Inside the wooden house, various bottles and jars were arranged.
Each one was something Scorpion dreamed of!
"This... this is the venom sac of a pufferfish whale?"
"That's right. The original body of a pufferfish whale is over ten tons. When it needs to enter shallow caves to breed, it has to dive from the deep sea. The water pressure compresses the space in its lungs, causing its entire body to deform..."
"When it passes through the deepest part of the cave, its size is only about half a meter. The accumulated toxic waste from its massive body is concentrated in this small venom sac!"
Scorpion had seen pufferfish whale venom sacs before, but never so many!
So large, and of such high quality!
In a wooden frame before him, the sacs were filled to the brim. Each was ten times the size of a normal venom sac and had already been dried. The toxins within were perfectly preserved, making them ideal for medicine!
Zhang Wei had replicated many pufferfish whales, and their volumes were quite substantial. He never discarded the venom sacs he extracted, feeling they might come in handy later.
Next was the cinnabar shell!
As the name suggested, this was a unique creature living in the River of Mercury. It swam in mercury its entire life. The air there was rich in mercury, and any creatures that died there would be permanently preserved, their microorganisms all killed by the mercury poison.
This carnivorous cinnabar shell hid beneath the River of Mercury, quietly waiting for prey to arrive.
Years of dwelling there had not affected its flesh in the slightest. It could gather all the toxins and form a pearl called the crimson dan pill.
These pearls were perfectly round, and beneath their white membrane, they were filled with a blood-like crimson!
This was a highly concentrated form of mercury toxin. In ancient times, if a monarch wanted to bestow death upon a beautiful concubine, or if someone desired to preserve their eternal beauty, they would consume a crimson dan pill. Ingestion meant immediate death, and the corpse would remain uncorrupted for thousands of years.
Legend had it that a foolish king, unwilling to let his concubine's beauty fade, had used crimson dan pills to construct an incorruptible harem where he indulged himself nightly. It was said that before long, the king himself died of mercury poisoning.
The Song of the Crystal Coffin!
This was a bright red apple, its poison more akin to a curse. With just one bite, one would fall into a permanent state of suspended animation.
This was also an ancient tale.
It was said that a queen, jealous of the princess's beauty, banished a stunningly beautiful princess with fair skin. The princess took temporary refuge in the forest, only to be poisoned by the queen with this apple. The princess was then buried in a crystal coffin.
However, the apple's poison was a curse, and the apple itself could not be digested. Later, a supposedly clever prince managed to suck the apple from her throat, thereby saving her.
Truly magical!
Magical poisons like these filled the entire room!
"I know your combat methods rely heavily on poisonous substances, so I've specially prepared these elixirs for you."
The food had been prepared by Mr. Luo. While taking advantage of this break, Zhang Wei had processed the poisons he brought from the Gourmet Casino, and after storing them, he handed these processed ingredients over to Scorpion.
These poisons were of very high grade. Even Scorpion, who was obsessed with poisons, had encountered many he had never heard of, or acquired, incredibly potent drugs!
Scorpion picked up a pufferfish whale venom sac and sniffed it intoxicatingly.
"This... this smell... it's simply exquisite!"
"I've purchased venom sacs before, but never one that carried such an intoxicating aroma. I truly want to lick it!"
Zhang Wei waved his hand: "You can research the toxins yourself. We'll begin the next phase of your training in twelve hours. I look forward to your next performance."
Elsewhere, Tian Zui brought Haru to a corner.
Tian Zui said, "Your combat yesterday... I watched it."
Facing someone he admired, Haru was slightly excited and asked enthusiastically, "How was my performance? Was there any highlight?"
Tian Zui chuckled.
"It was utter garbage."
Haru's expression froze.
Tian Zui stated directly: "You don't know when to retreat or when to advance. You grasped none of the combat timings! You acted impulsively, with no coordination with the team, constantly putting your teammates in danger!"
"If our combat abilities were swapped, and you were to lead a team into the dangerous outer regions, the team would have been annihilated countless times by now!"
"This..."
Haru felt a hint of indignation and argued, "But Tian Zui, I've never coordinated in combat before. This... I just didn't think of it for a moment."
"No, this is instinctive combat awareness. It's related to combat intelligence and is crucial for whether you can fully unleash your combat power!"
Tian Zui continued: "How to escape from a major disadvantage, how to turn defeat into victory from a minor disadvantage, how to secure victory from an advantage, how to quickly end a battle from a significant advantage... every aspect needs to be calculated!"
Haru asked in confusion, "Does a significant advantage still need explaining?"
"Of course!"
"Every battle is subject to variables. During combat, vigilance is severely lowered. In a complex battlefield, the battle must be concluded as quickly as possible to maintain one's state.
"On one hand, to detect subtle signs and prevent ambushes from enemies who hear the commotion. On the other hand, to minimize exposure, reduce the chance of encountering trouble!"
Haru nodded repeatedly.
This was all experience Tian Zui had gained from surviving in desperate combat situations. Others had no opportunity to learn such things!
...
On the other side, the human skin doll was still contemplating its own enhancements.
Although its body was mutable and its vitality tenacious, making it a foe that weak enemies absolutely dreaded to face, this combat configuration was utterly without advantage against powerful enemies. It was like a puddle of mud.
Its physical body was strong, but it couldn't endure damage for teammates.
Its attack was not weak, yet it was often ignored by its targets...
The human skin doll gave a wry smile: "Do I really have to be a peripheral support role... But for a support character, having immense vitality is quite a waste."
An ineffective support, lacking any intelligence analysis or combat assistance, could only defend itself on the battlefield and play a negligible role.
Giving up, the human skin doll lay on the floor tiles, dejected: "Why did they choose me? I'm not suitable at all!"
Just then, a strong figure approached.
"Hmm?"
"Mr. Atlas?"