Armor Concealing the Blade

Beep!

The bespectacled man finished the operation, and a transaction-completed notification popped up on the screen.

Eighty Contribution Points had been credited.

Added to the four he had left from before, he now had eighty-four in total.

Gan Ming put away his ID card and turned to leave the counter.

As he walked out of the third floor, he calculated in his head.

The scorpions, lizards, and Elite Giant Scorpion in his ring could not be touched.

Taking those things out would only cause trouble.

With his current strength, he was not yet capable of going head-to-head with a guild from the Upper District.

So he could only leave them there for now, untouched even if they rotted away.

He would deal with them after the heat died down, or after he had gained the strength to protect himself.

Gan Ming arrived on the second floor.

He first went to the old equipment recycling counter behind the trading area and recycled the three pieces of standard-issue armor he was wearing.

Crude leather armor, Standard-Issue Iron Helmet, Standard-Issue Leg Guards.

The three ordinary-quality standard-issue pieces could only be exchanged for cash at the recycling counter.

The staff member behind the window scanned them one by one and quoted a price.

"The leather armor is badly damaged, fifteen. The iron helmet, thirty. The leg guards, thirty-five. Eighty total."

What?

Eighty bucks?

He had spent fourteen hundred on two of those pieces just yesterday!

Gan Ming put the money into his ring without saying a word.

Scrap prices, my ass. What a fucking rip-off!

Now came the important part.

He made a round through the equipment display area on the second floor.

He picked out two pieces of equipment: a chestpiece and leg guards. Excellent quality was enough, as long as he could wear them.

He had only one requirement: the chestpiece needed hidden compartments.

Standing before the display case, Gan Ming compared seven or eight chestpieces of similar price one by one.

In the end, he chose a gray-black Chain Leather Armor and matching Chain Legguards from the same set.

[Chain Leather Armor (Excellent)]

[Type: Armor · Chestpiece]

[Physical Defense: +16]

[Additional Attributes: Stamina +2, Spirit +1]

[Equipment Requirements: Stamina ≥8, Strength ≥20]

[Special Structure: Two rows of hidden inner compartments, 12 slots total]

[Durability: 50/50]

[Creator: Shen Gu (Production-type Awakened)]

[Remarks: Excellent-quality chestpiece. Composite structure of gray-black chain and leather, with concealed compartments set into the inner lining.]

[Chain Legguards (Excellent)]

[Type: Armor · Legguards]

[Physical Defense: +12]

[Additional Attributes: Agility +1]

[Equipment Requirements: Stamina ≥8, Strength ≥25]

[Durability: 48/48]

[Creator: Shen Gu (Production-type Awakened)]

[Remarks: Excellent-quality legguards from the same series as the Chain Leather Armor.]

The two together cost fifty Contribution Points, with no bargaining allowed.

After Gan Ming swiped his card and paid, he had thirty-four Contribution Points left.

He equipped the new armor and legguards on the spot.

The system notified him that the equipment had taken effect, and the Defense value on his status panel instantly rose by a considerable amount.

Then he walked to a corner of the equipment area.

After confirming no one around was paying attention, he took ten Storage Rings from his pants pocket and stuffed them into the hidden compartments inside the chest armor.

From the outside, the gray-black Chain Leather Armor looked perfectly flat, no different from what the other Awakened were wearing.

No one could tell that the armor held the entire fortunes of four Iron Arc Guild members.

Gan Ming patted his pocket.

Finally empty. Much better.

After settling the equipment,

he went to a small counter beside the consumables section.

A sign hung above the counter: Communication Devices.

He had noticed this counter yesterday while walking around the association.

It sold special communication phones for Awakened.

These phones were different from the ones ordinary people used. Their signals had been enhanced with Source Essence, allowing them to maintain basic communications even in Fallen Zones.

However, they could only be purchased at association-authorized outlets. Phone stores outside did not carry them.

A young man sat behind the counter, playing with his phone.

"How much is a phone?"

The young man did not even look up.

"Ten Contribution Points. Only one model."

Ten Contribution Points meant thirteen hundred and fifty.

Not bad.

Yesterday, that would have hurt for quite a while, but today...

"I'll take one."

The young man pulled a flat black box from beneath the counter and handed it over.

Gan Ming swiped his card, paid, and opened the package.

The phone was small, about palm-length, with a black metal casing and a somewhat dim screen.

Its system interface was crude, like a feature phone from ten years ago.

But it had everything it needed.

Calls, messages, local maps, and association announcement notifications.

Gan Ming saved the numbers for He Yuan and Zhou Sheng.

His impressive network of contacts was sad enough to make him want to cry.

After saving the numbers, Gan Ming put the phone into his ring.

He had twenty-four Contribution Points left.

One last thing.

He walked to a self-service inquiry terminal in the corner of the hall, tapped the touchscreen a few times, and printed out the latest exploration guide sheet.

Gan Ming picked it up and looked it over.

Sure enough, Eastern Suburbs Ruins Zone had been removed.

Only four areas suitable for his current level remained:

1. West City Outskirts Woodland

Distance: 8 kilometers. Invasion Progress: 31%. Status: Open. Area Rating: Low Risk. Recommended Level: 1-15.

2. Tunnel Zone No. 7

Distance: 15 kilometers. Invasion Progress: 27%. Status: Opening Soon. Area Rating: Low Risk. Recommended Level: 10-30.

3. South District Old Industrial Park

Distance: 23 kilometers. Invasion Progress: 23%. Status: Open. Area Rating: Low-Medium Risk. Recommended Level: 15-40.

4. North Ridge Mining District

Distance: 35 kilometers. Invasion Progress: 52%. Status: Opening Soon. Area Rating: Medium Risk. Recommended Level: 25-50.

Gan Ming folded the guide sheet and tucked it into his ring.

South District Old Industrial Park was currently at 23%.

Compared to yesterday's 31%, it had dropped significantly.

The Awakened of City 61 were seriously competitive.

He needed to pick up the pace.

Gan Ming looked up at the clock on the hall wall.

Seven forty-six.

Tunnel Zone Seven would open at eight.

The timing was perfect.

When he pushed open the association doors, the morning sunlight made Gan Ming narrow his eyes.

By the roadside, the taxi was still parked in the same spot.

Zhou Sheng stuck his head out the window and waved at him from afar.

"Sir! Over here!"

Gan Ming opened the door and got in.

"Tunnel Zone Seven."

"Got it!"

The car started and merged into the morning rush-hour traffic.

Gan Ming leaned back in the rear seat and took out the black phone from his ring.

The screen lit up.

Gan Ming's thumb hovered above He Yuan's number.

A veteran Awakened above level sixty-five had proactively shaken hands with a lone rookie covered in monster blood and dressed in ragged clothes, then offered him a business card and invited him to a meal.

Either he was genuinely straightforward, or he wanted something.

Whichever it was, Gan Ming had no intention of becoming close with him.

But the problem was that Zhou Sheng's information network was clearly no longer enough.

Zhou Sheng seemed well-connected in the underworld, but he was only an ordinary person.

The limit of his information sources was taxi radio broadcasts and gossip among fellow drivers.

He had no access to the power structure between guilds,

or the hidden rules and unspoken connections within the Awakened circle.

He had only learned that the Iron Arc Guild searched the mountains overnight and that the Security Bureau had mobilized because he happened to hear it on the radio.

But what if he had not heard about it?

Wouldn't selling the materials today have planted a hidden danger for himself?

Therefore, his most urgent need was an insider who could broaden his sources of information.

Even if it was only a casual acquaintance he could exchange a few words with.

If he kept working behind closed doors, he would eventually crash and burn.