Master of Monster Synthesis

"I'll go with you!"

"Hmm... alright."

...

West City Wilderness, Old Era ruins city.

At this moment, above the ruins, three young men wearing knight armor surrounded a peculiar badge inlaid with a red gemstone, their faces filled with excitement.

"Hahaha, heaven truly rewards the diligent. All our effort in luring the Skull Giant Lizard King to West City has finally paid off—this Giant Stone Statue is ours!"

"The Giant Stone Statue from ancient times… Even at just the Vajra Realm level, using it grants one the power of an Unbreakable Realm expert. It's absolutely insane!"

"Exactly! In that brat's hands, it's nothing but a waste. Only in the Fang Family's possession can it be used to its full potential."

"Right, once the heat dies down a bit in a few days, we'll head back to Fengshen Group headquarters and hand it over to Second Uncle and the others."

"No, let's go right now. The old guys in West City aren't much of a threat; there's no need to fear them."

"No way. Qin Shou—the brat—has come back. We can't act rashly."

"Damn it… How can he have already broken through to the Unbreakable Realm? And his strength is so terrifying..."

"Who knows? We never visited Monster Planet."

"Forget it. Let's wait a few days. That brat is never the type to stay put; he'll leave soon enough."

"I think so too… Wait, hold on! The badge—where is it?"

Mid-conversation, the man holding the badge looked down at his now empty palm and exclaimed in shock.

The other two grew pale with panic.

"How is that possible? It disappeared in a blink…"

"Did you stash it away secretly?"

"Nonsense! We're standing this close—if I hid it, you'd have noticed immediately."

"Dare to let us check your Space Wristwatch?"

"Awei, don't push it too far."

"What do you mean too far? You're the one who lost the badge!"

"You..."

"What 'you'? Let me tell you right now, Awei won't drop this. If you don't hand over the badge, this won't end well!"

The three argued furiously, almost ready to come to blows.

Meanwhile, atop the collapsed East Pearl Building not far away, Qin Shou and Long Xia looked on calmly at the scene.

Long Xia glanced at the Ultraman Badge in Qin Shou's hand and smiled faintly.

"Lao Qin, I didn't know you had such tricks up your sleeve."

Qin Shou raised the badge, sunlight filtering through its gemstone and making it glow faintly red.

With a smirk, he said, "Long Xia, pay close attention. This is how giants truly fight."

Long Xia froze in surprise. "Lao Qin, you..."

Before he could finish, the Ultraman Badge released dazzling red light, drawing the attention of the three quarrelers.

"Look quickly—it's…"

"Damn it, he stole our badge!"

"Get it back…"

"Get what? Run, now! Transforming into giant form will grant him at least Unbreakable Realm strength—we can't take him on."

"No! Don't forget, we have knight battle armor. Combine that with the amplification effects—our Vajra Nine Stars isn't necessarily outmatched."

"You're right. Awei, let's go."

"Alright… fine."

The three reached an agreement and activated their knight battle armor, speeding toward the source of the red light.

"Hum..."

In an instant, the red light retracted, and the red giant everyone imagined didn't appear.

Instead, what stood before them was a "giant" man, normal-sized.

Staring at the "giant" beside him, Long Xia looked shocked.

"This... can be used like this?"

Qin Shou rubbed the silver horns atop his head with both hands, saying, "Of course! There's a lot you still need to learn!"

With that, he let out a sharp cry, pointing at the green gemstone on his forehead. Energy flowed through it, and a beam of emerald-green laser shot toward the approaching trio.

"Look out! Dodge!"

The emerald laser shot out in a flash, forcing the three to react. They tapped their waists and activated their Instant Acceleration Devices.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Afterimages flickered as their speeds surged. Dodging the laser, they dashed forward with near-Unbreakable Realm velocity.

Qin Shou, seeing this, pushed Long Xia to the side and leaped upward. Twisting and flipping mid-air, he came crashing down in a kick.

Yan Style Flying Kick!

"Boom!!"

A fiery explosion erupted, distorting the air. Qin Shou's body turned into a fireball meteor, streaking explosively past the speeding silhouettes.

Instantly, the knight armor suffered an irredeemable blow, instantly reverting to its belt form before falling and unbinding from its host.

"Crash!!"

Next, flames surged. The figure dissolved into a burst of fire and perished with nothing left.

The remaining two stared in utter disbelief—he hadn't even taken a single attack?

"Awei!"

One cried out in shock, only to hear a faint chuckle behind him.

"Awei is already dead."

"No—!"

Before he could react, intense heat surged behind him. As with the knight armor's previous host, it abandoned him without hesitation, falling away.

Atomic Boxing!

"Splat!!"

A fist radiating red light punched through his chest. Pain overwhelmed him as searing heat burned him inside out.

The last man, trembling in fear, turned to escape without a second thought.

"How is this possible? There's such a huge gap in strength between this Giant Stone Statue and that died-fatty...

Wait—this must mean Fang Bao failed to utilize the giant's full potential! I need to send word back quickly; they must not underestimate that fat fool."

As the thought crossed his mind, red light blinked in front of him. A towering red giant surged up, standing akimbo and blocking his way.

"Thump..."

Failing to adjust his trajectory, he crashed into the giant's silver chest armor. Massive force and high temperatures rebounded onto him, causing the knight armor to eject once again and ditch its host.

"No—!"

In the gaze of pure despair, the giant swung its sky-covering hand, crushing him to pieces.

With the trio eliminated, the giant transformed into red light particles and condensed back to Qin Shou's form.

As the giant disappeared, Long Xia shook his head, snapping out of it.

When he finally got to Qin Shou's side, he saw Qin Shou casually toss him three knight belts.

"Catch—resell for a good price."

Long Xia: "... "

So this is the legendary risk-free business?

"Lao Qin, how can you use the Giant Stone Statue?" Long Xia asked, full of curiosity.

He had tried before but found the statue would only respond to him—the others, including the principal, were unable to activate it.

Qin Shou waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing special. As long as there's light in your heart, anyone can save the world."

"Huh?"

Long Xia was utterly confused.

"What does that even mean?"

...

As night fell, the entire West City was illuminated by vibrant neon lights.

Due to the Skull Giant Lizard army's rampage, all nearby monsters had either fled or perished in the lizards' bellies.

In this strange twist of fate, West City had temporarily become one of the safest cities under the Federation.

As the "West City Light" and the city's strongest man in history, Qin Shou's house had become a hotspot flooded with visitors.

Those offering congratulations, seeking connections, requesting favors, introducing their daughters...

In short, within West City, Qin Shou was undeniably "the man."

When the two returned, Long Xia saw the long queue outside Qin Shou's home and nearly fainted, slipping away unnoticed.

But upon reaching his own house, he discovered it was hardly less crowded.

To some, a man like Long Xia who could transform into the Light Giant held potential comparable to Qin Shou.

Meanwhile, Qin Shou quietly evaded the crowd and returned home, only to discover his parents entertaining Yu Shusheng.

"Principal, what brings you here?" Qin Shou greeted with a smile.

Yu Shusheng sighed deeply. "If it weren't absolutely necessary, I wouldn't dream of troubling you like this."

Qin Shou's demeanor grew serious. "Something happened?"

Yu Shusheng nodded. "Yes. I assume you're aware—Earth is preparing to enter the interstellar battlefield. The sudden chaos seems designed to halt Earth's progress."

Qin Shou murmured in thought, "It appears they've succeeded for now. Given Earth's current state, plans to join the interstellar battlefield will need to be postponed."

Yu Shusheng sighed again. "Exactly. Unless these issues are resolved, internal turmoil on Earth is inevitable. Forcing our way into the battlefield like this would be a gamble with disaster."

"Principal, just tell me directly: What do you need me to do?" Qin Shou asked.

Yu Shusheng raised his hand, pulling up footage of Dragon Island on his communicator.

"Qin Shou, unidentified mechanical lifeforms have appeared in Mechanical Ruins City on Dragon Island. The entire island has become a no-man's land. Various factions have sent people to retrieve students caught in the Dragon Island conflict, but none have returned with news."

Qin Shou's expression remained calm. "Principal, what are you asking of me?"

Yu Shusheng studied his maturing features with hesitation, then said, "Qin Shou, I know you must have left contingencies on Dragon Island. About this business..."

Qin Shou waved him off. "No need to elaborate. Even if you didn't ask, I'd go to Dragon Island regardless."

He raised his communicator, showing the last message.

[Qin Long: Interstellar warfare postponed. Head to Dragon Island to locate the unidentified mechanical lifeforms' coordinates. The principal will personally act then.]

Dragon Island, unidentified mechanical lifeforms... This should be interesting...