Watching Lin Zihan on the ground rolling his eyes in unconsciousness, the Demon Lord chuckled.
"Little imp Lin, see you around!"
With that, the Demon Lord vanished into thin air. A few minutes later, Lin Zihan crawled up, trembling, and calmly looked in the direction the Demon Lord had departed, saying.
"I truly hope we never meet again, Old Feng."
M82A1 and AWM
After parting ways with the Demon Lord, the two-man team was once again reduced to just him alone...
Half a year later, inside a cave illuminated by a flickering fire, a figure with messy hair who looked as though he had just crawled out of a coal mine burst into loud laughter.
"I have finally forged the cultivation world's very first M82A1!"
(The M82A1 was originally called the Barrett.)
Judging by the voice, this person was none other than Lin Zihan. During the past half-year, Lin Zihan had not spent a single day on cultivation; instead, he had been obsessively studying items from his original world—Band-Aids, bullets, firearms, and so on.
The Barrett was Lin Zihan's finest achievement over the past six months. By improving upon the original blueprints, he had not only increased the overall size of the weapon but also enhanced its magazine capacity.
This modified Barrett loaded three 8 cm thick rounds at a time, featuring armor-piercing rounds, explosive rounds, and Lin Zihan's newly invented armor-piercing explosive rounds.
(Armor-piercing explosive rounds could penetrate an enemy's tough skin or fur, and upon entering the body, they would detonate to inflict secondary damage.)
Lin Zihan had increased the Barrett's length from the original world's 1.4 meters to 2 meters, greatly boosting its imposing presence and accuracy.
The capacity for the armor-piercing explosive rounds was three per load. Because their destructive power was so immense, the barrel could not withstand the stress, requiring a half-hour cooling period after three consecutive shots.
Since Lin Zihan had yet to find a more heat-resistant material for the barrel, he was restricted to loading only three armor-piercing explosive rounds at a time.
The recoil of this rifle was also formidable. While the original version in his old world used a bipod, Lin Zihan upgraded his design by adding a steel bipod roughly the size of two adult palms, along with a 50 cm, triple-layered crystal scope that vastly improved target observation.
Additionally, Lin Zihan had crafted an AWM sniper rifle for assassination work. The full length of the rifle was 1.5 meters (after modifications), equipped with a newly designed silencer. It came in white for snow camouflage, brown for the desert, and green for the forest.
Looking at his creations with intense excitement, Lin Zihan carefully stored them away inside his ring before happily heading off to take a refreshing bath.
Dragon Girl
Soaking in a wooden tub, Lin Zihan reflected on his labor over the past six months. Having produced practical equipment alongside the dazzling Barrett and AWM, he felt that skipping his cultivation for half a year had been entirely worth it.
A few days later, while Lin Zihan was sitting cross-legged atop a towering mountain absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, a sudden disturbance broke the peace.
Dark clouds rolled in from the distance without warning, accompanied by flashes of lightning, thunder, and the roars of colossal beasts.
Lin Zihan rose to his feet, stared at the distant storm clouds, and calculated that whatever was inside would reach his location in ten minutes.
He leaped down from the summit, donned his sniper camouflage suit, and set up the Barrett on a smaller adjacent hill.
Knowing the Barrett possessed immense recoil, Lin Zihan deliberately selected a small hill with a massive boulder behind it, bracing his feet against the rock and planting the butt of the rifle firmly against his right shoulder.
Thus positioned, Lin Zihan focused every ounce of his concentration on awaiting the arrival of the giant beast.
Before long, roughly fifty meters ahead in the sky above, the roar of the giant beast echoed once more, though this time it was accompanied by an unfamiliar sound.
A piercing eagle cry rang out from the dark clouds, and the turbulent air current it stirred up nearly blew Lin Zihan off his feet.
*What? Could two giant beasts be fighting each other?!*
Lin Zihan stared in shock at the bank of dark clouds overhead, where the silhouettes of massive creatures were vaguely visible.
Panic flickered through him. He had merely wanted to test the firepower of the Barrett he designed, never expecting to stumble right into the middle of a battle between colossal beasts.
"Is it too late to regret this?" Lin Zihan muttered, gritting his teeth in deep dismay.
Moments later, a greenish-white giant dragon plummeted from the clouds. The dragon's entire body was covered in wounds, and it emitted the mournful cry of a dying beast.
As Lin Zihan stared in astonishment at the dragon, a massive black bird emerged from the clouds. The giant bird possessed four wings, four claws, and three eyes. Though it bore several injuries, they were far less severe than the dragon's.
The giant bird descended slowly, one of its formidable claws seizing the dragon by the neck. Lin Zihan watched the dragon, and at that moment, the dragon locked eyes with him.
Meeting the dragon's gaze, Lin Zihan instantly swung his rifle barrel around and aimed straight for the giant bird's eye. The giant bird, completely unaware of the impending disaster, was still bellowing out its victory cry.
The next second, a deafening explosion shattered the air. The giant bird tilted its head in confusion, wondering why its eye suddenly stung.
A stream of blood poured down. Before the giant bird could even process the burning pain, the bullet detonated inside, obliterating its left eye in an instant.
Howling in agony, the giant bird beat its wings, released its grip on the dragon's neck, and shot back up into the clouds.
Meanwhile, Lin Zihan packed up his rifle and sprinted toward the dragon. The moment he drew close, the dragon let out a low growl, as if warning Lin Zihan to stay away.
Startled, Lin Zihan had anticipated such a reaction, yet he still jumped.
Swallowing hard, he boldly stepped forward and gently stroked the dragon's snout.
Sensing Lin Zihan's goodwill, the dragon relaxed. It raised its head toward the sky in one final roar and collapsed.
"Holy crap! Brother, don't play with me like this!" Lin Zihan cried out.
At that exact moment, a burst of green light erupted from the dragon's body. When it faded, a delicate-featured maiden stood in its place, adorned with pale green dragon horns, silver-white hair, and flowing cyan robes.
The girl was covered in injuries and lay unconscious. Lin Zihan froze for a moment as he looked down at her.
*Holy crap! She's the second most breathtaking girl I've ever seen, right after Qin Yutao,* Lin Zihan sighed inwardly.
Yet the next second, the cries of countless giant birds echoed from the dark clouds above. Lin Zihan knew the injured bird had gone to fetch its family.
He shook her gently, but she remained unresponsive. Realizing that leaving her behind to die would be far too cruel, Lin Zihan muttered to himself.
"Just this once, damn it! I am never doing this again!"
He addressed the unconscious girl, "I'm only saving you, I have no ulterior motives, so don't wake up and try to take revenge on me."
With that, Lin Zihan scooped her up in his arms and bolted into the distance.
Scarcely had Lin Zihan fled when three giant birds descended, one of them being the very creature whose eye Lin Zihan had blasted with the Barrett.
Finding the open ground completely empty, the beasts stared in blank confusion. However, one of them spotted traces of blood on the earth and tracked the trail forward.
At that instant, the giant bird's third eye flashed with a blinding golden beam. The illumination projected an image of Lin Zihan carrying the girl as he fled.
Enraged, the giant bird let out a piercing screech toward the distance. Lin Zihan glanced back and realized he had been spotted.
Yet he did not panic, for he recalled a crevice-like cave up ahead. Though he had never investigated it himself, and its interior remained a complete unknown, the pursuing birds left him with no choice but to take the risk and dive inside.
Just as he neared the entrance, the giant bird swooped over his head. Spotting Lin Zihan running for the cave, the creature shrieked furiously and plunged downward in a steep dive.
Right as its talons reached for him, Lin Zihan clutched the girl tighter and slid forward on his knees, locking eyes with the bird's razor-sharp claws from a mere 0.1 meters away.
Sliding deep into the cave, Lin Zihan whipped around to glare warily outside. The very next moment, a colossal eyeball pressed against the cave opening, locking its gaze directly onto Lin Zihan.
Lin Zihan felt the air freeze solid around him, the sheer pressure of that single eye pinning him in place, unable to move a muscle.
A surge of fury welled up within Lin Zihan's chest, and he unleashed "Primal Fear"!
Startled out of its wits, the giant bird snapped its head back in an instant, its entire body bristling with ruffled feathers.
The two accompanying giant birds stared in utter bewilderment. Snapping back to its senses, the lead bird let out an enraged shriek and soared toward the summit of the mountain.
Deep inside the cave, as he worked to staunch his own bleeding, Lin Zihan felt the ground rumble violently beneath his feet, plunging the cavern into absolute darkness a moment later.
Startled, Lin Zihan finally realized that the giant bird had sealed the exit by rolling a massive boulder over the mouth of the cave.
"Damn it! Stupid bird!"
Xuan Qingling
Holding a makeshift torch, Lin Zihan walked up to the boulder blocking the cave entrance, an urge rising within him to shatter it to pieces.
Yet the moment he reached out, he sensed a terrifying pressure seeping in from the outside. Though faint, Lin Zihan instantly recognized that something beyond his ability to defeat was lurking out there.
*I can't beat this thing, but I can escape. Still...*
Lin Zihan turned his head to look at the dragon girl lying on the ground.
*I've already treated her external wounds with medicine and bandages, but who knows what's going on inside? Then again, since this was a duel between beasts, it should have been purely physical combat, right? There's no way they use internal force projection through solid objects, right?!*
Finished with his turbulent thoughts, Lin Zihan began to worry for the dragon girl's safety.
*I am definitely not drooling over her body; I just want to check if she has any other injuries.*
He walked over and extended a hand, but the next second, the dragon girl snapped awake and grabbed his wrist.
In that instant, time seemed to freeze. Lin Zihan stared at the dragon girl, and the dragon girl stared right back at him.
Naturally, Lin Zihan wasn't merely staring into her eyes; he was seizing the opportunity to channel his spiritual energy to inspect her body for internal injuries.
Noticing that Lin Zihan remained motionless with his gaze fixed intently upon her, the dragon girl instinctively followed his line of sight downward—only for her face to flush crimson.
She tightened her grip with a fierce squeeze, causing Lin Zihan to let out an involuntary shriek of pain.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Lin Zihan cried out. "What are you doing? Ow—"
Blushing deeply, the dragon girl rebuked him angrily, "Where on earth are you looking?!"
"Huh?"
Lin Zihan blinked at her in utter bewilderment. Seeing that he refused to confess, the dragon girl grabbed his arm and applied pressure once again.
This time, the pain forced Lin Zihan to wrench his arm free. The dragon girl tried to grab him again, but battered as she was from the recent ordeal and violent struggle, her freshly mended wounds tore open.
Now it was the dragon girl's turn to gasp in pain as she clutched her arm, only to discover that her injuries had been treated with medicinal paste and securely wrapped in white cloth strips.
*Did he do this? Wait, this is just ordinary external medicine... Tch, and here I thought it was some high-grade divine elixir.*
Massaging his aching arm, Lin Zihan observed the dragon girl closely.
*Hmph! That expression definitely means she thinks my medicine is cheap junk; I can read it all over her face! And another reason I know this is because she has to be the daughter of some Dragon Clan chieftain or something. Reason one: she's drop-dead gorgeous and impeccably dressed. Reason two: when that stupid bird blocked the cave entrance, her horns actually glowed! Reason three: her regenerative capacity is absurdly powerful! Even without my medicine, she probably would've healed on her own in a couple of days.*
Looking down at her, Lin Zihan warned, "Hey, don't pull on your wounds."
The dragon girl instinctively looked up at him and asked, "Did you save me?"
"Yeah," Lin Zihan replied offhandedly.
*Who else could it have been if not me?*
Recalling the events leading up to her collapse, the dragon girl realized it truly was he who had saved her, prompting her tone to soften into one of genuine respect.
"Thank you for saving my life. I will repay this heavy debt in full one day."
With those words, she attempted to prop herself up with trembling limbs, while Lin Zihan stood by like an indifferent spectator, offering no assistance whatsoever.
Once standing, the dragon girl glanced at Lin Zihan before limping toward the darkness in search of an exit, a fresh trickle of blood seeping from her wounds with every agonizing step.
*Hah! Her wounds will never heal like that! Besides, from the spiritual scan I ran earlier, her left leg is severely fractured, her right arm bone is damaged, and worst of all, her spine is— wait? She's a dragon!*
Struck by a sudden realization, Lin Zihan blurted out, "Hey! Don't move!"
Startled, the dragon girl froze, right as she was about to demand an explanation.
Lin Zihan rushed forward, gently scooped her up in his arms, and carried her back. A blush stained the dragon girl's cheeks, but acutely aware of her injuries and her lingering fear of the dark, she allowed herself to be carried back to the warmth of the torchlight.
No sooner had he set her down than the dragon girl began to squirm, trying to break free. But she had barely moved when a sharp spasm of agony shot through her spine.
The pain brought tears to her eyes, and she could distinctly feel something pressing directly against her vertebrae.
"Damn it, I have no choice."
Gently laying her flat, Lin Zihan began chatting to distract her from the pain.
"Hold still. I'm Lin Zihan, what's your name?"
"Xuan..."
At that moment, another wave of pain wracked her spine, and a soft cry escaped her lips.
"Alright, alright, it's fine now..."
Lin Zihan gently reached out and pressed his hand along her spine.
Her face burned crimson because Lin Zihan had laid her facing upward while he hovered roughly 50 centimeters above her.
Paying no heed to her embarrassment, Lin Zihan carefully traced her spine with his fingers.
*Oh no, the surface of her entire spine is severely abraded, and the center is completely snapped in half!*
Drawing a deep breath, he looked down at her and said, "Your right leg has a severe compound fracture, and your left arm is also broken..."
Just as he reached the part about her spine, Lin Zihan clamped his mouth shut.
"What else?" she asked.
Silence hung in the air; Lin Zihan hesitated to speak.
"What about my... my dragon spine?" she demanded.
Taking a final deep breath, Lin Zihan said, "Your... your spine. It... it's broken."
The words hung in the air, leaving her stunned. A broken spine meant little to ordinary mortals, but to a dragon, it was a catastrophe. A severed dragon spine signaled that her life was drawing to a close, and even if by some miracle she survived, her existence as a dragon was effectively over.
Refusing to believe it, she tried to summon her strength, but not a single ounce of power would obey her. The brutal truth settled in: her dragon spine was indeed broken.
Unable to hold back any longer, she burst into tears. Panicking at the thought that her cries might attract danger from outside, Lin Zihan hastily whispered,
"Don't cry, don't cry! I'll give you mine!"
"Yours? I'm a dragon, what good is yours to me?" The dragon girl wept even louder.
Terrified of drawing external threats, Lin Zihan blurted out, "I have a way to fix it!"
She paused through her tears and asked, "You can fix it?"
Swallowing hard, Lin Zihan stammered, "Look at me right now, aren't I fixing it?"
Seeing that he genuinely appeared to be working on a solution, she quieted her sobbing and asked, "Can you really fix it?"
Gazing into her eyes, Lin Zihan replied, "Trust me."
Though skepticism lingered in her expression, she had no other choice but to let Lin Zihan try.
"Get some sleep. When you wake up, your dragon spine will be good as new."
"Okay," she murmured, nodding obediently before drifting off to sleep.
That slumber lasted three whole days. When she finally awoke, she realized it hadn't been a dream; she was still trapped in that terrifyingly dark dragon-trap of a cave.
Noticing Lin Zihan was nowhere to be seen, she scrambled up and fumbled around in the dark to find him. But the darkness was so absolute that the light from her own horns illuminated only the ceiling, causing her to trip and fall around a corner.
As she sat on the cold ground crying, a familiar voice drifted over from the distance.
"What's wrong! What's wrong!" Lin Zihan rushed over, hoisting a burning torch.
Seeing her sitting there covered in snot and tears, he let out a sigh.
Pounding his chest in frustration, she sobbed, "Where did you go? Wuwuwu..."
Taking a hit that made him cough up a mouthful of blood, Lin Zihan gasped, "I went ahead to scout the path."
"Scout the path?" she asked.
Quietly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Lin Zihan turned around to gently wipe away her tears while murmuring softly,
"That's right, I went ahead to check if there was an exit."
She sniffled, "Then what about my dragon spine?"
"Ah? Heh!" Lin Zihan fought hard to suppress his laughter, but failing utterly, he chuckled, "You're already walking around and hitting me, and you're still asking about your dragon spine? Haha—"
Realizing he was making fun of her, the already disgruntled dragon girl puffed out her cheeks and glared at him with renewed fury.
Sensing he had pushed his joke a bit too far, Lin Zihan quickly explained,
"Your original dragon spine couldn't be fused back together, so I took my own crystal spine, refined it into liquid form, and used part of it to bridge your broken vertebrae while coating the surface with the rest. Not only is your spine fully repaired now, but it's reinforced with a protective layer."
Hearing this, a wave of realization hit her as she thought of the sacrifice Lin Zihan had made. "You used your own spine? Then what about you?"
"Ah? Me!" Lin Zihan replied, "I had spare crystal material on hand, so I just refined a brand new spine for myself."
"Oh... wait a minute, then why didn't you just use the spare spine you refined for yourself on me?" she asked, zeroing in on a fatal flaw in his logic.
Lin Zihan could only reply with a deadpan: "......"
"You still have the nerve to say that! Do you think I didn't try? That was the exact method I used during my first attempt, but for some reason, it wouldn't take! It was only after I used a piece of my own that it worked instantly!"
Lin Zihan grabbed her by the shoulders, exasperated. At that proximity, her face flushed crimson; they were separated by barely the distance of a single fist, close enough for Lin Zihan to potentially surrender his second first kiss.
Sensing he had crossed into dangerous territory once more, Lin Zihan awkwardly released her, cleared his throat twice, and announced,
"Ahem, let's go. I found an exit."
Without a word of protest, she simply hopped onto Lin Zihan's back, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Lin Zihan demanded.
Burrowing her blushing face deep into Lin Zihan's shoulder, she mumbled,
"M-my legs still aren't fully healed!"
"What?!!?"
"Oh, oh right..."
New Friend
Carrying Xuan Qingling on his back, Lin Zihan emerged from a secondary tunnel of the cave system. Once outside in the open air, Xuan Qingling stubbornly insisted on remaining on his back.
"Hey, Xuan Qingling, how on earth did you provoke that flock of birds in the first place?" Lin Zihan asked.
"Hm? That?" Xuan Qingling replied, "Every ten thousand years, our Dragon Clan engages in a great war against our mortal enemies, the Three-Eyed Demonic Birds. In each conflict, the chosen dragon is assigned a single mission: to discover the weakness of the Three-Eyed Demonic Birds."
"Oh! And you were chosen?" Lin Zihan asked.
Xuan Qingling paused before answering, "No."
*No?!*
*If she wasn't chosen, why on earth was she fighting a Three-Eyed Demonic Bird? Could it be... Heh heh~*
Struck by a sudden inspiration, Lin Zihan said, "Ah~ I get it. You suspected there was corruption behind the selection, so you sneaked out to prove yourself, didn't you?"
Xuan Qingling gasped, dumbfounded that Lin Zihan had guessed the truth so accurately.
"And I'd wager you're actually the daughter of the Dragon Clan's chieftain, right?"
The moment those words left Lin Zihan's mouth, Xuan Qingling lost her composure entirely, her hand instinctively inching toward a weapon, ready to slit his throat.
Yet her subtle movements could never escape the vigilant eyes of the cautious Lin Zihan.
*Holy crap?! Is she seriously about to draw blood from my neck? Well, I suppose that confirms my guess was spot on.*
Sighing softly, Lin Zihan spoke without a trace of fear: "I've already noticed your little trick."
Startled, Xuan Qingling lunged forward and clamped her hand tightly around Lin Zihan's throat.