Chapter 39: Bargain Hunting in Progress

Li Xiao said with a calm, smiling expression

"Why do you think I've been practicing my internal energy so hard these past few days? It's just to help you a little more."

"You go from front to back, and I'll go from back to front. You use your vampire energy, and I'll use my internal energy. Pick out anything that reacts to either internal energy or vampire energy."

"Since it's related to human civilization or the God Space, we happen to have two opposing types of energy: righteous and evil."

"I estimate this could cover about ninety percent of magic and legendary items. However, the meager amount of energy I have in my body can probably only help you with a portion of it. So, Captain, you have a long and arduous road ahead of you!"

As he spoke, Li Xiao wore an expression that said, *'You've worked so hard (you poor laborer),'* and gave Zheng Zha a heavy pat on the shoulder.

"But, I've done the math. Your current vampire energy probably exceeds that of a Viscount (C) by a lot. While it might not reach the level of an Earl (B), it should be enough for testing!"

Listening to Li Xiao's analysis and looking at the thousands of antiques scattered across the plaza, Zheng Zha's legs instinctively began to tremble.

Finally, he accepted reality

"Fine, then let's make it quick!"

The two immediately began their treasure hunt amidst the vast sea of antiques.

The method was simple: they only needed to use a wisp of the internal energy (or energy) within their bodies to make contact.

***

The sun was high in the sky. For the city of Beijing, today was a rare day of beautiful weather.

The sky was clear for ten thousand miles, and the white clouds were like a painting.

"Tianhe Computing Station is arriving. Passengers arriving at this station, please disembark!"

The subway announcement played three times in a row before the doors finally closed and the train departed.

Walking through the crowd, Gin attracted much attention due to his silver hair, but those who turned back for a second look found that Gin, who had just brushed past them, had suddenly vanished.

"Hello, are we renting the supercomputer server? Yes, yes, alright, the remittance has been received on this end."

"Very well, Miss. In forty minutes, I will grant your company the necessary permissions."

After hanging up the phone, Gin's expression remained emotionless. He switched his voice again and dialed another number.

"Is this Dr. Liu? You've received the money and the address, right? As for the patient's name... his name is Zhang Heng..."

***

Twenty-eight days ago.

"Sir, with my abilities, why do we still need to spend money to rent servers?"

"The internet of this era lags a hundred years behind the technology I possess. If you are willing, you could overturn them at any time."

Li Xiao gave a calm smile, revealing an unfathomable expression

"If this world didn't have that Chu Xuan created, I might have taken that route. Just consider me paranoid. As the old ancestors said, 'Take care to ensure a safe voyage for ten thousand years.'"

Whether it was Gin, who was a foreigner, or the future Terminator robot, neither could quite grasp the meaning of such old proverbs.

However, this did not stop him from loyally executing the tasks Li Xiao assigned to him.

***

Taihe Hall Plaza.

After going through more than three hundred items, Li Xiao finally stopped in his tracks.

In his hand was a half-mask made of gold.

The design of the mask was both simple and magnificent. It was simple because it only covered the area between the forehead and the eyes. It was magnificent because its entire surface was covered in multicolored patterns.

Looking at the mask, which was absorbing internal energy for the first time, Li Xiao was about to call out to Zheng Zha.

To his surprise, he found that Zheng Zha was also standing frozen in place in the distance.

What surprised Li Xiao even more was that a tiny dot emitting a green light was circling him incessantly.

Feeling helpless, Li Xiao thought he would mark it first and bring it back to the God Space for further testing.

But just as he was about to lower his left hand, a corner of the mask accidentally brushed against his right wrist.

And on that wrist was the Reincarnation Watch from the God Space.

*Crack!*

When a crisp sound, like shattering glass, rang out from the mask, Li Xiao, in his hyper-intelligent state, keenly sensed something was wrong and instinctively activated his Gene Lock.

After a month of high-intensity training, Zheng Zha and Li Xiao were able to unlock it without side effects.

At that moment, his neural reactions instantly soared to their peak. His wrist tightened, and he swung his hand outward.

But the sound of shattering glass seemed endless.

*Crack, crack, crack...* it rang on and on.

It felt as though it was severing him from the entire real world.

The mask in his hand turned into a streak of golden light the moment it left his grasp. Instead of being thrown away, it rushed toward Li Xiao's face.

The golden light arrived in an instant. No matter how fast Li Xiao was, he could not be faster than light.

He only felt a chill on his cheek...

The sudden flash of golden light on the plaza also jolted Zheng Zha awake.

He immediately set down the Jade Ruyi in his hand. A surge of internal energy erupted from beneath his feet, and in a flash, he arrived at Li Xiao's side.

Looking at Li Xiao, who was kneeling on the ground, the mass of soft golden light seemed to be composed of liquid.

It clung to Li Xiao's facial features. His body was trembling uncontrollably, as if he were opening his Gene Lock for the very first time.

His teeth ground together with a loud, rhythmic creaking.

Facing a Li Xiao in such a state, Zheng Zha felt an inexplicable sense of panic.

Two completely different forces within his body began to rotate rapidly in opposite directions, and his Gene Lock opened silently at the same time.

The light from the spatial ring in his hand flickered faintly; Zheng Zha was ready to strike at any moment.

When the golden sludge finally solidified, a golden mask with wide eyes and a long nose was firmly set upon Li Xiao's face.

Seeing the metallic luster, Zheng Zha couldn't help but say

"A golden mask?"

"No, it told me its name. It should be called 'Heaven's Will'."

"The Heaven's Will Mask!"

As Li Xiao spoke, his body returned to normal.

The mask on his face once again emitted a strange light. Under Zheng Zha's incredulous gaze, it gradually faded and disappeared.

It was as if it had never appeared at all.

Li Xiao slowly stood up, rubbing his throbbing temples, feeling a bit dizzy.

Seeing Zheng Zha's concerned expression, he quickly said

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Let's hurry up."

Zheng Zha wanted to ask more, but considering the urgency of time, he could only drop it.

From the high sun to the setting sun.

Zheng Zha finally finished screening everything on the plaza.

Aside from the vanished golden mask, only three items in total had reacted to the internal energy and vampire energy.

It was no exaggeration to call them "one in ten thousand."

One must realize that this was after the intelligence teams had conducted various investigations; everything appearing on this Taihe Hall Plaza was a potential candidate. Even among all those antiques, only three had reacted. One could imagine how precious they were...

The three reactive items were

A broken stone seal, so damaged that only one corner remained. If it hadn't been placed on a red cloth by the staff, Li Xiao wouldn't have recognized it as an antique.

The second was the Jade Ruyi that Zheng Zha had found at the very beginning.

The last was a stone rod about the thickness of a thumb, found amidst a pile of broken fragments.

Interestingly, the stone seal was found in the area marked as the Terracotta Army site.

Li Xiao's golden mask was found in the Sanxingdui site.

The Jade Ruyi was a precious antique originally kept in the Palace Museum.

The final stone rod was one of the "scraps" Zheng Zha had identified with his keen eye from a pile of items exchanged from abroad at a massive cost.