Fatal Shot

Two days later, Appraisal Office, Storm City.

“This… is the biochip?”

Feng Luo sat in Master Roland’s appraisal room, staring keenly at the liquid encased within a test tube clamped in a vice on the table. Its color was similar to the FX-9 type nano liquid material—pale blue, just like colored water. But when shaken, it was as viscous as mercury. These liquids that looked like they could be drinks were biochips?

Of course they were chips! Before biochips were injected into biological bodies, they were in liquid form. After being injected into the body using a special injector, a tiny chip core would be formed in the center of the material. And the rest of the liquid would merge with human flesh and blood as nanoparticles, regulating the body under the control of the chip.

Master Roland looked at Feng Luo and said with a faint smile on his face, “But this chip is not for human use. Every biochip has a specially programmed control software. This means that a type of chip is specialized for each type of lifeform.”

Feng Luo could not wait any longer and wanted to take the metal tube but was stunned for a moment. He understood why it could not be used by humans; he had suspected that it was a pet biochip from the start! But if it was only for a specific type of lifeform, that meant…

“Really? What a scam this is!”

The realization was almost enough to make Feng Luo puke blood. What a joke! Would he really be forced to carry around a heavy, ugly black beetle as his pet?

It was undeniable that the Beetle Boss had an overpowered defense. It was resistant to damage and also had long-range attack capabilities. On paper, it was no doubt the perfect complement. But the problem was its turtle-like speed. For a Sniper, who needed to switch positions rapidly, a slow pet would easily become a burden.

Other than that, although the Boss was strong, it does not mean that it would be equally strong as a pet. Theoretically, in consideration of the game’s balance, even if players owned a Boss as a pet, the pet would certainly not possess the same fighting capabilities as a Boss. At most, it might be a little stronger than normal monsters (But this was merely a theory, so it may have been incorrect in some regards).

More importantly, even if Feng Luo was powerful, he could never capture an actual Boss to be his pet.

“The first pet in War costs… three million credits—the price of a ZC-7 Bulletproof Combat Vehicle!”

Feng Luo stretched his hand and lifted the glass tube a little powerlessly. In his heart, he had decided to sell the pet biochip. Through NPC estimation, the price was three million, but it was only the price according to the game’s settings.

In reality, considering that this was the very first pet biochip in War, it would definitely be worth more than three million. Perhaps it could even be sold for over ten million! Ten million credits were currently worth a million star coins.

Selling was sure to prove profitable for him. Not to mention that buyers wouldn’t care about the fact that it could only be used on beetles. After all, the real draw was just being the first in War to have a pet. Maybe, after a few days, they would have already gotten a new pet.

Feng Luo held the tube in his hands, finally able to see its Attributes.

Third-gen biochip (Model XP-S3) Class: Highest. Applicable range: JCG-0XXXX type lifeforms.

He had almost forgotten that this chip was a highest-class third-gen biochip—truly a drop worthy of a Boss. Furthermore, the word “highest” listed in the chip Attribute was written in purple. It was Feng Luo’s first time seeing this font color in the game. This seemed to suggest that this chip was unique.

“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you something,” Master Roland added. “I must say that you were too darn lucky! This chip landed in your hands by pure coincidence. You must treasure it. Don’t simply use it.”

“Coincidence?” Feng Luo was startled for a moment. “So it wasn’t a Boss drop from killing the rebel-controlled Boss?”

“Of course not!” Master Roland looked at him a bit angrily. “The technology the rebels used to control the mutant lifeforms is highly confidential. They would never leave any parts of the biochip core behind. In fact, there was a self-destruct program on this chip. But for some reason, it didn’t work. I don’t know if it was someone’s plan or pure coincidence, but to get this type of chip using the same method? The chances are less than one in 1,000. After all, third-gen chips of the highest Class were rare even back in the ages of the Galaxy Empire. The rebels can’t have mastered the production technology of these biochips yet. I’m guessing this was a blank chip found among some relics, and it was reprogrammed.”

Master Roland’s words put doubts in Feng Luo’s heart. He was put at a crossroads.

He wanted to sell the chip at first so that he had more money to put toward purchasing a more suitable pet biochip when the pet system was released. But from what Master Roland now said, this was obviously an extremely rare chip, something that would be exceedingly difficult to obtain even after the release of the pet system.

There was only one in 1,000 chance to kill a Boss controlled by the rebels. This fact proved the worth of this chip in the game.

How should… I choose? wondered Feng Luo.

“I know that you adventurers like to trade your loot for credits,” Master Roland said calmly, as he seemed to have sensed some of Feng Luo’s doubts from his face. “But let me give you a piece of advice. You should keep some of this good stuff, as long as you aren’t desperate for money…”

Hmm… Do I need money?

Feng Luo thought it through and came to the conclusion that he didn’t really need that money.

The Wind Mark Gun Shop was on the right track. It was now managed by NPCs and making about 1,000 to 2,000 credits every day. Even if he used up the remaining uses of the Eye of the Thunder blueprints and assembled the parts into sniper rifles, he could probably earn at least three million credits. What would he lack then? Perhaps he would lack friends.

He had come to this world alone and had been here for three years. He’d been playing this game alone for half a year. In most circumstances, he faced all kinds of problems alone. He couldn’t even share some of the troubles in his heart.

Snipers were usually lone wolves. But no one really liked being lonely. Wasn’t that right? Maybe he should find a pet.

In games, other than helping in battles, pets were a presence that could certainly ease one’s loneliness. The people in reality and the players in the game had their own hidden thoughts and might betray others. But pets would not betray you. They were the only reliable friends in the game!

Feng Luo raised his head and asked Master Roland after taking a deep breath, “Is there any way to check if the lifeform compatible with this chip is suitable?”

“You can load the program in this chip into your terminal, allowing you to scan the creature type and some of the attributes of most life forms,” said Master Roland. “This will help you roughly identify the success rate of control with the chip!”

Master Roland was well prepared. He took out a readable chip that could be loaded into a terminal from his drawer.

“There’s a success rate?” Feng Luo asked with a doubtful face.

“Of course there is! Haven’t I told you before, this biochip can only control lifeforms of lower intelligence. Don’t even try to control some high-intelligence mutant lifeforms. However, this is a highest-class third-gen chip, so its target might be stronger than ordinary chips!”

Master Roland had revealed some useful information.

“All right. What’s the price?” Feng Luo took the chip.

“It’s cheap! Just 50,000!”

Master Roland had a friendly smile, but the price was not too friendly.

“How is that cheap?”

But Feng Luo did not negotiate the price. In fact, spending 50,000 was nothing compared to a biochip that was worth more than ten million.

******

After leaving the appraisal center, Feng Luo considered solving the pet problem immediately.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Suddenly, a notification alert came in from the communication device.

“Boss, someone is causing trouble in our store!” an anxious female voice said. She was the NPC salesgirl he had hired for his shop.

Feng Luo’s face turned solemn. “What?”

(PS. A note about the pet: That’s right, it’s a beetle! But it’s important to note that it is a unique, huge, and powerful pet. No one can guess what it will look like!)