Translator: AnubisTL
However...
It had to be said, Scar Dog's Automatic Reinforcement Machine was, in two words—highly efficient!
Before the words had even finished echoing, the massive pile of one-star items stacked beside it instantly tumbled onto the turret, accompanied by flashes of white light as the turret underwent continuous reinforcement.
Until... a notification window popped up again:
[Your Steel Sword Autonomous Rotating Turret's caliber has been reinforced to its maximum limit.]
[To continue upgrading, first reinforce the barrel length!]
His turret caliber reinforcement had capped at +60, bringing the caliber to an astonishing 310 cm.
Of course, this had consumed nearly 7,000 of his one-star items!
Chen Jiang expressionlessly watched the items that had fallen around the turret's base, unable to be further reinforced. He felt a pang of regret.
Starting from +50 to +51, the reinforcement material cost had suddenly increased tenfold.
Moreover, while upgrading from +30 to +31 only required one additional material unit, upgrading from +51 to +52 required ten additional units.
At that moment, he noticed the notification panel he had previously overlooked:
[For all reinforceable options, the material cost for upgrading to +51 is equal to the cost for upgrading to +50, with an additional zero appended to the end.]
"Furthermore, starting from +50, the material cost for each reinforcement increases by 10."
"The ammunition capacity reinforcement option begins to increase its cost at +80."
"I see..."
Chen Jiang frowned slightly and nodded. Earlier, Scar Dog's Automatic Reinforcement Machine had been operating so efficiently that the information panel flashed too quickly, preventing him from noticing this detail.
Among all his reinforcement options, the highest level he had reached was +80 for ammunition capacity.
No wonder he hadn't seen this notification when he last reinforced his ammunition capacity to +80.
After a moment of contemplation, resting his chin in his hand, he accepted this reality. The increased material cost was understandable.
However, it posed no real problem for him. Once his factory was operational, he would have a virtually inexhaustible supply of one-star items.
He then turned his attention to the reinforced turret before him.
To be frank—
The turret's silver-white barrel and the faint red patterns on its body seemed to glow faintly under the sunlight.
Overall, it looked...
Absolutely fucking hideous!
Chen Jiang couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
A turret with a 310cm caliber and a 220cm barrel length was unimaginably ugly.
It looked... it looked like SpongeBob.
Though the turret had absolutely nothing to do with SpongeBob, for some reason, the moment Chen Jiang saw the reinforced turret, the name "SpongeBob" flashed through his mind.
Just then, Scar Dog spoke up from beside him, "What's wrong, Brother Jiang? Is the Automatic Reinforcement Machine not to your liking?"
Chen Jiang glanced at Scar Dog with a blank expression. "It's fine, it's working perfectly. Carry on."
"Right away!"
Soon after:
[Ding! You consumed 23 semi-scrapped items to reinforce the turret barrel length from +20 to +21.]
[Current turret barrel length: 230cm. Effective kill range increased to 2600 meters.]
[...]
[Ding! You consumed 620 semi-scrapped items to reinforce the turret barrel length from +59 to +60.]
[Current turret barrel length: 620cm. Effective kill range increased to 6500 meters.]
Chen Jiang couldn't help but marvel once again!
Scar Dog's Automatic Reinforcement Machine was truly efficient!
In just a few dozen seconds, it had increased the barrel length from +20 to +60!
This amount of work would have taken hours to complete manually in the past.
The ancient proverb was right after all.
Technology is the primary productive force!
And now, the turret before him had undergone a complete transformation!
The barrel length had reached an astonishing 620 cm—over six meters!
Its effective range had extended to an astounding 6,500 meters!
While the six-meter barrel might still seem slightly bulky compared to its three-meter caliber, the overall appearance was a vast improvement over the original SpongeBob-esque design.
This upgrade had consumed nearly 9,000 one-star items.
The primary consumption occurred during the reinforcement process from +50 to +51.
"Damn," Scar Dog muttered, gazing at the transformed turret with a flicker of awe in his eyes. "A six-meter barrel? No kidding, the intimidation factor is off the charts!"
"Combined with that three-meter caliber, I reckon this thing isn't just a weapon anymore—it's practically a magic artifact!"
"You know how those cultivation novels always have magic artifacts? Like a Golden Bell that expands on command to imprison enemies?"
"Brother Jiang, I think your turret could be used like this too!" Scar Dog exclaimed excitedly, gesturing wildly. "This is a massive power boost!"
Li Hao, standing nearby, stared at the turret—a contraption that seemed utterly out of place in reality—with a strange expression. He didn't know what to say.
To be honest, with this thing around, he felt utterly useless.
What need was there for map manifestation?
Just aim at the volcano, fire a single salvo, and it would all be over.
A 310cm caliber turret? Its full broadside was practically a barrage of missiles!
Forget all the fancy tricks!
Everything would be flattened!
Chen Jiang stepped forward with a satisfied expression, patting the turret's barrel. While the increased consumption of one-star items had stung a little, the resulting upgrade was undeniably significant.
For just under 16,000 items, he had acquired this behemoth.
Once he used up the remaining 26,000 items, his turret would undoubtedly undergo another major enhancement!
This brought him a much-needed sense of security.
Now he could finally close his eyes and get some proper sleep.
He planned to build defensive measures around the world tree, then sleep soundly. After being in this world for so long, he hadn't once fallen into a deep slumber.
Though he'd grown accustomed to it, it was still far from comfortable.
Li Hao, on the other hand, slept like a log every night, inevitably stirring a bit of resentment in him.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ritian squatted nearby, his face blank as he stared at the absurdly massive turret before him.
He had personally witnessed the turret grow larger step by step!
He had never imagined a turret with such a massive caliber. A 3-meter-long barrel? When did turret calibers start being measured in meters?
This thing could probably fight interstellar wars in space without breaking a sweat!
Beside him, a large pile of slimes lay motionless, pressed against Zhao Ritian's rear.
They blended perfectly with the grass, making it nearly impossible to distinguish them from the ground without a close look.
It was this ability that had allowed Zhao Ritian to survive relatively comfortably before meeting Chen Jiang and the others.
(End of the Chapter)
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