Chapter 113: A Giant Gamble

Words : 1227 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 113: A Giant Gamble Actually, Luca was just too shy to inform Ollie about the next part of their lessons. After hearing about the possibility of impending doom, he figured no one would be in a good headspace to study. That would be a bit too insensitive, right? Maybe he could wait one more day and give him a short break. Luca actually got a Mecha Manufacturing Training Module Plug-in from the Trove. He justified the purchase after realizing that, while he now had theoretical knowledge about basic mecha manufacturing, he couldn’t do more than recite it. Yes, Luca had to learn with Ollie to force him to keep on trudging. By the time they finished inscribing the theoretical information, two people actually benefitted. But he wasn’t just thinking about Ollie when he used up nearly all his CP to buy two modules. The other module he bought was a Materials Handling Plug-in. He wanted to learn how to handle the materials needed to repair Sid and hoped that the Nanite Ore was included. The whole thing was actually a giant gamble, as he now only had 3,100CP. At this point, Luca was praying for everyone’s safety. May no one need a revival pill anytime soon! Of course, someone didn’t exactly count himself into the mix. Maybe then, he could’ve saved himself the hassle. __ Booting the Materials Handling Plug-in was probably the worst but, at the same time, the best thing he’s done that day, or likely, that week. Luca didn’t know what to expect when the training started, so the laboratory simulation was certainly a surprise. But nothing was more surprising for the little money grubber than to see the large display of body parts and their descriptions. Everywhere he looked was ka-ching ka-ching! And even that one large lazy eye looked undeniably alluring now that he knew such things could be used for mecha parts. Luca’s most important takeaway from the session was not the specificity of the material but the observable traits of the creature it was from. Generally, defensive creatures would have parts great for boosting a mecha’s sturdiness. Most shields were also crafted from such materials and often fared better than regular metals. Not to mention the cores. Luca felt a pang in his heart after realizing that the cores could’ve been purified now instead of incinerated. But at that time, he didn’t exactly have that option. Now, he could only thank his lucky stars for allowing him to keep the arachnid’s corpse and its crystal core. The money grubber’s heart felt full just from this lesson, and thought it would stay that way. And he would’ve been happy the entire time had he stopped at the basic materials. However, he was looking for a way to deal with Nanite Ore and discovered that he needed to upgrade the Plug-in for it. Luca needed CP. And a lot of it, too. Discovering that the Materials Processing and Mecha Manufacturing Lab would eat up a total of 100,000CP almost drove Luca to tears. And to think that this was still on top of the plug-in upgrade cost! How exactly was he going to get that much CP when it took an entire spider lair, or well, 60 million Star coins, to get to that amount? Luca felt the weight of this problem and couldn’t concentrate on learning the rest of the materials. It was in this despondent mood that he greeted the arriving trio. But just as Luca accepted his fate, his mood was overturned when he smelled the familiar pungent scent of money and dreams. And Xavier was covered in that smell. The sight of Luca’s sudden attentiveness definitely caught Xavier’s eyes, but he wasn’t particularly sure why the little chipmunk was barrelling towards their direction as he had just seen prey. Or money. And based on experience, it was likely money. Meanwhile, Xavier, Kyle, and Jax just came back from inspecting the port for contaminated goods. They were trying to figure out if this was a coincidence and a sign of escalating attacks or premeditated by other parties. What happened at the port didn’t just signal financial losses but was also a significant loss for the consumers. What was money if there was nothing they could buy with it? But if Xavier was being honest, he hurriedly volunteered for this mission to avoid questions from those investigating the ancient arachnid case. Someone would definitely wonder how such a mine was blown up like that. Jax already helped by pinning Greg down as soon as they got back, but eventually, Xavier expected these people to get to them once the investigations on that idiot were finished. Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But how was he supposed to explain his survival to those actually in the know? In fact, survival was one thing, but what would be harder to explain was how he got cured and married practically simultaneously. You know it’s a big deal when Kyle, who usually stuck to protocol, has decided to play blind, deaf, and mute. And if it were up to the guy, he’d likely just play dead, too. Xavier sighed. Technically, it was all to protect the small animal that was now running towards them. Luca could actually teleport to them, but the fact that he was running excitedly like this probably meant that he forgot. So, what’s got him giddy this time? Xavier thought it was some new business he thought of or a new dish he wanted them all to taste, but surprisingly, Luca was actually excited to see him. Definitely questionable, and Xavier couldn’t help but raise a brow at this chipmunk’s reaction. "You’re back! Where did you go earlier?" Luca asked while trying to control himself (but failing). "From the port. We checked on the contaminated goods and tried looking for the cause of such widespread contamination in this particular planet." Aha! Luca’s ear twitched at the mention of corruption, and Xavier wondered if he had been traumatized after the last incident. But instead of a look that needed comforting, Luca looked excited at the premise of hearing news about the corruption. "Host! Are you thinking of buying all the items again?" asked D-29, who was worried about the possible cost this time around. "No, because I don’t think we can afford all of it even if we tried. Also, it would attract unnecessary attention because who else would be interested in such goods?" Luca felt the need to find another solution because he wouldn’t be able to sustain that kind of business plan for long. "I was hoping we could steal it." He added to the surprise of both D-29 and Sid, who didn’t want to be an accomplice by accidentally discovering the crime! Luca actually meant stealing the corruption by purifying it for free, but Sid took that differently and sighed at his new master’s endeavor. He had never seen someone so blatant in committing such delinquencies while even managing to rope in his master when it came to hiding these offenses. But Sid was definitely not alone in thinking like that. When he asked Xavier if he could go with them, the guy was visibly surprised. And understandably so, because who in their right mind would willingly look for corruption? Apparently, his chipmunk. Sigh.

Chapter 113: A Giant Gamble

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