Ren Yi sank into deep thought from within his "blob-like" body.
The good news: his brother didn't intend to "send him off" early just because he might die in the Instance, sparing him from having to adapt prematurely.
The bad news: his brother really didn't know his own strength and had almost caused him to physically disintegrate on the spot.
Ren Yi sighed in his heart and resigned himself to "reconstructing himself."
His mist-like mass began to slowly writhe and coalesce. Limbs, facial features, vocal cords, eyeballs... they formed bit by bit.
After a good while of struggling, he barely managed to regain his humanoid form, pressing his hands against his head.
He twisted his neck with a series of cracks and worked his stiff shoulders.
Once he confirmed his head was on straight and his arms and legs were in the right places, he looked directly at Ren Man.
Even though Ren Man's expression was now as innocent as a bystander's—as if the void that had nearly swallowed him earlier had nothing to do with him—
Ren Yi felt certain that he had done it on purpose!
It was absolutely a retaliatory strike for Ren Yi's persistent questioning and for bringing up such unlucky topics earlier.
However, Ren Man showed no reaction to this accusatory gaze, not even lifting an eyelid.
His attention quickly returned to the single raindrop suspended above the table. His brow furrowed tighter, and his expression grew increasingly troubled.
It was as if he were locked in a contest with this drop of rain, or perhaps he was simply vexed by what he had created.
"What's wrong?" Ren Yi asked, his heart inexplicably skipping a few beats as he watched him.
"What is this?"
Ren Man seemed to snap out of it. The drop of water then drifted slowly over, coming to a steady halt in front of Ren Yi.
"A... tool," Ren Man spoke in a low voice, his speech still slow.
The sorrow between his brows didn't diminish in the slightest, as if he were very dissatisfied with this "tool."
Ren Yi's eyes instantly lit up.
A tool? Was it for him?
"A life-saving measure?" he asked eagerly, his mind already racing with possibilities.
Was it the kind of top-tier pendant that could block a full-strength strike from a peerless master or serve as a substitute for death at a critical moment?
Or perhaps a divine artifact that granted invisibility or teleportation, allowing for an immediate escape from danger?
Was it finally his turn to receive the protagonist treatment?
However, upon hearing the words "life-saving," Ren Man's expression could no longer be described as merely troubled.
It was a look of profound frustration, as if he were being asked to do something completely outside his expertise.
Ren Yi reached out and took the raindrop between his fingers.
The sensation was bizarre. While in the air, it had clearly been wriggling slightly like a liquid, soft to the touch.
But once in his hand, it proved to be an undeniable solid—biting cold, with a smooth and delicate surface like a piece of fine crystal.
He held the transparent crystal between his thumb and forefinger, bringing it to his eyes for a closer look.
The light pierced through its body, reflecting a magnificent yet cold iridescent hue in Ren Yi's pupils.
It was then that he heard Ren Man's resigned follow-up: "Just take it for now."
Ren Man paused. "Though I feel like even if I give you this, you'll still die quite easily."
His tone was blunt to the point of being hurtful, without the slightest hint of tact.
Ren Yi: "..."
He fell silent, his lips twitching several times.
Brother, is it really polite to be that honest to my face?
Could you at least leave me some dignity?
It was clear that after talking about work and his hated colleagues, his brother was harborring a lot of resentment.
"It's not for saving your life."
Seeing Ren Yi's aggrieved face, Ren Man finally added another sentence.
"Think of it as... a weapon."
Then he followed up with another blow.
"For safety reasons, this is the only level of power you can use right now."
Hearing this was enough to make anyone weep for Ren Yi.
Ren Yi felt as if his heart had been struck by a meteor hammer.
He barely managed to steady himself and forced a dry laugh.
"Brother, actually... I'm really not that easy to kill. Don't think of me as being so weak."
However, based on his understanding of Ren Man's destructive rules, he could roughly guess the origin of this thing.
Back in the Three Cities World, he had seen the effects of the "raindrops."
The falling liquid rain represented absolute erasure; it was a logical formatting of reality.
Any creature touched by it would melt into oil paints and flow into the void, leaving not a single trace behind.
And now, for "safety reasons," Ren Man had "frozen" a drop of that rain into a solid, turning it into a small crystal.
It wasn't defensive gear; it was offensive gear!
Realizing this, Ren Yi's eyes instantly shone like lightbulbs. His previous frustration and grievance vanished in an instant.
His brother had finally dropped some loot... no, he had dropped a divine weapon!
He eagerly shook the crystal in his hand, his eyes full of excitement.
"How do I use this? Do I just throw it at someone's face? Or do I crush it to release the power?"
Ren Man glanced at him and turned back to adjust his shadow, which had retreated beneath his feet.
At the same time, he left a classic, cryptic line in a flat, emotionless tone.
"Understand its pain, and you can use it."
Ren Yi opened his mouth, unsure where to even begin asking.
Brother, do you realize how far off-script you've gone today?
Being a man of few words is one thing, but now you're playing the riddler?
What does "understand its pain" even mean?
Do I need to feel the other person's pain to activate the weapon?
Or do I need to make the other person feel pain for this thing to work?
Ren Yi fell silent. He should have gotten used to it by now; one could never expect to get specific operational details out of Ren Man's "high-dimensional logic."
He took a deep breath. It was fine; he had another way.
He skillfully connected to the Anomaly Web and opened the official app called 【Anomaly Image Search】.
He pointed the camera at the raindrop on his fingertip and pressed the shutter. A "ding" sounded.
The circle on the Anomaly Web began to spin.
And spin, and spin...
Was it stuck?
Ren Yi tried to refresh the Anomaly Web, but there was no response.
Ren Man looked up, somewhat curious about what Ren Yi was doing with the raindrop in his hand.
"What is it?"
Ren Yi stared at the small spinning circle on the screen, pondered for a moment, and replied.
"Brother, it's like this. I think I've been scammed by a shady merchant."
"They promised a Platinum Member experience..."
"Ding!"
A sound suddenly rang out from the void, startling Ren Yi.
He looked up at Ren Man and found that he had no reaction. It seemed only he could hear the sound.
Immediately after, a line of text appeared before his eyes.
【Respected Platinum Member, your image search results are as follows.】
Rate on N.U.
