Because he didn't have many Wish Power points, and there hadn't been much danger before, Tao Yu had usually spent just one or two units to give himself a little extra speed, saving up for Deification.
He had a hundred and fifty points on him now. He'd originally planned to save up three hundred to Deify Stealth: Python.
The cost of Deifying a skill rose rapidly, much like the increasing costs of training. Deifying the Bullet Time talent again, for example, would take over a hundred thousand units of Wish Power, while Basic Breathing Technique - Enhanced would cost around thirty thousand.
The effects would probably be excellent, but the value for money would certainly be nowhere near as good as Deifying an ordinary skill for the first time. Besides, those amounts couldn't be saved up in the short term.
The three hundred units needed for Stealth: Python had made Tao Yu curious, and he also felt the ability could help him stay alive.
But now that he'd seen the damn Facehugger and the python with its belly ripped open, he couldn't afford to keep saving!
As far as his physical enhancements went, he still wasn't much to look at next to bullets. His greatest killing power still depended on his firearms, so Tao Yu turned his attention to the Basic Shooting skill!
The skill had only just reached the level where it could be displayed at lv1, but it required a lot of bullets to train, making it one of Tao Yu's more expensive abilities.
While Yosef and the others discussed the Facehugger's strange shape, Tao Yu had already focused his mental energy on Basic Shooting.
Soon, as Wish Power flowed into it, the skill's light ball gave off a strand of golden light.
Basic Shooting??lv1: Spend a small amount of mental energy to slightly correct the trajectory of your shots. Concentrate and spend a large amount of mental energy to greatly alter a bullet's trajectory, while also inflicting a mental impact infused with the attached mental energy.
After adjusting his will to turn it into Basic Shooting - Enhanced, Tao Yu felt a hint of delight.
It was excellent—better than he'd expected!
It didn't just greatly improve his accuracy. Paired with the passive Dynamic Vision granted by Bullet Time, it was like adding wings to a tiger. It even added "mental impact," a form of "magical damage"!
An ordinary person with low mental energy might hurt themselves by recklessly adding mental attacks to their shots. But Tao Yu had Mental Immunity, so even severe backlash wouldn't hurt him. Much like stamina, it only added the burden of energy expenditure.
Tao Yu's strongest attacks relied on external weapons. He could still handle a python with ease; the pythons in this area weren't capable of resisting an Assault Rifle. As long as he could target the head, he could kill one.
That was why he hadn't upgraded his shooting before. His firepower was already enough, and Bullet Time's passive Dynamic Vision helped him aim.
But now that the Facehugger had appeared—and a python had been infected—there was a real chance that Assault Rifle rounds would struggle to penetrate its defenses.
Aliens had exoskeletons, after all!
They weren't immune to bullets, but even ordinary Aliens could withstand quite a few shots. The Giant Python Alien's added defenses might let it tank his shots while it attacked and knocked him out!
Whether it was a python, an ordinary Alien, or a Giant Python Alien, Tao Yu knew one thing for certain: he could only take one hit.
At most, he could use One Proof, Eternal Proof to spend Wish Power and recover.
If he ran into a python, he could at least hope it would swallow him whole, giving him a chance to escape from inside its belly. But an Alien's tiny cherry-sized mouth...
Images flashed through his mind, and Tao Yu quickly banished the mental contamination.
His attack power had improved, giving him some confidence. But thinking about how hard the Aliens were to deal with—and how impossible it was to estimate their numbers—still left him feeling pressed for time.
The others had finished examining the Facehugger and the snake's corpse without figuring anything out. They were about to set off for the snake's nest when Tao Yu spoke up at just the right moment.
"Um, Lord Winuo, how well does your armor protect against Assault Rifle fire?"
Winuo frowned beneath his helmet at Tao Yu's timid tone. Then, through the helmet, he replied in a deep, slightly distorted voice, laced with mockery.
"What? Planning to shoot me in the back?"
His words made the others turn to look at Tao Yu. Tao Yu hurriedly waved his hands.
"No, no, you've got it wrong. You're a big shot from the Inner City. I wouldn't dare if you gave me a hundred chances."
Tao Yu's response came as no surprise. Li Le and the other Outer City people didn't think he'd try to ambush Winuo, either.
He was a big shot from the Inner City, and he had a partner with him!
You'd have to be insane to make such a brainless choice.
But Tao Yu continued hesitantly.
"Before, we were only dealing with those pythons, so I wasn't under much pressure. I wasn't going to let Zhang Wei go up front; all we had to do was fire without thinking. With my talent, it really wasn't difficult..."
By then, the others had caught on. Winuo's getup was clearly designed for close combat.
If he charged in to hack away while Tao Yu fired from behind, a stray shot could indeed hit him.
Before Winuo could speak, Li Le raised an eyebrow and said, "You can practice Basic Shooting before you come in, too. Then you just have to spend a little Wish Power to brush up on it after you arrive. Surely you wouldn't be that bad? My talent doesn't help with shooting, and I've already reached lv3, over halfway to the next proficiency level. As long as you're careful, it shouldn't be a problem."
Before he turned eighteen, Li Le had studied Gun Fu and moving shots in addition to Basic Shooting. After accelerating his training with Wish Power when he came in, his shooting ability was already quite good.
"Brother Li probably heard a little about me from Uncle Hu, right? My family couldn't afford to feed me that many bullets. I didn't practice shooting after I came in, either. I trained in the Breathing Technique the whole time. Zhang Wei knows."
Tao Yu looked embarrassed.
"Then what's your shooting level?"
Winuo asked, sounding a little uneasy. His armor had decent bulletproofing, and there was armor underneath it as well. But it had to let him move freely, so there were still places it couldn't protect—unlike the one-piece combat suits worn by the two people from the Floating City.
If he had bad luck, got caught up in a fight, and took a bullet to the knee, that would be a real problem.
"lv1, and my proficiency is almost zero. So I'd like to borrow some Wish Power from you two. I'm willing to put this bottle of 'Joy' up as collateral."
Tao Yu pulled out the bottle of "Joy" Yosef had given him. Several people at the scene gave it a peculiar look.
Walter and Chen Guan looked envious, while Yosef, Winuo, and Li Le all wore strange expressions.
Yosef in particular looked rather speechless. Hadn't he given it to Tao Yu himself?
Now Tao Yu was offering it to him as collateral, asking him for a Wish Power loan?
"Ahem. Yosef, if you don't mind, could I have him? His talent would actually complement mine pretty well."
Winuo didn't refuse outright. Instead, he gave Yosef a teasing look.
"An A-rank talent, and you think I'd let you have him?"
Yosef scoffed and turned Winuo down. Then he shot Tao Yu an annoyed look.
"If you wanted to borrow Wish Power, you could've just told me earlier. I gave it to you, so it's yours. Why put it up as collateral?"
His generous attitude made the other Outer City people look envious. Walter and Chen Guan in particular had started to worry that Tao Yu had offended Winuo and would have a hard time. Now, they had to revise their impressions.
Zhang Wei was moved as well, and hesitated, but still didn't dare approach Tao Yu as he had before.
"Thank you, Brother Yosef."
As he spoke, Tao Yu handed over the thousand units' worth of Wish Power Metal his parents had given him, now drained of its power.
After being swallowed by the python and later killing it, Tao Yu had managed to recover the metal.
Yosef weighed it in his hand and looked a little speechless.
A thousand. It was a small amount to him, but not so small that he could ignore it.
Still, thinking of Tao Yu's talent, he readily injected Wish Power into the bag of metal.
To prevent people from killing one another, the World Will made sure that when one pioneer killed another, they didn't drop any Wish Power—only the things they carried and any Wish Power items they had. Most transactions between pioneers relied on Wish Power Metal, which could absorb and release Wish Power again and again.
There were also more efficient Wish Power vessels.
Before handing the metal back to Tao Yu, Yosef spoke calmly.
"But you know we can't lend out Wish Power for free. The risks are too high—people might die or fail to pay us back. So I'll just charge you the usual rate: borrow nine, repay thirteen."
Before Tao Yu could reply, Li Le chimed in at the right moment.
"That's the lowest rate you'll find in the Outer City. The skills you can learn through installment plans at the various settlements' dojos come with the same rate. Before Awakening, you can hardly borrow anything at all. Even after Awakening, it's hard for people with poor talents to get a loan. Lord Yosef is willing to lend to you in a mission this dangerous—that's real generosity."
People in the Outer City didn't have much to their names, and the death rate on Awakening Day wasn't low. Before Awakening, they generally couldn't borrow at all. Even afterward, "low-interest" loans like these were only available when learning skills through instruction, much like student loans.
After all, no Wish Power changed hands; they were just teaching a skill. If the borrower couldn't pay it back or died, the losses were manageable.
Tao Yu took the bag of Wish Power Metal back without hesitation. As he absorbed the power, he replied readily, "Of course. Thank you, Lord Yosef, for helping me in my time of need."
Once he'd absorbed all the Wish Power, Tao Yu handed the bag back and asked, "Could I get another thousand?"
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