Tinder Grass and the Cat

"Sir, what would you like to see first: smart firearms, melee weapons, or ammunition?"

"Ammunition."

The robot led Gao Gong to a display case. It swiped its palm over a magnetic strip, and the bulletproof glass slowly opened.

"T1 Incendiary Round, utilizing a new integrated structure of steel core and explosives. Upon detonation, it not only produces flames but also scatters shrapnel."

"T5 Armor-Piercing Round, with a projectile made of quenched high-carbon steel, capable of piercing the hides of Radiation Beasts below Class D."

"W6 Sniper Round, compared to ordinary sniper rounds, it increases critical hit rate by 11%. Its specially designed blood groove accelerates bleeding."

"Black Tracer Round, which can release a smoke that disperses beasts. This is a specialty product of our Security Brigade."

"Virus Round..."

Gao Gong pondered.

In terms of purchasing power, 1 Contribution Point was equivalent to 10 Mech Coins.

Ordinary bullets weren't expensive, so there was no need to buy them from the military supply warehouse; one could simply place an order at a regular weapons shop.

Some special ammunition was more expensive, with only 1 Contribution Point buying 1 round.

The ones the robot had just introduced were all mid-tier rounds, the kind used by the Sleepless City's security and peacekeeping forces.

These types of rounds could inflict additional damage even when hitting a Reaper.

These rounds cost 2 Contribution Points each.

Without hesitation, Gao Gong purchased a hundred rounds of each type. For all seven kinds of ammunition, he spent 1400 Contribution Points.

"I'm done with ammunition. Show me Sleepless City's latest prosthetic bodies."

"Certainly."

The three major military contractors each had a different style. Among them, Taiber Defense System focused on firepower, specializing in installing large-caliber guns and cannons onto prosthetic bodies, such as implanted rocket launchers, shoulder-mounted mini-cannons, and palm-mounted flamethrowers. Even their melee prosthetic bodies were incredibly ferocious, featuring battering ram mechanical legs, retractable chainsaw blades, and flame whips. The gorilla arm was one of their flagship products.

Their primary clients were not individuals but the Mechanical Legions of various Mechanical Cities.

Marubeni Global Security, on the other hand, dominated land, sea, and air, pursuing mobility and specializing in battlefield adaptability. Their prosthetic bodies focused more on enhancing survivability—bionic lungs that boosted lung capacity, adrenaline enhancers for temporary bursts of power, and metabolic editors that could digest toxins, and so on.

They also had the most products.

Gao Gong stood at their booth for a long time. With his Contribution Points, he could afford one or two small implantable items.

Or, he could DIY one himself.

"Give me a roll of Load-Bearing Monomolecular Wire, a Handheld Ejector, and a Combat Battery."

"Sir, we offer implantable Energy Wire, High-Temperature Wire, and Viper Wire."

"No, I just want these."

The robot did not try to persuade him further and quickly gathered the equipment. That cost another 600 Contribution Points.

"Gao, you're going to build your own equipment?"

Gao Gong turned and saw a rather charming red-haired woman wearing a denim jacket. However, when she turned around, it was a bit startling.

Only half of her face was charming; the other half was an implanted metal face. Consequently, she only had half her hair, shaved in a mohawk style.

"Three-Handed Daisy, are you here to buy weapons too?"

Daisy friendly extended two hands. Her right hand, like her right cheek, had undergone mechanical modification. She had two mechanical arms on her right side and one normal arm on her left.

Gao Gong hesitated for a moment. Daisy smiled apologetically and retracted the upper arm.

"Old habit, my neural coordinator."

Gao Gong laughed heartily and shook her hand.

Three-Handed Daisy, the captain of the Tinder Grass Hunting Squad and a well-known Mechanical Hunter in Automobile City.

"You're not here to recruit me, are you? I've had enough to drink today."

"Of course not. While you are very strong, our team has fixed members, and forcing cooperation wouldn't be suitable."

Daisy said seriously, "However, we can share information."

"Battlefield intelligence sharing," Gao Gong mused. As an old hand in Automobile City, he was well aware of the styles of each hunting squad. Some were overbearing, some were insidious, some liked to snatch loot, and some would stab their teammates in the back.

The Tinder Grass Squad had a good reputation locally.

"Sure," Gao Gong readily agreed, his gaze sweeping over the anti-gravity trailer behind her, which held several large-caliber weapons.

"It looks like your squad plans to make a big move with this opportunity."

"Of course. We can't be mercenaries forever, can we?"

Gao Gong nodded, and they exchanged contact codes. Daisy seemed about to say something else when a sweet voice rang out.

"Daisy, are you ready? We're leaving."

A short girl inserted herself between them. She first gave Gao Gong a deep bow and then said, "You must be the famous Gao Jun, right? My name is Matsushima Keiko, I'm fifteen years old, and I like women."

Matsushima Keiko looked up, and in her large, round eyes, a killing intent unique to swordsmen actually blazed.

"Gao Jun, Keiko likes Daisy, so you need to keep your distance from Daisy. Otherwise, Keiko will have to slice you up."

"Keiko, no rudeness!"

"Oh," Keiko pouted aggrievedly, then pointed a finger. "But he doesn't look like a good person, Desila."

"Men who are handsome are never good people, that's what my mom told me."

Gao Gong looked at Matsushima Keiko's waist and saw that she had two samurai swords hanging from it, with equipment similar to an 'Electromagnetic Exciter' on the scabbards.

Her arms were slender and pale, which didn't match her rosy complexion.

"High-fidelity arm prosthetic, the sword-wielding type from the Demi-Human Continent."

Matsushima Keiko's expression changed. She hadn't expected a bumpkin to recognize the origin of her prosthetic at a glance.

The Demi-Human Continent was a district of Sleepless City, separated from the other districts by a river. Most of its inhabitants were natives of the mainland, and they were quite martial.

So, she was a city person who came to the desert to strike it rich. No wonder she was so ambitious.

"We'll keep in touch if there's a chance," Gao Gong smiled at Desila, then lowered his head and said to Matsushima Keiko, "Then did your mom also tell you that lolis with small chests aren't good lolis?"

Matsushima Keiko was furious. She jumped up and tried to kick Gao Gong's knee, but her collar was immediately grabbed by Desila's three hands, and she was dragged away like luggage. Her shouts could be heard from a distance.

"Desila, let go! This man is too rude, I'm going to kill him!"

"Can't you be quiet for a moment?" Desila's helpless voice came over.

"Oh, right, I also ordered some parts. Please help me place the order."

Gao Gong smiled, not taking the minor incident seriously. He handed a piece of paper with mechanical parts listed on it to the robot.

These weren't for him, but for his 'future' teammates.

"Understood."

The robot went to get the parts for Gao Gong, and Gao Gong didn't plan to stay any longer.

While over two thousand contribution points wasn't a small amount, it was nothing compared to the hunting results of famous hunting squads over a long period.

Although the prosthetics here were good, he felt more at ease using his own blueprints. Who knew if these military contractors had left backdoors in their prosthetics.

"Hello!"

A 'cat' suddenly jumped onto the counter and looked him up and down.

"Your body is very good!"

"Good in what way?"

The cat's eyes swept around, and it nodded seriously, "The system is very balanced and stable. That's very good."

"Oh."

"Are you interested in buying our weapons?"

"Your family? Whose family are you from?"

"Mas Fang. You've visited two stores, but you haven't visited our exhibition area."

"That's because I didn't have the money."

Gao Gong chuckled. Who would dare to use their prosthetic? Their weapons were at least experimental, while their company directly experimented on people.

"It's okay if you don't have money. I'll lend them to you. You can just return them after you're done," the 'cat' said.

"That's generous?"

"Of course. Our main goal is to collect weapon performance data."

"So, how I use them is up to me?" Gao Gong's heart stirred.

"Of course," the 'cat' looked at Gao Gong as if he were an idiot. "Besides, how else can weapons be used? Of course, they're used directly."

"Alright, then pick out two for me. I'll return them after I use them. But we need to agree beforehand, if they break, don't blame me for compensation."

"Don't worry, our company has always served customers with sincerity, offering returns, exchanges, and repairs. Our satisfaction rate in Sleepless City is infinitely close to 100%."

As long as they eliminated customers who didn't give good reviews, wouldn't all reviews be good?

Thinking about Mas Fang's company's future operational style, these good reviews were definitely manipulated.

A moment later, Gao Gong drove away from the military supply depot in his beat-up off-road vehicle, with a large bag of ammunition, a pile of mechanical components, and two beautifully packaged boxes.

He first transported these items to his secret base, then drove to Little Finger's black market shop, but found that he wasn't there. So he went to the Rose Gasoline Bar, but he still wasn't there.

Fortunately, Little Finger had left him a message.

"Brother Finger said the things you ordered have been brought in and are in the warehouse. There's also a big item, but it'll take a few more days."

Gao Gong had people move the items out. They were ten boxes of Nutrient Paste, which barely fit into the off-road vehicle.

As for the big item Gao Gong had ordered, it was naturally the armored vehicle he had been longing for.

It was impossible to obtain such a restricted military item through normal channels, but that's what the black market was for.

With the proceeds from his hunts and the first batch of 'skin' sales combined, he managed to afford this 'early retired' military vehicle.

"Alright, I'll be going now."

"Take care, Brother Gao."

Gao Gong drove the car all the way to the outskirts of the urban area. As Huang Yuanli had instructed, he lit a special oil tree leaf not far away.

The fire wasn't large, nor was the smoke, but the signal could be transmitted to the special organs of the Electronic Bees.

Not long after, a pockmarked face cautiously peeked out from behind the trees.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Gao?"

"Who's asking?"

"I'm a member of the Cable Tribe. Sister Li asked me to come."

"She asked you to come, so where is she?"

The pockmarked face's eyes flickered. "She, she's very busy right now and can't get away."