Chapter 120: Dual-Effect Crossbow, Cyberworld Weapon

Chapter 120: Dual-Effect Crossbow, Cyberworld Weapon

Recently, Universe Corporation had taken on several tempering orders.

That afternoon, Lu Heng visited the Universe Corporation to inspect the weapons and tempering materials in the boxes, ready to take them to Tempering Castle.

At this stage, the tempering weapons of psychics were still mainly firearms, as they were more powerful and easier to use compared to swords and knives.

Su Muyu hurried out of the elevator and asked, "Are you going to Tempering Castle today?"

"Yes, I've accumulated a few days' worth of tempering orders, and I have some free time today, so I'll finish them first," Lu Heng nodded.

"I've also gathered some tempering materials during this time, can you help me upgrade my weapon too?" Su Muyu had secretly been collecting tempering materials for a while.

Among the three team members, Lu Heng's Aurora Blade and Lin Zeyu's SVD Sniper Rifle were already dual-effect weapons, leaving only Su Muyu's crossbow as a single-effect weapon.

In fact, having a single-effect weapon at this stage was already better than 99.9% of psychics.

However, Su Muyu still wanted to improve, so she had quietly gathered tempering materials for almost two months.

"Where did you get the tempering materials?" Lu Heng asked curiously.

Currently, the market price for tempering materials was skyrocketing, making it difficult to obtain even with money.

"I got lucky during a bounty hunt," Su Muyu explained casually.

As the Abyssal invasion entered its fifth month, the number of Abyssal creatures appearing around the world was increasing.

Official bounties also started to become more common.

Psychics began forming teams to compete for these bounty targets.

Su Muyu also started paying attention to these bounties. Upon reaching the location of a bounty target, she would release a scout eagle, fly over with a bomb, and directly blow up the Abyssal creature once it was found, then have the eagle retrieve the bounty and leave.

Due to her strong skill set and heightened sensory abilities, she could locate bounty targets at the fastest speed.

While other psychics were still in the reconnaissance stage, she had already claimed the bounty.

"Bounties don't often offer tempering materials."

"I've noticed a pattern; Abyssal creatures with fire attributes, like Flame Spirits and Fiery Beetles, have a higher probability of yielding tempering materials. With a bit of luck, I obtained two pieces of Tempering Essence, and I also traded a crystal core for another piece." Su Muyu smiled mischievously, feeling a little proud.

"If that's the case, why not do the second Soul Infusion as well?"

Lu Heng asked the manager to bring over the list of Soul Infusion materials and began selecting the ones he needed.

Two months ago, when other psychics were still unaware of Soul Infusion as an enhancement method, Lu Heng had already shared this information with Lin Zeyu.

Therefore, Lin Zeyu had collected a batch of Soul Infusion materials in advance and was waiting for their value to increase.

After scanning the list, Lu Heng pointed to a Soul Infusion material called 'Sensory Break' and said, "Bring me this material, I'll use it. When your boss returns, let him know."

The manager immediately sent someone to fetch it and respectfully replied, "The boss has instructed that you can use whatever you need, Lu, without the need to report to him."

Lu Heng carried two boxes and headed towards Tempering Castle with Su Muyu.

When they arrived at the Ninth Bridge Arch of Century Bridge, they noticed a gathering of psychics beneath the arch.

It was clear that these psychics were all hoping to enter Tempering Castle.

The secret of Tempering Castle had finally spread.

More and more psychics were becoming aware of its existence, and even those without tempering materials wanted to take a look inside.

As a result, over a dozen psychics had gathered on the ground at Century Bridge.

Apparently, Tempering Castle hadn't opened its doors for several days, and some psychics had even set up camp under the bridge.

The situation was a little awkward.

If Lu Heng were to go there now and enter Tempering Castle, this crowd would undoubtedly swarm him.

"Seems like a bit of trouble," Su Muyu also noticed the issue.

It was inevitable for Tempering Castle to go through this phase, as it was an extremely mysterious place for humans.

Not only psychics but even ordinary people wanted to enter, even if it was just to catch a glimpse.

"Just use your invisibility and go in," Lu Heng instructed Su Muyu to activate her invisibility and then they passed through the bridge arch into Tempering Castle.

Among the psychics gathered beneath the bridge, there were sensory ability users who sensed something amiss.

However, Su Muyu's level was too high, and her invisibility skill was too powerful, so by the time these sensory users noticed something unusual, the two had already entered Tempering Castle.

Gulu was in the front courtyard studying the man-eating flower. Ever since consuming the high-protein Bluestar's strongest insect, this man-eating flower had grown even more robust.

"Why didn't you let anyone in to play with you, Master?" Lu Heng asked curiously.

"These guys eat too much; they've devoured all my stored insects."

Gulu let out an exasperated sigh.

"What's so tasty?" Su Muyu's curiosity piqued at the mention of food.

Recently, she had been busy gathering Tempering materials, and whenever Lu Heng came to complete Tempering orders, she hadn't accompanied him.

So, it had been a while since she last visited Tempering Castle, and she was unaware of any developments there.

Hearing Su Muyu's interest in his "delicious" cooking, Gulu happily said, "Wait until I'm done, and you can come and taste it. By the way, Lu Heng, where can I buy cockroaches? Get me two truckloads."

Lu Heng's eyes widened in shock, thinking, Who are you trying to poison? Cockroaches, if one insists on buying them, are actually purchasable.

However, Lu Heng had learned his lesson this time and firmly replied, "Can't buy them, these bugs are too strong, humans can't handle them."

"That's a shame," Gulu genuinely felt disappointed.

"What about those people outside..." Lu Heng pointed to the door behind him.

"They're too enthusiastic, guarding the entrance day and night, sometimes even sleeping outside. I feel a bit embarrassed, but Tempering Castle doesn't have enough rooms to accommodate everyone." Gulu was troubled by this matter.

Lu Heng considered the situation and agreed that it couldn't continue this way. He suggested, "Let's change the entrance location. Next time a human comes in, explain the rules clearly to them, they must not reveal the entrance's location, or they'll be fed to the bugs."

Gulu nodded in agreement, "That's a good idea. Where do you think we should move it to?"

Lu Heng replied, "The old bell tower on Embankment Road will do. We can keep this entrance here but keep it closed most of the time. If there's someone you want to meet, you can open it then."

"Alright, we'll do as you say." Gulu nodded in agreement.

...

After discussing the new entrance with Gulu, Lu Heng and Su Muyu headed to the Forging Chamber to begin weapon Tempering.

Su Muyu's Crossbow had already reached a Tempering Level of +3 and possessed a Soul Infusion Effect called Armor Melt, allowing her flaming arrows to melt through targets' armor, making it an extremely powerful effect.

The second Soul Infusion Effect Lu Heng chose for her was Sensory Break.

This was an effect that balanced offense and defense, perfectly suited for her.

When Tempering Mia's Crossbow, they succeeded twice, but on the third attempt, an unexpected issue occurred, preventing a complete success, resulting in a half-Tempered state.

This was the same situation that He Shangyong had faced during his Tempering assessment.

Lu Heng hadn't encountered this before, but it happened this time.

Usually, this situation arises when Tempering materials run out before the process is complete.

The solution is simple; adding half the amount of Tempering materials will finish the process.

This order was to be settled with Tempering materials, and of course, the Tempering service price was calculated based on the original price, not earning a Tempering material for each Tempering attempt.

Due to the soaring prices of Tempering materials, the exchange rate with Energy Crystal Cores had risen from 1:2 all the way to 1:5.

Therefore, the ten Tempering orders they took could earn them two Tempering materials.

As the third Tempering of the Crossbow was not entirely successful, Lu Heng added half the amount of Tempering materials to complete the third Tempering.

After completing three Temperings, Mia's Crossbow reached a Tempering Level of 6, and its Attack Power increased to 120 points.

Subsequently, Lu Heng continued with the Soul Infusion process, focusing intently.

He melted the materials, transferred them to the Sublimation Furnace, and then performed the Sublimation Soul Infusion.

[Soul Infusion successful, Mia's Crossbow gains the effect "Sensory Break."]



[Performing Soul Infusion, Tempering Master job experience +50]



With the successful Soul Infusion, Lu Heng picked up the Crossbow and examined its attribute data, a satisfied expression on his face.

[Mia's Crossbow +6]



[Item Level: C]



[Specifications: Length 72 cm, Bow Arm Width 58 cm, Weight 2.2 kg]



[Attributes: Attack Power 120]



[Effects: Armor Melt, Sensory Break]



[Sensory Break: Inflicts 8 Neural Damage on attack, applies Sensory Break effect, weakening target's Agility Attribute by 8.]



[Evaluation: A crossbow forged from fine iron, with Mia's name engraved on it.]



[Sensory Break] and [Soul Sever] belong to the same series of effects.

[Soul Sever] weakens the target's Mental Attribute, while [Sensory Break] weakens the Agility Attribute.

Su Muyu's current skill set includes Reconnaissance, Invisibility, and Long-Range Combat abilities, making it difficult for most Psychics to get close to her.

However, if she encounters a speed-type warrior with exceptionally high Agility, there's still a risk of being attacked.

This Sensory Break can weaken the target's agility attribute, reducing their agility by 8 points upon a successful hit, slowing down their actions and reflexes, indirectly alleviating pressure.

Combined with the Dark Thorn Trap, the number of psychics in Bluestar who pose a threat to Su Muyu is limited.

The attack power of this crossbow is currently 120 points.

However, this attack power does not include the damage of the arrows. When using elemental arrows, an additional damage of 2 times the mental power is added.

Su Muyu's current mental attribute is 45 points, so the damage of the elemental arrows is 90 points.

In other words, the actual attack power of the elemental arrows fired from this crossbow is 210 points.

With this attack power, even a high-rank demon of level 20, without any defensive skills or armor, can only withstand two arrows.

"Take a look."

After checking the infused attributes and finding no issues, Lu Heng handed the crossbow to Su Muyu.

Su Muyu took the crossbow, her eyes filled with delight.

Now she also had a dual-effect weapon.

Even one of the top ten masters of Japanese swordsmanship, Hideyoshi Tsugawa, who was sponsored by a mega corporation, only had a single-effect weapon.

At this stage, dual-effect weapons are extremely rare, and if put up for auction, they would undoubtedly fetch a sky-high price.

...

Next, Lu Heng completed ten tempering orders.

Out of the ten tempering attempts, one failed, resulting in a success rate of 90% for the orders, far exceeding the guaranteed success rate.

Moreover, these orders were all from repeat customers.

The more experienced customers understood that the 75% guaranteed success rate offered by Universe Corporation was a conservative figure in the contract, and the actual success rate exceeded 85%, even reaching over 90%.

As a result, Universe Tempering Service has established a strong brand reputation among various factions.

Those who have used Universe Tempering Service are unlikely to consider other tempering masters.

After completing these orders, Lu Heng's tempering profession experience increased to (1080/2000). With his proficiency already over half, a few more successful orders would bring him close to leveling up.

...

Upon completing the tempering, Su Muyu helped clean the tempering furnace and organized all the tools.

After leaving the forging chamber, Lu Heng went to settle the tempering profits with Gulu.

Since they used the tempering furnace in Tempering Castle to fulfill the orders, the earnings needed to be divided with Gulu.

This division had to be calculated precisely.

However, Gulu didn't specify a payment method, so Lu Heng always gave him a share of energy crystal cores.

Energy crystal cores were relatively easier to obtain; one could acquire them by investing money.

Tempering essence was becoming increasingly difficult to collect, so dividing the earnings with Gulu using energy crystal cores was like indirectly acquiring tempering materials.

This exchange resulted in a considerable profit.

After settling the division, Lu Heng and Su Muyu headed home.

Coincidentally, Su Muyu's mother had prepared mung bean soup with kelp, and invited Su Muyu to join her.

While drinking the soup, Lu Heng browsed the transaction information on the Crystal Dark Web using his computer.

As the Abyssal Descent entered its fifth month, the transactions on the Crystal Dark Web were no longer limited to skill crystal cores; items from the Abyssal World were also being sold.

These items were diverse and varied, ranging from valuable to completely useless.

Furthermore, since the Abyssal World was composed of numerous worlds, the variety of items was indeed astonishing.

For instance, Lu Heng possessed a Shape Transformation Orb, a valuable item without any attack power.

If put up for auction, it could fetch an astronomical price if the right buyer was found.

As Lu Heng scrolled through the listings, he suddenly came across an intriguing transaction.

"Selling a Cyberworld Ray Gun, serious buyers can discuss the price in private, others please refrain from disturbing."

A Cyberworld Ray Gun had already appeared at this time? Lu Heng was familiar with ray guns, which were similar to laser guns.

Humans also possessed similar technology, but it hadn't been developed into individual weapons yet, and the energy consumption was too high for widespread use.

Overall, ray guns weren't an extraordinary technology, but if it was a ray gun from the Cyberworld, that was a different story.

If the mutant selling this Cyberworld Ray Gun wasn't lying, this ray gun could be used not only as a weapon but also for scientific research.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end