Volume One, Chapter 33: Red Star, Enhancing the Quality of the Thermal Energy Greatsword

After finishing off the mechanical creatures that had attacked him, Zhang Tao crouched on the ground, looking puzzled.

"What's wrong?" Lin Qinying appeared beside him. Her speed in clearing out the lesser enemies was no slower than Zhang Tao's. Although she had to deal with a larger number, her advantage in long-range combat, combined with her marksmanship and sufficient combat power, made her clear-up speed incomparable to a melee fighter.

Zhang Tao pointed at the scattered shards of ice on the ground and said solemnly, "They say people have unpleasant physiological reactions after killing, so why don't I have any?"

Lin Qinying kicked his ankle. "You didn't kill them, and these are just ice shards—not a drop of blood. What kind of reaction were you expecting?"

"That's true!" Zhang Tao realized with a start.

"Stop messing around and go save them," Zhang Wei said, sounding annoyed. There were so many mechs lying on the ground; were they just going to ignore them?

"Big Brother, how am I supposed to save them?" Zhang Tao spread his hands, looking helpless. They had been knocked down by that snake’s electrical discharge. In his mind, apart from waiting for them to recover on their own, what other options were there?

"These Source Crystals—give them two each," Zhang Wei said, handing some ordinary Source Crystals to Zhang Tao.

Zhang Tao looked as if he had discovered a new continent and sprang to his feet. "Source Crystals have this use too?"

"As long as a mech isn't completely totaled, it can use Source Crystals to recover." This was no secret, so Zhang Wei didn't mind telling him.

"Got it!" Zhang Tao stepped forward to take the crystals. He didn't stand on ceremony, immediately handing out two to each person. "By the way, Big Brother, that Han Xu is gone. There were three of them when they arrived, and now I don't know where he ran off to." Zhang Tao was essentially asking if they should go hunt him down. After all, with Han Xiao dead, leaving Han Xu alive was something of a hidden risk.

Zhang Wei glanced at the body of Han Xiao, who had died from blood loss, and said, "Let him run. Get someone to bury her." With that, he looked away. Debts are cleared upon death; Zhang Wei wasn't the type to desecrate a corpse.

Afterward, Zhang Wei retrieved the Source Crystals from the cargo hold. A pile of them—white, yellow, and red—shimmered together, looking incredibly tempting. He had no intention of sharing these. He kept one hundred ordinary Source Crystals for his own mech's power reserves and prepared to absorb the rest. Lin Qinying followed suit.

"My mech is ready for an upgrade. Is there anything I should be aware of?" Lin Qinying asked before starting, knowing Zhang Wei had experience.

"Nothing to worry about. Don't fret about your safety—I'm here. Just follow the prompts."

"Heh, alright." Lin Qinying smiled and began to absorb the energy.

Lin Qinying's mech level had already been close to ten. Once it reached level ten, a mysterious, invisible force seemed to shroud the machine—a sign of evolution, mystical and awe-inspiring. Zhang Wei scanned the surroundings, standing guard. Even though this was Zhang Tao's territory and there shouldn't be any danger, he refused to lower his guard.

The surreal scene of the evolution drew everyone's eyes, except for Zhang Wei's. Once the process finished, the crowd snapped out of their trance. The bodyguards, who had recovered from their semi-paralyzed state, looked at Lin Qinying with envy. She was already formidable; after such a mystical evolution, she must be even stronger now.

"How does it feel?" Zhang Wei asked.

"Fantastic!" Lin Qinying looked down at her new-and-improved mech. Its height had increased from seven to eight meters, and its frame was more robust, though it still appeared slender compared to Zhang Wei's.

"Get used to the thrusters," Zhang Wei suggested. Everyone needed to adjust to the thrusters after their first evolution. Melee mechs didn't rely on them as heavily, but for long-range combat, they were vital for maintaining a safe distance. If a long-range mech was cornered by a melee fighter, the result would be a one-sided defeat. Proficiency with thrusters was a key metric for a long-range fighter's combat capability.

"Understood." Lin Qinying nodded and headed off to practice in the villa area.

Zhang Wei turned his attention to his own upgrade. He channeled the ordinary and intermediate Source Crystals into his mech as experience. His level began to climb, finally stopping at level 25.

"24 points of combat power! Not bad." Zhang Wei was somewhat dismissive of the power gains from mere level-ups. With his vast resources, a single piece of equipment could easily surpass dozens of levels' worth of stats. He then turned his focus to the final High-Grade Source Crystal, the one dropped by the Steel Snake.

"Activate!"

"Ding! Obtained: Red Star!"

"It's this thing?" Even though Zhang Wei had been prepared for a surprise, he couldn't help but exclaim in shock. Hearing him, Zhang Tao and Lin Qinying rushed over immediately. The nearby bodyguards wanted to join, but kept their distance out of respect for their status.

"Big Brother, what is this thing?" Zhang Tao asked, acting like an inquisitive child.

"Can't you see for yourself?"

"Oh, right!"

Zhang Tao and Lin Qinying activated their ocular sensors, projecting blue light onto the Red Star in Zhang Wei's hand.

[Red Star: Versatile. Used for equipment enhancement: Success is guaranteed before level 3. Can upgrade equipment quality: 100% chance for Excellent-grade, high probability for Epic-grade.]

"Holy crap, Big Brother! Can I use this to upgrade my war scythe to Epic quality?" Zhang Tao shouted, stealing glances at Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei saw right through him; he was clearly hinting that he was still using an Excellent-grade weapon. If he had plenty, Zhang Wei wouldn't be stingy, but with only one Red Star, using it on an Excellent weapon would be a waste.

"Big Brother!" Zhang Tao whined, practically ready to grab his arm.

Zhang Wei was thoroughly annoyed. "Keep it down. Using a Red Star to upgrade a war scythe is a waste." He was already contemplating how to best use the item.

"Oh, alright!" Zhang Tao sulked, though he recovered quickly—he knew that whatever Zhang Wei chose, he would eventually benefit from the hand-me-downs. "Big Brother, how are we using it then?"

"We're upgrading the Thermal Greatsword," Zhang Wei decided. Weapons provided the most raw combat power, and in the early days of the apocalypse, power was everything.