Chapter 168 - 118: The Superpower Bureau’s Loss, Junior Alchemist

"What is this thing?"

The black sphere before him was cool to the touch, as if made of some kind of metal.

Lu Chao’s expression was guarded, full of vigilance.

The moment he’d touched it, he had felt something strange.

But now, picking it up, he held it before his eyes and examined it carefully from every angle.

It was entirely black, and aside from several intersecting golden lines that stood out, there was nothing special about it.

’An illusion?’

A sliver of doubt almost crept into his mind.

Unlike the book of Magic, this metal sphere had no writing on it to provide any information.

However, he recalled the scene where he had picked it up.

For the old man in black from the God-Worshiping Church to have kept it so close, and for it to have survived the Nether Fire along with the book of Magic, meant it couldn’t be an ordinary item.

It either had an astonishing origin or possessed some special function.

After a moment of thought, he tried clenching his fist and unleashing his strength.

The metal sphere didn’t move in the slightest.

’It’s this tough?’

Lu Chao frowned slightly, then tried using Rock Hide, his palm turning ashen white.

He even entered his Copper Body state and used Stacked Force Fist.

With over a ton of force, he could have dented ordinary steel.

But still, there was no reaction at all.

He shook his head inwardly, realizing he truly couldn’t do anything to this metal sphere.

He was about to put it down.

But then...

"Hm?"

His gaze sharpened. Lu Chao suddenly felt something was off.

’Did I just lose a sliver of my Martial Arts Power?’

Focusing his senses, he carefully investigated.

He vaguely realized that when he had used his Rock Hide technique just now, the metal sphere in his hand seemed to be slowly absorbing his Martial Arts Power.

The effect wasn’t strong; it was incredibly faint.

And yet, he could still sense this anomaly.

’Does it need Martial Arts Power to be activated?’

A startling guess surfaced in Lu Chao’s mind. He decided to test it, gathering as much Martial Arts Power as he could into his palm.

However, that faint sensation didn’t change in the slightest.

No matter how much Martial Arts Power he tried to pour into it, the metal sphere only took a tiny sliver, and very slowly at that.

The speed was almost constant, making it exceptionally frustrating.

Seeing this, Lu Chao’s expression flickered as he thought for a long time.

Finally, with an inward sigh, he set the metal sphere down.

Although he didn’t know what this thing was, it was definitely a special item of considerable value.

After much deliberation, Lu Chao decided to keep it.

BUZZ!

The next moment, the sound of a car engine came from outside the apartment building. A drunken man stumbled out of a car and was helped back into his home, creating a brief commotion.

SWOOSH. A gust of night wind swept past, rustling the curtains.

Suddenly, Lu Chao felt his body grow weary, overcome with an unusual exhaustion.

In the end, he stopped fighting it.

He put away the book of Magic and the metal sphere, locking them up.

After confirming that everything was in order, he slowly lay down on his bed and fell asleep.

...

WHOOSH!!

「At the same time.」

A massive searchlight beam illuminated the buildings below, dispelling some of the darkness.

A Superpower Bureau hovercar soared through the sky, slowly descending in front of an apartment building in the Iron Ring District.

Looking over, one could see that the area had already been cordoned off with several yellow police tapes. Numerous patrol officers stood guard downstairs, fully armed and on high alert.

Witnessing this scene, several figures emerged from the hovercar with grim expressions. They carried Fighting Weapons like swords and sabers on their backs. The leader of the investigation team, Yan Feng, immediately found the nearby patrol captain to ask about the situation.

"The three deceased are a family of three. They bled from the center of their foreheads, as if their skulls were pierced by some kind of force, killing them instantly."

"Based on the existing wanted notice, we believe this is likely the work of that Faceless Legos."

The patrol captain hastily led the way, bringing the team from the Superpower Bureau into the apartment.

Just as he’d said, the bodies of the family of three lay in a pool of blood in the living room. Sprawled about, all of them had their eyes wide open.

There was only one wound on each of them: a finger-sized bloody hole in the center of their foreheads.

"It’s Legos."

His eyes turning cold, Yan Feng instantly recognized the source of this killing method.

Without needing another word from him, the members of the Superpower Bureau investigation team fanned out to conduct a secondary survey of the scene.

He also entered each room to observe, his gaze finally landing on the half-open bedroom window and the dark night outside.

"You stole something from our Superpower Bureau, and you still dare to kill people in a busy district..."

His expression grew colder as he slowly clenched his fist. "You’d better hope I don’t find you."

...

「Ten days passed in a flash.」

The calendar in Ring City turned another page, and it was now April.

The warm sun hung high in the sky, casting a layer of pale orange light upon the gray heavens, making one feel a sense of peace and warmth.

Among the passersby, some held children by the hand, pausing in a nearby public square. A father, enjoying a rare day off, flew a kite with his family, their brief laughter echoing.

But in a corner of the square, there were more middle-aged men and women with worried faces, waiting for day-labor jobs.

Though they were basking in the same sun, their eyes were dim, as if their lives were bleak and filled with confusion.

For a time, the district remained as noisy as ever, with the horns of passing vehicles honking incessantly.

The pressure of heavy hearts had nowhere to go, gradually forming a gloomy cloud over the city.

In stark contrast, inside one of the apartment buildings, Lu Chao, having shut out all external noise, stood in his alchemy room, his expression focused as he prepared a potion.

Looking closely, one could see that new alchemical instruments had appeared on his table at some point, and the constant-temperature furnace buzzed without end.