Volume 3, Chapter 61 – Face the Wind!

Zhou Jieyu left happily.

Anran also shook off the gloom hanging over her and became extremely cheerful.

The news Zhou Jieyu had brought was simply too crucial.

Having enough information lowered the mission difficulty, and it also gave Anran more than enough reason to persuade her teammates to carry it out in a different way.

There were many ways to complete a mission.

You could choose to rush in and basic-attack them head-on, or poke from range, or even call your teammates over to help beat people up together.

In short, a mission’s difficulty could change with all kinds of developments, but the reward for completing it would not change because of that.

Anran found that Zhou Jieyu was practically her lucky star. And since Zhou Jieyu wasn’t particularly ambitious, with proper cultivation she might even become an exceptionally capable double agent.

The information she had brought this time told Anran clearly that this mission was actually a trap laid by Morningstar.

After successfully assassinating Twinmoon City’s mayor, Morningstar had made gains in its subsequent operations as well, but they had clearly encountered resistance from Nine Songs, and had shifted from the offensive to the defensive.

If things dragged on like this, Morningstar, already operating on enemy turf, would definitely be crushed.

So they set this trap.

The arrogant Nine Songs had not realized that the intelligence they had intercepted had been deliberately leaked by Morningstar.

If they charged in rashly, they would definitely end up in deep trouble.

As for why that double-agent player knew this news, it was because he had accidentally wandered into the meeting area while going to the bathroom and overheard it.

After that, he got taught a lesson by a group of NPCs.

Since he couldn’t beat them, he simply leaked the information.

The game interface let players communicate in a way Morningstar simply could not guard against.

A true warrior!

Anran gave him an imaginary thumbs-up.

He had made an enormous contribution.

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But through this, Anran also noticed a headache-inducing problem.

Quite a few players had already joined Morningstar’s camp.

Although she had not run into any players yet, she definitely would sooner or later.

When that time came, things would get troublesome.

Fortunately, players were still low-level right now and all still in the exploration phase, so they were no match for her at all.

The only good news was probably that once players advanced to a basic profession, they would no longer dare to charge in recklessly.

Because once they reached a basic profession, there would be a death penalty.

In Night of the Stars, the higher your level, the harsher the death penalty.

Not only would the respawn time get longer, but you would also suffer drops.

Anran did not hurry back to tell Feilian about this right away.

She did not want it to seem too abrupt.

That afternoon, she went straight to the workshop to make a pair of mechanical boots.

The mission was still two days away, so she had plenty of time to prepare.

If she could make the [Crude Mechanical Boots] during this gap, she would be much more at ease in battle when the time came.

Anran had no intention of mindlessly rushing in.

Before doing anything, she always liked to think things through carefully and bring along anything that might be useful.

After all, you only had one life. If you did not cherish it yourself, who else would do it for you?

Less nonsense, more action. Never give the other side an opening.

Hadn’t plenty of villains been killed in a reversal just because they talked too much crap?

She assembled several steel frames according to the size of her feet, leaving some extra space, then tightened the bearings, and the mechanical boots finally began to look the part.

Only the power drive was still missing.

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That was the real core.

Because they had to withstand high-output bursts for long periods of time, the metal used to make the mechanical boots was a fairly precious alloy. They might only be the size of two feet, but they still cost Anran several thousand Bilu, cutting her net worth in half on the spot.

The mechanical frame was relatively easy to make. What came next was the hard part.

Anran focused completely. To avoid being disturbed, she even plugged her ears with earplugs.

She operated the machinery to grind and cut.

Following the blueprint’s instructions, she proceeded step by step.

The pneumatic chamber demanded extremely high structural precision.

Even the slightest flaw could affect the performance of the mechanical boots.

Anran repeated the process five or six times before she finally made a pneumatic chamber that met the requirements.

That also showed why she could not make crude exoskeleton armor.

That thing had even higher requirements.

Then came the final assembly.

Once all the components had been firmly fitted together, Anran impatiently opened the equipment attribute panel.

[Crude Mechanical Boots: Quality – Blue. Armored footwear covering the calves and feet. Speed +15, Jumping Power ×3, Armor: 30/30. Modifiable, …]

Blue-quality equipment. This was the first time!

Anran looked at her handiwork in delight.

She took off her shoes, and the mechanical boots fit her perfectly.

Because they were custom-made equipment, and because of the material limitations, these mechanical boots were not something just anyone could wear.

Anran tried taking a few steps in them, and there was hardly any burden at all.

It felt like wearing sandals in summer.

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Since they had not been charged yet, the equipment was not showing its full effect at all.

Anran took the boots off. Carrying them, she found a handmade shoe and boot shop nearby and spent a little money to disguise the mechanical boots.

The part with the pneumatic chamber stuck out a little, but not very noticeably, and it did not affect the appearance at all.

It was just right for adding decorative laces there.

They looked like a very ordinary pair of boots.

After tossing the mechanical boots in to charge, Anran, who had gained 4,000 EXP, remained in excellent spirits despite having her assets cut in half.

The growth in her strength was something she could already foresee.

She was poorer, sure, but her chances of survival had likely risen a great deal as well.

Only by staying alive could she earn even more money, right?

Anran spent the whole day working on machinery.

Without realizing it, she had already saved up 35,000 EXP. She would be leveling up again very soon.

At her current stage, Anran mainly used her EXP to level up Mechanic, and secondarily to combine blueprints and level skills.

As for other professions, Anran was not considering leveling them.

As an NPC, she had no way to respec.

Before finding a suitable profession, Anran basically would not level any others, unless she truly lacked attribute points.

In fact, Anran had plenty of options.

Most of the inheritance left behind by Pirate Princess Anran had been confiscated by the government, but quite a lot had been hidden away and never discovered.

The Wind Sword Saint’s legacy, as well as the Firepower Specialist’s materials, were all still intact.

One could greatly enhance a Mechanic’s abilities, while the other could give enemies a huge surprise.

Just imagine it: after going through untold hardship, the enemy finally charged all the way up to Anran.

They shouted, “Die, you fragile Mechanic!” but who would have thought that Anran would suddenly pull out a sword?

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“Face the Wind!”

The sword light was so fast it dazzled the eyes.

A blade capable of cleaving through dimensions effortlessly chopped the enemy into pieces.

Anran calmly tossed the sword behind the throne and let it stick there. “Pathetic. You’re as bad as an Advanced Swordsman.”

The starry sky fell silent.

“Today we’re going to go chop off the Empire’s emperor!”

“…”

She got up early the next day.

Anran tossed her original sneakers aside and changed into the disguised mechanical boots.

There was still a full day before the operation began. It was time to tell her teammates that this was a trap.

Only by beating them at their own game could they secure the greatest possible benefit.

“You’re saying this is a trap?” Feilian looked at Anran in shock after hearing such startling news from her.

Anran said, “That’s right. This information is absolutely reliable.”

“No, I need some time to process this.” Feilian rubbed his forehead.

Anran cut off his thoughts. “We only have one day left. How about this? Instead of thinking here, why don’t we go take a look ourselves? I think…”

Anran looked at Li Zhuying, who was spacing out. “Li Zhuying and I should go scout it out together. With confirmation from an Outlander, it’ll be easy for you all to tell whether what I’m saying is true or false.”

Outlanders were experts at gathering information.

“Th…” Feilian had just started to say something.

Anna spoke up. “Why are you dragging this out? If it really is a trap, then charging over there rashly would be suicide. Since Anran has said so, then let’s go take a look. If I go along too, there won’t be any problem.”

“Fine! I won’t waste any more words. You absolutely must be careful during this operation and don’t alert the enemy,” Feilian said decisively.