Chapter Thirty-One: The Hilt

No matter how well-guarded a bank vault may be, or how reinforced its walls, even if it were more formidable than a treasury, it was rendered utterly useless before the little girl’s spatial abilities!

After days of training and practice, while her source energy had not increased significantly, she had become remarkably proficient in wielding her gift.

The little girl opened her eyes, a bead of sweat sliding down her face. Despite her confident demeanor, exercising her ability over such a great distance took a heavy toll on her. Her face beamed with joy as she turned and handed the case to Lin Lei. "Brother!"

Lin Lei’s eyes lit up as he took the case, rubbing the girl’s head with his other hand. "Good girl, well done!"

The silver case was secured with a combination lock. Unsure if it was rigged to self-destruct, Lin Lei did not attempt to guess the code or force it open. Instead, he weighed it in his hand, feeling its heft. It was not heavy; in fact, it was surprisingly light. His "Source Energy Perception" could not detect even the slightest leakage of energy from within.

"Could it just be something ordinary?"

He raised an eyebrow and attempted to activate his "Gluttony." A flash of wild excitement crossed his eyes! "Plundering" the briefcase and its contents would cost him around 1,200 units of Gluttony energy.

"To be this high... it must be a high-level extraordinary item! Could it be a high-tier source artifact?!" Lin Lei’s eyes widened, his heart racing. Yesterday, even when he spent ten times the effort to "Plunder" Long Wentian, it had only cost him a little over 300 units of Gluttony energy. Low-tier source artifacts generally corresponded to First or Second Realm energy users, mid-tier to Third or Fourth Realm, but high-tier artifacts were reserved for those at the Fifth Realm or above!

"This case can isolate source energy... it’s probably not just an ordinary object." He licked his lips. Although he had enough Gluttony energy, he did not "Plunder" it immediately. Not knowing exactly what was inside, he dared not risk a direct extraction.

"With the little one’s ability, no matter what properties this case has, it’s no problem to take the contents out... I’ll get them out first, test their capabilities, and then 'Plunder' them."

Lin Lei drove away from the bank but did not return home with the little girl. Instead, he headed to a remote area in the suburbs—a desolate wilderness. He placed the silver case on the ground and turned to the little girl.

"Thirteen, help me move the contents out! Be careful, stay safe. If anything seems wrong, move it right back!"

An object requiring so much Gluttony energy to plunder was undoubtedly a high-tier source artifact or extraordinary material. Such items possessed intense energy fluctuations, and with their effects unknown, Lin Lei dared not open it recklessly.

Thirteen nodded, closed her eyes again, and raised her hands.

*Whoosh!*

A small, black object suddenly appeared beside the silver case.

Lin Lei’s eyes flickered. "This is... a sword hilt?"

The hilt was entirely black and engraved with a black flying dragon. The dragon’s wings formed the crossguard, and its open mouth appeared to be the connection point for a blade. It lay lonely on the ground next to the case. As it appeared, a potent wave of source energy erupted from it.

"This is..." Lin Lei took a deep breath, feeling the intense energy fluctuations emanating from the hilt. The terrifying intensity reminded him of the time he had entered the [Forbidden Zone]. He swallowed hard. The Forbidden Zones were special nodes connected to the "Source World," and yet, this single hilt produced such a daunting aura. It was unbelievable! It truly lived up to the 1,200-unit cost.

Although the energy was intense, the hilt simply lay there quietly, showing no signs of activity.

Meanwhile, a hundred miles away, in a room within a high-rise building in Biyang City, a young man with a buzzcut and dressed in black tactical gear suddenly opened his eyes. He held a blood-red sword tassel in his hand. The crimson threads of the tassel began to sway without a breeze, pointing directly toward a certain direction. A feverish heat burned in the young man's eyes: "Finally found it!"

Back in the suburbs, Lin Lei squinted at the hilt, not daring to reach for it immediately. He turned to Thirteen: "I’m going to test this hilt's ability. If you notice anything wrong, move it back into the case immediately!"

Little Thirteen nodded repeatedly.

Lin Lei stepped forward. He did not grab the hilt right away; instead, he picked up a branch and poked at it. It remained as still as a dead object, showing no reaction.

"Is it a source artifact that requires manual activation?" Lin Lei sighed in relief. He put on a glove and picked it up. The hilt was made of a cold, black metal that seeped through the glove. He waved it around casually and traced the black dragon engravings, but found nothing unusual.

"How do you start this thing?" He was momentarily bewildered.

Just then, he felt a sharp sting in his hand.

"What?" He frowned and looked down, only to see dense, black metal spikes sprouting from the hilt. They easily pierced through his glove and began to sink into his flesh.

"No!" He knew the durability of his own skin better than anyone; even a blade held by an ordinary person might not be able to pierce him, yet he had no resistance against these tentacle-like spikes. He quickly tried to shake the hilt off, but the spikes were firmly embedded in his palm, as if they had grown into his very flesh.

Instead, as he struggled, *chi-chi-chi!* The spikes drove even deeper into his body. Lin Lei felt a searing pain, and through his skin, he could vaguely see black lines spreading. At the same time, he could feel a surging torrent of source energy being injected into him through the spikes.

He turned to the little girl nearby: "Thirteen!"

Thirteen raised her hands immediately, sweat beading on her face. She looked up in a panic: "Brother, it's... it's fused with you! I can't move it!"

Lin Lei’s mouth twitched. He decisively drew the alloy combat blade from his back, braced his right arm, aimed at his own wrist, and without a second's hesitation, slashed down!

*Clang!*

A crisp metallic sound rang out, but the blade was caught on the bone of his wrist. A massive amount of blood sprayed out.