Chapter 266: Tier 3 Essence

Chapter 266: Tier 3 Essence

At the Ironblood Investigation Bureau's Coastal Headquarters Building in Binhai, Lu Heng drove to the building and was greeted by Gao Zhiting, who hurriedly opened the car door for him.

"Master Chen Lianian is still in a meeting upstairs and asked me to come down to welcome you," Gao Zhiting explained.

Lu Heng had received a phone call and asked, "You didn't explain it clearly on the phone. What's the urgent matter?"

Gao Zhiting led Lu Heng into the headquarters building, heading towards the elevator. As they walked, he said, "This case is quite tricky, so Master Chen wants to seek your help to see if there's any solution."

"Recently, there have been numerous disappearances," Gao Zhiting continued. "We've been investigating, but without any leads. It's especially challenging because many of these cases are related to demons."

"Initially, we suspected demons were involved, but during the interrogation of a suspect in a Tempering Master case, we obtained additional intelligence. A mercenary from the Round Table Knights mentioned encountering a Metahuman with the class of Necromancer in Binhai."

"There are indications that the previous disappearances are likely connected to this Necromancer, and we suspect he's creating undead puppets."

As they spoke, the two reached the seventh floor and entered the investigation team's office area. Gao Zhiting waved Lu Heng into an observation room.

On the display screen in the observation room, they could see the interrogation room. Inside, Chen Lianian was questioning a Metahuman.

The Metahuman was a white male in his forties, with deep, brooding eyes and a head of long, unkempt golden hair. He had a scruffy beard that hadn't been shaved in some time.

Gao Zhiting handed Lu Heng a file, saying, "This man is named White Pierre. We suspect he's the Necromancer mentioned by the Round Table Knights mercenary, but we can't find any evidence."

Lu Heng took the file and read the first few lines, immediately understanding why the case was so challenging.

White Pierre was a senior executive of the Kate Investment Group in the Asia-Pacific region, which meant he had the power to influence investments worth billions in Daxia.

With such a massive amount of funding, Kate Investment Group didn't need to intervene directly. Local businesses and officials hoping to secure these investments would find ways to rescue him.

Of course, Ironblood had the authority to conduct investigations, but there was a problem. Before determining his guilt, they couldn't use interrogation methods.

If this individual were to be injured during detention and no evidence was found to convict him, the situation would become complicated.

Lu Heng asked curiously, "Why not use psychic abilities for interrogation?"

Gao Zhiting explained, "We tried, but it was unsuccessful. This person is a psychic Metahuman with high psychic attributes, and he might possess psychic resistance skills. Our psychic interrogation methods were almost ineffective against him."

The file indicated that White Pierre had reached level 31, with an impressive 84 points in psychic attributes.

If he also had psychic resistance skills, it would indeed be challenging to find someone capable of conducting a psychic interrogation on him.

Lu Heng thought for a moment, opened the observation room door, and walked into the interrogation room.

When Chen Lianian noticed someone entering, he turned and asked, "How did you get in here?"

Lu Heng pointed at the surveillance camera and said, "Everyone except Inspector Chen, please leave and turn off the camera."

"Are you sure?" Chen Lianian had a good idea of what Lu Heng intended to do.

He, too, wanted to quickly obtain useful information, as his superiors had already started inquiring about the case.

"It's simple," Lu Heng replied.

After everyone else left, he walked up to White Pierre, staring into his eyes.

White Pierre's eyes flashed with a hint of arrogance, and he smirked, "Another clown."

He was confident because his psychic power ranked among the top Metahumans. No one could extract useful information from him.

Lu Heng drew the Aurora Blade from the void and stabbed it into the back of White Pierre's hand, pinning his palm to the table. Then, he activated Mental Domination.

"Ah!"

White Pierre let out a pained grunt, his eyes widening in surprise at Lu Heng. He hadn't expected this Daxia man to dare to harm him right there.

In that instant of eye contact, he felt a surge of psychic energy entering his mind.

Immediately, he lost consciousness and fell into a dazed state.

Normally, it would be challenging for a Metahuman with around 80 points in psychic attributes to conduct a psychic interrogation on White Pierre.

Lu Heng's base psychic attribute was 80 points, and he wore a Psychic Resistance Ring +2, giving him a total of 85 points in psychic attributes.

White Pierre also had exactly 85 points in psychic attributes.

Additionally, as a psychic Metahuman, most of his skills were psychic-based.

Therefore, Lu Heng's attempt to conduct a psychic interrogation on him was also challenging.

However, Mental Domination was stronger than Commanding Will because it had an additional effect of temporarily boosting psychic attributes by 5% when the skill was used.

This increased Lu Heng's 85 points of psychic power to 89 points.

Furthermore, Lu Heng had stabbed White Pierre's palm with the Aurora Blade, which possessed a Level 3 [Soul Sever] effect.

[Soul Sever LV3: Attacks deal 16 points of psychic damage and apply a Soul Sever effect, reducing the target's psychic attributes by 16 points.]



In other words, when the Aurora Blade pierced White Pierre's palm, it directly reduced his psychic attributes by 16 points.

Thus, White Pierre's original 85 points of psychic power were diminished to 69 points.

With 89 points in psychic attributes, Lu Heng overwhelmed White Pierre's 69 points, successfully activating Mental Domination.

White Pierre instantly fell into a state of mental submission, answering whatever questions Lu Heng asked.

With just three questions, Lu Heng obtained the evidence needed to prove White Pierre's guilt.

And indeed, this person possessed the class of Necromancer...

Rank.

This rank was obtained from a magical world, and he originally intended to use it to create a powerful undead legion.

Now, he has been captured, and with direct evidence found, the only thing awaiting him is the death penalty.

...

After dealing with this matter, Lu Heng spent the next two days in the Wuli Bridge Training Ground, practicing the skill Windrunner.

His proficiency in Windrunner had reached 2680/3000, and he was not far from leveling up, so he took the time to rush and improve.

At noon that day.

A black crow appeared in the sky, circled twice, and then descended—it was Number 13.

013 raised his hand and took out a briefcase, placing it on the table. "This is your reward. If you can find 027's trail, you'll get another case as well."

013 opened the briefcase, revealing two rows of vials containing injections.

"What is this?"

"SPA-3 Type, a treasure that can help you rapidly enhance your power." 013 provided an explanation.

Lu Heng narrowed his eyes slightly, as he already knew what this item was.

SPA-3 Type was actually a superhuman serum.

However, it was different from ordinary superhuman serums.

The SPA series, starting from Type 1, were made by extracting mana from human blood.

SPA-3 Type was an innovative product with extremely high purity and minimal side effects. With a limited number of injections, there were hardly any side effects, and the power boost was substantial.

However, the rules were already written in human genes, and mana production required the involvement of mitochondria.

Obtaining mana from external sources would cause the body's mitochondria to mistakenly believe that there was sufficient mana internally, leading to a reduction in mana conversion.

The more mana obtained from external sources, the lower the mitochondria's mana conversion rate, and over time, the body would experience a decrease in mana conversion efficiency.

Therefore, regardless of the purity, all superhuman serums would eventually lead to the same issue.

However, for SPA-3 Type, it would take over a year of continuous injections for the side effects to gradually become noticeable.

Lu Heng was surprised to see that 013 had brought out a superhuman serum, and it was the most expensive one available at the moment.

If this item were to be sold in Western countries, the price of a single vial could soar to tens of millions.

There were twelve vials in this case, and if measured by price, it was indeed a substantial sum.

"Superhuman serum." Lu Heng spoke these four words, his gaze turning cold as he looked at 013.

013 explained, "This is SPA-3 Type, and it's completely different from the superhuman serums you've seen before. It can significantly increase your power."

If it were anyone else, they might have believed his words.

Just one injection of this SPA-3 Type would lead to an addiction to the powerful effects of the rapidly increasing power.

Moreover, due to the minimal side effects of this SPA-3 Type, one might not even feel any side effects for the first few months.

If it were someone else, they might consider this substance a divine elixir after trying it.

But after a year, when the side effects gradually surfaced, the body would be unable to shake off the desire for the superhuman serum.

By then, the demand for the superhuman serum would increase.

Continuing to inject SPA-3 Type would maintain peak power for a year, after which the mitochondria's mana conversion efficiency would plummet, and power would begin to decline.

In other words, injecting this SPA-3 Type could sustain peak power for nearly two years.

For the Creator Organization, having members with peak power for two years was sufficient to accomplish many tasks.

Lu Heng closed the briefcase and coldly said, "I don't want it. Take it to deceive other fools. Don't bring it here to embarrass me."

013 didn't respond to this statement. After a moment of silence, he said, "If you don't want this, I can help you apply for other items in exchange.

"Also, there's another matter. You probably haven't absorbed the mana core of the Shadow Knight yet, and the organization hopes you can hand it over.

"Of course, the organization will provide an item of equal value in exchange. Are you willing?"

Lu Heng indeed hadn't absorbed the mana core of the Shadow Knight yet, as the power of this rank was formidable and could be used to exchange for other mana cores.

"What do you plan to exchange it for?"

013 continued, "What do you want? You can give a general direction, and as long as the organization has it, it can be used for the exchange."

Lu Heng thought for a moment and said, "I'll decide after seeing the third-tier mana cores of the summoning, sensing, and support categories."

"Okay, I'll report to the organization." 013 agreed and spread his wings, flying into the sky and disappearing from sight.

A day later, 013 appeared again to continue discussing the exchange of the Shadow Knight's mana core.

"The organization can offer the third-tier mana cores of the Summoner, the Long-range Vision, and the Life Tree Vine. Are you willing to exchange for any of these?"

After hearing about the three mana cores, Lu Heng didn't hesitate much and directly said, "The Life Tree Vine, I'll exchange for that."

"Alright, wait here for me. I'll be back in an hour." 013 said and flew into the sky again, disappearing from view.

An hour later, he reappeared with a briefcase.

When the briefcase was opened, it contained a third-tier mana core of a vibrant green color—the Life Tree Vine.

Lu Heng took out the Shadow Knight's mana core and exchanged it for the Life Tree Vine mana core.

After completing the exchange, Lu Heng took the Life Tree Vine mana core and went to meet Su Muyu at the training hall.

The two met in the training hall.

Upon seeing each other, Su Muyu smiled brightly and said, "Guess why I'm so happy?"

Lu Heng looked at her with a smile and started guessing, "Did you lose weight?"

Su Muyu glared at him, annoyed. "Alright, now you've made me unhappy. Where did I get fat? Hmm?"

Lu Heng laughed, "I'm just kidding. It's probably because your Scribe level is about to upgrade."

In fact, he had known that her Inscriptionist level was about to increase, and according to her progress, it should happen in the next few days.

Su Muyu pouted and muttered, "That's more like it. I've advanced to an Advanced Scribe. Once I get B-Grade Inscription materials, I'll make you a ring with +4 Mental Attribute."

"Hmm, you're already preparing a ring for me so early," Lu Heng joked.

Su Muyu frowned and muttered, "You're always making fun of me."

"Alright, no more jokes. Here, take a look at this, and consider if you want this third-tier job advancement." Lu Heng took out the Source Crystal of Life Tree Vine and handed it to her.

Su Muyu took the Source Crystal, examined its attributes, and raised her eyebrows, "The abilities of this job advancement are quite good. It's a support-type, and I think this job suits me well."

Seeing that she was satisfied with the Life Tree Vine, Lu Heng said, "If you think it's good too, then absorb it. The number of Metahumans with levels above 30 will gradually increase, and those with third-tier job advancements will grow rapidly. We should also obtain our third-tier advancements as soon as possible."

Su Muyu nodded in agreement, "Okay, then I'll absorb it."

She proceeded to absorb the Life Tree Vine Source Crystal into her body.

The Source Crystal transformed into a verdant green life energy, flowing into her arm and through her veins, nourishing every cell in her body.

[Absorbing Third-Tier Source Crystal 'Life Tree Vine' and initiating the Source Crystal Contest.]



[Source Crystal Fusion Completion: 13%]



[Temporary Source Crystal Ability: Life Tree Vine]



[Life Tree Vine: A Source Crystal imbued with the power of nature, once held by Druids as a sacred force. Using this ability, one can summon vines filled with life force.]



[Effect 1: Life Tree Vines can suture wounds, accelerating healing and granting the wounded a tenacious vitality.]



[Effect 2: When attacked, the Life Tree Vines can quickly grow and wrap around oneself and companions, forming a solid vine barrier to block attacks.]



[The skill 'Dark Thorn Trap' has mutated due to the Source Crystal, changing to 'Life Tree Vine Trap'.]



[Life Tree Vine Trap: The caster sets up traps around them. Targets who step into the trap will be entangled by Life Tree Vines, dealing 3x Mental Energy damage per minute. Multiple traps can be set up simultaneously until Mana is depleted. Skill Cost: 20 Mana. Skill Grade: C-Grade.]



After reading the obtained Life Tree Vine Source Crystal, Su Muyu asked in surprise, "My Dark Thorn Trap skill actually mutated into a Life Tree Vine Trap. I didn't expect this to happen."

This was the first time she learned that skills could mutate due to Source Crystals.

Although the Recon Eagle had evolved step by step into a Celestial Phoenix due to job advancements, these enhancements were already inherent effects of the job's Source Crystal.

This time, the Life Tree Vine itself did not have the effect of enhancing skills; it was purely the Source Crystal that caused the skill to mutate.

Hearing her words, Lu Heng nodded and said, "It's indeed possible for this to happen, but the probability is quite low. I think you're genuinely lucky."

"Hehe..." Su Muyu couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

After the skill mutated into Life Tree Vine Trap, its grade didn't increase, but its effects were significantly enhanced.

With the Source Crystal bonus, the binding ability of this skill was undoubtedly stronger.

Additionally, the number of traps that could be set up was different. Previously, the Dark Thorn Trap could set up three traps simultaneously.

After mutating into Life Tree Vine Trap, there was no limit to the number of traps; countless traps could be set up as long as there was enough Mana.

Her current total Mana was 910 points, and the Dragon Eye Gem Bracelet could reduce Mana consumption by 10%.

In other words, using Life Tree Vine Trap required only 18 Mana, and with full Mana, she could set up 50 traps at once.

This calculation didn't even include the Mana recovery during the period. As long as the Mana recovery could keep up, she could set up hundreds of traps simultaneously.

After absorbing the Life Tree Vine Source Crystal, Su Muyu suddenly remembered to ask, "Oh, I was so happy that I forgot. Where did you get this Source Crystal?"

"I exchanged it with the Shadow Knight Source Crystal," Lu Heng didn't hide the truth from her.

"Now that we both have third-tier Source Crystals, will we be summoned for the Source Crystal Contest?"

Su Muyu recalled the last time she was summoned to the Sexes Civilization because she had obtained a second-tier Source Crystal, and then a countdown to the summoning appeared.

So this time, she stared at the data panel, wanting to see if the summoning countdown would appear.

However, after looking for a while, the summoning countdown didn't show up.

Every few minutes, she would check again.

The countdown didn't appear until an hour later, when she checked once more and suddenly saw a summoning countdown of 7 days.

"It's here, the summoning countdown has appeared. Why is the summoning at this time?" Su Muyu exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Heng quickly glanced at the attribute panel and indeed saw the summoning countdown.

However, the summoning countdown seemed to have a longer interval since she obtained the Source Crystal, so it was likely not triggered by the Source Crystal Contest she initiated, but rather by some other event.

After being summoned so many times, Su Muyu had discovered some patterns.

The summonings to the Abyssal Battlefield often had connections to ongoing events.

For example, the last time she was summoned to the world of the Dark Iron Dwarves was because a Metahuman had taken their Tempering Furnace, putting the Dark Iron tribe in a difficult situation, which led to the second summoning.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end