Translator: AnubisTL
He was eagerly anticipating the new set effect: +500 Enhancement.
His previous set effects had been remarkably powerful, and this one promised to be even more potent.
After a moment's contemplation, he wasted no time and immediately took action.
Meanwhile, on the subhuman star, Wu Zhending asked, his face puzzled, "Father, Mr. Jiang Cheng just said he owes us a favor. Are we really going to use it so soon?"
Wu Jinshen glanced at his youngest son, slightly exasperated. "You don't actually believe that because Mr. Jiang Cheng owes us a favor, we can make him do anything we want, do you?"
"Even if he doesn't want to, he'd still have to work for us?"
"Well, it sounds a bit strange, but he did say he owes us a favor. Since he said it, it has to count, right?"
"Nonsense."
The elder sighed softly, pulled a cigar from under the table, lit it, and placed it on the table to burn like incense. Then he leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk.
"Human relationships aren't about unconditionally doing favors for someone. Their true meaning lies in the impression that you're a decent person, someone worth collaborating with in the future."
"Our current goal is to exhaust this favor as quickly as possible."
"We need to find a task that's neither too difficult nor too simple and ask Mr. Jiang Cheng for help. He certainly won't refuse."
"Remember this:"
"People tend to remember those they like more easily than those who like them. Similarly, we're more likely to remember those we've helped than those who've helped us."
"Would you believe that someone who can't even recall what they ate two days ago might still remember casually giving alms to a beggar on the street eight years ago?"
"In psychology, this is called an anchoring effect."
"The anchor that helping others plants in our memory runs deeper than the anchor others plant in our memory by helping us."
"That's human nature."
"What we need to do is get Mr. Jiang Cheng to help us as much as possible, even with small favors. Then, we'll reciprocate by helping him, creating a continuous cycle!"
"This back-and-forth will only deepen our bond with Mr. Jiang Cheng. Do you think our relationship would be stronger if we only helped him without ever asking for anything in return?"
"On the contrary, it would gradually drift apart."
"The true approach should be—"
"I help him, he helps me!"
"That, my friend, is how friendship is forged."
"That's what true friendship is. From now on, we'll be firmly bound to Mr. Jiang Cheng. If we three—father and sons—ever face a great calamity, even if he doesn't owe us any favors at the time, do you think he'd stand by and watch?"
"This is called psychological warfare!"
"Do you understand now?"
"Ah, it's all just Ababa, Ababa, Ababa to me."
Wu Zhending stared blankly, babbling incoherently for a moment before recovering. He looked at his father in shock. "Father, when did you learn psychology? Didn't you say you never went to school?"
"I didn't."
The elder shot Wu Zhending an annoyed glance. "I used to be a beggar, barely able to afford food. Where would I have found the time to study? But that doesn't mean I can't learn now."
"Here."
The elder casually pulled a book titled "Psychology: Theory and Practice" from the bookshelf behind him and tossed it onto the table. "Didn't you notice this bookshelf behind me? I've told you both to come read whenever you have time, but you never listen."
"You two are truly rebellious sons."
"Father, do you actually read the books on your bookshelf?"
"Of course."
"My eldest brother and I always thought they were just for show, to hide your nouveau riche status."
"Sigh."
The elder wearily picked up a cigar from the table, rolling it between his fingers. "You and your brother never knew hardship growing up. If you had, you'd understand the importance of reading."
"Even after you two marry and start families..."
"When pursuing women, remember that blind devotion won't deepen your relationships. It's the back-and-forth, like a sparring match, that makes connections heat up quickly."
"This principle applies everywhere."
"Learn to plant anchor points in people's hearts. Why do they say brothers who've shared prostitutes and carried guns together are inseparable? Because those are anchor points. Human relationships are built on these anchor points, one by one."
"Uh..."
Wu Zhending shrank back slightly. "Father, you might not fully grasp your wealth. We don't need to chase girls; they chase us."
"But you've reminded me, Father. I need to watch out for girls who show signs of trying to plant anchor points in my heart."
"..."
The elder remained expressionless and silent for a long moment, unable to speak.
"Leave, you rebellious son. Wait about a day, then contact Mr. Jiang Cheng."
"Yes, Father."
Meanwhile—
In the Shark Company's office, Wang Jili sat in his boss's chair, legs propped up on the desk, squinting at the slip of paper in his hand without a word.
To ensure no trace remained, he had chosen the most primitive method of communication: writing a note, tossing it into a Remote Space Transmission gate, and letting it bounce through several relays before reaching him.
The note contained only a few simple words:
[Mechlife Star!]
Among the items he had slipped into Liu Deping's batch were four small gadgets: one-star positioning sensors.
As he had predicted, the Star Chief's Son purchased the batch and immediately transported it to the subhuman star without any attempt at concealment.
It required little deduction to conclude that the Star Chief's Son was acting on behalf of Wu Jinshen.
Given Wu Jinshen's connections, he could never have persuaded the Star Chief's Son to do his bidding. But money moves mountains.
Though the young man was the Star Chief's son, he wasn't the Star Chief himself and likely lacked significant personal wealth. By leveraging a bit of his family's influence, he could legally obtain a substantial sum of money—an offer few would refuse.
The cargo didn't linger long on the subhuman star. Within an hour, it had appeared on Mechlife Star.
Wang Jili leaned back in his chair and projected a holographic map of the galactic federation into the air. Given the distance between the subhuman star and Mechlife Star, no conventional means of transportation could have covered the distance in such a short time.
There was only one possibility: Remote Space Transmission.
But using Remote Space Transmission to transport such a massive cargo would have cost more star coins than the goods themselves were worth.
As for Mechlife Star...
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he remained silent.
Soon, with minimal effort, he retrieved information about Mechlife Star:
"Cosmic Era, May 12th: The Black Europe Company established No. 088 Myriad Races Arena in the Nicholas Galaxy, specifically on Mechlife Star."
"The following day, the Black Europe Company began modifying Mechlife Star, forcibly expanding its volume thirtyfold. The planet's remaining lifespan is estimated to be less than a century."
Mechlife Star wasn't a habitable planet; it was the site of the Ten Thousand Races Arena!
The cargo had been delivered to the Ten Thousand Races Arena!
Now he understood who stood behind Wu Jinshen: a player from the Ten Thousand Races Arena!
The reason Wu Jinshen immediately targeted players in the Ten Thousand Races Arena instead of the Black Europe Company was simple.
He happened to know the boss of the Black Europe Company, having collaborated with him before. It was a small company, neither particularly strong nor weak.
If Wu Jinshen needed to deliver goods to the Black Europe Company's boss, there would be no need for Remote Space Transmission. The cost would be exorbitant, and a batch of one-star items simply wasn't worth such an expense.
More importantly, the Black Europe Company was the founder of the Ten Thousand Races Arena, the original supplier of these items.
There was no logical reason for Wu Jinshen to purchase a batch of one-star items at a premium and then spend even more to deliver them to the Black Europe Company. This defied all reason.
Judging by the timeline, the Ten Thousand Races Arena was likely to open in about three months.
Wang Jili leaned back in his chair, his expression calm, and remained silent for a moment before lowering his legs, draping his coat over his shoulders, and walking out of the office.
The situation was now clear.
Wu Jinshen had contacted a player within the Ten Thousand Races Arena through some special means.
This player was likely a powerful one, possessing items with formidable firepower, including that cannon with a barrel a full ten meters in diameter.
The player needed a large quantity of one-star items, and the effects didn't matter.
It was easy to deduce that this player likely possessed a personal innate ability, specifically one related to weapon enhancement, which required consuming one-star items.
If that were the case, the situation became much simpler.
A player with a four-star item in the Ten Thousand Races Arena was entirely different from someone with a four-star item within the galactic federation.
Within the galactic federation, a person with a four-star item was someone he couldn't afford to provoke, someone he could only avoid.
But a player with a four-star item? He could crush them effortlessly.
Now that he had identified Wu Jinshen's backer, Wu Jinshen no longer posed any threat.
Moreover, he was deeply intrigued by this player.
Enhancement-type innate abilities and four-star items with overwhelming firepower—each could fetch a fortune on the market. If Shark Company acquired both, it would catapult them to unprecedented fame!
But he was even more curious about how Wu Jinshen had managed to contact a player within the Ten Thousand Races Arena and strike a deal.
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang and his team were gathered, discussing how to utilize this batch of items.
They had already conducted preliminary tests.
First, the Simple Camera could only accommodate up to 80,000 one-star items in its frame. However, once they acquired a large quantity of those small cube-shaped items, it would be able to hold even more.
Those small cubes, called "Trash," served no practical purpose and occupied minimal space.
Their perfect square shape allowed for optimal space utilization.
With a large supply of these items, the Simple Camera's frame could accommodate nearly 300,000 one-star items.
This meant they could Time Reversal a batch of 300,000 one-star items daily.
This was the first step.
The second step.
Scar Dog, his expression serious, began, "I've been thinking about this carefully, and I have two ideas."
"The first idea is to combine these Trash Manufacturing Machines with Wang Defa. This would maximize energy efficiency. While hunting mutated beasts, Wang Defa wouldn't need to transform into an energy source, instead providing urgent support for the Trash Manufacturing Machines' collisions."
"The advantage of this approach is its extreme energy conservation. However, the drawback is obvious: Wang Defa needs daily rest."
"But rest means the Trash Manufacturing Machine also rests, and that's unacceptable."
"Even if we assume one collision per second, there are 86,400 seconds in a day, meaning we could produce over 80,000 one-star items!"
"But... we have an engine."
Scar Dog solemnly pulled a massive engine from his chest. "With this engine, we can increase the collision frequency between the Trash Manufacturing Machines to three times per second, or even more!"
"That means we could obtain 240,000 one-star items per day through the Trash Manufacturing Machines alone!"
"But remember, that's just the production rate of one female Trash Manufacturing Machine!"
"Since we have three female Trash Manufacturing Machines, our daily production rate could reach an astonishing nearly 700,000 one-star items!"
"That many?" Li Hao's eyes flashed with shock as he murmured, "Adding your Simple Camera and Wang Defa, wouldn't we have nearly a million one-star items per day?"
"Isn't that number a bit exaggerated?"
"You think that's exaggerated?"
Scar Dog shook his head regretfully. "It's a shame the items produced by the Trash Manufacturing Machine can't collide and reproduce. If they could, we'd have countless one-star items—hundreds of millions wouldn't be an exaggeration."
"Our initial goal was to have a 3,000-meter caliber turret before leaving the Ten Thousand Races Arena. We're only at a little over 10 meters now, so we still have a long way to go."
"Nearly a million one-star items a day?" Chen Jiang couldn't help but smile. "That's more than satisfactory. Let's enhance these million-plus items first and see how far we can take them."
"Right away!"
Without hesitation, Scar Dog activated the Automatic Reinforcement Machine.
It had to be said, the later stages of enhancement consumed items at an alarming rate. Initially, a few dozen or a few hundred one-star items were enough for multiple enhancements, yielding impressive results.
But now, even several hundred one-star items barely sufficed for a single enhancement.
With the turret's level so high, each enhancement now required hundreds of one-star items as materials.
There was no way around it.
Each enhancement of the Steel Sword Autonomous Rotating Turret demanded more items than the last.
(End of the Chapter)
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