Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 590 Next time I speak, I'll get to the point first (two parts combined)

The corpse lay quietly on the operating table, without skin or flesh, without eyes; at first glance, it was just a bloody, mangled mass of rotten flesh.

There were no nurses this time; he was the only one in the entire operating room. Above him, Ghost Master and the others were quietly watching Xiao Ran's every move through the glass window.

Soon, Xiao Ran deftly cut open the corpse's chest with a scalpel.

The scalpel could only cut through the outermost layer of flesh. Beneath the flesh, fibrous fascia was intertwined, and through the fascia, one could see completely mutated runes.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran frowned slightly.

Not to mention the corpses of beginners, Xiao Ran has even dealt with the corpses of professionals.

But the bodies were either well preserved or still very fresh when Xiao Ran processed them.

At least the runes inside those corpses were still in the initial stage of mutation, but the corpses now were in terrible condition.

This guy died very early, and his body suffered extensive damage. The runes inside had already mutated and were growing wildly in his flesh, completely altering the internal structure of the corpse.

It's no exaggeration to say that the corpse in front of Xiao Ran is no longer just a corpse; to be more precise, it's more like a bomb.

No wonder the Ghost Doctor asked him to dissect the corpse; even he might not have been able to do it.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran took out the [Luban Hand] and placed it on her shoulder.

【Lu Ban's Hand: The Barber】

Once activated, the cursed object will connect with the user and become part of the user's body.

Privilege 1; Skillful Hands

It can replicate the user's professional skills, and the skills are half a level higher than the user's own proficiency.

(Note: The class used to activate this cursed item cannot be copied.)
Privilege 2: Blade of Calamity

Once activated, Lu Ban can unleash a spirit blade that cuts through misfortune, curses, and other negative influences.

Xiao Ran tried to move the Lu Ban Hand. The Lu Ban Hand on her shoulder moved with Xiao Ran's will, just like a part of her own body, without any sense of unfamiliarity.

"Master Gui, is it alright to entrust such important materials to him? If that medicine pouch is damaged, we will suffer a great loss."

Behind the glass of the observation room on the second floor, Ghost Master's assistant watched Xiao Ran dissecting a corpse and couldn't help but express his concerns.

The ingredients for potion number 3 are extremely precious.

Just in case, a drug capsule was implanted in these test subjects before they were even tested.

If anything goes wrong with their health, the medicine pouch will quickly extract all the medicinal properties from their bodies and store them inside, making it easier for them to try again next time.

Of course, with such a powerful effect, the side effects of this medicine sac must also be astonishing.

The drug capsule not only removes the drug from the test subject's body, but also takes away all of the test subject's life force.

This will greatly stimulate the runes within the test subject, causing them to go berserk and the entire corpse to undergo a bizarre transformation.

Dissecting such a corpse is extremely dangerous. Even if Ghost Master personally leads the team, the success rate is only 60%. It's inevitable that the assistants will feel worried when this person is doing it alone.

Their concern was not Xiao Ran's safety, but rather the wasted medicine pouch.

Ghost Master did not answer, but simply watched Xiao Ran's actions quietly.

"Zizi..."

As the second layer of fibrotic muscle was cut open, gray liquid gushed out from the flesh. As if it were alive, the liquid, once it touched Xiao Ran's hands, immediately began to frantically try to penetrate into Xiao Ran's flesh.

A sudden chill washed over her; these things seemed to be able to ignore the protection of the rubber gloves and touch Xiao Ran's body directly.

Fortunately, at that moment, Lu Ban's hand emitted a beam of bright light that shone down.

Privilege 2: Blade of Calamity

Once activated, Lu Ban can unleash a spirit blade that cuts through misfortune, curses, and other negative influences.

The spiritual blade, composed of intense light, nimbly sliced ​​away all the gray liquid clinging to Xiao Ran's hands, peeling it off.

Seeing that the Lu Ban Hand technique was effective, Xiao Ran decided to try using it to complete the remaining cuts.

"Sizzle!"

Lu Ban used his hand to pry open the outer fibrous fascia layer, and the entire corpse suddenly sprang up like a live fish. More than a dozen dark purple fleshy buds emerged from the rotting chest cavity, each with a sucker with barbs at its end, lunging at Xiao Ran's face.

"Alive?"

Xiao Ran wielded a scalpel in her right hand, the blade moving with lightning speed, instantly severing the fleshy buds. At the moment of severing the buds, dark green viscous fluid gushed out from the cut, but Xiao Ran had already dodged far away. This fluid splattered in all directions, immediately corroding honeycomb-like pits into the ceiling.

The assistants on the second floor looked grim upon seeing this. If it were them, someone would surely be injured by now.

Ghost Master placed his palm beside the glass, his palm flashing with incantations that merged with the entire operating room, instantly casting a blood-red filter over the glass window in front of him.

This operating room is a cursed artifact that Ghost Master created at great expense. Once fully activated, there's no need to worry about the things inside having any impact on the outside.

Xiao Ran continued to control Lu Ban's hand, using the Blade of Calamity to cut open all the remaining fleshy buds.

But when he looked down at the wound, the severed granulation tissues and limbs wriggled and reassembled on the surface of the corpse, piecing together a distorted human face.

The face opened its toothless mouth, and a sound like fingernails scraping a blackboard came from its throat: "Medicine bag. My..." As it spoke, the corpse suddenly convulsed violently, and all the runes began to slither away like living centipedes.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran did not continue to attack. Instead, she immediately took out the [Suppressing Calamity Token] and activated it.

"Bang!"

The corpse's chest exploded open with a bang, and countless pieces of flesh and blood poured out of the corpse, intertwining together to form a mass that looked like a tumor.

The faceless human face on the tumor emitted painful howls from its throat.

Immediately afterwards, the dense array of lenses refracted light in every corner of the operating room, like thousands of transparent spider webs, weaving a semi-transparent network of veins under the operating lights, quickly covering the entire operating room.

"What is this?"

As a member of the Corpse Stitching Master lineage, Xiao Ran is an expert on corpses, but this is the first time he has ever seen such a bizarre corpse.

Surprised, Xiao Ran felt more excited: "This should also be considered a kind of reconstructed object, right? If we stitch it together with other corpses, could we create a new reconstructed object?"

Just as Xiao Ran was pondering the possibilities,

"Beep beep..."

The operating room was filled with flashing incantations and alarm sounds.

"not good!"

In the observation room, the Ghost Doctor's expression suddenly changed drastically. He immediately activated the operating room's ability. He placed his palm on the glass, and a layer of pale blue light spread from his palm, quickly covering the entire operating room.

【Operating Room with Amazing Technology, Skilled Craftsmen】

"Spiritual pressure surge!"

As the privilege was activated, a piercing buzzing sound suddenly erupted throughout the operating room, and a powerful resonant storm rose out of nowhere.

Xiao Ran felt a series of loud bangs in her ears, and immense pressure instantly slammed down on her, causing her expression to change. She turned to look in the direction of the observation room: "Is this old bastard planning to kill me too?"

The Ghost Doctor was no longer concerned about Xiao Ran's life or death. Instead, he increased his power. His face was even more pale than Xiao Ran's, and warnings of the cursed object being corrupted kept appearing before his eyes.

This operating room was built at great expense by the Changchun Medical Association. Once it is destroyed, it will probably take at least ten days to half a month to repair.

Don't underestimate this operating room. The Ghost Doctor's team was able to overcome all kinds of difficulties in such a short time entirely thanks to the assistance of the operating room in front of them.

At this critical juncture in the development of Drug No. 3, this operating room cannot afford any losses.

As the pressure in the operating room continued to increase, the fleshy mass began to ooze blood. The transparent spiderweb enveloping the mass grew even more wildly at this time, rapidly seeping into the gaps in the operating room.

The resonant booming sound that had been generated by the violent vibrations gradually quieted down at this moment.

"A very strange structure. These nerve-like spiderwebs seem to be infiltrating this operating room. Could it be that it has the ability to penetrate cursed objects?"

Xiao Ran looked at the fleshy ball with some surprise, becoming increasingly interested in it.

"Five doctors!!"

At this moment, the Ghost Doctor's voice came through the communication tube: "Deal with this thing as soon as possible, discard the medicine pouch."

The Ghost Doctor's voice was extremely anxious; the warning of the cursed object's invasion was driving him almost mad.

Whether or not we can get our hands on the medicine pouch right now is another matter; if we can't get rid of it quickly, we'll suffer a huge loss.

Having said that, the Ghost Doctor continued to exercise his privileges in the operating room.

The lights above the operating room came on.

"You have gained the privilege of [Spiritual Essence Strengthening], which temporarily increases your professional skills by half a level in the operating room."

"You have gained the privilege of the [Optical Supplement], which increases all your attributes by 20% in the operating room."

Feeling the boost he had received, Xiao Ran was also surprised: "No wonder this old guy was so nervous, this operating room is really a good thing."

The mere fact that one's professional skills have improved by half a level is comparable to owning real estate in Bone Spirit Street.

Of course, the privilege of owning the property comes from Sister Liu, and if Sister Liu leaves, this privilege will disappear.

"Hmm, I wonder if we can think of a way to take this thing back."

Just as Xiao Ran was pondering this, the Ghost Doctor's urging voice came again.

"Destroy this thing as soon as possible... I need to... Zzzzz!"

Before the Ghost Doctor could finish speaking, the entire operating room began to tremble, and the sound was cut off.

More and more spider webs are spreading wildly on the walls.

"Giggle."

The corpse beneath the ball of flesh convulsed again, and the serrated edges at the thoracic cavity began to spin rapidly, scattering countless fragments of bone.

The prismatic fragments automatically assembled in the air, instantly transforming into a suspended spinal sword that began to rotate around the fleshy ball.

"Kill them all! They must all die!!"

The fleshy mass twisted and contorted, and a thick arm emerged from its side, its surface shimmering with black runes. One hand gripped the spinal sword and swung it violently. "Whoosh!!"

The spinal sword was raised, creating a gust of wind in the operating room.

Xiao Ran didn't make a move; instead, she nimbly dodged the incoming sword shadows.

"Can you show me some real skills? Or is this all you're capable of?"

Xiao Ran said coldly.

"kill!!"

Pure killing intent surged from the fleshy ball, and the spinal sword in his hand became faster and faster, but in Xiao Ran's eyes it was just fast.

Against a master swordsman, the spine of this fleshy ball poses virtually no threat.
Seemingly realizing that the spinal sword could not threaten Xiao Ran, the surrounding net-like crystals began to flash rapidly. The fleshy ball cracked further, and seven vertical pupils suddenly split open on the surface of the tumor, with reverse-rotating runes emerging from the depths of the pupils.

"Crack!"

The surrounding spiderweb-like crystals suddenly exploded, turning into countless needles suspended in mid-air—each needle's tail was attached to a translucent thread, weaving together to form a killing array that enveloped the entire operating room, enveloping Xiao Ran.

Seeing that the thing's abilities seemed to have been fully demonstrated, Xiao Ran no longer held back and took out the [Decapitation Blade] and gripped it in her hand.

The broadsword whipped up a billowing gust of cold wind, and in an instant, countless flying crystal needles exploded. The raging cold wind formed a terrifying wall of wind, and as Xiao Ran's broadsword flashed, the entire operating room trembled along with it.

Xiao Ran leaped in front of the fleshy ball, a three-zhang-tall Yin God Dharma Image appearing behind him. He then slapped down with his large hand, grabbed the fleshy ball, and forcibly tore it off the mesh-like chip.

The fleshy ball let out a hysterical scream, spraying out countless crystallized spider webs, but the next second it was slammed to the ground by Xiao Ran's Yin God Dharma Form.

Before the flesh ball could continue to resist, Xiao Ran pounced forward and cleaved it in half from bottom to top with his large knife. Then, the other hand of the Yin God Dharma Image inserted into the wound and ripped off a large chunk of flesh, exposing the chaotic and disordered runes inside.

At this moment, the fleshy ball was like a little girl being pressed down by a 300-pound man, unable to move no matter how much it struggled.

"Puff puff……"

Xiao Ran stepped directly onto the fleshy ball, the Lu Ban Hand on his shoulder flashing with blue light as he used the Blade of Calamity to cut through the fleshy ball's flesh.

As layer after layer of flesh was cut away, a fleshy sac, as green as jade, appeared in Xiao Ran's sight.

You can clearly see that there seems to be liquid sloshing inside the fleshy sac, and all the chaotic and disordered sources of the runes are converging on it.

Xiao Ran controlled Lu Ban's hand to reach inside, cut off the fleshy roots around the fleshy sac, and then gently plucked it off.

The moment the fleshy sac was removed, the fleshy ball in front of him froze, and his body seemed to lose all power in an instant, becoming limp and collapsing to the ground.

"Kakaka..."

At that moment, spiderweb-like crystals around them also began to fall off the walls and shatter into dust on the ground.

Xiao Ran picked up a piece and examined it carefully before realizing that it was actually bone.

Then he looked at the so-called medicine pouch in his hand.

"It's really strange. If it were an ordinary beginner, it would probably be really difficult to deal with."

Xiao Ran simply cut open the piece of meat in front of him to see what was inside. To his surprise, there was an undeveloped fetus inside the piece of meat.

Although only the outline of the fetus is visible, it is basically clear that the limbs have already developed, and it looks like it is about six or seven months old.

"If I give this thing a little more time, it might take shape."

Looking at the fetus inside the tumor, Xiao Ran was momentarily puzzled: "A male corpse actually has a fetus inside? Is this the influence of ghost stories, or the influence of the medicine sac? Or perhaps..."

"Click!!"

At that moment, a muffled thud came from outside the operating room. The door was pushed open forcefully, and the crystalline spiderweb wrapped around it made a screeching sound before being gradually crushed into powder by the immense force.

The Ghost Doctor and the others walked in quickly. When they saw the medicine pouch in Xiao Ran's hand, their eyes lit up and they went straight to Xiao Ran.

"Medicine pouch!!"

The Ghost Doctor quickly stepped forward to take the medicine pouch from Xiao Ran's hand, but the next second, Xiao Ran put the medicine pouch into her spatial storage.

The Ghost Doctor's expression froze, and he looked up at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran stared at him coldly.

"Five brothers!"

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Qilin rushed over: "Fifth Brother, you must be joking. This medicine pouch is too important to us. Give it to Master Gui quickly."

"Old man, when you made your move just now, it didn't sound like you were joking."

Ghost Master frowned, about to say something, when he saw Xiao Ran's guillotine blade already pressed against Ghost Master's neck: "If you don't give me an explanation, I'll cut you down first!"

"White Cat! Don't do anything rash, the Ghost Doctor didn't mean that!"

Pumpkin also walked in from outside. When she saw Xiao Ran's knife, a hint of fear flashed in her eyes. As a spirit master, she could clearly feel that there was an unimaginable power in this knife.

And this power seems to be precisely the nemesis of his own spiritual master.

"Old man, tell me, what do you mean?"

Xiao Ran didn't care about the pumpkin. The knife in her hand was even closer to the Ghost Doctor's neck. The Ghost Doctor could even feel a chill running down his skin along the blade, and his entire neck felt cold.

Realizing that the person in front of him seemed to actually dare to cut him, the Ghost Doctor forced a smile on his old face, offered no explanation, and took out a bottle of light blue potion from his spatial storage and handed it to Xiao Ran.

"This is the first one. The other five doses will require the medicine pouch you have. I'll give them to you by tomorrow night at the latest!"

Nothing makes people forgive and forget each other more easily than mutual benefit.

As long as the benefits are great enough, even the hatred of killing one's father can be put aside.

Xiao Ran took the potion, casually tossed the medicine pouch in her hand to the Ghost Doctor, and said coldly, "You'd better understand that I'm here to work and earn money, not to be your consumables."

"Of course, your skills are worth the price."

Master Gui nodded with a smile, then gestured for Qilin to quickly take Xiao Ran away first.

Seeing Ghost Master's gesture, Qilin quickly pulled Xiao Ran and said, "Fifth Brother, you must be tired too. Let's take a bath, have a sauna, and I'll find you two big-breasted girls later so we can get some rest."

"Taking a bath is fine, but as for girls, forget it. I don't want to be your brother-in-law."

After Xiao Ran finished speaking, he glanced back at the shriveled tumor on the ground, patted the Yin Soldier Gourd at his waist, and put the tumor away. This was a rare resource, and he wanted to take it back and study it carefully.

Seeing Xiao Ran take the body away, everyone looked at the Ghost Doctor, but the Ghost Doctor just shook his head. Although the body was a very good source of medicine, the medicine pouch was already in hand, and there was no need to offend him for this.

After Xiao Ran and Qilin left, the Ghost Doctor quickly had everyone clean the operating room. Holding the medicine pouch in his hand, he was beaming from ear to ear.

But what concerned him even more was not just the medicine pouch, but the techniques Xiao Ran employed. From the moment Xiao Ran began the surgery, he realized that this young man's skills were superior to his own.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Ghost Master couldn't help but think of the plan that he had reluctantly sealed away.

"Perhaps, we can try that plan again."

Thinking of this, Ghost Master's mind began to stir. He turned to his assistant and said, "Go find some supplies. Not too many, just five or six people will do. It would be best if they were all girls."

"Ok."

The assistant dared not delay and hurriedly went out to make arrangements.

In a small building on the other side of the hospital, there is a staff bathhouse. It had been abandoned, but was later repaired by the Changchun Association and restored as a special benefit for them.

The reason it's considered a special perk is because the hot spring water is made with a special medicinal concoction.

Soaking in it can enhance physical fitness and strength by two points each.

Although it's only two points, it has no side effects on people, and you can repeatedly gain two attribute points every month.

In other words, theoretically, as long as a person lives a long time, they can achieve a score of over 100 in all four attributes by virtue of this attribute.

Of course, this is only in theory. In reality, although one can gain strength and physical fitness each time, the soaking time increases each time.

If a Qilin wants to gain attributes again, it must soak here for two whole days and two nights. After it comes out, its skin is almost rotten.

"This is potion number three! Are you sure this stuff has no side effects?"

Xiao Ran soaked in the bathtub at the public bathhouse, stretched comfortably, and then carefully examined the No. 3 potion in her hand.
The Grade B cursed item, [Potion of All Amplification #3], requires no activation.

Privilege 1: Overall Enhancement

After drinking, strength, agility, stamina, and spirit are increased by 12 points.

Privilege 2: Second Enhancement

This potion can be used twice, but the interval is one month, and the potency is halved, increasing all attributes by 6 points.

(Note: This medication may cause some instability, and the risk of secondary injection is greater. Please use with caution.)
"There shouldn't be any major problems. The deaths of those trial participants had nothing to do with drug number 3. We've observed that the side effects aren't actually that significant. Even if there were some side effects, what does it matter with such a high amplification effect?"

"That's right, that makes sense."

Xiao Ran nodded. Two injections could increase her basic attributes by a full 72 points, which was enough to significantly improve her strength in a short period of time.

After all, attribute points are like internal energy in novels; the higher the attribute, the stronger the internal energy.

Although my mental strength has now exceeded 100.

But the other attributes are far behind, especially the strength attribute. Because I changed my profession and lost the characteristics of the extraordinary master, my strength is now less than 50 points.

If you take this potion, the boost to all your attributes will be enough to make up for any lost attributes and allow you to reach an even higher level.

"Can this be drunk directly?"

"Yes, the taste is a bit off, it's a bit like apple cider vinegar, no, it's more like apple cider vinegar with banana. I was thinking of asking Master Gui to add some technology, at least to change the taste. Anyway, the taste is just so-so, but... sigh... brother, you... you..."

Before Qilin could finish speaking, Xiao Ran had already downed a whole bottle of potion. According to Zhang Qi, the riot would start no later than the day after tomorrow, so drinking it now would be a good way to boost her attributes.

He finished his drink, smacked his lips, and turned to look at Qilin: "What do you want to say?"

"It's okay, you might feel sleepy after drinking it, so you should find a place to take a nap."

After Qilin finished speaking, Xiao Ran's face darkened, and she stared at Qilin with a piercing gaze: "Next time you speak, get to the point first!!"

(End of this chapter)