Chapter 2010: A Successful Theft
Three trait items were also added, though they leaned more towards being interesting curiosities. One decent one was "Dedicated Professional." This item could unconditionally make someone immediately perform an action related to their profession. Of course, the scope of "related to their profession" was quite broad, and its true effect could only be seen when actually used. It could be considered a probability-based item. To some extent, it could not only interrupt an opponent's attack but, with a bit of luck, could also delay their defense.
There was also a defensive item called "Goddess's Garment." The item itself was an extremely thin gauze robe. When worn on a person, it would automatically float. The range of its floating was its defensive range. Both the defensive range and defensive strength were very flexible. Its slight drawback was that it was exceptionally ornate, with metallic threads woven into the gauze, making it dazzling and eye-catching.
In addition to the traits and items, the rewards also included a mental interference device called "Please Don't Think." The device could cover an area of over a kilometer, specifically targeting Mental Super Evolvers. However, it would release a protective barrier around the user during use, ensuring the user themselves wouldn't be affected. This was more humane than "Weight of Life."
Then there was the item upgrade. It wasn't a flexible upgrade opportunity where the player could choose which item to upgrade; it was fixed, so the target of the upgrade couldn't be selected.
Two items were upgraded.
"Mini Mushroom Cloud" was upgraded to "Mega Mushroom Cloud." Besides doubling the area it could affect, the item's activation time was also shortened. This was likely considering the user's own strength. For example, "Mini Mushroom Cloud" left a certain amount of time after being released for the user to avoid risks and prevent accidental injury. "Mega Mushroom Cloud" almost completely eliminated this time.
The other item was "Addicted to Theft," upgraded to "Professional Thief."
Although the name didn't sound very high-end, "Professional Thief," like "Mega Mushroom Cloud," was an A-grade item. Of course, the way the item took effect was still difficult to grasp.
[Note 1: Whether an item can be stolen depends not on the thief's skill but on the victim's level. Please examine yourself often and don't force the item to do what it cannot.]
[Note 2: It has a certain ability to bypass a player's defensive line for theft. However, please pay attention to the timing of use. While a powerful opponent offers a higher chance of obtaining better items, the pie falling from the sky might not contain fresh meat but a bomb.]
A theft item—there was a possibility of stealing something good, but also a possibility of being chased and beaten by the owner afterward.
Xu Huo had two theft-type items, but their track record wasn't great. Especially "Addicted to Theft," its probability of choosing to steal was unpredictable, and the items it stole were basically small trinkets. He never expected it to leave a big surprise before upgrading—it had stolen an A-grade defensive item, "Space Sphere," from Zheng Yuci.
When "Space Sphere" was used, it would release a spherical barrier that could move with the player. It could not only block attacks but also, to a certain extent, interrupt them. This effect had appeared when Zheng Yuci fought the Pigeon. At that time, when he walked out of the building and the Pigeon attacked him in various ways, the attacks were generally blocked within a range of one or two meters from him. If it was a large-scale long-range attack, like a slash, it would even be directly interrupted and disappear upon hitting the defensive barrier.
This was quite different from ordinary defensive items.
For example, Xu Huo often used "Inviolable Domain," which was also a spatial defense item. But if the opponent was powerful, then when under attack, if he couldn't withstand such strong force, even if the defensive barrier didn't disappear, he might be knocked back or moved along with it. "Space Sphere" appeared much more stable and composed. It seemed to be able to digest a certain amount of attack power. Even when struck by an item of the same grade, it could weaken the external force, thereby reducing the impact on the user.
Of course, using "Space Sphere" also limited the user's use of other items. But if combined with spiritual power, its effect was excellent.
However, this was also related to the strength of Zheng Yuci's spiritual power. During his later full-power battles, he didn't use this defensive item to avoid affecting his control over the spiritual realm.
Regardless, it could be considered a good item among A-grade items.
The other potions, White Notes, and an apothecary's honorary certificate could all be skipped. To avoid attracting tails, he also used "Home Field Perspective" to make up for any omissions he might have missed.
Xu Huo watched from beginning to end. Besides the mentioned escape of the Agor supervisor he had overlooked and some small moves by Jiang Chengfeng and other members of the Old Holy Sword Society, it also involved the attitude of the Eastern District players, represented by Teacher Zhao, towards him, and the matter of other players from Zone 035 secretly planting mines in Jade Spring City... These were all minor issues. However, it was truly surprising that Zheng Yuci hadn't used any tracking items or traits on him. The reason "Space Sphere" was successfully stolen was entirely because the other party had neglected their defense after seeing the shadow personality emerge.
"...Perhaps in Xu Huo's eyes, Zheng Yuci is an arrogant madman, but he still possesses commendable qualities, such as a pure pursuit of his goal. It was precisely because of this valuable quality that Xu Huo had the leeway to complete a Mental Super Evolution under immense pressure. However, judging from his behavior when leaving, this Super Evolver with a strong sense of 'seeing things through to the end' responsibility will sooner or later make Xu Huo a new target."
Xu Huo didn't need "Home Field Perspective" to know this. After Zheng Yuci discovered him, what he cared about more was his level of Mental Super Evolution, not life or death. It was obvious, even without thinking, that his first action after leaving Jade Spring City would be to research whether a Super Evolver could successfully control a split personality. In a situation where priorities were clearly mixed, they would borrow strength from each other. Once he had found a large number of examples and made no progress, he would definitely come back to find the person who had sparked his interest.
However, among the people cultivated by Dr. Zhang, he was still relatively normal.
Switching his personal panel page to Under Dimension, Xu Huo sent a patch to the Special Defense Department, telling them to erase the special marks on the machines and instruments. If they really couldn't be erased, then don't use them.
Zheng Yuci was very proud. Whether it was the Pigeon who wanted to kill him or Zhang Xian who had severely injured him, he simply didn't care, didn't even regard them as worthy of notice. He even proactively offered to help Xu Huo kill the person who had led him there, his motive being that he was worried the other party might be targeting Xu Huo... For people he looked down on, there was no concept of hatred or revenge. But if it was for his own pursuit, infinitely redrawing his bottom line was probably nothing worth mentioning.
Of course, this had both pros and cons for Xu Huo.
Leaning back in his seat, he turned his head to look at the clouds floating against the top of the train outside:
Wishing Zheng Yuci a speedy find of Chang Bei.