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The rain outside showed no signs of abating; on the contrary, it seemed poised to completely engulf the city. The torrential downpour pounded against the bulletproof glass, producing a dull, relentless sound. Inside the safe house, the air was dry and constant in temperature, creating a stark contrast to the chaos outside.

Li Haotian tossed the black, gold-embossed invitation onto the workbench; the metal struck the surface with a crisp sound. The sound wasn't loud, but it seemed like a signal, announcing the start of preparations. He turned and walked towards the smelting area deep within the workshop, where several heavy, gray-black metal ingots lay—antiques brought back from the depths of the imperial tombs, alloys that had slumbered for millennia, now about to experience their second rebirth.

"Start the high-frequency furnace," Li Haotian commanded in a low voice, his voice transmitted to the intelligent system inside the room through bone conduction headphones.

Blue plasma flames erupted instantly, raising the room temperature dramatically. Li Haotian, wearing high-temperature resistant gloves, placed the first alloy ingot into the furnace. As the temperature rose, the mottled oxide layer on the metal surface began to peel away, revealing a deep, night-sky-like silver-blue luster at its core. This was no ordinary metal; it contained refining techniques unique to that era, and even some rare element capable of resisting void radiation.

Half an hour later, the liquid metal flowed quietly in the crucible, reflecting in Li Haotian's cold eyes.

He first took out Liu Hu's modified heavy rotary machine gun—"Tyrant." This gun was originally a symbol of brutality, but its ordinary industrial steel proved somewhat inadequate when facing the non-human targets that might appear at this auction. Li Haotian held the robotic arm and precisely aligned the deflector with the barrel and the internal hammer structure.

"Sizzle—"

A silvery-blue liquid was injected into the gun barrel, instantly fusing with the original black metal, wisps of blue smoke rising from it. The cooling system spun rapidly, and after a cloud of white mist dissipated, the "Tyrant" was completely transformed. The patterns on the gun's surface became as smooth as flowing water, and a chilling glint shone through the originally dull black, with a faint blue halo appearing around the muzzle. This alloy not only allowed the barrel to withstand the high temperatures generated by continuous firing at higher frequencies, but also endowed it with certain anti-magic properties—a physical world's counterattack against the void.

Next up is Qin Yue's ammunition.

Compared to Liu Hu's "rage," Qin Yue's weapon leans more towards "surgical" precision. Li Haotian drew the remaining molten alloy into thin, hair-like streams, drawing them into a special armor-piercing core. He disassembled the bullet head of each 9mm bullet, embedded it into this antique silver core, and then resealed it.

This process allowed no room for error; his hands were as steady as a rock, the tweezers seeming to come alive at his fingertips. One hundred and fifty bullets, each one imbued with the power to pierce through metal. As the last bullet was loaded into the magazine, Li Haotian gently flicked the magazine wall; a crisp metallic clang echoed in the room, melodious as a wind chime, yet deadly as thunder.

At the other end of the studio, Su Wan was engrossed in a pile of sophisticated electronic components.

There were no sparks on her workbench, only countless fine data lines and rice-grain-sized chips. Green code cascaded down the monitor, reflecting on her slightly pale face.

"The anti-tracking module is fully debugged. It uses dynamic frequency switching technology. Even if the technical department of Shen'en Trust tries to lock onto the signal, they'll only get a jumble of gibberish," Su Wan said without looking up. Her voice was hoarse, but it carried an undeniable confidence. She picked up a few seemingly ordinary buttons and earrings, which were actually disguised eavesdropping and miniature recording devices. "And these 'flies,' if I just stick them on their server racks, I can expose them completely."

She tossed the specially made earrings to Li Haotian, who caught them with his hand, feeling their cool touch.

"Thank you for your hard work," Li Haotian said.

"Don't rush to thank me. This equipment can only maintain maximum concealment for six hours. After that time, or if it encounters a strong electromagnetic pulse, it will self-destruct." Su Wan took off her goggles and rubbed her sore temples. "So, you don't have much time."

Li Haotian nodded, put away the equipment, and his gaze fell on the corner of the room.

There sat a black box made of high-strength lead alloy and wave-absorbing material. The surface of the box was covered with intricate magic array patterns, which Su Wan drew according to the drawings left by the tomb keeper, to isolate external signal interference.

Little Black crouched beside the box, seemingly sensing something amiss. Its tail twitched uneasily, and a low growl escaped its throat. As a creature that lived on the edge of the void rift, it possessed an instinctive sensitivity and fear of the impending, oppressive aura of the void. This journey to the high seas, with its ship not only gathering various forces but also potentially displaying "divine artifacts" related to the void, was undoubtedly a sensory torture for it.

Li Haotian walked over, squatted down, and gently stroked Xiao Hei's smooth, black back. The touch felt slightly warm, indicating that its excitement and tension were both soaring.

"Buddy, I know you don't like that little box, but it's for your own good," Li Haotian said gently, trying to soothe you.

He took out a specially made syringe from the refrigerator, the syringe filled with a pale golden liquid—a gift from the gravedigger, a tranquilizer that could greatly suppress the frenzied thoughts of void creatures.

Little Black looked at the syringe and instinctively shrank its neck, but didn't move away. It seemed to understand that it had to remain absolutely calm for the upcoming battle.

Li Haotian skillfully located the subcutaneous tissue at the back of Xiao Hei's neck, inserted the needle, and slowly injected the golden liquid. A few seconds later, Xiao Hei's tense muscles began to relax, and the wild light that had been leaping in its dark green eyes gradually dimmed, turning into a deep tranquility.

"sleep tight."

Li Haotian picked up the now limp and powerless Xiao Hei and gently placed it into the black box. The specially made soft cushion instantly enveloped its body. Li Haotian closed the heavy lid with a "click," and the lock fell shut, completely isolating it from the outside wind and rain and the unknown void signals.

He stood up and looked around the workshop, which resembled a makeshift armory.

The specially reinforced "Tyrant" machine gun has been packed into a box, which is reserved for Liu Hu; the magazines with embedded silver bullet cores are neatly stacked in the tactical vest; Su Wan's high-tech eavesdropping device is already worn close to her body; and Xiao Hei, her most capable comrade-in-arms, has entered a deep sleep in the black box.

Everything is ready.

Li Haotian walked to the window and looked out at the world through the gaps in the blinds. In the rain, the city's neon lights were blurred into a bizarre patchwork of colors, like some kind of distorted painting.

"This is our stage," he said to Su Wan and Qin Yue behind him.

Qin Yue slung a modified short-barreled shotgun over her thigh and checked the safety: "Once a ship leaves port, it falls under the jurisdiction of the high seas. On that ship, the law is a luxury; only power is hard currency."

"Then let them see who's stronger." Li Haotian zipped up his tactical vest, concealing his battered yet still muscular chest. His gaze at that moment deepened, more so than the night rain outside the window—a chilling intensity born from countless trials, piercing straight to the core.

He grabbed the black suitcase on the table, which contained the reborn alloy knife—his last trump card.

"Set off."

Li Haotian strode towards the door. The moment he pushed it open, a gust of wind mixed with rain hit him in the face, wetting the stray hairs on his forehead. Without pausing, he walked straight into the black SUV that was already waiting downstairs.

The roar of engines shattered the silence of the rainy night. Wheels rolled over puddles, speeding towards the harbor. On the vast, dark high seas, a colossal ship, laden with sin and secrets, had already lit its lights, awaiting its prey.

And the hunter is already on his way.