"You're carrying one bag after another... Did you go to an anime convention?"

When Ren Suo returned, he happened to run into Zhao Huo on Academy Road. Zhao Huo's eyes lit up when he saw Ren Suo, and he quickly came over to greet him.

Ren Suo was holding various bags in both hands, and the worldly Zhao Huo immediately noticed he had bought a lot of anime merchandise, including some large items that didn't even fit in the bags.

"Is this... Relic of the Saint!?" Zhao Huo took out a strangely shaped sword from one of the bags, clicking his tongue in wonder. "It's quite heavy... This craftsmanship is really good, how much did it cost?"

Although the sword had a blade, the hilt was a skull encrusted with three rubies, all in gold, making it look more like a scepter.

"1,280 yuan," Ren Suo answered truthfully.

"That expensive?... Wait, is this boutique-level merchandise? You can't find this kind of stuff at an anime convention. Where did you buy it?"

"Downtown's Anime Star City."

"Crap, you didn't go to a mysterious store, did you? That's for the rich kids, all boutique-level merch, super expensive. I'd like to buy something too..."

"What do you want to buy, Brother Huo?"

It was only then that Ren Suo noticed a girl following Zhao Huo.

With her delicate nose, crescent brows, rose lips, and starry eyes, she was an exceedingly beautiful person. Standing next to the tall and handsome Zhao Huo, Ren Suo's first reaction was—those two are definitely an item!

Ah no, I mean a perfect match.

Looking at Zhao Huo, he felt compelled to introduce them. "This is Ren Suo, my colleague. This is Xiao Meng, my..."

"I know," Ren Suo glanced at the ten earrings on Zhao Huo's ear. "Earrings, huh."

Xiao Meng still had a gentle smile, while Zhao Huo looked embarrassed. "...No."

Ren Suo blinked. He remembered that when they first met, Zhao Huo had mentioned that the earrings on his ears were a token from his fiancée. Looking at Zhao Huo and Xiao Meng, he said, "Then I won't bother you."

"No, no, why don't we go have a meal together and chat later? I didn't realize we had this much in common... Yo, did you also buy a cosplay outfit? Let Brother Huo have a look..."

Xiao Meng wrapped her arms around Zhao Huo's waist, smiling tenderly. "Brother Huo, do you even have money left to go out to eat? Let's go grocery shopping. You'll be eating just Mantou if you keep spending recklessly."

Ren Suo recalled the number of figurines in Zhao Huo's room and immediately understood the situation—so the imposing Zhao Huo not only had a fiancée but also a strict taskmaster at home!

Ignoring the cry for help in Zhao Huo's eyes as he was pulled away by Xiao Meng, Ren Suo waved at him and mouthed, "See you never, life's winner."

When he got home, Ren Suo put down the seven or eight bags of stuff, turned on the air conditioner to rest, and started to arrange his spoils of war:

A Magical Girl cosplay costume, golden armor, Relic of the Saint, Alchemist's Silver Pocket Watch, Ogre mask...

He had run around the whole afternoon just to buy these things.

After the adventurer had crushed the dog's head, Ren Suo had directed him to explore nearby, as there were many wandering dogs in the neighborhood—in Ren Suo's eyes, they were walking energy points.

Until now, Ren Suo still didn't know where "High Energy Ahead" would take place. He couldn't even be sure if it was set in the future or the past. Although the adventurer's backpack was modern, it could still have originated in the recent past.

But the dog that could transform into a monster was clearly an anomaly. Coupled with the encounter in the cave, Ren Suo wouldn't consider any future creatures he met as normal animals. In any case, the priority was to find a way to get the adventurer armed to the teeth.

However, the adventurer currently lacked energy points, and Ren Suo had no interest in running around often. So, he had let the adventurer explore on his own while he used his phone to find high-energy items that could be scanned.

Ren Suo quickly discovered three settings for this 'Reality Enhancement Scan':

① The more exaggerated the item, the stronger the effect.

② Any electronic device is sure to have an effect unrelated to its original function.

③ The more valuable the item, the higher its tier.

Therefore, he first bought the 'scan-worthy' items he wanted. Ren Suo then discovered that anime merchandise fit his criteria perfectly, prompting his dedicated trip to Anime Star City to search for more.

Take, for example, this Alchemist's Silver Pocket Watch—

'Alchemist's Silver Pocket Watch: An Epic Item, a state-recognized proof of an Alchemist. The wearer expends their own energy to understand, deconstruct, and reconstruct matter, transforming it or causing chemical reactions; requires 200 energy points.'

If he could draw this thing, would Ren Suo even need to learn a single spell? Just read a chemistry book!

However, in Anime Star City, there were many identical silver pocket watches, but most of them were Extraordinary Tier Items whose effect was merely 'material decomposition'; they couldn't be reconstituted.

This silver pocket watch was said to be a high-end product, meaning the 'real deal' as Zhao Huo had called it. It was crafted like a luxury good, with extremely high collection value, and was almost indistinguishable from an actual artifact. Since there was no production line, it was almost entirely handmade.

When Ren Suo bought the pocket watch, the store owner even gave him his phone number so that Ren Suo could get it repaired if any problems arose.

The other items weren't much different:

'Relic of the Saint: An Epic Item, a weapon powerful enough to change the course of war. In its grip, mortals become Ghost Gods; faced with it, Ghost Gods become mortals; requires 250 energy points.'

'Wandering Stopwatch: An Epic Item, only those who master time can control the future. Once the countdown starts, your physical speed and thinking speed will accelerate to the limit. When your body can't endure it, the acceleration will automatically stop; requires 120 energy points.'

Ren Suo visited almost every clock shop and saw all the exaggerated clocks but didn't find one that could stop time. There were plenty that could speed up his own time, but these often caused great harm to oneself because it wasn't the world stopping, but oneself speeding up, which naturally required a very strong Physical Condition to maintain the acceleration.

These were scientifically impossible high-energy items, but here they suddenly made scientific sense.

After some thought, Ren Suo understood: high-energy items that affect only oneself and those that affect the entire world are entirely different levels of existence. Even if they existed, Ren Suo couldn't possibly have enough energy points to scan them.

Therefore, Ren Suo only bought four or five of these luxury items before he stopped—partly because they were expensive, and partly, of course, because he didn't feel like he had enough energy points to scan all these Epic Items.

Ren Suo also understood why this game had no in-app purchases. If there were an option to exchange Merit Points for energy points, he would definitely spend money. He'd then bring in Epic Items that could allow him to dominate with a single, universally effective skill, effectively buying an Extraordinary Item with Merit Points and breaking the game right from the start.

In those bags were more Extraordinary Items that Ren Suo deemed useful. Compared to Epic Items, Extraordinary Items not only required fewer energy points but were also cheaper.

After all, to beat the game, you had to have a few practical items to help the adventurer through the early levels; otherwise, he wouldn't last until the later stages when he could gain a large number of energy points.

Ren Suo checked his phone and discovered that the adventurer still hadn't wiped out all the zombie dogs nearby.

"Although I think I could continue on, and these dogs won't bother me, for some reason I just want to clear them out. Maybe this is what it's like to have a blade in hand and feel the urge to kill."

"No, can't alarm them, must lure them over one by one."

"Luring in progress..."

"Come here, good boy, wag your tail, stretch your left leg, stretch your right leg, lie down... ORA ORA ORA ORA! (Energy points +8)"

"You still want to bite me? Bet you didn't expect me to be faster, did you!"

This adventurer's style is a bit off, right?

Ren Suo thought about it. Abilities shouldn't affect personality, right?

Was it because in the previous two encounters with strange creatures, Ren Suo always had the adventurer charge headfirst, leading to the adventurer adopting this reckless Attribute while exploring on his own?

Ren Suo scrolled to the end of the information and saw the adventurer had stopped.

The screen showed a husky as big as half a person, lying on the grass resting.

"This dog is strong; I probably can't beat it."

"Now, all I can do is..."

The options "Abort exploration," "Take out an item from the backpack," and "Forced assault" appeared. Ren Suo realized he had just enough energy points to scan an item with extremely high cost-performance and chose to take out an item from the backpack, then went with "Forced assault."

"Hahaha, how could the great me just retreat like that? Luckily, I came prepared—"

"Kusanagi Household's Flame Gauntlets!"

"Ah, these gloves will perfectly enhance my Fiery Flame Ability! Hahaha, die, you vile beast!"

These "Kusanagi Household's Flame Gauntlets," an item from a certain fighting game's merchandise, weren't expensive but greatly enhanced flame effects. Combined with the "Flame Overlord" Bond Ability, they complemented each other beautifully.

Initially, Ren Suo was quite pleased with his foresight, but now why does he feel...

The more he let the adventurer fight, the more arrogant he became!?

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