Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 599: Medicine Formula
Upon reaching the edge of the forest, the air was filled with the smell of decaying plants and a certain sweet, fishy odor.

Li Zhongren stopped moving at high speed and landed steadily on the ground.

He took off the specially made metal box provided by the association from his back, which served as both a restraint container and a bag.

Inside the box, besides the reserved space for restraint, there were also expired blood bags obtained from hospital channels, emitting a faint smell of rust.

"You like flesh and blood? Then I'll prepare a feast for you."

Li Zhongren, carrying the box, stepped into the dimly lit forest.

His perception range was like an invisible radar, instantly expanding outwards from him and covering an area of ​​several hundred meters in radius.

Every detail of the forest—the tangled tree roots, the poisonous insects crawling under the decaying leaves, the small, twisted creatures lurking in the shadows, the spores floating in the air—was meticulously reflected in his mind, forming an incredibly clear three-dimensional picture.

He carefully sifted through these information streams, and soon, about two hundred meters to his left, in a hollow of a dead tree, he "saw" an inconspicuous, slightly wriggling, dark red lump of flesh.

The piece of flesh emitted a faint, distorted fluctuation that seemed out of place with its surroundings; it was one of the "eyes" and "anchors of rebirth" that Granny Yaga had left behind.

"Indeed cunning, they've prepared a backup plan, monitoring the entrance."

Li Zhongren sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.

He carried the blood box, deliberately making heavy footsteps, pretending to be cautiously searching for prey, and slowly approached that direction.

He stopped about fifty meters away from the chunks of meat, slammed the heavy metal box to the ground, and even deliberately spilled a few bags of blood to make the strong smell of blood spread more quickly.

Then, with his back to the monitoring flesh and blood, he pretended to be vigilant and observed his surroundings, but in reality, he had heightened all his senses to the extreme, quietly waiting for the fish to take the bait.

Time passed by minute by minute.

A predator-like silence was spreading.

"coming!"

In Li Zhongren's perception, a thin, hunched figure was approaching silently from the side and rear in a strange way, almost gliding along the ground, using the cover of trees and shadows.

Its movements were frighteningly light, making almost no sound; it was Grandma Yaga!
Its murky eyes were fixed on Li Zhongren's back and the box of blood on the ground that exuded an alluring aroma. A ferocious smile spread across its lips, revealing sparse, sharp teeth.

It didn't pounce immediately, but instead, like a real spider, it began to move rapidly around Li Zhongren. At the same time, its dry, dirty white hair grew and spread wildly as if it had a life of its own!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Countless resilient strands of hair, like living snakes, instantly intertwined into a huge and sticky net, blocking all possible escape routes for Li Zhongren!
An ominous glow flickers online; it's a deadly poison of pleasure!
Just as the net was about to close in, and Grandma Yaga thought victory was assured, she suddenly sprang from the shadows and lunged at Li Zhongren's back!

Li Zhongren made a move!
His movements were faster and more precise than Grandma Yaga's sneak attack!

"Buzz!"

The bloodthirsty chainsaw's engine roared furiously, and its dark serrations instantly transformed into a whirlwind of death!
Li Zhongren didn't even turn around. He swung his chainsaw backhand and met the approaching poison net with perfect precision!
"Sizzle!"

The incredibly tough, venomous hair net, strong enough to trap a rhinoceros, was easily torn apart and shredded like a hot knife through butter before the high-speed spinning, bloodthirsty chainsaw! Broken strands of hair flew everywhere, their toxins destroyed before they could even take effect.

Grandma Yaga let out a sharp screech, clearly not expecting her prey to be so difficult to handle.

It immediately changed tactics, and the remaining strands of hair, like countless poisonous whips, lashed out at Li Zhongren from all sorts of tricky angles!
However, Li Zhongren's figure moved with ghostly agility!
His feet didn't even leave the ground; he simply used the powerful strength of his core to pull and dodge with the invisible psychic threads shooting out from his wrists.

The hair, as sharp as a poisonous whip, would graz his body by the narrowest of margins, yet it wouldn't even touch the hem of his clothes!
He gracefully dodged while brandishing his chainsaw, continuously severing the incoming strands of hair.

The whole scene didn't resemble a life-or-death struggle; rather, it was like a dance orchestrated by Li Zhongren, full of violent aesthetics.

Grandma Yaga became increasingly agitated, and her attacks became more and more frantic.

Li Zhongren seized an opportunity. After dodging a straight thrust from a thick braid, he slammed the chainsaw forward and rolled it back along the base of the braid!

"Buzz! Snap!"

As the chainsaw passed, Grandma Yaga's long, freely controllable hair, along with part of her scalp, was shaved off completely, revealing her bald, wrinkled scalp!

"Hiss! Aaaaaah!"

Grandma Yaga let out a painful and furious howl. Having lost her hair, she felt as if she had been stripped of her most important weapon and dignity!

It completely abandoned its ranged attacks, landed on all fours, and burst forth with terrifying speed, rushing towards Li Zhongren like a cannonball!
The thin, bony claws gleamed with a cold light, aiming straight for Li Zhongren's heart!
"Well done!"

A glint flashed in Li Zhongren's eyes. Without dodging or avoiding, he suddenly reached out with his left hand and grabbed Grandma Yaga's wrist with perfect precision!
"Oh!"

A dull thud resounded, and Grandma Yaga's strength, enough to tear steel plates, was actually caught steadily by Li Zhongren with one hand, without him moving an inch!
Grandma Yaga's other claw followed closely behind, but Li Zhongren skillfully parried with his right hand, his bloodthirsty chainsaw colliding with the claw, sending sparks flying! The immense force was transmitted through the chainsaw, but it was easily neutralized by Li Zhongren's strong physique.

Close combat has officially begun!
Grandma Yaga was like a madwoman, attacking with claws, bites, and headbutts, all like a storm.

Li Zhongren, on the other hand, was like a rock. Every block, every dodge, and every counterattack was perfectly timed, full of accurate prediction and overwhelming power.

The bloodthirsty chainsaw was like an extension of his arm in his hands. He chopped, hacked, and sawed, leaving deep, bone-revealing wounds on Grandma Yaga's body. Dark red blood splattered, but not a single drop landed on Li Zhongren's clean combat uniform.

Finally, Li Zhongren found an opening, dodged Grandma Yaga's attack by turning to the side, and thrust the chainsaw forward with a sudden stab!
"Pfft!"

The high-speed rotating saw teeth easily pierced through Grandma Yaga's hunched back, precisely severing her spine!
"Uh……"

Grandma Yaga froze instantly. The madness in her eyes faded, replaced by shock and disbelief. Although as a twisted creature it wouldn't die immediately, the broken spine temporarily rendered its body immobile.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Zhongren grabbed the limp Grandma Yaga and roughly stuffed her into the specially made metal box.

Just as the lid of the box was about to close, Li Zhongren clearly "sensed" that the core will within Granny Yaga's body began to fluctuate violently, attempting to escape this severely damaged body and transfer to other pre-reserved flesh and blood anchor points in the forest!

Want to run?

Li Zhongren's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Crossing!"

He silently urged himself on, activating his cheat ability once more!
However, this time, the lack of energy made the journey extremely short and unstable.

The surrounding space only distorted vaguely, like the flickering of a television signal due to a poor signal, and didn't even fully switch to the scene of the real world.

But that's enough!

The moment the spatial fluctuation occurred, Grandma Yaga's transfer of will was forcibly interrupted!
It felt as if it had been instantly thrown into an endless void, its connection with all the pre-existing flesh and blood anchors completely severed by an incomprehensible force!

A silent sense of despair emanated from inside the box.

When the spatial fluctuations subsided, Li Zhongren was still standing in the Weeping Forest, but he keenly sensed that the lump of flesh monitoring the situation in the tree hole not far away, as well as the blood splattered on the ground by Granny Yaga, had instantly lost all vitality, becoming dry, gray, and eventually turning into ashes.

"Bang!"

The metal box lid was completely locked by Li Zhongren, and the runes on it lit up, forming a powerful energy confinement.

Inside the box, only Grandma Yaga's immobile, broken body, devoid of all "backups," and her trapped, desperate core will remained.
-
Dividing line

After submitting Grandma Yaga's task, Li Zhongren received 80,000 credits and a B+ grade resource voucher, and his account was full again.

Without pausing, he immediately reopened the Hunter Association's internal shop. The biggest weakness at present was the lack of means to combat spirits, which needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

The screen displayed a wide variety of products, and he directly filtered them using keywords: "spirit damage", "enchantment", and "potion".

The list refreshes, revealing a variety of strange items: bullets imbued with holy light, throwing knives engraved with exorcising runes, and potions that can temporarily activate the ability to see ghosts. Prices range from several thousand to hundreds of thousands of credits, and their functions vary.

Li Zhongren carefully compared his budget with his needs. He needed something that could remain effective and work in conjunction with his primary weapon, the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw.

Ultimately, his attention settled on a special item—not a finished product, but a recipe.

[Product Name]: Purifying Oil (Twisted Potion Recipe)

[Effect Description]:
1. Spirit Damage: After applying and permeating the weapon, it can cause effective damage to non-physical distortions such as spirits and energy bodies for a certain period of time.

2. Energy Conversion: It can convert a portion of the kinetic energy (impact force, pressure, etc.) generated by physical attacks into purifying energy for special attacks against spirits in a certain proportion. The conversion efficiency is related to the quality of the potion and the compatibility with the weapon.

[Learning Requirements]: Possess basic knowledge of alchemy or pharmacology, and have stable mental strength.

[Exchange Requirements]: 50,000 Credits, 1 Grade B Resource Voucher
[Note]: The formula is complex and the materials are processed meticulously. The refining process requires extremely high standards for temperature, timing, and energy injection, resulting in a surprisingly high failure rate. Although the effects are unique, the difficulty of refining leads to high costs and low cost-effectiveness. Please choose carefully.

"Convert physical attacks into magical attacks?"

Li Zhongren's eyes lit up; this attribute was practically tailor-made for him and the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw!
If some of the chainsaw's ferocious physical damage could be converted into damage against spirits, its power would be immeasurable.

Although the notes emphasized the difficulty of refining,
"Difficulty? That's for people who need to study and practice diligently."

Li Zhongren's lips curled slightly, and he already had a bold plan in mind.

Without hesitation, he paid with credits and B-grade resource vouchers to download the complex recipe into his Hunter Badge.

Time slipped by unnoticed, and a month has passed.

During this month, Li Zhongren did not encounter any more high-reward tasks that perfectly matched his abilities like those of Grandma Yaga.

He takes on C-level or even D-level cleanup missions, targeting mostly low-level twisted creatures or small mutants.

The pay isn't high, but it's safe and stable, and with his newly acquired physical abilities and sensory perception, he can complete the tasks with ease.

With the help of these small, scattered rewards from tasks, he finally escaped his previous state of abject poverty and rented an apartment that was slightly better than his previous dilapidated house. At least it was clean and tidy and had a private bathroom.

His fears about being "exposed" remained unresolved; it seemed the two policemen hadn't reported it, or that his presence hadn't yet attracted the attention of anyone.

This reassured him somewhat, but he did not let his guard down.

At the same time, he was also consciously accumulating the energy needed for the journey.

Using the energy he initially gained from devouring the chainsaw demon as a standard "unit," he carefully accumulated about fifteen units of energy over the past month by absorbing the faint energy crystals left behind by the low-level twisted objects after completing his missions.

"Fifteen units... should be enough."

Li Zhongren calculated that this was almost the result of more than a month of working without eating or drinking and focusing all his energy on low-level tasks.

"It's all for that plan: to refine 'purifying oil' in the real world!"

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a little self-deprecating.

Because of his frequent use of chainsaws to deal with low-level targets over the past month, he earned the nickname "Chainsaw Killer" in the small circle of low-level hunters.

"It seems I'm really destined to be mortalized with chainsaws for the rest of my life."

He shook his head helplessly.

Early in the morning, Li Zhongren walked out of the apartment carrying an ordinary backpack.

Today is the first day of high school.

Yes, he is still a student.

After his parents died, he barely managed to support his studies with his pension and part-time jobs. The summer before that was the time when he transmigrated and experienced tremendous changes.

Now that summer vacation is over, he has to return to being a student.

Walking on his way to school, looking at the students and office workers rushing around, Li Zhongren felt a strange sense of alienation.

A month ago, he was fighting against man-eating twisted creatures, but now he has to sit in a classroom and learn seemingly "useless" knowledge.

This change in identity made him feel as if he were in another world.

But he understood that being a student was also a good disguise.

As he arrived at the school gate, amidst the bustling crowd, a figure made him pause slightly.

It was a girl wearing the same school uniform, petite in stature, with delicate features and long black hair tied in a neat ponytail. She was walking towards the school gate, chatting and laughing with several other girls.

She is Keiko, the original owner's childhood friend and neighbor when they were young.

Later, the original owner's family moved away, and unexpectedly, they became classmates again in high school. However, after suffering a blow, the original owner became withdrawn and taciturn, and although the two knew each other, they were only nodding acquaintances.

From her name, it's clear that the girl wasn't originally from Dongguo.

She represents a group from the post-apocalyptic era, the survivors of Japan.

Before the extraordinary era, the Fusang Islands were a prosperous nation.

However, as the distortion descended, the old order collapsed, and natural and man-made disasters followed one after another. The island ultimately could not withstand the terrifying erosion and underwent irreversible distortions on both physical and conceptual levels, becoming almost uninhabitable for humans.

The surviving Japanese became wanderers who had lost their homeland.

During their long struggle and migration after the apocalypse, some of the Japanese people eventually arrived in "Hanato," a relatively stable Eastern metropolis that was rebuilding from ruins.

Huadu embraced these immigrants with a pragmatic inclusiveness and a sense of population loss in the post-apocalyptic era.

But this acceptance comes at a price.

Most of the Japanese survivors were settled in urban fringe or lower-class areas like District 11, where they were engaged in jobs that were essential to the city's operation but were relatively low-end and dangerous, such as maintaining complex old-fashioned underground pipe systems, working on purification farms with slightly excessive radiation, or joining resource recycling teams outside the city with extremely high mortality rates.

However, as time goes by, the concept of the Japanese remnants is gradually fading, because the culture of Huadu has almost completely assimilated the Japanese remnants, and many Japanese immigrants have shortened their names, such as Keiko.

Her full name is Liu Huizi.

Ultimately, there is an old feud between Huadu and Fusang, and the people of Huadu have always believed that even a feud from ten generations ago can be avenged.

It was simply that he had the heart of a tiger but the gentle touch of a rose, which is why he took in those remnants of the lower classes.

According to rumors circulating among the people, those who remained included members of old-era Japanese capital, all of whom were purged.
"Good morning, Zhongren."

At the doorway, Huizi, who was talking to Li Zhongren, looked at him.

The boy before me still had the same ordinary appearance, but his back, which used to be slightly hunched, was now straight. His eyes were no longer a lifeless gray, but instead shone with an indescribable sharpness. He seemed to have been reborn, having emerged from the shadow of his parents' death.

"Good morning, Huizi."

Li Zhongren smiled and waved to the girl.

This smile stunned the girl. When was the last time she had seen him smile?

(End of this chapter)