The three corpses in the hallway did not rot. They dissolved.
Jiang Chen watched as the System's nanites broke down the bandits' organic matter. It wasn't gory; it was clinical. Flesh, bone, and leather melted into a grey slurry that evaporated into his inventory.
[Recycling Complete.][+210kg Biomass.][+4.5kg Iron (Sabers).][+0.8kg Leather.]
"Old Wu," Jiang Chen said, adjusting the slide of his pistol.
The old man was still trembling, staring at the spot where the bodies had been. "Y-Yes, Master?"
"I am going out. Bar the door. Do not open it for anyone but me."
"You... you are going to the Black Wind Stronghold? Alone?" Old Wu's eyes widened. "Your Highness, that is suicide! The Bandit King, Liu Mang, is a warrior of the 4th Stage Body Tempering! His skin is like cured leather; he can punch through wood!"
Jiang Chen checked the magazine. Seven rounds. He loaded the spare.
"Wood," Jiang Chen muttered. "Impressive."
He turned to the System interface.
'System. Fabricate: Suppressor (.45 ACP compatible).'
[Cost: 25 EU. Material: 0.5kg Iron.]
A tube of dark grey metal materialized in his hand. He screwed it onto the threaded barrel of the M1911. The weapon now looked comically long, a tool of assassination.
"Go to sleep, Old Wu. When I return, we will have food."
The Crimson Valley was a jagged scar in the earth, ten miles north.
The blizzard had picked up, reducing visibility to zero. For a normal man, this was death. For Jiang Chen, encased in his thermal suit, it was merely resistance.
'Activate Optical Enhancement: Night Vision + Thermal Overlay.'
[Active. Power Drain: 2 EU/hour.]
The howling white void vanished. In Jiang Chen's eyes, the world turned into a crisp, glowing schematic. The snow was a wash of cool blue. Trees were grey static.
And ahead, tucked into the valley cleft, were heat signatures.
The Black Wind Stronghold was a crude fortress of felled logs. Two watchtowers flanked the gate. Through the thermal overlay, Jiang Chen saw two bandits huddled in the towers, shivering, their heat signatures weak and fading. They were miserable, distracted by the cold.
Jiang Chen walked through the snow. He didn't sneak in the traditional sense. He simply walked where they weren't looking.
At 50 meters, he stopped. He raised the pistol with both hands.
The bandit on the left tower was stomping his feet to stay warm.
Pfft.
The suppressor turned the thunderous roar of the .45 into a metallic cough. The slide cycled.
The bandit's head snapped back. He toppled over the railing, falling silently into the snowbank below.
The bandit on the right tower turned, hearing the thud of the body. "Hey? You fall asleep, you idiot?"
Pfft.
The second bandit collapsed, a hole in his throat.
Jiang Chen lowered the gun. "Efficiency: 100%."
He walked up to the gate. It was barred from the inside. He placed his hand on the wooden beam.
'System. Deconstruct structural weak point: Lock Mechanism.'
[Cost: 5 EU.]
The wood around the heavy iron lock simply dusted away. The bar clattered to the ground. Jiang Chen pushed the gate open and stepped inside.
The courtyard was loud. Unlike the freezing sentries, the bandits inside were celebrating. A bonfire roared in the center. About twenty men were drinking cheap rice wine, laughing.
"I bet the Third Prince cried like a baby!" one shouted.
"Maybe he peed his silk pants!" another roared.
Jiang Chen stood in the shadows of the gate. He analyzed the threat.
[Target Analysis: 22 Hostiles.][Threat Level: Low (Mortal).][Priority Target: Alpha Male located in the main tent. High thermal output.]
Twenty men. One magazine held seven rounds. He had one spare. Fourteen shots.
He couldn't kill them all with the gun. He needed to break their morale.
Jiang Chen aimed at the bonfire—specifically, at a large ceramic jar of oil sitting near the flames.
Pfft.
The jar shattered. Oil splashed onto the fire.
WHOOSH.
The flames erupted, surging ten feet high. The bandits flinched, shielding their eyes.
"What the hell?"
"Who kicked the oil?"
In the confusion, Jiang Chen stepped into the light. The firelight danced off his black pistol and his strange, form-fitting clothes.
"Who are you?!" a bandit shouted, reaching for his saber.
Jiang Chen didn't speak. He shot the man in the knee.
CRACK.
The bandit screamed, his leg buckling at an impossible angle. The suppressor was quiet, but the bone breaking was loud.
"Demon!"
"Kill him!"
Three bandits charged. They were fast—faster than Earth athletes. But they ran in straight lines.
Jiang Chen exhaled. Time seemed to slow. The System projected trajectory lines in his vision, calculating wind speed and target velocity.
Pfft. Pfft. Pfft.
Three shots. Three bodies hitting the dirt. One in the chest, two in the head.
The remaining bandits froze. They looked at the bodies, then at the black tube in Jiang Chen's hand. It didn't look like a weapon. It looked like a wand of death.
"I am Jiang Chen," he announced, his voice amplified slightly by his suit's speakers. "Drop your weapons. Or join the recycling queue."
"ARROGANT BRAT!"
A roar shook the camp. The flap of the main tent tore open.
A giant of a man stepped out. He was shirtless despite the freezing cold. His muscles were bronze and glistening. This was Liu Mang, the Bandit King.
[Target Identified: Liu Mang.][Cultivation: Body Tempering Stage 4 (Bronze Skin).][Warning: Skin density exceeds standard ballistic penetration for hollow-point rounds.]
Liu Mang laughed, his voice like grinding stones. "A Prince? You killed my men with some hidden weapon? Coward!"
He slammed his fists together. CLANG. It sounded like metal on metal. His skin actually shimmered with a metallic bronze hue.
"My Bronze Skin is impervious to arrows and blades! What can your little toy do?"
Liu Mang charged. He was terrifyingly fast, covering ten meters in a second. The ground shook with each step.
Jiang Chen didn't retreat. He stood his ground. The System's warning flashed red.
'Target Skin Density: High. Standard rounds ineffective.'
'Switch Targeting: Kinetic Transfer Overload.'
Jiang Chen aimed not at the chest, but at the eye.
Liu Mang saw the aim. He instinctively raised his arm to cover his face, grinning. "Useless!"
Jiang Chen dropped his aim.
Pfft.
The bullet struck Liu Mang's kneecap.
Even bronze skin cannot stop physics. The kinetic energy of a 230-grain bullet traveling at 850 feet per second hit the joint. The skin didn't break, but the impact shattered the cartilage and bone underneath.
"ARGH!"
Liu Mang's leg gave out. He stumbled forward, his momentum slamming him face-first into the mud.
Before he could rise, Jiang Chen was over him. He pressed the hot suppressor directly against Liu Mang's ear—the one spot where the skin was thinnest, leading directly to the brain.
"Physics Lesson 1," Jiang Chen whispered. "Bronze is softer than steel."
Pfft.
The Bandit King's body spasmed once, then went limp.
Silence descended on the courtyard. The remaining seventeen bandits looked at their invincible leader, dead in seconds. They looked at the Prince, who hadn't even broken a sweat.
Clatter.
One bandit dropped his sword. Then another. Then all of them. They fell to their knees.
[Combat Encounter Resolved.][Fear Status: Maximized.]
Jiang Chen looked at the kneeling men.
"Congratulations," he said coldly. "You have just been promoted from bandits to miners."