An ordinary steel ring made of some unknown material—crude in design, with a small blue gemstone no larger than a thumbnail set into it.
Who would have imagined that such an inconspicuous little ring could tear open space and reach across billions of light-years at will?
The moment the crack appeared, an indescribable force burst out of it.
It was as if the very air wanted to annihilate everything. Even Blaine, with his 3/8 god-level physique, was thrown to the ground before he could react. Worse still came the suction—the villa doors rattled violently as the space around them distorted.
When Blaine saw a sofa being pulled toward the rift, he quickly waved his hand, closing the crack after regaining his balance.
"Phew… that was close. I almost became space junk."
After consulting the system, Blaine finally understood how to use the ring. It turned out to function similarly to a small gadget he'd bought before—an admission ticket he had tossed aside and forgotten about.
The weakened Space Stone Ring worked the same way: channel spiritual power into it, choose a destination, then tear open space with a wave. The rift would remain open for twenty-eight seconds before automatically closing.
"Man, these high-tech things are a pain. Guess I'd better start developing in all directions from now on. Yeah—time to become an all-around Bounty Hunter of the modern age!"
Naturally, the Hunter Suit went on next.
The upgraded +40 Hunter Suit had its new features. Besides the boosted defense, it now had one particularly interesting addition—it could change form according to the host's imagination.
In other words, Blaine could wear the Hunter Suit anytime, anywhere, disguising it as ordinary clothing.
Even if it looked like casual wear, the defense remained intact, which was good enough for Blaine.
"When I go on missions, all I need is the hood up—and I'm the Bounty Hunter. Convenient. Really convenient."
As for defense, Blaine had no doubts. A +40 suit? That was serious protection.
If he jumped into that space crack right now, not even a hair on his head would be harmed. That was exactly why he'd wanted to upgrade the suit in the first place.
"Now then… Boots of Rapid March. What's going on here?"
Originally, the Hunter Suit came as a full set—boots, pants, jacket, and hood. But now, there were two extra pairs of shoes.
"System, what's this about? I've already spent a fortune today—cut me some slack!"
[The host may integrate them as insoles into the Hunter Suit boots.]
"Huh? What kind of operation is that?"
[Equipment enhanced to level three or higher may gain the ability to alter its own form.]
"Nani? Seriously?"
"So my previous Hunter Suit, the bows, and the Cursed Blood Knife…"
"There's a chance. After level forty, it becomes guaranteed."
"I'll be damned! So you're saying I just got lucky this time, huh?"
The system's silence felt like mockery. Even after buying the favor of the God of Luck, Blaine still played dumb.
The moment he adjusted the gear—
"Uh… what's this? I feel lighter… almost like I'm floating."
It wasn't flight, not exactly, but a thrilling lightness—a sensation of power at his feet that made him feel he could leap across the sky.
Blaine bounced lightly on the spot, then grinned. His leg strength had skyrocketed. One careless jump and he'd probably shoot off like a rocket.
"Not bad…"
Grrr…
His stomach grumbled again, breaking his concentration.
"Alright, time to eat."
Blaine was more than satisfied with this round of upgrades, skills, and equipment purchases. The only thing bothering him was the nearly empty balance.
Still, shopping always lifted his spirits. Especially now—with the blessing of the God of Luck and the Hunter Space upgraded—Blaine felt unstoppable. Even heading downstairs for dinner, the excitement in his heart wouldn't fade. (Or, more precisely, his hidden glee...)
"Hey, Blaine Fresh horse meat—want to join us?"
As soon as Blaine stepped outside, the owner of the racecourse called out from his McLaren, waving energetically. Well, that expensive investment into the racecourse hadn't been for nothing.
"OK, coming right up!"
Blaine grinned even wider at the mention of fresh horse meat. When you're starving and someone offers food, that's what you call perfect timing. Luck really was on his side.
"Blaine you—how did you get here so fast?"
The racecourse owner blinked. He'd just seen Blaine at the gate, yet somehow Blaine was already standing by his car. Driving a multimillion-dollar McLaren and still losing a race to a guy on foot? That didn't make sense.
"Let's eat! I'm starving!"
Blaine quickly changed the subject. He couldn't exactly say, Oh, I just teleported here. What was a car compared to his billions' worth of skills? Pathetic, really.
The racecourse owner—a burly Black man over two meters tall—wasn't just the local boss; rumor had it he could DJ and rap too. On top of that, he was a famous American basketball player. Talk about loaded.
"Hey, Blaine let me show you some Chinese kung fu!"
"Kung fu's boring! Let me show you something you've never seen before."
With a sly grin, Blaine grabbed a piece of raw meat from the pile of barbecue ingredients. A pentagram flickered in his eyes as a ball of flame ignited in his palm. Within seconds, the rich aroma of roasted meat filled the air.
"Ohhh! Magic! You're doing magic!"
Clap clap clap!
Applause erupted all around. To these foreign onlookers, the image of a Chinese guy who could do kung fu and magic might as well have been a fact of life.
By the time they finished eating and drinking, it was already past 6:40 p.m.
Who would've thought a meal would last four or five hours? But with that hilarious big guy leading impromptu songs and jokes, it was impossible not to stay. Practically everyone from the racecourse joined in, and no one even thought of leaving early.
When Blaine finally got home, he turned on the TV to catch the news, took a long bath, and collapsed onto his bed.
"Today was a damn good day."
And why wouldn't it be? After spending over ninety billion dollars, who wouldn't be happy?
"The Hunter System 2.0 really is amazing. Works like a dream—and the interface looks great too."
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