Feng Mu pushed his bicycle into the crematorium, while Zhang Hao and the other two stood at the entrance without leaving immediately.

Dark One: "Can we trust what that kid says?"

Zhang Hao had no intention of calling the [Lame Monster] for now, as it could easily alert the enemy.

"He doesn't look like he's lying. A crematorium worker shouldn't have the capability to discover the secret of the Black Core. As for the lame person he mentioned, we still need to use this kid to fish him out," he said.

Dark One nodded: "And what about that Bin from the Cyan Wolf Gang, how do we deal with him?"

Zhang Hao was a bit agitated. Everything had been calm for years, yet overnight, it seemed all kinds of sinister forces were targeting the Black Core.

Could the secret of the Black Core have already leaked out widely?

With a furrowed brow, Zhang Hao instructed the two: "Let's split up. One of you should find a way to look into that Bin from the Cyan Wolf Gang, and the other should keep an eye on that kid just now. I'll try to report what's happening back to the top."

The two dark figures nodded in agreement.

Zhang Hao reiterated: "Act covertly, don't get discovered, and don't alert the enemy. The matter of the Black Core is of utmost importance and cannot be handled carelessly. We need to investigate thoroughly."

After dividing the tasks, the three each went their separate ways.

Before leaving, Zhang Hao went to the entrance of the crematorium, offered some cigarettes to the security guard, and made some small talk.

...

A day of cremation work passed quickly, but there was no discovery of the Black Core today.

Leaving the factory after work, as Feng Mu rode past a clump of bushes, he felt a chill down his spine. That malicious sense of being watched returned.

"Even if they believe the lie I spun, they still left someone to watch me? That's a bit impolite~"

Feng Mu continued to pretend ignorance as he rode his bicycle, while the intent to kill brewed in his heart.

He had too many secrets that couldn't see the light of day to allow a lingering ghost to constantly follow him. How was he supposed to conduct his affairs?

As he rode, Feng Mu plotted in his mind how to kill someone undetected.

After all, these people operated at a high level, and Feng Mu had to ensure a kill with one strike; otherwise, the consequences would be dire.

Along the way, he hadn't yet thought of a perfect scheme, and the bicycle had already stopped at the entrance of a hardware store.

Feng Mu entered the store, and under the shopkeeper's odd gaze, he softly touched every iron-metal item on the shelves.

He did it carefully and gently, as if caressing the skin of a lover, several times giving the shopkeeper goosebumps.

[Metal detected——raw iron, edible. Occupy new edible slot*1?]

[Metal detected——aluminum, not edible.]

[Metal detected——brass, not edible.]

[Metal detected——raw iron, edible. Occupy new edible slot*1?]

[....]

[Metal detected——Ten-Forged Iron, edible. Occupy new edible slot*1?]

[Metal detected——rusted iron, edible. Occupy new edible slot*1?]

[....]

It took 40 minutes for Feng Mu to meticulously touch every piece of metal on the shelves, not leaving out a single corner.

At first, there was a strange glint in the shopkeeper's eyes in the corner. Twenty minutes later, sweat was forming on his forehead, and he didn't dare look anymore.

He couldn't quite figure out what Feng Mu was doing.

But because he couldn't make sense of it even if he broke his head over it, a faint shiver crept into his heart.

Were it not for Feng Mu still appearing human enough, he'd have called the police, suspecting some creepy transformation in his store.

Outside the store, about a hundred meters directly facing the entrance, Dark Two numbly watched, his left eyeball flickering with an eerie light now and then.

He didn't find it strange that the surveillance target was touching metal; after all, he had a similar penchant himself—he liked touching dead ants.

What the target was doing was quite similar to himself, both worthy of respect as personal hobbies; besides, it had nothing to do with the Black Core.

Feng Mu was aware that his actions seemed a bit odd, but compared to other secrets, this minor obsession didn't need too much concealment.

Blank People's mental pressure is high, so having some strange habits to vent emotions is understandable, right?

He hadn't gone to the supermarket to squeeze instant noodles; the shopkeeper had no reason to call the police.

Feng Mu concluded in his mind: "There are four types of iron in the hardware store: raw iron, rusted iron, mixed iron, and Ten-Forged Iron."

Fewer types than he had initially anticipated.

There was no Hundred-Forged Iron, steel, or alloy.

But after thinking about it, Feng Mu realized that Hundred-Forged Iron, steel, and alloys are probably considered controlled resources under the city's system.

They wouldn't be available at a hardware store; he'd have to go to a more upscale place, possibly requiring a certain citizen rank.

For now, of course, he didn't need to think that far ahead, as the four types of iron were enough to fill the consumption slots of a second-level [Iron Eater].

Feng Mu bent to pick up some rusty iron nails, heaped in a box like trash, from the lowest shelf.

He was puzzled: "Raw iron, Ten-Forged Iron, even mixed iron, I understand. But what on earth is rusted iron? Spoiled, degraded raw iron?"

"Hopefully this stuff is edible and won't poison me to death?"

Feng Mu rubbed the rusty nail in his hand and had a sudden thought: "The trait of raw iron is [Molded Embryo]. I can't guess the traits of mixed iron and Ten-Forged Iron, but could the trait of rusted iron be [Tetanus]?"

He was startled by his own idea but found it increasingly plausible the more he considered it.

If following the conventional thinking, ranking iron grades from low to high should be rusted iron → mixed iron → raw iron → Ten-Forged Iron → Hundred-Forged Iron → steel → ...…. → Nine Nether Evil Iron.

Feng Mu initially intended to follow this logic to find the second-stage [Iron Eater] recipe.

Now, he suddenly felt mistaken. That ranking followed conventional metrics like density and hardness, but absorbing traits isn't a conventional matter.

Therefore, the ranking ought to rely on imagination.

So… Nine Nether Evil Iron must still be the most formidable.

And then, rusted iron probably isn't the weakest but surprisingly ranks higher?

The biggest thing is, rusted iron is much easier to get than fragments of Nine Nether Evil Iron. It's non-dangerous, cheap, and abundant.

"Thus, the preliminary recipe for the second stage can be set as raw iron + rusted iron, unless those black market traders bring me materials in abundance, which is rather difficult. Anyway, I'll start by buying up all the rusted iron."

A gleam flashed in Feng Mu's eyes as he paced between the shelves, retrieving all the boxes of rusted iron nails stored in corners.

"Boss, how much for all these?"

Feng Mu plonked a dozen boxes of rusted iron nails onto the counter.

The boss shuddered, and seeing Feng Mu's serious face, quickly calculated a dirt-cheap price on the calculator.

Of course, the boss didn't lose out; the rusted iron nails were unwanted anyway. He just hadn't bothered to deal with them, so if they were sold, it'd be a windfall.

A total of about 40 pounds of rusted iron nails weren't easy to carry, so they were finally packed in a sack, which Feng Mu strapped to the backseat of his bicycle.

He rode all the way home.

While Wang Xiuli was cooking in the kitchen, Feng Mu took the sack into his bedroom and hid it in the closet.

Seeing the sack that occupied half the closet and a basin of iron balls, while the clothes were squashed into the corners trembling,

Feng Mu's desire to move out and live alone grew stronger.

"Hmm, as soon as I get the money from Ma Bin, I'll look for a place to rent. Of course, I must be wary of him pulling a fast one to avoid paying." Feng Mu contemplated.

Hence,

he pondered for a moment, then used Red Hair's phone to send two texts to Ma Bin.

——Damn, those black market guys have found me. Did you betray me?

——I take back the previous text. It can't be you; you didn't have the time frame to do it.

Looking at his phone, Feng Mu deliberately waited for 15 minutes, thinking Ma Bin must be getting anxious. Would he hope for him to be taken down, or for the black market guys to be dealt with?

Hard to guess indeed~

With a mysterious curve of his lips, he kindly sent a few more messages to remind Ma Bin.

——Damn it, three against one, they fight without honor.

——I've been hurt, but I also crippled one of their toughest guys, though I couldn't kill him. So now only two are left active temporarily.

——I escaped and plan to find a place to heal.

——They can't find me again; the two left should be coming after you. Be careful not to die.

——Get the things I need ready quickly; I must have them beforehand now.

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