"Don't stop me! Let me drill it to death!!!"
Lu Ding shook off Luo Anping's hand, switched on the impact drill, and jammed it straight toward the pair of opened eyes.
Blood sprayed out, splattering Lu Ding all over this time.
At that moment, the stone sphere let out an eerie, agonized shriek.
Lu Ding grinned. *This is a monster. Absolutely, without a doubt, a monster!!!*
What kind of normal stone sphere bleeds and screams?
And it couldn't move right now. If not now, when else would he kill it?
*Over ten years... over ten years!* Finally, Lu Ding saw the hope of unlocking his golden finger.
How could he possibly let this chance slip away?
He had prepared for *this moment* for over a decade!!!
The moment the stone sphere opened its eyes, everyone was terrified... except Lu Ding.
During those long years of waiting, he had made every psychological preparation to face monsters. To desensitize himself, he had even deliberately cultivated a taste for watching horror movies.
What kind of scene hadn't he seen?
All in high definition, uncensored!!!
He had waited for *today*.
Luo Anping was dumbfounded. *Sure enough, skilled people are different.*
Standing behind Lu Ding now, he felt a sliver of courage.
*Screw it, I'm not running either!!!*
This kind of bizarre spectacle only happened once in decades. He'd just make sure to hide well behind Lu Ding.
The stone sphere's screams grew increasingly piercing.
The grin never left Lu Ding's face. With a sharp *crack*, the stone sphere split in two. Pages flipped open in Lu Ding's mind.
**[Monster Containment Prison Roster]**
**[Monster Contained: Southern Mountain Boulder (Unawakened). Reward Obtained: Way of the Carriage-Cleaver]**
**[Way of the Carriage-Cleaver: Nothing Uncuttable]**
A warm current surged through Lu Ding's entire body. He could clearly feel power burgeoning within him; an indescribable sensation bloomed in his heart.
*Finally, finally, I've unlocked the golden finger's true purpose.*
Lu Ding sighed, reflecting on the hardship of the past dozen-plus years.
If not for the existence of the golden finger, he might have gambled on deleting his character and starting over.
Orphaned, a hellish start in life. Left the orphanage at fourteen to fend for himself, studying while homeless. Without financial aid, he truly wouldn't have known how to survive.
Thankfully, he had finally endured to the breakthrough.
He dropped the impact drill and sat down on the ground.
Luo Anping, trembling, offered him a cigarette. The lighter clicked several times before he managed to light it for Lu Ding.
"Honestly, Brother Lu," Luo Anping said with genuine admiration, "I've lived over thirty years, seen plenty of tough guys. But someone as ruthless as you? That's a first."
A plume of smoke escaped Lu Ding's lips, releasing the pent-up emotions inside.
Lu Ding forced a smile. "Brother Luo... can you pay me more?"
"Done! I'll add it right now. Bonus, salary... this month, I'll count it as twenty thousand. I'll transfer it to your WeChat immediately."
He opened his phone. Twenty thousand yuan arrived instantly.
Golden finger unlocked. Twenty thousand yuan in his pocket. Lu Ding had never felt more secure.
It was only then that he recalled the earlier notification.
*Southern Mountain Boulder.*
This thing truly was a being from legend. Not this world's legends, though, but from his previous life.
The ancient text *Zi Bu Yu* recorded: Scholar Chen from Haichang prayed for a dream at the Su Min temple. He dreamt Su Min opened the main gate to welcome him. The scholar hesitated...
The passage was long, hundreds of words. Lu Ding couldn't remember the details clearly.
Essentially, it said: Once, a scholar, before a journey, sought a prophetic dream to divine his fortune. He encountered an immortal and the City God. During their conversation, the scholar faintly overheard them say something like:
"Die in Guangxi, succeed in Tangxi. Southern Mountain Boulder, lives ten thousand years."
Later, the scholar indeed went to Guangxi and met the spirit of this boulder, transformed into an old man. They conversed; the scholar mistakenly thought they'd become friends.
The old man, the spirit of the boulder, later asked for his help: "I've cultivated for ten thousand years, yet still haven't achieved enlightenment. The reason is I lack a statue of the Mystic Lady of the Ninth Heaven carved from three thousand jin of sandalwood."
"You must help me. We are friends. If you don't... I'll kill you."
The scholar asked the old man what Dao he cultivated. The old man replied: "The Way of the Carriage-Cleaver." This terrified the scholar – 'Carriage' and 'Cleaver' combined to form the character for 'behead'.
Later, the scholar lured the old man to a temple, intending for the immortal and the City God to deal with him. The old man escaped. That was the Southern Mountain Boulder.
Lu Ding truly hadn't expected to encounter the Southern Mountain Boulder in *this* world.
And in its *unawakened* state! He had gotten incredibly lucky.
Had this thing awakened, a hundred Lu Dings wouldn't have been enough for it to slaughter.
But the world had no room for 'what-ifs'. This time, Lu Ding had won!
With just a thought, he could now unleash a sharp cutting force. As for its true power... he didn't know yet.
He needed to find an opportunity to test it.
Finishing the cigarette, Lu Ding looked at the shattered Southern Mountain Boulder. *Even if I don't know what use these fragments have now, I absolutely can't waste them. The chances are high they're treasures.*
He pushed over a small trolley and loaded the fragments into it. Luo Anping watched, puzzled, but asked nothing.
After all, he was a project manager. Without keen perception and brains, he wouldn't have reached this position.
"Brother Lu, maybe... take a couple of days off?" Luo Anping suggested, coinciding with Lu Ding's own thoughts.
"Alright. I'll rest for a couple of days. Call me back when things settle down on the site."
*Come back?*
Lu Ding had no intention of coming back. Before, he worked for survival. Now, with the golden finger unlocked, his sole purpose was hunting monsters!
His life was destined to be extraordinary!!
Money? It would come.
*Worst case... I just won't eat beef!!*
Pushing the trolley back to the dorm, he dumped all his clothes from his suitcase, stuffed the boulder fragments inside, and headed straight for his tiny rented apartment – three hundred yuan a month.
Just as Lu Ding left...
Luo Anping hadn't even caught his breath when visitors arrived, cornering him in his office.
A man and a woman, dressed in practical uniforms.
They flashed credentials from a relevant department. "Where is it? Where is he?"
Luo Anping wasn't one to casually betray others. He played dumb.
"What thing? Who?"
*SLAP!*
A black pistol slammed onto the desk. "Can you talk now?"
Luo Anping slid into a kneel on the floor. "Sir, Ma'am, it's not my fault! It was all Lu Ding..."
He recounted the whole story, supplemented by crystal-clear 24K HD surveillance footage.
They watched it from start to finish.
When it ended, they exchanged a glance, mutual shock evident in their eyes.
They turned to leave, tossing back a warning: "What happened here, you'd better bury it deep. Don't speak a word. The tea in our cells isn't very pleasant."
"Understood, understood! Crystal clear! You have my word."
Luo Anping's face stretched into a sunflower-bright smile.
He watched them leave.
A long sigh escaped him. "Brother Lu, sorry. Not that this brother wouldn't help you... I just didn't dare."
He didn't dare hide anything, let alone tip Lu Ding off.
The IDs they showed him... belonged to State Security.