NOVEL NEXT Chapter 196: Winged Tiger Statue_1
"Is this your family heirloom?" Wang Linchi looked at the small stone carving in his hand. It depicted a Winged Tiger.
He had never imagined that such an item would exist in this technologically advanced Secret Realm.
[Statue: Winged Tiger]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Virus Eater: Eliminates viruses in the vicinity once every three days.]
[Body Protection: After consuming a virus, forms 1 layer of virus isolation for everyone in the vicinity. Can be stacked up to a maximum of 3 layers.]
The effects could only be described as truly underwhelming. It consumed a virus every three days and maintained a single-layer virus barrier that lasted for three days, which was how it had kept the four survivors alive. However, its quality was just Excellent Level, meaning it only cleansed and isolated the GOD virus.
As for stacking three layers, that was impossible unless the Soul Device could be activated three times within three days.
"Yes, it was passed down by my ancestors," Du Huaiyuan replied.
Du Huaiyuan was the only male among the four survivors, and the item belonged to his family. Now that they had the anti-virus serum and vaccines, this item was no longer needed.
As for the three women, they weren't his lovers or anything of the sort; they were his sister, mother, and aunt—all family.
"If it's convenient, could you tell me how your ancestors crafted this?" Wang Linchi could tell that the raw material for the Winged Tiger statue was a meteorite that had lost its activity. Furthermore, he was certain it wasn't the one from Base No. 7.
Firstly, the regions were different. The meteorite at Base No. 7 had been plundered from a foreign country, along with Meffidia, that unfortunate king.
Secondly, their level of intactness differed. The meteorite from the Meffidia Kingdom had been transported and preserved completely intact; it even retained its activity.
The one passed down in Du Huaiyuan's family, however, had already lost its activity for who knows how many years. Furthermore, it had been processed, and looking at its state, it was likely that the processing had destroyed any remaining activity.
"This... I'm not entirely sure. I only remember my grandfather mentioning that it was carved from an extraterrestrial meteorite and possessed the ability to grant immunity to all poisons," Du Huaiyuan blurted out without hesitation.
"That's it?" Wang Linchi's eyes widened. He had been expecting a story, but that was all there was to it.
"That's all. Too much time has passed. It's been nearly a thousand years since this Winged Tiger was passed down to me. It's already quite fortunate that it has been preserved," Du Huaiyuan said with a helpless tone.
His family wasn't some renowned Great Family; his ancestor was just a stonemason. Naturally, there were no records or legends. Otherwise, they wouldn't have carved it into a Winged Tiger.
"That makes sense. It's quite remarkable for something a thousand years old to still be in one piece, without missing any parts."
"This item is capable of indirectly emitting radiation. You all were truly lucky. This radiation is harmless to the human body and can also resist the GOD virus; that's what allowed you to survive."
"The drawback, as you know, is that this radiation gets metabolized by your bodies. Coincidentally, the statue's indirect radiation emission is slightly faster than your metabolism rate, allowing for a seamless replenishment. This is what prevented you from being infected by the GOD virus."
Wang Linchi quickly analyzed the situation. The radiation was unstable because the meteorite had lost its activity. Moreover, when this statue was first created, it definitely wasn't Excellent Level but of a higher quality. It's just that with the passage of time, it eventually degraded to Excellent Level. And because it has been frequently activated recently, it might even degrade to Ordinary Level after a while.
The Winged Tiger's main function is to protect its host; it couldn't comprehensively convert viruses into energy. It was similar to a mobile phone's flashlight, which can illuminate the darkness but cannot charge the phone by doing so; thus, it was constantly being depleted.
"I see. But how can you be sure the radiation is harmless?" Du Huaiyuan asked curiously.
"You've all been using it for so long and you're not dead. If that's not harmless, then what is?" Wang Linchi spread his hands, indicating that this was his deduction.
Du Huaiyuan seemed to want to say something but held back. He really wanted to say that it should be tested to know for sure, but ultimately, he didn't voice his complaint. Even if he wanted to get it tested, there was nowhere to do it. The hospitals were terrifyingly full of zombies, and moreover, he didn't know how to use the testing equipment.
This was the apocalypse, after all. They had to take things one day at a time. Every extra day they lived was a bonus.
"By the way, does your family have any other items carved from extraterrestrial meteorites?"
"I plan to take it back and see if I can modify it into a large-scale radiation device to deal with the zombies directly."
This was indeed Wang Linchi's intention: to turn it into an automatic zombie-grinding machine.
The structure of zombies is based on the GOD virus. When the Winged Tiger statue confronts a single zombie, its once-every-three-days burst of power can indeed achieve an instant kill.
Of course, if it encountered Meffidia zombies or Gigantic Brain Zombies, the effect would likely be much weaker. This is because the viral structure within these types of zombies has already stabilized, making it impossible to kill them in a single encounter; they might even be immune.
After all, it's only Excellent Level. If it were Good Level, it might have been a true superweapon.
"None left. There should have been more back then, but later, some were shattered, some sold, and quite a few had their whereabouts become unknown." Du Huaiyuan indeed only had this one. The Winged Tiger statue only remained due to an accident, really.
Hearing this, Wang Linchi felt a bit regretful. "That's truly a pity. With only one remaining, I'm afraid... sigh."
"The radiation source within this statue is already depleted. I estimate that after another eight or ten uses, it will become completely ineffective."
He wasn't just being alarmist. This thing was already quite potent. From the moment it was crafted into a statue, it began emitting radiation daily. Initially, it might not have been once every three days, but once a day; otherwise, it couldn't have achieved a three-layer stack.
To be so heavily taxed and still be functional now was already very impressive.
"This item is non-refundable and non-exchangeable!" Du Huaiyuan thought Wang Linchi wanted to return it, so he stated this unequivocally.
As for any other mysteries the statue might hold, Du Huaiyuan wasn't concerned. Even if there were, they wouldn't be able to use them. Besides, Wang Linchi wanted to use the statue to kill zombies, while they simply wanted to live peacefully through the apocalypse.
The effects of the GOD virus serum and vaccine are far superior to the statue's. Not only are they permanent, but they also don't have to worry about the timing of its activation.
"How could I possibly return it..." Wang Linchi muttered.
Previously, he and Du Huaiyuan's group had gone to the ruins of the Dawn Watch Company and excavated a considerable amount of GOD virus serum and vaccines. He still had a dozen or so bottles in his Storage space; he was hardly lacking. Furthermore, he possessed the relevant production technology and could even make them himself. He had, after all, acquired all the technology for the entire GOD virus project, right down to its precursor, Tianshin Grass.
"As long as you're not returning it, that's good. Although I don't have any other statues, I did find a Stone Scripture passed down by my ancestors. It's just a bit esoteric. Would you be interested in it?" Du Huaiyuan indicated that as long as there was no return, everything else was negotiable.
He genuinely couldn't understand the Stone Scripture. Even if he could, he wouldn't study it. He wasn't going to become a stonemason. Even if he wanted to become one now, no one would want the stone carvings he'd make. What if they also required extraterrestrial meteorites as raw material to be carved with abilities like the Winged Tiger statue?
Unfortunately, where would one find so many extraterrestrial meteorites?
"A Stone Scripture can be esoteric? Your ancestor wasn't some kind of shaman, was he?" Wang Linchi found this a bit too outlandish.
"Who knows? After all, in ancient times, dabbling in the mystical and ghostly might have given one more influence," Du Huaiyuan replied without giving it much thought.
"That's true. Well, let me take a look. I never refuse a freebie," Wang Linchi did not decline.
It cost nothing, just a look.
Actually, Wang Linchi suspected this Stone Scripture contained something genuine. Otherwise, how could Du Huaiyuan's ancestor have utilized that meteorite so perfectly?
Could this meteorite be the Extraordinary Source of this Secret Realm? Then wouldn't that stonemason have become an Extraordinary Profession?
Wang Linchi couldn't help but fit this into a typical fantasy trope: some humble stonemason carves a statue of terrifying power.
The thought of it was somewhat absurd.
Of course, such a scenario was unlikely. It was more probable that it allowed stone carvings to possess some abilities imperceptible to the naked eye, such as strengthening the body or promoting longevity.
"It's a bit damaged, but the content is still quite complete." Du Huaiyuan retrieved the Stone Scripture and handed it to Wang Linchi, then continued, "Let's get this straight first: you can make a copy, but I'm keeping the original. It's an ancestral heirloom, after all. Trading away the statue to survive was already unfilial enough."
"Why would I want a tattered book? Just looking at it to satisfy my curiosity is enough." Wang Linchi had no intention of taking it, much less transcribing it. With his spiritual power, achieving eidetic memory was a trivial matter. The book itself wasn't a treasure, just ordinary paper, so there was even less reason to take it.