novelraw Chapter 35: The Engineer’s Shell
Chapter 35: The Engineer’s Shell
Lin Xun galloped full speed and quickly arrived at the crash site where the Engineer had “gone down.”
All around were desolate fields. At the center of a large crater, a scorched and smoking body lay motionless.
Lin Xun rode forward, debating whether to toss in another Corrupt Sunlight just to be safe.
But just then, a line of text appeared before his eyes:
[Thousand Faces, Ten Thousand Forms talent activated!]
[Shell of “Saike, Engineer of the Pyramid Corporation”—an engineer clad in cutting-edge nano-armor, expert in all kinds of electronic technologies. This bloody and mangled Shell perished due to a blast of intense searing force. Compatibility: 122% (+35%)]
[Do you wish to possess this Shell?]
Lin Xun stared blankly at the familiar game text in his vision. It was clear the Engineer was well and truly dead.
He dismissed the manifestation of the Yellow-Robed Bishop Shell and approached the crater.
The Engineer’s face was smeared with blood, but barely recognizable as a blond-haired, blue-eyed Western face. Yet that face was subtly changing, and the ragged nano-armor on his body was fading away.He too had been using a Shell from the game. As with all game Shells, once the user dies, the Shell gradually fades.
At that moment, his female superior arrived, clearly noticing the corpse of the fading Shell within the crater.
“Lin Xun, what was that Shell you just manifested…?”
As head of the Intelligence Division, Li Xingyue was certainly familiar with the Paladin of Discipline from the Blood Sun world.
But that withered and terrifying mage-like Shell from earlier—what was that?
Her eyes were filled with shock, but she stopped herself halfway. Everyone had their secrets. It wasn’t appropriate to pry too deeply.
Li Xingyue quickly nodded at Lin Xun, signaling that time was short and they should proceed with the plan.
Lin Xun looked at the text prompt in his vision—and chose to possess!
[The Apostle’s true body has possessed the Shell of “Saike, Engineer of the Pyramid Corporation.”]
[You have obtained this Shell in the real world. It will be added directly to your Shell Slots.]
[Current Shell Slots: 4/5]
Lin Xun felt a momentary daze—and then nothing out of the ordinary.
He looked back toward the “Engineer” in the crater. The nano-armor had vanished, replaced by casual clothes. His face had also fully changed—from Western to Eastern features.
This was the Engineer’s real identity.
The New World organization had a strict internal hierarchy. Only low-level grunts used their real-world bodies.
As a mid-level member, the Engineer communicated solely through game Shells and bore special identity markings imprinted on those Shells.
So, his real-world Shell was actually unimportant.
[Possess an ordinary adult male Shell]
Lin Xun automatically ignored the prompt that appeared in his vision.
Li Xingyue saw him nod and understood he had successfully acquired the Engineer’s Shell.
“You’ve done a great service in this mission. I’ll make sure you’re well rewarded when we return!”
With that, she stepped into the crater to examine the corpse—her brows furrowing as she picked something up from the dead man’s hand.
It was a clump of black sludge.
Lin Xun felt a bit confused. What was that? The sludge in her hand looked strange—probably some kind of item from the game.
Li Xingyue didn’t explain. The black sludge vanished from her hand—clearly stored into her Inventory.
Lu Caiyi soon arrived as well, followed by the senior cheerleading squad member—Ye Xiaoqi.
Her Shell was as “unremarkable” as she was. Dressed in a dark trench coat and wearing a beret, the most striking thing about her was the weapon she held.
A massive gun, a fusion of flesh and machinery, larger than her own Shell. A bloodshot, fist-sized eye sat embedded in the gun’s body, twisted and grotesque.
Ye Xiaoqi widened her eyes at Lin Xun, looking at him like he was a stranger. Her words spilled out rapid-fire.
“Lin Xun! What was that Shell you just used—so OP?!”
“And that weapon was so flashy! How’d you get it? Tell me where to farm one!”
“Oh! And that last move—what was that skill? Looked just like a laser cannon, huge and thick!”
Lin Xun glanced down, and even after manifesting her game Shell, she still had that modest flat chest. He replied humbly. “Not big, not big. Compared to Senior Xiaoqi, I’ve got a long way to go.”
“Lin Xun, you little—!” Ye Xiaoqi ground her teeth, nearly foaming with rage.
—
By the time Lin Xun got home, it was already past midnight.
The aftermath at the Engineer’s crash site would be handled by the Logistics Division. They’d do all the cleanup—leaving no traces behind.
Even the courtyard house that had been leveled by an explosion would be fully restored. In an organization full of Apostles, strange talents were commonplace. Lin Xun wasn’t surprised.
What made him uncomfortable… was the follow-up plan explained by the sultry lady in black tights.
But setting that aside for now, he opened the game to check his loot for the day.
[Thunder Dragon Staff-Spear +1 (Epic Weapon). Forged through the fusion of the Dragonhunter Lance and White Moon Silver Scepter, reforged with superb forging techniques. With combined characteristics of two distinct weapon types, it can cast spells like a staff and strike in melee like a spear. The power of dragon-slaying, inherited from replica’s, makes this weapon even stronger.]
During the mission tonight, just as the Engineer was about to escape, Lin Xun’s new weapon finally completed reforging!
Without hesitation, he manifested the Yellow-Robed Bishop Shell and used Corrupt Sunlight—instantly nuking the Engineer.
It was his first time seeing a hybrid weapon suited for both ranged and melee combat.
Forget power—the look alone was insanely cool!
Thinking back to Ye Xiaoqi practically drooling over his weapon, Lin Xun almost burst out laughing.
The +1 enhancement must’ve come from both the Pure Silver Scepter and the broken Dragonhunter Lance already having been enhanced before fusion.
He opened the Shell Panel to inspect the Engineer’s Shell.
[Shell – Engineer of the Pyramid Corporation]
[True Name: Saike]
[Compatibility: 122% (+35%) – Exceeds threshold, Shell Quality increased!]
[Shell Quality: Fine]
[Shell Level: 32]
[Shell Equipment: Nano-Bio Combat Armor (Rare). A high-tech combat suit embedded with artificial muscle fibers that enable combat mode switching. The user may select between Armor Mode, Strength Mode, or Speed Mode. Unfortunately, this armor is currently severely damaged and must be repaired to be functional.]
[Shell Equipment: Ultra-High-Voltage Conduction Taser (Common+). Equipped with a superconductive cable that can be fired like a probe. On contact, it releases ultra-high voltage shocks, causing muscle spasms and potential knockout. Requires 12 hours of auto-recharge after each use.]
[Shell Skill: Electronics (Common+). Grants strong control and enhanced proficiency over high-tech devices and systems.]
Lin Xun hadn’t expected that a mid-level villain like the Engineer would only have a Common+ Shell.
Thanks to his own talent bonus, its quality was now Fine.
Even the Paladin of Discipline’s Shell had Fine quality as its base, while the Yellow-Robed Bishop started at Rare.
Was it really that hard to get a high-quality Shell? This guy was a mid-tier figure in a major organization, and this was what he used? Felt a little cheap.
Without realizing it, Lin Xun was starting to get a little… spoiled.
If the dead Engineer knew what he was thinking, he’d probably burst from the coffin and cuss him out—“You spoiled brat!”
As for the Engineer’s gear—that drool-worthy nano-armor Lin Xun envied was broken. He’d have to figure out how to repair it in-game.
The taser? According to the sultry black-stocking superior, the Engineer had already used it once in the courtyard. As for its power… well, ahem, it’d probably be effective against Apostles who hadn’t manifested Shells.
The one thing Lin Xun didn’t feel cheated on was this Shell’s level—Level 32!
Compared to the Yellow-Robed Bishop’s Level 13, that was a difference of 19 levels!
The more he thought about how a single Corrupt Sunlight had one-shot the Engineer, the more absurd it seemed.
Then again, he had the advantage in every area—Shell quality, equipment, skills. And the Engineer had just used “Demon Body Dissolution Technique” and was down to bare skin and blood.
So really, it made sense that the kill had been clean.
On the flip side, if he hadn’t killed the Engineer despite all that, wouldn’t that mean all his top-tier gear and skills were totally wasted?
Shaking off his wandering thoughts, he glanced at the time—3 a.m.
After the intense mission, fatigue was settling in.
He set an early alarm. Tomorrow morning, he would wake up with his two lives saved and ready to challenge the Corrupted Subspecies Sea Dragon in a hardcore fight!