Chapter 6 was terrifying! It's a monster!
"roar--"
The three-headed hellhound that appeared out of nowhere roared once more.
This time, the sound was even louder.
The sound waves seemed tangible, pounding against everyone's eardrums.
Although this was just an illusion created by holographic projection combined with an infrasound generator, in this remote mountain village in 1960, it was a living demon descending to earth!
The giant beast opened its blood-red maw, and a stench-filled heat wave (simulated hot air) sprayed directly onto Lai Tou Li's face.
The distance is too close.
Lai Tou Li could even see the strips of flesh hanging from the fangs and the bottomless throat.
"Oh my god! Help!"
Lai Tou Li's cowardly and bullying nature completely collapsed at this moment.
His legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.
That arrogant attitude from just now has completely vanished.
At that moment, he was like a lump of mud, trembling all over like a leaf.
"Don't eat me...don't eat me...my flesh is sour...I have athlete's foot..."
Lai Tou Li begged for mercy incoherently, his face covered in tears and snot.
Those two lackeys were even worse.
One of them rolled his eyes and fainted from fright.
Another one yelled and scrambled toward the door, losing a shoe in the process but not daring to turn back to pick it up.
"A monster! There's a monster in the Lin family!"
The piercing screams carried far away on the wind and snow.
When Lai Tou Li saw his men run away, his survival instincts unleashed astonishing potential.
He used both hands and feet, crawling frantically on the ground like a frightened mangy dog.
As he crawled, urine continued to drip from his crotch.
The three-headed dog did not chase after it.
It simply stood there, coldly watching the ants with its eyes burning with will-o'-the-wisps.
Until Lai Tou Li's figure completely disappeared into the wind and snow, and even the sound of him rolling and crawling could no longer be heard.
With a soft "pop".
It's like a soap bubble bursting.
The terrifying beast, along with the red light and flames filling the sky, vanished without a trace in an instant.
The cave dwelling was restored to its previous dimness.
Only the still-wet urine stain on the ground proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.
A deathly silence.
Lin Jianguo remained frozen in place, still in the posture of wanting to rush over to save his son.
His pupils contracted sharply, and his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of his throat.
What was that just now?
Those are monsters that only exist in myths!
But... it didn't hurt anyone.
It only scared away Lai Tou Li.
Lin Jianguo suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhaodi on the kang (a heated brick bed).
The little girl was kneeling in bed, clapping her hands and giggling.
From her perspective, there was no terrifying monster just now.
The system gave her a "children's filter".
What she saw was a big pink dog with three heads, making faces at her and sticking out its tongue.
"The dog ran away... Dogs are fun..."
Zhao Di spoke in a childish voice, her face still wet with tears from when she was scared, but now she was smiling like a flower.
Da Bao huddled in the corner, his face pale, his teeth chattering.
"Dad... what is that... what is that?"
Lin Jianguo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart.
He is a materialist, but the events of the past few days, one after another, are challenging the limits of his understanding.
First, meat buns appeared out of nowhere.
Then there was that bottle of miracle drug.
Now it's this monster that protects its master again.
Looking at his innocent daughter, a sudden, overwhelming fear rose in his heart.
It's not that I'm afraid of my daughter.
Rather, it's fear of this world.
A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.
If people found out that the Lin family had a doll that could summon "monsters," the consequences would be...
Are they to be burned at the stake like monsters? Or captured and dissected?
"Da Bao! Listen up!"
Lin Jianguo suddenly let out a low roar, his eyes even fiercer than when he had faced Lai Tou Li.
He grabbed Da Bao's shoulder, his fingers digging so hard they almost dug into his flesh.
"Nothing happened! Did you hear me?!"
"Lazy Li has gone mad! He's having a hysteria!"
"We don't have any monsters or dogs in our house!"
"If you dare to utter a single word of this outside, I'll... I'll break your legs!"
This was the first time Lin Jianguo had spoken such harsh words to his son.
Da Bao was terrified by his father's appearance, but he was precocious and, looking at his father's red eyes, he seemed to understand something.
"Father, I know... I'd rather die than tell."
Da Bao made the promise with a tearful voice.
Lin Jianguo let go of his hand, looking completely exhausted, and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.
He looked at Zhao Di.
The little girl tilted her head, looking at her father and brother with a bewildered expression.
"Dad, the dog was created by the fairy uncle to protect my brother."
Zhao Di said in a low voice, as if she had done something wrong.
Lin Jianguo felt a pang of sadness.
He moved closer and hugged his daughter tightly.
"Good daughter... Father knows, Father knows."
"But from now on, let's not tell anyone about Uncle Fairy, okay? This is our family secret."
Zhao Di nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "Yes, it's a secret. Pinky promise."
That night, the Lin family was destined to be sleepless.
Although Lai Tou Li ran away, this matter was not over.
He made a ruckus in the village, saying that there was a monster in the Lin family's house, and that who knows how many people would come to watch tomorrow, or even that the militia might come to investigate.
Lin Jianguo looked out the window at the howling wind and snow, his heart heavy.
He has to stand up.
You can only be saved temporarily by a deity, not forever.
If I'm a cripple, unable to even handle those thugs, how will I protect my children in the future? How will I keep this earth-shattering secret?
Lin Jianguo turned his gaze back to the pile of iron sheets on the ground.
That was a drawing by Zhao Di.
That was a technique bestowed by the "gods".
That fall made him realize even more deeply how powerless his crippled body was.
"It has to be done...it must be done tonight!"
Lin Jianguo gritted his teeth, a fire burning in his eyes.
He picked up the rusty hammer again.
This time, his actions were no longer hesitant or tentative.
The structural diagrams that were previously somewhat blurry in my mind are now as clear as if they were engraved in my brain.
That was the instinct of a father to protect his child, unleashing his potential.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The knocking sound rang out again.
More urgent and powerful than before.
Da Bao, being sensible, went to barricade the door shut and then found some rags to seal the cracks in the window, afraid that even a sliver of light would leak out.
After finishing the remaining half bottle of milk, Zhao Di fell asleep in Lin Jianguo's arms.
The system was in her mind, watching the man struggling desperately under the dim oil lamp.
[Tsk, humans are such strange creatures.]
[Despite being as weak as an ant, once it has something it wants to protect, the willpower it unleashes is so immense that even this system feels its data is overflowing.]
[Since you've been working so hard, this system will fine-tune the tolerance for you.]
The system quietly released a weak correction beam.
Lin Jianguo felt that the work in his hands was getting smoother and smoother.
The curve, which was originally difficult to strike precisely, was perfectly aligned with a single hammer blow.
The rusty and stuck bearings, once installed, rotated more smoothly than if they had been oiled.
Time passed by, second by second.
The snowstorm outside has stopped.
The eastern sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
Lin Jianguo put down the hammer and let out a long sigh of relief.
On the ground in front of him.
A strange-looking thing lay quietly.
It was a mechanical device made up of several steel bars, springs, and half a sheet metal knee pad.
It looks rough, ugly, and even has some rust.
However, its joint structure exudes an industrial aesthetic that transcends this era.
That was a crystallization of pure mechanics.
With trembling hands, Lin Jianguo rolled up his trouser leg, revealing his shrunken and deformed injured leg.
He picked up the "iron frame" and carefully put it on his leg.
With a "clatter".
The latch is locked.
The cool metal against his skin gave Lin Jianguo an unprecedented sense of security.
He took a deep breath, braced his hands on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and tried to exert force.
rise!
There was no pain whatsoever.
The knee, which used to ache terribly with any force, was now perfectly supported by that ingenious iron frame.
The force travels down the thigh to the spring, and then through the connecting rod to the ground.
Lin Jianguo straightened up.
As stable as Mount Tai!
He tried to take a step.
The metal frame made a slight "sizzling" sound as the spring compressed and released.
A force came from the soles of his feet, propelling his legs forward with ease.
One step, two steps, three steps...
He walked back and forth inside the cave dwelling.
No need for crutches!
He's no longer lame!
Even stronger than a healthy leg!
Lin Jianguo walked to the water tank and looked at his reflection, which showed him standing upright.
Two streams of hot tears rolled down his stubble-covered face.
He was a soldier.
He was a soldier with a broken leg and a broken soul.
But today, that soul has returned.
"Daughter..."
Lin Jianguo turned to look at Zhao Di, who was fast asleep on the kang (a heated brick bed). His eyes were so tender they could melt water, yet as firm as a rock.
"Father has stood up."
"From now on, even if the sky falls, Dad will hold it up for you!"
Just then.
The system's cold notification sound rang in Zhao Di's mind as she was still asleep:
[Ding! Detected that the host guardian has successfully equipped the "Basic Individual Exoskeleton (Budget Version)".]
[Mission Complete!]
[Reward Awarded: Basic Mechanical Proficiency (Permanently credited to guardian Lin Jianguo).]
[New storyline triggered: Now that you're up, don't just sit around.]
[Side Quest Issued: That strange old man in the cowshed next door looks like he's about to freeze to death? Go, he's your future sugar daddy, give him some warmth!]
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