Departure

Su Shijie wanted to eavesdrop, but clearly Su Ren had shielded their conversation just as he had when speaking with him, so he heard nothing.

But the next morning, the lecherous grin on Su Ren's face still made Su Shijie breathe a sigh of relief. There probably wasn't any major problem.

"It's nothing. Your second brother's grown up. He's started thinking about women."

"Oh~"

Hearing his father's quiet reminder, Su Shijie immediately put on a sly, shifty look.

His icy second brother had actually started thinking about women. Imagining a few scenes was genuinely amusing.

But his second brother was still only human. What was so interesting about real women? They threw tantrums at every turn, demanding this and that. Nothing but trouble.

How great were his wives in the game?

The eighth day since leaving the game. He missed them~

But he could only miss them...

Having gone through so much in such a short time, Su Shijie would not waver in his resolve. He would just treat it as a beautiful memory.

Today, his older sister and second brother simply took turns escorting him. They chatted about what they had seen during the Spirit Deer migration along the way and arrived at the Shelter without incident.

Although only a day had passed, the Shelter was clearly livelier than yesterday. As the Spirit Deer drew closer, more and more people would arrive.

P-314 had indeed claimed a prime spot.

Even without so-called taxes or tolls, the circulation of trade alone, along with the sale of daily necessities, could bring considerable profits.

Since the network issues meant there were no final exams, Su Shijie skipped class again just like yesterday. Or rather, he did not even enter the classroom.

Anna had finally gotten hold of an Awakened Rank potion and had become Awakened Rank herself, but when she arrived at the classroom, there was not even anyone left for her to show off to. The pent-up frustration nearly drove her mad...

"Whoa, there's quite a lot of good stuff."

The market was even livelier today than yesterday. Merchant caravans had begun arriving one after another. Besides bringing goods from the city, they were also buying materials on the spot.

Any Spirit Deer they hunted could be sold directly to them, and they would transport them to the city to make a profit on the price difference.

There were all kinds of standard healing, hemostatic, recovery, and other potions for sale. The selection was quite comprehensive, though the prices were a little higher than in the city.

The most plentiful and cheapest option was probably a combination of adrenaline, nutrient solution, and hemostatic agents.

The healing and recovery potions with good effects all involved spiritual energy in their production, and the key stages required manual work. This cheapest combination, meanwhile, was entirely mechanized.

Its effects were still quite noticeable in critical moments, and it offered great value for money. At 100 Credit Points per dose, even ordinary people could afford one for emergencies.

After all, those who came specifically to participate in the hunt would not be that strong. Affordable goods with good value were naturally more popular.

Su Shijie also spotted a more advanced Combat Suit that suited him better.

However, since he would be heading into the city in the next couple of days anyway, he decided to choose more carefully after getting there.

There would be more variety and lower prices, so he would definitely find something more suitable.

Besides that, Su Shijie bought a pair of windproof goggles and three portable cameras. They had no anti-interference or stealth capabilities, and their range in a spiritual-energy environment was only one kilometer.

But Su Shijie could use telekinesis to control them, giving himself better command of his field of vision and making it easier to calculate a target's precise coordinates.

After all, he already had a talent for computation, and as his evolutionary level increased, his processing power increased alongside it. He could easily control several things at once.

The goggles could directly display the live video feeds. A merchant had originally brought them over to conveniently monitor deer herds and traps.

"Six hundred Credit Points isn't expensive, but when I get the chance, I'll need to buy something with anti-interference and stronger stealth. A portable drone would be best too. I wonder what the city has."

After briefly adjusting the goggles and cameras, Su Shijie put them into his Combat Suit pockets. These were only temporary; he had bought them cheaply to practice and get used to them. He would replace them sooner or later.

"Brother Su, over here."

Just as Su Shijie put away the cameras and began wandering around while eating fried insect pupae, a familiar voice reached his ears.

Turning around, he saw Xu Hao and his father from yesterday with some surprise. Several sturdy men wearing leather armor stood beside them, each carrying a huge crossbow on his back.

"I didn't expect you to get here already. Did you travel through the night?"

Su Shijie asked in surprise.

Although he and Su Ren had enjoyed hunting outside at night, they had still remained fairly close to the Shelter. With Shelter 320 dozens of kilometers away, traveling at night carried a certain degree of risk even for those at Awakened Rank.

"No. We got home yesterday evening and told them to get ready. Then we set out early this morning."

Old Master Xu Hao grinned, revealing his white teeth.

"Good. That's even better."

Su Shijie readily accepted the six Star Crossbow X-6s they had brought. Together with the one he already had, he now had seven in total.

Even though the crossbow bodies were made of lightweight alloy, that was already the limit of what he could control. In fact, for the best control, he should operate six or fewer, keeping one as a spare.

If he wanted to reserve some capacity for firearms, he would have to reduce the number further.

Since he had to account for wear and tear in use, taking all seven was no problem.

Moreover, he had spent half the night disassembling the Star Crossbow and had already thoroughly understood its structure and assembly. Even all seven could fit into a suitable field backpack.

He could also bundle the bolts together and hang them on the back of his Combat Suit.

Once they reached the city, he could pick out high-end Combat Suits with more attachment slots. That would be much more convenient.

After all, he couldn't use his entire backpack to carry these things. He still needed emergency supplies.

In fact, this era really did have the legendary Spatial Equipment. Su Shijie had specifically looked it up through the Advanced Class network.

One type was the "bag" type, made using spatial compression technology and special materials. These spatial backpacks essentially expanded a backpack's capacity, but they had weight feedback. Aside from volume limits, there were also weight limits.

The other type was something whose technology was completely unknown. It didn't need to take the form of a "bag"—it could be jewelry, rings, or anything else. Although it also had weight limits, there was no weight feedback.

However, even the first type was priceless. The Earth Federation probably only had a few of the second type. Calling them national strategic treasures would not be an exaggeration.

They were simply not something he could consider at his current stage.

"You're straightforward, kid!"

Seeing Su Shijie inspect the goods before paying the full amount in one go, without making things difficult, Xu Hao grinned.

The other hunters did the same.

They had all been worried that with too many buyers around, the price might get pushed down.

"Kid, if you're heading into the city, you can buy some special bolts when you get the chance. The times we used these before, special bolts were actually more common. With the firing rate here, it's best to make the most of it."

Most of the bolts bundled together for Su Shijie this time were actually brand-new and had barely been used.

But there were also two special bolts.

One had enhanced armor-piercing properties. Its bolt head was made from a type of Psionic Alloy, and the scratches on its shaft showed that it had been used many times.

This kind of Psionic Alloy worked on a principle somewhat similar to the simple fusion battery in Sergei's Power Armor. Normally, it was merely an ordinary alloy, but after psionic energy was infused into it and altered its microscopic properties, it could retain extraordinary characteristics for a period of time.

Su Ren's Tang Heng Dao was forged from another type of Psionic Alloy, and it was the most expensive piece of equipment on him.

The other was a brand-new Scatter Shot. After being fired, its unique construction allowed it to gradually spread out in a stable manner, expanding its area of impact.

Given the power of the X-6, this kind of bolt was undoubtedly the most practical for Su Shijie at the moment. However, due to its special construction, it could not be reused.

"Special bolts require purchase qualifications too. I've saved up quite a few, so I'll give you some."

As Xu Hao spoke, he raised his Personal Terminal and connected it with Su Shijie's.

Naturally, Su Shijie did not refuse.

"Thanks, old man."

"No need. I should be thanking you instead. I have no use for the purchase qualifications for X-6 special bolts anyway."

"District 320 really does produce a lot of hunters."

After accepting the purchase qualifications for fifty special bolts from Xu Hao, Su Shijie sighed in admiration.

Their purchase qualifications had probably been obtained by hunting special Spirit Beasts and selling them in the city. Although the qualifications for buying crossbows and bolts were relatively easy to obtain and faced few trading restrictions, giving away so many at once still showed just how much they had hunted.

And since today's agreed-upon transaction had already been completed, and nothing bad had happened on his second brother's end, Su Shijie planned to set off with his father today.

If they moved quickly, they could even return before the deer herd arrived and harvest another batch...

He should try to work more of the setting into the free chapters...