Chapter 491: Gratitude

After grabbing a whole bag of trendy little trash and leaving the Evil Science Alliance headquarters, Li Cheng did not rush back to the real world but made a few purchases on Shabby Street.

The new version of 【Thermal Death Corridor】 replaced the skill fusion mechanism with a summoning mechanism. If things like auto-aim gravity energy balls and death current could be released via summoned entities,

then extracting brain entropy and Summoning Technique · Thousand Paper Cranes were much harder to replace.

The former effectively gathers intelligence; the latter consumes only 20 Qi points, offering extremely high efficiency—comparable to Wu Jing's cost-performance version, Wu Jing.

In summary, Li Cheng ultimately purchased two skill scrolls.

【Skill Name: Visual Memory】

【Type: Psychic Energy】

【Effect: Don't think of an elephant. Can only be used on nearby, non-resisting targets; by giving verbal cues, forces them to involuntarily recall related memories and display them as projections.】

【Cost: 150 Qi points】

【Cooldown: 30 minutes】

【Requirement: Possess any three psychology-related certificates】

【Note: The final effect of this skill is influenced by the subject's physical and mental condition, such as hearing impairment, deafness, brain injury, dementia, etc.】

【Note: "It's said that before death, people review their life memories like a revolving lantern." Xiao Zhang, struggling to recall the real exam questions, muttered to himself, unfastened his belt, and hanged himself beneath a ceiling fan.】

This skill scroll cost Li Cheng over ten thousand game coins; the three psychology certificates were obtained through a black-market middleman.

Employee Counselor Certificate issued by the International EAP Employee Psychological Assistance Association;

Family Therapist Certificate issued by the American National Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (NMTFT);

International Certified Hypnotist (IACH) Certificate issued by the Royal Society of Hypnosis of Britain;

No wonder money can make a ghost push a mill—the black-market middlemen had vast connections; as long as the money was paid, even certificates with severely diluted value,

like Level 8 fitter or Chartered Financial Analyst credentials, could be arranged.

The most absurd thing was, Li Cheng even saw an ad on the black market claiming they could secure Air Force Golden Helmet and Eagle Cup certifications.

This is definitely the Special Affairs Bureau fishing for fools, right?!

If this isn't the Special Affairs Bureau fishing, I'll eat the computer screen raw.

In any case, the second skill scroll was a Summoning Technique.

【Skill Name: Summoning Technique · Shadow Peregrine】

【Type: Universal】

【Effect: Fastest Legend. Summons a non-corporeal peregrine falcon from the Shadow Plane, capable of flying at a maximum speed of 328 km/h; upon impact, causes a small-area explosion. Only one falcon can be summoned at a time, lasting 20 minutes. Additional Qi points can extend duration.】

【Cost: 100 Qi points】

【Cooldown: 15 minutes】

【Requirement: Personally photograph 150 species of wild birds (excluding night herons)】

【Note: The non-corporeal peregrine originates from the Shadow Plane, where the boundary between life and death is blurred. We guarantee no animals were harmed during the summoning process.】

【Note: Peregrine! Cute! Peregrine! Cute! Peregrine! Cute!】

Compared to Thousand Paper Cranes, Shadow Peregrine consumes more Qi points, but its speed exceeds that of high-speed rail, making it highly compatible with the 【Familiar Swap】 skill—

Floating Engine, another displacement ability, causes massive environmental damage; in certain scenarios, Familiar Swap proves more practical.

Its requirement—to personally photograph 150 species of wild birds—is slightly troublesome but not impossible.

After securing both skill scrolls, Li Cheng headed toward the toy factory. But as soon as he stepped inside, he sensed something was off.

On the western building of the factory hung a black-and-red Xinghan flag;

on the eastern building, a golden-yellow Rising Sun flag.

Cylindrical robot servants wearing Xinghan safety helmets drove forklifts to transport goods while chanting, "Why shouldn't a man carry Wu hooks, to reclaim the fifty states of North America!"

Cubic robot servants in Rising Sun uniforms loaded and unloaded materials while singing Caoxian folk songs: "Ari-rang, Ari-rang, Ari-rang yo!"

The absurd scene made Li Cheng's testicles ache.

Upon seeing him appear, the cubic robot servants instantly reacted, dropped their materials, and surged forward to crowd around Li Cheng warmly.

They raised both arms, jumped in place, their front LCD panels displaying tearful expressions, while glassy liquid resembling tears spewed beneath the panels.

"General, we adore you!"

"General Ri Cheng, you are our sun!"

What the hell is this nonsense? Li Cheng's head throbbed. He was about to rebuke them, then suddenly remembered—he really was called Ri Cheng.

Then never mind.

The cubic robot servants surrounded Li Cheng completely; the forklift-driving cylindrical robots, unable to push through, were squeezed to the perimeter, each one steaming with rage.

"Stop shoving! Let me through first."

Li Cheng sighed helplessly and asked offhandedly: "Has the employee dormitory renovation been completed? Are you adapting well?"

The original employee dormitory of the toy factory was a shabby two-story building. With the factory's upgrade, the dormitory area is now a charging station that repairs and recharges robot servants of various models.

With more personnel added, robot servants can now rotate shifts, each getting several hours of rest daily.

"Report, Factory Master: the employee dormitory renovation is complete."

A cylindrical robot servant with serial number 007 first saluted with its mechanical arm, then deliberately glanced at the cubic robots before bowing deeply to Li Cheng: "Thank you for granting us rest time. Last night's dinner was Korean fried chicken and Shin Ramyun, while we listened to Girls' Generation and watched Squid Game on our Samsung phones, played PUBG and Blue Archive, and plan to download single-player games Sword Star and Red Desert."

Upon hearing this, all cubic robot servants turned around and glared hostilely at the cylindrical robot.

Some cubic robots even secretly picked up wrenches, pliers, and welding torches from the ground.

"Can you all just calm down?"

Li Cheng's head throbbed. The concept for cylindrical robot servants originated from Germany; the concept for cubic robot servants came from Caoxian.

As long as he kept an eye on them, things were fine—but if he didn't watch, the two factions would fight within minutes.

Should he now produce another batch of robot servants based on U. S. military concepts? Triangles are the most stable structure.

Three parties mutually restraining each other would at least prevent chaos.

Just then, the factory's intelligent core drifted over. Li Cheng casually handed over that bag of fashionable junk along with the artifacts accumulated by Zhu Xing Zhen Tai, and asked, "Do you still have any mid-to-high quality concepts left over from the wool-pulling in the collection room?"

"Yes, what do you want to manufacture?"

"A vehicle — a faster one."

The bat-wing weight motorcycle had fulfilled its historical mission and retired with honor to the rear. Li Cheng now needed a means of transport that could move at high speed under normal conditions.