The elevator ride down was silent.
It wasn't a normal elevator. It was a heavy-duty, freight-sized lift that descended past the basement, deep into the granite bedrock of Iron Cloud Mountain.
When the doors slid open, cool, recycled air hit them.
They stepped into a vast, underground chamber. It was unfinished, raw concrete and exposed steel beams, lit by harsh, industrial strip lights. It felt less like a room and more like a bunker. A vault.
"Lin Hao," Lin Meng whispered, her voice echoing in the cavernous space. "What is this?"
Lin Hao walked to the center of the room. He didn't turn around immediately. He let the weight of the place settle on her.
"The world thinks I'm lucky," he said, his voice low. "They think I'm a 'hero' who got a sudden burst of strength during a crisis. They think I'm a Level 2 brute."
He turned to face her. His eyes were dark, serious, and utterly devoid of the "clumsy student" persona.
"The world is wrong."
He took a step toward her.
"I didn't just 'Awaken', Meng. I was... chosen."
It was the lie he had crafted. The "Legacy" story. It was the only way to explain the money, the items, and the speed without revealing the System, an entity that defied even the new laws of physics.
"The night of the Pulse," he said, "I didn't just find a book. I found a Legacy."
"A... Legacy?"
"An inheritance," Lin Hao lied smoothly. "Left behind by an ancient, powerful cultivator. A master who foresaw this era. He left behind his wealth, he gestured to the manor above, his knowledge, he tapped his head, and his power.
He walked over to one of the massive, structural steel I-beams that supported the mountain above. It was a solid column of industrial steel, thick enough to stop a tank.
"The 'Clear Water Chant' I gave you? That was the beginner manual. The pills? Those were the scraps."
He placed his hand gently on the cold, gray steel of the beam.
"You tried to practice, and you got hurt. That was my fault. I underestimated the gap between us."
He took a breath. He didn't use a stance. He didn't grunt.
He simply channeled a pulse of his [Level 8: Meridian Opening] Qi. The energy, now a roaring river inside him, surged into his hand.
He squeezed.
GROAN-SCREECH.
The sound was agonizing, the scream of metal being tortured beyond its yield strength.
Under his fingers, the solid steel I-beam didn't just bend. It flowed. It deformed like wet clay.
He pushed his palm forward.
CRUNCH.
He pulled his hand away.
imprinted deep into the solid steel column was a perfect, five-inch-deep handprint. The metal around the edges had curled and ripped like paper.
Lin Meng stared at the handprint. She stared at the steel, which was still radiating heat from the friction of the deformation.
She looked at her own hand, the one that had bruised itself punching drywall.
Then she looked at her brother.
The gap wasn't a valley. It was an ocean.
"Brother..." she breathed, her eyes wide. She wasn't scared. She was an Awakened; she craved strength. She was looking at him with a terrifying, religious awe.
"The 'Masked Expert'..." she whispered, her mind making the connection. "The one who killed the tiger. The one everyone is looking for. He... he isn't just someone you know."
She looked at his hands. Hands that could mold steel.
"He's... part of this Legacy, isn't he? He's... you?"
Lin Hao didn't answer. He didn't confirm or deny. He just held her gaze, his expression unreadable, heavy with the weight of the "truth."
"The world is dangerous, Meng," he said softly. "The BSA, the Guardian Families... they would kill for this Legacy. They would kill us for it."
He stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"That is why we hide. That is why we lie. That is why you must become strong."
He looked deep into her eyes.
"Can you carry this? Can you keep this secret, even from Mom and Dad? To protect them?"
Lin Meng looked at the steel beam. She looked at the brother who had saved her life, who had given her a future, who was secretly the king of the mountain.
She straightened her spine. Her [Common Root] spirit flared with a new, iron resolve.
"I swear," she said, her voice steady. "On my life. On our family. No one will know."
Lin Hao smiled. It was a small, genuine smile.
"Good," he said.
He checked his interface. [Upgrade Points (UP): 185,650].
"Because now," he said, turning back to the elevator, "we are going to fix your foundation. Tonight, you stop being 'Common'."