Chapter 7 Power Core Type III!

Li Zheng rubbed his ears in confusion, and it took him three minutes to regain his hearing.

"Damn, that scared me! I thought my ears were blown out..."

Looking at the stylish Desert Eagle in his hand, Li Zheng felt a bit troubled.

He'd been so focused on protecting his wrist and arm, he forgot that one downside of this thing is its loud noise.

In the Matrix, it's all small rooms; firing a gun in such a place is practically self-harm.

"Let's go check the shooting effect."

Li Zheng walked to the Cultivation Liquid storage tank, reached out to compare the size, and found the bullet hole was as thick as a pinky finger, and when it pierced the tank, it was clean and neat without even a trace of excess cracking.

Following the bullet hole, Li Zheng also saw a small hole on the ground, but he didn't find the bullet.

"It seems after the black-tech modification, this gun no longer uses conventional bullets. It should shoot something similar to an Energy Bomb, and moreover..."

Li Zheng looked at the virtual screen on the Desert Eagle's gun body, which displayed a battery icon with the number 99% next to it.

"Although this gun doesn't require changing ammo, it needs to consume energy. Perhaps when the energy runs out, it will need a replacement Power Core to continue working."

"One Power Core Type I supports a hundred shots?"

"That's acceptable."

After all, compared to its power, this consumption isn't much.

"Next, let's try the special shooting mode."

Removing the magazine, Li Zheng discovered its interior was a precise gear structure, with small gears on both sides that could hold various bullet models.

After comparing sizes, Li Zheng found something he could try putting in.

"I just wonder if it can still fire without gunpowder or similar items as kinetic energy."

A few hair-like items appeared in his hand, precisely the recently acquired Bronze Level item—the Snake Grass Needle.

Carefully loading Snake Grass Needles one by one into the magazine until it was full, perfectly holding twenty needles.

"Though it's a handgun, the magazine capacity is almost like a mini-submachine gun..."

Li Zheng was increasingly satisfied with this black-tech version of the Desert Eagle.

Click.

With a crisp sound, the magazine reset.

"Switch to special shooting mode, and then..."

Li Zheng tore off his shirt sleeves, plugging his ears on both sides to minimize the damage the expected loud gunshot in the confined space would do to his ears.

"I don't want to go deaf for another three minutes."

He raised the gun, aimed at the liquid tank, and decisively pulled the trigger.

Whoosh!

Unlike ordinary shooting.

This time, the sound of firing was much quieter, almost inaudible.

Li Zheng thought it was because his ears were plugged, so he removed the plugs and fired again.

Whoosh!

"Is it because of the special shooting mode or the Snake Grass Needles?"

Without more special ammo for reference, Li Zheng couldn't make a judgment.

But these details didn't matter.

"What's important is whether the power has diminished."

Approaching the liquid tank, there were two much finer small holes, like pinpricks.

Li Zheng looked past the liquid tank, but didn't see any new bullet holes on the ground behind it.

"It seems Snake Grass Needles, being plant-based, can be used as special ammo, but their texture isn't hard enough. So they only pierced the tank, turning into powder afterward."

Li Zheng noted this characteristic and summarized.

"In conclusion, ordinary shooting is suitable for any combat situation, but the downside is it's too noisy, and the recoil is too great to control."

Firing a shot means half a day to recover...

"Shooting Snake Grass Needles is the complete opposite, suitable for hitting soft targets like human skin and flesh. But that's sufficient, since Snake Grass Needles are poisonous; as long as they break the enemy's skin, the poison can enter their body.

The advantage is low noise, and practically no recoil."

Another downside is the unclear strength of the Snake Grass Needles' poison for now.

He glanced at the virtual screen, remaining energy 97%.

"The two shooting modes consume the same amount of energy."

"Not bad, this trade was profitable."

Li Zheng stored away the Desert Eagle and wasn't inclined to continue practicing his spear technique. Instead, he took out another Flame Flower.

At this point, this flower had ten minutes left before expiring. After ten more minutes, if not consumed, it would decay into gray quality trash.

Just then, Li Zheng received a private message from Phoenix Mountain:

"Awakening successful, as thanks, here's a free piece of information."

"The so-called Fire Gene is actually akin to a superpower, only it's converted into a 'Skill' here.

Skills can be upgraded, but require more similar gene-altering items. If you get another item for developing the Fire Gene, I hope you'll consider trading with me first."

Li Zheng: "..."

A successful awakening?

2% probability... so high?

Really awakened just like that?

Damn EU (luckiest of the lucky) player!

How is a game loser like me supposed to cope?

No way!

I can't be the only one upset!

"[Flame Flower]"

Li Zheng showcased the remaining Flame Flower to Phoenix Mountain through a private message, then immediately posted on the world channel megaphone.

[Matrix Channel 0000879, Li Zheng: [Flame Flower] one piece, a Silver Level item that can unlock Skills, the previous customer successfully awakened a Skill, nine minutes of validity remaining, interested parties DM with offers.]

The next moment, Li Zheng's private messages skyrocketed, instantly showing 999+.

At first, Li Zheng casually opened them one by one, only to find they were full of clingy phrases asking for a chance or begging for favors.

What's amusing is that Phoenix Mountain was clearly provoked too.

"!!!!!!!"

"???????"

"Damn!!!!"

"You still have one!"

"I want... I want more!"

"Damn! Didn't you want a Light Saber Blueprint? I'll trade! [Ion Light Saber Blueprint] Please!!!"

"Bro! You're like a brother to me! Trade with me!!!"

Li Zheng curled his lips, knew you weren't honest, and now you've been exposed?

Let me tell you, it's too late!

But it's a shame, while Light Sabers are cool, they're ultimately melee weapons. How could they compete with the long-range charm of the Desert Eagle?

"Strength might be temporary, but style lasts a lifetime... should I trade?"

Li Zheng hesitated for a moment, but quickly regained clarity.

"A Light Saber Blueprint also needs a Power Core Type III to craft. Though you can get a broken one from smashing a fridge, if you could repair or find a whole one, wouldn't upgrading the Detector be better?"

With this logic, Li Zheng sent Phoenix Mountain two words in reply.

"No deal!"

Then he added Phoenix Mountain to the blacklist, setting a timer to release him in ten minutes.

There's a reason for those ten minutes; by then, the remaining Flame Flower will be sold or rotten.

Either way, he won't get another one from me.

Next, he sifted through all the private messages, filtering out useless flattering words, setting the filter condition to "Power Core Type III."

Even though many people sent messages, Li Zheng wasn't optimistic that someone would exchange a Power Core Type III.

After all, not everyone can clear ten rooms in just over two hours like Phoenix Mountain.

Let alone produce a Silver Level item.

Yet the truth was, after all the message filtering, there really was someone who sent a showcase of a [Power Core Type III] item.

And when he checked the sender, Li Zheng found it was a familiar name.

A big shot from the same channel.

Zhan Zhouzhou!