The awakened team

Sixteen hundred second-tier crystal cores are equivalent to two hundred fifth-tier crystal cores or twenty first-tier Lord-tier crystal cores.

You can purchase liquid weapons and liquid armor. Although they appear to be able to transform freely and are not expensive, they require the consumption of crystal core energy.

This means that continuous consumption is required after purchase, and no one knows how much energy it will consume. With Shaun's current meager wealth, he can't afford such things.

Alternatively, he could consider purchasing two city defense turrets. However, even if Gray Bear City is captured, it doesn't matter much to Shaun. At most, he would lose a fixed-point BUFF that boosts his combat power by 10%.

As for laser guns, they're not in his consideration either. Not only are they expensive, but their power isn't significant either. They can at most deal with fifth-tier creatures and also require energy consumption.