1: genius modifier

Blackstone Star, Fifth Temporary Survival Zone.

"That will be 3725 Star Coins."

Inside a crude weapon shop with a sign hanging above the door reading "Conscientious Star Mechanic Shop," a plain-looking young man said with a beaming smile.

"3725 Star Coins?!"

Standing at the doorway, a one-eyed brute over three meters tall with an eyepatch over his right eye raised his voice three octaves upon hearing this:

"Damn it, Zhang Huaiyuan, you greedy bastard, you dare charge me 3725 Star Coins for modifying an old-fashioned Thor Type-II Assault Rifle! I should twist your head off right now and shove it up that damn Doro beast's ass..."

"Calm down, Boss Wu."

The man called Zhang Huaiyuan remained expressionless, completely unfazed.

He raised the firearm in his hand and smiled: "The Thor Type-II Assault Rifle was phased out by the Star Dome Empire 170 years ago. Unless you spend a fortune completely replacing the parts or enchanting it with extraordinary power, no matter how you modify it, the firepower will struggle to meet your requirement of 'intimidating enemies with a single shot,' but..."

Changing the subject, Zhang Huaiyuan reached out and flipped a switch on the firearm. With a "click," six vibrant laser beams—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple—shot out from the auxiliary rails on both sides of the scope, simultaneously focusing on the brute's face.

For a split second, the brute known as Boss Wu, for some reason, subconsciously took two steps back.

"You see..."

Zhang Huaiyuan lowered his voice: "I added six rails to the firearm. When they are all activated simultaneously, it's as if six people are aiming their guns at the enemy at the same time."

"Although the physical firepower hasn't increased, the psychological pressure it brings is obvious."

Saying this, Zhang Huaiyuan looked up and stared straight at the brute, his tone carrying a hint of perfunctory flattery: "Boss Wu, you are the captain of the "One-Eye" mercenary squad, a name that resounds throughout the Fifth Temporary Survival Zone. You are battle-hardened and courageous; if even you were intimidated for a split second, let alone those pathetic space pirates and monsters."

"Ahem... I've just never seen such a modification concept before, so I was a bit surprised for a moment... However, there are few people as brave and powerful as me, so what you say makes some sense."

Having regained his composure, Boss Wu gave a light cough and straightened his back nonchalantly.

He then reached out and snatched the modified rifle, examining the six vibrant aiming beams, a flicker of imperceptible surprise flashing in his eyes.

When out and about, the most important thing is not to let enemies see through your weakness. This kind of bluffing ability could indeed have unexpected effects at certain moments.

He hadn't expected that the rundown weapon shop he specifically sought out to save money would actually contain such a genius mechanic, and for a moment, he felt a bit hesitant.

The laser from the muzzle drifted as his hands swayed unconsciously.

"Boss Wu is truly a man of taste. In that case, I'll take the liberty of rounding down the cost; you only need to pay 3000 Star Coins. Let's consider this a gesture of friendship, and I hope for your continued patronage in the future."

Seeing the other man's expression, Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes flickered slightly. As if he hadn't noticed the laser inadvertently aiming at his forehead, he continued to call out enthusiastically.

"Oh? Rounding it down like this..."

Boss Wu was slightly taken aback by these words, his gaze falling back onto the young man before him.

No extraordinary aura, only a few crude mechanical gadgets hidden on his wrists and legs; he was clearly not a rich man. Considering he was quite sensible, killing him over a mere 3000 Star Coins would be a pity. Better to wait for next time...

After weighing the pros and cons for a long while, Boss Wu suddenly grinned and said directly without hiding his intentions: "You're quite clever. Very well, a Star Mechanic with ideas has some value, after all. Perhaps there will be opportunities for cooperation in the future."

As he spoke, he slung the firearm over his back, reached out, and slammed three azure coins onto the table, making the dilapidated counter creak loudly.

"I'm off... If the firearm performs well in actual combat in a couple of days, I'll introduce a big job to you."

"Heh... Thank you, Boss."

Zhang Huaiyuan watched the figure depart, finally letting out a sigh of relief, and quietly tucked away the circular disc he had been gripping tightly in his hand.

The "One-Eye" mercenary squad that Boss Wu belonged to only had a bit of reputation in the nearby area and was among the weakest. But to an undocumented person like him with no name or status, it was an unimaginably massive entity.

If possible, he naturally didn't want to come into conflict with them.

That's right, an undocumented person.

He was not originally from this world.

Five years ago, he woke up and opened his eyes to find himself in this strange place.

The most pathetic thing was that he had transmigrated with his original body.

Without any identification, the moment he arrived, he was detected by the planet's AI, judged as a smuggler, and exiled to this Blackstone Star.

A chaotic place almost devoid of laws and filled with various factions.

Fortunately, he was spotted by a Star Mechanic during that time who redeemed him from the Imperial escort team, sparing him from becoming a mining slave.

He even provided a one-time extraordinary item, allowing him to master the language of this world.

Unfortunately, such a good person died three years ago.

He died after modifying equipment for a mercenary squad; the other party was unwilling to pay the high modification fees and thus chose a lower-cost method—eliminating the creditor.

This is Blackstone Star.

Danger lurks everywhere; apart from the Imperial-controlled zone near the mining area, whoever has the biggest fist makes the rules.

"Fortunately, my luck was good this time."

After carefully putting away the three blue coins on the counter, Zhang Huaiyuan took a few steps back and gently pressed the mechanical bracelet on his wrist.

Instantly, all the facilities in the crude storefront synchronized, shrinking and retracting. Just half a minute later, everything was packed into a half-meter-long suitcase.

Zhang Huaiyuan stepped forward, picked up the suitcase, and ejected several spider-like small robots from his bracelet.

After landing, they quickly crawled over the previous positions, smoothing out the scattered dust and stones back into the trampled marks and mud.

At the same time, they rapidly sprayed a green mist into the surroundings. The damaged plants and trees recovered to their original state quickly upon contact.

"Well done, babies, come back."

At Zhang Huaiyuan's call, the red indicator lights on the cleaning robots flashed a few times, emitted a crisp "beep-beep" sound, and crawled straight back to his feet.

This most basic model of robot naturally lacked autonomous consciousness.

This was merely a program written to recognize his voice and execute commands, a way to find a little joy in his hardship.

After all, in this strange world, he had no fellow human beings he could communicate with or trust.

"Time to move to a new place."

Zhang Huaiyuan silently checked for anything left behind, calculating his next destination in his mind.

Ever since witnessing the fate of the Star Mechanic who had saved him, he had never dared to stay in one place for too long, let alone accept large-scale modification projects.

Just like this time with Boss Wu, although he didn't attack him, one couldn't guarantee what would happen next time if the amount was larger.

"The first five Temporary Survival Zones are all garrisoned by powerful mercenary legions and can be considered relatively stable. The survival zones beyond the sixth are even more chaotic... It looks like I'll have to take a gamble."

Zhang Huaiyuan pondered for a moment, then took out a battered-looking iron box from his storage device, inside which lay a rusty tool hammer.

After gripping a certain section with his right hand—three times forward and three times backward—there was a "click," and a slot suddenly popped open on the side of the hammerhead.

Inside were eleven red coins, twenty-five azure coins, and one hundred and thirty white coins.

"148,000. Counting the 3,000 from just now, it's over 150,000."

A hint of anticipation unconsciously appeared in Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes.

"Enough for the cost of the first Extraordinary Awakening."