Translator: AnubisTL
Whoosh.
A white light flashed.
Chen Jiang rubbed his stiff neck, sore from looking up for so long, and gazed at Scar Dog, who was slowly emerging from the phantom gate beside him. His expression was complex as he murmured, "Should I praise you as a genius?"
"How did you manage to wring so many tricks out of that pathetic innate ability of yours?"
"Well," Scar Dog replied, still catching his breath, wiping cold sweat from his forehead, his throat slightly dry, "there's no such thing as a useless innate ability, only useless people."
Just moments ago, while airborne, he had inhaled countless mouthfuls of frigid air. His throat now felt parched and uncomfortable.
Then, his face lit up with anticipation as he glanced at the step tracker on his wrist.
A line of small text was clearly displayed:
[Today's Steps: 2,901 meters.]
"Whoa!"
A spark of excitement flashed in Scar Dog's eyes. "Brother Jiang, this actually works! I racked up so many steps in less than a minute!"
"Is that even possible?" Chen Jiang's eyes widened in surprise. "What rewards do you get for reaching certain milestones with this item's daily step count?"
"Let me check."
Scar Dog tapped the device on his wrist, and a panel popped up in mid-air:
[Please select an item from the reward pool.]
"You may only choose one item."
"The selected item will appear as a daily reward in your prize pool, unique and unchangeable."
"It will be awarded to the player upon reaching daily step milestones."
"Available items include—"
"Elf Race: One-Star Item - Magic Fruit"
"Insect Race: One-Star Item - Insect Egg Stone"
"Mechanical Race: One-Star Item - Energy Block"
"Ape-Man Race: One-Star Item - ..."
The list continued with nearly a hundred more items, but Chen Jiang and the other player had already stopped scrolling.
Their gazes were fixed on the one-star item: Energy Block!
This step tracker allowed them to select the Mechanical Race's Energy Block as a prize pool option?!
A flicker of disbelief flashed in Chen Jiang's eyes.
Energy Blocks could only be manufactured by the Mechanical Race. How could one appear in the prize pool?
While he understood why the Energy Block was listed as a Mechanical Race specialty—given their racial innate ability to create items—he wondered why the Elf and Insect Races also had specialty items. Could those races also create items?
Or were these items only effective for the Elf and Insect Races, hence their designation as "specialty items"?
Though these questions lingered, Chen Jiang's mind was entirely focused on those two words: Energy Block.
Scar Dog, his expression flushed with excitement, didn't hesitate for a moment before selecting the energy block as the sole prize in the reward pool.
Immediately, the reward rules appeared before them:
[Daily step count of 2,000 meters: Reward 1 energy block.]
[Daily step count of 4,000 meters: Reward 2 energy blocks.]
[Daily step count of 6,000 meters: Reward 3 energy blocks.]
[Daily step count of 10,000 meters: Reward 5 energy blocks.]
[Daily step count of 30,000 meters: Reward 20 energy blocks.]
[Daily step count of 50,000 meters: Reward 50 energy blocks.]
[Daily step count of 100,000 meters: Reward 100 energy blocks.]
[No further rewards will be given beyond 100,000 meters.]
Chen Jiang squinted at the reward rules, his eyes narrowing as he began calculating. "One energy block can sustain approximately three round trips between the exit and the entrance."
"That means each 3,000-meter run consumes one energy block."
"To reach 100,000 meters, we'd need 34 energy blocks."
"This includes the extra energy block required to open a phantom gate for a safe landing on the return trip."
"The total daily rewards amount to 181 energy blocks."
"181 energy blocks minus the 34 consumed leaves us with 147 energy blocks."
"Our daily net profit is 147 energy blocks."
Chen Jiang's eyes gleamed with excitement as he finished speaking, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "This deal is worth pursuing. The return rate is quite promising."
"Indeed," Scar Dog nodded in satisfaction. He then shook his head regretfully. "It's a shame each player can only bind one step tracker. If we could carry multiple trackers at once, I'd load up with seventy or eighty and grind them slowly for fun."
"And you can't max out the daily rewards on one tracker and then switch to another."
"Each person can only claim the full daily rewards from a single step tracker."
"No need for regret," Chen Jiang said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I recall this item isn't exclusive to human players, is it?"
A flash of understanding crossed Scar Dog's eyes. "Brother Jiang, are you suggesting—?"
"Exactly what you're thinking."
"Will this work?"
"Not sure. Want to try?"
"Let's give it a shot."
Standing nearby, Li Hao stared blankly at the two figures conversing before him, completely lost in their cryptic exchange. Before he could even process what was happening, the pair stepped through a phantom gate and vanished from sight.
"Hmm, not bad," Li Hao nodded expressionlessly, scanning the desolate wasteland around him. Could someone please tell me where I'm supposed to go now?
But before he could dwell on it further, Chen Jiang and the others reappeared through the phantom gate, dragging a terrified mechanical race player by the arm.
This was the slave they had captured, intended for mass-producing one-star items.
Scar Dog forcefully strapped a new step tracker onto the mechanical race player's wrist. Immediately, a phantom gate materialized at their feet.
"Good luck, buddy."
Scar Dog grabbed the mechanical race player by the collar and immediately threw him into the phantom gate before them.
The next moment—
The mechanical race player materialized a thousand meters in the air!
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!"
An even more piercing scream rang in everyone's ears!
Then Chen Jiang and the others watched as the mechanical race player plummeted toward the ground in free fall. Just before impact, the phantom gate instantly expanded, engulfing him.
It was as if time had been rewound.
The familiar mechanical race player reappeared at the familiar thousand-meter altitude, emitting the familiar agonizing scream, and began the familiar free fall, hurtling once more toward the phantom gate on the ground.
Splatter.
With a wet sound, the mechanical race player repeated his free fall.
By this point, as the mechanical race player hung suspended in mid-air, the phantom gate on the ground was clearly nearing its energy limit, on the verge of shattering.
(End of the Chapter)
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