CHAPTER 120: CHAPTER 96: CAR PURCHASE PLANS, AWAKENING EXPERIENCE, AND PURPOSE

The group exchanged glances. Thirty-three thousand seemed like a lot, but on this equipment list, it could only purchase four or five pieces of gear, probably meant for Lin Feng and Chen Shanshan.

The other five, especially Liu Mingfei, Ah Lian, and Ah Ming, also needed personal upgrades.

Seeing that everyone had their own considerations, Lin Feng thought for a moment and suggested a division plan:

"How about this? A budget of ten thousand points for vehicle modifications and purchases, but it might not be enough because I want to install air conditioning in all three vehicles..."

"In that case, the budget needs to increase by at least five thousand points, raising it to fifteen thousand in total."

"After deducting fifteen thousand, we have twenty-eight thousand six hundred left."

"From that, we take out seven thousand points, and for the seven members of the team, each person gets one thousand points as personal points for purchases."

"The remaining twenty-one thousand six hundred will be used to purchase mission reward equipment..."

"What does everyone think?"

After the captain proposed a specific plan, the other six members of the team thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

The main reason being that a thousand points were enough for them to acquire many items, especially personal clothing and daily necessities.

Having worked hard for five or six days and finally gaining wealth, they couldn’t justify not improving their quality of life.

Concerning food, clothing, and shelter, the latter two had already used up fifteen thousand points, so clothing and food naturally needed to be considered carefully.

Although Lin Feng helped by acquiring a set of battle armor, a pair of comfortable shoes was still very necessary for daily activities.

Next was the food aspect. Although eating horse meat could fill them up, an unbalanced diet, with long-term deficiencies in vitamins and various trace elements, could affect the evolvers’ lifespan.

Ding Yi planned to plant some fruit trees, such as sea buckthorn fruit or cherry tomatoes, which were available for sale in Nongzhuang Village.

Moreover, compared to eating dried meat, frying or roasting meat with a little salt or MSG, and some other seasonings, was clearly more in line with the lifestyle that the Desert Hunting Team should have.

These items were all available for sale in the guild’s shops.

Even Old Huang, who was just a permanent resident of the Fifth Village, could enjoy them from time to time, so it was unrealistic for Lin Feng’s team, one of the top Desert Hunting Teams in Oasis Town, to maintain a "primitive" low-quality life.

A thousand points were enough for everyone to equip themselves while living more like real people.

Not to mention reaching the level of the Old Earth Era, but at least better than 95% of Oasis Town’s residents.

They should only be inferior to the upper echelons of the Five Major Villages and the Oasis Upper Class.

With the allocation plan discussed, everyone started thinking about what to buy with their thousand-point allowance.

The discussion quickly shifted from the equipment list to daily life aspects.

Lin Feng, having stepped away, walked over to Liu Qian and began upgrading the AK rifles and handguns.

A replica AK was at Level 7; it only required two Life Value points to raise it to the upper limit of White Quality, Level 9. Beyond that, without branding, it would be the upgrade limit for ordinary firearms.

Now, with Lin Feng evolved to Level 15, boasting an impressive Life Value attribute of one hundred ten points, he could upgrade and refurbish four AK rifles in one go.

During the optimization process, Lin Feng spoke to Liu Qian:

"What’s going on lately? You’ve been a bit inactive."

The latter hesitated, putting down the loaded magazine, and shook her head, saying:

"I feel a bit strange, my superpower inside..."

Lin Feng immediately explained:

"Shanshan probably mentioned it to you; it’s a very rare energy class within the Physique System, similar to releasing current or acid, like an electric eel."

"Your superpower allows you to control the flow of energy inside, concentrating it at one point."

Liu Qian nodded, slowly raising her hand.

Focusing intensely, her brow furrowed, she activated her superpower inside...

In the next moment, her outstretched index finger’s tip suddenly lit up.

The light was dim, like a small light bulb.

But it only lasted for four or five seconds before dimming.

Leaving a blackened mark on the fingernail’s edge, scorched and carbonized.

Next, feeling a little discouraged, Liu Qian said:

"This is my limit. Even compressed this small, the temperature can only rise to two or three hundred degrees. If dispersed, the temperature only slightly increases by dozens of degrees, not even enough to cause a burn..."

"My superpower seems useless."

Lin Feng cleared his throat.

This superpower seemed incapable of even lighting a cigarette; two or three hundred degrees at that small point lacked combat effectiveness and wasn’t very useful as support.

Currently, it indeed seemed somewhat useless.

But rare abilities like this, if they grow, with the increase in Evolution Level, would surely be of great use.

But for Liu Qian, who has always been proud and confident, expecting powerful Tier Jump Evolution, only to awaken such an useless superpower...

This blow made her silent and gloomy after awakening.

In Liu Qian’s view, even awakening a common physique-enhancing ability like her brother would be better than being rendered useless.

Now, not only was she completely excluded from combat missions, but she could only follow behind Ding Yi in logistics, helping out.

Moreover, the work Liu Qian was doing could be replaced by anyone, even a non-evolved Level 9 Enhanced Person.

So her disappointment and frustration were fundamentally caused by a fear of the future.

Seeing through this, Lin Feng comforted her:

"Energy control ability may seem weak now because you’ve just completed evolution, at a low level, able to mobilize only this little energy..."

"Chen Shanshan was the same at first, only able to obscure the target’s sight within ten meters."

"And when you first awakened after evolution, with your superpower fully erupting, you could even instantly heat a whole bottle of water to boiling."

"This vast energy can definitely heat metal to thousands of degrees!"

"In conclusion, these rare superpowers hold great future potential!"

"Don’t be too discouraged; focus on evolving further!"

After listening to Lin Feng’s consolation, Liu Qian wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded vigorously.

Seeing this, Lin Feng then asked about the contents of her awakening trial:

"So during the superpower awakening, what challenges did you encounter that led to awakening such a rare ability?"

Mentioning this, Liu Qian fell silent, then slowly began:

"My awakening trial was on the wilderness, enduring the scorching sun, constantly moving forward..."

"Unlike your challenges, I didn’t know how to end the trial, with no doors or specific tasks."

"I just went through sunburn to dehydration repeatedly, dying in the wilderness from exposure to the sun..."

As she spoke, Liu Qian shuddered, evidently recalling the trial’s memories filled her with a sense of fear and dread.

Adjusting herself, she continued her story:

"Until after over ten restarts, I tried not avoiding the sun’s exposure but instead embracing it, thinking of how to absorb it within..."

"Then I discovered the energy from the sunlight, entering the body through the skin, could be subtly felt in its flow and movement."

"Wherever it gathered, the temperature would rise."

"So I began to guide and control the sunlight, channeling and moving it within..."

"I then realized I could focus and control this sunlight, increase the temperature."

Saying this, Liu Qian took a deep breath.

If not for her quick thinking back then, she might not have succeeded in the trial, becoming one of those rare awakening failure cases described by Father Su An:

"So with repeated attempts, failures, and gaining experience, after dozens of resurrections, I finally learned how to master the process and ended up successful past the trial."

"That’s essentially how my awakening happened..."

"It wasn’t as thrilling or exciting as yours, just the ever-present scorching sun overhead."

Even with Liu Qian’s simple description, Lin Feng could sense the helpless despair she felt.

Experiencing dozens of deaths, only to not even be as good as a lighter...

Anyone would feel discouraged.

Fortunately, Lin Feng thought he might have found the best use for Liu Qian’s currently useless energy control superpower.

After a few more comforting words, Lin Feng asked what her awakening trial entailed:

"When you were going through the superpower awakening trial, what difficulties did you encounter?"

Mentioning this, Liu Qian became silent, before finally speaking several seconds later:

"In my awakening trial, there was no clear task or door. I repeatedly faced dehydration and sunburn, dying over and over in the endless wilderness..."

As she spoke, Liu Qian shuddered, clearly feeling a sense of fear and anxiety as the memories of the trial came back to her mind.

Once she regained her composure, she continued:

"Eventually, after countless attempts, I stopped avoiding the sun and instead thought of how to embrace it, take it into my body..."

"And then, I discovered that energy from the sunlight could be guided and controlled internally, and where it focused, the temperature would rise."

"I realized I could redirect and control the sunlight absorbed by my skin."

After finishing her tale, Liu Qian let out a long breath.

If it weren’t for her quick thinking at the time, she might have failed the trial and become one of those resurrected through trial and error, awakening as one of those rare failure cases as Father Su An might say:

"So with repeated exploration, trial and error, I finally learned how to control the energy, and after dozens of resurrections, I managed to successfully awaken."

"That’s the whole awakening process for me..."

"It wasn’t as if it was thrilling or stimulating, just enduring the blazing sun overhead."

Even though Liu Qian just described it simply, Lin Feng could sense the powerlessness and despair in what she went through.

To experience death dozens of times, only to awaken a superpower that wasn’t even as useful as a lighter...

That would make anyone feel particularly disheartened.

Luckily, Lin Feng more or less had an idea of how to best use Liu Qian’s currently low-power energy control superpower.

After a few more comforting words, he asked about the content of her awakening trial:

"While you were going through the Superpower Awakening process, what specific challenges did you face?"

At this point, Liu Qian fell silent, eventually continuing slowly:

"I went through a trial where there was no door or specific task, enduring being roasted by the sun. I kept going through getting dehydrated, literally dying under the sun’s blaze..."

Saying this, Liu Qian let out a shiver. Just recalling the trial’s memories seemed to make her shiver with a sense of fear.

Steadying herself, she continued:

"I started thinking about how to embrace the sun, bringing its energy within me, learning to feel the energy’s subtle movement under my skin."

"I could feel the temperature rising wherever the sun’s energy gathered."

"Through continued attempts and failures, gaining experience, in the end, after countless tries, I successfully learned how to master the awakening process and woke up from the trial."

"That’s how my entire awakening process unfolded... It wasn’t anything like your thrilling adventures, just enduring constant exposure to the sun."

Although Liu Qian only described it simply, Lin Feng could feel the helpless despair from such experiences.

Experiencing death several dozen times over something not even as useful as a lighter.

Anyone in her shoes would feel somewhat dejected.

Fortunately, Lin Feng believed he had discovered the best way to use Liu Qian’s seemingly useless energy control at this stage.

After a little more consolation, he asked what were the challenges she faced in her Superpower Awakening trial:

"While you were going through the Superpower Awakening, did you encounter any difficulties?"

On this matter, Liu Qian became silent, and after several seconds, she began to speak:

"My awakening trial was just enduring the relentless heat, standing under the scorching sun over and over, being roasted and exhausted until I died..."

Even as Liu Qian described it simply, Lin Feng could feel the hopeless despair in her tone.

To experience dozens of deaths only to end up with a seemingly worse superpower than a simple lighter...

That kind of outcome would make anyone feel particularly frustrated and disappointed.

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