Chapter 105 - 105 104 Procuring Drones 73 4000 votes for extra release

105: Chapter 104: Procuring Drones (7/3, 4000 votes for extra release) 105: Chapter 104: Procuring Drones (7/3, 4000 votes for extra release) Unlike the open storefronts of the Free Trade Zone, the Arms Preparation Area located three levels underground didn’t have any ‘shop fronts’ but was a row of warehouses sealed by steel doors. In front of each warehouse with different signage, there was a Water Mirror screen, with several attendants responsible for making introductions. If customers wanted to make a purchase, they would click on the desired weapons on the screen to pay, and once in the safety area, puppets would deliver the purchased arms. Upon close observation, one could notice that at each warehouse door there was a pale golden talisman prohibition, which looked quite dangerous; even the Sword Spirit advised not to get too close. “That is the ‘Seven Asterism Strict Ghost’ magic prohibition from the Nothern Yin Taixuan lineage. Before a cultivator at the Qi Refinement seventh layer develops their Divine Sense in the Purple Mansion, approaching would scatter their soul and spirit, leading thoughts into confusion and downfall. Between the seventh layer of Qi Refinement and before Foundation Establishment, the instability of the soul could prevent one from summoning Spiritual Power, so one’s full strength would not manifest by half.” The Sword Spirit spoke with a hint of surprise, “The Nothern Yin Law Talisman lineage is extremely ancient, tracing its roots back to the times of the Dao Sect; it has always been an orthodox tradition of the Dao Sects. I didn’t expect it to exist in the Tianyuan Realm as well.” “This method of sale is quite safe, keeping the weaponry and the purchaser separated the whole time, preventing someone from using a weapon as soon as they buy it, causing immediate harm.” An Jing also realized that the black market must have adopted such a sales method after many extraordinary incidents. The lessons behind these talisman prohibitions were certainly learned through a great deal of bloodshed. There were fewer customers in the Arms Preparation Area, and most of them were in a rush, leaving immediately after selecting their desired weapons on the screen. However, An Jing had the leisure to take his time choosing. He first approached a shop labeled with ‘Lone Peak Sunrise,’ activating the screen’s interface. Immediately, a dazzling array of various weapons, equipment, and Magic Artifacts and talismans were listed, and An Jing, with a plan already in mind, dismissed the vast majority of cold weapons and Spirit Instruments he didn’t need, and instead focused on ‘drones.’ Instantly, the product list dramatically narrowed down. ‘Lone Peak Sunrise’ referred to ‘Shouyang Mountain.’ This was the trademark of one of the three great conglomerates stationed in Xuanye City, ‘Shouyang Group.’ As he cultivated, An Jing had studied a vast amount of Tianyuan Realm history, so he knew that the ‘Wind Clan of Shouyang Mountain’ was one of the four surviving Primordial Spirit Inheritances in this world. The Shouyang Group, founded by them, had a broad scope of interests ranging from the utmost teachings of cultivation and military matters to food and entertainment media; they were involved in industries such as mining, agriculture, forestry, and livestock, covering everything imaginable. This shop, under the Shouyang trademark, also had an icon of a shadow of a halberd, indicating it was operated by ‘Gold Halberd Industrial’ under the Shouyang Group. seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The characteristic of Gold Halberd Industrial was ‘rough and robust, straightforward and down-to-earth.’ The drones listed in front of An Jing were all various heavy firepower units; those with mounted machine guns were child’s play, with the true heavyweights being the ten-pack rocket drones and the Five Thunder Magnetic Light Cannon drones. Among all the drones of Gold Halberd Industrial that An Jing, as a non-member, could see, the most preposterous was a giant war drone named ‘Flames Dragon Guard.’ This thing was twelve meters long and eight meters wide, essentially a flying Array Plate, equipped with the ‘Six Yang Merge Soldiers Skills,’ capable of channeling the Blaze of the Sun Fire. Its firepower was enough to reduce several blocks to molten ruins. In front of it, an Evil Born Demon was no different from a skewered barbecued beef. “Three hundred and forty thousand Good Deeds? The arms industry really is a first-rate path to wealth.” Seeing the price, An Jing clicked his tongue in astonishment. The purchasing power of Good Deeds was remarkable; the other type of machine gun drone only required one hundred and seventy-five Good Deeds, with the bulk of the cost going to ammunition, while the Five Thunder Magnetic Light Cannon cost merely one thousand five hundred and fifty Good Deeds. But the ‘Flames Dragon Guard’ was no longer a Magic Artifact; engraved with an entire ‘Six Yang Merge Soldiers Skills,’ it was not just ‘Skills’ but ‘Art,’ falling into the category of a Spiritual Artifact, valuable enough to be a family heirloom. Thus, its price was an order of magnitude more expensive. It was indeed a fine item, but not what An Jing needed, plus it was far too expensive. “If I don’t find a suitable drone later, I can also buy a machine gun drone and spray fire at the Evil Born Demon. That should at least distract it.” An Jing made a mental note and moved on to the next option. This time, it was also a Primordial Spirit Inheritance, the “Luofu Mountain’s Chen Family,” under the umbrella of Luofu Group’s ‘Beixia Company.’ The characteristic of this arms company is ‘Wind Riding and Qi Controlling, illusionary like the glow of the dawn.’ The drones on the list were either high-speed, light reconnaissance drones or the stealth capable Phantom Drones. Most of them lacked weapons and were intended for infiltration and espionage… To be honest, they perfectly fit An Jing’s needs. Without the tracking of the Divine Skill of causality, as long as An Jing could truly go invisible, he could completely escape the pursuit of the Demon Sect and the Heavenly Demon. The only issue was the strength of this Invisibility Technique; if it wasn’t strong enough, it would likely be seen through by the Heavenly Demon, rendering it meaningless. In any case, he noted down ‘Phantom Drone’ and continued to the next company. One had to admit, the black market was abundant in supply, each arms preparation having its own special features. ‘Red Flame Ground’ specialized in self-destruct drones and crawling puppets, while ‘Three Yuan Yuxu’s drones could bestow magical enhancements onto groups, capable of healing, fortifying bodies, removing toxins, and breaking curses. ‘Seven Treasures’ drones came with a variety of functions that could be swapped out according to different modules, and ‘Three Nines’ drones could interfere with Soul and Spirit. Upon seeing the self-destruct drones, An Jing was shocked and asked the attendant beside him — Can you really sell these things? And they’re so cheap? Just fifty Good Deeds for one, aren’t you afraid that those gangs will use these things for assassinations? “You jest, sir. Without a weapons permit, how could you activate a drone or switch on the weapons system within a safe zone?” The attendant remained enthusiastic and polite, not looking down on An Jing’s question, which was clearly from someone in the Wilderness. She patiently explained, “Armed drones are generally used by cultivators venturing to explore the Wilderness, to supplement their own combat strength and other needs. In the city and within safe zones, launching them is not permitted.” “Even for tribes in the Wilderness, we would recommend buying a few self-destruct drones. They are highly effective against the less agile Monstrous Evil beasts, as the embedded ‘Scarlet Flame Sun Thunder’ can melt through the shells of most Monstrous Evils, having a better armor-piercing effect than the Spiritual Light cannons most commonly used by the tribes in the Wilderness…” — This was exactly what he needed, Evil Born Demon, just you wait! As the attendant went on explaining, An Jing felt admiration for her and added the Scarlet Flame Sun Thunder drone to his shopping list, “Aside from that, do you have any other reconnaissance drones?” “Reconnaissance…” The attendant pondered for a moment, “Do you require surveillance over a fixed area, or one that can move continuously? Are you looking for broad area vague reconnaissance or detailed surveillance of a specific area? Do you have any requirements concerning cruising duration?” An Jing enumerated his needs, and soon, with a recommendation from an attendant, An Jing found the perfect drone that met his requirements. This drone was called ‘Six Qi Lotus Platform,’ resembling a green lotus. The main body was the mother drone, only the size of two palms, capable of releasing six smaller sub-drones that could hover in place, collecting information from various angles. Beyond that, the mother drone could manipulate the air in an area, creating a massive boom and shockwave to force people away, while the sub-drones would also resonate, emitting a much weaker noise, to cause auditory and visual disturbances. This clearly met An Jing’s needs: intelligence gathering, with the critical ability to divert the attention of either the Heavenly Demon or the Demon Sect at crucial moments. And most importantly, this drone was on sale! The original price was four hundred eighty, now it was only three hundred twenty, and it came with an extra set of sub-drones — it was basically a giveaway of sixty Good Deeds! Who could resist that?