Cards and Materials

"Is this guy signaling that he wants to help?"

The Mechanical Arm Girl naturally noticed Ji Xun's gesture and instinctively thought: What could he possibly help with?

But this was an A-Class Calamity!

Was this something someone with his level of combat ability could even consider getting involved in?

Wouldn't it be better to obediently stay alive as bait?

After spending a day together, how could the Mechanical Arm Girl not have noticed that her teammate was not merely weak from being drained by the witch? He was weak to begin with. She could not even sense a trace of curse power fluctuations from him.

Yet at the same time, seeing that gesture, she immediately realized something else: this guy had not been affected by Mental Pollution?

Normally, any non-professional sharing a room with a Fallen Witch would have long since been mentally controlled.

Especially by an A-Class Calamity that had undergone Secondary Mutation.

Yet not only was this guy not under control, he was even calmly signaling that he wanted to help.

Either he was suffering from Mental Confusion, or he really had some other means.

"Could he have already awakened a Demon Mark related to Mental Power?"

At that moment, the girl suddenly understood.

Why this man had been able to spend an entire night with the witch and still survive.

But no matter how strong his Mental Power was, it could not hide the fact that his combat ability was pathetic.

"Should I... let him try?"

For an instant, the silver-haired girl was conflicted.

Though she did not think this temporary teammate had much ability to help, they had no other choice now.

The monster had undergone Secondary Mutation. Though she still had a Chance of Victory, she could not kill it in a short time.

The monsters throughout the Alternate Dimension had now gone berserk. How could she not hear the gunfire coming from outside the door?

If this dragged on too long and the monsters outside rushed in, the danger would increase without limit.

Thinking this, the Mechanical Arm Girl decisively made her choice: let him try. The situation could not get any worse anyway.

She knew very well that the monster's weak point was its mouthparts.

That was the only place where firearms could inflict a fatal wound.

But the monster was very cunning. During its battle with her, it had kept its mouthparts tightly concealed.

The moment the Mechanical Arm Girl had the thought, she deliberately exposed a fatal "mistake" in the midst of battle.

One hand seized the monster's whip-like tail, while the other was forced to grab the attacking forelimb.

Both hands seemed to be restricted in an instant.

The monster immediately felt it had caught this human's fatal opening. Without hesitation, a barbed, fleshy mouthpart suddenly shot from the monstrous infant mouth in that horrifying gash.

Whoosh!

It was incredibly fast.

Watching the mouthpart stab straight toward her chest, the Mechanical Arm Girl's pupils contracted sharply. It finally appeared.

This was the best opportunity!

Almost at the same time.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out in the room.

The timing of the shot was perfect.

Most people would have found it difficult to seize such a fleeting opening.

The Mechanical Arm Girl inwardly sighed in relief. That guy was not bad. He had not missed the chance.

Yet just as that satisfaction rose in her heart, a scene that astonished her even more unfolded.

Almost the instant she heard the gunshot, scarlet blood exploded before her eyes.

"What?"

The Mechanical Arm Girl could hardly believe it.

Not only had the shot come at exactly the right moment, it had been unbelievably precise!

The mouthparts were extremely fragile. An ordinary Demon-Breaking Bullet had directly blown apart the barbed mouthpart.

The girl stared in shock at the cloud of blood mist exploding before her. Only then did her mind gradually dare to believe what her eyes had seen. "A direct hit with one shot?!"

She knew that since he had dared to say he would help, his marksmanship had to be decent.

But the difficulty was not merely marksmanship. He had needed to hit the target while being disturbed by Mental Pollution. It was already difficult for normal people to remain rational amid the fear of death and Mental Confusion. How had this guy managed it?

He seemed to have felt not the slightest tension or fear that might have affected his shooting.

After a moment of thought, the Mechanical Arm Girl understood. That guy had anticipated her intention and predicted the monster's response, which was why he had managed to hit it with a single shot.

Even if it had been her, she might not have done any better in the face of such composed circumstances.

"Not bad."

The Mechanical Arm Girl murmured inwardly.

She had thought she would need to create several opportunities before succeeding, but it had been resolved in one attempt.

But now was not the time for surprise. The monster's mouthparts had been hit, and it had suffered severe damage. Piercing screams echoed throughout the entire space.

Kill the monster first!

The girl's gaze sharpened as her secret technique finished gathering.

The phantom behind her surged with force, and the invisible telekinetic field around her body instantly boiled. As though two powers were colliding, they struggled for only two breaths before the grotesque face within the Fallen Witch's gash several meters away bizarrely exploded, scattering bloody chunks and shredded flesh across the floor.

Ji Xun looked at the monster that had suddenly exploded. He did not understand what his teammate had done, but that did not stop him from understanding that the move was incredibly powerful.

"Telekinetic attack?"

Ji Xun lowered his gun and leaned back against the wall.

His body was not that of a superhuman. Having been caught up in the battle just now, he felt as though he had been hit by a truck. His internal organs ached as if they were being pierced by needles.

With the monster dead, the Mechanical Arm Girl also let out a long breath.

She glanced at the monster's corpse on the floor, then looked toward Ji Xun in the corner. Her expression was complicated, as though she were struggling with something internally.

But it all vanished a moment later.

Ji Xun keenly caught that flicker of conflict in her gaze and raised an eyebrow.

How could he not guess what she was thinking?

Once the prey was dead, the bait was no longer of any value.

Now that the treasure had appeared and his secret had been exposed, a ruthless person would normally silence him at this point.

The gap in their strength was so great that Ji Xun would not even have a chance to resist.

And she would not even need to do it herself.

If she had truly wanted to silence him, she could have used the monster to kill him during her earlier battle with it.

But she had not done so.

Rather than discard him once he had served his purpose, she had chosen to trouble herself more and had avoided involving him in the battle as much as possible.

She had fully honored their previous agreement to cooperate.

Of course, if he had not been certain of that before agreeing to work together, that shot just now would not have been aimed solely at the Fallen Witch. Even if it meant risking death at the monster's hands, he would have shot this teammate first.

"This is a Healing Potion."

The conflict was gone from the girl's eyes.

Instead, she tossed a red potion toward Ji Xun and said, "A very rare material dropped. If we make it out alive, I'll settle your share with you."

This time, she did not say she would pay him. She said she would compensate him.

Ji Xun caught the potion and drank it in one gulp with a smile.

Not being discarded after serving his purpose already counted as meeting a good person. What more compensation was there to ask for?

He naturally saw the silver light appearing over the corpse and found it quite wondrous.

Had equipment really "dropped"?

Without a word, the girl drew the dagger strapped to her thigh. After probing around in the monster's corpse, she pulled out a translucent object resembling amber.

Thinking Ji Xun wanted to see the material, she gestured toward it. "This."

Fallen Witch's Secondary Mutated Pituitary Gland

Quality: Excellent Brilliant Silver

Details: An extremely rare Mental Type material containing dense calamity power;

Ji Xun looked over. The amber was surrounded by a Mental Power field similar to that of the previous monster, only far more terrifying.

The moment he looked at it, it felt as though his entire sensory world had distorted.

Revelation appeared once more: "Suffered Mental Pollution. Confusion +3."

Ji Xun's eyelid twitched. This thing was practically a chunk of radiation.

The Mechanical Arm Girl did not look at it for long. Taking out a blank card, she gave a low shout. "Contain!"

The Hexagram Formation on the back of the card lit up. The pituitary gland vanished on the spot, and an identical image of the material appeared on the front of the formerly blank card.

The Mental Pollution vanished instantly as well.

Ji Xun clicked his tongue in amazement. A Spatial Containment Card?

Another card with a miraculous function.

With the material in hand, the Mechanical Arm Girl looked at the card in her hand, her gaze somewhat complicated.

She had originally only intended to find material from a witch, yet she had unexpectedly obtained an absolute treasure.

The best material quality a First Rank calamity could drop was "Silver." There was a very small chance of a premium "Brilliant Silver" drop, a rare material several levels better than ordinary Silver.

Yet she had not expected to obtain a Brilliant Silver material with the prefix "Excellent."

The odds were nearly one in a million.

The instant she touched it earlier, she had clearly sensed the immense Mental Power within the material. This was the most ideal material for her to refine a Profession Card!

After all, this was an unheard-of calamity that had undergone Secondary Mutation.

Without further thought, the girl picked up the card that had slowly condensed within the white glow over the corpse and said, "I need the material. This card is yours. Your Mental Power is good, so keep it to protect yourself."

As she spoke, she flicked her finger without the slightest reluctance, sending the card flying over.

Ji Xun caught it casually and took a look.

Witch's Gaze

Quality: Silver

Details: A one-use Silver Skill Card. Consumes 1 point of Mental Power. Upon use, inflicts Mental Pollution on targets no higher than Second Rank within a 5*5m area, causing at least 1 second of sustained mental hypnosis. Control duration is affected by the target's Mental Power value;

During the earlier battle, Ji Xun had watched his teammate use a card capable of transforming into wind blades. Seeing this Skill Card, he was not particularly surprised.

Area-of-effect mental control. This card's effect was extremely powerful, and it was definitely not cheap.

Still, he asked, "You're giving it to me?"

With the air of someone unwilling to take advantage of others, the girl replied flatly, "You've earned it."

"..."

Hearing that, Ji Xun did not stand on ceremony. He turned the card over in his hand and examined it.

The front of the card bore an image of an eye, while its back displayed an arcane Hexagram Formation.

It was his first time coming into contact with such a magical object, and he found it quite fascinating.

He only wondered how it was used.

The girl seemed to notice and kindly reminded him, "This is a Mental Type card. It's very rare. Pinch the hexagram incantation, and you'll naturally know how to use it."

Ji Xun tried it after hearing that.

In an instant, it felt like holding a pistol with his index finger resting on the trigger. It seemed that he only needed a thought to activate it.

Good stuff.

A single card could hypnotize a target. What was that if not magic?

Ji Xun played with it for a moment, becoming even more interested in this mysterious world.

His relaxed demeanor made it seem as though he had no lingering fear whatsoever after the brush with death they had just survived.

But the expression in the Mechanical Arm Girl's eyes was not nearly as calm.

She had found the material she needed, and it was ten times better than expected. Her purpose in coming here had been achieved.

The only minor drawback was that someone had seen her supernatural talent.

But that was not much of a problem.

The problem was the changes in this Alternate Dimension!

Fortunately, the earlier battle had been decisive and their cooperation reasonably smooth, so the two of them had not wasted much time killing the Fallen Witch.

Yet not long after the monster died, the intensive sounds of gunfire outside suddenly fell silent.

She did not know whether those people outside had died or retreated to the first floor, but the situation did not look promising.

The Mechanical Arm Girl did not dare let her guard down. She rushed to the iron door, took out two cards, and pressed them onto it. "Barrier, rise!"

The door was now unlocked, and they needed to prevent monsters from rushing in.

The Barrier Cards could temporarily conceal their presence, but they would not last long.

The Mechanical Arm Girl pressed against the door to sense the situation outside, and her expression grew increasingly grave.

They had to make a decision quickly.

The Mechanical Arm Girl had also been seriously injured in the earlier battle.

After taking a potion, she put her Gas Mask back on and changed into a spare Mechanical Exoskeleton.

Ji Xun watched quietly from the side.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the Mechanical Arm Girl did not turn around. She merely said coldly, "This barrier won't last long. Hiding in the room is useless in Survival Mode. The monsters will actively hunt humans. I can sense the energy fluctuations of at least ten powerful monsters outside. Sooner or later, they'll find us."

Under normal circumstances, everyone hid in their rooms at night, and monsters only became hostile when triggered.

Apart from monsters like Fallen Witches that could pass through walls and occasionally wandered around taking away a few unlucky people at random, there was almost no danger.

Once three days passed, they could leave.

But now, unless they found an exit, none of them could hope to get out alive.

What she meant was that she wanted to rush out early, perhaps gambling on a chance to survive.

Take care of yourself.

"."

Ji Xun did not care at all when he heard that.

Not abandoning him after crossing the river had already been more than righteous enough. He had never expected her to lend a hand now.

At a life-or-death moment like this, naturally he would not bring along dead weight.

Yet at that moment, his expression turned subtly strange.

Not only was her Combat Power high, she was also skilled at sensing things. Most importantly, she did not swipe equipment.

Wasn't she the perfect teammate?

Ji Xun had carefully analyzed all the information in his mind.

He felt that he had already grasped some of the key points of this space.

Mechanical Arm Girl steadied her breathing and looked ready to break down the door and charge out alone.

But just then, Ji Xun suddenly spoke. "Are you interested in continuing our cooperation?"