With the conversation reaching this point, Song Lan still felt somewhat touched.
In this unfamiliar year of 2166, there was someone who worried about his safety, even willing to spend years of savings for him.
However, when Lu Xiang mentioned the two different methods of the rescuer's examination, the most crucial and what Song Lan wanted to know the most, the third method, was passed over by her.
The basis of his abilities clearly had nothing directly to do with prosthetic modification or physical training. That left the third method as the only plausible explanation. However, from Lu Xiang's hints, Song Lan gleaned a piece of information — those who opt for the third path are not only extremely rare but are also given 'special attention'.
That is to say, once this secret was discovered, a peaceful life would gradually move further and further away from him.
Before this, he had also tried to search for such information on the internet, but aside from fans praising their idols to the sky, he couldn't find any clear and meaningful guidance.
Even the rescuer's three standards of examination, he heard for the first time.
Lu Xiang had explained to him for quite a while, yet she still couldn't solve the biggest doubt in Song Lan's heart.
What level was he currently at?
Previously, he was only aware that he should be able to avoid the Mohican-headed hooligans on the street, plus he was in a civilian department, there were actually very few problems in day-to-day life and work that required the use of violence.
Song Lan, as a civilized person, did not believe in using violence to solve problems.
But the situation now was different, he had to prepare for possible unforeseen circumstances, and the first step was to form a relatively accurate perception of himself.
Song Lan was once a comic lover. Apart from comics, he would also often follow power rankings of comic characters. Thus, he knew that the fastest way to gauge a new character's power level was to introduce a reference figure for comparison.
So Mr. Chai Ke, with a bounty of 600,000 on his head, became his current best power reference.
And the person who could answer this question best was sitting right next to him.
He casually asked, "What's the story with this Chai Ke? A reward of more than 600,000 is equivalent to several years of my salary."
"He is one of the biggest smugglers in district seventeen, his job is to transport things out of the city and bring things from outside into the city — supplies, arms, prosthetics, and even people. Some notorious criminals outside are his clients. His death has disrupted the supply chain, district seventeen won't be peaceful for a long time."
As she spoke, Lu Xiang, lost in her thoughts, turned her face towards the window, staring at the city bathed in the night's darkness.
Actually, even before the incident today, she had heard rumors that Chai Ke's clients were planning a prison break, but she didn't expect Chai Ke to die in district seventeen before they could.
"So, that means he should have had quite a few prosthetic implants, right?"
"Chai Ke's prosthetic implantation rate is 21%, and quite a few of them are black-market items that you can't buy in the store."
Considering Song Lan might not have a concept of this number, Lu Xiang added, "The implantation rate is a coefficient created by the examination agency. All you need to know is that in a combat situation, Chai Ke could single-handedly defeat three of our special action teams."
"Really?"
Song Lan was shocked. For a long time, he had thought that the law enforcement's special action team was the cream of the crop, with an extremely rigorous selection process, and everyone in the team was a formidable figure.
However, could Chai Ke tackle three teams of these formidable figures alone?
"Yes, all the bones in Chai Ke's body have been modified, a bulletproof layer is implanted under his skin, ordinary bullets have no effect on him. Anti-equipment weapons are needed to penetrate his skin. In addition, he has transplanted a Model 3701 arc gun from Tesla tech into his left hand, which you can't purchase in the market."
The astonishment on Song Lan's face grew greater. Although he didn't understand some of the professional terms Lu Xiang mentioned, he could roughly imagine that walking on the street, Chai Ke was effectively a humanoid Terminator.
And he...
Had he actually managed to land a punch that punched a hole in the "Terminator", who usually required anti-equipment weapons to damage?
Almost instinctively, Song Lan glanced at his right hand. Compared to Chai Ke, his greater surprise was due to his right hand.
If he had known beforehand that Chai Ke had turned himself into a Terminator, he would not have dared to directly punch the guy from behind. What if he hadn't penetrated the defense and ended up with a counter-fracture of his wrist?
It was only after Lu Xiang's explanation that he realized what a terrifying thing he had punched earlier.
"Don't be nervous, I'm not asking you to modify yourself to the extent of Chai Ke."
Lu Xiang noticed the change in Song Lan's face and said, "You just need to modify your hand and forearm, that's enough to deal with Chai Ke's subordinates."
"...Can I ask another question?"
"Go ahead."
"How the hell did you manage to capture Chai Ke?"
"Work secret."
"If you want to know, you can consider transferring to the special operations unit," Lu Xiang said.
"No thanks, I'm scared of being reported by colleagues for intentionally feeding them kills."
"I'd better get going, it's getting late. You should rest early," Song Lan quickly waved his hands.
"Hmm."
...
After Lu Xiang retired to his bedroom, Song Lan sat in the living room for a long time, not going back to his own room until he was sure there were no more sounds coming from Lu Xiang's bedroom.
Usually, he would fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed and wouldn't wake up until his cell phone alarm rang the next day.
But today, he sat on the edge of the bed, staring intently at his right hand.
Could it be that he had actually mastered some kind of skill like the Fist of the North Star?
But even the Fist of the North Star probably could not penetrate a bulletproof coating that only anti-materiel weapons could pierce, right?
In order to confirm his speculation, Song Lan finally turned his gaze to the small safe under his bedside drawer. He vaguely remembered that when this safe was promoted online, it was boasted that even a Gatling gun could not penetrate its bulletproof coating.
Song Lan took a deep breath and clenched his fist.
The next moment, with a determined look in his eyes, he threw a punch.
"Thud——!"
Almost instantaneously, his body doubled over in pain. He had to hold his breath to cope with the pain. In seconds, Song Lan's face turned bright red.
Against the "Fist of the North Star" lethal strike, the safe stood still, seemingly mocking Song Lan's audacity.
Chai Ke, dammit!
Song Lan vented his anger on Chai Ke. Just admit it, the prosthetic you got is a counterfeit you picked up on your random shopping trips, right?
After a period of squirming on the bed like a shrimp, Song Lan suddenly thought of something. Grimacing through the pain in his right hand, he sat up to glance at the wall clock.
May 7, 2166, 2:24am. Damned Chai Ke!
Song Lan mentally added another grudge against Chai Ke.
His right hand, severely damaged, was obviously not going to be usable for a while, so he had to raise his left hand.
Having learned from his previous lesson, this time he only extended his index finger.
With bated breath and under extreme concentration, everything else seemed to be irrelevant to him.
He lightly rested his stretched index finger on the side of the safe.
This time, Song Lan did not exert any force. He simply nudged his finger forward a tad. The tip of his finger found its way into the safe.
So that's how it works.
Song Lan withdrew his finger and thoughtfully examined the knuckle-sized hole on the safe.
2:35am.
He looked up at the wall clock again.
Bringing the chair under the clock, he expertly turned back the time to 2:24am. After completing these tasks, he went back to bed.
It seemed that he might be able to sleep a bit more peacefully tonight.