[Adaptable Gemstone: Can be socketed into equipment to enhance its adaptability, significantly increasing its corresponding Combat Power score.]
[Pet Collar: A special piece of equipment that can be worn around the neck of a Tower-Carrying Beast. Grants the ability to contact the Tower-Carrying Beast remotely and increases its Comprehensive Combat Power by 5%.]
After chatting with Huang Yi, Shen Fei retrieved two items from his mailbox. It really took a lot of work to get these! He had seen the "Adaptable Gemstone" before and originally thought it would be useless to him, but in the end, it was his, and it turned out to be incredibly useful.
The rewards for the top two spots on the Golden Orchid Ranking, which had been running for three weeks, were now all in his hands.
The other item, the "Pet Collar," also perfectly suited his needs. Since it was an extra item from a veteran player, the Pet Collar's Attributes weren't very high, only increasing the Tower-Carrying Beast's Combat Power by 5%. But because it was classified as "equipment," it was useful to Shen Fei.
Time to drill a socket! And inlay it!
After checking its Attributes, Shen Fei quickly bought a socketing tool and drilled a hole in the Pet Collar. To his delight, the "Pet Collar" could also have three sockets. Besides socketing the "Adaptable Gemstone," he could socket two other types of Gemstones. A pleasant surprise!
[Speed Gemstone: Level 9 Gemstone, increases Speed by 100%.]
[Defense Gemstone: Level 9 Gemstone, increases Defense by 100%.]
After a moment of thought, Shen Fei directly socketed two max-level Gemstones into the collar. One was a Speed Gemstone, which directly increased the Black Tortoise's speed by 100%. The other was a Defense Gemstone, which boosted the Black Tortoise's already formidable Defense Power by another 100%.
Of course, after using two Level 9 Gemstones, his remaining Gold Coins had dwindled by 4 million.
"Come here!"
With a single summon, he called over the Black Tortoise, which had been playing among the array of towers on the Floating Island. SWOOSH! Shen Fei slipped the Pet Collar onto the Black Tortoise's neck.
Then, he used the "Enlarge and Reduce" skill, shrinking both the Floating Island and the Black Tortoise and guiding them to slowly approach each other.
SWOOSH!
Thanks to the "Adaptable Gemstone," when the two collided this time, there was no "CLANG CLANG CLANG" sound. Instead, they slowly began to merge...
As Shen Fei watched, the solid, metal-and-stone structure on the underside of the Floating Island slowly indented into an oval-shaped hemisphere, taking the shape of the Black Tortoise. Then, the Black Tortoise slowly settled into place...
RUMBLE—!
After a violent tremor, the Black Tortoise's fearsome back fit perfectly with the Floating Island. Visibly, numerous vine-like plants extended from the bottom of the Floating Island, tightly wrapping around the sharp spikes on the Black Tortoise's back.
"ROOOAR..."
The Black Tortoise, now shouldering the Floating Island, suddenly threw its head back and let out a loud cry.
With a shimmer, Shen Fei saw that after fusing with the Floating Island, the Black Tortoise's two skills, "Carrying Mountain" and "Tower-Carrying," had turned gray and become unusable. But its other Attributes had skyrocketed.
***
[Name: Black Tortoise (+10)]
[Rank: Holy Beast (Unique)]
[Level: Tenth Tier]
[Equipment: Pet Collar]
[HP: 340,000,000]
[Attack Power: 3,857,499–9,999,999]
[Skills: Cloud Riding, Water Manipulation, Defense Blessing, Rebound Aura, Heaven-Splitting Claw, Profound Water Arrow...]
[Comprehensive Combat Power: 38,970,000]
[Status: City-Carrying]
***
After equipping the Pet Collar socketed with max-level Gemstones and shouldering the Floating Island, the Black Tortoise's Comprehensive Combat Power nearly doubled, jumping from twenty million to over thirty-eight million. Its HP, furthermore, shot up from over one hundred million to more than three hundred million. With the bonuses from the max-level Speed Gemstone and Defense Gemstone, the Black Tortoise was a completely different beast than before.
Meanwhile, the Floating Island had also undergone a massive transformation after the fusion. The most significant change was that it no longer consumed Gold Coins to move, as the Black Tortoise now provided its propulsion directly. Shen Fei would no longer need to spend extra Gold Coins just to keep it afloat. Moreover, the Floating Island gained the ability to submerge while being carried by the Black Tortoise.
With the fusion, the Floating Island's "Shield" skill could now also envelop the Black Tortoise. And the Black Tortoise's three-hundred-million-plus HP was shared with the Floating Island's "Shield," significantly boosting the Shield Value. The two complemented each other, adapting into a perfect whole. After the fusion, both sides received a massive upgrade.
After studying it for a bit, Shen Fei discovered that the Black Tortoise's City-Carrying state could even be reversed. The Black Tortoise could carry the Floating Island and move quickly with the boost from the Level 9 Gemstones, or the two could separate to act independently and fuse again at any time... It was just that broken!
SWISH. SWISH. SWISH.
He tried using his Tower Master skill, "Enlarge and Reduce," and found that when the two were fused, the skill affected them both at once. He could simultaneously transform them into a behemoth more than ten kilometers wide or shrink them down to the size of his palm to conceal them from view.
Perfect!
Seeing that his total Combat Power had broken through three hundred twenty million after the fusion, all Shen Fei could do was nod again and again.
"Brother Huang, thanks for the items. I've already used them, and they're a perfect fit!" The fusion was a success. Seeing that Huang Yi was still online, Shen Fei politely sent him a message of thanks.
"Great! That Great Xuanwu really is badass!" Huang Yi replied courteously. "And thank you for the Divine Black Phoenix you sent!"
Closing the chat window with Huang Yi, Shen Fei's gaze once again fell upon the Floating Island.
"Mist!" he commanded, clicking on the Mist Towers among the six hundred-plus Defense Towers on the Floating Island.
Instantly, streams of white mist appeared, shrouding the perimeter of the Floating Island. The Black Tortoise below was also enveloped in the mist, becoming faintly visible and exceptionally mysterious...
The Floating Island, the Black Tortoise, over six hundred Defense Towers... Skills, Gemstones, Auras... A massive number of elements and buffs combined, creating an immense chain reaction. He eagerly anticipated what the scene would be like when the Black Tortoise and the Floating Island were inherited into reality.
***
"Finally, it's all done!!!"
A few minutes later, looking at the less than 10 million Gold Coins remaining in his inventory, Shen Fei rested his hands behind his head and contentedly admired his game information card. It had been almost a month since he was reborn. In that time, he had sold his villa and sports car, secretly sold his father's shares, and anxiously poured money into the game. Now, the billion-plus he had on him was finally all spent. All the pay-to-win projects in the game were finally taken care of.
His Combat Power in the game had reached a staggering three hundred million-plus. Compared to the second-place player, Huang Yi, who had a Combat Power of just over 10 million, his was a full thirty times higher. And this was after Huang Yi, influenced by Shen Fei, had spent another wave of money on the game.
After midnight tomorrow, it'll be April Fools' Day. It's all or nothing!
His in-game spending and Combat Power Enhancement were complete. Now, all he had to do was wait for the inheritance. The urgency in Shen Fei's heart eased slightly.
But if the inheritance doesn't happen... There are no "ifs"!!!
The moment the stray thought appeared, Shen Fei brutally shut it down.
***
612 Defense Towers, all Enhanced to +10, all socketed with Gemstones. Ten Tower Master skills, all carefully selected, each one more powerful than the last. The unique, max-level Tower-Carrying Beast, the Black Tortoise, with nearly forty million Combat Power and over three hundred million HP. Ten pieces of max-quality Tower Master equipment, all Enhanced to +10, that allow me to carry my Defense Towers with me. The Floating Island is also fully upgraded and can even fuse with the Black Tortoise... And the butler, Sky Control, is still upgrading. His current Combat Power has already reached twenty-eight million...
Opening his status screen, Shen Fei read over the results of his busy days, word by word. He felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment and reward.
The first wave of the Game World's invasion is version 4.0. I should be able to inherit my power then...
Just as Shen Fei was contemplating the inheritance of his game abilities, Sun Yu came looking for him.
"Bro!" he exclaimed. "Bro, you're so badass!"
Shen Fei's Combat Power had increased by over a hundred million today alone, and Sun Yu shared in the glory.
"Alright, go to bed early. Get ready to pull an all-nighter tomorrow night!" Seeing that Sun Yu was about to bombard him with words again, Shen Fei directly logged out of the game.
Tonight, he really did need to get a good rest. April Fools' Day would arrive tomorrow night. Even if he wanted to sleep then, he probably wouldn't be able to. He had to conserve his energy tonight.
He snapped his laptop shut and saw that it was already three in the morning. Shen Fei stopped thinking and slowly closed his eyes.