Chapter 49: Purchasing Equipment

"I am a follower of Lord Terry. If you choose to follow him, you'll have the opportunity to join top-tier hunting squads and grow rapidly. Let me share a statistic with you: among employees with C-level abilities who previously followed Lord Terry, seventy percent succeeded in advancing to level six evolvers—the highest proportion among the five executives."

"In addition, should you choose to follow Lord Terry, he will immediately clear all your debts free of charge, grant you an initial fund of one hundred thousand, and allow you to select either a level-two enchanted psionic firearm or enchanted weapon."

Soon after, another elegantly dressed, fair-faced middle-aged woman approached Zhang Ran, smiling as she stated her own terms. Then, the remaining three followed in turn, each introducing the benefits they could offer.

For an evolver like Zhang Ran with C-level abilities, even within the entire Black Hawk Corporation, only two or three appear on average each year—they are exceedingly rare and constitute the future's elite combat force. Thus, the secretaries of the five executives all offered Zhang Ran extremely generous terms.

"Esteemed seniors, I choose to join Lord Link's ranks."

After listening to the conditions presented, Zhang Ran resolutely declared his decision, sticking to his original plan. Though the other four executives had offered more attractive terms, their restrictions and obligations were considerably greater. Lord Link, on the other hand, imposed few demands on his evolvers; as long as they accumulated sufficient contribution points each year, that would suffice.

For someone like Zhang Ran who dislikes constraints, prolonged freedom is clearly more precious than short-term wealth. Moreover, Zhang Ran had his own secrets, so he chose Link without hesitation.

Upon hearing Zhang Ran's words, the other four showed a hint of regret, while the young man clad in black armor smiled and stepped up beside Zhang Ran.

"Welcome aboard! My name is Aya, a level-four evolver, and one of Lord Link's followers."

As he introduced himself, Aya extended his right hand.

"Hello, Senior Aya. I am Zhang Ran," Zhang Ran replied, grasping Aya's hand firmly and introducing himself in turn.

"How about a drink? My treat."

By recruiting a promising evolver like Zhang Ran, Aya would receive a substantial reward, so he invited Zhang Ran with a friendly smile.

"I’d be delighted. I happen to have a few questions for you, and I hope you can help me with them."

"Of course, no problem. Let’s go."

With that, Aya led the way, leaving the guild hall and heading to a large bar in the outer district. There, he ordered two glasses of wine, and the two began their conversation.

...

Three hours later.

"Thank you, Senior Aya. I've truly learned a lot today," Zhang Ran said, looking at Aya in gratitude.

"Think nothing of it. Recruiting you into Lord Link's ranks brings me a reward as well. Answering your questions is part of my duty. I wish you the best in your future!"

Aya smiled, patting Zhang Ran on the shoulder, offering his blessing. Then the two parted ways in the bar—Zhang Ran headed to the trading center to buy supplies, while Aya returned to the guild hall.

After joining Lord Link's faction, Zhang Ran received an initial fund of fifty thousand Black Hawk credits. Though this was the lowest among the executives’ offers, for a level-one evolver it was already a substantial sum, enough to purchase many useful items.

Typically, the selling price for the materials from a level-one mutant creature runs between five hundred and one thousand Black Hawk credits. Even at the average price, an evolver would need to kill nearly seventy level-one mutant beasts to amass fifty thousand credits.

Unless one possessed C-level abilities like Zhang Ran, even D-level evolvers could only guarantee a one-on-one victory against creatures of the same level. Killing seventy level-one mutants would be no easy feat; therefore, ordinary evolvers would form hunting squads such as the “Iron Arm Team” to hunt together.

With his fifty thousand Black Hawk credits, Zhang Ran first went to the equipment vendors and spent fifteen thousand credits on a level-two material combat suit.

In comparison, a level-one material combat suit costs just fifteen hundred credits. Even the cheapest level-two suit runs ten thousand credits, while the more expensive ones can reach thirty thousand.

And this is merely the cost of a level-two material suit—level-two alloy armor is far pricier, ranging from fifty thousand to several hundred thousand credits, far beyond Zhang Ran’s current budget.

Although level-two alloy itself may be slightly cheaper than level-two materials, a full suit of alloy armor consumes significantly more alloy—often dozens of kilograms—which explains the high price.

Despite the cost, level-two alloy armor offers superior defense to the material combat suit. Its drawback, however, is the excessive weight, making it cumbersome in combat. For this reason, ability users in the domains of magic, psionics, perception, or support tend to favor armor, while those in the domain of martial combat prefer combat suits.

Of course, whether it’s alloy armor or a material combat suit, both can effectively reduce or even fully resist attacks from level-one to level-three mutant creatures and handgun bullets, making them essential life-saving gear for all evolvers.

However, these are just ordinary level-two suits and armor. If one wants an enchanted combat suit or armor, the price increases dramatically, making them utterly unattainable for Zhang Ran at present.

After buying the combat suit, Zhang Ran also purchased a new level-two alloy military dagger.

Now that he had advanced to a level-one evolver, his strength had increased significantly. The original two-kilogram dagger felt slightly too light, so he spent five thousand credits for a new five-kilogram level-two alloy dagger.

Next, Zhang Ran restocked a batch of level-two alloy armor-piercing bullets. Against mutant creatures, these bullets were far more powerful than standard rounds, though ten times the price—each costing one hundred credits.

Finally, Zhang Ran spent ten thousand credits on two enchanted psionic bullets with “Heavy Warhead” enchantments. These were even more potent than armor-piercing rounds; a single shot to a vital spot could kill even a level-two or level-three mutant beast. They were among Zhang Ran’s trump cards.

With his skilled marksmanship and chip-assisted targeting, Zhang Ran was confident he could deliver these psionic bullets precisely to an enemy’s weak point, ensuring a lethal strike when it mattered most.