Chapter 65 Rash Adversity, I've Seen It, Step by Step "Ah! ————……"

Boxing gym.

The vertical calligraphy banners that had been swaying slightly with the air circulation in the arena fell completely silent, as if they had come to life and were all looking down at the person above the boxing ring in the center of the arena.

Badger Tooth pushed up his glasses.

He could no longer remember how many times he had watched from the sidelines as Rhinoceros Horn defeated seemingly invincible enemies time and time again, but none of those times had ever made him so nervous.

Because this time, the one Rhinoceros Horn is going to defeat is himself.

That incomplete version of himself.

With a few clicks of metal buckles being undone, an electronic warning sound, "Lost Muscle Signal," rang out, sounding out of place in the current old-fashioned boxing gym environment. Immediately afterward, a very abrupt red warning light flashed from Rhinoceros Horn's right leg.

Shifting his weight to one side, Rhinoceros Horn reached out and removed the prosthetic leg.

This prosthetic leg is indeed a prototype, and some of the wires even need to be tied together with insulating tape to connect them. But to be fair, this unexpectedly gives it a unique primitive mechanical aesthetic.

Badger teeth really like this style and think it goes well with rhinoceros horn.

However, Rhinoceros Horn didn't seem to think so; it simply placed the prosthetic leg to one side and then completely let go.

Without the support of the rhinoceros horn, the prosthetic leg, which repeatedly warned "loss of muscle signal, please check connection status," slumped to one side under the force of gravity.

The loud crash as it hit the ground finally broke down Badger Tooth's psychological defenses.

“I still think it’s too risky.” Badger Tooth suddenly took two steps forward, gripping the spring rope next to the boxing ring tightly, trying to make a final attempt to persuade him.

He spoke very quickly, as if afraid of missing something.

"The 10th generation of Gorilla Glass will be released soon."

“Unlike the prototype you are using, the final product will be covered with artificial skin, and the skin tone, texture and even hair can be customized.”

"If you'd like, I can contact the R&D team to get it done first..."

“But a fake is a fake. No matter how realistic it looks, it’s still fake,” Rhinoceros Horn said in a calm tone.

Badger Tooth couldn't refute that.

After all, he wasn't the one who lost a leg during a mission and had to wear and replace a prosthetic leg for over ten years as his body grew.

“Since there’s a possibility, I’d like to give it a try.” Rhinoceros Horn glanced at Badger Tooth. “For me, there’s really no loss. Even if I fail, it’s just a waste of one chance to use [Mirror Image]. It will be restored quickly.”

At this moment, the prosthetic leg, which had been without signal connection for a long time, automatically shut down and lay lifelessly on the ground.

The badger gently bit its tongue tip with its teeth in its mouth.

Is there really no loss?

Thinking back on the several experiments they had done together over the past few days, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Even the frog, whose central nervous system had been destroyed, showed amazing resistance when the rhinoceros used [Mirror Image] to repair the leg that had been cut off for the experiment.

So whether it succeeds or not is another matter. If Rhinoceros Horn really wants to use the [Mirror Image] to create his missing leg, he first needs to consciously endure the immense pain that no living being can bear.

Is it worth it?

At least not to the calculating Badger Tooth.

His fingers gripped the spring rope of the boxing ring even tighter, his mind racing.

The rhinoceros horn's activation of [Mirror Image] requires two conditions:

First, there must be a coordinate system as a reference point for triggering the [Mirror] function.

Secondly, the rhinoceros horn must personally come into contact with the object that serves as the coordinate.

Both are indispensable.

At this moment, the plasma membrane generator, which was about to be used as a coordinate, was only a few feet away from Badger Tooth's hand, a distance he could reach with a powerful leap.

Badger Tooth also knew that his little trick would not have any final impact on Rhinoceros Horn's use of [Mirror Image] to create a leg for him, and might even damage his image in Rhinoceros Horn's mind.

But he really couldn't bear to watch the rhinoceros horn suffer the same torment as that frog.

Just then, the rhinoceros horn spoke.

"Have you never seen me in my normal, healthy state?"

Turning on the plasma membrane generator, Rhinoceros Horn let the slowly rising light screen split him in two. "In my memory, you joined the group after that escort mission."

From the badger's perspective, the rhinoceros horn appears completely intact due to the reflection of the light curtain.

And this rhinoceros horn overlapped with the figure in his memory of leading everyone through the underground passage.

In an instant, Badger Tooth abandoned all thoughts of persuasion and obstruction.

Taking off his slightly fogged-up glasses, Badger Tooth lowered his head and wiped them while answering in a low voice, "Actually, I've seen them before."

Now it was Rhinoceros Horn's turn to be surprised, "When?"

"And during that mission." Badger Tooth put his glasses back on his nose and looked up at Rhinoceros Horn again. "I was in the carriage you forcibly pried open."

If he had previously chosen to stop without hesitation when faced with "fully foreseeable pain" and "unverified, elusive success," then now that the other side of the finish line was marked with "the expectation of the rhinoceros horn" and "the past of the rhinoceros horn," Badger Tooth had no more hesitation.

He raised his hand to show Rhinoceros Horn the number that was already pressed and ready to be dialed, reverting to his usual composed and suave demeanor:

"The medical trauma team is already in place outside the gym. If anything goes wrong, I'll have them rush in and cut off your [mirrored] leg."

"I've given you a platinum membership. As long as you can handle it, you can have it done as many times as you want."

With a soft chuckle, Rhinoceros Horn took a deep breath and officially activated [Mirror Image].

-

There was no process of "limb growth" like in science fiction movies. In the blink of an eye, a "right leg" that was completely symmetrical to the rhinoceros's left leg appeared on the right side of his body and was closely connected to the thigh stump above.

Everything seemed to be going so well, but Badger Tooth knew that the real pain was only just beginning.

In the next instant, a bluish-purple ring-shaped mark, about four fingers wide, quietly appeared on the middle of the rhinoceros's thigh.

That was the part that overlapped with the existing body of the rhinoceros horn, deliberately left by the mirrored body to achieve a connection.

Then it quickly swelled up, like a scar formed by being whipped a hundred times.

Badger Tooth thought he wouldn't be able to bear watching any longer, but he couldn't tear his gaze away.

He needed to observe the condition of the rhinoceros horn so that he could call someone in immediately.

On the stage, Rhinoceros Horn's forehead was covered with large beads of sweat, and his vision went black due to the intense pain.

But he didn't utter a sound, only tightening his already firm fist even more, completely unaware that his nails were digging into his palms and drawing blood.

Suddenly, a sharp sound of skin tearing broke the silence between the two heavy breathing sounds.

Like a starting pistol, after the first sound of skin tearing disappeared, dozens of similar sounds rang out one after another.

The raised scar had collapsed, hanging there unsightly, like a plastic bag that had been filled with water and then suddenly punctured.

Blood, some dark and some light, mixed with bits of flesh, flowed down from the cracks in the rhinoceros horn skin.

They converged and then separated, eventually leaving behind totem-like marks of varying thickness on his legs.

As observed in previous experiments, only one of the overlapping parts between the original body and the mirrored body can remain.

Which part is left behind depends on a primitive and instinctive process of phagocytosis and battle at the cellular level. The winners stay and continue to function, while the losers are expelled as blood and foam.

The entire process was beyond the control of the rhinoceros horn.

He could only endure it.

During this time, the rhinoceros's breathing suddenly became violent, like a bellows, as if he was about to faint.

"Rhinoceros horn!" Badger Tooth quickly flipped onto the stage to check on the other party's situation.

As he moved, his expensive suit trousers became stained with dust and blood, but Badger Tooth was completely unaware of it.

He wanted to help the rhinoceros, but before he could actually touch its skin, he suddenly remembered the other's earlier instruction, "Don't interfere as long as I can still stand," and withdrew his hand.

The two men stood on the boxing ring like statues, letting the blood flowing from the rhinoceros horn pool into a shallow lake.

Silently assessing the amount of blood loss from the rhinoceros horn, Badger Tooth decided to summon a fully armed trauma team without authorization.

However, just as he was about to make the call, Rhinoceros Horn raised a hand and pressed the side button on his phone to turn off the screen.

"No need, I can handle it."

Seeing that the rhinoceros horn could still keep track of its own movements, Badger Tooth felt much relieved.

"Is it... almost over?" he asked tremulously.

"It should be a little longer." Rhinoceros Horn seemed to be trying to force a smile, but with little success. "Could you chat with me for a bit?"

"Okay." Badger Tooth pushed up his glasses, trying to keep his voice even. "What do you want to talk about?"

“Let’s talk about that mission.” Rhinoceros Horn’s eyes flickered slightly. “Why were you in the carriage back then? I remember it was a private compartment that the group had arranged for that expert.”

"That expert was on TV and giving lectures during that time; he was incredibly popular." Badger Tooth curled his lips. "When a student traveler bumps into such a big shot on a study tour, the counselor naturally wouldn't miss the chance to bask in his glory. The expert also readily agreed to the autograph and handshake event."

"Did you keep his autograph? Especially after he was exposed for reselling experimental drugs and conducting illegal human experiments?"

"At the time, all we thought about was surviving. Who would remember to take a notebook with us?" Badger Tooth said dismissively. "It's a real shame that you lost a leg for such a despicable person."

"Let me clarify, I was injured while completing a mission, which was to escort an expert. It wasn't for him."

"Yes, I was wrong." Badger Tooth corrected himself, "Lord Rhinoceros Horn devoted himself to the group until his dying breath."

If the rhinoceros hadn't leaped forward to save the expert, the expert would have been swept away by the massive torrent of water that suddenly gushed from the ruptured valve.

Even someone whose thigh was severed by a metal barrier swept away by the current can be an expert.

At that time, everyone was very close to the exit, even though the trauma team rushed in and carried out the expert who had suffered minor injuries and the rhinoceros whose leg had been crushed by the gate.

But the rhinoceros's leg had already been swept deeper into the city by the current and could never be retrieved.

Thinking of this, Badger Tooth's gaze fell on Rhinoceros Horn's right leg, and for a moment he felt that this was the leg that Rhinoceros Horn had lost.

Suddenly, he thought he saw the rhinoceros's toes twitch.

"Your feet..."

I don't know what the rhinoceros horn itself felt, but the badger fangs watching from the sidelines must have felt like their heart was about to jump out of their chest.

He wasn't sure if the subtle movement came from the rhinoceros horn's control, some other conditioned reflex, or was simply his own illusion.

Is that so? Or not?!

But he soon got the answer.

Driven by the rhinoceros horn, the lower half of the thigh, covered in blood, lifted the leg that had replaced the prosthetic body, which was now the "mirror image."

The next second, the rhinoceros horn slowly took a step forward.

step.

He staggered.

step.

One more step.

Another step.

The rhinoceros horn started running!

Immediately afterwards, he did a spinning backflip and kicked the sandbag hanging in the corner of the boxing ring with his right leg.

This sandbag is new at the boxing gym, and to prevent it from being easily kicked away like last time, they added three padlocks.

The mortal body is no match for the power of machinery, and the rhinoceros horn was unable to replicate the scene of him kicking the sandbag away with his prosthetic leg.

But it doesn't matter, because that is his power.

Whether it's pain or numbness, at least these sensations are no longer signals simulated by the prosthetic body and transmitted to my own residual limb, but rather real, tangible experiences.

He used his hand to stop the swaying sandbag, then pressed his head against the bloodstain on it, letting out a deafening roar:

"ah!----"

Just then, sparse but persistent applause rang out from a corner of the boxing gym and gradually moved toward the ring where Rhinoceros Horn and Badger Tooth were.

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Author's Note: Please, dear readers, don't abandon this story! [crying][fist bump] A very important part of the story needs to be explained in this chapter and the first half of the next chapter. The young couple will return in the second half of the next chapter! [crying][rose]