Tang Qi tried to maintain a calm demeanor as he casually glanced at the last box.
Inside, there lay a pistol of extraordinarily exaggerated design.
The frighteningly large caliber, the inky black gun body, the equally dark grip, and a blood-red streak extending from the barrel to the tail.
If not for the clearly worn details and signs of aging, just by its design alone, it could defeat most of the antique guns present here.
Beside him, the store manager's voice came through, tinged with strong regret.
"Monster Gun Company, disbanded a hundred years ago, produced only ninety-nine Blood Python No.1 pistols on its last production line—a truly Monster Level weapon. Human skulls are as fragile as tofu in front of it, its power is so great that it can kill rhinoceroses at close range."
"Each Blood Python No.1 has taken numerous human lives in wars, and this one, according to rumors, has even killed a real Monster."
"Unfortunately, due to unknown reasons, it has lost its firearm function and can only be appreciated as a piece of art."
As the manager's voice reached him, in Tang Qi's slightly lowered eyes, a special interface emitted a faint ghost light.
[Curios: Blood Python No.1.]
[Information Fragment One: Once an ordinary weapon, it transitioned into an Extraordinary Weapon by absorbing the blood of the Monsters it killed, but as the transformation was interrupted, it is now in a Sealed State, decryptable.]
[Information Fragment Two: Decryption method, smear with Extraordinary Blood, can be restored after three seconds.]
"Extraordinary Blood?"
Tang Qi murmured to himself, seemingly thinking of something, a slight sparkle in his eyes.
On the surface, Tang Qi gave a bashful smile and then spoke to the manager: "My father loves weapons that have been through blood and fire. Are there any more like this? I'd like to see everything, and if there aren't, I will just buy this one."
During the conversation, Tang Qi pointed at Blood Python No.1.
Seeing that Tang Qi had already singled out an item, although reluctant to move a large number of his collectibles, considering the "Divine Grace," the manager still called a spicy waitress to make another trip to the back.
This time, however, only a few boxes were moved out.
After opening them, indeed all of them were weapons full of war's essence, even including a nearly disassembled machine gun.
Unfortunately, none met Tang Qi's requirements.
"Last month at the Messer Auction House's firearm hall, a similar Blood Python No.1 sold for one thousand Divine Grace. I'll give you a 10% discount, young man, you can take this beautiful treasure for nine hundred Gold Coins, and I'll throw in three boxes of original ammunition."
"Let's swipe the card!"
Hearing the price, Tang Qi immediately handed over his Gold Card.
Moments later, with a radiant smile on the manager's face and envious looks from several customers, Tang Qi left the special gun store cradling a box.
It wasn't until Tang Qi got on the bus and found a seat that he finally couldn't help but let his lips curl into a smile.
Nine hundred Divine Eagle Gold Coins was a high price, almost equivalent to a wealthy family's annual expenditure.
But for Tang Qi, it was nothing.
Especially when the item purchased with these Gold Coins transformed from an ordinary antique gun into a Curio, the price was nothing short of cheap.
He originally came for a self-defense weapon, but even if he had bought firearms, Tang Qi wasn't sure if these guns would be effective against Transcendent Domain monsters.
But now, Tang Qi felt his objective was more than achieved.
Ordinary firearms might be questionable, but if it's a Transcendent Firearm, the outcome would definitely be different.
Now, what Tang Qi had to do was find a way to decrypt it.
The bus merged into the traffic, quickly dispersing according to the road signs. Tang Qi's current home was the brick building of Saint Thorn High School, naturally, he no longer needed to head towards the villa near the suburbs, soon arriving at the nearest stop to Thorny High School.
With a creak, Tang Qi disembarked cradling the box, slowly heading toward the campus across two streets.
After passing a brightly lit street, the next street's lights were broken, giving rise to a large dark area.
Crack!
Tang Qi's foot had just stepped into the area when suddenly, a familiar sensation, at least ten times more intense than last time, swept over him fiercely.
The hairs on the back of his neck and hands stood on end, a strong premonition of danger made Tang Qi abruptly retreat and instinctively look towards the end of the darkness.
"Hum"
"Drip~Drip Drip"
Just one glimpse, and Tang Qi saw it.
A mottled, oddly-shaped stray dog slowly emerged; it might have been skin and bones initially.
But now, it seemed to inflate under Tang Qi's gaze, gradually expanding.
As it moved, its limbs shook and twisted, and sickening drool continuously fell, with its dull yellow fangs exposed and eyes—a mix of dim yellow and blood-red, staring straight at Tang Qi.
"Hiss~ What is this?"
Tang Qi kept retreating, his face showing uncontrollable surprise.
Not because of a stray dog, but in this moment, Tang Qi saw a human face on the body of the dog.
To be precise, the face of the drug addict who had died by Tang Qi's hands not long ago.
Only now, transplanted onto a dog's face, it became exceedingly distorted and vengeful.
Step by step, it moved toward Tang Qi, the dangerous and eerie feeling surging momentarily.
"Roar"
A roaring bellow sounded, and the mad dog suddenly lunged.
What Tang Qi saw was a black shadow, nearly uncatchable, pouncing towards him, its foul breath mixed with a dense and pungent bloody smell, almost enough to make Tang Qi faint.
At that instant, Tang Qi's eyes suddenly widened, and under his eyelids, a special interface popped up once again.
[Extraordinary Creature: Blank Dog-faced Man]
[State: Growing.]
[Information Fragment One: A hungry stray dog, three tempting corpses, a vengeful soul, combined into the Blank Dog-faced Man as the Spiritual Tide approached.]
[Information Fragment Two: It is still growing, continuing to devour flesh will grant it even greater power.]
Seeing these two Information Fragments, Tang Qi's pupils shrank sharply, yet his feet reacted like a gazelle on the plains, retreating swiftly and turning to hide behind a lamppost.
Tang Qi's movement, derived from Chaga Fighting Technique, was extremely fast.
But still, he heard a "szzt" sound as half of his sleeve was torn to shreds, a chilling sensation coming at him.
Another gust of wind in front of him, and without needing to open his eyes, Tang Qi could imagine a foul, dry yellow, possibly even with human flesh clinging to it, dog mouth biting towards his neck.
Bang!
Tang Qi's body incredibly retreated again, dodging the dog's mouth while his leg, like a whip, lashed towards the mad dog's waist.
Like with wolves, the waist is the weakest spot.
The kick Tang Qi exerted with all his strength, could even kill a real wolf.
But the next moment, what he heard was a dull echo and an excruciating pain from his toes.
"Escape!"
Just from one encounter, Tang Qi confirmed he was no match for this bizarre mad dog.
Suppressing the pain akin to broken toes, without hesitation, he turned and ran towards the campus.