With Divine Sense boosting him, Fatley made a sharp turn into the parking area. Then, amid the astonished looks of passersby, he and Ilde climbed out.
At an unhurried pace, they walked into the long building beside them, a hundred meters tall and five hundred meters wide.
The Li Group's K8 Universe City flagship store.
Inside the lobby, they saw over a hundred product displays. Most featured everyday technology products sold to citizens.
When the staff member on duty saw Feng Xiao in his combat suit and wearing a Star Ring, a smile immediately spread across his face.
He stepped forward respectfully. "Hello, sir. Please follow me to the third floor for weapons and armor."
Feng Xiao nodded and stepped onto a Floating Disk, which quickly carried him up to the third floor.
His gaze swept across the many booths as he led Ilde to the exhibition area.
Primary Li-style Particle Projector
Intermediate Li-style Particle Projector
Primary Anti-Particle Suppressor
Li-style Standard Armor Star Weapon
Li-style Standard Shield Star Weapon
Li-style K2 War Machine
Aside from the Intermediate Li-style Particles and the Primary Suppressor, none of the other products impressed Feng Xiao. The Star Weapons were all yellow-quality, and their stats weren't great either.
As for the K2 War Machines, the fifty aboard the Star Origin could each take on five of them without a problem.
They were high-end products, after all—the kind you could only buy on the Star Net.
That wasn't surprising, though. The Li Group specialized in selling Li-style Particles at every level. Everything else was just sold on the side.
Ninety percent of their research and development went into Li-style Particles. Their dedicated Star Weapons, War Machines, power armor, and individual weapons...
Most of those were just there to fill out the store. Of course, because their quality and stats weren't great, those Star Weapons were cheap and sold quite well to civilian captains.
"Primary Li-style Particles can only block blue-quality or lower jump and communication equipment. To counter Star-Land Class vessels or higher, you need intermediate- or high-grade particles," the staff member explained with a smile.
"Of course, the Primary Li-style Particle Suppressor can break through a primary particle blockade. It just can't guarantee that it'll work. The odds are only thirty percent."
At the staff member's explanation, Feng Xiao shrugged noncommittally. Did anyone really believe that the company that developed Li-style Particles couldn't break through them with complete certainty?
"Mm. Do you have any intermediate particles in stock?"
"Yes!"
After buying five hundred kilograms of Intermediate Li-style Particles, Feng Xiao left, a little disappointed. It seemed the Li Group had built its fortune on Li-style Particles alone.
And as far as he knew, even the most advanced Li-style Particles couldn't affect high-level starships or civilizations above level seven.
The Alliance and mid- to high-level starships currently used a similar product called the Dark Field Generator.
He didn't know its precise specs. He'd find out when he came across one.
Ilde suddenly asked, "Captain, where are you headed next?"
"Do you have any suggestions?"
Ilde nodded. "I've noticed your instincts have been sharp lately, Captain. Would you like to visit the Star Weapon Blind Box Center?"
"Star Weapon... blind boxes?"
A gleam flashed in Feng Xiao's eyes.
"Blind boxes containing randomly selected Star Weapons, put together by the Alliance Star Weapon Group. You can get one for just two thousand Star Points.
"You have to choose the box in person.
"The Violet Kingdom branch is quite large. The best prizes should be a few purple Star Weapons," Ilde explained calmly, not noticing Feng Xiao's grin.
"Great! Let's go!"
He immediately pulled Ilde into the car and sped toward the Blind Box Center, following the navigation.
Ilde looked completely bewildered. He couldn't understand why his captain had suddenly gotten so excited.
Even if there were purple Star Weapons in there, the odds were only one in ten thousand. White Star Weapons made up almost 99.99 percent of the contents.
It wasn't possible to use an ability or a Star Weapon to inspect the boxes, either. The Blind Box Center was made by the Alliance Star Weapon Group, and its energy barrier could block anything that tried to see through it.
Anyone capable of seeing through it wouldn't care about a purple Star Weapon anyway.
But Ilde couldn't imagine how delighted Feng Xiao was right now. Even his legendary ability couldn't inspect the boxes because his level was too low.
But the Heart of Dawn could.
He was beginning to understand. If the Heart of Dawn was a Star Weapon, it was an invaluable treasure far beyond any max-level legendary Star Weapon!
Wang Hao wandered around happily, arms full of snacks. Suddenly, his gaze stopped on a round building nearby.
[Ancient Arcade Game Tournament]
"Hmm... interesting..."
"This place is huge."
Feng Xiao watched tens of thousands of Floating Disks, each towing over a hundred large boxes as they drifted through the air. His eyes seemed to sparkle with gold.
Holding the five marker cards he'd bought for ten thousand Star Points, Feng Xiao glanced around. Seeing that there weren't many people nearby, he narrowed his eyes.
"Heart of Dawn, inspect!"
[Inspecting...]
[Rail Cannon: Main Gun
Quality: White
...]
[Turtle Shield...]
[...]
His eyes quickly swept across hundreds of boxes. They all contained white Star Weapons or even ordinary machines, but Feng Xiao's expression remained calm.
Inside, though, he was cursing the place for being a rip-off.
"The odds are ridiculous."
He shook his head and rapidly scanned the Star Weapons on each Floating Disk. Ilde silently followed him around.
His captain must have had a reason for this.
Feeling impatient at the prospect that there might not be a purple Star Weapon, Feng Xiao casually glanced at a box behind and to his right.
[Tengshe: Special (Max Lv. 30)
Quality: Red
Level: Lv. 0 (effects improve with upgrades)
Effect: This Star Weapon specializes in concealment. It masks its own energy fluctuations, making it harder for enemies to detect the starship it belongs to.
An enemy's Matrix must be at least 10 levels higher than this Star Weapon, or have red quality or higher, to break through its concealment. Specialized detection equipment may also detect it.
Passive: Intuition Nullification
Cannot be targeted by enemy prediction abilities below red quality.
Enhancement: Reduced Presence
Rule-based enhancement. Reduces the presence of the starship it belongs to, giving observers a chance to overlook it.
Occupies four Star Weapon slots
Equipment restriction: Star-Land Class
(Can be equipped on higher-level starships if the hull is epic quality or higher)]
"!!!"
A red Star Weapon—and a top-tier one at that!
A concealment-type Star Weapon was even more valuable than a shield-type Star Weapon of the same quality. It could even be far more valuable than an armor-type Star Weapon of a higher quality.
And this kind of Star Weapon was practically unbeatable for expeditions.
The universe was vast beyond measure, with battlefields spanning hundreds of thousands of kilometers. It was difficult to spot anything using only visual instruments or the naked eye.
Most of the time, people relied on a Matrix or related abilities to lock onto the enemy before attacking.
The problem was, most Matrix Star Weapons and radars locked onto enemies by detecting their energy. This concealment-type Star Weapon could mask a starship's energy.
Unless the enemy's Matrix Star Weapon was at least ten levels higher, or their Matrix was of the same quality, it couldn't detect the ship.
And it even had that mysterious rule-based enhancement and powerful passive effect. It greatly improved a starship's concealment from every angle.
It was completely thorough, with no blind spots.
With this Star Weapon, he'd have a thousand times more options when hunting in other universes and facing alien civilizations.
It would also greatly improve his chances of survival.
As those thoughts crossed his mind, his hands moved without slowing. He marked the box, sent it through the transfer device to the storeroom where the Star Origin was docked, and continued looking around.
If there was a red Star Weapon, there might be some other good ones, too.
But it seemed the red Star Weapon was the best prize at the Blind Box Center.
For the next half hour, he kept inspecting the boxes but found no other Star Weapons worth his attention.
In the end, he left with just one blue Star Weapon and three yellow ones.
Meanwhile, Wang Hao stood outside the storeroom where the Star Origin was docked, staring blankly at the five-meter-tall game competition prize before him.
Before you continue