Containing South Mountain Stubborn Stone, gaining the Way of Jinche that could cut through anything

"Don't stop me! Let me drill him to death!!!"

Lu Ding shook off Luo Anping's hand, switched on the hammer drill, and rammed it straight at those open eyes.

Blood sprayed, splattering all over Lu Ding this time.

The stone ball let out an eerie scream.

Lu Ding grinned. This was a monster. This was absolutely a monster, no doubt about it!!!

What kind of ordinary stone ball could bleed and scream?

And it couldn't move right now. If he didn't kill it now, what was he waiting for?

Over a decade. Over a decade! Lu Ding had finally caught a glimpse of hope for unlocking his golden finger.

How could he possibly let this opportunity slip away?

He had spent over a decade preparing for this moment!!!

The instant the stone ball opened its eyes, everyone had been terrified-everyone except Lu Ding.

Over all those years, he had already mentally prepared himself for facing monsters. To make himself more accepting of them, Lu Ding had even forced himself to develop a taste for horror movies.

What hadn't he seen?

All in uncensored HD!!!

Today was what he had been waiting for.

Luo Anping was utterly dumbfounded. Sure enough, capable people really were different.

Standing behind Lu Ding, he found a little courage at that moment too.

Fuck it, he wasn't running either!!!

You rarely got to see something this bizarre even once in decades. At worst, he would just hide a little more securely behind Lu Ding.

The stone ball's screams grew more intense.

The smile never left Lu Ding's face. With a crack, the stone ball split in two, and the pages of a book opened in Lu Ding's mind.

[Monster Containment Prison Roster]

[Monster contained: South Mountain Stubborn Stone (not yet emerged). Reward obtained: Way of Jinche]

[Way of Jinche: nothing it cannot cleave]

A warm current swept through Lu Ding's entire body. He could clearly feel power growing within him, and an indescribable sensation rose in his heart.

Finally. He had finally unlocked the proper way to use his golden finger.

Lu Ding sighed over how hard the past decade and more had been.

If not for the existence of his golden finger, he would have wanted to gamble on deleting his account and starting over.

No father, no mother, a hell-mode start. After turning fourteen, he had left the orphanage to fend for himself while still having to attend school, with nowhere to live. Without the subsidies, he truly wouldn't have known how to survive.

Fortunately, he had finally made it through.

He tossed away the hammer drill and sat on the ground.

Luo Anping shakily offered him a cigarette. The lighter in his hand clicked several times before he managed to light it for Lu Ding.

"Seriously, Brother Lu, I've lived over thirty years and seen plenty of ruthless men, but this is the first time I've ever seen anyone as ruthless as you."

Luo Anping spoke with admiration.

Lu Ding exhaled a mouthful of smoke, releasing the emotions bottled up inside him.

Lu Ding mustered a smile. "Brother Luo, could you pay me extra?"

"Absolutely. I'll add it right now. Your bonus and wages-I'll make it twenty thousand this month. I'll transfer it to you over WeakChat right now."

He opened his phone, and the twenty thousand arrived straightaway.

His golden finger was unlocked, and he had twenty thousand yuan in his pocket. Lu Ding had never felt so secure.

Only then did he recall the earlier notification.

South Mountain Stubborn Stone.

This thing really did exist in legend, though not in this world's legends, but those of his previous life.

What the Master Would Not Discuss recorded: a certain Scholar Chen of Haichang prayed for a dream at the Temple of Sumin. In his dream, Sumin opened the main gate to welcome him, while the scholar hesitated...

There were hundreds upon hundreds of words, and Lu Ding couldn't remember the details.

Anyway, the gist was that a scholar once prayed for a dream before setting out on a journey, seeking a divination of his prospects, good or ill. He encountered an immortal and a City God, and during their conversation, the scholar vaguely heard them say something.

"Death in Guangxi, success in Tangxi. South Mountain Stubborn Stone, ten thousand years in a single lifetime."

Later, the scholar really did go to Guangxi and encountered an old man who was that stubborn stone turned spirit. The two even struck up a conversation, and the scholar unilaterally assumed that he and the old man had become friends.

Later, the old man who was a stone spirit asked him for help. He said he had cultivated for ten thousand years but had yet to attain fruition because he lacked a statue of the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens carved from three thousand jin of sandalwood.

You have to help me. We're friends. If you don't help me, I'll kill you.

The scholar asked what Way the old man cultivated. The old man answered, the Way of Jinche, scaring the wits out of the scholar. Didn't the characters for "jin" and "che" combine to form "cleave"?

Later, the scholar lured the old man into a temple and had the immortal and City God deal with him, but the old man escaped. That was South Mountain Stubborn Stone.

Lu Ding truly hadn't expected to encounter South Mountain Stubborn Stone in this world.

And it hadn't even emerged yet. He had really snapped up a bargain.

Otherwise, once this thing emerged, even a hundred Lu Dings probably wouldn't be enough for it to cut down.

But where were all those "otherwise"s and "perhaps"es in this world? Lu Ding had won this round!

Now, with a mere thought, he could unleash a sharp cleaving strike. As for exactly how powerful it was, Lu Ding still didn't know.

He would have to find an opportunity to test it.

After finishing his cigarette, Lu Ding looked at the broken South Mountain Stubborn Stone, thinking that although he didn't know what use it had, he absolutely couldn't waste it. There was also a very good chance it was a treasure.

He pushed over a small wheelbarrow and loaded the stone fragments into it. Luo Anping was puzzled by his actions, but asked nothing.

He was a project manager, after all. Without some discernment and brains, how could he possibly have reached this position?

"Brother Lu, why don't you take a couple of days off?"

As Luo Anping spoke, Lu Ding happened to be thinking exactly the same thing.

"Sure. I'll take a couple of days off, then. Once things settle down at the construction site, call me back, Brother Luo."

Back?

Lu Ding had no intention of coming back. He had worked before to make a living. Now that his golden finger was unlocked, his goal from here on was to seek out monsters!

His life was destined to be anything but ordinary!!

Money and all that would come.

At worst, it would be a case of "I don't eat beef"!!

He pushed the wheelbarrow back to the dormitory, threw all the clothes out of his suitcase, packed the stone fragments into it instead, and headed straight for his little resettlement apartment that cost him three hundred yuan a month in rent.

Lu Ding had only just left.

Before Luo Anping could even catch his breath, people came looking for him and cornered him in his office.

A man and a woman, dressed in close-fitting clothes.

They flashed credentials from the relevant department. "Where's the thing? Where's the man?"

Luo Anping wasn't someone who would sell another person out at the drop of a hat. He immediately played dumb.

"What thing? What man?"

Bang!!

A black pistol slapped down onto the desk. "Ready to talk?"

Luo Anping slid straight to his knees. "Sir, ma'am, this has nothing to do with me! It was all Lu Ding..."

He related the whole story from beginning to end, complete with a playback of the 24K ultra-clear surveillance footage.

The two watched it from start to finish.

When it ended, they exchanged a look, each seeing shock in the other's eyes.

They turned and left, leaving only one remark. "You'd better let what happened here rot inside you. Don't tell anyone. The tea down at the station isn't that pleasant to drink."

"Yes, yes. Understood, understood. Don't worry."

Luo Anping wore a dazzling smile, his face crinkling like a chrysanthemum.

He watched the two leave.

He let out a long breath. "Brother Lu, I'm sorry. It's not that I wouldn't help you. I really don't dare."

Never mind concealing the truth-Luo Anping didn't even dare tip him off.

The credentials they had shown him were from State Security.