Chapter 175: He Really Buys That Stuff

Sensing this, Ainz was startled and his heart churned with turmoil, unable to settle for a long time.

Only after a moment did he compose himself and realize another thing—

Why could this administrator named Lin Yu pinpoint the changes in him so accurately?

After a brief pause, Ainz sent a message: “How did you know?”

【Lin Yu: So it hasn’t appeared yet?】

【Ainz: Yes.】

Seeing Ainz admit it, Lin Yu couldn’t help but smile with an “I knew it” expression.

From the moment Bai Huzi’s Gǔyī failed to eavesdrop on the group chat’s content, he had realized the group chat itself possessed powerful mental defenses.

All official members of the group chat were essentially immune to mental and spiritual influences.

Ainz’s [Forced Calm] was clearly also covered under this protective scope.

Lin Yu explained the group chat’s abilities and his own deductions.

After reading it, Ainz couldn’t help asking: “Why?”

【Ainz: According to your description, the group chat should only eliminate negative spiritual effects on members】

【Ainz: But Forced Calm is a racial passive skill of the Undead King, offering immense combat benefits—it keeps me absolutely calm in battle, surely a positive buff!】

Ainz himself was a professional PvP player with extremely rich combat experience.

Lin Yu wasn’t surprised that Ainz prioritized combat utility, but…

【Lin Yu: You’re right—in battle, Forced Calm is indeed a reliable skill】

【Lin Yu: But… is it controllable?】

Ainz froze slightly, then fell into deep thought.

【Lin Yu: Other members also have similar skills—for example, Lin Lie’s Indomitable Will and Ancient Memory function similarly to Forced Calm】

【Lin Yu: But unlike you, his skill is fully controllable—he can activate or deactivate it at will】

【Lin Yu: And you?】

【Lin Yu: You’ve already seen your own future—haven’t you realized it yet?】

【Lin Yu: An uncontrollable Forced Calm will strip you of normal joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—even when slaughtering natives in bloodshed, it erases your inner unease and guilt】

【Lin Yu: Over time, your humanity will gradually vanish, and your mental state will drift toward true undeath.】

【Lin Yu: Such a passive skill that distorts the soul naturally cannot be recognized by the group chat…】

Seeing this, Ainz suddenly realized.

Of course—such an obvious truth, why had he never noticed it before?

Could it be… the influence of this Undead body?

Ainz shuddered with dread—if he still had a flesh body, he would surely have broken out in cold sweat!

【Lin Yu: Of course, you needn’t worry too much—this is a normal phenomenon caused by soul-body mismatch】

【Lin Yu: As the saying goes, if virtue doesn’t match position, disaster follows. You were just an ordinary person before your transmigration; being affected by such a powerful body is entirely natural.】

【Lin Yu: But now that you’ve become one of us, your mental state is protected by the group chat—you won’t be twisted into an Undead like in the original story.】

Seeing Lin Yu’s comforting words and the phrase “become one of us,” Ainz was deeply moved.

As he lingered in this feeling, Lin Yu sent several more messages.

【Lin Yu: Now, I can answer your earlier question!】

【Lin Yu: Is the Ainz from the novel really you?】

【Lin Yu: Of course not!】

【Lin Yu: That Ainz didn’t have a group chat, did he?】

【Lin Yu: [smile.jpg]】

Meanwhile, other group members also chimed in, enthusiastically asking questions about the novel.

【Su Haoming: @Ainz, interview time—how’s it feel fighting against air?】

【Xiang Yunye: What do you mean fighting air? That’s called caution—do you understand caution?】

【He Jing: Yeah, didn’t you see the later part? This world does have high-tier Floor Guardians—if Old Bone had alarmed them from the start, he might’ve suffered massive losses!】

Ainz: “…”

Old Bone?

【Xiang Yunye: @Ainz, by the way, I’m curious—do skeletons actually have texture?】

【Fan Xian: Stop! Hold it!】

[Fan Xian: Your next question isn’t going to be about Yarbed’s feel, is it?]

【Xiang Yunye: How could I!】

[Xiang Yunye: Don’t make me sound so perverted—Ainz treats Yarbed like a daughter; how could I ask such a stupid question?]

【Fan Xian: Alright then, my bad, I apologize.】

【Xiang Yunye: I accept.】

【Xiang Yunye: So, what’s it like living inside a skeleton?】

【…】

Lin Yu had preemptively pointed out Ainz’s issue and subtly used phrases like “one of us” to perform psychological nudging.

This maneuver didn’t escape the sharp-eyed group members.

They all understood at once, choosing to skip the novel’s heavy topics and instead lighten the mood with harmless jokes.

The evidence proved: Old Bone truly fell for this tactic.

Watching the endless stream of messages in the chat, Ainz felt both embarrassment and amusement—his emotions were incredibly complex.

Especially the group’s light, cheerful atmosphere, which made him feel as if he’d returned to his past, vaguely recapturing the feeling of interacting with his old guild companions in the game…

Thinking of this, Ainz unexpectedly felt moved.

After a brief pause, he replied: “@Lin Yu, thank you, I understand.”

【Ainz: @Su Haoming, how to put it? Looking back now, it’s a bit embarrassing…】

【Ainz: @Xiang Yunye, it’s hollow—definitely no match for flesh and blood. The biggest advantage? No need for haircuts (laugh). I used to avoid going out whenever possible…】

Ainz replied to each member’s questions one by one.

From tone and word choice, he seemed to have reverted to Suzuki Satoru’s personality.

Seeing this, Lin Yu smiled with satisfaction—he knew this emotional therapy had begun to work.

It wasn’t surprising—Ainz was inherently easy to get along with; once you leveraged his value for companionship and built a bond with him, he offered near-selfless friendship.

This was clearly evident throughout every arc of the original story.

And the group chat was a perfect platform for building such bonds and friendships.

Over time, given Ainz’s nature, he would inevitably grow to value the members more and more—perhaps not surpassing his old guild, but at least matching their level of importance…

This was one reason Lin Yu voted for Ainz.

After all, that world truly had many valuable things—not just a fantasy realm with supernatural powers, but even the real world was a cyberpunk setting of the twenty-second century!

…

…

While the group members chatted enthusiastically, Bai Ze, another newcomer, chose not to join in.

He had uploaded all the knowledge he knew and earned a full thousand points from it.

Such a generous reward had genuinely surprised him.

He hadn’t expected Fate’s magical knowledge to be so valuable!

Of course, “valuable” was relative to him as a newcomer.

For other members, it was different—they’d already had their expectations raised by Lin Yu; a mere thousand points no longer impressed them.

But for Bai Ze right now, a thousand points was a fortune!

With money in hand, he naturally wanted to spend it wisely.

He immediately opened the [Group Store] and, suppressing his excitement, began purchasing.

The [Artificial Spirit Root], which could turn a mortal into a cultivator, cost one hundred points… buy!

The [Anti-Aging Serum], which could extend human lifespan by nearly a century, was only five points?

That was way too cheap!

Buy two—save them as birthday gifts for his parents!

The Zetari [Forearm Energy Cannon], [Gauss Electromagnetic Rifle], and [Foldable Energy Rifle]…

All looked cool, but unfortunately too bulky to carry conveniently; the [Infantry Type II Particle Beam Pistol] at twenty points offered better value.

“Whoa—”

Just as Bai Ze was about to buy a self-defense weapon, he spotted the tech-side items at the very bottom of the list and sucked in a sharp breath.

What the hell?

Black Panther’s Vibranium Suit?

Iron Man’s Mark series armor?!

The group store actually had these?!

Bai Ze was stunned and delighted, quickly checking the prices.

The Black Panther-style Vibranium Suit cost five hundred points; Iron Man’s Mark series had thirteen variants—the cheapest was the Mark IV, without the new reactor, at just one hundred fifty points.

The most expensive was the Mark 50 nanotech armor from Avengers: Infinity War, priced at a staggering eight hundred points.

Too expensive... but I can afford it!

Bai Ze hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed, unwilling to spend all his remaining points on the nanotech battle armor.

Yet, as a loyal fan of Iron Man, he could not let himself miss such an opportunity.

Thus, after intense inner struggle, he gritted his teeth and spent three hundred points to purchase the Mark V—the suitcase-style Iron Man armor featured in Iron Man 2.

The original Mark V armor required only two hundred points.

But considering its thin armor plating and insufficient firepower, Ling Hua made targeted upgrades: using nanotechnology to enhance armor strength, adding multiple weapons, and accelerating donning speed, hence the price being half again higher than the original.

All this information was clearly stated in the product description.

Bai Ze was extremely satisfied with these performance enhancements, so he parted with his points without hesitation.

After purchasing external gear, he returned to the serum section, carefully deliberated, and bought a special cultivation-version Super Soldier Serum that would not interfere with his spiritual root implantation.

As for the price, it was double the original—twenty points...

After an hour-long shopping spree, Bai Ze’s points had dwindled to exactly two hundred—enough only for two invitation tickets.

Seeing this number, Bai Ze realized he could no longer afford anything else; he forced himself to suppress his impulse, switched to the group chat interface, greeted the senior members in the group, then logged off immediately to check.

(End of Chapter)