Chapter 280: Flag Spear

The boss is often just a figurehead; every day, as soon as he opens his eyes, hundreds of people need food, drink, and care.

Time passed and circumstances changed; Li Cheng finally understood the meaning of that phrase.

Back in the real world, he first placed the stunned Hui Yu into an ice-cold bathtub in the 3D storage warehouse, to prevent the girl from burning out her CPU.

Then he sat down at the computer, logged into the forum, and browsed the black market page.

The twenty thousand anomalous points needed to restart the factory were no small sum; only special objects rich in massive entropy values could be refined into anomalous points—ordinary cultural relics wouldn't do.

For example, the Maya stone tablets in the Americas wing of the British Museum, symbolizing the extinction of a civilization, carried great significance, but since the Maya Kingdom had no impact on today's world, the entropy clinging to them had long since dissipated.

Similarly, Yuanqinghua porcelain, Ru ware ceramics, and Ming-Qing imperial seals worth hundreds of millions also lacked high entropy values.

Houses, cars, watches, and jewelry were even less worth mentioning.

Li Cheng registered several small accounts on the player forum and contacted brokers and private collectors.

The world was vast and full of wonders; some private collectors possessed an astonishing array of bizarre items.

Marilyn Monroe's dress, Kennedy's autopsy report, Newton's manuscripts, Oppenheimer's notes, a Tiger tank, a V1 missile, paintings by an unnamed Austrian artist unwilling to reveal his identity.

Dollars were the best broker; game currency was an even better key to unlock doors.

Li Cheng instantly recharged fifteen thousand game points and gathered many collectibles with balanced prices and entropy values.

A few hours later, these collectibles were delivered via the Loujie logistics system and stored at designated locations.

A particularly hellish truth was that since the Soviet Union's collapse was only about thirty years ago, and its dissolution still exerted massive influence on the world,

Soviet-related collectibles were both cheap and carried high entropy values.

Li Cheng bought a large quantity of old badges, photographs, Kremlin relics, WWII weapons, and even Cold War-era space suits.

He went to the toy factory and dumped all of them into the shredder room.

The massive machine in the shredder room spun rapidly, reducing the collectibles to particle state.

Then, through the refining chamber, they were purified into anomalous points.

"This refinement yielded a total of 25,152 units of anomalous points, sufficient to meet the factory's restart requirements."

As the intelligent core explained, lights across the factory gradually illuminated; the entire complex stirred awake like a living thing, emitting the hum of machinery.

White smoke spewed from the chimney, stretching straight toward the sky.

Li Cheng mused, "Such a commotion—could it draw attention from outside?"

"No signs of living beings detected within a ten-kilometer radius."

The intelligent core said, "If you're uneasy, you may invest anomalous points in the future to restart the defense system and protect the factory itself.

For now, after restart, the factory has a surplus of 5,152 anomalous points and seven concepts. What type of weapon do you wish to produce?"

"Melee weapons."

The current firepower of the Avenger cannon was still adequate, and Li Cheng also felt his Gearsmith level was about to level up again—he could further enhance cannon power then.

"The concepts currently stored in the analysis room are: 'B-Rank Honor,' 'S-Rank Ideal,' 'A-Rank Steel,' 'B-Rank Will,' 'B-Rank Rage Against Enemies,' 'B-Rank Revenge,' 'B-Rank Defending the Homeland.'"

The intelligent core said, "The more anomalous points you invest, the higher the concept's rank, and the better the final product's quality."

"Now arranging and combining all concepts according to your requirements."

"Manufacturing will take approximately eight hours. Please wait patiently."

Eight hours wasn't short, but it wasn't long either; Li Cheng returned to the real world and found Hui Yu had returned to normal—though for some reason, she stood before the shelves, staring at apples, papayas, and watermelons.

Li Cheng returned to the toy factory, brought over a small stool, settled in to wait, and asked the intelligent core more questions.

Only then did he realize the toy factory truly deserved its penguin logo—there were far too many places to spend money.

Spend ten thousand anomalous points to upgrade the shredder room from Level 0 to Level 1, increasing shredding efficiency;

Upgrade the refining chamber to increase the anomalous points obtained per refinement;

Upgrade the analysis room to improve the quality of concepts obtained;

Upgrade the design room to optimize product blueprints and better meet design specifications;

Upgrade the recasting chamber to shorten manufacturing time and increase the "drop rate" of high-quality items;

Additionally, you could spend twenty thousand anomalous points to restart the factory's defense system, or fifteen thousand to restart the collection room.

Everywhere needed recharging; payment points were so dense and numerous they rivaled a predatory online game.

Although anomalous points originated from special items and weren't entirely equivalent to game currency—if you got lucky and found one item that yielded a massive amount of anomalous points—

Buying collectibles from outside still cost real money.

Li Cheng roughly estimated that to upgrade the entire factory from Level 0 to Level 1, he'd need at least forty to fifty thousand game points.

Each subsequent upgrade would require even more game currency.

"So it's just a heartless penguin, huh?"

Li Cheng rubbed his aching forehead, feeling his liver begin to throb—he'd fought and bled for so long, and all the game currency he'd painstakingly saved wasn't even enough.

The fastest way to recoup funds was undoubtedly to partner with large guilds, such as the Special Affairs Bureau or the Evil Science Alliance.

He provided the facility and equipment; they provided resources;

The factory's production line ran 24/7, continuously outputting products, and both sides split the profits.

But then.

"The Toy Factory isn't strictly a Hidden Chamber, yet its value is no less than any other Hidden Chamber."

Li Cheng thought: "Before cooperating with other factions, I should first strengthen my own power—to increase my leverage in negotiations."

An ordinary man carrying a priceless treasure invites disaster; Li Cheng, still under Level 20, going to negotiate with major guilds—

Who knows if some mid-level guild member might leap forward to prove loyalty by killing him,

seizing the Toy Factory, then stuffing his soul into a Level 30 transcendent body, calling it "equivalent exchange" or "giving you a chance."

Time flew while he daydreamed; as soon as eight hours passed, the massive machine in the recasting chamber halted, and the conveyor belt slowly carried out an old steel long spear.

【Item Name: Steel and Victory Flag Spear】

【Type: Weapon】

【Quality: Perfect】

【Attack Power: Fairly Strong】

【Special Effect 1: Counterattack Moment. After blocking an opponent's attack, thrust the spear to send the target flying; if it hits solid terrain such as a wall, the ground, or a cliff, double damage is dealt】

【Special Effect 2: Plant Flag Moment. Drive the spear into the ground to summon a banner, creating a zone five meters in diameter that rapidly clears all negative effects within the area, lasting 5 minutes】

【Special Effect 2 Cost: 180 Spirit Power】

【Special Effect 2 Cooldown: 1 hour】

【Usage Requirement: None】

【Note: This product belongs to Achille's Toy Factory, part of the Patriotic Enlightenment Education Series of toys】

【Note: The steel-willed leader has passed, but the leader's steel still guards his people】