“Only when I actually started doing it did I realize—I don’t really have any means of dealing damage.”
Feng Xue placed the cheap parts he had thrown together into his Golden Finger one by one, a helpless look appearing on his face. He had thought he already had quite a few modifiers on hand, but when he planned to go all out, craft himself a full set of the best equipment, and then plunder the junkyard for all it was worth, he suddenly discovered that his skill pool was unexpectedly barren.
He had neither skills suited to ocular cyberware nor any that matched the characteristics of a short sword. It was like obtaining an item in a game that increased your equipment slots, only to have no extra items to equip.
It was just that the funds and resources he had on hand were truly limited. He couldn’t very well gamble for modifiers by squandering the last bit of materials in the shop. In the end, he could only make a build that maximized modifier compatibility.
Name: Cheap Rocket Head
Position: Head
Grade: Three-star
Trait: Combat Continuation
Skill: Rocket Headbutt
Evaluation: A cranial cyberware that maxes out survivability, but seems to have forgotten to reserve space for a brain.
……
Name: Cheap Power Legs (×2)
Grade: Three-star
Trait: Lightweight
Skill: Great Strength
Evaluation: Cheaply made leg cyberware possessing armor and explosive power far beyond the norm.
……
Name: Hajichikov
Position: Torso
Grade: Three-star
Trait: Failsafe
Skill: Spinosaurus Form
Evaluation: An inferior imitation of the famous cyberware Krenchikov. In addition to its original functions, it comes with fairly sturdy subdermal armor. Though it looks poor, its performance is unexpectedly decent.
……
Name: Hidden Gun
Position: Right Arm
Grade: Three-star
Trait: Lightweight
Skill: Nigerundayo
Evaluation: It looks like a hand, but actually hides a sword. It looks like a sword, but is actually a gun.
……
“Still missing one left arm.” Feng Xue placed the right arm named [Hidden Gun] on the table and began sorting out the materials for the left arm.
Because three-star cyberware could only possess one modifier and one skill, [Nigerundayo] and [Spinosaurus Form] would inevitably occupy two slots that could have gone to [Great Strength]. [Spinosaurus Form] was locked to the torso. Although he could also craft an additional spinal implant, firstly, the torso had no rigid need for the [Great Strength] modifier, and secondly, the materials required for spinal cyberware implants were relatively scarce, so there was no need to increase expenses.
As for the golden modifier [Nigerundayo], that was even more impossible to give up.
However, overclocking only one leg cyberware had no meaning. Only when both legs activated Great Strength at the same time could their performance be brought out. Of course, it wasn’t impossible to craft a cyber-eye specifically to carry it, but it was still the same issue: cost.
Feng Xue had originally planned to put [Nigerundayo] on the left arm. After all, he was right-handed; even with the enhancement from Illusory Dragon Soul Type III, the returns from Great Strength on the right arm would still be greater.
But in order to make up for the defect of lacking the Great Strength skill, he tried putting effort into the concealed weapon inside. After several rounds of attempts, he discovered that the extra material slot provided by [Hidden Sword] only required the external shape to be that of a “short sword.” Thus, he directly crafted a gun in the shape of a sword—and it actually passed. The price, however, was that because he used [Hidden Sword] as the crafting modifier, he could not obtain subdermal armor through modifiers without affecting the cyberware’s structure. Coupled with the issue of ammunition feeding, the trait had to be Lightweight in order to reduce the cyberware’s weight.
If it were only a short sword, that would be one thing. But for a weapon like a firearm, which required precision, putting it on the right hand clearly yielded greater benefits. Thus, this cyberware, [Hidden Gun], became the right arm.
However, only after he finished making it did he realize that this configuration would have been perfectly fine on the left hand too. But since he had already crafted the right hand, he couldn’t very well throw it away, could he?
Helpless, he could only make the best of a mistake. Crafting modifier: [Hidden Sword]. Trait: [Lightweight]. Skill: [Great Strength]. Then he installed the parts made from cheap goods. As the parts began to combine one by one, Feng Xue’s brows twitched slightly, because he discovered that the ultra-hard alloy short sword he had made from Dam alloy had actually changed shape!
“That’s not right! When I made Hidden Gun earlier, that gun didn’t deform!”
A bit of doubt rose in Feng Xue’s heart, but in the next moment, the system prompt had already arrived—
“Your cyberware has undergone mutation. You have obtained the blueprint—[Mechanical Arm · Second Son].”
“No, what the hell? Cyberware can mutate too?”
Feng Xue’s eyes widened, and his whole body felt unwell—
Name: Mechanical Arm · Second Son
Position: Left Arm
Grade: Four-star
Trait: Cheap Regeneration
Skills: Sword of Hell, Heavenly Martial Killing Dao
Evaluation: If the conditions are met, you can obtain 200,000 horsepower of Magnetic Field Rotation power. Mm, you know what that means……
……
“Good news: it ranked up. Bad news: my convictions are being tested……”
Feng Xue looked at this mechanical arm, whose style was completely different from the other cyberware, and felt as if some madman was screaming wildly inside his brain. But very quickly, he punched that madman to death. Leaving aside the fact that he was extremely resistant to the Second Son Dao, the first problem was that he did not have 50,000 horsepower of magnetic field power.
Yes, although many armchair madmen kept talking about the Second Son Dao, they actually did not know that the prerequisite for cultivating the Second Son Dao was first possessing 50,000 horsepower of Magnetic Field Rotation……
“Still, even without Magnetic Field Rotation, Sword of Hell and Heavenly Martial Killing Dao are already damn impressive. I’m almost tempted to install it on myself!”
Holding the mechanical arm, Feng Xue felt somewhat regretful that no “recordable” prompt had popped up. He thought that perhaps mutated cyberware was just like this. Fortunately, there was still the blueprint, so it wouldn’t become a one-of-a-kind item.
“Right, let’s see the blueprint requirements.” Thinking of this, Feng Xue casually placed the Second Son Arm on the table and opened the crafting station’s design blueprint. But the moment the design for this four-star cyberware entered his vision, Feng Xue immediately felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.
Leaving aside issues such as material scarcity and market premiums, and also ignoring processing losses and labor costs, crafting one [Mechanical Arm · Second Son] required 100,000 credits. Although cheap goods could reduce the cost, those regulated materials among them could not be obtained through normal means at all and could only be purchased from the system shop at a high price.
Feng Xue calculated according to the information Old Man Jiang had left behind. After factoring in cheap goods, black-market parallel imports, the junkyard, and other material sources, he would still need at least 60,000 credits to manufacture one Second Son Arm.
Strictly speaking, however, this actually wasn’t expensive. Even if one bought it in Da Yan, a four-star cyberware started at 50,000 credits. Smuggling it into Gelian would be impossible without 100,000. As for legitimate shops, even the worst four-star cyberware started at 200,000—medical insurance was another matter.
And the fact that the Second Son Arm had become a blueprint meant he could add one additional trait and two additional skills to this cyberware. No matter how he thought about it, it was a huge win.
The only problem was that all of Feng Xue’s assets combined were only enough for one finger of this cyberware……
Forcibly suppressing the urge to connect the mechanical arm to himself, Feng Xue placed it back on the table and began dealing with the other parts. Creating a new character would have to wait until tomorrow morning. What he had to do now was convert the resources in his hands into money as much as possible……
“Time to craft!”
Although mutation was a good thing, this Second Son Arm… was a bit absurd. It was originally equipment meant for raising underlings in the mid-to-late game, but it appeared in the early stage instead… Now even the protagonist’s route has to change. Going straight from cyberpunk to ancient martial mecha—is that really okay…? And Heavenly Martial Killing Dao… damn it, that thing has pitfalls!
But rest assured, the protagonist won’t use the hidden function. After all, if he wants to use the hidden function, he first needs 50,000 horsepower of Magnetic Field Rotation power (laugh).