Chapter 49: The Entangled Orphan of Zhao

As the saying goes, dead men tell no tales, but the living deal the damage.

Zheng's means of self-preservation were far too few. Enhancing himself along his original trajectory was certainly a good fit, but what he desperately needed was to supplement his survivability.

The option Qian Gu chose for him was the Shadow Walker.

If he had enough side-story plots to spare later on, he even entertained the thought of having Zheng undergo a Troll bloodline enhancement as well, pushing his survivability to the absolute limit.

"As for your firearm problem, I am currently flush with points and can exchange a Gauss sniper rifle for you."

"Mhm."

Zheng nodded and went off to complete his enhancement.

Quiet, yet reliable.

At that moment, Li Shuaixi looked at Qian Gu with eager anticipation, keeping silent while blinking his eyes rapidly. It was obvious he wanted this veteran to recommend a path for him.

"As for you..."

Qian Gu suddenly found himself at a loss for what to recommend.

It was a bit tricky.

"Do you have any ideas in mind?"

Li Shuaixi hesitated for a moment. "Brother Qian, can I become as badass as you?"

Uhm...

Qian Gu almost laughed out loud.

You kid!

Could it be that you were also born with the Arcane Enlightened state?

The key reason Qian Gu was currently so carefree was that Arcane Enlightened had lifted the restrictions on his spellcasting count. As long as he had enough energy, it didn't matter how many spells he wanted to cast, or how many times he cast them.

"Right now, I'm the biggest resource consumer in the China Team. One team cannot afford to feed two spellcasters."

Qian Gu immediately shot down Li Shuaixi's notion.

"I think you need to find your own positioning, determine where you can shine, and ideally, choose an enhancement route that you are truly passionate about." After a long pause, Qian Gu added, "Of course, for now, you can start by choosing technological weaponry."

Qian Gu tossed over a piece of paper.

"I've already summarized the early-stage rookie route for technological weaponry. You can just follow this set."

"Thanks, Brother Qian!"

Li Shuaixi didn't show any strange emotions and went off to ponder his exchange.

"Brother," Kong Mingde patted the table and said loudly, "You speak, I listen. If you tell me to go east, I'll never even glance at the west."

"What kind of position do you want to take?"

"Fighting."

Kong Mingde blurted out, "Ever since I was a kid, I've always been the first one to charge into a fight. That's about the only area where I have some experience."

"Then let's work toward that direction. For you too, start with technological weaponry."

Another document was tossed out.

Next, Qian Gu skipped Zhao Yingkong entirely and turned his gaze to the remaining veterans.

"Uncle Mou, just keep exchanging for heavenly treasures and rare herbs, and eat them." Qian Gu's advice for Mou Gang was extremely simple. "Your internal energy is already quite vast. Eating the treasures I recommended serves a dual purpose: purifying your internal energy and accumulating it. It will help you approach that realm much faster."

"I understand."

Mou Gang nodded, fully grasping Qian Gu's logic.

Mou Gang's enhancement level was not low. Especially by consuming a large quantity of precious herbs, both the volume and quality of his internal energy had grown, coming close to the quality brought by a high-grade B-rank Qigong enhancement.

The only restrictive factor was his circulation path, which was still a low-grade one.

However, low-grade paths had their own advantages. They involved very few meridians, allowing Mou Gang—who had never read ancient books or practiced martial arts—to grasp them rapidly and circulate his internal energy to strike wherever he pointed. In fact, it was much more straightforward and efficient than high-grade routes.

"Zhan Lan."

Qian Gu turned his head. "I've found a skill that suits you. You can choose to exchange for it."

"Oh?"

"Mental Scan."

One C-rank horror side-story and 4,000 reward points.

This skill was indeed a significant upgrade for Zhan Lan. It would allow her to use her telekinesis much more precisely to adjust bullet trajectories and hit enemies, as well as rapidly scan the surroundings to provide early warnings.

Moreover, based on Qian Gu's observations over this period, Zhan Lan had not shown any tendency to devolve into a brainless romantic, and she was steadily adapting to combat.

Exchanging for it now meant she wouldn't end up reduced to a human-shaped QQ messenger.

Zhang Jie was temporarily ignored. Qian Gu had a vague plan for how to deal with this big brother of the China Team; he just needed to nail down a few more details before officially setting it in motion.

Then...

"Why are you standing so close?!"

Reflexively, Qian Gu threw a punch, sending Zheng Zha flying several meters away.

"Ugh, ugh."

Zheng Zha got up, rubbing his chest. "Your strength is way too monstrous. You almost knocked the wind right out of me."

"The moment I turned my head, there was your giant mug. It's a miracle I didn't cave it in."

Qian Gu's mouth twitched.

This Zheng Zha...

Why was his apeification progressing so rapidly?

"What about me?"

Zheng Zha asked with curious innocence, completely ignoring whatever Qian Gu was thinking. "How do you think I should enhance myself?"

"You?"

Qian Gu was amused by the guy.

"You're about the same as Uncle Mou," Qian Gu said indifferently. "Practice controlling your vampire energy—oh, and that genetic lock thing you unlocked—then eat more heavenly treasures and otherworldly blood. That's about all you can do for now."

To advance any further through pure enhancements alone was extremely difficult; he would have to carve out a different path entirely.

"Got it."

Looking enlightened, Zheng Zha produced a cup of special blood beverage and began sipping it slowly.

With the enhancements basically arranged, there was only one person left...

"What about me?"

Zhao Yingkong tilted her chin up slightly, exposing her graceful neck, her voice cool and detached. "What do you recommend for my enhancement?"

"You?"

Qian Gu glanced at the orphaned member of the Zhao family and sighed inwardly.

*She really is a handful.*

Zhao Yingkong's enhancement was another massive pitfall.

Mainly because her situation was somewhat unique, making it quite troublesome to find a truly suitable enhancement.

However, if they went with a somewhat unorthodox enhancement...

"What do you think of the Sharingan modification?"

"Sharingan?"

Zhao Yingkong tilted her head, looking slightly conflicted. "Why recommend this?"

*Naturally, because it's set by the template!*

Qian Gu naturally kept that thought to himself, preparing a different set of justifications instead.

"Combat potential and versatility."

Qian Gu tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "As an assassin, your techniques are already flawless, and you've even unlocked the so-called genetic lock. Therefore, what you need is an energy circulation system with good potential that can provide decent utility.

"The Sharingan modification comes with a complimentary chakra circulation system, granting a pool of chakra roughly equivalent to C-rank strength, and it will vastly improve your dynamic vision.

"Most importantly, the evolution of the Sharingan relies on pupil power. As for the accumulation of pupil power, I have a way to help you cheat the system and rapidly acquire sufficient combat prowess. What do you think?"

Zhao Yingkong felt somewhat conflicted.

It sounded quite good, but for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was a catch hidden somewhere in there.