Particle Beam

The group walked deeper into the valley. The wind and sand grew fiercer, whipping fine grains against their faces with a stinging pain.

The rocks on both sides of the valley became steeper, and the bare cliff walls were covered with wind-eroded patterns, resembling the wrinkles on an old man's face.

The quicksand beneath their feet was softer than outside. With every step, they sank halfway in. The Wu siblings followed behind, stumbling along unevenly, terrified of losing track of Ye Chuan and Ke Ning.

Ye Chuan walked at the very front, casually using a barrier to block the oncoming grit. Suddenly recalling what Ke Ning had said earlier, he asked curiously,

"Ke Ning, you just said that with the right combination of materials, you could even capture gods. In the future world, do you rely entirely on these fancy materials to deal with these kinds of monsters?"

Ke Ning pushed up her glasses and continued walking forward.

"These are just the basics. The future world has these monsters too, but they are basically bred and farmed by humans to supply special materials. The core is the decomposition particle weapon. It can directly destroy a creature's molecular structure, rendering all defenses useless against it."

"Oh? That powerful?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow, a bit intrigued.

"Decomposition particles? Sounds pretty sci-fi."

"It's not mysterious, just a different form of energy application." Ke Ning raised her hand, and the Cube V2 flew in front of her. It emitted a pale blue light, projecting a three-dimensional holographic image—

A bizarre-looking weapon, alongside a dynamic demonstration of particle decomposition: a massive monster was struck by a beam of light, and its body instantly dissolved into countless tiny particles, dissipating into the air.

Ye Chuan took a few extra glances. Being able to directly decompose biological structures... although he didn't fully understand it, it was undeniably impressive.

However, Ke Ning had said this was merely the lowest-level weapon.

What would a higher-level one look like?

Just as they were talking, the quicksand beneath their feet suddenly began to churn violently, and a stench even thicker than that of the Sandrock Python washed over them!

With a loud rumble, a scorpion larger than a car burst out from the sand!

The scorpion was entirely dark brown, its carapace gleaming like black iron and covered in sharp spikes. Its pair of giant pincers spread wide, capable of crushing rocks with ease. The stinger on its tail was thicker than an adult's arm, flashing with an eerie purple light that clearly indicated lethal venom.

"I-It's a Desert Venom-Pincer Scorpion! What is it doing here?"

Wu Gao pulled Wu Tian and retreated rapidly. This was not a monster they could handle. Even though Ye Chuan had just instantly killed the Sandrock Python, this scorpion looked ten times more terrifying than the python.

They were supposed to be just on the outskirts. To think there would be such a fearsome monster here.

Ye Chuan was just about to raise his hand, but Ke Ning acted first.

"Let me handle this one."

She lifted her chin toward the Cube V2. The cube instantly fired a beam of light and transformed into a weapon resembling a handgun. It was entirely silver-white, with a faint blue halo around the muzzle.

Ke Ning reached out and took it, her movements as smooth as if she had practiced them countless times. Aiming at the Desert Venom-Pincer Scorpion, she pulled the trigger.

"Buzz—"

A blue light, as thin as a strand of hair, shot from the muzzle and accurately struck the scorpion's carapace.

There was no earth-shattering sound. The seemingly indestructible venomous scorpion began to decompose at a speed visible to the naked eye!

First, its carapace turned into particles, followed by its body, giant pincers, and stinger. In just two short seconds, the monster that had been so ferocious a moment ago was completely reduced to a cloud of pale blue particle mist. A gust of wind blew by, and it vanished without a trace, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

Dead silence fell over the scene.

Ye Chuan's hand froze in mid-air, his face showing obvious astonishment for the first time. This weapon was even more outrageous than he had imagined.

In that brief moment, he hadn't even felt any energy fluctuations, and the scorpion was just gone?

The Wu siblings stood stiffly in place, their eyes wide and round, forgetting to even breathe.

How... how was this a weapon? This was practically a miracle!

Ke Ning casually tossed the weapon back to the Cube V2.

She pushed up her glasses, her tone as flat as if she were discussing the day's weather.

"The basic model of the Planck Decomposition Particle Weapon. It's just right for dealing with this kind of monster. The data from just now has been recorded. Energy consumption 0.001%, efficiency meets the standard."

Ye Chuan recovered his wits and walked over to where the scorpion had just appeared. He crouched down and touched the quicksand on the ground. Aside from the temperature being a bit high, there was no trace that the monster had ever existed.

"This weapon... is pretty interesting." He looked up at Ke Ning.

"In the future world, can anyone use this thing?"

"The mass-produced models are widely available to humans with Level 3 clearance," Ke Ning said while operating her tablet to record data.

"However, the energy system of this current era is incompatible, so it can't be mass-produced for the time being. It can only be powered by the Cube's energy."

"And to think this is just the basic model." Ye Chuan watched her. "If it were any stronger, wouldn't it be able to slay gods?"

Ke Ning suddenly revealed a meaningful smile.

"How strong do you think gods are?"

"Uh..." Ye Chuan wasn't entirely sure himself. "Maybe, possessing world-shaking abilities, able to move mountains and part seas with a single thought?"

"If it's only at that level, then they probably wouldn't be any different from the research materials in a laboratory," Ke Ning said.

Ye Chuan: "?"

What did that mean?

At that level, they were just research materials?

"Alright, let's not talk about this," Ke Ning said. "Time is tight, let's go."

"..."

For the rest of the time, Ke Ning didn't use that particle gun again. After all, a single shot would turn everything into vanishing particles, making it impossible to harvest any materials and resulting in zero profit.

After spending half a day in the rift, Ke Ning finally collected what she wanted. "Alright, let's call it a day here. I'm heading back now."

"Okay." Ye Chuan gave a nod of acknowledgment, then glanced at Wu Gao and Wu Tian. "Thanks for your hard work."

"Ah, boss, it wasn't hard work at all." With backpacks full of materials, Wu Gao and Wu Tian's faces were blooming with joy.

The income from this single trip would ensure the Wu siblings wouldn't have to worry about their livelihood in the future.

On the walk back to the rift's exit, Ye Chuan took the rare opportunity to chat with Wu Gao about the Super Martial Artists in the real world.

"Since the rifts appeared, what are your thoughts on being a Super Martial Artist?"

"Thoughts?" Wu Gao scratched his head. "I can only say it's a good opportunity, just a bit dangerous. I used to work in an electronics factory, and I figured the rest of my life would just be like that. I never expected to become a Super Martial Artist."

"It's just that the threshold for being a Super Martial Artist is too high. Whether it's various cultivation materials, items for leveling up, or even the entrance fees for the rifts, everything requires a lot of money."

"And if you're not careful, you could leave your life behind in there," Wu Gao said.

"I see..." Ye Chuan wasn't really aware of the difficulties faced by ordinary Super Martial Artists.

"Hunting those monsters is indeed very dangerous."

"Exactly," Wu Gao scratched his head.

"It would be great if the Alliance's items could be a bit cheaper. It's still too hard for ordinary Super Martial Artists nowadays. Most people can't even bear to buy medicine when they get injured."

"All the money is being made by those guys."

Ye Chuan blinked (as the very person monopolizing the medicine sales). "Oh, I see."