Equipment, Weapons, and Skills

As he spoke, Chen Yu lifted his beer glass again.

He glanced around, excitement bubbling in him as though he were about to share a secret.

"Listen, do you know that online celebrity master, Wang Tiechui?"

"Wang Tiechui?"

Li Jie's eyes lit up. "You mean the one who livestreamed making armor for Emperor Qin and even trended online?"

"Yeah, that's the one!"

Chen Yu's enthusiasm grew as soon as his friends recognized the name.

"He's a real master. He's made armor for top-tier historical epics like Emperor Qin. Last time I went to his studio, I saw the armor he was making for a guy competing in a full-contact armored combat tournament. It was seriously thick and imposing."

"But here's the thing: even though it looked heavy, it actually wasn't. The main material was titanium alloy. I've even handled scraps of it—it's light and tough."

The more Chen Yu talked, the more excited he got. He nearly spat onto the skewers.

"Let's go to him—Master Wang. He can use aerospace-grade titanium alloy to make a wearable version of this Heaven-Equaling Battle Armor from the game, plus a solid alloy staff."

"Now that's a collector's item. That's a man's romance!"

He rubbed his fingers together and gave a mischievous grin.

"Brother Yi, we've been deskmates for so long, and you've never accepted anything I've tried to give you. Now you've invited me to your college admission banquet. I can't show up empty-handed."

"I'll have him make a set for you. Think of it as a college admission gift from your buddy. Don't say no this time. It's settled!"

At that, Li Jie let out an exaggerated cry. "Whoa! Yu, you're the man!"

Zhang Haotian joined in. "That's one seriously hardcore admission gift, Yu!"

"Of course! Besides..."

Chen Yu winked at the others. "I only got into the same university as Brother Yi by leaning on my dad. I'll be counting on this real scholar to look after me from now on."

With that, Chen Yu whipped out his phone and dialed the number before Lin Yi could react.

"Hello? Master Wang, it's Xiao Chen. Yeah, yeah, I've got a big job for you. Urgent, too!"

"Armor for the Dark Great Sage. Yeah, that monkey. The whole set! Armor and two short staffs that can join together into one long staff."

"Materials? Naturally, the best— aerospace-grade titanium alloy! It needs to be light and sturdy. Two weeks? That won't do, Brother Wang. You're practically my own brother, help me out and rush it!"

"...All right, all right, you're the best. I'll send you the designs."

Chen Yu nodded and bowed to the person on the other end, his tone exaggerated. But a confident smile remained on his face.

Lin Yi watched as his friend busied himself arranging the armor. Seeing the good-natured laughter and teasing around him, Lin Yi felt a warmth well up inside, even though this scene had played out almost exactly as he'd foreseen.

According to his plans, if he wanted to make a quick start in the early days of the apocalypse as a high school graduate with no connections—and have his actions stand up to scrutiny—this armor and weapon would be crucial.

It wasn't a matter of cost.

The armor and weapons would be expensive, but he had several ways to get the money quickly. The real problem was finding a master who could bump his order to the front of the queue.

Given his current status, he had no way of reaching someone like that through ordinary means. So the simplest, fastest, and most plausible option was to get them through Chen Yu.

"Yu, I won't stand on ceremony, then."

Lin Yi smiled frankly. "Since that's settled, I'll have to practice over the next few days. On the day of the banquet, I'll put on the outfit you got me and perform a staff routine for everyone."

This time, he didn't refuse Chen Yu's gift as he had in his previous life.

Back then, he hadn't accepted it because the friendship felt unequal. He had nothing to give his friend in return.

But he cherished that friendship, and simply taking without giving wasn't how a friend should act.

Things were different now. He could accept this gift without shame.

In his previous life, the apocalypse had struck without warning. Transportation ground to a halt, and the city became a chaotic slaughterhouse. He'd done everything he could, but all he'd managed to save were his parents, a few neighbors, and his uncle, who'd happened to be visiting.

Many more had died in the initial chaos.

This time, he would help them avoid the early turmoil and do his best to help his friends protect themselves.

Seeing Lin Yi accept right away, Chen Yu first looked a little stunned, then delighted. He swallowed the words he'd planned to use to persuade him. "Come on, Brother Yi! We're buddies. No need to be so formal."

Then he drained the rest of his drink and gave Lin Yi a hearty slap on the shoulder. "It's settled. On the day of the banquet, just wait—you'll be the coolest guy there!"

"Heh heh, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven arrives at Hongfu Restaurant!"

Chen Yu could already picture Lin Yi striding in wearing the armor, and he grinned until his eyes narrowed to slits.

After the meal, Lin Yi hurried home and dashed straight to his room.

He turned on his computer and played a compilation of the Dark Great Sage's staff moves, along with instructional videos on traditional staff techniques.

After watching for a while, he went out to the balcony, grabbed the clothes-drying pole leaning against the wall, and began practicing against the air, focused and a little clumsy.

His movements were far from polished. He was just imitating the basic techniques in the videos: chopping, sweeping, lifting, and jabbing. He even looked rather stiff. But his earnestness made him look exactly like a young chuunibyou, obsessed with role-playing and secretly practicing when no one was around.

"Xiao Yi? It's so late. Why aren't you asleep? What's all that clattering?"

As his mother, Zhou Jinghua, passed through the living room and saw her son fooling around like a monkey, she couldn't help asking.

Lin Yi froze mid-movement. Holding the clothes-drying pole, he gave an awkward smile and scratched his head.

"Mom, it's nothing! I watched some game videos and thought I'd learn a few staff moves. They look cool!"

"I have to host the college admission banquet, but I should perform something too. Singing doesn't seem all that interesting."

"This game's really popular right now. Even the national broadcaster reported on it. I thought I could perform a staff routine alongside the game's animation. It'd be something different."

Zhou Jinghua peered at the fine beads of sweat on her son's forehead and the flush on his face. She didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused, and finally let out a resigned sigh.

"You silly boy. Aren't you a little old for this? Be careful not to hurt yourself or make too much noise for the neighbors downstairs. Go to bed early."

She shook her head, taking it for her son's way of blowing off steam after the college entrance exams.

Once his mother had returned to her room, the goofy smile faded from Lin Yi's face, and his eyes cleared.

He picked up the crude staff again and continued his seemingly clumsy practice.

Although he'd used a blade in his previous life, his mastery was still there. Basic staff techniques came to him effortlessly.

When edged weapons were difficult to obtain, a staff was practically the most powerful conventional melee weapon available.

Every imperfect movement he made now, every deliberate pause, was laying the groundwork for him to pick up a heavy alloy staff in a few days, wield it with deadly efficiency, and make it seem as though he'd taught himself.

A passionate boy, obsessed with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and secretly practicing staff techniques, whose survival instincts and sheer terror drove him to unleash extraordinary combat potential.

That chain of reasoning had to be quietly planted in the minds of any possible witnesses before he made his formal entrance.

Otherwise, when Divine Retrospection examined the timeline, the people around him would be baffled from the very start, raising questions and planting seeds of suspicion. That would be bad.

After all, when people had no reason to be suspicious, they tended to let things pass without a second thought. But if they looked at things through a prejudiced lens, they could always find something wrong.

So Lin Yi would rather put himself through some trouble now than leave any obvious loose ends.