With a thought, a white light enveloped the steel needle pistol, completely obscuring its interior.

Strangely, this white light did not illuminate the surrounding environment; it seemed that only Yang Shen could see it.

At the same time, an energy far greater than ever before surged from the steel needle pistol and spread throughout Yang Shen's body.

As soon as those energies appeared, they frantically washed over his muscles and bones, strengthening his limbs and bones.

This improvement is greater than any before.

Because the improvement was so drastic, Yang Shen even felt a burning and itchy sensation from his very soul, but this was accompanied by the exhilarating feeling of his strength rapidly increasing—a bittersweet experience.

His muscles were trembling, his bones were being tempered, and his ligaments felt like they were being stretched.

Even my mind was filled with alternating hot and cold sensations.

Finally, half a minute later, the white light surrounding the steel needle pistol dissipated, and the enhancement of Yang Shen ended.

Yang Shen's first feeling was that his mind was incredibly sharp, as if a lot of garbage in his head had been cleared out, and his thinking was working much faster.

In addition, his body felt much lighter, and a powerful force was brewing within him; he felt as if he could smash the wall in front of him with a single punch.

Although he hadn't actually tried, he felt he could really do it.

This upgrade not only increased his strength, but also improved his physique, making his skin more resilient.

Besides these, the most obvious changes are in hearing and vision. The small light bulb outside can't shine into this toilet cubicle at all, but Yang Shen can see the darkness inside.

He could hear the whispers of the people outside and clearly hear what each person was saying.

He could even faintly hear very light footsteps outside the underground parking lot, the almost inaudible sound of a stray cat moving around.

"How amazing!"

Yang Shen exclaimed in surprise, thinking that if he encountered that big gray cat again, he could completely crush it even without the steel needle pistol.

Coming to his senses, Yang Shen looked at the upgraded steel needle pistol, and the first thing that caught his eye was the new upgrade data:

LV3:

These are the current upgrade stats for the Steel Needle pistol. Because the Steel Needle is still under the watchful eyes of everyone outside, its experience has increased significantly.

It's already a level 3 steel needle pistol. To upgrade it again, you need to accumulate 5,000 experience points.

Each time, it's a tenfold increase.

The steel needle pistol at this time was not much different from before; the barrel seemed to be a little thicker, but the muzzle remained unchanged.

However, some sparse, mysterious patterns appeared on the surface of the steel needle pistol.

These crisscrossing patterns resemble some kind of relief sculpture, but upon closer inspection, they appear to be a jumble of lines.

These are the changes in appearance. In addition, the weight of the steel needle pistol has increased again, but not by much.

Yang Shen took out the magazine and immediately noticed an even bigger change.

Because while the surface of modern magazines remains unchanged, the inside has become riddled with tiny holes, much like a honeycomb.

He counted them and was surprised to find that the small magazine had twenty holes, which meant it could hold twenty steel needles.

As for the principle...

He studied it, but couldn't understand it at all.

But none of that matters. What matters is whether the power has increased.

The four steel pins inside the magazine are the same as before, except that the material has been slightly reinforced, without any qualitative change.

Yang Shen couldn't wait to test the power of the Level 3 steel needle pistol, but it was obviously not suitable here, nor was the entire underground parking lot, unless he went outside.

"Fine, it won't be worse than before anyway. With my current reaction speed, even if the power of the steel needle pistol doesn't change, I can still unleash even greater destructive power!"

He was initially somewhat wary of the stray cats outside, but now—

Those stray cats are really asking for trouble; he wouldn't mind having a roasted cat meal.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Shen left the toilet stall and returned outside.

Outside in the underground parking lot, many people were still glancing at the steel needles on the ground, but no one dared to touch them, worried that Yang Shen might misunderstand something.

However, Yang Shen noticed that Gao Xue and Chen Tao were whispering to each other and exchanging glances.

Yang Shen didn't think much of it. He walked over and picked up the steel needles one by one, filling the new steel needle pistol magazine while thinking about his next plan.

"If possible, it would be best to bring these people and those from the south of the city along as well. They can provide me with experience on the way, and I don't mind being their protector!"

The biggest problem is how to convince these people to take the risk with him?

Yang Shen pondered silently.

Soon, he realized that a level 3 steel needle pistol should be enough, and he could start making other things.

The first choice was a fusion of the five elements that I had previously considered.

If the fusion of the five elements can truly evolve into a small world after upgrading, then I will be rich.

It may seem a bit far-fetched, but what if it works?

Without hesitation, Yang Shen scanned the ground.

Although the underground parking lot has a concrete floor, it's normal for shoes to bring in mud because people come and go frequently.

He personally used his hands to pinch up the soil from the ground, little by little, until he had collected about one or two ounces.

"The five elements include metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Earth can be made from soil, and as for wood..."

Yang Shen found a small piece of wood shavings on the ground that could be used for starting a fire.

"We'll talk about water later, as for fire..."

He hesitated for a moment, then took a lighter out of his pocket.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!