[Nanofiber Shield: Rick Sanchez's top-tier shield. When activated, it formed a thin, body-hugging film that could withstand bullets, lasers, and other attacks, repel enemies at close range, and leave the wearer free to move.]
Jackpot!
Ever since Li Wei gained Telepathy, his greatest worry had been how vulnerable his body was.
As a proper Chinese man, what he wanted most was strength in both mind and body.
Focusing on only one was a lopsided approach.
Now, at least, he could protect his body.
This was one of Rick Sanchez's famous high-tech inventions.
It was tiny enough to hide in a tooth or at the neck.
Li Wei naturally chose his neck.
With it in place, he felt much safer.
The world of Rick and Morty was full of high-tech inventions. Most were twisted, of course, but Li Wei still wanted plenty of them.
Then, with a flick of his hand, a black hilt appeared in his palm.
Hum!
As he switched it on, plasma energy shot out and formed a blade.
Unlike other Lightsabers, the Darksaber's blade was black, with occasional flashes of white.
It was flat and curved, with a sharp tip.
"Now that's cool!"
Even Li Wei couldn't help saying it.
Ordinary Lightsabers didn't impress him much. Their colors were flashy, and that was about it.
The Darksaber was different. It had a distinct blade, nothing like other Lightsabers.
And its black-and-white coloring gave it a solemn air.
It also had one feature other Lightsabers lacked.
It chose its wielder.
Only someone the Darksaber accepted could use it freely.
Otherwise, it would grow increasingly "heavy," until its wielder could no longer use it for long.
That was why the Mandalorians treated the Darksaber as proof of leadership. Whoever obtained it could lead them all.
Sure enough, when Li Wei gave it a cautious swing, he felt it grow heavier.
It hadn't accepted him.
This so-called "acceptance" was downright mystical.
He scanned it with Telepathy but found nothing unusual.
He had half expected some kind of spirit to be living inside it.
But as far as he could tell, it was just a Lightsaber—an unusual one.
"How am I supposed to get it to accept me?"
Li Wei switched off the Darksaber and put it away.
He turned to the other items. The Super Battery needed little explanation: it was an upgraded Fusion Battery capable of powering an entire city.
It could hold its own against the new energy source Tony Stark would invent later.
But the most important item was CPH4.
It was the drug from the film Lucy. For ordinary people, it was no different from any other drug.
For the "protagonist," though, it could make the brain evolve.
After the system modified it, things were a little different.
Li Wei held it in his hand, somewhat hesitant.
He wasn't afraid of developing his brain. He was afraid of becoming a "god."
What would be the point if he lost his humanity?
If it were someone else, like Superman, Li Wei would absolutely want him to have a divine nature.
Human nature was unreliable. Good people could easily turn bad. If Superman had too much of that so-called humanity, he would be unreliable too.
A divine nature was different. He wouldn't change so easily.
So Li Wei asked the system.
"CPH4 won't make me lose all my humanity, will it?"
[Not unless your brain reaches one hundred percent development.]
The system replied quickly.
[Reaching one hundred percent brain development requires repeated use of CPH4. One or two doses won't do it.]
Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief at the reply.
That made sense.
In the movie, a whole bag had burst open inside the heroine's stomach. That was why she had evolved so quickly.
Li Wei only had three doses in total. At this rate, he was practically taking health supplements.
So he immediately swallowed one to see what it would do.
Since it came from the system, it wouldn't be addictive.
After one dose, Li Wei felt nothing.
He swallowed the other two, and only then did he feel something.
His Telepathy seemed to have grown considerably stronger.
That made sense. Developing the brain strengthened the mind and spirit.
His Confusion had grown stronger too.
Brain development was wondrous. It could grant all kinds of superpowers, even the ability to travel through time. The only drawback was that it could strip away his humanity and turn him into a "god."
Like the sages in Investiture of the Gods becoming one with the Heavenly Dao.
Li Wei excitedly tested his abilities for a while. It had been worth it.
Since the lottery had been upgraded, his chances of drawing good items had risen considerably. Even his terrible luck no longer stood out so much.
When he was ready for bed, he called Eve in.
The enemy was gone, but he was still scared. He needed Eve right beside him to protect him!
The US Military had been under enormous pressure these past few days.
For one thing, they had boasted to reporters that they would find Tony Stark within three days.
For another, Li Wei kept pressuring them on social media.
He couldn't help it. He needed Reputation Points, so he had to keep making a fuss.
The US Military was at its wits' end with him.
Yet days had passed, and they hadn't found Tony Stark—not even a hair from his head.
That place was known as the graveyard of empires. Even the US Military struggled there, let alone when searching for one man.
It was all desert and mountains. Where were they supposed to look?
That was precisely why Tony Stark had spotted a business opportunity and taken the chance to promote his new product.
Who could have guessed there was a traitor inside Stark Industries?
At that very moment, Tony Stark was filled with regret. He still didn't know what had gone wrong; all he could do was keep hammering away at the metal.
It wasn't that Li Wei had never crossed his mind. He just didn't think Li Wei would stoop that low.
There was no reason for him to.
They traded verbal jabs all the time, but gentlemen settled things with words, not fists. They had no other conflict.
At most, Tony Stark thought Li Wei was a bit of a jerk. He didn't believe Li Wei wanted him dead.
And he figured Li Wei felt the same way about him.
Over those few days, Li Wei did more than ride the wave of publicity. He also pushed ahead with changes at the company.
First, he struck a deal with factories across the ocean. They would produce drone parts and ship them to Future Technology Company for assembly.
That way, the finished drones would count as "Made in America."
Before long, they had built a Griffin Drone and begun testing it.
It was 2077 technology, decades ahead of the present, and superior in every way to what the US Military used.
Yes, drones weren't very advanced yet, but the US Military had already started using them.
But everyone knew how things worked. In a place where a bag of screws cost ninety thousand dollars, how could drones be cheap?
If they were cheap, the generals at the Pentagon wouldn't be happy.
If you didn't take a cut and I didn't take a cut, what would be left for Commissioner Smith?
So the US Military's drones were expensive and lousy. They couldn't hold a candle to Future Technology's Griffin Drone.
Li Wei was confident he could crush them.
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