"Forget it, I don't have such an embarrassing grandson like you," Lin Shen said, pretending to be disgusted.
He knew what method Wei Wufu had used but couldn't figure out exactly what it was. Trying to probe was pointless—it wouldn't work, so there was no need to go up and make a fool of himself.
"Quit talking nonsense with me. If you've got the guts, then try your hand at it. If you hit the mark, I'll call you grandpa and accept it. But if you fail, then stop spouting garbage here," Qi Tianfu cursed, pointing his finger at Lin Shen's nose.
Lin Shen was about to fire back when Wei Wufu, who had been sitting quietly like an immovable Buddha, suddenly opened his mouth and said, "You won't know if you can do it unless you try."
Both Qi Tianfu and Lin Shen turned their gazes toward Wei Wufu. Qi Tianfu frowned, while Lin Shen felt perplexed.
*"Why did Wei Wufu suddenly say this? Others may not see through it, but I can tell he's definitely tampered with something. Yet, from his tone, it sounds like he's not planning to cheat anymore? That doesn't make sense!"* Lin Shen thought, sensing something amiss.
*He couldn't believe that his earlier remarks complimenting Wei Wufu managed to sway him enough to let him hit the Alloy Egg. That kind of gratitude wasn't in Wei Wufu's nature.*
*With Wei Wufu's strength, even without any intervention, Qi Tianfu wouldn't be able to do anything to him. If things escalated, the one paying the price would undoubtedly be Qi Tianfu.*
Lin Shen couldn't immediately grasp whether Wei Wufu's words carried any deeper intention or if he was merely trying to extort a bit of money from him.
"Just a moment ago, I accused him of rigging the game, and you claimed that my skills, fortune, and integrity were lacking. Now that he's encouraging you to try, why don't you show me what you've got? If you don't dare, fine—but then admit everything you said earlier was bull and call me 'Brother Fu.' If you do that, I'll be magnanimous and let you off today," Qi Tianfu taunted Lin Shen.
He believed Wei Wufu's sudden remark was also an attempt to con Lin Shen out of money, so he added fuel to the fire.
Qi Tianfu had been conned himself and felt frustrated enough to lose sleep over it. If Lin Shen got conned too, his spirits would soar, and he'd feel like life was suddenly brighter and more fulfilling. The money didn't matter; the key was that Lin Shen shouldn't get away unscathed.
"It's just ring-toss, right? Fine, I'll do it," Lin Shen said as he walked to the box, tossed in a hundred bucks, and pulled out ten rings.
Lin Shen wasn't provoked by Qi Tianfu's taunts. His reasoning was that Wei Wufu seemed oddly suspicious. Setting up shop here today wasn't merely about making money; it felt like he was targeting either Lin Shen or Qi Tianfu. Lin Shen wanted to see what Wei Wufu's true intentions were.
"Ten rings? Is that all? Don't tell me you're broke. If you can't afford it, just say so, and I'll cover it for you," Qi Tianfu sneered.
"Whether ten are enough, we'll find out when I toss them," Lin Shen replied before casually throwing a ring straight at the top of Wei Wufu's head.
After years of not playing, his technique was clearly rusty—the ring missed entirely.
"Little Lin Shen, I won't even comment on your character, but your skills are downright lousy," Qi Tianfu said gleefully, grinning from ear to ear.
"I'm just going easy on you. You've tossed over a hundred rings already, haven't you? If I hit the mark with just one, wouldn't that make you look completely incapable?" Lin Shen retorted, tossing another two rings while speaking. Both missed the mark again.
"I don't need anyone sparing me. If you've got the ability, then hit the mark. Whoever can't hit it is a grandson!" Qi Tianfu scoffed coldly.
"Little Fu, you're truly ruthless. Ruthless enough to even insult yourself," Lin Shen teased, chuckling at Qi Tianfu's words. He casually tossed another ring while preparing to say more but suddenly froze mid-sentence.
The ring landed right on the Alloy Egg's surface, bounced off the egg's wall, then fell back down. To everyone's surprise, it securely encircled Wei Wufu's head and actually hit the mark on the Alloy Egg.
Qi Tianfu's face darkened as his cheeks twitched with anger. His flesh trembled while he leaped three feet into the air, pointing a shaking finger at Lin Shen and Wei Wufu before roaring furiously, "You shameless bastard, Lin Shen! You planned this ahead, didn't you? You brought this guy in just to scam me, didn't you?"
Before Lin Shen could say anything, Wei Wufu stood up, took the Alloy Egg off his head, tossed it to Lin Shen, and said while packing up his belongings, "You hit the mark. The Alloy Egg is yours, and I'll go with you."
"Well, isn't this something? You two are clearly in cahoots! Lin Shen, you're getting more shameless by the day, resorting to such cheap tricks!" Qi Tianfu looked enraged, as if ready to fight Lin Shen to the death.
Lin Shen felt bewildered, unable to understand Wei Wufu's intentions. *Why on earth would hitting an Alloy Egg mean he'd have to follow me?* he wondered.
"Wait a second, Brother Wei. What's this all about? If you're attached to this Alloy Egg, I'll return it to you," Lin Shen offered.
Wei Wufu finished packing, slung a large bag over his shoulder, and said expressionlessly, "The prize is me and the Alloy Egg. You won, so naturally, I follow you."
Lin Shen understood now but furrowed his brows without saying a word.
It seemed clear that Wei Wufu had set up this entire scheme just to target him.
"Not so fast," Qi Tianfu growled, his muscles trembling as mysterious steel-like matter seeped from his skin. Within moments, his entire body was encased in a thick Steel Carapace, bursting his clothes in the process.
Like an unstoppable steel tank, Qi Tianfu blocked Wei Wufu's path, his fist wrapped in steel swinging toward Wei Wufu's chest as he shouted angrily, "If it's skill, I'll accept defeat. But if it's dirty tricks, I'll kill you."
The steel-clad fist reached Wei Wufu in an instant, but Wei Wufu didn't dodge or flinch, simply bracing his chest to take the blow head-on.
The crowd gasped in shock. With a punch like that, it seemed Wei Wufu's chest was bound to end up with a gaping hole.
The next second, something unexpected happened.
Qi Tianfu's steel fist slammed hard into Wei Wufu's chest but didn't cause any damage—his chest didn't even crack, nor did it slow Wei Wufu's advance.
Instead, a deafening metallic clang rang out, and Qi Tianfu let out a blood-curdling scream as he stumbled backward, clutching his injured hand while retreating several steps before collapsing to the ground.
The Steel Carapace covering his fist was shattered, and blood oozed continuously from the wounds. His fingers trembled uncontrollably and couldn't even form a grip—likely fractured or broken entirely.
"Lin Shen, well done. You brought an Alloy Level guy to mess with me. This isn't over between Qi Family and you," Qi Tianfu said, gritting his teeth and glaring at Lin Shen while enduring the pain.
"He has nothing to do with my Lin Family, and I didn't ask him to mess with you. Believe it or not," Lin Shen said curtly, turning to leave.
Wei Wufu followed Lin Shen, carrying his large bag and casually saying to Qi Tianfu as he passed, "I'm Wei Wufu. If you've got a problem, come find me."
Without a backward glance, Wei Wufu walked away.
"Wei Wufu?" Qi Tianfu froze.
Although he didn't recognize Wei Wufu, he had heard about the top-tier Alloy-level Mutator who made waves at the recruitment conference. Little did he know that the street vendor was the same Wei Wufu.
Just yesterday, Qi Tianfu heard that someone from his family had gone looking for Wei Wufu to invite him to join the Qi Family, but he outright refused.
Before the Qi Family approached him, the Wang Family had already tried and failed—their Alloy-level Mutator lost in a single punch after challenging Wei Wufu, forced to retreat in disgrace.
The Qi Family, having witnessed the Wang Family's failure, refrained from trying brute force, opting instead for an invitation. When this failed, they left without any conflict.
From their assessment, Wei Wufu was likely a top-tier Alloy-level Mutator, with a hardness rating of at least nineteen.
Among Mutators, toughness was everything. Without adequate hardness, you were merely a weakling—regardless of being in the same Alloy rank.
A person of his caliber wouldn't need to conspire with Lin Shen to set him up. Qi Tianfu knew this; such a strong person didn't need complicated schemes if targeting him.
*"Could it be... that Wei Wufu... really ended up being snared by Lin Shen..."* Qi Tianfu began to regret it faintly. If he hadn't insisted on challenging Lin Shen, if he had pushed a bit harder, maybe he could've been the one to win Wei Wufu.
The onlookers marveled at Lin Shen's incredible luck—spending only forty bucks to win an Alloy Egg and an Alloy-level Mutator.