Chapter 107: Auspicious Journeys
In the changing room, he took off the nearly shredded cloak that had been battered by the Sinborn demon and repced it with a brand-new bulletproof rain cloak. An Jing put on his Baleful Qi Repelling Mask and carried a full set of new Magical Artifact–grade equipment on his back, feeling his excitement surge.
—With these Magical Artifacts and talismans, plus my further cultivation progress…
—Sinborn demon, just wait for your death!
Although none of this equipment could function under the restriction, making it hard to gauge its quality, the demonstration by the staff in a specially designed restriction-free zone (which still suppressed weapon modules) allowed An Jing to confirm that his drones could operate smoothly.
He even went so far as to test them himself, using professional VR goggles and a control joystick to pilot the drones.
Strangely, although An Jing theoretically had never before seen or handled drones, he piloted them with remarkable skill, making the Six Qi Lotus Ptform maneuver up and down in agile three-dimensional movements. Even the bck market staff nearby were mildly astonished.
“Sir, your drone-handling skills are practically on par with a professional.” Half in awe and half fttering him, she continued, “You don’t even have a chip, yet you can fly it so deftly. If you had a chip…”
She trailed off, but her meaning was clear. Somewhat taken aback, An Jing removed the drone goggles. In this lifetime, he clearly had no such skill—yet in a previous life, had he been adept at flying drones?
Who exactly was he? He knew martial arts, he could fly drones, and yet he died so young…
Could he have been some urban “soldier king” who then got pulled into a supernatural street-fighting plot?
And what was this “chip” everyone in the Tianyuan Realm kept mentioning…
“Sorry to trouble you.”
With these thoughts circling in his mind, An Jing smoothly expressed his gratitude for the staff member’s help.
“No trouble at all… no trouble at all…”
The amiable bck market attendant, who had a pleasant demeanor and a sweet voice, waved her hand repeatedly. She hesitated briefly, then produced a water mirror and leaned in a bit cautiously. “Um, could you perhaps leave a positive rating for me here?”
An Jing blinked and looked at the water mirror. He saw rows of service-rating fields and realized that, by entering his spiritual energy imprint, he could leave either a positive or negative review.
She was clearly a newcomer—very young, likely just hired by the bck market—and didn’t have many ratings yet, though all were positive. An Jing found that perfectly reasonable; her earlier demonstration and subsequent attentive service had been fwless, certainly deserving a perfect score.
He smiled and marked each category with a perfect rating.
“Thank you!”
Seeing that An Jing had given her perfect marks across the board, the young attendant blushed and beamed, her eyes curving like crescent moons.
Buoyed by that joy, she directed An Jing toward the free-trade zone and waved him off cheerily.
An Jing’s mood likewise brightened.
Upon arriving in the free-trade zone, he found it bustling with people and noise.
Unlike the Armory District, this pce felt more like an underground mini-city: noisy, crowded, and with a towering ceiling.
Individual shops and stalls hung up signage of various sizes; the tallest structures rose the equivalent of thirteen floors.
People with concealed faces wandered around in search of what they wanted. Some shops allowed haggling, while others posted fixed prices; each one operated differently.
Quietly, An Jing threaded his way through the crowd, guided by a small helper drone.
If he had to name his truest wish, it would actually be the bck market “little helper”—a drone imbued with a measure of autonomous intelligence.
However, that type of drone was merely a “sub-drone,” controlled by the bck market’s central system. Drones that had their own intelligence and an artifact spirit were either exorbitantly expensive or extremely rge.
“I’ll think about it next time.”
With that in mind, An Jing soon arrived at a store called “Auspicious Journeys,” where he collected the “Single-Person Pioneer Set, Type C” he had previously ordered via the water mirror. It cost a ft seventy-five merit points.
The set included a forest-clearing bde, a meat-cutting knife, a bulletproof rain cloak, a Baleful Qi Repelling Mask, a compass, flint and tinder with a windproof lighter, a tool kit containing needles, thread, screwdrivers, pliers, and tweezers, a night vision device, a small one-person medical kit, a Water Purification Talisman, a bundle of cord, and a compact tent plus a fshlight.
Additionally, it contained a stimunt called “Bright Soul Powder,” refined sugar, salt, wound medicine, and four fasting pills.
One fasting pill, if the person remained still in meditation to slow metabolism, could sustain them for five days.
In truth, the set was quite basic.
If he had gone for the Type B set at 125 merit points, it would have included an extra Healing Talisman, a Hiding Talisman, and two additional fasting pills.
If he had chosen the Type A set at 300 merit points, it would have included a Golden Armor Talisman, a Divine Speed Talisman, one Boiling Blood Pill, and quite a few more accessories.
However, An Jing still had Qi Boosting Pills, and according to the Sword Spirit, the Golden Armor Talisman was weaker than his current physical body. Many other needs could be addressed through drone reconnaissance, so this was more or less sufficient.
“Young man, if you don’t have a chip, operating the Six Qi Lotus Ptform might be a bit tough.”
The owner of Auspicious Journeys was a young man with waist-length bck hair. A multi-lens bck visor concealed his eyes, but from what little of his face showed, he looked barely in his early twenties.
He was quite talkative. From An Jing’s use of a merit point voucher, he inferred the young man before him was a barbarian. Noticing the Six Qi Lotus Ptform strapped to An Jing’s pack, he offered, “Let me teach you a trick. Activate all six sub-drones simultaneously, and once they’re airborne, issue the ‘spread out’ command at the same time. The six sub-drones will automatically bance themselves and fly off in six directions, which is much more convenient than controlling them one by one.”
He then shared a few more practical tips on operating drones, all quite useful. An Jing nodded repeatedly, committing them to memory.
An Jing gnced at the counter behind the young owner and saw it was packed with various drone components…apparently a personal hobby. Spurred by his enthusiasm, An Jing smiled, csped his hands, and said, “Thank you for your guidance, Boss. You truly seem to know your stuff.”
With that, he pced five merit points on the table and slid them over, lowering his voice as he asked, “About this chip…I keep hearing people mention it, but I’m just a barbarian. I’ve no idea what sort of treasure it is or how to obtain one.”
“I’m no master, really—just a hobbyist with a bit of study,” the boss replied with a goofy grin. Taking the merit points, he started to offer An Jing a cigarette, then withdrew it when An Jing tapped his gas mask. Cheerily lighting one for himself, he said, “Chip—at its core, it’s the ‘heart.’”
“It’s essentially a formation that links minds, a talisman for spirit-communication, and an inner realm to harness the spirit. In simpler terms, it’s a multi-functional formation disc engraved with talismanic seals, bound to our souls, allowing us to connect to various networks, aid in calcutions, and even offload certain thoughts.”
“Getting one isn’t hard. You barbarians only need to gather five thousand merit points and one meritorious deed, then head to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to register and receive a spirit-communion chip.”
“A meritorious deed?” An Jing repeated, starting to grasp why Iron Hand had been so surprised. The boss chuckled. “Yes, it’s for taking down exotic beasts or evil monsters—sometimes corrupted humans. The Frontier Expansion Bureau posts bounties for dangerous beasts or spirit creatures, and each counts as a meritorious deed.”
“That part’s not too hard for barbarians like you. But saving up five thousand merit points…ah, that’s tough.”
An Jing nodded in agreement, sighing as though he truly felt it. “Earning a living is hard.”
They sighed in unison, then waved each other goodbye in surprisingly good spirits.
(End of Chapter)
