When Zhao Rong took down the venomous scorpion with the supposedly useless Laser Cannon, his assistant was so stunned he couldn’t believe his eyes. "Boss, is that really the same Laser Cannon from before?" he stammered. "The one that only had chromium added, designed just for the super lizards?"

Zhao Rong nodded with a smile. "Of course it is. Who could blame this clever scorpion for being cautious, especially after he overheard me trying to buy a specialized cannon from the seller to deal with him..."

This only confused the assistant more. He stepped closer to the dying scorpion and asked Zhao Rong, "Boss, I don’t get it. You shot the scorpion with this cannon before, and it didn’t do a thing. How is it that one shot now has brought him down, and he’s on the verge of death?"

The downed scorpion, about to breathe his last, was also bewildered. Panting heavily, he looked at Zhao Rong and wheezed, "Human, what trick did you just pull? How could a Laser Cannon without nickel—one that can only kill super lizards—take me down? How are you about to end my life?"

Zhao Rong stepped forward to address the questions from both his assistant and the scorpion. "Although I was speaking loudly when I talked to the seller and that super scorpion over there overheard me... what you don’t know is that I *wanted* him to overhear me."

Frowning, the assistant asked in surprise, "Boss, what do you mean? Did you use some kind of feint, like the ’Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell’ strategy?"

The dying scorpion also asked curiously, "Damn it, you cunning human! What trick did you use to fool me so completely?"

Zhao Rong laughed heartily and continued his explanation. "Right, I forgot to tell you... The seller was just acting with me. We deliberately staged that performance for the super scorpion to see. We wanted him to believe that I could only kill him after buying a new Laser Cannon with added nickel from the seller. That wasn’t the case at all. The whole act was just to confuse him and make him lower his guard." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The assistant finally understood. He gave Zhao Rong a thumbs-up and said admiringly, "Boss, you’re brilliant! Truly on another level, absolutely incredible..."

The super scorpion was so angry he nearly spat blood. "Damn it," he growled. "I thought I, the super scorpion, was the smartest species in this whole killing storm... But I never expected you humans to be so much cleverer, to fool me so completely."

The assistant pressed on curiously, "Boss, can you tell me then? Since you didn’t buy a Laser Cannon with nickel from the seller, how did you kill this scorpion? After all, you shot him with the same cannon before and it had no effect..."

The fuming scorpion beside him demanded, "Yes, human! Tell me the secret. At least let me die in peace..."

Seeing his assistant’s astonishment and the scorpion’s desperate need to know, Zhao Rong explained, "Actually, I kept a crucial piece of information from both of you. This handheld, portable Laser Cannon I bought—the one that looks like a selfie stick—is actually an AI-powered computer.

"That means to add the properties of nickel, you don’t need the physical metal. It can be done remotely by writing and implementing a piece of code. This gives the Laser Cannon in my hand the same power as one with actual nickel added.

"Furthermore, I didn’t have to buy a new weapon. I could use this original one, reprogrammed, to kill this super scorpion on the spot, even though it was useless against him just moments before."

Just then, a voice message came through from the seller. "Boss, we modified the original code of the Laser Cannon we sold you, just as you instructed. I was wondering, has the cannon in your hand demonstrated its intended power? Did you kill that super scorpion that was threatening you?"

Hearing the seller’s concern, Zhao Rong immediately sent a voice message in reply. "Thanks for checking in. I have to thank you for two things. First, for reprogramming the cannon so I could kill the super scorpion in one shot. And second, for putting on such a great act with me. We successfully deceived this super scorpion. I have to say, your performance was so good you deserve an Oscar for it."

When the super scorpion finally understood everything, he fiercely slapped himself and said with immense regret, "For every clever move, there’s a counter. There’s always someone better out there. I never thought I’d meet a human like Zhao Rong—so intelligent, so formidable, so unpredictable... It’s my bad luck to have underestimated his capabilities. It’s my folly to have fallen into the hands of you two youths. It’s just my fate to be killed today by your single Laser Cannon shot..."

With that, the super scorpion breathed his last and died.

Seeing Zhao Rong eliminate another behemoth, the assistant praised him, "Boss, that move just now was incredible. You’re wise beyond your years, a true strategist."

Once the super scorpion was dead, Zhao Rong took the Dharma Sword from his Magic Ring. He walked toward the creature’s corpse and said with a smile, "One should always remain humble. Though this scorpion was intelligent, he was too ostentatious. As a result, his cleverness led to his own undoing. In the end, he died by his own petty cleverness."

With his point made, Zhao Rong began to dissect the super scorpion with the Dharma Sword. He planned to extract its venom and combine it with the blue diamond Demon Crystal he had obtained earlier to concoct a powerful resurrection Elixir.

When the assistant saw Zhao Rong cut open the scorpion’s tail and a black, viscous liquid began to flow out, he quickly pulled a mineral water bottle from his pocket. Handing it to Zhao Rong, he asked, "Boss, does that mean we can only get venom from this thing? Is there no Demon Crystal?"

Zhao Rong didn’t take the water bottle, however. Instead, he pulled a large storage canister from his Magic Ring, began filling it with the super scorpion’s venom, and said to his assistant, "I forgot to tell you, this super scorpion isn’t just about its venom. Its whole body is a treasure..."

Zhao Rong then went on to explain the medicinally valuable parts of the super scorpion’s body to his assistant.