Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

Chen Hao's hand instinctively reached out—

But it stopped halfway through.

"...Eh."

Chen Hao's hand, which was holding the bone armor fragment, froze.

Strange, why can't I send it out?

Why won't this hand obey my commands?

"Big brother, catch it!"

Chen Hao forcefully stretched his right hand toward Ou Yun.

Stretch forcefully.

Use your strength!

Use all your strength to stretch!

"Big brother, hurry up and get it—"

Ughhhhhh—

Hurry up and act!

But the hand seemed to have its own mind; no matter how hard Chen Hao tried, it wouldn't budge an inch.

European Express: ...

So you really don't want to give it to me?

Xiong Guo:......

Pakistan: ...

"What are they doing?" she whispered.

"I don't know, maybe it's just a unique interaction between the older brothers?" (whispering twice)

"What nonsense are you talking about? This bone armor is no ordinary weapon. Maybe this is the only way to use it?" (Whispering x3)

"Hmm...that makes sense." The consensus was reached.

"..."

Leng Ruolan couldn't stand it anymore.

"Ugh, so slow and dragging it out."

She thought to herself, "Anyway, it's all the same what I put in this stove and who puts it in it."

He casually snatched the bone armor from Chen Hao's hand and threw it inside.

"Buzz—"

The bone armor fragments shot inside, and the purple flames also surged upwards.

The furnace responded promptly, immediately emitting a deep resonance.

Then came a series of inexplicable sounds:

"Zzzzz ...

Everyone present was stunned.

What the hell is going on...?

The purple flames inside the furnace changed from a ring shape to a vortex shape, spinning faster and faster.

The bone fragment floated and sank in the flames, its dark red patterns beginning to glow, growing brighter and brighter until the entire fragment transformed into a translucent sphere of light.

Then it started spinning faster and faster, like a washing machine.

The color changed from dark red to jet black, and then from jet black to dark purple.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

"Ding!"

Then a notification sound, like that of a microwave oven, rang out.

The orb of light inside exploded, turning into specks of golden light that dissipated into the furnace.

At the bottom of the furnace, there lay a palm-sized object.

Then, a purple panel floated out.

[Successfully completed!]

[Congratulations on obtaining: Abyss Heart Mirror!]

[Abyss Heart Mirror: Can withstand one fatal attack!]

[First use of the Abyss Forge guarantees a 100x drop rate: Abyss Heart Mirror!]

The Abyss Mirror is being deployed to the Dragon Kingdom at a magnified scale...

The Dragon Kingdom's live stream room has exploded:

Holy crap!

"A breast protector? Is it the kind of breast protector I'm thinking of?!"

"Purple? Is it the same level as the supply crate?!"

"As expected of Captain Leng! He's got such good luck right from the start!"

"Hilarious, thank goodness the first one was Captain Leng, if it had been President Ou—"

"Don't badmouth my boss, Mr. Ou. If he were the first to do it, he might have just gone straight for the mushroom egg, hahaha!"

"The main point of the European boss's strategy is that it's hard to tell whether someone is European or African, hahaha!"

"Thanks, Captain Leng, for sending 10,000 breast protectors!"

The live stream chat exploded, but everyone at the scene dared not utter a sound.

Nine pairs of eyes were fixed on the furnace. Everyone was very excited, but they dared not exert any force, as if they were afraid of disturbing something.

Chen Hao held his breath and carefully used the furnace tongs to pull it out.

The chest protector is about the size of a palm, oval in shape, with a smooth surface and a dark red pattern around the edge.

It is silver-gray overall, but when held up to the light, it will have a faint golden sheen.

It was very light. Chen Hao picked it up as if he were picking up a piece of cardboard.

Leng Ruolan tapped it with her military knife: "Fancy and over-the-top."

It was clearly forged in a furnace, yet it wasn't hot at all—

Chen Hao picked it out; it wasn't even steaming hot.

The breast-protecting mirror was placed on the table, and nine heads gathered around it to examine it closely.

"It's so beautiful!"

"This pattern, this texture—it would be at least a rare piece of equipment in a game!"

"That's really rare. I noticed the message box is purple."

"So, the things produced in this furnace are also tied to the level of the forbidden area?"

"Probably, that makes it easier to distinguish the levels."

"Wow, as expected of Captain Leng, he forged something amazing right away!"

Leng Ruolan was also pleased. The Abyss Bone Demon, with its bone armor and this furnace, the things it forged would definitely be pretty good!

I've already handled the Ouyun, touched it, and noticed that it feels quite sturdy.

Chen Hao took out a magnifying glass and slowly examined the patterns on it. He then flipped through his "Complete Collection of Outrageous Incidents in Forbidden Lands" and compared the data of the bone armor fragments he had previously recorded.

"Its density is much lower than that of ordinary metals, and its hardness... it's hard to say, but it should be quite high."

"The key is this texture—"

As always, Chen Hao paid close attention to detail, carefully touching the dark red patterns on the edge of the breast protector.

"The patterns on it are exactly the same as those on the Abyss Bone Demon; maybe it retains some kind of special attribute!"

"What attribute?"

"I don't know, I feel like I should give it a try."

How do I try?

Everyone looked at each other.

Leng Ruolan had already gripped the military knife tightly, and with a third of her strength, she slashed at the breastplate.

"clang--"

A crisp sound.

The breast protector remained completely still, without even a scratch on its surface.

The military knife, however, snapped in two with a sharp crack.

"Yo ho!"

Leng Ruolan was slightly surprised, then laughed, "This knife has cut lions and bears, and today it was shattered by a mirror?"

This mirror is really good!

She held the breastplate in her hand, turning it over and over to examine it several times: "Hmm—there really isn't a single scratch."

Chen Hao and Ou Yun were overjoyed. "We're so lucky to have been able to forge something this powerful."

People in the Dragon Kingdom are also in luck!

Then Leng Ruolan placed the mirror in Ou Yun's hands, "Big brother, you keep it safe."

Ou Yun exclaimed, "Give it to me? Didn't you make this?"

Leng Ruolan sighed, "I just threw the materials in. Besides, it can withstand one fatal blow—"

It's probably better to use it to protect the male lead.

That's right, that's it.

Ou Yun thought for a moment, then placed the mirror in Chen Hao's hands. "Brother Chen, you're the weakest one here. You're always guarding the house, you'll definitely need it—"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Hao interrupted him.

"Big brother, you and Captain Leng are always jungling, you should keep it."

Chen Hao pushed up his glasses, revealing a profound and unfathomable look—then skillfully switched to a position where Ou Yun couldn't see him and exchanged a smile with Leng Ruolan.

Why interfere with your elder brother's karma?

The simple translation is—

They wear the thickest armor and endure the most brutal beatings.

Several others nearby also spoke up:

"Yes, brother, you've worked so hard and made so many contributions, of course you should get the first good thing!"

"Brother, please accept this. It's a token of our appreciation from Captain Leng and Brother Chen!"

"Exactly! You guys are so amazing, you'll definitely have even more incredible materials to craft even more incredible items in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Ou Yun felt a little embarrassed not to accept it.

So he happily tucked the breastplate into his pocket, thinking, "I'll take it!"