[Evacuation successful. Disconnecting synchronization.]
[Side objective completed: Collect five supplies rated 3 stars or higher (5/5). Reward obtained: Temporary Damage Control.]
[Supplies have been recovered. You may choose to withdraw/sell them on the Exchange page.]
[Your reward: Temporary Damage Control has been issued. This package will be retained for 72 hours. Please claim it before the time limit expires.]
“I never thought this set effect would be this absurd!”
Because of the mission Kong Wu had accepted, New John did not linger in the junkyard any longer. After gathering five three-star prosthetics, he activated [EX Enhancement] before evacuating, and then—he shot a crater into the ceiling of the garbage zone with a single bullet.
Recalling the shattered gate and the garbage that had come pouring down from above, Feng Xue could hardly stop the corners of his mouth from lifting. But what truly filled him with wild delight was not the power of that move, but—
His right hand was still there!
Yes, although there was a burst of soreness, it felt more like his arm simply had not withstood the recoil of that shot. The arm itself had suffered no damage at all. Only now did Feng Xue finally confirm that his earlier conjecture when using weapon enhancement was true!
The set effect of [Cai Jian]—[Equipment durability will not be consumed through proper use]—actually applied to skills triggered by consuming durability as well!
And Tomboy’s skill, because it consumed durability, had no cooldown! Not just Tomboy; the entire Devil Breaker series had no cooldown!
“Isn’t this insanely busted once equipped? The New Devil Sword will need one later too. Kong Wu can forget it—he’s the melee type. Once I’ve saved enough money, I’ll make that five-star prosthetic [Buster Arm] and fit it onto him. Right, I also need to find a way to unlock Ragtime’s ‘Mercury Mechanism’! My main body is seriously lacking it!”
Feng Xue muttered inwardly, only to realize that his biggest problem right now was still a lack of money!
The two five-star prosthetics, Ragtime and Super Impact, required high-grade materials to unlock, while the materials in the Golden Finger that had reached the [32] designation numbered over a thousand in all. Every single one started at a price of one hundred thousand, so the odds of picking out the correct unlocking materials from among them were far too low.
Apart from that, the millions in material costs for five-star prosthetics were enough to make anyone’s head hurt. With Feng Xue’s current savings, he was afraid he could only rely on selling contraband. But Saint Luotan’s black market had limited capacity; even if he found different buyers every time, it would still be very easy to get targeted…
“Wait… targeted?”
In that instant, Feng Xue seemed to be struck by a laser sniper rifle, a flash of inspiration bursting through him. The smile at the corners of his mouth could no longer be suppressed.
He took a deep breath and forcibly pressed down the stirring in his heart, drawing his smile back in. While planning his next move in his mind, he opened the warehouse and checked the gains from this trip.
Name: Temporary Damage Control
Type: First-aid consumable
Quality: White Common (Note ①)
Description: A first-aid consumable developed by Laiyang Biochemical. Applying the contents over a damaged prosthetic can maintain the prosthetic’s functions for a short period of time. Although, in principle, regular soldiers of the Ge Union are not permitted to carry Yan Nation equipment, due to its advantages of being cheap and easy to use, many veterans secretly keep a couple of pieces on hand.
Remarks: You can’t expect something worth a few dozen bucks to repair a prosthetic above five stars!
……
“All right. Useful, but not that useful.” Feng Xue glanced at the description, then casually tossed it into the workshop. After all, as someone with Flesh Source Energy, using this thing was less practical than fitting Rou Mile with a bigger power supply.
However, considering that the Golden Finger could further process rewarded equipment, perhaps one day it would gain a suitable trait. There was no need to sell it directly to the shop—though this thing could be bought in the shop to begin with.
……
“Measurements or alterations?”
Along with the jingle of the doorbell, before the owner of the tailor shop even raised his head, the question he had asked countless times had already left his mouth.
“Cut the pointless crap. This is the price, right?”
The arrogant words came from the newcomer’s mouth. The owner frowned slightly and glanced at this blond brat. Seeing the small yet highly representative tattoo on the other party’s arm, then looking at the little case he was carrying, a large amount of data immediately flashed through his cybernetic eye. Before long, he nodded, accepted the chip, and handed over a cloak. Before he could speak, the young man grabbed the cloak and draped it over himself.
“Done checking? If you’re done, open the door. This young master is in a hurry!”
“……” The owner kept his expression under control. Although he greatly disliked this sort of rule-breaking fellow, the other party had not crossed the bottom line after all. The force behind his own shop would not fall out with the force behind the other party over something like this. Even if there really was a problem, the other party would at most be punished with three cups of wine; the unlucky one would still be him.
Having understood this, the owner simply chose out of sight, out of mind. He pointed at the door to the lounge behind him, then ignored him.
“Hmph~” Letting out a contemptuous nasal sound, the young man pushed open the door. Seeing that he had already put on the cloak, the people inside immediately opened the passage, but he did not go down right away. Instead, he walked to the vending machine and bought a drink worth one hundred credits. Only then did he stride into the elevator with a swagger that acknowledged no one…
……
“Where’s the previous manager?”
The manager, who was carefully appreciating a newly acquired pre-Civilization artwork, heard the voice and immediately placed the goods in his hands onto the counter with practiced ease. Only then did he speak.
“He earned enough performance credit and got promoted. If you need anything, talking to me is the same. If you’re an old customer, I have the records here.”
“You may not necessarily have my records.” The cloaked man holding a can of drink spoke in a teasing tone. The manager was slightly stunned, and his expression grew more solemn. But to avoid being scammed, he still said,
“Do you need me to contact him for you?”
“Heh.” The cloaked man took a sip of his drink and said in a somewhat playful tone,
“That depends on whether you want to get promoted~”
“!!!”
The manager’s expression finally changed. He shot to his feet, first gave himself an injection of sedative, then quickly activated all confidentiality systems. Only then did he say,
“May I inspect the goods?”
“You can, but I brought three this time. Can you afford the price? If it’s still the same price as last time, then I’m not selling.” The man took a small briefcase out from under his cloak. The manager’s breathing immediately grew rapid; even after the sedative, he could not fully suppress his excitement.
Hadn’t he been transferred here from headquarters precisely because he had higher funding authority? He had originally thought he would most likely have to spend his old age in this damned place, but unexpectedly, the other party had actually come to the door again!
“If they’re still the same specifications as last time, the highest I can offer for three is fifteen million. You know this—as long as the quantity doesn’t reach a standard unit, it’s impossible to give you too high a price.” The manager suppressed his surging emotions as he spoke, but in his heart, he began to worry. He worried that what this fellow was talking about was not the same thing as what he imagined. But very soon, as the briefcase opened, all doubts vanished in an instant.
It was this!
It was this!
Just as the manager was about to reach out, the case was pressed down—
“Touching without paying first—that’s not very appropriate, is it?”
“Ah, I was too excited! But are you truly not selling a little more?” The manager made no attempt to conceal his desire and immediately began mobilizing funds. The cloaked man merely took a sip of his drink and said disdainfully,
“More? I’m afraid if I brought more, I wouldn’t be able to leave!”
Note ①: Rewards for side objectives are not fixed. Instead, there is a pool based on the content; whichever one is drawn is what comes out.
For example, killing Scavengers and gangs mostly produces things related to illegal industries, killing robots drops robots, while collection types are related to the collected items themselves (though of course there is overlap). Honestly, after so many side objectives, I’m already very surprised that only one white item has appeared.
P.S.: In theory, the Golden Finger shop is affected by the protagonist’s goods entering the market. The issue is that, for example, if he got hold of a mine and dumped rare high-end materials cheaply and in large quantities, it would drive down Golden Finger prices.
But the reverse will not happen. The reason is simple: compared with the entire market, his output is too small. It was also mentioned earlier that Miu Ke crystal production is not low; they’re simply not being sold. In other words, who knows how many miners are mining them every day at a price of 6,000 per piece. The protagonist only sold four pieces. Even if the average price was over four million each, in the face of such a massive transaction volume, it was still diluted.