In the dimly lit basement, a crystal ball emitted a faint glow. Xiao Ning wanted to search for the extraordinary items his father had left behind. Potions, weapons, sigils... anything useful would do. He rummaged through the shelves, almost breaking a jar containing a preserved specimen of a water ghost's brain, but found nothing.

"Nothing? That's impossible..." Xiao Ning tidied up the shelves.

As a novice with such a strong foundation, he should be focusing on training, but he had promised Fina that he would travel with her, leaving him no choice. He didn't intend to cause trouble or clash with any mysterious entities; he just wanted to have some means of self-defense, just in case.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Ning hesitantly activated his perception ability...

's primary function was to detect hidden spiritual secrets... and in this place, in this room, it was filled with such elements. The moment he activated his ability, the basement's light dimmed further. The crystal ball's glow flickered, and in the unseen shadows, it seemed countless things were writhing.

Evil was all around him!

Slowly, he turned to look at the rows of dark creature organs soaked in jars on the shelves. Fingers, eyeballs, unknown livers, brain tissues, bones... although dissected and fragmented, the remaining extraordinary vitality made them seem almost alive.

He had awakened them! They were tempting him!

Whispers seemed to murmur in his ears and his mind, the indistinct voices reverberating throughout the basement, luring him to completely open his heart...

The strong willpower of a demon hunter quickly helped him shake off these corrupting whispers.

Xiao Ning broke into a cold sweat and swiftly deactivated his perception ability. Those things still retained unbelievable extraordinary vitality... A person with weak willpower might have actually communicated with them. But it was a horrifying trap, with the only outcome being a loss of control and death.

They were evil, and even when made into potions, they still emitted malevolent intent in a different form.

Xiao Ning quickly realized that his father would never store equipment in such a place. A demon hunter's laboratory was also an endless dark prison, sealing countless evils. Meditating in such a place was extremely unsafe, not suitable for resting.

Hugging his magic book, Xiao Ning climbed the stairs and sealed the door behind him. Only under the sunlight did the malicious remnants around him melt away like snow.

If an ordinary person had accidentally entered earlier, they would undoubtedly have fallen seriously ill. Xiao Ning wondered if his rare disease was a result of accidentally venturing in there as a child.

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Clutching his newly rejuvenated heart, he breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he had survived.

...

There weren't many places in the shop where things could be hidden. Activating his perception ability for another round, Xiao Ning unexpectedly discovered the secret was right next to the coat rack, in a counter meant for customers to place their belongings.

A place where items could easily be taken by others.

The safest place was the most dangerous?

With a surprised look, Xiao Ning walked over and rummaged around. Soon, he found a timeworn metal box from the cabinet. It seemed frequently taken out and put back, with irregular dents at the corners and some paint chipping off the lid edges.

Indeed, the faint spiritual fluctuation was emanating from this battered box.

Holding the box to his ear, Xiao Ning gently shook it.

"Clank~"

The sound of various items clashing came clearly from inside.

There were the distinct sounds of metal and the clear clink of glass...

Xiao Ning's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly opened the box to check if anything was damaged.

Inside, he found three slender blue potions, about a dozen silver bullets...

And a jet-black revolver that gave him a jolt.

Looking at this forbidden weapon, Xiao Ning felt a sense of a changing era.

For a novice like him, a bullet to a vital spot was all it took to end him. Even advanced extraordinary individuals, whose bodies were strengthened to withstand ordinary blades, dark creature claws, and low-level spells, couldn't escape the onslaught of such firearms.

The era had changed, technology was advancing rapidly, and guns dominated the world. In the realm of firearms and within range, all beings were equal. Extraordinary individuals had receded into the background.

Survival of the fittest, while those who couldn't adapt were eliminated.

It was clear his father had been trying hard to adapt to the times. It was no longer the dark era in the books where a silver sword could conquer the world, so he had switched to more advanced weaponry.

A black iron revolver with silver bullets, the perfect bane of evil.

Aiming down the sights, he put the gun down and continued inspecting the other items.

These three vials of unknown potions...

Xiao Ning picked one up, carefully removing the stopper, and sniffed it.

"Achoo!"

His nasal cavity felt like it had frozen, a piercing cold shooting to his brain.

Then he noticed a small piece of colorless crystal settling in the blue liquid, hard to spot without close inspection.

This... wasn't a potion?

Xiao Ning wasn't sure, but he knew that drinking it would be fatal.

Plugging the stopper back in, he set the vial down and opened his magic book.

Flipping to the engineering section, he found a description of such an item.

[Frost Detonator: A fusion of alchemy and engineering, simple and convenient to use. Just break the vial's balance to release extreme sub-zero cold energy.]

[Energy Level: 3]

"Wow..." Xiao Ning drew in a breath.

This small vial, when shattered, had the power of a high-level spell!

Which meant that if he had shaken the metal box a bit harder earlier, he might have been frozen into an eternal ice sculpture.

"Dad, how could you leave such dangerous things lying around..."

Muttering, Xiao Ning set the detonator aside.

He had already envisioned its use: freezing a troublesome monster, then using a silver bullet to hit its weak spot, a stylish and effective move.

He decided to take all these items with him. Loading five silver bullets into the chamber and leaving one empty to prevent misfires, he counted the remaining bullets and found only seventeen left.

Meaning, once these were used up, he would need to figure out how to replenish them himself.

"Hmm, silver bullets can be made at the alchemy lab downstairs, but the primers and casings... where to get those?"

These were extraordinary bullets, more challenging to make than ordinary ones.