Equipment, Weapons, Skills

Chen Yu raised his beer glass again as he spoke.

He looked left and right, his expression filled with the excitement of sharing a secret.

"Let me tell you guys, do you know that internet-famous master, Wang Tiechui?"

"Wang Tiechui?"

Li Jie's eyes lit up. "Is that the guy who live-streamed making armor for Emperor Qin and even trended on the hot search?"

"Yes, yes, that's him!"

Getting validation, Chen Yu became even more animated.

"He's a master who has crafted armor for top-tier historical blockbusters like Emperor Qin. Last time I went to his studio, I saw the armor he made for a guy participating in a full-contact armored combat tournament. It was incredibly thick and imposing."

"But let me tell you, even though it looked heavy, it actually wasn't that heavy at all because the main material was titanium alloy. I've even touched the scraps of that titanium alloy; it's both light and tough."

The more Chen Yu talked, the more excited he became, his spit nearly landing on the skewers.

"If you want it done, you go to Master Wang. Use aviation-grade titanium alloy, follow the style of this Heaven-Equaling Battle Armor from the game, and forge a real, wearable set. Then, pair it with a solid alloy staff."

"That's what you call a collector's item; that's what you call a man's romance!"

As he spoke, he rubbed his fingers together and chuckled.

"Brother Yi, we've been desk-mates for so long, and you never accept anything I try to give you. Since you invited me to your graduation banquet, I can't exactly show up empty-handed."

"I'll get him to make you a set as a graduation gift from me. Don't you dare say no; it's settled!"

Hearing this, Li Jie immediately let out an exaggerated shout. "Damn! Brother Yu is generous!"

Zhang Haotian joined in the teasing. "Brother Yu, your graduation gift is truly hardcore."

"That goes without saying! Besides," Chen Yu winked at everyone, "I only got into the same university as Brother Yi by relying on my dad's connections. I'm counting on him, a real top student, to look out for me in the future."

With that, Chen Yu immediately pulled out his phone, not giving Lin Yi a chance to react, and dialed the number.

"Hello? Master Wang, it's little Chen. Yes, yes, I have a big job, a rush order!"

"Armor, Dark Great Sage. Yes, yes, that monkey, the full set! Armor plus two short staves that can be joined into a long one."

"Materials? The best, of course, aviation-grade titanium alloy! It needs to be light and sturdy. Two weeks? That won't work, Brother Wang, you're like a brother to me, please help me out, make it an emergency order!"

"...Alright, alright, you're a lifesaver. I'll send you the blueprints."

Chen Yu nodded and bowed to the phone, his tone exaggerated, but his face wore a look of absolute certainty.

Lin Yi, sitting to the side, watched his friend busy himself with the armor and listened to the good-natured teasing and laughter of his companions. Even though this scene was almost identical to his simulations, a warmth still couldn't help but well up in his heart.

In his plan, this set of armor and weapons was an extremely important tool for quickly establishing a foothold in the early days of the apocalypse as a high school graduate with no background, all while remaining beyond suspicion.

It wasn't a matter of price.

Although the cost of forging such gear was high, he had several ways to acquire the funds in a short time. The real difficulty lay in finding a master-level craftsman willing to prioritize his order.

Given his current status, he theoretically wouldn't even have access to such a person, so the simplest, fastest, and most logical way was to get it through Chen Yu.

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

Lin Yi smiled candidly. "Since that's the case, I'll have to practice hard these next few days. On that day, I'll wear the gear you gave me and show everyone a set of staff techniques."

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

He hadn't accepted it before because the relationship felt unequal; he had nothing of equal value to give back to his friend.

He cherished this friendship, and one-sided giving was not the way of a true friend.

But things were different now; he deserved this gift.

In his past life, when the apocalypse first descended, traffic collapsed and the city turned into a chaotic slaughterhouse. Even with all his might, he had only managed to save his parents and a few neighbors alongside his uncle, who happened to be visiting.

Many others had lost their lives in that initial chaos.

But this time, he would not only help them avoid the initial turmoil but also do his best to help his friends gain the ability to protect themselves.

Seeing Lin Yi accept so directly, Chen Yu was slightly stunned at first, then overjoyed, swallowing the words he had originally intended to use to persuade him. "Oh, Brother Yi! We're brothers, no need to be polite."

He then boldly downed the remaining wine in his glass and patted Lin Yi hard on the shoulder. "It's settled then. On the day of the graduation banquet, just wait to be the coolest guy in the room."

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

Chen Yu seemed to have already envisioned the dashing scene of Lin Yi suited up in armor, his eyes crinkling into slits with joy.

After the dinner ended and he returned home, Lin Yi slipped straight into his room.

He turned on his computer and began playing highlight reels of the Dark Great Sage's staff techniques and instructional videos on traditional martial arts staff forms.

After watching for a while, he ran to the balcony, grabbed a clothes drying pole leaning against the wall, and began practicing in the air, his expression focused and even a bit clumsy.

His movements were far from standard; he was simply imitating the basic strikes, sweeps, thrusts, and pokes from the videos. He looked somewhat stiff, but his earnestness made him look exactly like a teenager obsessed with roleplay, secretly practicing hard in private.

"Xiao Yi? It's so late, why aren't you asleep? What are you clattering about?"

His mother, Zhou Jinghua, couldn't help but ask as she passed by the living room and saw her son acting out his monkey performance.

Lin Yi paused in his movements. Clutching the clothes pole, a trace of an awkward smile appeared on his face as he scratched his head and laughed.

"Mom, it's nothing! I was just watching some game videos and learning the staff moves; they're cool, right?"

"Besides hosting the graduation banquet, I figured I should perform something, and singing or whatever just doesn't seem that interesting."

"This game is super popular right now, even the national station reported on it. I thought if I performed some staff techniques set to the game's animation, it would be quite original."

Zhou Jinghua leaned in to look at the fine beads of sweat on her son's forehead and his slightly flushed face. She felt both annoyed and amused, which eventually dissolved into a helpless sigh.

"You child. How old are you, still playing around like this? Be careful not to bump into anything, don't disturb the neighbors downstairs, and get to sleep early."

She shook her head, dismissing it as her son blowing off steam after the college entrance exams.

Seeing his mother return to her room, the goofy smile faded from Lin Yi's face, his eyes regaining their clarity.

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

Although he had used a blade in his past life, his cultivation realm remained, making low-level staff techniques a breeze to master.

When it was inconvenient to obtain a sharpened weapon, a staff was practically the most reasonable and common cold weapon with the highest lethality.

Every one of his non-standard movements and every deliberate pause was laying the groundwork for the life-or-death race against time in a few days, ensuring that he could naturally and skillfully wield a heavy alloy staff to kill efficiently.

A hot-blooded youth obsessed with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, secretly practicing staff techniques in private, would explode with combat potential far beyond the ordinary under the drive of extreme fear and survival instinct.

This chain of logic had to be quietly planted in the minds of all potential onlookers before he officially made his move.

Otherwise, if Divine Retrospection were to reveal that from the very start of the timeline, everyone around him was full of surprise and whispering, it would plant seeds of suspicion, which would be far from ideal.

After all, many things are easily overlooked if there is no suspicion, but if viewed through colored glasses, one can always pick out problems.

Therefore, Lin Yi would rather go through the trouble now, striving to leave as few flaws as possible.