Volume 2, Chapter 16 – The Final Link

“Creak…”

The workshop door was suddenly pushed open, and the woman in the white coat who had been inside for several hours walked out.

She opened her mouth, about to call out to Colin, but froze for a moment when she saw the scene inside the repair shop.

A middle-aged man making dresses.

A young girl repairing an electric oven.

Something had to be backward here!

“Finished?” Colin was the first to react. Without changing expression, he set down the dress in his hands and spoke.

The middle-aged woman gave a light cough, then nodded. “More or less. Once you put that thing in, I can do the final step.”

Colin stood up and took two steps forward. He raised a hand as if he wanted to place it on the middle-aged woman’s shoulder, but in the end he held back, his right hand dropping to his side. “Then I’ll have to trouble you once more when the time comes.”

The middle-aged woman replied in an unconcerned tone, “It’s nothing. I still have a patient appointment this afternoon, so I’ll be going first.”

“Mm.” Colin nodded.

The middle-aged woman left.

Anran’s gaze kept shifting back and forth between Colin and the retreating figure of the middle-aged woman.

She suspected there was some melodramatic story here.

…

The quest chain seemed to have come to a temporary halt. By repairing electromechanical equipment and secretly making bullets, Anran’s experience kept rising steadily.

Each bullet guaranteed 1 point of experience and had already become one of Anran’s main sources of experience.

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The downside, however, was that although she could use scrap from the workshop, she still had to spend money on the materials other than the shell casings.

Anran had originally felt rather pained about that.

Just as she was wavering, the friendly player “Leading the Escape” stepped up once again.

After successfully reaching Level 2, Zhou Jieyu was no longer satisfied with a life-oriented side profession. She wanted to unlock a main profession with combat capability.

What was the fun in being a casual player? Combat players were much more interesting.

At that moment, Zhou Jieyu thought of Anran again. Both Scout and Mechanic were professions with combat capability.

All she lacked was favorability.

So Zhou Jieyu began her own favorability grind.

She took quests to save up experience and money, then turned around and handed the money to Anran to increase favorability.

At the same time, she noticed alloy daggers, pistols, and bullets for sale in Anran’s trading system. Gritting her teeth, Zhou Jieyu bought several pieces of equipment.

And just like that, watching the slow increase in favorability between herself and Anran, she finally raised it to 10 points.

“Do you want to unlock the profession [Scout]?”

“Yes!”

“Unlocking the profession [Scout] requires 100 Bilu. Do you wish to pay?”

“…”

Ten, twenty, thirty, fo… there was no forty.

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Zhou Jieyu looked ashen.

“Wait for me. I’ll come back tomorrow.” With that, she ran off.

Anran felt deeply gratified.

As long as she grew stronger, she could earn more money. And the more money she earned, the stronger she could become. It was a positive feedback loop.

From the forum, she learned that some adventurous players had already started heading toward the big cities, and quite a few of them were coming to Twinmoon City.

When that time came, she would have to find a way to turn them into her customers as well.

It was then that Anran finally received the seventh stage of [Colin’s Mechanical Engineering], the final stage of this entire quest line.

Quest rewards:

1. 2000 experience points.
2. Aila’s favorability +40.

What kind of reward was that supposed to be?

Anran was baffled when she saw the quest description.

Compared with the sixth stage, the experience reward had not changed at all. As the reward for the final stage of a hidden quest, it was obviously a letdown, and the extra reward was just an increase in favorability.

Who was Aila?

And what use was there in increasing her favorability?

How could the reward for a hidden quest with a full seven stages possibly be this simple?

Still muddled, Anran found herself once again standing in front of that earlier “hunk of metal.”

The “hunk of metal” sat in a chair. The plug inserted at the back of its neck had already been removed, and unlike last time, its lower body was covered by a layer of cloth.

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With a solemn expression, Colin said to Anran, “When I take the thing out in a moment, help me press this spot.”

He pointed at a place near the “hunk of metal’s” chest.

“After I put the thing in, please also rotate those glass tubes at these spots on the arms, legs, and the back of the neck ninety degrees clockwise.”

“Will that do it?” Anran asked. It sounded pretty simple.

Turning away, Colin said, “More or less.”

“No problem. Leave it to me.”

“Then I’ll start.”

After saying that, Colin walked to the corner, where a small box had been placed.

Using a knife, he swiftly cut through the tape wrapped around the outside of the box. The moment he lifted the lid, a warm white glow spilled out from inside, with the luster of gentle white jade.

Colin reached his hand inside. When he withdrew it, there was now a small irregular crystal in his hand, about the size of a fist. Milky white and gemlike, it carried a deep, almost magical pull that drew Anran’s gaze.

And Colin’s hands were trembling slightly as well.

This crystal…

Anran narrowed her eyes slightly. Even though she possessed all the memories of Pirate Princess Anran, she had no impression whatsoever of this mysterious crystal.

But its unusual appearance made her feel that it was no ordinary object.

“Press it, quick!”

Colin barked softly.

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Anran immediately focused. Her right hand shot out and pressed against the “hunk of metal’s” left chest.

It seemed as if that spot was about to sink inward.

Then Anran saw the silvery-white metal to the left of her palm spring open to both sides automatically. Colin seized the moment and quickly placed the crystal inside with both hands.

Following the instructions she had been given, Anran began rotating the glass tubes clockwise, while Colin worked on something inside the recessed slots that had just sunk inward.

In about half a minute, Anran smoothly finished rotating all the glass tubes.

By the time she stood up, Colin’s side was finished as well.

The opened slots had already closed, and the gentle white light was now sealed inside the “hunk of metal.”

“It’s finally done.”

Colin wiped away the sweat that had appeared on his forehead at some point, looking immensely relieved.

At that moment, Anran saw a smile on his face that he simply could not hide, a smile like that of a child, joy from the bottom of his heart.

“Click—”

A sound suddenly rang out from beside her.

Anran turned instinctively, and then she saw an astonishing scene.

The “hunk of metal’s” eyes glowed red, while the ten glass tubes she had rotated suddenly erupted with dazzling blue beams inside. The metal linking the two ends of the tubes shook as if a powerful electric current were surging through it.

“It really works, it really works, it really works…”

Colin kept repeating those words, already looking utterly possessed.