Upgrade Time

Wang Qianduo had always been a pragmatic person. When playing games, he used guides whenever possible.

He had no interest in exploration, or rather, his time didn't allow for such a hobby.

So, pragmatism was a habit he had cultivated over the years.

If not for the pressures of life, who wouldn't have a heart that yearned to explore the unknown?

"Hello, you look troubled. Has something happened?"

Wang Qianduo approached an NPC officer and asked, the standard opening line for accepting a quest.

"Sigh~ I don't know what's going on lately. A group of Sand Scorpion star beasts suddenly appeared in the iron ore mine on the fourth planet of Star Domain Three. Not only has the mine's output plummeted, but they also frequently damage the mining machines. They're giving me a terrible headache. Can you help me, new recruit?" the NPC officer sighed.

"Leave it to me, I guarantee the mission will be completed!" Wang Qianduo nodded.

"System prompt: You have obtained the quest [Norse's Troubles]."

[Norse's Troubles] (Normal): A group of destructive Sand Scorpion star beasts has inexplicably appeared in the mine, causing great distress to the manager, Norse.

Quest requirements: Kill 20 Sand Scorpion star beasts.

Rewards: 30 experience points, 1 Silver Crystal.

"Then I'll trouble you!" Norse said, and no longer paid attention to Wang Qianduo, having exited intelligent dialogue mode.

Wang Qianduo glanced at his quest log and nodded with satisfaction. After accepting this quest, he had all three quests from the Star Domain Three mining planets. He was still quite far from leveling up, and Norse's Troubles was already a quest with a high early-game reward. But compared to the experience bar... sigh... let's not even mention it...

"Zero, when do you think I'll be able to fly too?" Wang Qianduo asked the artificial intelligence Zero on the way to the mine, looking at the mechs flying in the sky.

With Zero's assistance, he no longer had any difficulties moving, and his ambitions began to soar.

"Flight requires your mech to reach level five and be equipped with a propulsion device," Zero answered Wang Qianduo's question seriously. "However, I suggest you take some time to practice your mech piloting skills in the training ground, otherwise..."

Zero's learning ability was truly fast. It had only been a short while, and it had already learned to use a dismissive tone, making Wang Qianduo feel quite awkward.

"I know. I'll definitely go when I have time!" Wang Qianduo thought for a moment and replied earnestly. He wasn't someone who ignored advice; he would seriously consider others' suggestions. If he had faults, he would correct them; if not, he would be mindful.

He chatted with Zero as he traveled and soon arrived at the mine. He could now control his mech to move around. Although he could do this with Zero's assistance, it was still significant progress.

Upon arriving at the mine, the first thing Wang Qianduo saw was not the quest monsters, the Sand Scorpions, but a dense crowd of mechs. A yellowish-brown Sand Scorpion had just appeared in the world. Before it could even take a breath of the beautiful world's fresh air, it was taken down by countless players with innumerable attacks. You heartless people, the cute little yellow scorpion just hatched...

Just as Old Wang was lamenting the cruelty of other players, a Sand Scorpion spawned beside him. Wang Qianduo accidentally touched it. Then, the ferocious Sand Scorpion swung its pincers at Wang Qianduo, as if wanting to greet him!

"What the heck! What is this thing!"

Wang Qianduo jumped, instinctively drawing his Minghong Saber and slashing it across its head.

-91

Old Wang's damage was quite impressive, dealing exactly 90 damage to the Sand Scorpion, taking it down.

Wang Qianduo: "...You guys really don't deserve pity!"

The surrounding players were stunned. If they weren't mistaken, this was an initial mech, right? How could he deal nearly a hundred damage? And that blue, shimmering saber in his hand, it was so beautiful! Looking at the energy-filled saber in his hand, and then at their own "drab" alloy blades. This world was truly unfair!

Seeing that he could one-shot monsters, Old Wang didn't dwell on it any longer. He waited here for the Sand Scorpion to respawn, intending to kill it 20 times. Old Wang swore on Zero's existence that he wasn't doing it for revenge because the Sand Scorpion had startled him; it was purely for the mission.

Zero: ＼(〇_ｏ)／

At the same time, the Minghong Saber had made its debut. He didn't plan to hide it anymore, as it was bound to him and couldn't be lost anyway.

"Hello friend, can I bother you for a moment?"

Just as Old Wang killed another Sand Scorpion, a Type 2 Taiyuan prototype approached him, and a male voice came through the proximity channel.

"What is it?" Old Wang asked, looking at him and the few mechs following him.

At the same time, he thought to himself, No way! No way! Are these guys here to steal my weapon? I'm a bit nervous because this is my first time encountering this situation.

"Hello friend, are you selling the weapon in your hand?" the man asked.

The man's name was Lin Hanshi. It had no special meaning; it was simply because he was born on the Hanshi Festival.

Hanshi sounded awkward as a name, so his parents named him Hanshi.

Lin Hanshi was a complete second-generation rich kid, but he wasn't a brainless fool. On the contrary, he had been excellent in both character and academics since childhood and was very well-educated.

After the news that mechs from the game could be brought into reality was announced, he was one of the first to enter the game and began recruiting.

However, leveling up in this game was genuinely difficult. He had missed the server opening, and it took him half a day to complete the beginner's tutorial, barely reaching level two.

This was only achieved with the help of the gaming experts he had recruited to protect him. Otherwise, he would likely still be struggling at level one like most people here.

Just now, as he was preparing to leave to do the main quest, he saw this mech with a skin, holding a treasured saber, and kill a Sand Scorpion they had been dealing with for a while in one strike. He was utterly astonished.

This is the pace I want!

Actually, he had originally planned to recruit Wang Qianduo, but Old Wang's operation directly made him abandon that idea.

Let's try to negotiate to buy the saber...

"So it's about buying the saber. I got excited for nothing," Wang Qianduo muttered softly.

"What did you say, friend?"

"Cough... Nothing, I said this saber is not for sale."

"Friend, don't be so quick to refuse. I can offer ten thousand, and we can still negotiate if that's not enough!"

Hearing Wang Qianduo's refusal, Lin Hanshi immediately said. He was truly unsuitable for negotiation; wasn't this just waiting to be fleeced?

"How much!"

Wang Qianduo was stunned when he heard Lin Hanshi's words. If he heard correctly, the other party was offering ten thousand for the saber he got for the first top-up of six yuan!

My goodness...

Only now did he finally realize the value of his in-game cheat. This was simply...

Taking off!!!

"Friend, what do you say? After all, this is just a beginner's weapon. Offering this much is already very sincere."

Hearing Wang Qianduo's shock, Lin Hanshi quickly spoke again.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Fifty thousand! Friend, let's be friends, one price, fifty thousand!"

Seeing Wang Qianduo about to refuse, Lin Hanshi quickly interjected.

"Friend, you misunderstood. It's not that I don't want to sell it to you, but this saber is a bound item and cannot be traded, so I can only apologize!"

Items gifted with top-ups were bound items and could not be traded.

The system prompt had already informed him that bound items could not be traded or dropped; they could only be destroyed or decomposed.

Moreover, even if he could, he wouldn't sell it now. After all, he had to rely on it for a future!

But that was fifty thousand yuan! That was more than his salary for over a month, and he was already considered a high-income earner.

Furthermore, he had used his last savings to top up today and urgently needed to recoup his losses.

But the word "bound" directly shattered his fantasy, let alone anything else.

If it weren't for this, perhaps when the other party was increasing the price just now, he might have already shouted "Deal."

After all, how he got this item was too easy...

"Is that so! What a shame! Let's add each other as friends. Brother, if you have any good items in the future, you can contact me directly. My nickname is Shihan!"

Lin Hanshi glanced reluctantly at the Minghong Saber in Wang Qianduo's hand and said.

So cool, how could such a good thing fall into the hands of... Alas...

Wang Qianduo didn't know what he was thinking. If he did, he might have directly given him a strike with the Minghong Saber to let him experience its power.

"Okay, Brother Shihan, my name is Qian Wang!"

Wang Qianduo accepted the friend request and bid farewell to Lin Hanshi, continuing his solo monster-grinding journey.

Alas~ Experts are always lonely!