Collective Enhancement (Part 1)

The Thunder Bracers were arguably the best D-grade equipment Shen Yi had encountered so far, aside from the Vampire's Touch. Except for the inability to upgrade, all other aspects were quite impressive.

The Scar-faced Man explained, "I got these Thunder Bracers in a difficulty one world and they were a big help to me. Unfortunately, they can't be advanced, and their attack damage is a bit low for my current needs. But for a difficulty one adventurer like you, they should be just right. However, I can't sell them to you for 3000 bloody points, this is a special item. If you want it, I'll give you a discount, 5000 bloody points."

Shen Yi understood that items not available in the store couldn't be priced according to standard rates. However, he still shook his head at the price of 5000 bloody points.

"I just bought a skill and now have a little over 8000 bloody points left. Although the Thunder Bracers are good, my strength attribute is only 4, and I haven't learned hand-to-hand combat specialization. Just to meet the wearing requirements, I need to spend a considerable amount of bloody points. Besides, I need to reserve some for entering missions, so I barely have enough left to upgrade my attributes. If you could lower the price of the Thunder Bracers, I might consider buying them."

This made the Scar-faced Man hesitate. He had been trying to sell the Thunder Bracers for some time, but such equipment was quite niche. It was good in a difficulty one world, but not powerful enough for difficulty two. However, few adventurers in difficulty one could afford it. For these adventurers, completing a mission usually only allowed them to learn a skill or add a few attribute points. Some less successful ones couldn't even afford a single skill.

Now this newcomer, obviously quite capable, still had 8000 bloody points left after purchasing a skill. There were probably not many like him even in the entire slum area. Missing this opportunity could mean losing the sale entirely. Waiting for another capable newcomer interested in his Thunder Bracers was uncertain. And selling them to the shop was out of the question, as it would bring in less than 2000 bloody points.

Considering this, the Scar-faced Man said to Shen Yi, "Alright, 4500 bloody points. That's a fair price."

Shen Yi still shook his head, "I can only offer 4000 bloody points at most."

The Scar-faced Man looked displeased.

Shen Yi's offer was at his bottom line. He grunted, "4000 bloody points is too cheap. If I go to the slum area, someone will surely offer more."

"If no one buys, you just wasted 200 bloody points on the toll fee," Shen Yi smiled.

He thought for a moment and then said, "Considering the attributes and skills of your bracers, 4500 bloody points isn't expensive. But I'm tight on bloody points right now. How about we make another agreement like last time? I agree to your price of 4500 bloody points, but I can only pay 3000 bloody points upfront. I'll pay you the remaining 1500 after I survive my next mission. How about that?"

The Scar-faced Man was taken aback.

This time, Shen Yi didn't offer a 5x return, just simply agreed to his asking price but asked to owe 1500 bloody points.

The Scar-faced Man was momentarily stunned.

If it were a 5x return, he would definitely continue to invest in Shen Yi. But a 2:1 return made him hesitate.

Having made a risky investment in Shen Yi once before, the Scar-faced Man had more confidence in him. However, with the increase in trust, the return rate had decreased, which annoyed him.

Shen Yi cheerfully said, "You once trusted me and received a return. Now, I have reason and qualification to ask you to continue to increase your trust in me. Either sell it to me for 4000 bloody points or allow me to owe 1500 bloody points. You choose."

Saying this, Shen Yi presented his bloody badge to the Scar-faced Man.

The rank of Lance Corporal on the badge caught the Scar-faced Man by surprise.

He was well aware of Shen Yi's background.

Being able to achieve the rank of Lance Corporal in just two missions meant one thing—Shen Yi had achieved perfect performance twice.

A newcomer with two consecutive perfect performances, what did that imply?

Despite being in the difficulty two area with a Sergeant rank, the Scar-faced Man had gone through over ten missions, from unranked to Private, and then to Lance Corporal, Corporal, and Sergeant, with quite impressive performances, including several excellent ratings. Many adventurers with less ability only received ordinary ratings. Completing five ordinary-rated missions could indeed promote one rank, but the rewards were nowhere near as much as

 a single perfect mission.

For example, in the Market Garden mission, completing the first and second main missions only rewarded 1500 and 1700 bloody points respectively. Abandoning optional missions and returning to the city would get an ordinary rating.

Completing optional missions resulted in an excellent rating. The best performance was perfect—of course, there were exceptions. Fatty had completed the optional task but received a very poor performance.

The base reward for an excellent rating was 5700 bloody points plus 1 potential point, over three times the ordinary rating reward. In terms of rank advancement, one excellent was equivalent to two and a half ordinary.

The reward for a perfect rating was even more valuable with a double C-grade reward—although Shen Yi was unfortunate not to be able to use it right away.

Therefore, a Lance Corporal achieved through perfect performances had the highest value and strongest ability.

Having achieved perfect performance twice in a row, Shen Yi clearly demonstrated his quality.

In Bloody City, strength was the basis of trust, with interests being secondary.

Seeing Shen Yi's rank, the Scar-faced Man immediately said, "Bring out 3500 bloody points. I'll extend you a credit of 1000 bloody points, and you pay after your next mission."

"Alright!" Shen Yi agreed immediately.

After signing the agreement and paying 3500 bloody points, Shen Yi finally acquired the Thunder Bracers. With these bracers, he now truly had a powerful attack skill. The Scar-faced Man was right; the skill inherent in the Thunder Bracers was already stronger than many D-grade skills. Its only drawback was the lack of upgradability, which made it prone to obsolescence.

Having purchased the Thunder Bracers, Shen Yi returned to the slum area, satisfied with his acquisition. Upon his return, he was greeted by Wen Rou, who ran up to him and playfully punched him in the chest. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"What's the matter?" Shen Yi asked.

"Hong Lang and Jin Gang are going for enhancement. We all earned quite a bit this time and thought of including you," Wen Rou explained.

Enhancement was usually a private affair, as adventurers preferred not to reveal their strengths and weaknesses. However, this time, Hong Lang, Jin Gang, and Wen Rou all wished to enhance together with Shen Yi.

Without asking too many questions, Shen Yi nodded, "Okay."

At the store, Hong Lang and Jin Gang had been waiting for a long time, and the other three adventurers were not seen. Shen Yi learned that the collective enhancement was Jin Gang's suggestion.

Jin Gang believed that although enhancement was a private matter, many adventurers ended up enhancing similar abilities due to mutual distrust. This often led to a lack of complementary skills in teams, as seen in their last World War II mission, where most adventurers focused on close combat and neglected support, logistics, reconnaissance, and ranged damage, leading to heavy casualties. If adventurers coordinated their enhancements, many missions would be much easier.

While Jin Gang couldn't persuade all adventurers in the eastern district to be open about their abilities, he hoped that at least their small group could engage in a coordinated enhancement to create a more powerful combined force.

Behind this proposal, Jin Gang had another motive: to bond these four individuals into a cooperating team through this enhancement.

Shen Yi understood his underlying intent and had no objections to the proposal.

After some thought, Shen Yi said, "Your idea is good, but have you considered one thing? If Bloody City has a team cooperation mode, it's very likely there's also an every-man-for-himself mode or a mode where we have to fight each other... What if our next mission isn't a team cooperation mode?"

Jin Gang replied earnestly, "Then at least I won't choose you as an opponent. No matter the mode, it shouldn't be a reason for us to be enemies. If we want to be friends, nothing should make us enemies. Shen Brother, you're not looking down on me, are you?"

Shen Yi smiled, "No, not at all. I was just wondering how we would cooperate when our military ranks are different and we enter the regular area at different times. But now it seems that's not a problem. Jin Gang is right, as long as we want to be friends, no reason or design should make us enemies. I support Jin Gang's suggestion; let's enhance together."

Jin Gang was delighted, "Since you agree, that makes things much easier. First, we need to be open with each other and share our attributes and skills for mutual understanding. We can't become friends without knowing each other's abilities. This time, we can't be secretive like in the mission worlds."

He opened his energy screen, revealing his full attributes:

"ID E4528, Zhou Lin, Lance Corporal. Attributes: Strength 15 (20), Constitution 30, Agility 10 (15), Mental Strength 25 (30), Will 15."

"Ability: Psychokinesis. Energy 100 points. This ability cannot be used on living beings."

"Skill: Armor-Piercing Attack Level 2. Each hit reduces the target's defense by 1 point, up to a maximum of 10 points. Skill effect priority 14."

"Equipment: Fist of Wind, D-grade. Attack power 9-18, comes with skill: Wind Strike. Infuses hands with the power of wind, increasing attack speed by 20% for 1 minute. This skill can overlap with certain other skills. Mental power consumption 3 points, cooldown 1 hour. Can be upgraded, cannot be advanced, skill priority 16."

"Equipment: Wind Belt (worn on the waist), increases strength by 5 points, agility by 5 points."

"Equipment: Energy Ring, increases mental strength by 5 points."

Being a veteran adventurer, Jin Gang had an impressive set of skills, abilities, and equipment, especially noteworthy was his ring that increased mental strength, a rare and sought-after item.

Hong Lang also opened his attribute screen:

"ID E3216, Hong Lang, Lance Corporal. Attributes: Strength 30 (36), Constitution 20, Agility 10 (12), Mental Strength 15, Will 7 (10)."

"Skill: Powerful Impact Level 3. Inflicts 1.6 times strength attack damage to a single target, 10% chance of double attack effect, D-grade skill. Uses 3 points of mental power, cooldown 1 minute. Skill effect priority 12."

"Skill: Axe and Halberd Combo Level 1. Performs a powerful slashing attack with an axe-type weapon, adding 20 points of subsidiary damage. When the enemy uses a weapon to block, causes 5% damage to their weapon. Uses 2 points of mental power, cooldown 1 minute. Skill effect priority 18."

"Equipment: Wolf Fang Ring, increases strength by 2 points, agility by 2 points."

"Equipment: Bone Ring, increases strength by 4 points, will by 3 points."

Wen Rou, smiling, teased Hong Lang, "You have axe skills but no axe?"

Hong Lang blushed, "The skill wasn't bought, I got it in a mission. I planned to buy a good weapon, but considering we're still in the gun stage, I had to put it aside."

Wen Rou, still chuckling, revealed her own attributes:

"ID E3325, Wen Rou, Private. Attributes: Strength 4, Constitution 12 (15), Agility 10, Mental Strength 10, Will 10 (18)."

"Passive Skill: Enhanced Hearing. Captures various sounds in the wind and generates auditory memory, able to clearly distinguish sound sources."

"Entanglement Level 2: Using whip-type weapons to entangle the target, temporarily preventing them from using skill attacks, while inflicting 3 points of damage per second. The duration of the skill depends on the difference in mental strength between the user and the target, skill level, and the target's willpower. The greater the difference, the longer the duration, up to a maximum of 18 seconds. Uses 3 points of mental power. Skill effect priority 12."

"Equipment: Will of the Undead (necklace), increases constitution by 3 points, will by 8 points."

Compared to Hong Lang and Jin Gang, Wen Rou, who had only experienced one novice task, was significantly behind in various aspects. However, considering she had only undergone one enhancement and already possessed two skills and decent equipment, it was evident that her performance in the novice task was commendable. As she was already a Private, it was certain that Wen Rou had received an excellent rating in her novice task.

"My two skills and one piece of equipment were all rewards from the novice task. I was quite lucky, but I hardly have any bloody points left," Wen Rou said helplessly. "After adding some attributes and buying a gun and auxiliary items, I was completely broke."

"It seems you also completed the novice task at 100% difficulty," Shen Yi blurted out.

Only at 100% difficulty would Bloody City initially reward you with a D-grade skill.

Wen Rou nodded seriously and then sighed, "Unfortunately, I didn't complete the task as well as you did. I barely managed to finish the main mission, and I failed the optional task. Escaping alive was sheer luck."

Shen Yi smiled, "You did quite well. I barely survived while completing the optional task."

That was true. If the holy water hadn't eliminated Dracula, his only option would have been to use the invisibility pill to flee, which would have halved all his rewards, making it hard for him to boast about his achievements now.

Without further ado, Shen Yi opened his attribute screen, leaving everyone else astonished.

Wen Rou pointed at Shen Yi and exclaimed, "You... you... you..."

Shen Yi spread his hands, "Don't get me wrong. The Arc Trajectory Technique and Thunder Bracers were just bought, and I still owe someone a thousand points."

"That's still enough to make us jealous," muttered Hong Lang, eyeing the Vampire Dagger displayed on the equipment screen with envy. The dagger seemed intended for agility-type adventurers, but Shen Yi used it as a secondary weapon, a luxury even in the eyes of seasoned adventurers. Jin Gang, on the other hand, was fixated on the Honor Medal, Immortal Badge, and Crystal Pendant.

Wen Rou was more interested in the Mental Detection skill.

"Is Mental Detection your novice reward skill?" she asked.

Shen Yi nodded.

Wen Rou exclaimed, "It's so unfair. Why did you get Mental Detection and I only got Enhanced Hearing!"

Jin Gang immediately said, "It probably has to do with the difficulty of the world. Your novice task was Resident Evil, and Shen Yi's was Van Helsing. Remember the characteristics of the different areas in Bloody City? Gunfight backgrounds are the least difficult, so the world difficulty of Resident Evil is lower than that of a fantasy world, hence the lesser reward."

Indeed, Shen Yi's first main task was a narrow escape from death, barely surviving an encounter with the silver wolf. Without borrowing the Scar-faced Man's gun and the help of special bullets, survival would have been impossible.

The first four difficulty areas of Bloody City are primarily based on gunfight, fantasy, sci-fi, and Xianxia MMO backgrounds. At the fifth difficulty, the free background is said to be extremely challenging, with even a common soldier from that area being boss-level in the lower regions.

Nevertheless, Shen Yi calmly said, "Actually, your skill is not bad either. Don't forget, it doesn't occupy a skill slot. Different skills correspond to different needs. In a scenario like Resident Evil, Enhanced Hearing is more meaningful. Otherwise, using Mental Detection against a zombie horde... hehe."

Wen Rou pondered this and then smiled.

Hong Lang asked, "Which one is your highest reward?"

Shen Yi bitterly smiled, "None of them."

Everyone was stunned, and Shen Yi then explained the events regarding the space-time anomaly.

Hearing that Shen Yi had earned the Feather Dragon Snake Technique but couldn't afford to learn it, the three others burst into laughter.

Hong Lang patted Shen Yi on the shoulder, "You've finally calmed my jealous heart, brother. I wish you never gather those 18,000 points."

Shen Yi was frustrated, "Were you part of a dragon's lair in your past life? Your words are so venomous."