon scales, and dragon whiskers were all visible in minute detail. It was beautiful, certainly, but if you asked him what the wood grain was?

Sorry, he couldn't tell.

Moreover, the color wasn't reliable; after such a long time, the color would definitely have changed, and the original natural color was impossible to discern. Shen Le pinched it here and there, only able to confirm that the Ink Marker body and the Devil's Work Ball were not the same type of wood. As for what kind of wood the Devil's Work Ball was, this...

"Don't tell me I have to resort to extreme measures? Do I have to measure its density? With such a complex shape, measuring density..."

That's the crown Archimedes measured! Unless I submerge it in water, I won't even be able to get an accurate volume!

Shen Le muttered, rolled up his sleeves, and went through a round of disassembly, prying the Devil's Work Ball off the Plumb Bob. He weighed it in his hand, but couldn't get a feel for it:

"I'll have to find a precision balance; an ordinary scale won't do. A tiny thing weighing only a few grams..."