Forge a path to success.

Chapter 96 Newcomer Factory Pressure Test
Three minutes later, Vande, who had scrambled and crawled, was hoisted up by a small rope and placed at the doorway as a teru teru bozu (a traditional Japanese doll symbolizing good weather). Ji Huaisu, who had finally caught him, wiped his hands with a tissue and said with utter disgust, "This thing is making a huge fuss over nothing."

"It's always been like this," Chu Hengkong commented.

"Let me go! Help!" Her eyes throbbed violently. "Are you guys the type who like having someone watching?! What did I do wrong to deserve this kind of treatment?!"

Ji Huaisu silently covered his face, wanting nothing more than to toss the thing out of the building. Just then, Jie An pushed a small cart full of swords, spears, and clubs into the temple. He glanced at the new ornament and whistled, "My new colleague has quite the imagination! Never seen a real-world test before?"

"...What kind of practical test?"

"Let's test the strength of the chief detective to see if it's bronze or iron, otherwise we won't know how to judge it in a fight later." Jie An unloaded the cold weapons one by one from the cart. "It's like how magic scholars build new cars, smashing them to death as soon as they leave the factory, it's the same principle."

Van Der remained silent: "It's not like it's anything shameful, so why is this blonde woman arresting me..."

"If we don't catch you first, who knows what kind of nonsense your lousy mouth can come up with!" Ji Huaisu said viciously.

With a casual slap, Vande spun around in place, his cries rising and falling with the distance. Chu Hengkong shook the iron chain, subtly indicating that the wait was getting a bit long. Ji Huaisu stretched out her hand, and Jie An tossed over a long-handled knife, her voice rising and falling like a menu: "A basic sword-type relic. Its slashing power increases slightly with the battle cry. It can be used to chop melons and vegetables, or to cut trees and chisel rocks."

Ji Huaisu twirled his sword, cried out "Ah! Ah! Ah!", and then slashed at his partner's back. The slash was visually spectacular; the long-handled sword shattered like glass shards, the fragments flying wildly in the recoil, startling Vande behind him into curling up to avoid being accidentally injured.

"I didn't feel attacked," Chu Hengkong said.

Ji Huaisu threw down the bare hilt of the sword and said in a harsh voice, "Bring on the real sword!"

"Here comes the real deal!" Jie An shouted, handing over a gleaming... iron bar. "Level 1 Relic VV-764 Laser Blade, with weak light elemental damage. Low rating on paper but high performance in actual combat. It's the most sought-after flagship product in the low-end market in the last three years."

The mechanism at the top of the iron rod unfolded, and a blue laser beam shot out, bound into a single blade shape by a small force field. Ji Huaisu held the blade with both hands, tested its weight, and then shouted "Yaaaaah!" before suddenly slashing the blade towards Chu Hengkong's side!
This time, the scene was not very pretty, and even a bit funny: the laser sword immediately went silent as soon as it was touched, the blue laser went out, and no matter how much Ren Ji Huaisu tried, no new sword was generated.

Chu Hengkong felt it for a while and said, "It's quite warm, like drinking a cup of hot tea."

Ji Huaisu shook the hilt of the sword in disbelief: "What kind of broken sword is this that can heal people?"

The teru teru bozu (a Japanese doll shaped like a teru teru bozu) at the door stopped shaking, and Vande lazily spoke up: "That goes without saying. His bones come from the ultimate mechanical body, the pinnacle and ancestor of technology! You're trying to cut a mechanical body with a laser knife, which is like trying to hit a Fallen One with a Moonlight Palm. No matter how much effort you put in or how complex the principle is, it's just like a snack in front of the real deal."

Ji Huaisu tossed the laser blade handle back into the cart. Jie An stroked his chin, also finding it absurd: "But this is magic-based technology. Its energy source is magical force, and its principle is their self-developed magical circuits. It has nothing to do with technology..."

"Their magical power comes entirely from spiritual elements, a standard feature of the Floating Light Path. Not to mention their magical circuits, they're just knock-off circuit boards with a different architecture. They barely managed to get a glimpse of what they were doing with more complex methods and lower efficiency. Isn't that just standard secondary technology?" Vande scoffed. "I call this kind of technology self-deception. It does bypass the Empire's technological blockade, but it's meaningless otherwise."

“This little thing has a sharp tongue,” Jie An said seriously. “I have to record what he said and show it to the scholars.”

"No way! We have no grudge against each other, there's no need to do that!"

Vande's expression changed drastically in an instant, and he began to beg for mercy, filling the temple with a joyful atmosphere. Chu Hengkong concluded, "So for now, I'm not afraid of weapons related to technology."

“You don’t need to worry about your back for now, unless the level is too high,” Van Der corrected. “But you’re probably still afraid of your stomach and head. This heroine, you can try switching weapons and cutting off its head.”

"This is a tough one, we'll have to get the real deal." Ji Huaisu rubbed his hands together, eager to try. "Cook, get the knife ready!"

After picking and choosing for a while, Jie An presented a spiked club with both hands: "I haven't found a level 2 knife yet, so please make do with this club for now..."

The club was forged from fine iron, its nails rusted and clearly indicating it was a top-quality weapon with tetanus-inducing properties. Its authentication inscription lived up to expectations, demonstrating the professional level of this elite weapon:

[Scepter of Limitless Shockwave]

[Rating: Level 2]

【Origin: Longquan Township - Yueque Palace】

【Effect: 1. Upon hitting an enemy, the attack triggers an internal shockwave, causing destructive damage. The effect is related to the infused spirit.】

2. Spin the iron rod to throw iron nails, creating a wide-range, precise strike.

[Longing: The famous 'Wanderer' spent 33 days in his youth forging this deadly weapon that could kill at any distance, intending to use it to embark on a journey of wandering.]

His master, seeing the staff deep in thought, asked, "This staff is wondrous; what is its mechanism?"

The traveler replied, "By using nails to resonate, shock waves are generated. Throwing nails to defeat the enemy is a meritorious act."

The division commander remained silent for a long time before saying, "If we nail down the enemy, how can we generate shock?"

The traveler remained silent for a long time, then took his staff, went into the market, exchanged it for some gold, and returned to the mountain dejectedly.

While this iron staff has a few minor, undeniable flaws, its destructive power as a purely melee relic is still considerable. Ji Huaisu grabbed the spiked club, searching for points to strike, and reminded him, "I've never known the meaning of holding back, Chu Hengkong, you'd better focus on your defense first..." Chu Hengkong looked relaxed, even extending his tentacles to infuse the iron staff with a lot of spirit: "Do as you please, I'm 100% guaranteed to win an arm wrestling match against you right now."

"Such a stubborn mouth, take this!"

Ji Huaisu mustered all his strength and swung his staff. This staff was already a second-level relic known for its destructive power, and infused with his own spirit, it swung with tremendous force. Even if the Iron Giant of the grasslands were to reappear, he would be blasted a hole in it with a single blow. With a deafening roar, the iron staff struck Chu Hengkong squarely in the back!
Then it was smashed in half on the spot.

The iron staff was bent into a sharp angle, the nail heads ground flat and tucked into the staff like a steel spotted dog. And on the person's back, there was only a small white mark visible only when concentrating intently.

Ji Huaisu threw down the iron rod: "This dung monster's flesh is terrible! I'm not playing anymore!"

"And the quality of the meat... You've been playing Monster X Man lately, haven't you, Miss One-Handed Sword?"

"One-handed swords are boring, I soloed the Gathering Hub with a greatsword." The blonde girl chuckled.

Shortly after the city opened, a batch of new products arrived, including a user-friendly memory bark controller and a locally produced projection water screen. Thus, Chu Hengkong's phone flexibly adapted to the environment, becoming their shared gaming device. Over the past few months, Miss Ji had completed Pokémon games 1-5, several classic Mario titles, and numerous other masterpieces on handheld platforms, and showed a tendency to transition from RPGs to action games after getting tired of them.

I just didn't expect her to already be playing Monster Hunter... Just thinking about how I was diligently consuming stones in Rocksteady while she was holed up in her dorm consuming stones at the same time makes me really angry...

Ji Huaisu tossed aside the broken spiked club, preparing to find another powerful weapon. Jie An blocked the pile of weapons, his face twitching with heartache: "Don't waste these treasures! Three items have already been damaged in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, enough for Detective Chu's wages for half a year!"

"My income was so low in the first half of the year."

“The city was poor back then, so there was nothing we could do.” Ji Huaisu turned the rack around. “Alright, bring over some cheap stuff and let’s test the strength of Detective Chu’s front.”

The comprehensive pressure test lasted for about forty minutes, and the results showed that Detective Chu's defense, except for his back, was quite good: attacks from level 1 relics were completely ineffective, and ordinary level 2 relics could only scratch the skin. To cause real damage, one would need a treasure like the Rock Blade. His back defense, however, was ridiculously high, just like the Immortal Mech itself; any relics that came into contact with it were bounced off.

The comedic effect of this test reached its peak after an outsider was brought in. Miss Huaisu, who had been fighting the rotten fleshy monster for a long time, could no longer bear it and went to the workshop area to invite Qisu, an expert in secret texts. Miss Qisu was no slouch either; with a flick of her staff, a huge "Shuai" character flew out, a vicious method that specialized in attacking the mind.

However, just as the secret text approached Chu Hengkong, the hard bones on his back suddenly glowed with golden light. The Netherworld Annihilation Force Field was triggered in a low-energy manner, and the character "衰" (shuāi, meaning decline or decay) was instantly deflected, striking Qi Su squarely on the forehead!

Qi Su slumped against the wall, clutching his cane, his face filled with sorrow: "I'm short, flat-chested, and have a bad temper. What am I going to do if I never grow taller...? I might as well just die..."

"The attack of the word 'decay' is terrifying!" Ji Huaisu was shocked.

"Look on the bright side, you couldn't have gotten any worse if you'd been dead already," Vande said, enjoying the spectacle.

Qi Su began striking the eyeballs with his staff, while Vande nimbly dodged in mid-air until the Shadow Blade cut the ropes, causing Vande to fall headfirst to the ground. Ji Huaisu sheathed the Shadow Blade and shook his neck: "Test over, thank you all for your cooperation~ Chef, take the little girl out to rest, Vande stays."

Qi Su's eyes welled up with tears: "Little girl... I'm clearly older than all of you combined... Waaah..."

"Alright, alright, Grandma, come this way. Have some calming soup first."

"Grandma... I'm so young and yet I'm being treated like an old person... Waaah..."

"This girl is so annoying."

The cook helped the gloomy, low-spirited ghost lady out the door. Vande sneaked towards the door as well, only to be stepped on and fall to the ground. He sprang up with a bang, protesting fiercely, "Hey, you surnamed Chu! Can't you control this savage?!"

Chu Hengkong shook the iron chain on his hand: "Captain, there's no need to target it."

“It’s not targeted at anyone, it’s necessary, it’s necessary.” Ji Huaisu stretched her arms and legs on the spot. “Now that they’ve all left, we don’t need to hold back anymore, let’s just come directly.”

"Endure what?" Van der exclaimed in shock. "What...what do you want me to do?!"

"I wasn't talking to you, get out of the way."

She stared straight at Chu Hengkong, who lowered his head and flicked his wrist slightly.

"You're overthinking it. I'm fine..."

Ji Huaisu took out the light shield and smiled warmly.

"Ah Kong," her voice was incredibly sweet, "your murderous intent is making my back itch."

Chu Hengkong raised his head, and horizontal slash marks appeared in his eyes, turning them blood red.

As the chains snapped, fragments of light drifted up like flower petals. A sudden, powerful punch shattered the shield, and tentacles, like ropes, gripped Ji Huaisu's throat!

(End of this chapter)