As for Vibranium… Lin Bei had watched Marvel and could be considered an expert on the subject.
It was the precious material second only to Adamantium in hardness in the Marvel universe; Captain America's shield and Black Panther's suit were both made from Vibranium-infused alloys.
He just never imagined it would have Epic quality, and that he'd get such a huge chunk in one go.
"With this much Vibranium… if I had the blueprint I could probably build a whole Gundam!"
"Piloting a mecha—that's every man's romance."
Lin Bei fantasized in his heart.
"Too bad I only have the precious metal and none of the blueprints that require it!"
"The greatest sorrow in life is probably this."
Right now Lin Bei's mind was filled with images of himself piloting a domineering mecha across the Survival World's seas, slaughtering mutant beasts.
After who-knew-how-long, the Mist Monsterss surrounding Lin Bei all retreated.
As they left, every monster dripped blood from its maw, looking utterly miserable.
Lin Bei lifted an eyelid; he could now barely twitch a finger, but normal movement was still far off.
Even so, it was enough to remotely control the shadow tanks, issuing orders to sweep the Mist Monsterss inside the dark fog.
These things had just gnawed on him. While no real damage was dealt, his Adaptive Suit was now coated in disgusting drool.
Once he got back, this set of clothes would have to be trashed.
Lin Bei felt helpless about it.
He'd imagined the moment he'd discard his first Adaptive Suit—maybe its durability would finally hit zero, maybe it would tear after too many hits, or maybe he'd simply find a better replacement.
But never had he dreamed he'd throw it away for this reason!
He would remember this grudge.
"These Mist Monsterss kick a man when he's down and on top of that ruin my clothes! Unforgivable!"
"My shadow tank legion, blast them to bits!"
Boom—boom—boom—
Endless artillery thundered through the dark mist, accompanied by indignant beast-roars. After half an hour it finally quieted.
By then Lin Bei had regained a sliver of strength and struggled to his feet.
He peeled off the soiled Adaptive Suit with disgust and slipped into a brand-new set.
"Whew—close call. Lucky it was only low-damage mist-beasts; if any strong foe had hit me while I was down… the consequences would've been unthinkable!"
"Next time I go out I'll lug a Perfect-grade Healing Pod with me; energy cost? I'll just stock up on high-grade prime stones!"
high-grade prime stones are precious, but if I capsized in some gutter there'd be no coming back!"
"Sigh, a boy wandering alone really does face lethal dangers everywhere."
Good thing I prepared Nilu's healing fluid beforehand; otherwise I'd have passed out on the spot with no knowing when I'd wake."
That 'Cow from Rio de Janeiro' was ruthless—anyone would've thought he drew the Hunter card in Werewolf; he tried to drag me down with him at death's door—so damn close."
Good thing my Combat Power had already broken 25,000 before the surge; if my base had been too low, a 20,000 spike would've blown me apart even with healing fluid."
Just thinking about it made Lin Bei break into cold sweat.
He used to whine that his Critical Hit System randomly triggered 10–10,000× crits yet always gave the minimum. Now it seemed the system had a built-in safeguard protecting its host.
Otherwise, when his Automatic Cannon killed 'Turkey-Flavored Potba', if a 10,000× crit had jumped his Combat Power by 10,000 he'd have dropped dead on the spot—no story later.
"Sigh, turns out it's not the crit system being weak—it's the host being too weak."
This time one 10,000× crit almost sent me straight to heaven!"
It gave me the chance and I screwed it up…"
Lin Bei glanced at his current Combat Power—up a full 20,000. He'd reaped a blessing from disaster.
No, it had always been a blessing; he just hadn't been able to stomach it.
"Already wasted too much time—gotta speed-clear the Instance Dungeons!"
He checked his wristband: [Hot Season, Day 4, 15:35, Sunny].
"Didn't expect I'd been lying there for over four hours!"
Helpless, Lin Bei picked up the pace, igniting Bonfires scattered throughout the dark mist.
Once done, he hurried to the village and began bulldozing with Dawn Bonfire in hand.
He finally finished his third Dungeon Instance of the day at five sharp.
But because he'd lost too much time he only earned an excellent rating and saw his rewards slashed—leaving him in a foul mood.
Yet someone—no, some-demon—was even unhappier than he.
Da Hei's face was ashen, weakly "staring" at Lin Bei, voice low yet burning with buried fury: "Why the hell did you take so long? Five hours—five whole hours! Do you know what I went through?"
"Uh… are you okay?"
Lin Bei looked at Da Hei, utterly bewildered.
"I'm fine now—but I'm about to be in huge trouble—huge!"
Da Hei snarled.
"Huh? Your Curse Power should've been absorbed by these Disqualified Ones; you ought to be emotionally stable."
Lin Bei frowned; Da Hei's reaction felt off.
Sure, he'd overstayed in the Underworld, but no need for this drama, right?
"Stable? My balls are about to explode!"
Da Hei exploded, roaring word by word:
"I—kept—trying—to hand you—Lord Aleria's—communicator! But—every—single—time—you'd bolt—before—I—finished! Now—you—and I—are—screwed!"
"Huh? Why didn't you say so! You told me you'd give me an answer tonight; I thought…"
"W-wait, hold on—what did you just say? You… you got the communicator hours ago and I never took it?"
Lin Bei's face stiffened, words stuttering.
"Yep!"
Da Hei nodded emphatically.
Then, wearing a we-die-together look, he spat on the ground and sneered, "Hmph, Lord Aleria's been waiting for hours—so here we are!"
"We're all dead! Dead! Hahaha! All freaking dead!!! Die-die-die-die!!!"
By the end Da Hei—no, the whole demon—descended into madness.
The Curse Power inside him erupted unchecked, instantly blanketing the entire island!
"Yes! So good! So damn good!"
"Tasty! So tasty! So freaking tasty!"
Yet the gathered Disqualified Ones burst into revelry, mouths wide, gulping the rampant curse energy, faces blissful beyond words.
They were enjoying the Disqualified Ones' own gluttonous feast!
And their Combat Power began climbing rapidly!
The bizarre scene left Lin Bei unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"This time… it really is a blessing born of disaster, isn't it?"
Watching the power-surging Disqualified Ones, Lin Bei murmured to himself.