Surviving the Maze of National Destiny: Hints from the Chinese Characters I Understand

[Transaction successful: Rice - 800g, Remaining Rice: 500g, Drinking Water - 500ml, Remaining Drinking Water: 2600ml, You have obtained 2 Fire Elementals.]

We have 5 fire elements, that's enough. We're just short 5 iron units, which isn't difficult.

[Zhang Hao from Dragon Kingdom (Level 8): Urgently needs 250 grams of honey for detoxification. Will trade 5 units of refined iron or 3 units of copper. Many thanks.]

Huh? This fellow player was only at level 7 last time, but it seems he's made a breakthrough recently; he's even poisoned and needs honey.

After thinking for a while, Lin Mo decided to make the deal. The Dragon Kingdom was currently being targeted by the Western Alliance, and having another healthy compatriot would not be a bad thing. He would help if he could, especially since he did need refined iron.

[Transaction successful: Honey - 250g, Remaining Honey: 660g, You have received 5 units of refined iron.]

Okay, okay, all the materials are enough.

Lin Mo directly brought up the crafting interface and selected to craft a superior Death Grip.

"System, craft Death Grip, quantity 2."

[Personal Space Resources: 10 units of Refined Iron, 4 Fire Elementals, 4 units of Copper, 2 units of Wood; currently being crafted...]

The familiar hammer icon appears on the system panel; just wait a moment.

Lin Mo took out a campfire, cod, salt, water, and rice. He was preparing to have a good meal today and raise his health level to 100%.

Lin Mo cooked, while Kabu went to play in the woods. Some poisonous tender leaves and wild fruits were its food. The maze creatures could identify what was edible and what was not.

Kabu also rarely replenishes water, as the plants in the maze contain some moisture.

…………

On the eighth floor of the maze, Zhang Hao coughed twice. The 500-square-meter earthen house was filled with the smell of blood. He glanced at the wound on his abdomen and couldn't help but frown.

An hour has passed, and health has dropped from 79 to 75.

He just fought a level 9 venomous giant lizard here, successfully killing it, but he was also injured.

After taking the wound medicine, the wound showed signs of healing, but the toxin became increasingly potent.

The eighth level is where explorers from various countries are quite active. If you encounter explorers from the Western Alliance at this level, your situation will be very bad.

Honey is needed to make antidotes. While its production isn't low, explorers usually choose to eat it directly to boost their strength.

An hour passed without anyone coming to make a transaction, which frustrated him.

[Transaction successful: Iron -5, you have received 250 grams of honey.]

A notification sound jolted him awake. He glanced at the trader: Long Guolin Mo (2nd floor).

"Honey on the second floor? Quite a lot. And when did the Dragon Kingdom send new people in?" Zhang Hao was completely puzzled, since information from the outside world couldn't be communicated with the game world.

However, he completely memorized Lin Mo's name. "You've helped me a lot this time. I hope I'll have the chance to help you in the future to repay this favor. Hang in there, little brother!"

…………

[Crafting complete. You have obtained 2 "Excellent Death Grip" items.]

Lin Mo quickly took it out of his spatial storage. This thing overturned Lin Mo's understanding of equipment, because it was actually a pile of golden fragments, each about the size of a human fingernail.

"How the hell am I supposed to use this bunch of fragments?" Lin Mo felt a bit cheated.

[Select your battle pet and confirm use. Battle pet equipment differs from human equipment, utilizing bio-fusion technology; the first time you equip it, it might be a bit painful.]

"I see!" Lin Mo understood, then turned to look at Kabu, who was still frolicking in the distance. "Kabu, time for potatoes!"

Lin Mo took out two fragrant potatoes.

"Kabu Kabu!" Kabu ran over excitedly, his big tongue sticking out and swinging back and forth as he ran, making him look a little silly.

"Gibberish? (Why is Master being so nice? It's not even mealtime yet!)"

"Because we're celebrating your transformation! Hehehe!" Lin Mo chuckled mischievously, which made Kabu feel a little uneasy.

But it was all too late.

"Equip!" Lin Mo said to Kabu, silently chanting "equip!"

The next moment, the pile of shiny metal fragments in its hand instantly transformed into two dazzling golden streams of light, which, as if they were alive, left Lin Mo's palm and shot precisely at Kabu's two short, chubby forelimbs!

Kabu was staring intently at the potato when he was suddenly struck in the front paw by a golden light, leaving the entire beast stunned. "Gurgle???"

Immediately afterwards, a strange, intense pain, like countless steel needles piercing its bone marrow and mixed with burning sensation, suddenly erupted from the tip of its forelimbs!

"Whoa—!!!"

Kabu let out a scream that was unlike anything he had ever heard before, his tongue drooping limply from his mouth, and his beady green eyes rolled back.

"Holy crap, that's brutal?" Lin Mo was thankful that human equipment didn't require such suffering.

The golden light had completely merged into its skin and flesh, and under its skin, it seemed as if countless living metal objects were wriggling and reorganizing, emitting dense and subtle mechanical sounds of "clicking" and "buzzing".

The skin on its two front paws began to turn transparent, revealing a dark golden metallic sheen, with the outlines of blood vessels and bones faintly visible in the light.

Immediately, at the tip of each "finger," the skin cracked open, but instead of bleeding, more liquid, dark golden metal gushed out.

These metals solidify and take shape rapidly.

First, the metacarpal bones were extended and reinforced: the dark gold metal, like a living vine, climbed, wrapped, and fused along Kabu's metacarpal bones, emitting a deep and powerful "hum-clang!" sound, instantly strengthening the structure of its forepaw bones, making its outline more powerful, and the intricate mechanical patterns inside were faintly visible.

Next comes the knuckle armor: each short, chubby "fingers" is covered with a thin yet indestructible layer of dark gold armor plates. The edges of the plates are sharp, and the joints have subtle elastic structures that make a soft "click, click" sound, ensuring flexibility.

Finally, the claw blades are generated—this is the true core! It's extremely refined metal!

They rapidly cooled and shaped the moment they were ejected, transforming into three straight claw blades, each about thirty centimeters long, with distinct edges, a dark gold color, and a cold gleam flowing from their blades!

The base of the claw blades was perfectly riveted to the mechanical structure inside the palm, producing three heavy and solid final locking sounds: "Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Each claw blade is not a simple spike, but has a precise four-sided angular structure, with a perfect transition from the thickness at the base to the sharpness at the tip, taking into account both armor penetration and cutting.

The entire process, from start to finish, took only ten seconds, leaving Lin Mo's eyes wide with amazement. "Holy crap! That was awesome!"

Kabu raised its front paw in bewilderment, looking at the "hand" that had completely changed its appearance.

The once fleshy claws were gone, replaced by a killing weapon covered in streamlined dark gold plates, gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster, and with three terrifying claw blades protruding from them.

(This is the author's first time visiting Yangshizi, please give me your support! I heard that we need more readership data here, so I hope you'll visit often. If you could send me a message, I would be extremely grateful! Thank you♪(･ω･)ﾉ)