Qi Xu struggled for a long time but ultimately decided to spend a steep price of 50 Survival Coins to buy the massive Chinese knot, which was a full meter long.
The green-haired monster merchant still felt a pang of regret, but seeing Qi Xu's pained and helpless expression, he felt like he’d scored a small victory.
[Green-haired Monster Merchant’s favorability increased by 5 points. Current favorability: -1.]
Qi Xu took a deep breath and smiled. "Looking forward to meeting you again!"
[Green-haired Monster Merchant’s favorability decreased by 5 points. Current favorability: -6.]
Qi Xu’s lips twitched. "Alright, alright."
"Freeloader, I hope we never cross paths again."
The monster merchant bolted away as if someone were chasing him.
Qi Xu didn’t care about anything else—this time, he’d gotten a great deal. Whether the favorability was high or low didn’t matter much. For 60 Survival Coins, he’d bought a fully autonomous driving system worth 600! Even if this was the only transaction, it was worth it.
After all, not every visit to the monster shop or encounter with a monster merchant yielded such good loot. There were plenty of disappointing items too.
But surprisingly, the last two encounters had both been fruitful.
Qi Xu now had 34 energy stones. Although he’d used two for upgrades, rewards and exchanges had replenished his stock.
So… with great anticipation, he placed the fully autonomous driving system into the Universal Copy-Paste Box.
Well, it required 1,396 energy stones to replicate. No matter how you looked at it, he still couldn’t afford it. Qi Xu didn’t want to wait any longer.
First, he took out the Chinese knot and hung it right in the center of the rear of his vehicle. Honestly, those 50 Survival Coins weren’t wasted—it looked downright festive!
Then Qi Xu said, "Fuse the autonomous driving system."
Thinking about it, it was kind of pathetic. In the last round of the game, his vehicle had been upgraded to Level 6, and four years had passed, yet he’d never gotten his hands on a fully autonomous driving system.
Mainly because this thing could only be obtained from Obsidian Supply Crates or higher-tier crates, or purchased from monster shops or merchants.
Qi Xu rarely encountered higher-tier supply items, and he also didn’t have the financial means to earn that many Survival Coins.
This time, though, luck was on his side.
The fusion process would take an hour.
But since it was already 9 PM, there was no rush.
Qi Xu sat on the sofa, pondering what to eat for dinner. After rummaging through his backpack, he realized he was craving dumplings.
So he took some out, boiled 20 in a small pot, dug out the vinegar dipping sauce Master Chef had given him before, served a plate of stir-fried pork with potato slices, and ladled out a bowl of dumpling broth.
Perfect. The broth helped digest the meal.
If only he had a projector to watch some TV while eating, it’d be even better.
After dinner, he organized some supplies, waited for his food to settle, then dutifully started exercising.
Even though improving his stats through training was slow, any progress was worth it.
Might as well make use of the time.
Huffing and puffing, drenched in sweat, Qi Xu turned off the red crystal stones.
Just then, the system announcement suddenly rang out.
[Congratulations, Player Qi Xu. The fully autonomous driving system has been successfully installed. Your personal panel has been updated.]
Qi Xu casually opened it and noticed a significant improvement in his stats compared to before.
[Player: Qi Xu, 24 years old
ID: 8866620010608
Nickname: Invincible Black Whirlwind
Survival Coins: 1,201
Title: 〖Freeloader〗
Vehicle: Level 4 Modified Garbage Truck (equipped with fully autonomous driving system)
Health: 90 (Rosy complexion, regular routine, balanced nutrition, good physique.)
Fatigue: 51 (Remember to rest in time.)
Strength: 65 (Strong adult level)
Stamina: 52 (Full marks on a fitness test? No problem.)
Agility: 57 (Light and nimble)
Damage Resistance: 35 (Delicate skin, not very tough yet.)
Combat Power: 70 (Wow, impressive stats! No obvious weaknesses. With weapons, combat power increases by 10–15. Enemies probably don’t want to run into you!)
Qi Xu noticed a new stat—Damage Resistance—which only appeared after his Combat Power exceeded 70.
First, he swapped the title 〖Freeloader〗 for 〖Carefree Little Kid〗.
When not dealing with monster merchants, a flat +3 to all stats was more practical.
Seeing that he still had three Weapon Upgrade Cards left, Qi Xu hesitated before using them to upgrade the Pink Chainsaw again.
He guessed that upgrading the pistol might grant auto-aiming or increased firepower—useful, sure, but it lacked defensive capabilities if a monster got too close.
The Pink Chainsaw could both attack and defend, making it more versatile overall.
So in the end, he chose the Pink Chainsaw. After all, if one shot missed, he could just fire ten. As long as he prepared enough bullets in advance, he’d eventually hit something.
From today onward, Qi Xu planned to practice his aim more.
[Estimated upgrade time: 3 hours. Please wait patiently.]
Qi Xu raised an eyebrow. Damn, this took two hours longer than fusing the autonomous driving system.
He changed into fresh clothes and tossed the old set into the washer-dryer combo—no need to worry about drying.
Then he harvested the ripe tomatoes and oranges, collecting 30 of each. Plants nurtured by green crystal stones grew exceptionally well, plump and juicy.
Combined with the fruit platter he’d bought from the monster merchant earlier, he wouldn’t run short of fruit for a while.
Finally, he curled up in bed to play with the alien Rubik’s Cube… Ever since he’d scrambled it completely, he’d never been able to solve it again.
Luckily, Qi Xu wasn’t the type to obsess over such things. He casually tossed it onto the bedside table and fell asleep.
The next morning, the first thing Qi Xu did was check on his Pink Chainsaw!
[Level 3 weapon upgrade successful. Click to view attributes!]
Level 3 Pink Chainsaw: "The saw blade can extend and retract freely, adjusting its length. When equipped, in addition to +10 Strength, the weapon can be firmly fixed to the upper body. The weapon is integrated with an AI system, syncing with the user’s intentions."
Qi Xu didn’t fully grasp the description, so he simply gripped the chainsaw with his left hand. The moment he thought "fix," the handle automatically extended, seamlessly securing itself to his arm and shoulder.
When he swung or slashed, the movements felt effortless, as if the weapon weighed nothing. Activating the chainsaw, he could even control its length at will.
This was leagues ahead of the Level 2 version. Qi Xu rubbed his hands together, eagerly awaiting the next monster encounter!
.........
