Huang Wen stood in the biting Siberian wind, but his focus was hundreds of miles away, inside a high-tech tomb. He had spent the last ten minutes "gifting" the Mandarin every single piece of fruit he had stored in his spatial ring. Apples, pears, peaches, even a few exotic melons he'd picked up in Southeast Asia—they were all currently resting against the Mandarin's shimmering energy shield.
But these weren't just snacks. Before throwing them, Huang Wen had infused each one with a volatile mixture of Ice-Fire Qi and compressed telekinetic energy. To the naked eye, they were just half-eaten leftovers. In reality, they were organic C4.
"Wait," Huang Wen paused, a fleeting thought crossing his mind. "I'm aiming for the 'Defeat' reward first, but if I pack too much punch into these 'fruit grenades,' I might just vaporize the old guy instantly. I'd miss out on the double-dip loot... but then again, a Legendary Character lottery is the big prize anyway. If he dies, he dies."
He shrugged. He was tired of playing games. "Let's see if your alien tech can handle a fruit salad from hell. Explode!"
BOOM!
Inside the hidden spaceship, the Mandarin was just reaching out to push a piece of half-eaten pear away from his shield when the world turned white. The "fruit" didn't just burst; it underwent a chain reaction. The compressed Ice-Fire Qi ignited, creating a thermal shockwave that alternated between absolute zero and solar-flare temperatures in milliseconds.
The interior of the alien craft groaned. This was a vessel built for interstellar travel, shielded against cosmic radiation and micro-meteoroids, yet the sheer concentrated violence of the internal blast made the hull buckle.
The Mandarin's energy barrier—the one that had blocked Huang Wen's direct palms—shattered like cheap glass. The nine rings on his fingers flared with a desperate, blinding light, trying to siphon the explosion's energy, but it was too much, too fast. The rings overheated, their ancient circuits melting under the strain of Huang Wen's 'optimized' martial energy.
A sickening crunch echoed through the chamber as the Mandarin's already mangled arms were caught in the primary blast. The rings didn't just fall off; they disintegrated, taking most of the Mandarin's forearm tissue with them. He was tossed like a ragdoll against the far bulkhead, his body charred and bleeding, his consciousness flickering like a dying candle.
"Activate... escape... protocol... emergency... jump..." the Mandarin wheezed through a throat filled with soot.
The ship's AI, sensing the catastrophic failure of its master's vitals, didn't hesitate. The engines, fueled by a mixture of dark matter and ancient sorcery, hummed to life. In a blur of distorted light, the entire craft vanished from the Siberian mountain, leaving nothing behind but a scorched crater and a very confused Perception Eagle.
[Ding! Mission: Defeat the Mandarin again—Completed.] [Reward: One Legendary Item Lottery.]
Huang Wen blinked as the mental feed from his Eagle went dark. "He's gone? I didn't even see a trail. That's some serious black technology right there. I wonder if that Eagle can only track a target within the atmosphere?"
He tried to pulse the Eagle's senses again, reaching out for that specific 'qi scent,' but the connection felt thin, stretched across a void he couldn't penetrate.
"Did he seriously fly into space? Man, this is Marvel, I guess. If you've got an alien ship, why stay on Earth where a guy can throw exploding apples at you?" Huang Wen sighed, feeling a bit of regret. "I lost the trail. There goes my Legendary Character draw for the 'Kill' mission. I really should have just gone for the throat from the start."
"Huang Wen? You're doing that thing again," Belle said, waving a hand in front of his face. She had been watching him stand perfectly still for several minutes, occasionally muttering about 'art' and 'explosions.' "The mountain just shook, and you're looking like you just lost your car keys. What happened?"
Huang Wen snapped back to reality and gave her a sheepish smile. "I tried to finish the job, Belle. I found his hideout and gave him a little 'parting gift.' I blew his arms off—again—and destroyed his rings, but the guy has a literal UFO. He pulled a Star Trek and warped out of here before I could land the finishing blow."
He patted her shoulder, his tone turning more serious. "But don't worry. He's crippled. Even if he survives, he's lost his primary weapons. He won't be bothering us for a long time."
What Huang Wen didn't know was that at that very moment, the silver craft was piercing the atmosphere of Venus. It landed in a sulfurous crater, far from human eyes. Inside, the Mandarin lay in a coma, but the ship's medical bay was already at work. A sickly green light bathed his stumps, and deep within his DNA, something was changing. The ship wasn't just healing him; it was reconstructing him using biological data from its ancient archives. The arms that were slowly knitting together were no longer human—they were scaled, clawed, and pulsing with a dark, draconic energy.
Back on Earth, Huang Wen decided to look at his spoils. He reached into his storage space and pulled out the single ring he had managed to snatch earlier—the one that emitted the lightning-like 'Standard' energy.
"Silly Girl, give this thing a look. What are we dealing with?"
A green light projected from his wrist as Silly Girl scanned the artifact. "Boss, this object is fascinating. It's a hybrid of advanced sub-atomic engineering and extra-dimensional magic. It acts as a focal point for 'Sub-Space' energy. By drawing from the vacuum of a parallel dimension, it can generate high-voltage electrical discharges. In your terms, the energy density within this single unit qualifies as 'Legendary' grade."
"Just one of them is Legendary?" Huang Wen looked at the ring with a mix of awe and frustration. "And I just blew up nine of them? Dammit! I could have had a full set of ten Legendary items! I'm such a spendthrift."
He shook his head, trying to clear the annoyance. "Whatever. I still have the system reward. Let's see if the lottery can make up for my lack of foresight. System, claim the reward for the 'Defeat' mission. Give me something good!"
The blue light of a Legendary Item draw swirled in his mind, more vibrant and "heavier" than the previous ones. When the light faded, a small, gnarled branch appeared in his hand. Hanging from it were seven ruby-red fruits, glowing with an internal heat that looked like pulsing blood.
[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the Legendary Item: Blood Bodhi (7 pieces).]
[Source: Storm Riders (Feng Yun). Optimized by the system and saturated with the essence of the Fire Qilin.]
[Effects: A supreme holy medicine for healing and cultivation. It strengthens the Three Treasures: Jing (Vitality), Qi (Internal Energy), and Shen (Spirit).]
[Detailed Stats:
1st Fruit: +20 years of cultivation, +500 Vitality, +50 Internal Energy, +5 Spirit.
2nd Fruit: Effects halved (+250 Vitality, +25 Internal Energy, +2.5 Spirit).
3rd Fruit: Effects halved again (+125 Vitality, +12.5 Internal Energy, +1.25 Spirit).
Note: Diminishing returns apply. No benefits after the 3rd fruit.]
Huang Wen's heart nearly skipped a beat. He did the math in his head instantly. If he consumed three of these, his stats would skyrocket.
Total gain for three fruits: +875 Vitality, +87.5 Internal Energy, and +8.75 Spirit.
"This is insane," Huang Wen whispered. "My stats have been so lopsided for months. My Internal Energy is through the roof because of the character cards, but my physical body (Vitality) and my soul (Spirit) have been lagging behind. I've been like a glass cannon with a Ferrari engine but a bicycle frame."
His current Vitality was only around 208, and his Spirit was a measly 2.6. With this, he wouldn't just be 'stronger'—he would undergo a qualitative transformation. He would finally become a balanced, legendary powerhouse.
"And I have seven of them," he noted, looking at the glowing berries. "Three for me, three for Belle... and one left over for a rainy day. This is perfect."
He turned to Belle, who was watching the red glow in his hand with curiosity. She could feel the immense life force radiating from the fruits.
"Belle, remember how I said I'd find a way to help you with your 'foundation'?" Huang Wen asked, his voice filled with excitement. "Change of plans for the world tour. We're taking a pit stop."