Chapter 203: Harvest

A newly obtained item was a pair of plain black-framed glasses, their lenses shimmering with an eerie reflection.

【Item Name: Information Synthesis Glasses】

【Type: Worn Item】

【Quality: Premium Item】

【Effect 1: See Through. After targeting a subject, immediately acquire partial information about it; the greater your life essence advantage over the target, the more information you obtain. Passive effect, no cost, no cooldown】

【Effect 2: Perceive. Consumes Qi to forcibly extract more information; can be used on multiple targets at once】

【Effect 2 Cost: 30 Qi Points】

【Effect 2 Cooldown: 5 Minutes】

【Equip Condition: Nearsightedness, Perception attribute greater than or equal to 11 points】

【Note: Effect 2, Perceive, cannot see through clothing or other objects. Using it on targets with vastly superior life essence may drain large amounts of Sanity; use with caution】

【Note: "Heh, I finally see clearly—you're really this kind of person," John said cheerfully to the optician after putting on the new glasses】

Generally, premium items possess only one effect; those with two are relatively rare.

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow, allocated all three free attribute points to Perception, then drew the glasses from the void and put them on.

Hum—

His vision immediately flooded with a waterfall of information cascading downward.

Looking at the LCD TV, details instantly popped up: its manufacturing location, purchase price, and even the name of the factory worker who assembled it at the end of the production line.

Looking at the lightbulb, details instantly appeared: its expected lifespan, luminous output, and duration of this current illumination.

Looking at the refrigerator, details instantly surfaced: its brand, internal capacity, contents inside, and remaining Freon levels.

"So powerful? Even the internal contents can be read?"

Li Cheng extended his middle finger and pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

This item was likely a reference to the ancient dimensional work "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and its Information Synthesis Consciousness.

The latter was a massive, non-corporeal information lifeform born nearly simultaneously with the universe.

Of course, these glasses couldn't penetrate all things or collect all information—but for players skilled in deduction, the 【Information Synthesis Glasses】 were no less than a divine artifact.

Li Cheng, like a child with a new toy, scanned everything while wearing the glasses, endlessly discovering new information.

Soon he discovered more hidden traits of the 【Information Synthesis Glasses】.

One: The target selection of the glasses largely depends on the user's subjective will. For example, if a red lump of clay merges with a green lump, you can choose to read only one of them.

Two: When wearing the glasses and looking at your reflection in a mirror, you can still extract one or two pieces of information—such as height, weight, age, or satiety level.

In certain specific environments, they can produce unexpected effects—such as detecting whether you've been poisoned.

Three: The more obvious your advantage in strength over the target, the more information you extract.

For example, against ants, mantises, and other invertebrate insects, Li Cheng could see through them at a glance.

Against Grey Rain, each scan yielded only three or four pieces of information—mostly missing details, like her mood or when she last ate.

Only by activating the second effect, Perceive, could he obtain valid data like weight, birthplace, and age.

"I won't need to store this item in my inventory anymore—since Effect 1 has no cost, I can keep it equipped permanently."

Li Cheng rubbed his palms together and turned to the final item he had obtained: a skill scroll.

【Skill Scroll Name: Ancient Chinese Fist Technique · Qi Condensation Internal Explosion Fist】

【Attribute: Learning Type (One-time Use Only)】

【Type: Martial Arts】

【Usage: Active】

【Level: Premium Item】

【Effect: Infuse Qi. Upon striking a target, channel true Qi into their body; the Qi accumulates and stacks, remaining for a duration until the user strikes again and chooses to detonate it, causing internal damage】

【Cost: At least 5 Qi Points per use】

【Cooldown: None】

【Learning Condition: Strength and Agility attributes greater than or equal to 10 points】

【Note: The punch has no formal pattern—how can your opponent counter it? Impossible to counter】

This was, strictly speaking, Li Cheng's first time obtaining an active damage-type skill.

His personal stats already met the learning condition; he immediately clicked the scroll and learned the Ancient Chinese Fist Technique, then tested it immediately.

You won't believe it—you really won't believe it—this 【Qi Condensation Internal Explosion Fist】 felt exactly like a D&D monk combined with Hokuto no Ken.

Each strike applied an invisible debuff to the target; at a critical moment, it detonated violently, bypassing armor entirely to inflict internal damage.

Li Cheng entered his 3D warehouse and punched various objects repeatedly.

Two punches were enough for a security door—blowing it clean through without damaging the frame.

A 30cm reinforced concrete wall required roughly ten accumulated punches to achieve full frontal demolition.

A large construction vehicle like a dump truck needed about thirty punches to inflict irreversible damage.

Thirty punches might sound like a lot, but for an extraordinary being whose physical stats far surpassed ordinary humans, it took only one or two seconds.

The key was that 【Qi Condensation Internal Explosion Fist】 could detonate separately—wherever you channeled the Qi, you could trigger the explosion at that exact spot.

"Now I'm truly the heir of Ancient Chinese Fist Techniques."

Li Cheng muttered softly, turning to the final direct reward—the item given to him by the headless reindeer.

It was a pinkish-white spherical object, ten centimeters in diameter, emitting a soul-stirring, intense fragrance.

Just one whiff made one feel weightless, euphoric.

【Item Name: Ten-Ingredient Concentrated Tonifying Pill】

【Type: Consumable Item】

【Quality: Perfect】

【Effect: All-Round Tonic. Rapidly restores 600 Spirit Power and Sanity; any overflow is temporarily retained. Remaining uses: 5】

【Cost: None】

【Cooldown: None】

【Usage Requirement: Have fished once】

【Note: A pinch of Antarctic krill, a pinch of New Four Seasons, a pinch of All-Purpose Fishy, a pinch of Whale Food, a pinch of Not-Returning-Empty-Handed, a pinch of Red Storm, a pinch of Tianyuan Deng Gang, a pinch of Field Blue Crucian, a pinch of Crucian Terminator. Forget the fish, even I want a bite】

【Note: Bro, give me some more, I can't hold on, please bro, my whole body's shaking, feels like ants are crawling all over me】

「. 」

Li Cheng's eye twitched wildly as he complained loudly: "This is fish bait, right? This has to be fish bait, right?!"

Li Cheng's good buddy Han Letian's dad is a veteran fishing fanatic, posting fishing screenshots on his WeChat Moments every day,

so Li Cheng recognized at a glance that the Antarctic krill, New Four Seasons, Tianyuan Deng Gang, and so on in the first note were all fishing bait brands on the market.

The second note, on the other hand, was written from the fish's perspective.

So this 【All-Round Concentrated Tonic】 really was rolled together out of fishing bait?

Li Cheng held the big pill in his hands, feeling a rather awkward ache, and after agonizing for a while he still put it back into his inventory.

Actually, the Headless Reindeer was pretty kind — it gave a Perfect-quality consumable that could instantly refill Spirit Power and Sanity to full; calling it a life-saving divine item wouldn't be an exaggeration. And it could be used five times, no less.

Right now Li Cheng had the legendary tank Gray Rain outside as a solid shield,

and inside he had two Health Potions, an Emergency Escape Card, the assembled plush toy, and the Tonic,

plus Mist Concealment and Familiar Swap — his survival ability was maxed out, making it hard to die even if he wanted to.

Buzz, buzz.

Just then, his phone's alarm went off — only twenty minutes left until the time agreed upon with the Side of Truth. Li Cheng took a deep breath, left the dimensional warehouse, called Gray Rain, and logged into the Killing Ground.

Time to meet that notorious president of the Evil Science Alliance, whose name alone could stop children from crying at night.

(End of chapter)