Be a hoarder

The system quickly gave him an answer.

[First, changing the course of a character's story yourself, such as killing a major character, will earn you a substantial number of energy points.]

[Second, changing a character's original fate—for example, you changed Homelander's personality, so she now makes different choices when faced with certain problems. Each time she acts, she deviates from the original script and continuously generates energy points.]

So that's how it works. Lin Mo understood at once. One method provided a steady stream of energy points; the other paid out a large amount immediately.

It was obvious which was better.

That did not mean Lin Mo would spare the original characters for the sake of energy points, though. His system was called Dimensional Traversal, after all. Even if he wrecked this world, another one would still be waiting.

Whether he killed someone or not would come down to what he wanted.

Having figured that out, Lin Mo kept questioning the system in his mind, eager to learn more about its functions.

"System, what are energy points generally used for? How much energy does dimensional travel cost?"

The system's cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind again.

[Host, energy points have two primary uses.]

[First, they can be exchanged in the System Mall for items, abilities, bloodlines, knowledge, and special services.]

[Second, they can be spent to open a Dimensional Passage to another world.]

As the system finished speaking, the virtual panel before Lin Mo flickered, and a new icon slowly appeared.

[System Mall]

With a thought, Lin Mo opened it.

In the next instant, a torrent of product listings rushed past his eyes.

[Basic supplies]

[Technological creations]

[Weapons and equipment]

[Supernatural abilities]

[Special bloodlines]

[Cultivation techniques and inheritances]

[Knowledge and skills]

[World coordinates]

[Conceptual products]

Staring at the seemingly endless list of categories, Lin Mo forgot to breathe for a moment.

Well, damn.

This mall really did sell everything.

From ordinary food, clothes, and medicine to high-tech armor and spaceships, then on to all kinds of supernatural bloodlines and cultivation systems, it had practically everything.

Lin Mo casually opened the supernatural abilities category.

[Telekinesis: 1,000 energy points]

[Basic Self-Healing Ability: 500 energy points]

[Spider-Sense: 500 energy points]

[Spatial Movement: 1,500 energy points]

[Kryptonian bloodline: 10,000,000 points]

[Saitama's physique (with hair): ???]

[Infinity Stones: ???]

The farther down he looked, the more outrageous the listings became.

But the truly powerful items had no prices displayed, only strings of question marks.

He definitely could not afford them, but he could not help being curious.

"System, what do these question marks mean?"

[Your current access level is insufficient to view detailed information on high-level products.]

[Product information will unlock automatically when you have enough energy or enter a world of the corresponding level.]

"That figures."

Lin Mo rubbed his chin.

If a measly 1,800 energy points could buy Saitama's physique or the Infinity Stones, the system would be far too generous. And if he had not already possessed a Kryptonian Bloodline, he would not even have been able to view its listing.

Still, he could not complain about the system. It had handed him a Kryptonian Bloodline worth ten million points as a starter gift.

Even with only the currently unlocked products available, the mall was invaluable.

As long as he had enough energy points, he could get almost anything he wanted there.

A flaw in an ability? Buy something to make up for it.

No cultivation method? Exchange points for one.

Short on equipment? The mall had everything from cold weapons to planet-killing warships.

It even sold knowledge.

That meant he would not be limited to a single power system when he entered other worlds.

Magic, technology, cultivation, superpowers—if he had enough energy points, he could have them all. Who wouldn't want to whip out the Spark Lence in some technological world and utterly shatter the locals' worldview?

Lin Mo forced down the urge to start spending immediately.

He only had 1,800 energy points.

That sounded like a lot, but in the System Mall, it would only buy a few basic products.

So he would hoard his points until he could afford an ability with limitless potential. Or he could wait until he faced real danger before buying anything.

After all, the mall would always be there.

For now, the most important thing was to understand the rules of dimensional travel.

"Then how much energy does it take to go to another world?" Lin Mo felt like a child hungry for answers again.

[The energy points required to open a Dimensional Passage vary according to a world's energy level, danger level, and distance.]

[Low-energy world: minimum cost of 1,000 energy points.]

[Mid-energy world: minimum cost of 10,000 energy points.]

[High-energy world: minimum cost of 100,000 energy points.]

[Ultra-high-energy worlds and special worlds: cost calculated on a case-by-case basis.]

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.

"One thousand points is enough to travel to a low-energy world?"

Did that not mean his 1,800 energy points already met the minimum requirement?

[Yes.]

[However, host, please note that opening a Dimensional Passage only grants you entry to that world.]

[Selecting a specific world, time, or arrival location, or bringing other living beings with you, will each require additional energy points.]

The smile on Lin Mo's face faded.

Of course.

The system was not going to leave such an obvious loophole.

Entering a random low-energy world and precisely traveling to a story world whose plot he knew were clearly not going to cost the same.

"How big is the difference between random and targeted travel?"

[Random search for a low-energy world: 1,000 energy points.]

[Selection of a specific low-energy world: minimum of 2,000 energy points.]

[Selection of a specific plot time and location: additional cost of 500 to 5,000 energy points.]

Lin Mo looked at the 1,800 energy points in his account, and his mouth twitched.

He was two hundred short.

He had thought that after putting so much effort into changing Joanna, the energy points he earned would be enough for a free vacation.

Instead, he could not even choose a world, let alone the time and place.

Of course, he already had enough for random travel.

But Lin Mo had no intention of betting his life on a mystery box. A low-energy world was not necessarily safe.

An ordinary apocalyptic world could also count as low-energy. If he landed somewhere with deadly viruses in the air, or straight inside a black hole, his still-developing Superman-like powers would not save him.

The world-level classifications raised another question, though.

"How are world levels classified? What level is this world?"

[The Boys, the world you are currently in, is a mid-energy world.]

The system promptly cleared that up for Lin Mo. Now that was a precise answer—much better than that chatbot next door.

[To explain using your current knowledge, barring exceptional circumstances, low-energy worlds resemble your original planet. They have no supernatural powers or explosive technological growth, and their native inhabitants are generally weak.]

[Mid-energy worlds, like The Boys, where you are now, are characterized by explosive technological growth.]

The Boys counts as a technological world? Lin Mo did not get it at first. Then he remembered that superhumans like Homelander existed because of Compound V. In a sense, they really were products of technology.

The system continued its explanation.