You damn profiteer!

"Holy crap, black tech!"

Li Hao, who hadn't held much hope, nearly popped his eyes out of their sockets when he saw the equipment stats, unable to stop himself from swearing.

Strength increased by fifty percent, and attack speed doubled—these stats were simply heaven-defying. Putting this on would instantly turn him into a mini-superman.

Furthermore, the description of this gear clearly indicated it was a human enhancement device.

Could a pile of scrap like batteries and wires really produce a human enhancement device? I must still be dreaming. If this blatant black tech is real, how are those experts and professors researching exoskeleton armor in the real world supposed to survive?

"Name your price, I'll buy it!"

Taking a deep breath to suppress the urge to complain, Li Hao spoke up.

"Hehe, good stuff, right? The Shock Gloves are 1,000 dollars, and the battle suit is 25,000 dollars. No bargaining!"

Seeing the fish take the bait, Li Si smiled even more brightly.

"You profiteer..."

Li Hao's face twitched as he cursed inwardly.

Twenty-five thousand for the suit was one thing, but a thousand for the Shock Gloves? He really had the nerve to ask.

What he hated most was being treated like a nouveau riche mark, but given his temper, he really... would buy it.

"Boss... can you make it cheaper? I don't have enough money!"

Li Hao squeezed out an awkward smile.

Haggling was something he was doing for the first time.

But since this crappy game didn't allow for top-ups, his starting funds as a salaryman template were a bit higher than others, but he was used to spending lavishly and now had almost nothing left.

"Not enough? No problem. Borrow from friends or take out a loan. If all else fails, there's always loan sharks!"

Li Si remained all smiles, but he didn't budge on the price at all. He had calculated this price; any player who put in a little effort could scrape it together. He didn't believe for a second that a rich kid like Li Ritian couldn't afford it.

"Then, Boss, can you wait a day? I'll go find some friends to pool the money together and come back to buy it tomorrow."

Li Hao stared longingly at the battle suit in his hands.

Twenty-thousand-plus in game currency wasn't a huge problem for him; even if he couldn't top up, he could buy it from other players using real money. But right now, he just didn't have it on him.

However, hidden merchants were supposed to wander around. Who knew if he'd still be here tomorrow? He had to try to negotiate.

"Tomorrow? I'm afraid not!"

Li Si shook his head and added, "But I set up a stall in the underground parking lot of Osir Tower every Sunday night. You can patronize my business there."

"Sunday? That's tomorrow? No problem! I'll go scrape the money together right now. I guarantee I'll be there to buy it tomorrow!"

Li Hao, whose heart had sunk at the first sentence, was suddenly overjoyed. He hurriedly gave his word, then his eyes went blank, and he began to walk forward numbly.

He had logged off, and the system had taken over his character to head home.

"...Is that really necessary? Good thing I'm not a real NPC, or I'd think he was possessed by a ghost."

Li Si looked at Li Ritian's retreating back, speechless, and picked up the Thunder King Battle Suit and gloves that had fallen to the ground.

These were the two items he had crafted at noon.

The Shock Gloves were nothing special—just ordinary electrified gloves—but this battle suit actually had a bit of technological substance to it.

However, it was still just a semi-finished product. Once you knew the principle, it was actually quite simple to make.

The principle was simple: it used electric currents to stimulate the human reflex arc, creating an effect similar to a knee-jerk reflex through electrical stimulation.

Actions produced under the influence of the reflex arc would be faster than those commanded directly by the brain. Furthermore, the combination of nerve signals and the sudden electrical stimulation of the muscles meant the power and speed of the resulting contraction would naturally be stronger and faster.

The entire suit was essentially a simple device equipped with sensors to capture the wearer's movements and discharge electricity to stimulate them. The only difficulty lay in calculating the intensity of the current and the points of contact, which wasn't hard with Max's assistance.

But as it stood, the item was still a semi-finished product. The part about using electrical stimulation to assist muscle movement was still very rough, which caused the movements to be stiff and rigid during attacks. It still needed a large amount of data to be refined.

Still, for the current players, this was more than enough. They were only buying it to show off or to deal with a few street thugs anyway.

"Guys, thanks for the wonderful performance. Here is your pay."

Pulling out three rolls of small-denomination dollars, he tossed them to the three bald hippies at the alley entrance, then whistled as he strolled away.

At the entrance of Oscorp Tower.

It was long past closing time, and most of the people in the corporation had already left. Aside from a few floors where lights still flickered, the entire 108-story building was plunged into dead silence.

The entrance to the company was empty. The poor weather made the moon in the sky appear and disappear, and the desolate, pitch-black road felt indescribably lonely under the dim streetlights.

Max paced back and forth at the company entrance, his face a mask of anxiety and nervousness.

He had been waiting for a long time.

This was the first invitation from a friend in his life, and the first time he had ever been invited to a friend's house. For this, he had even argued with his supervisor, fighting for the right to leave work on time for the very first time.

But as time passed, his anxiety only grew.

Perhaps Mr. Lee Stein had only said it in passing and had already forgotten by now...

Perhaps there was no Mr. Lee Stein at all, just as it had been in the past—merely a fantasy in his own mind, a foolish way to deceive himself...

Perhaps...

"No, that can't be it. Maybe Mr. Lee Stein was just delayed by something!"

"Yes, that's right. He did say before that he had to go handle some matters first. It must be that!"

Suppressing his chaotic thoughts and anxiety, Max took a deep breath, forcing his pacing feet to come to a halt.

For the first time, he felt a desire to try the taste of nicotine; he had heard that the stuff could make one's anxiety vanish.

Tap, tap, tap.

At the silent entrance of the company, the abruptly sounding footsteps were incredibly clear.

Max's anxiety instantly transformed into wild joy as he whipped his head around: "Lee..."

As he turned, the name he was about to blurt out was swallowed back down.

It was not Mr. Lee Stein...

The wild joy turned into disappointment, then into dejection.

"Hey, Max, what are you doing?"

Just as Max slumped his head in defeat, a hand rested on his shoulder.

He turned his head to see a face wearing a brilliant smile; he swore that he would likely never forget this smile for the rest of his life.

"Mr. Lee Stein!"

Max cried out in pleasant surprise.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. I was held up for a while on the way back. Let's go."

Lee Stein gave a wry smile at the sight of Max, then led him toward the taxi he had just stepped out of.