Chapter 98: Shopaholic |
The items obtained from the two rare Script chests were both excellent. The Murkoff pistol was a ranged weapon, and even though Bai Mu already had a revolver, its sheer value as equipment was quite high. If he threw it onto the market, it would likely sell for a good price.
As for the little pig doll, it was delightfully straightforward. Simply carrying it granted a five-point increase to his strength attribute—crude, simple, and highly practical.
Many items with a long list of special effects couldn't compare to the substantial boost provided by these five points of strength.
Raw numbers were a choice that could never steer you wrong.
Bai Mu tossed the little pig doll into his inventory. On his personal interface, his strength attribute had now reached twenty-four points. He originally possessed sixteen points of strength, and the title along with the doll granted him an additional eight points, essentially increasing his original strength by half.
"I should have the strength to lift a heavy cauldron now," Bai Mu muttered, clenching his fists. "If I were placed in ancient times, I could probably be a famous general. I wonder if I could go toe-to-toe with Lu Bu."
The eight-point increase in strength didn't cause his arms to suddenly bulge; it was a boost that came from beyond sheer muscular mass.
He tested his grip on the fitness equipment he had bought after his first Script. He had to load up a massive amount of weight just to feel a slight sense of burden. The enhancement of his stats yielded truly immediate results.
'For this Hidden Ending reward, should I choose equipment again, or go for a Skill Card?'
After mulling it over, he opted for the equipment.
The main reason was that skill cards were far more unpredictable than equipment, making it impossible to guarantee that a randomly generated skill would be useful. For instance, if he received a healing skill, the actual improvement to his overall strength would be negligible, as he already had Painkillers and Lucy's Candy Box as health recovery items.
On top of that, he could also summon Lucy, whose consumables could similarly restore his health and condition. He wasn't lacking in supplies. Although useless skill cards could be tossed into the Trading Market to be sold, whether anyone would actually want them was a complete unknown.
Comparatively speaking, Bai Mu still wanted to shore up his current weakest areas as much as possible.
Now that he had clothes and a helmet, he was conveniently missing a suitable pair of shoes to wear, so he chose a random pair of footwear of rare quality.
On the collection interface, white light converged, ultimately revealing a pair of camouflage combat boots.
[Name: Murkoff Special Combat Boots]
[Type: Foot Armor]
[Quality: Rare]
[Defense: Low]
[Attributes: None]
[Equipment Effect: Increases maximum movement speed by 10%. Reduces Stamina consumption during running or prolonged walking. When you remain completely stationary for more than 60 seconds, you recover an additional 1% Stamina every 10 seconds. This effect cannot be triggered while hungry.]
[Equip Requirements: None.]
[Remarks: Put on these combat boots and experience the feeling of flight.]
It was a rather excellent piece of equipment. What Bai Mu currently lacked the most were means to recover Stamina. Stamina functioned much like a mana potion, and it also directly affected his daily movements and sense of fatigue.
He equipped the boots through the interface. A pair of camouflage combat boots materialized on his feet. The outer shell was made of waterproof material, while the inside was soft and warm. Because Paradise automatically adjusted the size of equipment, they fit him perfectly.
He took a couple of steps; the boots didn't make a single sound even as he walked across the hard tile floor.
Having claimed the ending rewards, he was just about done tallying his gains from this Script. All that remained were the Script Shop and the roulette draw within it.
Before browsing the shop, he first checked the new features unlocked by his promotion to E-grade.
Two brand-new options had appeared on his community interface: the Trading Market and the Training Room. At the very bottom of the panel was a gift box icon, which was likely his reward for ascending to E-grade.
Clicking it open, Paradise presented him with two choices:
[Please select your E-grade special reward.]
[Headshot Maniac: You gain a bonus damage multiplier when attacking an enemy's head, and Stamina consumption during Combat is reduced by 10%.]
[Shopaholic: Your random Script Shop gains one free refresh, and upon refreshing, an item of Rare quality or higher is guaranteed to appear.]
The former was an immediately effective combat ability, equivalent to gaining an additional passive that boosted headshot critical damage. The latter was a shopping ability with delayed benefits.
It wasn't hard to deduce that both options were generated based on Bai Mu's past behavior. Starting from Dave's backyard, he had been landing headshots with every pull of the trigger. During his deadly journey, he had strictly aimed for the heads of the Mutants. Later, he had even obtained a Baseball Bat with a headshot effect, leading his melee attacks to also consistently target the enemies' skulls.
If there were a statistical tracker, his headshot rate would likely be over ninety percent.
As for the latter, because he had quite a wealth of Points, he had made numerous purchases in the shop.
Without deliberating for too long, Bai Mu selected his E-grade special ability.
[You have selected "Shopaholic". The ability is now active.]
He favored having a free shop refresh. Buying a solid piece of equipment or an excellent skill wouldn't necessarily yield a smaller power spike than Headshot Maniac.
Between these two choices, it all boiled down to how confident a player was in their own capabilities. If someone felt overwhelmed by the pressure of Scripts and constantly found themselves in life-threatening situations, they should definitely opt for the immediate power boost. After all, one had to survive first before worrying about anything else.
But in the long run, the returns from Shopaholic would undeniably be greater than those of Headshot Maniac.
Bai Mu opened the Script Shop for Mount Massive Asylum. Just as expected, a refresh option had appeared in the upper right corner of the store interface.
[Remaining free refreshes: 1.]
He casually browsed through the merchandise. Among the five items on the first page, only a Murkoff rifle was of Rare quality, with an asking price of 1000 Points. The remaining four commodities were ordinary items devoid of any special effects.
Bai Mu opened his chat window and asked Misty Rain Traveler, "Are firearms and other hot weapons easy to sell in the Trading Market?"
Misty Rain Traveler initially replied with a simple "?", before typing out, "Did you clear another Script already?"
"Yeah, just got back," Bai Mu answered. "I unlocked the Trading Market. When I opened the shop, I saw a rifle selling for 1000 Points, so I wanted to ask if this kind of thing sells well on the market. If it does, I wouldn't mind playing the middleman."
Misty Rain Traveler sent back a string of ellipses. At this moment, she had already taken off her bloody nurse outfit and changed into a swimsuit, currently sunbathing on a beach within the community. Every time she completed a Script, she made it a point to visit a sunny spot to relax. She had even spent some Points to hire a female masseuse to rub her back.
She hadn't even finished the massage package she bought for 10 Points, yet Bai Mu had already blitzed through two whole Scripts. This left her a bit speechless.
"There really is a massive gap between different people," Misty Rain Traveler sighed.
She grumbled slightly to herself but didn't forget to answer Bai Mu's question.
"Does that rifle come with matching ammo?" Misty Rain Traveler typed in the chat box.
"I don't think so. The item description says it only comes with a single magazine containing thirty rounds," Bai Mu said.
"Then it won't be very easy to unload," Misty Rain Traveler replied. "To the vast majority of Players, 1000 Points is already an exorbitant price. Players who can actually cough up 1000 Points would scoff at buying a gun with no reliable way to replenish its ammunition. Meanwhile, the Players who desperately want your gun likely don't have enough Points on hand anyway. So, if you buy it, you'll most likely just be losing money."
"You could probably still sell it, but don't expect to make much of a profit. You might earn around 200 Points, and even then, you'd have to wait for the right buyer to come along—someone who happens to have rifle ammo items but no actual rifle, and who can readily dish out 1200 Points."