Chapter 17: Crazy Spending, Buying High Rank Modules!_1

The Roots Core was only worth a thousand contribution points, and Jiang Chen wasn't surprised.

While it provided the mecha with the ability to self-repair, it also sacrificed a certain level of combat power.

Ironically, rookie mecha pilots didn't need much in terms of mecha endurance, but rather core combat ability.

After all, even if the mecha could repair itself automatically, it still couldn't defeat an enemy it was no match for, which made it meaningless.

Only someone with a special talent like Jiang Chen would consider using it to build a mecha.

What surprised Jiang Chen was this.

The [Soul of Life] trait that he didn't care much about was valued at a whopping thirty thousand contribution points?

Even if all the other materials and modules were added together, their price was less than a third of that of the Soul of Life trait.

How could it sell for so much?!

Did everyone really like to chat with plants and animals?

An alliance employee explained.

"The most precious aspect of the Soul of Life trait isn't communicating with plants and animals, but rather the seemingly inconspicuous ability of [Perception of Dead Creatures' Emotions]."

"Its essence is the ability to perceive the [soul] of an object."

"You should know that a mecha is a kind of inanimate object."

"Once a mecha pilot uses the Soul of Life trait, they acquire the [Mecha Soul Perception] ability."

"Even without a smart module installed, they can communicate with the mecha, enhancing the bond and compatibility between themselves and the mecha, and in certain moments, they can even unleash supercharged power..."

"Of course, I've only heard of such idealistic things and haven't actually seen them for myself."

"In fact, the reason why the Soul of Life trait is so expensive is because the [Mecha Soul Perception] ability is an essential quality for mecha repair engineers and enhancement engineers."

"Only those who can perceive the mecha soul can perfectly repair a mecha or achieve the perfect conditions for enhancement..."

"Sadly, there are several traits that allow a mecha pilot to sense the mecha soul, and the Soul of Life is not the most perfect one."

"Furthermore, the Soul of Life trait can be produced in the shallow abyss."

"Otherwise, this trait's price could have an extra zero at the end."

Mecha Soul Perception?

An essential ability for enhancement engineers and repair engineers?

Jiang Chen suddenly realized.

However, he already knew that a mecha pilot could obtain only one new trait at each rank, and the number was very limited.

He wasn't very interested in the mecha soul and didn't want to become an enhancement engineer or a repair engineer for the time being.

Keeping the Soul of Life trait was useless to him, so he sold it directly for contribution points he could freely use.

And as long as he gathered enough startup capital to enhance the mecha once,

Jiang Chen had the ability to explore the high-difficulty abyss and would quickly earn even more contribution points.

If he needed it in the future, he could buy it then.

Confirming the sale.

Jiang Chen's contribution balance surged to nearly forty thousand!

An excellent quality 0th Rank Accessory Module only needed five hundred contribution points to acquire!

To a rookie mecha pilot, forty thousand contribution points were definitely a huge sum!

Next, it was time to spend.

"I need strengthening materials and modules related to life and vitality."

"Only those of excellent quality and above."

The alliance employee sensed the unspoken implication in Jiang Chen's words.

"You want those above 0th Rank as well?"

"Hmm."

Jiang Chen nodded affirmatively.

Using high rank materials to enhance a low-ranked mecha, without being able to utilize their full effect, was luxurious and wasteful.

But on the flip side, didn't that mean the effect was already pushed to its limit?

As for the cost issue...

No worries, he had the money!

Spending it on mecha enhancement, he didn't feel heartache!

The alliance employee pressed a few buttons, and a holographic panel appeared in front of Jiang Chen, listing rows of materials.

[Life Force Tree Leaf]

[Rank: 1]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Type: Material]

[Effect: Used to strengthen a mecha, it can enhance and stimulate latent vitality, increasing the Armor Value and recovery speed.]

[Description: This is the remaining piece from the burning Life Force Tree.]

[Price: 2000 contribution/leaf]

Fine, materials of 1st Rank Excellent quality were a bit expensive.

Before the mecha could rank up, it had to be strengthened ten times, and each enhancement required more than one material.

If all the materials used for enhancement were 1st Rank Excellent quality,

Jiang Chen's forty thousand contribution points wouldn't even be enough for ten enhancements.

"A mecha can at most leverage the effects of materials and modules of one rank higher."

"An ordinary mecha can use Excellent materials."

"The effect overflow from 1st Rank Excellent quality is too much."

"Buying ten would do, to be used as the main material for each enhancement, and 0th Rank Excellent as accessory materials can still play an effective role."

Life Force Tree Leaf, Radiance Crystal, Natural Rock, Vitality Spring Water...

The total materials for ten enhancements cost Jiang Chen twenty-four thousand contribution points.

Most of which was spent on 1st Rank Excellent materials.

In addition, Jiang Chen also purchased three 1st Rank accessory modules.

...

[Crystal Rock Carapace]

[Rank: 0 (1)]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Type: Armor Module]

[Effect: After installation, gain a full-coverage outer armor, increasing Armor Value by 40, defense by 3.]

[Description: Your crystal mine is insufficient, please replenish in time.]

[Price: 2000 contribution points]

...

[Primordial Essence Enhancement]

[Rank: 0 (1)]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Type: Special Module]

[Effect: After installation, gain Primordial Essence Strengthening, increasing strength by 3, agility by 3, defense by 1.]

[Description: The power of life flows within me.]

[Price: 2000 contribution points]

...

[Blood Demon Transformation]

[Rank: 0(1)]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Type: Special Module]

[Effect: After installation, gain Blood Demon Transformation ability, which can convert Armor Value to energy at a rate of 0.5/s and vice versa.]

[Description: An inexhaustible source of life force energy!]

[Price: 11,000 contribution points.]

...

The three 1st Rank Excellent Quality accessory modules totaled 15,000 contribution points.

Among them, the price of Blood Demon Transformation was undoubtedly the most expensive, with the other two modules' prices combined not even half of its cost!

This was because its effect was just too practical.

Being able to rapidly convert between Armor Value and energy was akin to the two sharing a regeneration speed, which could be matched with many different tactics.

For example, the 0.1/s armor recovery speed brought by the Roots Strengthening module.

For some mecha pilots who prefer to engage in long-range attacks and never enter close combat, this is quite redundant and almost ineffective.

However, with Blood Demon Transformation, it could be turned into energy recovery speed.

This allowed these pilots to use long-range weapons unrestrainedly, greatly enhancing their output efficiency.

It is a core component of the Blood Demon style!

Regrettably, as a 1st Rank module, its quality is only Excellent.

Even though this means that more are produced, the potential of an Excellent Quality mecha can't be fully realized.

That's why it's often used to enhance 0th Rank mechas, affecting its price.

Otherwise, it wouldn't just be 11,000 points; even 110,000 might not be enough to purchase it!

Jiang Chen decisively secured it.

After replacing the three accessory modules and adding the supercharged core module,

The model Zero Mecha's attributes underwent a dramatic change.

[Code name: model Zero-Type 2]

[Type: Full-coverage light armor]

[Quality: Ordinary]

[Rank: Zero]

[Enhancement: Zero]

[Attributes: Strength 4, Agility 4, Defense 5, Enigmatism 0.]

[Armor: 50/50, Recovery Speed 0.1/s.]

[Energy: 10/10, Recovery Speed 0.01/s.]

[Core Module: Roots Core (Supercharged)]

[Accessory Modules: Crystal Rock Carapace, Primordial Essence Enhancement, Blood Demon Transformation.]

Compared to the basic trial period,

The current model Zero armor has reduced strength and agility, replaced by strong defense, armor, and recovery capabilities.

"To put it bluntly, although better modules have been exchanged, the current combat strength isn't very high..."

"After all, if the three accessory modules and one core module all were used to stack attributes,"

"You could get the mecha's strength and agility both above ten points!"

"Such an attribute difference, during head-on combat, even if the defense is a bit stronger, wouldn't make much of a difference."

"However..."

Ten points of strength and agility?

Jiang Chen could just keep breaking his armor, forcefully stacking attributes, and get these two values up.

Just like how he crushed the Roots Titan.

By comparison, his need for the first suit of armor leaned more towards defense and survival.

After all, a high attack and low defense might be strong, but it also makes one easily perish.

As long as he's alive, though, he'd have nearly limitless growth potential!