Opening Chests, Opening Chests

Seeing Lin Yi even had the heart to crack a joke, everyone felt a weight lift from their hearts.

Because although Zhou Jianjun hadn't said anything, his previous look of worry had been seen by everyone, so there was actually a stone pressing down on everyone's hearts.

After this bit of joking and distraction, even the low-pressure atmosphere that had persisted in the hall was dispelled quite a bit.

"Brother Yi, these crystals... why don't you open them so we can broaden our horizons?"

Seeing that everyone was in a good mood, Chen Yu rubbed his hands together and suggested to Lin Yi.

As a part-time streamer for unboxing trendy toys, he was naturally extremely interested in such things. Ever since he heard that there were two pieces of equipment inside the crystals, his eyes had been practically glued to the equipment crystals in the box, and his face was written with impatience.

The others were actually very curious as well, especially about that set of "Flowing Cloud Type I Swift Strike Light Armor" and the "Abyss Rift Type I" long spear, which sounded extraordinary. Everyone wanted to see with their own eyes what this Source Energy Equipment used for combat actually looked like.

"Brother Yi, let us open our eyes..."

"That's right, Little Yi, show it to everyone. Everyone is worried about you going out in damaged armor, so having new equipment will put everyone's minds at ease," Zhou Jianjun also said with a smile. As a soldier, he was also a fan of weapons and equipment.

Looking at the expectant eyes of the crowd, Lin Yi naturally wouldn't spoil the fun.

He smiled slightly and first picked up the white crystal inscribed with the "Flowing Cloud Type I Swift Strike Light Armor."

"Alright, let's look at the armor first."

As he spoke, he applied a little force with his five fingers, and accompanied by a crisp "crack," the crystal shattered on cue.

However, this time, the shattered crystal did not turn into lightning like the detector from before, but instead burst into a soft, cloud-like white light.

This mass of light quickly condensed and took shape in the air, finally turning into a physical object that Lin Yi caught.

It wasn't the mighty suit of armor everyone had imagined, but a metallic belt that looked very high-tech.

The belt was silver-gray all over, and in the center was a slightly protruding oval dark crystal, which seemed to be the core.

"Huh? Isn't it armor? Why is it a belt?"

Chen Yu was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit confused.

Lin Yi didn't explain; he simply fastened the belt, pressed his fingertip lightly on the dark crystal, and at the same time, moved his mind to inject a trace of faint Source Energy.

The next moment, with the belt as the core, countless silver-gray light beams like liquid metal instantly shot out. They didn't spread randomly, but followed a predetermined, extremely complex trajectory, quickly covering Lin Yi's entire body from top to bottom.

Shoulders, chest, back, arms, legs... almost in the span of a breath, a set of full-body light armor with smooth lines and a simple yet powerful design covered Lin Yi's torso and limbs seamlessly.

The surface of the armor flowed with a water-like shimmer under the candlelight, which was the origin of the name "Flowing Cloud."

"Holy crap! Holy crap!!" Chen Yu was dumbfounded and couldn't help but blurt out an expletive.

The others were also in a flurry of excited discussion.

"This... this is too magical!"

"It just put itself on?!"

Lin Yi moved his hands and feet, feeling the slight sense of restraint and the almost negligible weight of the armor, and explained:

"According to the information in the crystal, this is portable Source Energy armament. The belt is the core and trigger; you only need to inject a trace of your own Source Energy to activate the suit."

"Maintaining this basic armor form consumes very little Source Energy. At my current level, it's enough to last through a battle. However, even the most basic defensive effect should be comparable to the armor defense of a main battle tank..."

"As for the additional effects, there are two: Dynamic and Deflection. You see, this subtle flowing effect on the armor isn't just for aesthetics. Dynamic means that by consuming Source Energy, at the cost of lowering the defense of the surrounding area, you can increase the defensive effect of a specific small area. I guess this is mainly aimed at piercing attacks."

"And Deflection is about using the armor's own flow to dissipate force, which has a good deflection and dissipation effect on low-intensity attacks... Of course, if you want to trigger the active protection effect, you need to consume extra Source Energy to drive it."

After finishing, Lin Yi stopped the injection of Source Energy.

The armor quickly receded like a tide, retracting back into the belt form.

Everyone watched in amazement, marveling at this technology that far exceeded their imagination.

Next, Lin Yi picked up the crystal representing the "Abyss Rift Type I" long spear.

After crushing it, what appeared in his hand was a miniature long spear model only a palm long, with extremely fine craftsmanship. It was dark all over, and the spear blade and shaft were clearly visible, like a miniature work of art.

"This... it wouldn't be the kind that can be enlarged, would it?" Li Jie muttered in a low voice.

Lin Yi didn't answer, but once again mobilized a trace of Source Energy in his body and slowly injected it into it.

Hum!

The miniature model immediately lit up with a faint light, and at a speed visible to the naked eye, it quickly lengthened, thickened, and hardened!

In the blink of an eye, a dark metal long spear with a narrow, sharp blade and an icy murderous intent was held firmly in his hand.

The lines of the spear were sharp, the weight was moderate, the center of gravity was perfect, and an astonishing sharpness seemed to want to pierce through the body.

"The main effects of this long spear are Sharpness and Armor Break. The spear tip uses a certain high-hardness alloy and has been permanently reinforced by Source Energy circuits. Its physical sharpness has reached the peak of the low-tier Stardust level, and it can easily break through the defenses of Abyssal Beast of the same level without consuming Source Energy."

"And Armor Break is through the Source Energy circuit on the spear tip, compressing Source Energy at the very tip of the spear point, giving the next thrust an explosive increase in piercing power, focusing on hard shells or energy shields."

"Moreover, maintaining the basic long spear form requires very low Source Energy, and it can be restored to its miniature form when not in use."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuxuan, who was on the side, was thoughtful. "It sounds like all of these are pieces of equipment that can be initially used with very low consumption... It must have been chosen this way on purpose... Looking at it this way, the Supreme Command Center doesn't just value Lin Yi a little bit... Source Energy... Source Energy!"

He sighed deeply in his heart, then simply returned to the corner where he had been lying, closed his eyes, and recalled the key knowledge of the Source Energy Guidance Technique that Lin Yi had explained, not intending to join in the excitement anymore.

Lin Yi didn't notice Zhou Yuxuan's inner turmoil at all. After showing the long spear to everyone, he moved his mind and stopped the Source Energy injection.

After about a minute, the long spear began to shrink rapidly, turning back into that miniature model.

As he spoke, he inserted the model back into a slot on the side of the belt, explaining to everyone, "This Flowing Cloud Light Armor Belt has several slots on the right side specifically for these miniature items, and the left side has several as well, which are used to hold Source Energy Crystals."

This scene once again drew gasps of amazement from the crowd.

This method of combining high technology with source energy completely subverted their understanding of "Weapons and Equipment."

However, only Lin Yi knew that these seemingly magical pieces of equipment were merely standard-issue gear for low-level civilizations in the vast universe.

Once the demonstration was finished, Lin Yi picked up the remaining Cultivation Technique Crystals one by one, crushing them to absorb the Information Flow into his mind.

On the surface, however, he deliberately spent a few minutes "digesting" each one after learning it.

After learning all the techniques, Lin Yi closed the box and said to the group, "Alright, everyone has seen the items. It's getting late, and since the crisis hasn't been resolved yet, everyone should hurry up and rest to keep your energy up. I'm afraid there will be a fierce battle tomorrow."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Because I cultivate source energy, my need for sleep is minimal. While you all rest, I'll head up to the rooftop to practice the Cultivation Technique Combat Skills I just acquired and get familiar with them as soon as possible."

Hearing this, although the others were still excited, they knew Lin Yi was speaking the truth. They nodded one after another and found places to lie down, attempting to fall asleep.

Of course, whether they could actually fall asleep was another matter entirely.

Lin Yi crushed all the remaining Gray Crystals at once, turning them into Source Energy Crystals, stuffed them into the card slots on the left side of his belt, and then headed to the third floor to find the stairs leading to the hotel rooftop.

As the heavy Fire Door was slowly pushed open by him, the somewhat muggy air of the Summer Night instantly rushed into his lungs.

The rooftop was vast and silent. In the distance, the city remained a dead, dark void, save for that massive Abyss Beast Nest, which pulsed slowly like a heart, emitting an ominous Purple-Black glow.