Translator: AnubisTL
"To be honest, there's something I've been wanting to say, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate," the rabbit badge suddenly spoke from the table.
Wang Jili shook his head slightly. "If it's just to offer comfort, don't bother. Any words of consolation are meaningless."
"No, that's not it. I was wondering... if it's possible, could I see that video too?"
"..."
"No."
Wang Jili calmly shook his head. "Do you know why her father didn't arrange for her to have property on Mu Zi Star? Securing a residence there would have been trivial for him."
"Why?"
"Because her father was clever, but not quite clever enough."
He stubbed out his cigarette, casually picked up the rabbit badge from the table and pinned it to his chest, then draped his coat over his shoulders. "Let's go. Time to get to work."
"This city has a unique charm at night."
"Just like my wife."
"Day and night reveal starkly different sides."
"Everything going smoothly?"
Chen Jiang glanced at the message on his tablet, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise.
He hadn't expected to acquire over 1.3 million one-star items so easily.
It turned out to be simpler than he'd anticipated.
He'd braced himself for complications, even preparing to provide firepower for a forceful seizure. Yet the matter had resolved itself so effortlessly?
Staring at the tablet, he nodded thoughtfully. The shipment was due to arrive at the subhuman star in eighteen hours.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, these one-star items would be in his possession within eighteen hours.
"Hmm..."
Scar Dog, standing nearby, suddenly wore a peculiar expression. "Based on my experience, the best way to gauge whether this shipment will arrive safely is by checking the progress bar?"
"What do you mean?" Li Hao asked, puzzled.
"Well..." Scar Dog said earnestly, "this is something I learned from watching movies. If you see the male protagonist about to obtain something crucial..."
"So, all you need to do is watch the progress bar to know if the male protagonist in the movie will successfully obtain these things."
"If the progress bar is still more than halfway full, it means the process won't be smooth. Expect frequent setbacks and even some completely unexpected twists."
"But if the progress bar is almost full, it means the process has been largely smooth, and the protagonist will obtain these items without any major setbacks."
"..."
Li Hao paused, slightly speechless, before saying, "This is reality, not a movie. Where are we supposed to find a progress bar?"
"I'm just speaking hypothetically. But based on my experience, good things rarely come easy. We should expect some setbacks along the way."
"Are there no good things that happen without any setbacks?"
"There are, but those kinds of good things shorten your lifespan."
"..."
Chen Jiang shook his head slightly. "Let's put this matter aside for now. If any setbacks do occur, the Black Europe Company will contact us."
"Li Hao and Scar Dog, you two go make a trip."
He pulled out the five Legion Tokens from his pocket and handed them over. "Deliver these three-star items to the second-generation human guardian. While you're at it, give this defensive item to Wang Defa."
"Wow."
Scar Dog gazed at the items before him, clicking his tongue in admiration. "These things are seriously impressive. I have to admit, they're the perfect fit for Kindling City's current needs."
"But Brother Jiang, these items must have cost at least 500,000 fusion points, right?"
"Spending them like that? You're too generous, Brother Jiang."
"Enough chatter," Chen Jiang snapped, glaring at Scar Dog. "Figure out how to spend the remaining fusion points quickly. They'll expire after this event ends."
"Got it! Leave it to me," Scar Dog replied confidently. "Spending money is my specialty."
"Th-this..."
The second-generation human guardian stared in shock at the five items in his hands, his eyes reddening as he looked at Scar Dog. "These items are far too valuable. This..."
He took a deep breath to compose himself, then turned to Scar Dog with a solemn expression. "Please convey my deepest gratitude to Chen Jiang. He has already done more than enough for the human race. These items are too precious. All human players will forever remember Chen Jiang's kindness."
"Mm."
Scar Dog waved dismissively. "Well, Brother Jiang is a human player after all. He naturally wants the human race to prosper. But he won't interfere directly. Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
With that, Scar Dog and Li Hao departed, their mission complete. There was no reason to linger.
Soon, the global event "Ten Thousand Races Fusion" concluded.
[Global Announcement!]
[Ding! The global event "Ten Thousand Races Fusion" has ended. The top-ranking player is Human Player Chen Jiang!]
[Players ranked in the top 100 will receive additional rewards of varying tiers.]
As expected, Chen Jiang dominated the rankings with nearly a million fusion points, far surpassing all other players and leaving them gasping for breath under his overwhelming lead.
If Feng Jiutian were still alive, he might have claimed the top spot this time. But Feng Jiutian was dead.
To surpass someone, you don't necessarily need to be stronger than them. Sometimes, all it takes is for them to die.
The same principle applies here.
If your grades aren't great but you still want to be first in the whole school, all you need to do is... Suddenly, a madman sharpens his blade in the night, the imperial star flickers as Mars rises high. Then you can easily claim the top spot.
Chen Jiang also received his bonus reward for achieving the top ranking: a random three-star item chest. However, he didn't open it immediately.
Right now, he was focused on something far more important.
The shipment would arrive at the subhuman star in just half an hour.
No accidents had occurred along the way!
Now, only the final half-hour remained.
If nothing went wrong in these last thirty minutes, it would mean he would have over a million one-star items. No, to be precise, if he included Scar Dog's Simple Camera, he would have even more one-star items.
With that many one-star items, he could enhance his turret to an absurdly high level.
"I don't know why," Scar Dog suddenly said, "but the closer we get to the critical moment, the more I feel like something's going to go wrong."
"Can you shut your crow's mouth?" Chen Jiang glanced at Scar Dog expressionlessly.
"Ahem."
Scar Dog pretended nothing had happened, clearing his throat with a light cough before speaking with a serious expression. "Right, Brother Jiang, I've run some experiments. No matter what method I tried—mirrors, lenses, or anything else—I couldn't alter the field of view captured by the three-star item, the 'Simple Camera'."
"In other words, the size of the area recorded in the 'source photo' is fixed and unchangeable."
"Based on my calculations,"
"a single source photo can't possibly accommodate over a million items. At most, it could barely hold around a hundred thousand. And that's only if all hundred thousand items are small, one-star items. Even a few larger ones would exceed the camera's capture range."
"A hundred thousand at most?"
Chen Jiang frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before nodding. "A hundred thousand is enough. After all, the main purpose of acquiring this item was for your self-defense. This additional capability is a pleasant surprise."
"You can take two 'source photos' per day."
"One source photo for yourself, and another to capture the one-star items you want to enhance."
"The original purpose of this item was for your self-defense. Don't use both of your daily 'source photos' to enhance items. If something unexpected happens and you die, this item will lose its meaning."
"Do you understand what I mean?"
"Don't worry, Brother Jiang," Scar Dog said earnestly, licking his lips. "I'll definitely do that. You know me—I'm terrified of dying. I'll protect myself properly."
"Good."
Chen Jiang let out a sigh of relief and fell silent, absentmindedly swiping through his tablet as he patiently awaited news from Wu Jinshen.
To him, these million one-star items were crucial—no, absolutely vital.
Any unforeseen incident could easily cause this entire investment to go down the drain, a loss he couldn't afford to accept.
Time passed quickly.
Half an hour vanished in an instant.
"Phew."
Scar Dog, sitting beside him, exhaled in relief. "No good news, but no bad news either, right? Sometimes, no bad news is the best news."
Just then, the tablet suddenly flickered.
A message from the Black Europe Company popped up on the screen:
[Mr. Jiang Cheng, there have been some unexpected developments en route.]
Scar Dog's face stiffened, his lips twitching uncontrollably. "Uh, Brother Jiang, this really isn't my fault. I never imagined anything could go wrong on such a short half-hour trip."
"I suggest we shut Scar Dog's crow's beak for good," Li Hao said with a hint of exasperation.
Meanwhile, the messages continued to scroll across the tablet:
[Though it sounds unbelievable, it's the truth.]
[After successfully passing inspection and landing, we discovered some anomalies with the items. To be precise, there were significantly more items than originally recorded.]
[The additional items were mostly useless trinkets.]
[Our investigation led us to an astonishing conclusion: the items had somehow become pregnant during transit and given birth to new items.]
[While this possibility is shocking...]
"But when I remember these are just items, it somehow makes sense. After all, anything seems plausible when it comes to items."
Scar Dog stared at the stream of messages popping up on his screen, his expression unchanging. After a moment of silence, he said, "I have to admit, Wu Zhending's dry humor is quite impressive. Tonight, I'll tell Brother Jiang's rabbit badge a new joke."
"Now, how should we respond to show we have a sense of humor too?"
Li Hao stood frozen, his mouth agape in shock. He couldn't believe what he was reading. During transit, the items hadn't been intercepted by interstellar pirates—instead, they had gotten pregnant and given birth?
How could items even get pregnant? And why would they give birth?
Did Wu Zhending even realize what he was saying?
It wasn't April Fool's Day, was it?
Chen Jiang was momentarily at a loss for words. After a pause, he replied:
[I'm not quite understanding. Could you elaborate?]
The response came quickly.
"After our investigation, we found that the new items were mainly concentrated in one container. After carefully examining each item in that container, we discovered a few with unique effects. I've already sent the details to Mr. Jiang Cheng for your review."
Almost immediately, two item panels popped up before him.
The first was—
[Item Name]: Trash Generator (Male)
[Item Star]: One-Star Item
[Item Effect]: When collided with a female Trash Generator, it creates a new one-star item. This new item has no practical use; its sole purpose is to exist as a one-star item.
[Item Description]: "We yearn for romance! How dare you call what we create trash?!"—From a debate on a certain planet.
The second item was identical to the first, except for its name:
Trash Generator (Female)
At that moment, the other party spoke again:
"In total, we've discovered three female Trash Generators and five male Trash Generators."
"Based on our assessment, they collided with each other during transport. Each collision generated a new one-star item, resulting in the current situation."
"The exact mechanism remains unclear."
"After all, once an object is labeled as an 'item,' it transcends all known rules."
"When this unexpected event occurred, my father urged me to report it to you immediately, Mr. Jiang Cheng."
"Holy crap!"
Scar Dog's jaw dropped as he finished reviewing the item panel. He muttered, "This isn't an accident—it's a goddamn jackpot!"
"Brother Jiang, I think we've hit the jackpot again!"
The moment he saw the panel, he already had a plan for how to use these items.
A trash-generating machine?
This wasn't just a trash-generating machine! For others, it might be, but for Brother Jiang, it was a surprise-generating machine!
(End of the Chapter)
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