Boundless Strength Contract

When Lin Shen woke from a night's sleep, dawn was only just breaking. He turned and looked; sure enough, the mosaic on the Gene Mutation Egg had vanished, and more information had appeared in his mind.

Only now could he see clearly that it was a Gene Mutation Egg of a Hundred Refinements Steel Beast. It seemed no different from an ordinary Hundred Refinements Steel Beast Gene Mutation Egg.

Failed Super Gene Evolution Seed: Boundless Strength Contract.

"Boundless Strength Contract: Raise a living creature and form a contract with it. Run one kilometer every day while carrying that creature. As the creature grows and gains weight, you will gain strength equal to its body weight. This Fire Seed is unique and can form a Boundless Strength Contract with only one creature."

Lin Shen was instantly both shocked and delighted. Isn't this the legendary Cow-Hugging Technique?

There was a folk tale about a cowherd boy who carried a newborn calf from his home to the mountain every day to graze.

As the calf continued to grow, the cowherd boy's strength grew day by day as well. By the time the cow became an adult, the boy had turned into a mighty man capable of lifting a thousand jin.

This was clearly an unscientific training method. A calf could grow to several hundred, even a thousand jin in a few months, but a person's strength could not possibly increase that quickly.

So in reality, before long, the cowherd boy would no longer be able to carry the cow. There was simply no way for his strength to keep increasing like that.

Yet the Boundless Strength Contract could turn the impossible into possible, making an unscientific false theory a reality.

Theoretically, as long as he could find the young of an incomparably enormous creature, Lin Shen's strength could increase without limit.

The strength to lift a cow was not particularly impressive for a Gene Mutator. But what if it were a gigantic Gene Mutation Creature?

As far as Lin Shen knew, some Gene Mutation Creatures were far larger and heavier than whales.

All Lin Shen needed was to get a Gene Mutation Egg like that and raise it from infancy. Then he could obtain power so terrifying that ordinary people could not even imagine it. It was simply exhilarating.

The only problem was where he could get such a Gene Mutation Egg.

Among the Gene Mutation Eggs Lin Shen could access, the Hundred Refinements Steel Beast was already considered one of the largest. Even some gigantic Alloy Creatures were not much bigger or heavier than a Hundred Refinements Steel Beast.

However, Lin Shen had once seen footage of Gene Mutation Creatures as massive as giant dragons. If he could obtain a Gene Mutation Egg like that, the Boundless Strength Contract would be an ability as broken as a BUG.

But those Gene Mutation Creatures were mostly Crystal Grade Creatures. Never mind whether he could obtain an egg from a Crystal Grade Creature—even if he could, their growth cycles were relatively long. Some required years, or even decades, to reach adulthood.

Steel Creatures, comparatively speaking, had shorter growth cycles, but finding one with an especially massive body was not easy.

Trying to have both fish and bear's paw would take some thought. Finding an enormously large Steel Creature was not something he could solve in a short while.

Even with money, Blackbird Base did not have anything like that. Unless he went to another large base, there might still be hope.

Lin Shen was not in a hurry. Even if he used the Hundred Refinements Steel Beast to form a contract now, he would not gain strength immediately. In any case, it would not be useful for this Recruitment Assembly.

Lin Shen stared at the Hundred Refinements Steel Beast Gene Mutation Egg. Information about forming a contract with a drop of blood surfaced in his mind, but he did not choose to make a blood contract. Instead, he placed it inside the Incubation Pod.

There were already two Gene Mutation Eggs in the Incubation Pod. One was a Steel Gene Mutation Egg, the Steel Tail Scorpion; the other was a Steel Gene Mutation Egg, the Black Iron Swallow. Both were Gene Mutation Eggs that had previously contained Fire Seeds.

Lin Shen wanted to hatch them and see how they differed from ordinary Steel Tail Scorpions and Black Iron Swallows.

When he arrived in the living room, Lao Ye was already waiting there.

Following their previous plan, Lao Ye had brought Lin Xiangdong's clothes and belongings. After Lin Shen dressed himself neatly, he looked in the mirror and did not feel that he resembled Lin Xiangdong at all.

"Will this work?" Lin Shen asked Lao Ye uncertainly.

"As long as no one sees your face or hears your voice, you are at least eighty percent similar to Fourth Master." As Lao Ye spoke, he took out a bronze-colored mask shaped like a vicious ghost and handed it to Lin Shen. "This mask was forged from materials taken from the Alloy Creature Azure Armor Demon. Fourth Master wore it before as well. It should be enough to fool them."

Lin Shen took the mask. It was as thin as paper, yet it was not light, weighing around two jin. Its texture was extremely hard, and it felt somewhat cool to the touch.

When he put the mask on, it felt slightly heavy. He glanced into the mirror, and the blue-faced, fang-toothed visage of a vicious ghost was truly frightening.

"Good. As long as you do not speak, anyone who has seen this mask will probably take you for Fourth Master." Lao Ye praised him, then continued, "But your voice is still a problem. Fourth Master's voice is somewhat similar to yours, but there are still differences. You need to be especially careful and speak as little as possible. But you cannot avoid speaking altogether either. You know Fourth Master's temperament. If you do not speak at all, that will only make people suspicious."

"Lao Ye..." Lin Shen pinched his throat and tried several times. Gradually, his voice became somewhat different from usual.

"Similar... truly similar..." The more Lao Ye listened, the more pleasantly surprised he became. He had never expected Lin Shen to possess such a skill. He now sounded ninety percent like Lin Xiangdong.

"After all, we are blood brothers, so our voices already sound alike. Besides, there was a time when I liked going to karaoke bars. I studied vocal techniques a little, and I was rather good at imitating certain singers' voices." Lin Shen smiled.

"Fifth Brother, it will truly work this time. As long as you do not make a move, no outsider should be able to tell that you are not Fourth Master." Lao Ye was even more delighted after hearing that.

"Call me Fourth Master." Lin Shen's eyes rose slightly. He knew that his advantage lay in his deep understanding of Fourth Brother. He was not good at acting, so he could only immerse himself in Fourth Brother's role. Every action he took and every word he spoke had to be considered: if it were Fourth Brother, how would he act and what would he say?

Lao Ye was initially stunned, then solemnly bowed to Lin Shen and repeatedly said, "Fourth Master, I was wrong. You are Fourth Master."

"Let's go." Lin Shen walked out first.

Lao Ye nodded slightly. He knew that having Lin Shen impersonate Lin Xiangdong was a desperate measure, carrying immense risk, but they had no other choice.

There would certainly be flaws, but only by believing that he truly was the man could he possibly conceal those flaws.

It has been hard on Fifth Brother. I only hope Third Master and Fourth Master return safely. Otherwise, even if Fifth Brother gets through this time, he cannot keep fooling them forever, Lao Ye thought.

By the time Lin Shen and Lao Ye arrived at the venue, the representatives of the Qi Family and Wang Family had long since arrived. They had been sitting on the stage for quite some time and were already growing impatient when Lin Shen finally arrived with Lao Ye in tow.

This had been decided by Lin Shen and Lao Ye in advance. They would arrive just as the Recruitment Assembly was beginning, leaving the Qi Family and Wang Family representatives no time to speak much with Lin Shen and greatly reducing the chance of exposing flaws.

"Fifth Brother, just as we guessed, the Qi Family representative is Qi Shuheng, while the Wang Family representative is Wang Tianer. Their reputations and strength are close to Fourth Master's. Be careful dealing with them," Lao Ye said in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Lin Shen remained impassive and said nothing, merely walking straight toward the stage.

Two men were already seated on the platform. The one who looked like a scholar and carried a touch of refined elegance was Qi Shuheng. The other, a powerfully built man with the gaze of a hawk and the bearing of a wolf, was naturally Wang Tianer.

Lin Shen secretly drew a deep breath. His gaze met theirs with unwavering resolve, and he climbed onto the stage with a trace of arrogance.

He had thought that Qi Shuheng and Wang Tianer would surely question why he wore a mask. To his surprise, the two men did stand when they saw him approach, but neither spoke to him. Instead, their gazes shifted behind Lin Shen.

What are they looking at? Lin Shen could not help turning around. The moment he did, his pupils contracted, and he froze where he stood.