Guo Jian's Yellow Paper fell out, along with three Skill Books. Li Wei hurriedly picked them up in shock.
The three Skill Books were Primordial Origin Skill, Qi Blast Technique, and Rakshasa Three Forms.
Weren't these the skills Guo Jian had mastered? Could it be that when someone with special abilities died, the skills they had learned would also "drop" as Skill Books?
If this theory was true, then it was a serious problem. The powerful people on Shadow Street might deliberately hunt down those with special abilities to take their skills.
The thought made Li Wei feel a sense of danger. Still, he was delighted to have obtained the three Skill Books. His inner skill was already C-Rank Innate Skill, which was higher than the D-Rank Primordial Origin Skill, so he only learned Qi Blast Technique and Rakshasa Three Forms. This boosted his strength considerably once again.
Next came the Yellow Paper that had dropped after Guo Jian's death. It had always been a headache for Li Wei.
"Guardian (the name of the Yellow Paper), No. 348, Status: Free, Storage Space: 16,000 points, Flowery Axe ×1, Earth Fiend Set ×1, Golden Trauma Medicine ×2, Type 95 Rifle ×10, 5,000 rounds of ammunition..."
"Guardian"—that must be the Yellow Paper's real name.
At first, Li Wei's heart had pounded when he saw the contents. He could imagine how a robber felt after successfully robbing a bank, and he felt much the same. But when he tried to take out the items, he ran into a problem.
"Please fuse with Guardian No. 348 first to obtain access to its storage space!"
Fuse?
The Yellow Paper could be fused?
Usually cautious, Li Wei hesitated. Without knowing what consequences this "fusion" might bring, he found it hard to make up his mind.
In the end, Li Wei decided to go ahead with it. As the saying went, "You can't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair." To gain something, you had to take some risks. Besides, Li Wei felt that this so-called fusion probably wasn't a bad thing.
Once he confirmed his choice, his Yellow Paper appeared automatically and merged with Guardian No. 348. As soon as he felt their bloodlines connect, the Yellow Paper before him changed dramatically.
"Guardian No. 1987 has fused with Guardian No. 348. Guardian advancement process initiated. Please select a number after fusion: A, 1987; B, 348..."
He still had to choose a number?
Li Wei thought it over, then chose his own number.
"Guardian No. 1987 has completed advancement. Current level: 2. Owner's four attributes increased by 5 points. Storage space expanded. Access to the storage space of the fused Guardian has been granted!"
Ha! What a bargain!
Fusing with someone else's Guardian could actually raise his own attributes. The unexpected discovery delighted Li Wei. Looking at his new attributes—Strength 17, Agility 18, Spirit 23, and Stamina 13—he could barely keep from laughing aloud.
With control of the storage space, Li Wei took out the items that had belonged to Guo Jian. He found quite a few treasures.
Besides the additional 16,000 points and the Golden Trauma Medicine, the Flowery Axe was a top-quality green-grade weapon. But the most precious item was the Earth Fiend Set.
Seeing the armor, Li Wei knew it must have been Guo Jian's most valuable possession. The set consisted of five pieces: head, shoulder, chest, leg, and hand armor. Although all were green quality, wearing the complete set granted an additional 10 points of Strength.
What pleased Li Wei even more was that the armor could be set to invisible mode. In other words, he could wear all five pieces without changing his appearance at all. The only drawback was that, in invisible mode, the armor's defense was only a quarter of its normal strength.
Without a moment's hesitation, Li Wei put on the set. He thought Guo Jian really had been an idiot. If he had worn this armor, Li Wei's assassination attempt would definitely have failed.
But that was fate. Guo Jian, unlucky as he was, had been destined to die. No one else was to blame!
Li Wei spent the next while carefully testing the Earth Fiend Set's defensive capabilities. His Strength had now reached an astonishing 27 points. If he stripped down, his muscles would rival those of a well-trained bodybuilder, but they were denser and harder. One punch could easily shatter seven or eight inches of bluestone brick, without injuring his fist in the slightest.
Not only that, but ordinary swords, blunt weapons, and even pistol bullets couldn't penetrate the Earth Fiend Set's defenses. Its protection would be even better when visible. With this set, Li Wei effectively had an extra life.
The Flowery Axe, however, wasn't very suitable for him. After thinking it over, he decided it would be more worthwhile to trade it for useful items on Shadow Street.
After night fell, Li Wei turned on his phone.
Because of what had happened in the past few days, he hadn't turned it on. He was afraid someone might use it to track him down, and he didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble. Fortunately, there were only a few text messages. Just as Li Wei was about to check them, his phone rang.
He looked at the caller ID and answered.
"Hello, is this Li Wei?" A pleasant female voice came from the other end.
"It's me!"
"You! Where have you been these past few days? Why has your phone been off?" The woman's voice burst out as soon as she heard him, like a little tigress.
Before Li Wei could answer, the woman on the phone continued, "Never mind. Where are you right now?"
"Uh, I'm..."
It wasn't until he heard the phone's "beep, beep, beep" that Li Wei came to his senses. In all this time, he had never before been cared about by a woman other than his mother. The feeling was warm.
A little over ten minutes later, a sapphire-blue sports car sped toward him. As soon as it stopped, a graceful woman leaped out of the driver's seat.
Seeing Li Wei waiting by the roadside, she stormed over to him.
"What's wrong with you? You turned off your phone and didn't go to work. Where have you been?"
Li Wei stared at the woman for a long moment before saying, "Miss Zheng, I'm fine. Some things came up these past few days, so I was away for a while."
The woman was Zheng Yutong. Seeing that Li Wei was all right, she let out a long breath of relief. After checking that no one was around, she continued, "Good thing you turned your phone on now. If you'd delayed another hour, we'd have been in trouble!"
So she really did have an urgent matter!
After Li Wei asked her for details, he learned that something had gone wrong with the Team Contract. Two days earlier, a message had appeared on the contract scroll. It said that the next mission would begin in two days, and all team members had to gather at a designated location. Anyone who failed to show up would be erased.
There were only thirty minutes left before the appointed time!
"Miss Zheng, thank you!" Li Wei said sincerely. Zheng Yutong had saved his life!
"Enough talk. The gathering place is Blacksmith Alley on Shadow Street. Let's get ready and meet there in ten minutes!"
Getting ready meant buying a few essential supplies, such as weapons, food, medicine, and some outdoor gear. They might not need them, but there was no harm in being prepared.
Taking the opportunity, Li Wei made two "Stacking ×3" Firearms Mastery weapons and two "Stacking ×2" Tactical Daggers. He also spent 150 points on the latest U.S. field laptop. When he checked the time, exactly ten minutes had passed, so he hurried to Blacksmith Alley.
Zheng Yutong was already waiting there. When she saw Li Wei, she nodded. "The mission is about to begin. This is our first time working together, so let me introduce myself properly: Zheng Yutong, No. 103. I've acquired the Elf Enhancement Bloodline, and my specialty is Magic Arrow. C3-Rank evaluation."
She wore a well-fitted set of leather armor and looked strikingly valiant.
"Li Wei, No. 1987. My specialty is Eye of Perception. I can inspect the attributes of any item or living creature. I can also use an item to find out where it dropped... My current evaluation is D2-Rank."
After fusing with Guardian No. 348, Li Wei's attributes had improved considerably, so his combat rating had risen accordingly.
Zheng Yutong's eyes lit up with delight when she heard this. As an experienced fighter, she knew how important Eye of Perception was. It might be a support skill, but it was no less valuable than an attack skill.
"Good. For now, I'll be the main attacker, and you can analyze the mission environment!"
Li Wei nodded. Zheng Yutong's plan made sense. He then took out several Skill Books and handed them to her.
"I used Eye of Perception and saw that you haven't learned Precision or Firearms Mastery. These are Skill Books, so learn them first. They're cheap, but they offer great value for the cost. They'll also improve your combat ability to some extent!"
Li Wei's meaning was clear. No matter how strong she was, she couldn't rely on Magic Arrow all the time. She should learn to use basic weapons too. Sometimes, there was no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Zheng Yutong understood what he meant. Without wasting words, she learned several skills. Just then, both their Yellow Papers appeared.
"It's starting!" They both knew the new mission had begun!
"Note: Enchantment Scroll: Life Drain. It can enchant a melee weapon with magic. When the weapon hits an opponent in combat, there is a chance that 30% of the damage dealt will be converted into health. 'This is the mysterious power of the Vampire!'"
Before you continue