Late at night, the wooden table had become cluttered and untidy, with the bright light flickering slightly.
Tang Qi was holding tools in both hands, engrossed in very meticulous work.
Whether it was because he had become a Transcendent or the enhancement from the Chaga Fighting Technique, the recovery speed of Tang Qi's arms was astoundingly fast.
Although not as flexible as his other hand yet, it no longer hindered simple grasping actions.
Right now, beside him were two books, one titled "Gun Repair Guide - Bullet Chapter," and the other was "Exorcism Items Encyclopedia."
The former came with the toolbox he bought; the latter was a personal collection of the original homeowner, a popular common knowledge book a hundred years ago, now considered superstitious.
For Tang Qi, both were currently useful.
After unsealing Blood Python One, Tang Qi saw two Information Fragments.
One told the origin of Blood Python One.
The other informed him that this Extraordinary Pistol, now only has two basic attributes, Blast and Armor-piercing. It could become powerful by crafting different Extraordinary Bullets.
Tang Qi had been busy for most of the night for this purpose.
He bought a bunch of bizarre exorcism items and tried various combinations by inserting them into those golden-yellow bullets.
Though not dangerous, the working procedure was tedious and mentally taxing.
For instance, at this moment, Tang Qi was experimenting with a new combination.
Tang Qi used tweezers to slowly pick up a red seed only slightly larger than a rice grain and carefully placed it into a small bowl beside him. It rolled a few times until it was covered with Silver Shavings, then he picked it out and carefully placed it into a bullet casing that had been soaked in Holy Water.
After that, the second seed, the third seed, the fourth seed... Once six seeds were inserted, Tang Qi stopped.
He then put the bullet casing back in place, and a "click" signaled the completion.
There was now another whole bullet on the table.
As Tang Qi's gaze swept over it, the look of anticipation in his eyes instantly disappeared.
Despite having added many things, Holy Water, and Silver, that rouge flower seed, apart from being one of the most widely used fragrances in the world, was also one of the most famous Extraordinary Materials for exorcism in the Ancient Maya Empire.
Unfortunately, such a combination still ended in failure.
"This is the last combination; it seems my method is incorrect."
"Do I have to resort to that?"
Tang Qi put down his tools, looking at the project that took over an hour and yet yielded nothing.
His gaze finally settled on his own wrist.
Only hesitating for a second, Tang Qi stood up straight, grabbed a clean Small Knife, and made a slice on his wrist at the right spot. A line of red immediately appeared on the pale skin, and fresh, crimson blood flowed out.
Not a single drop was wasted; it all dripped into a small bowl on the table.
Upon seeing that there was enough blood in the bowl, Tang Qi immediately stopped the bleeding.
After hastily bandaging the wound, Tang Qi picked up the tweezers again, grasped a clean bullet that had undergone no combination, and dropped it straight into the bowl full of fresh blood.
It might have been an illusion, but without even a second passing, as soon as the bullet was submerged in blood, a faint Golden Light flashed.
Tang Qi's actions were quick, and as a Phantom swept by, the bullet had already been picked out.
In the air, the blood covering the bullet's surface should have dripped down, but under Tang Qi's watch, that blood seemed to slowly merge into the bullet itself, not a single trace falling off.
In just a breath, the bullet regained its golden-yellow color.
However, if one looked closely, they would find a faint mark, like the Sun, added to the bullet head.
A special interface finally appeared before Tang Qi's eyes.
[Curios: Molten Furnace Bullet.]
[Attribute: Evil-breaking, Burning.]
[Information Fragment: Bullets soaked in Extraordinary Blood have gained a trace of Melting Furnace Power, transforming from mundane to Extraordinary, acquiring attributes of Evil-breaking and Burning.]
"Is this, successful?"
Tang Qi was somewhat stunned looking at the Extraordinary Bullet before him; an hour of complex operations had given nothing.
One cut to the wrist, and he immediately obtained an Extraordinary Bullet?
With a moment of realization, Tang Qi looked again at that small bowl of blood.
Sure enough, another special interface emerged.
[Curios: Extraordinary Blood.]
```
[Information Fragment: This is a bowl of Extraordinary Blood infused with Melting Furnace Power, which can have many uses.]
```
"So, the key to transforming bullets is that only Extraordinary Materials can be used to facilitate the transformation?"
"Ding~ Ding Ding"
As this thought popped up, Tang Qi casually tossed seven or eight bullets into the small bowl, then picked them out one by one.
Lined up on the table, there were a total of nine, all turned into Molten Furnace Bullets.
But just as Tang Qi was about to throw in the tenth, he was startled to find that the small bowl was empty.
Exchanging a bowl of blood for nine Extraordinary Bullets.
Tang Qi didn't feel the cost was too steep, just a bit speechless.
If he couldn't find another method, Tang Qi felt he might be anemic for the foreseeable future.
"But it might also be a good thing. At least I understand one rule: only Extraordinary Materials can be used to create Extraordinary Artifacts."
"There are no shortcuts. They simply don't exist."
"Knock knock knock"
Just as Tang Qi was summarizing this, a series of urgent knocks suddenly pierced his ears.
Hmm?
Who would be looking for him this late at night?
Tang Qi immediately got up, alert, quickly pocketed the nine Molten Furnace Bullets, and pulled over a large piece of burlap to cover the items on the table.
Only then did he move to the door and peered through the peephole to see a beautiful face he had seen during the day, seeming somewhat familiar.
"Chief Stanna, what brings you here at this late hour?"
Tang Qi asked, opening the door with one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other, feigning exhaustion yet straining to stay awake.
Fortunately, he had been working in his pajamas all along, so his act was perfect.
However, the current Stanna paid no attention to these details, looking completely different compared to during the day.
Her body was stained with blood from who knows who, as if she had just fought a terrible foe and had encountered something unbelievable: her face still held an expression of shock and disbelief, her soul having suffered a strong blow.
If it weren't for the sharpness still present in her eyes, which made a lasting impression, Tang Qi would have doubted whether this brisk and valiant policewoman had been switched out with someone else.
Once invited in by Tang Qi, Stanna did not sit down nor accept the aromatic coffee Tang Qi offered her.
She took a deep breath and then fixed her gaze onto Tang Qi, word by word she said: "Little guy, did you already know it was a monster? I want you to tell me. Everything."
At this, Tang Qi froze, not even asking what had happened.
Stanna began speaking on her own, her tone fast and urgent: "Your warning was correct. That monster—the murderer, I don't know what that thing is, but we followed the clues you hinted at and examined those four seashells. Indeed, they all come from the Aegean Sea, yet we can't find a source for them in Messer City."
"Unless it's some nobles or the wealthy specifically having them shipped from the Aegean Sea, but we checked, and no one has done this."
"So we quickly found the only source; the Europe Alliance had a student exchange with the Federation, and there was a student group from the Anglo Kingdom that had just arrived in Messer City, residing not far from Saint Thorny High School in the international dormitory."
"The suspect, also a high school student, confessed after we caught him, admitting he's a gender deviant Serial Killer, who likes to flay the skin from blooming girls.
"Everything was going smoothly, but when we were about to bring him back to the police station, a terrible accident happened."
"The man, he suddenly transformed into a monster, sprouting scales all over his body and his lower half turned into a tail. His head seemed like it had been soaked in water for a long time, swelling and rotting, becoming fatty and hideous. The most unimaginable part was that it was draping the skins of four people—it was those four girls who were victims."
"My men were so terrified they opened fire, and only after breaking the first layer of human skin on its body, the monster roared in anger. The policemen who were too close were sacrificed; their heads exploded before we could react, and before we knew it, the monster had escaped."
...
"I want to kill that monster, I must kill it."
"Now, tell me everything you know, all of it – every single thing!"
As Stanna spat out her last words, she abruptly regained the mature and sharp demeanor she had during the day.
If Tang Qi hadn't faintly felt a sense of danger, suspecting that if this older sister-like policewoman didn't get a satisfactory answer the next moment he'd likely be battered by her, Tang Qi might actually have the leisure to seriously appreciate it.
"Chief Stanna, you..."
"Not good!"
Before Tang Qi could finish his sentence, a surge of crisis awareness to an extreme degree welled up within him, the exposed skin on his body felt pricked by needles at this very moment.
With this mutation, Tang Qi's expression changed greatly; he pounced forward like a cheetah, grabbing Chief Stanna and rolling on the spot, just in time to roll under a wooden table nearby.
It was precisely in the split second his form left its original position that along with a horrifying howl, something resembling a whirlwind directly smashed through a wall of Tang Qi's house, "Boom!" Right at the place where Tang Qi had been standing, making a big hole.
Had he been just half a breath slower, Tang Qi might now be nothing more than a pile of minced meat.