CHAPTER 129: 129 HIDDEN REWARDS

"Lin, the Storekeeper, the Blood Shadow Sect, Waning Sun Gate, Mysterious Darkness Cult, Magic Spirit Sect, and Blood Separation Sect all entered the Supervisory Immortal Office today," reported the Lonely Old Man when he visited the Refiner’s Workshop. "They brought many Heaven-sent individuals, presumably those they kidnapped en route..."

"Oh, how are the preparations for the Exhibition of the Incomplete going?" Lin Bai was engrossed in engraving an Array on a ring-shaped Magic Artifact, not even raising his head. Having mastered the basic theory of Arrays, the Array on the Wind-breaking Sword no longer held any secrets for him.

Since it was their first meeting, Tong Cha couldn’t possibly have given him a top-tier Magic Treasure. Engraved on the body of the Wind-breaking Sword was a simple amplification Array, its principle similar to that of a miniature amplifier.

「...」

There are many basic Arrays that can be engraved on weapons, such as augmentation Arrays, attribute add-ons, energy storage Arrays, and so on.

What type of Array is engraved on a Magic Treasure depends on the material itself.

For weapons like swords or sabers, sharpness, amplification, and fire attribute enhancements are most common, while for shields and armor, robustness, protection, and earth attribute enhancements are most prevalent.

Whether an Array can be engraved on a Magic Artifact depends on the proficiency of the Artifact Refiner. Most Artifact Refiners tend to fail at this step, as a slight tremor of the hand can ruin a beautifully forged weapon.

If a weapon made from rare Artifact Refining materials is destroyed, its chances of being successfully reforged are extremely low.

Therefore, in the Immortal World, Artifact Refiners are as precious as Alchemists.

Those who can design Arrays based on the weapon’s own attributes are masters. Those who can both design Arrays and perfectly engrave them on Magic Artifacts are esteemed grandmasters of Artifact Refining.

It is said that within the Spirit Artifact Pavilion, only the Sect Master is a grandmaster in Artifact Refining.

「...」

But for Lin Bai, engraving Arrays was not a problem, as all the rewards he received were already max-level, so he didn’t need to train them himself.

Mastering the basic Array theory meant that crafting a "charge storage battery" could be put on the agenda. He had to solve this "Damn it!" BUG. Although Little Palm Thunder didn’t consume much of his Inner Strength, the activation phrase itself was just too awkward!

Over these few days, Lin Bai devoted his spare time to figuring out how to store electrical energy.

In the end, combining modern physics, electrical knowledge, the basics of Magic Artifacts in this world, and Array theory, he actually devised a charge-storing Magic Artifact, along with a dedicated charging and discharging Array.

Lin Bai originally intended to transform the Blacksmith’s Hammer into a charge storage hammer, since it could be recalled into the System.

By transforming it into an electro-hammer, like Thor’s Hammer, charged with electricity, a single blow could release a large area of lightning.

However, despite its ordinary appearance, he tried everything he could but failed to engrave an Array on the Blacksmith’s Hammer.

To his surprise, the tool rewarded by the System turned out to be an indestructible Magic Treasure.

This was definitely an unexpected joy.

Considering that Lin Bai had a set of six Artifact Refining tools, all readily available at any time.

The hammer, Pliers, Bellows, and sharpening stones were all quite small.

But the furnace and Anvil were both large. During a fight, suddenly materializing an Anvil weighing over a thousand pounds would surely have an effect comparable to the Heavenly Stamp!

The key was that these tools were unbreakable.

They could be recalled at any time or used to smash opponents. Who knew if even a Golden Core Cultivator could withstand them?

Lin Bai felt that he had more and more trump cards.

Unable to transform the Blacksmith’s Hammer into Thor’s Hammer, Lin Bai settled for creating a charge storage bracelet for himself. Even though it looked a bit ridiculous on a man, it was very portable!

Carrying a hammer out was actually quite inconvenient.

Lin Bai had asked Wang Jingtian of the Spirit Artifact Pavilion and learned that there were Storage Magical Artifacts in this world.

However, the production cost of storage-type Magic Artifacts was extremely high. In the entire Spirit Artifact Pavilion, only their Sect Master possessed a tiny Storage Bag.

Only the rich and influential could own storage-type Magic Artifacts, making it virtually impossible for them to circulate in the market.

「...」

"The venue for the exhibition is almost ready."

Knowing what Lin Bai was doing, the Lonely Old Man tried to keep his tone light to avoid disturbing him. He even considerately turned off the live broadcast to prevent the news of Lin Bai making a charge-storing Magic Artifact from leaking out.

Large corporations had entered the game, squeezing out a lot of the Beggar Gang’s profits.

Now, the only vendors seeking them out were small and medium-sized ones. Even these could bring them substantial profits.

The Lonely Old Man believed in Lin Bai’s ability to stir things up. As long as Lin Bai and the Beggar Gang could maintain constant exposure, perhaps even the larger manufacturers would eventually give way to them and seek cooperation!

The prerequisite for all of this was Lin Bai’s survival. Therefore, everyone in the Beggar Gang was extremely hopeful that Lin Bai could fix his own BUGs.

Qian City controlled four basic cities below it.

Apart from Jiamucheng, which was under their control, Players from the other three basic cities were not from friendly factions. Out of envy, those Players harbored deep resentment towards the Beggar Gang.

They likely wouldn’t appreciate Lin Bai’s favor in getting the five major sects to clear the paths to the basic cities.

Once all the barriers between the four basic cities and Qian City were cleared, and Players could freely enter Qian City, the Beggar Gang and Lin Bai would face increasing crises. They had no choice but to be on guard.

Currently, the number of Players who had entered the game, including those from the other three basic cities, totaled around four to five thousand.

Not to mention, Lin, the Storekeeper, had offended the Blood Shadow Sect and the Return to Dragon View...

Although the Beggar Gang Disciples speculated Lin Bai was a plot NPC, they dared not gamble on it. What if he wasn’t?

After all, NPCs in the game only had one life.

「...」

Lin Bai’s Array inscription reached its most critical moment. He carefully finished the last strokes with an engraving knife, paying no attention to the Lonely Old Man.

The Lonely Old Man wisely shut his mouth.

Next to him, the Little Fox was babbling tongue twisters, looking very cute and playful.

The Master Refiner was concentrating on engraving an Array onto an arrowhead.

It was a small Array for acceleration and Armor Break, designed to make the arrow faster.

Descending Dragon Palm consumed too much Inner Strength. In these recent days of practice, most Beggar Gang Disciples could, at best, execute one complete set of the palm technique. For the foreseeable future, the main combat power of the Beggar Gang Disciples would still depend on the Breaking Wind Recovery Arrow.

Lin, the Storekeeper’s Arrow of Rejuvenation didn’t affect Players much, but it was definitely the bane of NPCs.

The only drawback was that the Pill Medicine had to be accurately delivered into the opponent’s stomach. Therefore, aside from their daily cultivation of the Nine-Days True Scripture, most Beggar Gang Disciples spent their remaining time practicing archery.

Using the name of the Supervisory Immortal Office, it was very easy to get a few archery experts from the City Guard Army to come and guide their practice.

「...」

Having been in the game for so many days, the Lonely Old Man had gradually gotten used to the way of life in this world.

Aside from occasionally going offline to handle real-world affairs, he spent most of his time in the game—the game had become his life.

He loved this game, loved the sense of achievement from making the Beggar Gang bigger step by step, and had no desire to give up halfway.

「...」

"Done!"

As the last stroke was made, Lin Bai cheered with joy.

The Little White Fox and the Lonely Old Man simultaneously looked at the bracelet in his hand.

It was more of a wristband than a traditional bracelet, black and white, covered with mysterious patterns, about two fingers wide, and had a very futuristic, high-tech feel.

The Lonely Old Man gazed enviously at Lin Bai, wishing he could also have a pair of such bracelets to wear. He had never thought a bracelet could be so eye-catching.

"Damn it!"

Lin Bai tested the bracelet’s capabilities.

The "Damn it!" activation had become an open secret, so there was no need to hide it.

A tiny stream of heat passed through Lin Bai’s meridians, but before it reached his palm, it was intercepted by the Charge Storage Ring.

The moment the current entered the Charge Storage Ring, the patterns on the bracelet flashed brightly for an instant before dimming again.

"Xiao Bai, try it!" Lin Bai looked towards the Little Fox, encouraging it.

"Damn it!" The Little White Fox didn’t hesitate and immediately blurted out the swear words. The two words sounded so satisfying; it had wanted to say them for a long time.

The patterns on the bracelet flashed once again as it stored the electrical energy. The current activated by "Damn it!" was incredibly stable, so there were no concerns about current or voltage fluctuations.

The Lonely Old Man watched the cute creature curse, the corner of his mouth twitching unconsciously. Ruined! Even the mascot is ruined! The young female fans who doted on the Little White Fox and showered it with gifts would probably be heartbroken to see this! What an adorable little vixen! Lin, the Storekeeper, you actually taught her to swear! That’s really too much!

"Old Lonely, brace yourself," Lin Bai said suddenly, without further explanation.

The Lonely Old Man was stunned, not understanding what was happening.

Lin Bai flipped his wrist, and a tiny bolt of lightning shot out from the bracelet, landing directly on the old man’s head.

The Lonely Old Man felt a warmth on his head; his health had dropped slightly.

He reached up to touch his hair and found that his once smooth and silky hair was now standing on end. Undoubtedly, his face was blackened too.

The Lonely Old Man shot Lin, the Storekeeper, a reproachful glare. Was that really necessary? You get to enjoy the charging process, while I’m used as a test subject! You’re really not afraid I’ll become disaffected, are you!

"Hehe!" The Little Fox giggled.

"Congratulations, Lin, the Storekeeper, on successfully creating the charge-storing Magic Artifact." Despite his face being covered in soot, the Lonely Old Man congratulated Lin Bai with a beaming smile, as if he hadn’t been the one zapped.

[Resentment from Lonely Old Man +1+1+1]

"You’re welcome." Lin Bai examined the bracelet with satisfaction, magnanimously forgiving the Lonely Old Man’s inner irreverence. Nothing was more delightful than fixing a BUG!

Working against time, Lin Bai had spent two days creating the charge storage bracelet, which could store about a hundred "Damn it!" activations.

But this was already enough.

It turned out that electrical energy could indeed be accumulated.

The accumulated charge from a hundred "Damn it!" activations could probably paralyze an ordinary person.

Once he had time to upgrade the bracelet using his blacksmithing set—if he could upgrade it to store the energy of thousands, or even tens of thousands, of "Damn it!" activations—he would become a true killing machine.

Furthermore, the Array on the bracelet likely had room for improvement. Its current inability to release stored energy incrementally, instead discharging it all at once, was its only drawback.

"Old Lonely, where were we?" Lin Bai asked, pulling down his sleeve to cover the bracelet.

"The Exhibition of the Incomplete is set up!" the Lonely Old Man said. "It’s next to the Recruitment Fair. The only question is, what exhibits will be placed inside?"

"Just put some flawed items in there," Lin Bai said with a smile. "Try to come up with suitable descriptions or stories for each exhibit. What we are showing the world is the principle that ’the Heavenly Dao is flawed, and the Great Path is impermanent.’ It doesn’t matter what’s inside; the key is to attract people. Understand?"

"The Heavenly Dao is flawed?" The Lonely Old Man was taken aback.

"Yes," Lin Bai looked at him and said solemnly, "Everything has imperfections; extreme prosperity leads to decline. The sun shifts at its zenith; the moon wanes when full. The Heavenly Dao is flawed; anything flawless is doomed to destruction. Lonely Old Man, this is precisely the principle the Righteous Door wishes to convey to the world. This is why I’ve been tirelessly promoting the concept of deficiency..."

He’s mad!

The Lonely Old Man was filled with grumbling thoughts. For this nonsensical theory, you destroyed perfectly good things and even damaged a whole city... If the founder of the Righteous Door knew you were distorting this passage like this, he’d probably jump out of his coffin and annihilate you! You’ve completely misunderstood the original meaning of this sentence!

No matter how much the Lonely Old Man complained internally, after Lin Bai uttered these words, the Everything has Shortcomings System suddenly highlighted a message: "Congratulations, Host, for comprehending the ultimate meaning of deficiency. Hidden reward unlocked: From now on, for every deficient item the Host guides the creation of, the System will reward the Host with one day’s worth of Inner Strength. Little by little, a little becomes a lot. Please strive to create deficien—"

What the heck! There are hidden rewards?

Lin Bai’s brow twitched unconsciously. Bloody hell, why didn’t it mention the hidden rewards earlier? How many things did I make deficient in Jiamucheng? If not thirty thousand, at least twenty thousand items! All of that could have been converted into Inner Strength, amounting to an extra fifty or sixty years’ worth! It was all wasted, just like that! Such a waste!

"Lin, the Storekeeper, I’ll go instruct the men to prepare!" The Lonely Old Man suppressed his frustration. He had already placed advertisements for the Exhibition of the Incomplete, so in that regard, he wasn’t losing out.

"Mm," Lin Bai nodded.

The System was very user-friendly. As long as the deficiency value was created under his guidance, it would be credited to him, so he didn’t have to personally create every deficient item.

"Wait."

Just as the Lonely Old Man was about to leave, Lin Bai called him back.

"The more deficient items prepared, the better," Lin Bai mused, then instructed, "Also, help advertise Jiamucheng. Once things settle down a bit, I plan to hold the Sky Remnant Cultural Festival in Jiamucheng. I want more people to appreciate the charm of deficiency."

Although Lin Bai hadn’t been as enthusiastic about the Sky Remnant Cultural Festival since the Everything has Shortcomings System stopped collecting "deficiency value," the unintentional activation of the hidden reward made it necessary to continue with the festival.

After all, fat sheep like Xu Longyun were rare. Creating another deficient city probably wouldn’t be easy!

Only by expanding Jiamucheng’s influence and letting its residents experience the benefits of this "culture of deficiency" would they be motivated to persistently create deficient items, thereby helping him accumulate Inner Strength.

"Yes." The Lonely Old Man glanced at Lin Bai and agreed.

Truthfully, he didn’t quite understand Lin Bai’s obsession with deficiency. But on second thought, branding "deficiency" as the Beggar Gang’s unique signature was actually quite good; at least it gave them an edge when taking on advertising!

The Lonely Old Man wasn’t afraid of Lin Bai causing trouble; he was afraid Lin Bai *wouldn’t* cause trouble.

These past few days, Lin, the Storekeeper, had been engrossed in Artifact Refining, and his public exposure had significantly decreased. The audience’s attention had been diverted by the large corporations, which wasn’t a good sign...

"Lin, the Storekeeper, when will the exhibition start?" the Lonely Old Man asked.

"As soon as it’s ready," Lin Bai said. "The sooner, the better. The Blood Shadow Sect members are here. I estimate that the Heaven-sent individuals from the basic cities will arrive in the next couple of days. Make sure the exhibition is ready before they get here."

"..." The Lonely Old Man glanced at Lin Bai, hesitated for a moment, then cautiously reminded, "Lin, the Storekeeper, Jiamucheng is our Beggar Gang’s headquarters, so that’s fine. But you still need to be careful with the Heaven-sent individuals from the other three basic cities. They might not be as friendly as we are."

"Friendly?" Lin Bai looked at the Lonely Old Man with a smile, shook his head, and replied, "You weren’t exactly friendly to me at first either, were you? Don’t worry, I’m best at turning enemies into friends!"