The Dancer, thinking she might have upset Luo Jie with her earlier words, wore a guilty expression and quickly tried to comfort him. "Uh... Nightmare, kiddo, everyone's got their own way of living and choosing what's right for them. There's no absolute right or wrong here. What I said before was just our group's take on things. You don't have to go all-in like we do."
"You're just a fresh face who's only been through one illusion. It's safer to play it steady, build up some experience first," she added earnestly.
Even the Boxer, who'd barely said a word the entire time, chimed in with rare input, nodding in agreement.
Luo Jie didn't bother explaining. He just shook his head with a small smile and said firmly, "I hope you'll trust me. I'm an adult, and I can take responsibility for my decisions... besides, I'm actually a lot more capable than you might think. Truly."
"Well... alright then. Just make sure you stick close to us when the time comes," Chief finally relented, though it was clear he wasn't entirely convinced.
As for Luo Jie's last statement, none of the three took it seriously. They figured it was just a young man's pride talking, trying to save face after being doubted.
Right at that moment, a series of system notifications materialized in Luo Jie's field of vision.
[Player 'Chief' has sent you a temporary party invitation.] [Party Name: Ivory Mountain Chief's Crew. Loot Distribution: Equal.] [Accept/Decline?]
Looking at the notification, Luo Jie was momentarily taken aback, but then a faint warmth spread through his chest. He hadn't expected that, despite knowing each other for less than a day, these three actually seemed to care about him as a friend. That "equal" loot distribution was a clear attempt to help out a "newbie" like him.
Recalling how Chief had struggled over a few thousand points back in the trading area, Luo Jie appreciated this gesture of friendship even more. They show me kindness, I shall return it in kind. Since they were being so genuine, Luo Jie didn't mind returning the favor with a big surprise later.
He clicked "Accept," then looked up at Chief with a grin. "That's one down-to-earth party name you got there."
Chief threw his head back and laughed heartily, clearly proud. "Came up with it while binging Country Love Story and couldn't think of anything better. Just went with the flow... But hey, from another angle, isn't it got personality?"
"You actually have the nerve to brag about that? I still cringe thinking about it!" The Dancer smacked Chief playfully on his shaved head, then turned to Luo Jie with an apologetic smile. "Don't mind him, Nightmare. Chief's a good guy and all, but his brain short-circuits every now and then, and he does something stupid... Anyway, it's getting late. You should head back and get some rest, make your preparations. This mission's on a tight schedule. Tomorrow noon, all us players who took the quest have to fly to Okinawa, Japan."
...
Chief and the others had some personal business to attend to, so after leaving the rest area, they bid Luo Jie a temporary farewell.
Since they'd be taking a shuttle from here to the airport the next day, Luo Jie decided not to bother going back and forth. He shelled out 100 Credit Coupons for a single standard room in the player accommodation zone of the market. It was pricey, but at least there were no annoying telemarketers—though, truth be told, not many would dare peddle that kind of business in a military-controlled zone anyway.
He slept soundly until dawn broke.
After a quick morning wash-up, Luo Jie called room service for breakfast, then started packing the gear and items he'd need for the mission.
After yesterday's buying and selling spree, he had 76,500 points left. It sounded like a lot, but it was nowhere near enough to upgrade all his current equipment and skills.
There was an interesting "1-2-3 Rule" when it came to upgrading gear and skills from the illusions. Golden-rarity gear required points equal to its identification cost to max out. Purple and Blue cost twice their identification points, and Green and White cost three times that. So, while higher quality gear seemed like a better deal percentage-wise, considering the massive gap in their initial identification points, it was hard to say which offered better bang for the buck.
With points tight, he had to prioritize upgrades based on the next illusion.
In any post-apocalyptic scenario, logistics skills were critical. So, Campfire and Water Conjuration were musts to max out.
Thankfully, even though these arcane skills had a high purchase price, their identification cost was low—only 200 points each. Even with the White-rarity 3x multiplier, maxing them out would only cost 600 points total, a drop in the bucket for Luo Jie's current balance.
[Campfire] Type: Arcane Rarity: E (White) Level: Max Effect: Creates an arcane campfire. Allies within its light regenerate Stamina and Spirit significantly faster, gain a minor Defense and Accuracy boost, and low-tier creatures are mentally intimidated. Intimidation strength scales with Caster's Spirit. Description: For weary travelers, nothing lifts the spirits like a campfire.
[Water Conjuration] Type: Arcane Rarity: E (White) Level: Max Effect: Conjures a harmless orb of clean water in the caster's hand. Orb size depends on the caster's Spirit and environmental humidity. Description: For parched travelers, nothing refreshes like a cool spring.
Since he was at it, he also upgraded the freebie Arcane Missile—why not? It didn't cost much either.
[Arcane Missile] Type: Arcane Rarity: E (White) Level: Max Effect: Launches a non-elemental missile from the caster's hand, dealing energy damage equal to the caster's Spirit stat. Description: A beginner course for arcane apprentices. No incantation required, highly controllable. The foundation of all Evocation magic.
Next on the priority list was the technique directly tied to his base stats: the [USS Bio-Special Forces Training Manual].
This Golden-rarity manual had an identification cost of 40,000 points, and following the 1-2-3 Rule, maxing it out would also cost 40,000 points—easily his biggest expense this round of upgrades.
[USS Bio-Special Forces Training Manual] Type: Technique Rarity: F (Gold) Level: Max Skill 1: Enhanced Soldier (Passive) – +100 Constitution, +100 Spirit. Skill 2: Genetic Augmentation (Passive) – +100% Natural Regeneration. Skill 3: Special Ops Elite (Passive) – When using firearms, +50% Firing Speed, +20% Accuracy. Description: A specialized training program developed by the Umbrella Corporation for its elite forces. Due to the high failure rate of the genetic modification surgery, it's only been implemented on a small scale within the USS.
With that upgrade complete, Luo Jie's Constitution soared to 200. His Spirit, boosted by the passive ability from his [New Human] bloodline, rocketed to a whopping 400.
The only downside? He hadn't managed to find anyone in the market willing to trade for the 6 [First-Tier Constitution Potions] he had. If he had, his Spirit would've broken through the 500 mark, unlocking his first universal attribute skill: [Enhanced Intuition].