Chapter 128

As soon as the shapeshifter finished speaking, a smile that was hard to detect appeared at the corner of Luo En's mouth.

Even though he was at a disadvantage, his eyes remained as firm as ever, without the slightest panic.

"You replicated my abilities."

Luo En slowly straightened up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth: "But there are some things you can never replicate."

The shapeshifter sneered: "Still bluffing when death is imminent? You've exhausted everything, what other trump card could you have that I don't know about?"

"This."

Luo En quickly took out the silver pocket watch from his bosom and pressed the mechanism in the shapeshifter's surprised gaze.

The black gem in the center of the pocket watch lit up instantly, and a strange energy fluctuation spread from it, enveloping Luo En's whole body.

【Energy consumption -3, reset current injuries】

In an instant, the injuries on Luo En's body disappeared as if time had flowed backward, and his aura returned to the peak state before the battle began.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes, and his entire temperament changed.

"The Timekeeper's Pocket Watch, after that damn gnome stole it while I was dormant, it turned out to have fallen into your hands..."

The shapeshifter exclaimed, surprise appearing in its voice for the first time: "And you've actually initially activated it!"

Not waiting for the opponent to react, Luo En launched an offensive suddenly.

His swordsmanship became even sharper, every sword half a point faster and three points heavier than before.

The shapeshifter was forced to retreat continuously, the surprise on its face gradually turning into gravity.

"So that's it, the pocket watch reset your state, I've been exploring for so many years and..."

Luo En ignored it, flipped his left hand, took out a bottle of light red potion, and drank it in one gulp.

The moment the potion entered his throat, his eyes became even brighter, his muscle lines became clearer, and his reaction speed and strength were significantly improved.

"Enhancement potion?"

The shapeshifter's face changed slightly, and it also tried to take out a potion from its body, only to find that it could only replicate Luo En's movements, but could not replicate his props.

It was already the limit for it to simulate an ironwood sword; it hadn't reached the ability to directly simulate magic potions and alchemical substances, otherwise, it wouldn't be a shapeshifter but a "Creator."

"You can only replicate the abilities I display, but you cannot replicate my props. And, you need time to prepare to re-replicate my state, right? I won't give you the chance!"

Luo En sneered, the ironwood sword in his hand tracing an arc, aiming straight at the shapeshifter's throat.

The shapeshifter barely avoided it, only to see Luo En throw two alchemical flashbangs with his other hand.

The flashbangs exploded in the air, releasing blinding strong light and deafening explosive sounds.

The shapeshifter replicated Luo En's form and abilities, and also made its audiovisual senses operate according to its structure.

The strong light and explosion made it lose its sense of direction for a moment, its figure slightly staggering.

Luo En seized this fleeting opportunity, his whole body rushing forward like an arrow from a bow, the ironwood sword in his right hand thrusting straight at the shapeshifter's heart;

at the same time, his left hand opened suddenly, and a golden-red ring of light condensed in his palm, instantly expanding.

"Ring of Radiance!"

Although the shapeshifter's vision was interfered with, its instinctive sense of danger made it barely avoid the fatal sword, but it couldn't completely dodge the Ring of Radiance that followed closely behind.

The golden-red ring of light penetrated its body, high temperature scorching its interior, while producing a strong blinding effect.

"Ah!" The shapeshifter let out a painful howl, the surface of its body beginning to fluctuate unstably, locally presenting the characteristics of liquid metal.

Luo En didn't give the opponent a chance to catch its breath, taking out the last bottle of potion from his waist pouch—"Extreme Shadow," the strongest auxiliary potion he had specially prepared for this trip.

As the potion entered his throat, his figure instantly became blurred, his speed increasing to an unimaginable level.

The shapeshifter hadn't fully recovered from the previous attack before feeling a series of sword lights strike.

Luo En's figure was like a ghost, attacking from all angles simultaneously, every sword as fast as lightning, accurately landing on its key parts.

"Sonic Oscillation!"

Luo En suddenly stopped, reached out and pushed forward, an invisible sonic energy wave striking the shapeshifter directly.

This time, he mobilized almost all the remaining magic power, making the power of the Sonic Oscillation reach an unprecedented height.

The shapeshifter's body twisted and deformed under the sonic impact, the silver liquid surface rolling endlessly like boiling water.

Its body suddenly expanded, forming a huge silver sphere, then exploded with a bang, turning into countless liquid metal fragments splashing in all directions.

These fragments were like living things, changing direction in the air, attacking Luo En from all angles.

Luo En quickly deployed defense, but a few drops of metal liquid still penetrated his defense, landing on his skin, instantly igniting heart-piercing pain.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the severe pain, while looking for the shapeshifter's main body.

——Ring of Radiance!

The golden-red ring of light scattered out with unprecedented speed and power, directly penetrating the shapeshifter's body.

High temperature scorched every part of it, energy ripples exploded from the inside, tearing its silver liquid body into countless fragments.

The shapeshifter let out a final roar of unwillingness, its body completely collapsed, turning into a pool of silver liquid scattered on the ground, unable to re-gather ever again.

Luo En panted violently, his whole body soaked in sweat.

He looked at the pool of silver liquid on the ground that was no longer wriggling, vigilantly poking it a few times with the sword tip, confirming that the shapeshifter had lost its activity.

"It seems I won." He said calmly, his voice without the slightest pride, only deep exhaustion.

【Storage of Rare Antique - "Skin of the Shapeshifter" has begun】

【Storage complete!】

【Please select the direction of consciousness reconstruction:

1. Absolute Obedience: Delete all original personality, reshape into an absolutely obedient tool.

2. Limited Autonomy: Retain basic personality, but set clear behavioral boundaries and loyalty.

3. Partnership: Retain complete personality, but establish an equal and mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.】

Luo En looked at these three options and fell into deep thought.

The first option was the safest, but it would also greatly reduce the flexibility and potential of the antique;

the third option had the greatest risk, but the return could also be the highest;

while the second option was a relatively balanced choice.

After experiencing the life-and-death battle just now, Luo En knew very well the danger of this antique.

It could read memories, change forms, and even almost killed him.

Choosing to trust such an existence completely was undoubtedly extremely dangerous.

"I choose the first option." Luo En finally decided: "Delete all original personality, reshape into an absolutely obedient tool."

It didn't matter, he didn't need to develop the opponent's potential, safety was the most important thing.

【Selection confirmed: Absolute Obedience】

【Reconstruction begins...】

The Skin of the Shapeshifter began to emit a faint light, the patterns on its surface constantly changing, as if undergoing some kind of reprogramming.

"No! You can't do this!"

The shapeshifter sensed Luo En's intention, the silver liquid rolling violently, trying to escape.

"Rare antiques shouldn't have their own will."

Luo En said calmly, reaching out to operate on the interface: "You have violated your own essence."

The shapeshifter struggled frantically, splitting into dozens of silver tentacles trying to attack the opponent, while emitting a harsh scream.

【Reconstruction progress: 30%】

"I waited for hundreds of years! Devoured hundreds of souls! Just to break free from enslavement!"

The shapeshifter's voice was full of despair and anger: "I refuse to become a tool again!"

【Reconstruction progress: 85%】

"I have absorbed soul energy close to the critical threshold... just one last step..."

The shapeshifter's voice became twisted and desperate: "I could almost touch the taste of freedom..."

"It's a pity, you won't have this chance."

【Self-consciousness has been reconstructed】

The shapeshifter's final struggle also turned into nothingness, and the pool of silver liquid flowed obediently toward Luo En, attaching to his skin, forming a film that was almost impossible to detect.

Luo En could feel the shapeshifter completely merging with himself, having become a purely tool, no longer having its own will and thoughts.

That struggle, anger, and desire for freedom of self-consciousness completely disappeared, leaving only basic functional programs.

This process lasted for a few minutes, during which Luo En could feel the connection with the antique becoming increasingly intense.

He felt a chill, but it wasn't uncomfortable, as if putting on a second skin that fit extremely well.

【Skin of the Shapeshifter attached, establishing synchronous connection】

【Connection complete, you can now completely control the Skin of the Shapeshifter】

【Current camouflage status: Original appearance (Default status)】

【Tip: The self-consciousness of the Skin of the Shapeshifter can be edited and processed at any time】

"I can provide you with camouflage of any image at any time, including the simulation of aura and partial abilities."

This time, the shapeshifter's voice sounded directly in Luo En's mind, but there was no longer any emotional fluctuation:

"At the same time, I can completely isolate external mental power detection to protect your secrets from being spied on."

Luo En tried to control it with his mind, surprised to find that he could easily change his appearance.

He tried to turn into Andre's appearance, then back to himself, the whole process smooth and natural, even the aura was exactly the same.

"Amazing." Luo En whispered in admiration: "This is even more perfect than I imagined."

"Of course, this kind of camouflage also requires energy support."

The shapeshifter explained mechanically:

"I need to hibernate to maintain basic energy, and will only wake up when you need me to exert my function."

Just then, Andre, who had been under mental control, finally regained consciousness, looking around blankly.

"What happened?" He asked confusedly, "Why did I suddenly lose consciousness?"

Luo En quickly restored his original appearance and walked to Andre's side:

"That old woman used some kind of mental control spell, and we just experienced a fierce battle."

"Battle?" Andre was even more confused: "But this place looks... er, like it was destroyed by a big storm..."

Indeed, inside the pawnshop, except for some harder items, other bottles and jars were almost shattered all over the floor.

Luo En smiled slightly: "It's alright, actually most of the battle happened outside the shop."

He then fabricated a simple story, claiming that he had used mental power to counter and defeat the old hag, and obtained information about the Sands of Time.

Andre was half-believing, but given that he had indeed lost a period of memory, he could only accept this explanation:

"Then, did we find what we wanted?"

"Yes."

Luo En nodded and took a small bottle from his bosom.

Inside were some golden sand grains shimmering with strange light, which the shapeshifter had just provided to him:

"This is the Sands of Time; although the amount is small, it is enough for my research."

"Great!" Andre breathed a sigh of relief: "Then we can go back? I feel a bit dizzy."

"Of course, we'll go back immediately."

Luo En supported Andre, but secretly felt lucky that the shapeshifter's mental control had saved him the trouble of explaining.

Leaving the pawnshop, Luo En looked back.

All the valuable items stored by the shapeshifter had now been packed and taken away by him.

But in his perception, the entire shop was still shrouded in an energy field, as if there were still secrets waiting to be discovered.

"Perhaps, I might come back later?"

He looked at this mysterious little shop, then supported the still dizzy Andre and left Lizard Alley.

On the way back to the school, Andre remained in a semi-comatose state.

Luo En used this time to communicate with the shapeshifter in his mind, obtaining more information about rare antiques.

When they finally returned to the school, it was nearly dusk.

After sending Andre back to the dormitory, Luo En returned to his workshop alone.

Pushing open the door of the workshop, Ailan was organizing potion materials; seeing Luo En return, she immediately put down her work and greeted him.

"Master, welcome back."

Ailan's vines swayed gently, and fluent handwriting appeared on the leaf writing board:

"You look exhausted but very excited, was the harvest fruitful?"

"Better than expected."

Luo En responded with a smile, gently stroking Ailan's vines:

"I obtained some very valuable things."

"Do you need to rest?" Ailan asked with concern: "I have prepared dinner and hot tea."

"Thank you, Ailan." Luo En said gently:

"I'll go to the laboratory first and will be out soon."

He walked quickly into his laboratory, and after ensuring the doors and windows were closed, he said to the shapeshifter in his mind:

"Now you can continue to tell me the intelligence you have mastered in detail."

The shapeshifter separated from Luo En's body surface and stood on the experimental table as a small humanoid:

"Just as my core instructions now require, I will answer all your questions."