Chapter 1197: Cake Slice
Angel finished her lessons and left Rose Castle safely, agreeing that on days when Xu Huo wasn't at home, Mr. Dong would send a car to pick her up.
Angel was very grateful for Xu Huo's arrangements, and before leaving, she praised Xiao Yuan for being exceptionally intelligent and eager to learn.
"Let's put the Holy Sword Society matter on hold for now. I need to go to Zone 001 soon," Xu Huo said to Mr. Dong.
Mr. Dong's expression remained unchanged. "Sir, are you planning to retrieve the items left by Mr. He Pu?"
"Coincidentally, the next instance I need to enter is also in Zone 001. I hope I can still find the place when I get there," Xu Huo replied before asking about another matter. "Is the appointment with the exchange made?"
"Tomorrow at three in the afternoon," Mr. Dong said. "The exchange will prepare suitable items in advance according to your requirements."
Buying high-level combat items or items that can break the effects of spatial items isn't particularly difficult; the challenge lies in finding items that fulfill both criteria. Even C-grade or B-grade items of this kind are expensive, and naturally, temporal-spatial items are also pricier than ordinary ones.
Xu Huo's requirements for items were quite high, and he wouldn't waste money on anything that wasn't perfectly suited to his needs.
Zone 011's exchange had a considerable number of high-level items available. After he was escorted into the VIP room, the manager explained the items while displaying them via holographic projection.
The good stuff was saved for last. Xu Huo first looked at a portion of the items recommended by the exchange, most of which were everyday-use items. The manager explained that high-level players who weren't short on money usually already had combat items they were comfortable with, and unless they particularly liked something, they generally wouldn't replace them.
However, other categories were different—tracking items, removal items, teleportation items, identity-hiding items, and so on. These items weren't as expensive as combat items and had decent sales volume at the exchange.
Xu Huo first purchased three special items.
The first was "Random Teleport Two Hundred Meters." This item could only teleport a person to a fixed point two hundred meters away, and the direction was random. Its only advantage was that it could directly remove tracking items placed on the user by others.
Of course, the two-hundred-meter distance was somewhat awkward. For high-level players, that distance was basically impossible to shake off, and there was even a chance of teleporting directly in front of someone else... but opinions varied.
The second item was "Friend or Foe." This was a marking item that could be used on at least ten different people. Once someone was marked as friend or foe, no matter how they changed their appearance or concealed their tracks, a prompt would appear as soon as they came within fifty meters of the holder.
It could serve as a supplement to "Emotional Coloring," a trait upgraded from "Best Friend's Rating." "Emotional Coloring" could provide a basic score for others' emotions toward the user and display their emotional tendencies. However, traits weren't necessarily practical for everyone. Items, other traits, or people skilled at controlling their emotions could render this trait ineffective. In situations where it was difficult to distinguish a player's identity, "Friend or Foe" was quite useful.
The third special item was called "Send You to the Crossroads." It was a distance-creating item whose advantage was that it could ignore the restrictive effects of some spatial items, directly teleporting an opponent fifty meters away. Although this distance wasn't a significant advantage, it was very effective at blocking items and traits.
"Are there no better items?" Xu Huo asked.
The manager maintained a professional smile. "If an item could directly take down an opponent, how could they still be called high-level players?"
"Those who survive often rely on these small advantages. After all, if someone gets their hands on a truly useful item, they won't put it up for sale."
Thus, the best way to obtain items was still through instances.
Xu Huo then looked at some other items and bought two long-distance teleportation items along with two sets of high-level protective suits. Only then did he turn to combat items.
"Not-So-Sharp Blade, B-grade. The blade isn't sharpened, but it can triple the holder's strength. If two players with the same evolution rate face off, the other party will find it difficult to withstand continuous slashing."
"Fragments of Unknown Direction, B-grade. Two pieces of armor forged from 206 special metal shards, which can be worn on the chest and back. They can withstand attacks from items of the same grade. When touched, they can also be used as attack weapons, automatically dispersing to cover a fifty-meter radius around the holder and possessing the ability to penetrate spatial barriers. However, if worn close to the body, each use might cost you a piece of clothing."
Xu Huo looked at the two leaf-shaped items and didn't think wearing them on the outside was any better than wearing them inside.
"Man Like the Wind, B-grade. Can create a level-seven gale, stirring up sand and stones to make your entrance utterly shocking."
"Grip Gloves, B-grade. Possess a mysterious suction ability, capable of grabbing and throwing objects weighing no more than two hundred jin within a twenty-meter range, including people."
"Burdened Life, B-grade. A gravity item that can cover a three-hundred-meter range, forcing every player within that range, including the holder, to bear a heavy load and experience a different kind of life."
Xu Huo had also owned a few gravity items before, one of which was B-grade, but its effective range was limited, and it was difficult to lock onto opponents during combat, so he had set it aside.
This item didn't seem particularly useful either.
He looked through over a dozen more B-grade items, and only one slightly met his requirements. It was called "Cake Slice," and its shape resembled a Tang saber. Depending on the angle of the slash, the blade's effect varied. For example, when slashing vertically from top to bottom perpendicular to the ground, the blade's cutting angle would extend into a fan-shaped slice, with a maximum length of one hundred meters. It could not only cut through surface structures, but if the extension line entered the ground, it would cut through the earth as well. It was said that an Artificer had crafted this item after receiving a specially customized giant cake, just to make it easier to cut.
The Artificer's peculiar hobby aside, the downside of this blade was that if swung at other angles, its lethality wouldn't extend. Moreover, the vertical slash had to be extremely precise—a slight deviation and it couldn't cut the cake, making it difficult to use effectively in combat.
However, it could break spatial barriers created by items of the same grade, which was very practical.
Xu Huo purchased "Cake Slice," "Burdened Life," and "Grip Gloves." Just these three items cost forty million, plus the three special items and two sets of dress-type items for a little girl, totaling fifty-eight million White Notes.
The manager beamed as he saw him off.
After leaving, Xu Huo went to a gift shop and bought some snacks, originally intending to give them to Little Pink Hat. However, the awakened puppet didn't respond, so he had to give up.
After having Mr. Dong prepare some supplies, he contacted Liang Shuang, and they set off together for Zone 001.
(Chapter End)