After upgrading, Li Ming's overall strength had undergone a drastic change, and he had many more combinations to utilize.
He experimented until late at night and found out that abilities could indeed be stacked, but not in the way he had imagined.
For instance, he could first use "Power Amplification" to boost strength and then use "Puncture" to increase speed, allowing the effects to stack.
However, if the same level of power amplification was used, only the highest value would be taken, not a sum of the multipliers.
Or he could utilize the explosive power of "Power Amplification" with a mechanical arm, which greatly diversified his combat techniques.
Unfortunately, he only had two control bars now and switching them still required cooldown time, which was severely limiting.
Gene seed... gene seed, when will it elevate the lifeform tier...
Carrying this obsession, Li Ming fell into a deep sleep after experimenting with many abilities, almost draining himself.
It was not until ten in the morning that he slowly woke up. As soon as he did, he tensed up completely. His groggy mind felt as if doused with cold water, his pupils slightly constricting as if sensing a great threat.
Because, sitting in front of his bed, was a man quietly watching him. Li Ming couldn't even sense the man's breathing.
If he hadn't opened his eyes to see, he would not have felt there was someone there.
The man was middle-aged, with a buzz cut that revealed scattered gray hairs, his nostrils flanked by deep creases that added an air of authority, showing no emotion.
What captivated Li Ming most was the weapon folded behind his back, seemingly a mechanical scythe, jet black with purple stripes—a color scheme that felt familiar.
Initially, Li Ming neither moved nor spoke.
"Nuo Xing..." the middle-aged man looked towards the virtual poster on the wall, "She comes from a decent family, seems unpolluted yet, picked a good idol."
Li Ming couldn't figure out what this man was thinking and chose to remain silent.
The middle-aged man looked at Li Ming again, saying with interest, "You are calmer than I expected, not quite as he described."
"My father?" Li Ming asked tentatively.
The man paused slightly, "You're also smarter than I thought. Have you taken the Dragon Elixir?"
Li Ming just nodded silently. This person was clearly an acquaintance of Li Changhai, but it was uncertain whether he was here to erase all traces or for some other reason.
"You can call me 'Cripple'." The middle-aged man looked at Li Ming's tense figure and couldn't help but chuckle, "No need to be so nervous, I mean you no harm."
Li Ming grunted, not relaxing. Just because you say there's no malice doesn't make it so, right?
"Sigh…" Cripple didn't mind and started talking on his own, "Your father's death was partly my fault. I failed to warn him in time, but then again, I was being hunted myself, so it's not all on me."
Li Ming grunted again.
"Aren't you curious about what your father did and why he died?" When Li Ming did not ask, Cripple was rather surprised.
"The more you know, the quicker you die," Li Ming responded flatly.
Cripple was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, mixed with a hint of mockery and scorn, "Haha... ha... you understand at your age what took us ten years to learn."
"Actually, I promised your father not to tell you anything. Even if you asked, I wouldn't say," he said.
Li Ming had no words, feeling almost certain that this person indeed bore him no malice.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not here to joke with you. I've come to deliver a few items to you." Cripple changed his demeanor, pulling out a black metallic briefcase from below.
He casually tossed it on the bed, keyed in a simple code, and as pressure released, a cloud of condensed vapor spilled out. The briefcase opened, revealing a double helix glass tube, the two intertwined tubes filled with liquids of different colors—one red, one purple.
"Thunder Element Leopard's gene seed, with methods for its development and combat techniques," Cripple mentioned nonchalantly.
What the hell?
Li Ming was initially startled, waves beginning to rise in his heart. He had just been worrying about how to obtain the gene seed, and now someone was offering it?
Moreover, by the name, it seemed to be one of the best batches.
For lower-tier life forms, the fusion of a gene seed needed to be gradual; they couldn't start with something too powerful.
The majority of low-grade gene seeds, like "Armor Piercing Beast," "Bouncing Mantis," and "Gravel Beetle," only enhanced one aspect, such as strength or speed.
Stronger ones like "Fierce Tooth Tiger" covered a broader range, extending to speed, strength, and stamina.
Only a very few could control Elemental Power, and even then, could be fused into a life form at level F.
This Thorn Thunder Leopard was one among them; when fully developed, it could control weak Thunder Elemental Power. While it seemed minor, at the level F life form tier, it was almost overbearing.
Not to mention, this was a complete set.
The development method goes without saying, as each gene seed, due to its traits, had slightly different methods of development. What came with it was the experimentally proven most efficient method of development.
Combat techniques were lethal strategies that could only be used in conjunction with the gene seed once it had developed to a certain extent.
Most potent at 30%, 60%, and 90% thresholds, the power would increase progressively.
"Uncle Lame..." Li Ming spoke, and even with Lame's temperament, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. Was this Uncle Lame now?
How could this kid be nothing like what that person had described? Was this being reticent? Was this being terse and quiet? Was this being timid?
"Thank you for going to such lengths to bring this, you've had a tough journey," Li Ming sat up and spoke solemnly.
Lame chuckled, his mouth twisting, "Good kid, with your unrefined look, you might make something of yourself. But how come Old Li kept sighing about you? Or were you just pretending to be a good child in front of him?"
A good child? Li Ming was speechless, but he couldn't help but admire Li Changhai at this moment. Clearly, Li Changhai had already arranged everything for his predecessor.
The money from selling the house and the loans must have been spent on these items.
Lame carelessly made a remark and tossed a gold-embossed thin paper, crafted from a special material and not metallic, covered with intricate patterns, with a circle at the center encircling several stars. It looked somewhat familiar to Li Ming.
"This is…" Li Ming puzzled.
"Recommendation letter for admission to the Capital Institute of Technology," Lame explained briefly.
"Recommendation letter for admission?" Li Ming was astonished.
"Yes, keep this safe. You are entering through a special channel. Your name won't appear on the admission list, and if you lose this, nobody will be able to get you in," Lame warned.
"Old Li has paved the way for you, but how far you go depends on you," Lame said, somewhat melancholic and contemplative, as he looked out the window.
Looking at the gene seed, then at the recommendation letter, Li Ming fell silent. After a long time, he sighed and asked, "How did he die?"
Lame's mouth twisted, "I've already told you I won't tell you that; it would harm you."
Li Ming composed himself, pondering for a while before saying, "Uncle Lame, I've been having some trouble lately…"
"Stop…" Lame cut off Li Ming, "I won't take action here and will be leaving soon. Coming here has already been a great risk for me."
"I don't want to die silently like Old Li. I've already repaid my debt to him, and as for you and me, we have no relationship."
His words were harsh, but Li Ming didn't react otherwise, even having anticipated this result, but he thought trying wouldn't hurt.
"Could I possibly borrow a few thousand Star Coins then?" he tentatively asked again.
Instead, Lame scoffed coldly, "Naive boy, do you think these things fell from the sky? My relationship with Old Li was profound; just giving you these items has used up all our fellowship."
"All the money I have for retirement is on that paper!"