Translator: AnubisTL
"So, the reason the Wu Family has survived all these years without any powerful backing is because they've never allowed anyone to offend them."
"They've never let the Wu Family remain just another face in the crowd."
"People often think that as long as they don't offend anyone, they'll be safe and secure."
"But few realize that true security comes from ensuring no one dares to offend you."
"To put it simply..."
"Let's use that passerby from earlier as an example."
"Imagine you randomly punch a stranger on the street. Instead of retaliating, the stranger offers you a cigarette, invites you home for tea, and smiles warmly, saying, 'Let's be friends. Have a good day.'"
"What would you do?"
Wu Zhending frowned, pondered for a moment, and then replied, "I'd think this person was cunning and treacherous, a smiling tiger who stabs you in the back. I'd want to get rid of them immediately."
"Exactly right," the old man in the hologram nodded approvingly. "Now, let's continue. Suppose you're about to punch a random passerby. Just as you raise your fist, before it lands, the stranger suddenly jumps up and hugs you, wishing you a happy day and asking if you want to grab a drink together."
"What would you do?"
"Uh... maybe we'd become friends?"
"Right."
The old man nodded in satisfaction, his expression suddenly turning serious. "This is the Wu Family's way of dealing with the world!"
"If someone tries to harm you and succeeds, no matter what you do to retaliate, they will always see you as an enemy."
"Even if you did nothing wrong and were simply the victim."
"But when they're planning to harm you, before they've completed their scheme, if you suddenly move them with love and peace, they'll be stunned."
"Having plotted in the shadows, they're prepared for a dark counterattack. But when they're suddenly confronted with blinding light, they'll freeze in their tracks."
"Contact that person now. Before they delete you and run, send them all the one-star items we have."
"They're trying to scam us, aren't they?!"
"Then we'll turn the tables and make sure they can't!"
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang stared blankly at the message that had popped up on his tablet:
[Brother, are you in urgent need of one-star items?]
[I have 600,000 one-star items here. I'll give them all to you.]
[No strings attached. Just want to make a friend.]
"..."
Scar Dog read the message over and over, his expression growing increasingly strange. Finally, he declared firmly, "Brother Jiang, this has to be a trap!"
"These guys are trying to trick us!"
"Damn it, those cunning bastards!"
Chen Jiang frowned but remained silent. To be honest, he didn't understand the meaning of the message either. It felt very strange.
Just then—
A communication request suddenly popped up on his screen.
After a moment's hesitation, he accepted the call.
Soon, the father and his two sons appeared on the screen.
"Brother," the man on the screen said with a warm smile, "grant me access, and I'll give you the remaining 600,000 one-star items. Consider it a gesture of friendship."
"Look at you, brother—your aura is extraordinary. You're destined for greatness!"
"Let's get acquainted now, so we don't accidentally cross paths later and end up fighting like strangers, right?"
"..."
[A stranger is initiating a Remote Space Transmission. Accept?]
Chen Jiang glanced at the prompt on his tablet with a strange expression. After a moment's thought, he accepted the transmission.
He signaled Scar Dog and the others to move back.
He suspected these men might use the Remote Space Transmission to send dangerous items, like primed grenades.
With his Rabbit badge and its absolute defense ability, he wasn't too worried about himself.
But Scar Dog and the others needed to keep their distance to avoid being caught in the blast.
Soon, the Remote Space Transmission channel opened.
One-star items cascaded from the small glowing portal, clattering to the ground.
Nearly an hour and a half passed before all 600,000 one-star items had been transferred.
Once the transfer was complete, the three men in the video—a father and his two sons—didn't say much. The elderly man simply smiled and said, "Brother, we'll meet again someday. We're from the Nicholas Galaxy. Gould is bringing a company from a subhuman star called Black Europe."
"This is my eldest son, Wu Lengjing, and my youngest son, Wu Zhending."
"As for me, I'm Wu Jinshen."
"Let's collaborate again sometime, brother. Gotta hang up now."
With that, the video call ended.
"..."
Chen Jiang sat expressionlessly on the ground, staring at the small mountain of one-star items before him, his mind blank.
Scar Dog, standing beside him, was clearly in the same daze.
And it wasn't just Scar Dog. Zhao Ritian, Li Hao, and even Wang Defa stood frozen in place, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
It wasn't the sheer quantity of one-star items that shocked them.
What baffled them was the other party's intentions. They had accepted the initial 400,000 items without hesitation, considering them fair compensation for their labor—what they deserved.
But these additional 600,000 items left them utterly bewildered.
After a long silence, Scar Dog murmured, his expression dazed, "Brother Jiang, do you think those three—the father and sons—might have... you know, different preferences?"
If they were normal, there's no way they'd just give away nearly a million one-star items to a complete stranger.
And Brother Jiang is definitely good-looking.
It's not that far-fetched, is it?
"I think..." Li Hao nodded solemnly, "maybe they saw Brother Jiang as a rising star and wanted to invest in him?"
"How likely do you think that is?"
The group fell silent again.
Clearly, this situation was beyond their comprehension.
Huff!
After a long pause, Chen Jiang slowly rose to his feet, shaking off his daze. A hint of excitement crept into his voice as he gazed at the mountain of items before him. "Regardless, a million one-star items is more than enough for us!"
He still couldn't figure out what was going on with those three, but it didn't matter. The important thing was the outcome—a good one, despite the bizarre circumstances.
Meanwhile, after hanging up the phone, Wu Zhending pondered for a moment before speaking. "Father, I still find this strange. We were scammed, and then, to avoid being scammed again, we gave the other party another 600,000 items."
"Turning being scammed into a gift."
"To be honest, that sounds like someone who's not quite all there."
The old man shook his head and chuckled, holding his cigar in his hand. "You lot still think too small."
"Spending a few star gate coins and some worthless one-star items to eliminate a potential future enemy, and even gain half a friend? That's a deal worth making."
"The road ahead is long. You'll learn in time."
"Your old man started from nothing and built everything he has. Sure, I'm just a country bumpkin who doesn't belong in high society, but I still have things you can learn from."
With that, the old man hung up.
Wu Zhending stood in silence for a moment before turning to the square-faced man beside him. "Eldest brother, what's next?"
"What's next?" Wu Lengjing shrugged. "Nothing's next. Everyone goes home. I've got company matters to handle, so I'm out of here."
"But..."
Before he could finish, his eldest brother strode out of the office.
Wu Zhending was left alone in the chair, staring at the ransacked office and the now-empty warehouse on the security monitor. He didn't know what to say.
The scene looked like the aftermath of a violent robbery.
Though the way things had unfolded was a bit strange.
Chen Jiang didn't dwell on it. The items were in his possession—that was all that mattered.
The next step was simple:
"Enhance!"
With Scar Dog's Automatic Reinforcement Machine activated, a million items began to rain down onto his turret, transforming into streaks of white light that fused into the barrel. Notification panels flashed incessantly before his eyes.
Soon—
[Ding! You have consumed 1,020 one-star items to enhance the turret barrel length from +99 to +100.]
[Current turret barrel length: 1,020 cm. Effective kill range increased to 10,500 meters.]
The barrel length was quickly enhanced to +100!
At 1,020 cm, the barrel now measured nearly ten meters long.
Upgrading the barrel length from +80 to +100 had cost only about 19,000 one-star items.
He still had nearly 980,000 one-star items remaining.
One could only imagine the state his turret would reach after consuming all the one-star items.
The Automatic Reinforcement Machine didn't stop.
Immediately afterward—
[Ding! You have consumed 1,020 one-star items to upgrade the turret caliber from +99 to +100.]
[Current turret caliber: 540 cm.]
Upgrading the caliber from +80 to +100 had cost him nearly 19,000 one-star items.
Unfortunately, after reaching +100, he needed to upgrade all other attributes to +100 before continuing. This would require considerable effort; otherwise, he could have maxed out the caliber first.
It might look ugly, but as long as it worked, that was all that mattered.
[Ding! You have consumed 1,020 one-star items to upgrade the turret firing rate from +99 to +100.]
[Current turret firing rate: 10,900 rounds per minute.]
This process also consumed 20,000 one-star items.
Soon, he had used a total of 50,000 one-star items to upgrade the remaining attributes—ammunition capacity and recoil—to +100. The final result was:
[Ding! You have consumed 1,020 one-star items to upgrade the turret ammunition capacity from +99 to +100.]
["Your turret ammunition capacity is currently 101,000 rounds."]
["Ding! You consumed 1,020 one-star items to enhance the turret recoil from +99 to +100."]
["Your turret recoil is now 900 kilograms."]
In total, he had only used about 100,000 one-star items to fully enhance all upgradable aspects of his turret to +100.
And he still had 900,000 one-star items remaining!
Perhaps the Wu Family trio had merely guessed that Chen Jiang needed one-star items, but they couldn't have imagined the true extent of his need.
They couldn't have known what giving Chen Jiang a million one-star items would truly mean.
If they ever realized that their million one-star items had created such a monster, would they regret their decision?
The turret had now transformed into an absolute behemoth!
A five-meter caliber and a ten-meter barrel.
Admittedly, it wasn't particularly aesthetically pleasing.
But no one dared underestimate the sheer destructive power of a single shot from this thing.
"A firing rate of over 10,000 rounds per minute..."
Scar Dog spoke with a strange expression, "Brother Jiang, with a firing rate of over ten thousand rounds per minute, this caliber of artillery could wipe out the world, right?"
"It's only because the other alien race players haven't gathered yet. If they did, we could obliterate them all in minutes."
"Um..."
Li Hao hesitated, then mused, "I wonder if Kindling City could withstand a minute of bombardment from Brother Jiang's turret."
"..."
Scar Dog shook his head helplessly. "I can't tell if you're overestimating Kindling City or underestimating Brother Jiang. With a turret of this caliber firing ten thousand rounds per minute, even if Kindling City were made of solid rock, it wouldn't be left with a scrap after a minute. I'd be surprised if anything remained."
"To be fair, the alien race players are scattered right now. Otherwise, a single salvo would have wiped them all out."
"The only thing that could probably stop this thing is the atmosphere itself."
At that moment—
A panel suddenly popped up before Chen Jiang.
[Detected Player Chen Jiang's Steel Sword Autonomous Rotating Turret. Five enhancement options have been fully upgraded to +100.]
[Enhanced Set Skill 4 automatically activated!]
[Enhanced Set Skill (All five options reinforced to +100):]
[Grand Fireworks.]
[Effect: You can launch a massive super-energy bullet into the sky. This bullet will detonate mid-air, creating a dazzling display of fireworks so magnificent they nearly blot out the sun and clouds. Looking up, you'll see nothing but fireworks.]
[Reinforcing all five options to +200 will unlock a new Enhanced Set Skill.]
"Grand Fireworks?" Chen Jiang raised an eyebrow, glancing at the newly unlocked set panel.
This skill seems to lack any offensive capabilities. Is it purely for aesthetics?
If it were just for looks, it wouldn't be at the +100 reinforcement tier.
"Want to test it out?" Scar Dog, equally intrigued by the new skill, rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Perfect timing! Let's launch some fireworks over Kindling City. It'll boost morale for the human race, right?"
"Grand Fireworks... even the name sounds auspicious."
"Though, considering the human race's current situation, the word 'grand' feels a bit jarring."
"Let's go."
Chen Jiang was also eager to test the effects of his new Enhanced Set Skill, Grand Fireworks.
It's been a while since I've seen fireworks.
(End of the Chapter)
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