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Lin Fan's scalp tingled instantly as he watched the black scythe sinking slowly into the floor, slicing through the concrete like a hot knife through tofu.

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Don't do this!!"

Lin Fan's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

According to the original owner's memories, he lived in a cheap, public-housing apartment that had fallen into disrepair long ago.

The floor slab was so thin it was probably less substantial than his own skin!

If this thing actually smashed through the floor, he wouldn't be the only one sent to meet his ancestors; the entire building would likely be sent along with him.

"Up! Get up, damn you!!"

Without a second of hesitation, Lin Fan reached out his right hand and gripped the Calamity tightly.

An invisible force of spiritual telekinesis caught the black handle just a split second before it could punch through the floor, holding it firmly in place.

Hum!

Although the scythe stopped sinking, it...

"Hiss..."

Lin Fan sucked in a cold breath. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his temples throbbed violently.

Heavy!

It was damn heavy!

Lin Fan gritted his teeth, his cheeks bulging as he stared at the two-meter-long monster with a blade curved like the smile of the Grim Reaper.

"How is this a weapon? This is a mountain!"

If he hadn't just awakened his spiritual telekinesis and had his physical fitness forcibly boosted by that "marrow-cleansing" wave, he would have likely coughed up blood from the strain of just this one move.

The worst part was that he had to keep "holding" it.

He couldn't let it touch the ground, and he couldn't let his guard down.

This meant that from now on, whether he was eating, sleeping, or sitting on the toilet, he would have to dedicate half his brain to fighting the gravity of this thing.

Lin Fan's mouth twitched, forming a smile that looked worse than crying.

Before he could even catch his breath, his back suddenly felt heavy.

A chill crawled up his spine.

"??"

Lin Fan looked behind him and saw a pair of silver wings slowly unfolding from his back.

"...At least you aren't heavy."

Lin Fan let out a sigh of relief.

As for the spaceship...

Lin Fan looked at the ring that had appeared on his finger out of nowhere. Fortunately, it was inside this space ring; otherwise...

"With my current status and strength, if I dared to take it out, it would probably be Hong's personal ride within minutes."

"And all this money..."

Lin Fan glanced at the four types of currency piled up in front of him, then looked at the lonely "3,200.50" in his mobile balance. The expression on his face became incredibly colorful.

It felt like owning the deed to half the galaxy but being unable to afford a taxi ride.

"Heh, sitting on a fortune of billions, yet I have to worry about tomorrow's breakfast."

"Without a universal network, what's the difference between this money and waste paper?"

Lin Fan rolled his eyes, mentally ranting while carefully maneuvering the floating scythe to move sideways, terrified of bumping into the already rickety furniture.

"Wait, don't I have a space ring?"

Lin Fan suddenly realized this, and his mouth twitched.

"Am I an idiot?"

But just as he prepared to toss the Calamity and the Sky Splitter into the space ring, a pale blue box popped up above the scythe:

[Calamity: Evolvable]

[Growth Requirement: All metallic substances.]

"All metallic substances?"

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes, catching the keyword.

His gaze swept around the room and finally settled on a watermelon knife in the corner, so rusted its original color was barely visible.

The original owner had bought it for self-defense—a five-dollar piece of junk from a street stall. He usually used it to cut watermelons, and it was still stained with some years-old sugar residue. It looked pathetic.

"Go."

With a flick of his telekinesis, the watermelon knife flew into the air and gently touched the edge of the black scythe.

Sizzle--!

There was no expected "clanging" sound of collision; instead, it sounded like ice cubes dropped into a pot of boiling oil.

Then, the rigid watermelon knife visibly softened, as if something had drained it dry, and its metallic structure instantly disintegrated.

In the blink of an eye, the entire knife turned into a pile of gray-white powder and "whooshed" onto the floor.

The black scythe merely flashed with a faint, eerie light and vibrated slightly, as if it had let out a satisfied burp and was simultaneously disgusted that the "appetizer" wasn't even enough to get stuck in its teeth.

[Devour successful]

[Growth progress: +0.001%.]

[Current weight-bearing compatibility: +0.001%.]

"?...?"

Lin Fan looked at the three decimal places and felt a flock of crows fly over his head.

A whole knife only increased it by that much?

This was a bottomless pit!

However, feeling the infinitesimal reduction in the pressure on his spiritual telekinesis, Lin Fan's mind began to stir.

Eating metal to get stronger—this was a viable business.

But the problem was...

"Go to a scrap yard?"

Lin Fan glanced at his pathetic balance and instantly strangled that thought in the cradle.

With this little money, he probably couldn't even fill the handle of this scythe with scrap metal.

Besides, the efficiency was too low. How could industrial scrap compare to high-end goods?

Lin Fan put the Calamity, the Sky Splitter, and the pile of money on the floor into his space ring, then walked to the window and opened a crack.

His gaze passed through layers of dilapidated buildings and looked toward the towering defensive wall in the distance.

Outside that wall lay a place ordinary people never wanted to go—the Wilderness Zone.

But for him, it was a different story.

Broken Kro Alloy, crashed fighter jets, weapons left behind by martial artists...

That wasn't a ruin; that was a free, high-end buffet!

"But to eat at a buffet, I need an admission ticket first."

Lin Fan sighed and looked at the two "ancestors" in his ring.

He had originally thought that having a system meant he could just lie back and relax, but it seemed he was still too naive.

These days, being a lone wolf was fine, but being an undocumented person definitely wasn't.

Without a "Martial Artist License," he couldn't even sell the good stuff he found.

"It looks like I won't be able to attend school, but I still have to go to the martial arts gym."

Lin Fan rubbed his throbbing temples.

"But before that, let me see what the True Self function does."

"True Self."

Lin Fan whispered in his heart.

Hum!

Deep within his consciousness, the silent bronze hall instantly lit up.

Then, a figure of light emerged from the darkness, stretching and shifting until it transformed into a small person who looked exactly like Lin Fan.

Same school uniform, same short hair. The only difference was those eyes—cold, ruthless, and devoid of any extra emotion, just like a robot.

Lin Fan looked at it, feeling like he was looking into a mirror.

"How do I use this thing..."

Lin Fan tentatively issued a command: "True Self, practice Basic Martial Arts 36 Forms."

Almost the moment the command was given, the "Lin Fan" raised his hand and started with the opening stance.

The movements were slow, but steady.

Every stretch of muscle, every swing of a limb, was as standard as a textbook demonstration.

"Whoa, this is actually pretty good."

After watching for a while, Lin Fan withdrew his consciousness from the hall.

He lay on the floor and let out a long breath.

Looking at the dilapidated ceiling, he felt something he couldn't quite describe.

"This day has really been something else..."