He activated the Bone Shrinking Skill, urging the growth of a carbon acetylene claw from the index finger of his right hand,

and then, almost instinctively, pressed his finger bone against the rock in front of him.

He saw the incredibly sharp carbon acetylene claw pierce through the extremely hard rock effortlessly, as if a knife through tofu.

Scratch...

"This is the hardness of carbon acetylene...!" Wang Ye was ecstatic, amazed by the claw’s sharpness combined with such hardness.

Usually, the sharper a blade is polished, the lower its hardness, and it might chip easily. However, the claw he had grown was sharp to the extreme, capable of slicing through iron like mud, yet its hardness remained impressive, suffering no damage even after piercing the hard rock.

It’s no exaggeration to say that just this segment of finger bone was stronger than his whole skeleton combined, in terms of both defense power and destructive force.

"It’s a pity that today’s evolution is already complete; I can’t continue to transform other parts of the skeleton." Wang Ye shook his head slightly. Moreover, his reserves of diamond and graphite were nearly depleted, and he had to find a way to replenish them for further bone evolution.

With this in mind, Wang Ye planned to retrieve some diamonds from the warehouse to supplement the consumed carbon atoms in his body.

He swiftly flew down to the ground, but just as he was about to head to the warehouse, he noticed an acquaintance standing nearby.

It was Old Yi, who seemed to have been waiting there for quite some time.

Recognizing him, Wang Ye smiled slightly, as he was hoping to see Old Yi to request more graphite ore, not expecting Old Yi to be there already.

He approached and said directly, "Old Yi, the several tons of graphite ore in the warehouse have been used up. Would it be possible to send me some more?"

"Oh? Used up already? So quickly?" Old Yi said, "If you need it, it’s not a problem. We’ll try to fulfill your request. How many tons do you need this time?"

In his mind, Wang Ye wouldn’t ask for more than several tons of graphite ore, which was not a pressure for him at all.

It was like a drop in the ocean.

Compared to the potential value Wang Ye could offer them, several tons of graphite ore was merely a trivial contribution.

Yet, Wang Ye’s next words completely stunned him.

"1000 tons," Wang Ye stated succinctly.

"One thousand? Cough, cough... What, one thousand tons?" Old Yi was taken aback immediately.

Even though graphite ore wasn’t extremely expensive, such high-purity graphite ore cost tens of thousands of yuan per ton, and this amount was usually hard to find even if you had the money.

Even Old Yi had to tap into special connections to procure so much graphite ore.

And Wang Ye was asking for 1000 tons just like that. How could he not be shocked?

"Why do you need so much graphite ore?" Old Yi couldn’t help but ask, although he already knew from the geologists that Wang Ye would consume graphite ore to replenish some element, the enormous figure was still beyond comprehension.

You know, several tons of graphite ore could fill a small warehouse, and Wang Ye, who still resembled a normal-sized creature, how could he consume so much graphite ore at once? Where exactly was it all going?

Could it be that Wang Ye’s energy consumption had now become carbon-driven?

"This question, you should have already known the answer," Wang Ye didn’t directly answer but acknowledged that Old Yi had long known about his graphite ore consumption through hidden surveillance.

Initially, dozens of tons of graphite ore were just a test to see if he could really evolve his bones through absorbing carbon atoms. Now, aiming to evolve his entire skeleton into carbon acetylene, he estimated conservatively that hundreds of tons of graphite ore would be needed. He requested 1000 tons because he also needed carbon atoms during excavation and training to repair the diamond skeleton.

Thus, 1000 tons was merely the conservative demand, and in the future, he might continue to seek tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of tons from the military.

After a long silence, Old Yi finally said, "No problem, I’ll do my best to arrange for 1000 tons of graphite ore, but it might take some time."

"How long will that take?" Wang Ye inquired, unwilling to waste time in a long wait.

"It may take about a month," Old Yi replied and then pivoted the discussion, "Aren’t you going to complete several extreme challenges next month?"

Wang Ye nodded, "Yes, but this time it should be relatively quick, completing the remaining four challenges in just a few days."

Previously, it took a month for each challenge mainly because he couldn’t fly or his flying techniques were unskilled, relying on transport to reach places worldwide for the challenges.

But now, just running exceeded the speed of sound, and his flying speed was even faster, outpacing any civilian transport by countless times.

Even distances of thousands of kilometers were about an hour’s trip for him, and his strength far surpassed his past levels, making those so-called extreme challenges mere child’s play sports.

For example, skiing and wingsuit flying in the Alps, or free climbing and backward high dive at Angel Falls in Venezuela, were simple challenges. There would be no danger, and he wouldn’t need to prepare as thoroughly as before.

This time, he wouldn’t need to bring Li Weimin and the others along. Instead, he’d just take a sport camera, fly solo abroad, and later give the recorded challenge footage to Li Weimin.

His plan was to complete the remaining challenges within five days and return home to continue his physical research.

"Actually, there’s no need to rush. I will need around a month to source 1000 tons of graphite ore," Old Yi calmly stated, "Moreover, I want to ask you to do something overseas, as I’m currently tied up..."

"Assistant? You’re asking me for help?" Wang Ye frowned. His relationship with Old Yi wasn’t close; he didn’t even know Old Yi’s name, rank, or unit, why suddenly ask for help?

But then Wang Ye noticed a subtle hint from the micro-expressions of Old Yi. While Old Yi wasn’t lying, he was definitely hiding an unspeakable secret.

Maintaining a calm surface, inside Wang Ye began to ponder. Likely, due to his rapid progress recently, even drilling tens of thousands of meters underground, Old Yi harbored some worry, seeking to set him up and weaken his strength.

Wang Ye’s mind raced. Despite processing vast amounts of information at high speed, in reality, only fractions of a millisecond passed.

Thinking from Old Yi’s perspective, he would likely seek to embroil him with an enemy nation,

which would both test Wang Ye’s strength and weaken the enemy’s military might. If luck favored, Wang Ye’s power might diminish too.

Old Yi approaching him was likely a step-by-step attempt to lead him into conflict with a foreign military, eventually forcing him to act. But what Old Yi didn’t anticipate was Wang Ye deciphering his plan through micro-expression analysis instantly.

To Old Yi, Wang Ye was merely good at reading subtle cues and having high emotional intelligence. Little did he know, Wang Ye’s brain was now rivaling the most advanced AI, capable of selecting the most plausible outcome among millions of possibilities.

"No need to beat around the bush, speak plainly," Wang Ye stated gravely, "What’s the opponent’s strength? If you want me to assist, best lay out all known intelligence, or you know the consequences."