Chapter 3

Ding Yi rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. Then, he pried off another small piece of the wooden bedboard, snapped it in half, and stacked the two pieces into a cross shape.

Next, Ding Yi tore a strip from the bedsheet, twisted it into a rope, and tied it to both ends of the horizontal plank.

Finally, he ripped several thin, elongated slats from the board, placed them alongside the contraption he’d just made, and carefully arranged them into something resembling a crossbow.

After a brief pause, Ding Yi used his fingernail to carve the characters “mechanism” onto the wood. Nervously, he stared at the crude contraption, waiting to see if the familiar enhancement prompt would appear again.

The system didn’t disappoint him. A moment later, a familiar message flashed before Ding Yi’s eyes:

【Enhancement possible through lifespan consumption. This enhancement will consume 30 days of lifespan. Proceed with enhancement?】

“Holy crap! It really works! But why is the lifespan cost so high this time?!”

Ding Yi punched the air excitedly, but quickly fell into contemplation.

“My guess is that the thing I made is too crude, which increases the enhancement cost. I’ll need to confirm this later.”

Thinking this through, Ding Yi selected “Yes.”

【Enhancement successful. Remaining lifespan: 8 years and 2 days】

In an instant, a brilliant light enveloped the makeshift crossbow on the floor. One breath later, the glow faded—revealing something entirely different in its place.

【Exquisite Mechanism Crossbow】

【A finely forged mechanism crossbow made of refined iron, equipped with pulling wires and poison-tipped bolts. A true killer’s weapon for murder and plunder!】

The sight of the beautifully crafted crossbow, radiating the aura of a high-grade weapon, made Ding Yi’s face light up with joy. Ignoring the pain in his legs, he quickly limped forward.

“It even has the pulling wires… It really turned into a mechanism crossbow.”

Ding Yi ran his fingers across the cold, deadly weapon on the floor, his heart pounding with excitement. This enhancement ability could literally materialize what he imagined—this was the ultimate cheat, the king of cheats!

Grinning, he picked up the crossbow and hid it beneath the bed.

It wasn’t the best hiding spot, but all he needed was a momentary advantage. Besides, there wasn’t anywhere better to stash something this conspicuous.

“Heh… let’s see how you handle this.”

Ding Yi smirked and pried off another plank. Following the same steps as before, he crafted a second mechanism crossbow.

Perhaps because of his growing experience, the lifespan cost decreased by one day this time—only 29 days were needed for the enhancement. This surprised him slightly.

In just a few minutes, Ding Yi had created two mechanism crossbows. He had burned through two months of his lifespan, but he’d never felt so secure before.

“Not enough. Still not enough.”

Muttering under his breath, Ding Yi glanced at the crossbows hidden beneath the bed. His gaze then swept across the room and settled on the ground near the door.

After a brief moment of thought, he broke off another plank, walked over to the doorway, knelt down, and began digging into the dirt floor with the board.

Luckily for him, the elderly couple was dirt poor—literally. There were no tiles on the floor, just raw black soil. Completely “all-natural.”

Before long, Ding Yi had dug out a small shallow pit in front of the door. He broke off several thin wooden strips and stuck them upright in the pit, then tore another piece of bedsheet and spread it over the top.

The result was a trap so simple it was practically symbolic.

“All right… let’s see if this can be enhanced too.”

Staring at the pit, Ding Yi waited—sure enough, a prompt appeared a breath later.

【Enhancement possible through lifespan consumption. This enhancement will consume 60 days of lifespan. Proceed with enhancement?】

“I’m starting to realize just how terrifyingly OP I am…”

Ding Yi grinned and confirmed the enhancement.

【Enhancement successful. Remaining lifespan: 7 years, 10 months, and 7 days】

A flash of light engulfed the pit. When it faded, the crude trap had vanished—replaced by perfectly flat, ordinary-looking ground.

【Exquisite Trap】

【A seasoned hunter must master the art of trap-making. Clearly, the trap before you was crafted by an expert. Trust it—no prey can escape its snare!!】

“Holy sh*t!”

Ding Yi stared at the flat ground in disbelief. There was a trap hidden right there—and something deadly lurking beneath.

The thought of what would happen to anyone foolish enough to step on it made a chill run down his spine. He instinctively squeezed his legs together.

“Good… good. Now this is safe.”

Satisfied, Ding Yi surveyed the small room, then climbed back onto the bed and waited quietly.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he suddenly heard the sound of iron chains clinking outside the door. Soon after, the familiar wheezing of Old Man Wei reached his ears.

Such heavy breathing… whatever Old Man Wei had been doing outside must’ve been intense. Ding Yi couldn’t help but feel curious.

Just what were those two up to?

“Ding boy?”

As soon as Old Man Wei entered the house, he called out toward the inner room. A moment later, Ding Yi responded:

“Is that you, Old Master Wei?”

“Yes, Ding boy.”

Hearing Ding Yi’s reply, Old Man Wei’s face immediately relaxed.