novelTele Chapter 101 Expensive Armor Materials
Chapter 101 Expensive Armor Materials
【Jinyuan】It seems to be a rather "popular" planet. I didn't expect to run into Lily on her way to that planet as soon as I returned to the settlement.
Have you been to [Jinyuan] before?
"No." Lily tugged at her hair and explained slowly, "This is my first time there, but I know that the resources there are more abundant than in the local area, and there are some special products. There are also fewer monsters; most of them are just zombies."
Xu Yang nodded slightly.
From this perspective, scavenging in Jinyuan is indeed much safer than scavenging in the current isolation zone.
Zombies are not that difficult to deal with. Most zombies are less intelligent than wild animals and do not have the diverse abilities of alien monsters.
But interstellar scavenging? That doesn't sound like a safe activity.
Xu Yang lowered his head and pondered for a moment.
This was a good time, and he felt it was necessary to offer some constructive suggestions.
such as--
"Lily, don't you think you should improve your skills? How about joining the Foreign Affairs Department with me?"
Xu Yang said earnestly.
He didn't try to persuade Lily to give up scavenging; it was simply a way for a young girl to survive, and it wasn't his place to speak so casually.
But with Lily's current strength, why would she go to other planets? What if she encounters some unexpected danger...?
Having encountered various unexpected accidents and had two near-death experiences, he knows all too well what it's like.
These are not good memories.
Therefore, even though scavenging is not an activity primarily based on combat, Xu Yang believes that Lily still needs the strength to deal with unexpected situations.
He even had another consideration.
I had originally planned to have a good chat with Lily after I finished my work today, and now this is a good opportunity.
You should know that all of Lily's efforts so far have been solely to save enough money to travel to the big city for medical treatment.
The key issue is that the illness she needs to treat is vampire disease, and according to the description in the "Guide," vampire disease is very likely the source of Lily's sensory abilities.
Will curing this disease lead to the loss of sensory abilities?
Xu Yang didn't know.
But he knew that if this possibility was true, then doing nothing now would be tantamount to watching his friend run headlong down a dead end.
He can't.
After all, Lily, who had only ever worked as a scavenger after losing her senses, had neither knowledge nor strength.
Perhaps the only thing she can do is continue being a scavenger.
However, by then, the risks would be completely different.
Therefore, whether it's to deal with a sudden crisis now or to gain the ability to make a living in the future, Lily really should improve her skills.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the best way to achieve this.
With this thought in mind, Xu Yang solemnly said, "Lily, you should understand that some dangers, even if you sense them beforehand, require a certain level of strength to escape."
Lily looked up at Xu Yang and said seriously, "Actually, I've been using drug-based lures lately..."
Xu Yang was taken aback; this was unexpected.
After all, unlike the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the strength and gains of its members are directly related.
The increased strength of scavengers does not directly lead to a surge in their harvest; it is more about dealing with unexpected events. Moreover, their work is not as dangerous as that of the members of the Foreign Affairs Department, so the actual benefits brought by their increased strength are not significant, and the improvement is also an expense.
Therefore, most scavengers do not specifically improve their abilities.
Therefore, Xu Yang always believed that Lily, like other scavengers, would neglect her own improvement.
However, in reality, ever since her near-death experience with Xu Yang, Lily has been trying to improve her self-defense capabilities through mutation.
After all, like Xu Yang, she had also experienced near-death.
At this point, Xu Yang continued, "So, have you joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
Lily shook her head. She had indeed considered joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but ultimately gave up.
"No, I asked Cole before, and he said that he has all the temptations that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has, and there seem to be various restrictions on joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
Xu Yang was slightly taken aback.
"The restrictions of the External Objects Department? How come I didn't know? Wait, is he asking Cole? Asking a shady merchant from the Secret Tower?"
In an instant, Xu Yang understood.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secret Tower are competitors. Lily may have been intentionally misled by Cole. After all, if Lily joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he would lose a client.
Thinking of this, Xu Yang chuckled and immediately countered, "Did he tell you the difference in price between the Secret Treasure Tower and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' tempting items?"
He said the secret pagoda would be a bit more expensive.
"You believed it?"
"I... I bargained down the price."
Xu Yang nodded and did not ask any further questions.
Bargaining?
No, it's just a matter of whether the other party earns more or less.
Xu Yang sighed, and without further ado, explained all the rules and price advantages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...
Lily lowered her head and pondered for a while.
Before long, she made up her mind.
For her, the only limitation of becoming a junior member of the Foreign Affairs Department was the fixed attendance once a month, which was not as time-consuming as Cole had previously said.
She can choose any task and time without affecting her regular scavenging job.
Thinking of this, Lily looked up and said seriously, "After I return from this mission, I will join the Foreign Affairs Department."
"..."
Xu Yang remained silent for a while after hearing this, and finally, out of respect for metaphysics...
He said quietly, "Let's go to the Foreign Affairs Department. I'll get you started right now."
……
Inside the settlement.
It didn't take long for the two of them to complete their onboarding at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.
After separating, Xu Yang quickly went to the Secret Tower to deal with the two biochemical plug-ins.
【Steel Bones】and 【The Revival of All Things】.
The moment you arrive at the shop in the Secret Tower, [Bewitching Heart] is quietly activated.
Xu Yang silently pondered a strategy.
Of the four emotions, the most suitable for trading is a state of relaxed alertness and joyful mental and physical well-being.
He then strode into the store.
At a glance, it was clear that Cole was ripping people off again.
"Isn't the Red Pendant event over? This is the latest batch of goods, all black liquid extracted from cyborgs. They're very fresh, three thousand per bottle, that's the price."
At this moment, Cole was selling products to a burly man, who was holding several bottles of [burnt biochemical plug-ins].
The burly man hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind.
Beat a fight, bike change bike!
Immediately, he took out his ID card and transferred the money.
Xu Yang watched as the burly man excitedly accepted the four bottles of black liquid, and shook his head slightly in his heart. He glanced at the shelf and suddenly paused.
"Is it really in stock?"
On the shelf, amidst a sea of burnt biochemical components, two different items were mixed in.
Energy Storage Module X2
Moreover, Xu Yang noticed a detail: unlike last time, this time the black liquid on the shelf did not contain the kind of imitation product with added pigments.
They must have changed their source of goods.
Xu Yang's heart stirred.
Even the most unscrupulous merchant needs to actually sell their goods; otherwise, business will naturally fail. Perhaps I can come here more often in the future.
As for whether this was pre-arranged by Cole and that he remembered the corresponding locations, it remains to be seen.
Xu Yang thought the possibility was very small, after all, before Blackwater was identified, no one knew whether it had plugins.
If Kerr had that kind of technology, he wouldn't be stuck in a small settlement.
Xu Yang immediately stepped forward and pointed to two places.
"I'll take those two bottles."
Cole had just finished his transaction with the burly man and, seeing another customer arrive, smiled and handed over two bottles of black liquid.
After securing the item, Xu Yang took out two plug-ins and began negotiating the price.
……
"Alright, alright, [Steelbow], I can give you 10."
Cole's brow relaxed, a mixture of amusement and exasperation on his face.
The subtle expressions that one would normally make during negotiations seemed rather awkward at this moment.
Normally, he would have pretended to hesitate and lowered the price of the plugin to below 7, since the target audience for this kind of plugin is very narrow. But today, for some reason, he felt inexplicably happy.
Whenever I try to pretend I'm having a hard time, I always feel like something good is about to happen, and I can't help but smile.
Xu Yang smiled broadly, sensing that something good was about to happen, and decisively said, "Then it's 100,000."
The "Iron Bone" modification plugin is different from the currently popular biohazard plugins. It is an outdated technology that is rarely seen on the market now. It is difficult to sell without a channel, and the price is only around 15.
The current price of 10 has exceeded Xu Yang's expectations, and [Bewildering Mind] has not yet reached the point of altering cognition.
He was happy to quit while he was ahead.
Once the funds are credited to your account, the transaction is complete.
"I'll leave the rest of the [Revival of All Things] here. The alloy I want is yours once I get my hands on it."
Xu Yang said calmly, and then walked outside.
[Revival of All Things] was not sold directly. To be honest, Xu Yang didn't know what the appropriate price would be for this plugin. This kind of growth-stimulating function actually has a small audience.
However, once a suitable buyer is found, its value can exceed its intrinsic worth.
What he needs is a special alloy, not a meaningless plug-in, or tens or hundreds of thousands of contribution points.
Therefore, the plugin was ultimately left to Cole, who had sufficient channels to obtain the alloy that Xu Yang wanted. As for how much Cole would profit from it, that was up to him, and Xu Yang didn't care.
Xu Yang was concerned with how to quickly transform everything into strength.
…………
"Now all that's left is the armor."
On the street, Xu Yang walked along the path of memory.
Soon, he arrived outside the [Composite Clothing Shop].
At that moment, a customer had just left the shop. In front of the counter, a middle-aged man with a serious face was sitting, looking down and examining a metal helmet.
Ta-da.
Hearing footsteps at the door, the middle-aged man looked up and saw Xu Yang walking through the gate.
"This should be Feng Yue's father; you can see some resemblance. I just don't know where Feng Yue is."
Xu Yang thought to himself, then stepped forward and said, "Boss, I need a set of clothes or armor that provides sufficient protection without hindering my agility. Ideally, it should have some resistance and be compatible with the thing I have."
As he spoke, he raised the spiked glove on his hand.
The middle-aged man nodded, looked Xu Yang up and down a few more times, and pondered for a moment before saying, "If you want to ensure protection, you can wear some armor filled with special alloys, but with your build, it might need to be custom-made, which will take some time."
"Time is not an issue, how much will it take approximately?"
Xu Yang purchased this armor for his laboratory trip after acquiring [Black Guard], and it's only in the preparation stage now, so there's no need to rush.
"It depends on your specific requirements. For example, what level of protection do you need, and what kind of resistance do you require?"
Xu Yang lowered his head and pondered for a moment.
With his current strength, under normal circumstances, he is probably close to becoming a high-level member, and the protection of ordinary metal armor seems somewhat useless.
Moreover, he had no idea what was going on in the lab, so if he was to prepare for the worst-case scenario, he had to be fully prepared.
Thinking of this, Xu Yang asked, "Is there anything that can defend against a first-tier energy attack?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a black line appeared on the forehead of the middle-aged man opposite him: "To achieve that kind of protection, I don't have the alloy here, and I can't process that kind of alloy either. You have to go to Giant City."
Xu Yang sighed inwardly, realizing he had no choice but to settle for second best.
"Then let's use the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the standard, and benchmark the armor protection required for high-ranking members in combat."
The middle-aged man nodded and asked, "Are there any other specific needs?"
Xu Yang lowered his head in thought, and as he pondered, he said:
"First, the armor needs to be sufficiently fire- and heat-resistant, then corrosion-resistant, and ideally non-conductive. Oh, and it needs to be able to filter toxic gases, then cold-resistant, and also radiation-resistant. In addition—"
As he was talking, Xu Yang himself stopped.
He realized he couldn't finish explaining, and there would always be unexpected situations, so he frowned and said, "Boss, isn't there anything with all-around resistance? Something that can resist all kinds of extreme environments?"
……
There was a moment of silence in the air.
After a long silence, the middle-aged man sighed and said earnestly, "Ordinary alloys only specialize in resistance to a few extreme environments and cannot encompass everything. Even if several alloys are incorporated, each part will only have different resistances. Metal is, after all, an inanimate object."
As he spoke, he suddenly frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "None of the alloys I can think of right now can meet your requirements, but it can be combined with a biological material, although I don't have any on hand."
"Then...where can I find it?"
"Amber Plateau".
Xu Yang was taken aback upon hearing this.
He had seen this name before when he got the map of the Black Mountain area; it was an overlapping area within the buffer zone.
Behind the counter, the middle-aged man continued, "There are creatures called crystal powder worms there. Their bodies can be used as materials. You can look them up for details. I just know that such materials exist."
If combined with this material, the final armor's strength will also increase. While it won't completely block a level one attack, it can withstand one or two energy attacks.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yang's eyes lit up.
"If I can withstand one or two energy attacks, that's two chances to save my life. It seems I absolutely must get my hands on it. However, in the overlapping area..."
His mind raced, and he came up with a safe method. He asked the middle-aged man, "Uncle, this kind of material should be able to be commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, right? How much would it cost approximately?"
The middle-aged man was visibly taken aback; he had assumed Xu Yang would retrieve it himself. He then replied, "That depends on the situation. It might cost around two hundred thousand?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Yang took a deep breath.
"No wonder they could upgrade their armor to withstand energy attacks; that would require four fungal beasts."
He continued, "Uncle, if I get the materials, how much will it cost to make this set of armor?"