Du Ke officially started work at the car modification shop, proving his ability. Boss Xu generously offered him a contract with an annual salary of one million.
At the same time, for every modification job he took on, Du Ke could receive a thirty-percent commission from the modification fee.
Boss Xu had originally planned to sign him for five years, but Du Ke only agreed to one. "Let's try it first. If I do well, it won't be too late to renew. If I don't, forget five years—Boss Xu, you'll probably kick me out within five days."
Boss Xu assumed Du Ke was holding something back so he could ask for a raise at the right time, so he did not pay it much mind and agreed.
In truth, Du Ke simply wanted to make some quick money.
His current goal was to accumulate knowledge, cultivate Mind Power, and fill the Mind Armor with energy as soon as possible so he could begin the grand journey of crossing worlds.
"This energy has to cover a round trip, and there also needs to be extra energy for transporting supplies across. By that calculation, I'll need to store at least three times the energy required for a crossing."
The Mind Armor had already fused with Du Ke. Crossing worlds had a fixed energy cost, while carrying additional items required additional energy. Du Ke could choose not to bring anything from Earth, but if he found samples of new materials in the Fantasy World, he would always need to bring them back.
That meant he had no choice but to store more Psionic Energy.
Based on what he gained from cultivation each day, he calculated that it would take roughly five or six months to fill up three times the required energy. He had obtained the Mind Armor in early April, so he would have to wait until around October before he could begin crossing worlds.
During these six months,
he also had to keep looking for new items to replicate. He could not do that without money.
During the day, he stayed at the modification shop, wandering around and inspecting vehicles. He handled the talking, while the other mechanics handled the work. Whenever some rich second-generation kid came in for modifications, he would go over and talk with them, offering a technical plan. The shop had several modification experts, but few could truly provide a complete line of thought.
Du Ke, however, knew every car inside and out, so he could speak with confidence and detail. Besides, he only provided modification ideas and did not do the work himself.
He relied on the Mind Armor's analytical abilities to see through the structure of modified cars.
Material manifested by the Mind Armor could not exist for long and would sooner or later return to the Mind Armor itself, making it unsuitable for circulation.
Once it was time to carry out the modifications, he would arrange for the other masters to take over. He was not stealing anyone's livelihood, so the mechanics at the shop had no complaints about him.
On the contrary, Du Ke was eloquent and made everything sound convincing. Several rich second-generation kids who had not planned on modifying their cars could not resist transferring money on the spot after hearing him out, causing the shop's performance to rise slightly.
As a result,
in his first month, Du Ke received nearly two hundred thousand in commissions.
"Making money is way too easy!" With his newly received pay, Du Ke directly bought a membership at the Luzhou City Shooting Club. After firing a few shots, he replicated all of those firearms.
For the time being, he had no way to get in touch with the military, so he could not lay his hands on rocket launchers or grenade launchers. He could only replicate some firearms to satisfy himself first.
The New World was unknown. The Mind God Race considered it habitable, but who knew what dangers existed over there? Du Ke had to make sure he could return alive.
Developing excellent marksmanship would certainly help.
As long as he had enough Mind Power, bullets could be manifested anytime and anywhere, giving him an unlimited supply of ammunition.
Besides practicing his shooting at the club, he would also head into remote mountains around Luzhou City. With a suppressor attached, he would shoot to his heart's content. Gunshots were loud, and even with a suppressor, there was no guarantee they would not be heard. So after shooting for an hour, he would move somewhere else and continue.
Every night, he surfed the internet and studied.
Before going to sleep, he cultivated Mind Power again.
Without realizing it, he had begun teaching himself university subjects he had missed before, such as calculus. "If I'd encountered the Mind Armor back in high school, I should have graduated from Xiake University by now, right?"
Xiake University, Huaxia University of Science and Technology, was the most sacred university in the hearts of everyone from Anhui Province. Even Tsinghua and Peking University could not compare.
Three months flashed by, and the scorching heat of July arrived.
Life had never felt so fulfilling.
Du Ke had already earned eight hundred thousand through modified cars. By then, his reputation had become red-hot in Luzhou City's car modification circle. Rich second-generation kids from near and far all came looking for him to modify their cars. It was not just those from Luzhou City—people came from nearby cities and even other provinces.
It could be said that he no longer needed to worry about money.
He now planned to work seriously for a year and save several million. That way, once he brought materials back from the New World, he would have enough startup capital to open a company.
Besides that, his greatest gain was that he had systematically studied university courses, from Materials Science to physics, chemistry to mathematics, biology to geology. He had tackled almost all the foundational sciences. This endless flow of knowledge was his greatest motivation for cultivation.
And then,
in addition to working on modified cars, he had also been considering how to upgrade the Mind Armor. Iron Man's suit was flashy but impractical, so he had ruled it out. Instead, the nano biosuit from Crysis caught his eye.
Using titanium alloy as raw material, he subjected it to nanotechnology treatment and formed it into a soft, foldable defensive layer. After repeated revisions and adjustments, a set of Nano Armor finally took shape. It could provide safe protection in most environments. He also compressed several canisters of liquid air as backups.
Since he did not know whether the New World was suitable for human survival, bringing his own air was essential.
"Bringing enough air to breathe will increase the energy consumption too..." Du Ke shook his head. For the sake of safety, these were all necessities.
Time continued to pass.
July turned into August in the blink of an eye. Du Ke saved another four hundred thousand, bringing his total savings to 1.2 million.
At this point, besides working, studying, and cultivating, he began another replication research project—mixing among various research institutions, either paying money or using connections to get inside and replicate their precise scientific instruments. On one hand, it was to increase his knowledge reserves; on the other, it was preparation for the New World.
After all, everything in the New World was unknown. Even if he found new materials, they would need to be thoroughly researched. He definitely could not leave that work to outsiders; he had to conduct the research himself.
At the same time,
besides the Nano Armor, the Mind Armor gained several other forms: an all-terrain vehicle form, a jet ski form, a drone aircraft form, as well as a long-range firepower system, a melee weapon system, and a sterilization and decontamination system.
It also gained a set of sealed boxes and sealed test tubes.
All of this was for the New World.
"It feels like I'm prepared enough... but I still need more protective measures. New World, New World—what if it has brutal environments like those planets in Interstellar? These few safeguards obviously won't be enough. One massive wave might just smash me to pieces."
Over the following days, he remained busily occupied, preparing for his crossing.
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