28: Chapter 28 Equipment Catalog

Before the official opening of the Basic Standard Equipment Catalog, Lu Chen first conducted an inventory in Xinhuo Hall.

The equipment of the early Xinhuo Council was quite scattered.

Hemostatic ointment was emergency supplies reinforced with ordinary medicine and trace amounts of source essence; storage bags and rubber clips were low-level containment tools organized after dealing with black rusty curved nails; the evil-breaking short staff came from the analysis of the residual marks of the bronze bell core and the containment structure of the red shoes; the standard jacket was a prototype generated after Lu Chen compressed the experience of pollution isolation accumulated from several missions into ordinary clothing.

These items did not appear out of thin air.

Each item had a source, a consumption rate, a scope of application, and a risk of failure.

Lu Chen placed all the drafts before the Grey Net, eliminating unstable items one by one.

Weapons that could react to low-level pollution but easily injure ordinary people were temporarily not opened; talismans that could enhance Spirit Vision but increase mental burden were only listed for subsequent R&D; logistics tools were also suppressed if they would expose the Mark of the Torch.

In the end, Zero organized a three-tier catalog.

The first tier, the Candidate temporary equipment catalog.

These items are only borrowed during missions and returned after the mission ends. This includes temporary protective talismans, disposable storage bags, low-level purification patches, temporary residual mark marking pens, ordinary cut-resistant gloves, rubber clips, and mission short staffs. Candidates can see all descriptions, but each application requires mission authorization.

The second tier, the Apprentice basic standard equipment catalog.

This is for long-term use equipment that Apprentice members like Shen Qinghe, Zhao Ye, and Bai Ya can collect or redeem with a small amount of contribution points. This includes Torch standard jackets, basic protective talismans, standard storage sets, simple pollution isolation boxes, low-level purification patches, basic evil-breaking short staffs, residual mark marking stickers, and Grey Net record pages.

The third tier, the Official Member route equipment catalog.

This section can already be viewed in detail, but most are displayed as "Unmet Conditions." The trace-identifying lenses for the investigation route, the Evil Suppressor arm guards for the action route, the Grey Net sub-pages for the intelligence route, the wound-cleansing needle kits for the medical route, and the dispatch permission groups for the logistics route are all listed with their effects, growth directions, and redemption conditions. Being able to see them does not mean being able to get them.

Before Zero pushed the catalog, it confirmed with Lu Chen again.

"Should it be synchronized and opened for Candidates to view?"

Lu Chen nodded.

"Let them see the goal. If they can't see it, there is no expectation; if they can take it easily, there is no threshold."

Thus, when everyone pressed the Mark of the Torch again, the complete catalog appeared in the Xin Huo Interface.

Zhao Ye clicked on the maintenance and addition column for basic standard equipment.

He had already worn the standard jacket and used the basic evil-breaking short staff when dealing with the crying face copper coin. Now, after redeeming the Evil Suppressor seed, the catalog just reclassified the existing equipment into a recommendation list based on his route and opened up additional parts: thickened protective lining, low-level purification patches, and short staff fire pattern maintenance. He glanced at his contribution point balance and gritted his teeth as he redeemed the thickened protective lining as well.

"Are you planning to wear yourself into a wall?" Bai Ya asked.

Zhao Ye buttoned the newly redeemed lining into his standard jacket and moved his shoulders.

"Otherwise, you stand in front?"

Bai Ya shifted his gaze naturally: "I'm responsible for letting you know where the wall should block."

His recommended equipment included Grey Net record pages, old object residual mark marking tools, and basic protective talismans. The Ember Picker seed allowed him to see more lines, but it also made him clearer than before that those lines sometimes looked back at him. Basic protective talismans weren't cool, but they were practical.

Shen Qinghe collected a standard jacket, a standard storage set, and residual mark marking stickers. She wasn't originally used to the grey fire patterns on the lining of the jacket, but when she buttoned the cuffs, the mark on the inside of her wrist gently merged with the dark patterns of the fabric, as if she had an extra layer of thin safety boundary.

On the Candidates' side, Lin Zhao saw the same equipment but could not redeem it.

His interface was marked under each piece of standard equipment: [Insufficient permission, cannot redeem.] [Temporary borrowing can be applied for during Candidate missions.]

Lin Zhao did not feel unconvinced.

Having just experienced the crying face copper coin, he knew that the gap between himself and Zhao Ye was not just a staff. Zhao Ye could hold his ground when the crying sound called his name, but he might not be able to. Equipment is a result, not the qualification itself.

Xu Minglan stopped at the medical route equipment.

The description of the wound-cleansing needle kit was very tempting: it could stabilize low-level pollution wounds, delay abnormal spread, and allow for more efficient purification when combined with the medical route. However, her status bar clearly showed: Apprentice identity not met, insufficient contribution points, cannot redeem.

She did not close the interface, but read the description in its entirety, even noting down the usage restrictions on paper.

"Just because I can't use it doesn't mean I can't learn it first," she said.

Zhou Yan looked at the Grey Net sub-page and the old object file bag, his eyes brighter than before. For the first time, he clearly saw that his direction was not to be "someone who knows how to look up information," but potentially to become the archive and intelligence fulcrum of the Xinhuo Council.

Tang Zhiwei stopped in front of the logistics permission group.

She could see modules like mission subsidy review, Safe House dispatch, vehicle resource pool, and casualty transfer processes, but every Advanced permission was marked with "Requires Logistics Apprentice or above." She could only submit resources for now; she could not dispatch official members, nor could she review contribution points.

This was good.

She evaluated this boundary again in her heart.

Beside the stone tablet, Zero read out calmly.

"Equipment permission is tied to identity Rank. Candidates use temporary equipment. Apprentices can obtain basic standard equipment. Official members can redeem route-bound equipment. Core members and above can apply for team-level equipment and mid-tier containment apparatus."

This sentence made everyone in the hall quiet down.

Zhao Ye touched the protective lining he had just redeemed and suddenly laughed.

"Finally, it looks like an organization."

Bai Ya looked into the depths of the Grey Net.

"If it looks like an organization, it will be treated as an organization."

Almost at the same time his voice fell, three alarms lit up on the Grey Net.

Chengbei Second-hand Street, paper figures knocking on doors.

City Second Hospital basement warehouse, freezer gasping.

City Archives old data room, red line catalog.

Three missions popped up simultaneously.

Lu Chen stood in the depths of the grey fog, his gaze falling on the newly perfected catalog.

Equipment is not decoration.

The next moment, they would be verified.

After the catalog opened, Zero also popped up maintenance instructions. Basic standard equipment must have wear records transmitted back after every mission; if pollution exceeds the threshold, it must be sent back to Xinhuo Hall for purification and cannot be tossed into a washing machine like an ordinary jacket. Zhao Ye's expression stiffened when he saw this, while Bai Ya quickly tucked his Grey Net record page into his inner pocket, as if putting away a precision instrument.

These maintenance rules could also be seen in the Candidates' interface. Lin Zhao read them especially carefully. He understood that when he was truly qualified to collect standard equipment, what he would have to bear was not just the convenience of use, but also the responsibility of maintenance, returning, reporting, and not abusing it.