Chapter 12: A Shopping Spree at the HR Mall

"Materials? I understand." Luo Feng replied silently.

At the same time, Luo Feng found himself deep in thought following Bai Chen's words. Naturally, he had already harbored suspicions; after all, where could a 'soul' possessing his body possibly pull items from? Now that 'Bai' had frankly told him that the 'Power Lollipop,' 'Rejuvenation Pill,' and 'Body Tempering Pill' were all things he had created, Luo Feng felt no need to worry about the origin of the energy used to manifest these items or how much reserve energy remained, as 'Bai' had not mentioned them.

...

Three days later.

The prospective fighter certificate arrived in Luo Feng's hands. As for the citizen information system? Only a few hours after Luo Feng passed the prospective fighter examination, his status had already been updated from ordinary citizen to prospective fighter.

In the original timeline, this period would have featured a scene where Zhang Haobai humiliated Luo Feng's father, Luo Hongguo, leading to Luo Feng being detained and ultimately awakening as a spirit reader. However, perhaps due to Bai Chen's influence, Luo Feng had awakened as a spirit reader long ago, and Luo Hongguo had not encountered Zhang Haobai at work. Naturally, that melodramatic incident never occurred.

"A pity, we missed the scene where Luo Feng acts cool in a cliché drama," Bai Chen chuckled lightly.

"Bai, I've arrived at the HR Underground Mall Alliance. How do you need to scan?"

Luo Feng's words pulled Bai Chen back to the present. Through their shared vision—Luo Feng's eyes and the invisible reconnaissance bug—Bai Chen saw a luxuriously decorated hall. This was the first floor of the HR Alliance mall, where items sold were primarily for fighter-level warriors. Various goods were displayed behind special glass cabinets: weapons, combat uniforms, tactical backpacks, combat watches, and even luxury goods made from monster furs—everything one could imagine.

"Your strength is too weak right now; I need to be within ten meters of the items to scan them," Bai Chen said after sensing the limits of his ability.

"Understood." Luo Feng felt relieved. If he had to touch everything, it would be troublesome; after all, this wasn't a street market where one could just handle every item.

Luo Feng waved away the approaching sales assistant, indicating he would look around first and ask if he had any questions. He strolled past the various counters, pausing occasionally and wearing a thoughtful expression, walking through almost the entire first floor without batting an eye.

In the rest area, Luo Feng ordered a coffee, wincing slightly as he paid 98 yuan. "Ninety-eight yuan for a cup of coffee—things here are just too expensive." Although he was now a prospective fighter, he hadn't started earning money yet, and he still held a somewhat frugal, "commoner" mindset. In this era, an ordinary worker earned only two or three thousand a month, and the purchasing power of the Chinese Yuan remained quite stable.

"Everyone who shops here is a fighter. To a fighter, 98 yuan for a coffee is no different from 0.98 yuan," Bai Chen said, finding Luo Feng’s internal grumbling amusing.

Luo Feng smiled sheepishly. He understood the level of consumption here. The prices he had seen earlier had shocked him; if he weren't naturally composed, he might have struggled to manage his facial expressions. Weapons and equipment costing millions, a simple tactical backpack costing over a hundred thousand—it was a total assault on his worldview.

"Bai, have you finished collecting the materials?" Luo Feng returned to the topic.

"All collected. I can manufacture weapons and equipment for you at any time," Bai Chen replied.

"That's great!" Luo Feng was thrilled. Without 'Bai's' ability, he would never have enough money.

"However, I suggest you buy some materials here first. That way, you can create even better equipment with minimal points," Bai Chen advised. "As for the money... check the exchange list yourself."

Luo Feng opened the exchange list in his mind and quickly spotted something new.

[Advanced Healing Potion (3 points)]: Provides excellent healing effects for wounds on fighter-level warriors and below.

Luo Feng recognized it; it was an item he had seen in one of the cabinets earlier. A small vial of that potion sold for one million yuan.

"The energy cost to create energy-based items is minimal for me. You can exchange points for a few vials, sell them at the HR Alliance for cash, and then buy basic materials," Bai Chen suggested.

In truth, if Luo Feng were stronger and didn't mind the trouble, he could sell the Water of Life. The Water of Life, capable of regrowing severed limbs in ordinary humans, only cost 3 energy points to create—the same as the Advanced Healing Potion—but on Earth, it would sell for at least a hundred million. The Water of Life Luo Feng bought in the original story for 12 billion was capable of regrowing limbs for God-of-War level powerhouses; its energy content was far higher than the 'beggar version' Bai Chen made for Luo Hua. To create the full version, the energy cost would naturally be higher.

Luo Feng agreed with Bai Chen's suggestion. He exchanged ten bottles of the Advanced Healing Potion, tucked them into his bag, and found a sales assistant to negotiate their resale price. The HR Alliance offered many services, and recycling items was one of them.

A quarter of an hour later, Luo Feng's card had an extra eight million yuan.

"Selling it for a million, but they only buy it back for eight hundred thousand. Tsk, the HR Alliance really knows how to make money," Luo Feng sighed.

He didn't waste any more time. Following Bai Chen's advice, he began purchasing the necessary materials, including high-grade Kolo alloy and some lower-quality scales from beast-general level monsters that were difficult to use for combat uniforms.

After buying everything he needed, Luo Feng hurried home. His younger brother, Luo Hua, was practicing walking in the living room, and his parents were out at work. After greeting his brother, Luo Feng went into his bedroom, closed the door, and locked it.

He set the tactical backpack—nearly a meter tall and weighing close to a ton—gently on the floor, and said impatiently, "We can start now."

"One moment," Bai Chen replied, and began crafting the items according to Luo Feng's requirements.

With a thought, the contents of the bulging tactical backpack vanished instantly. Inside the void space within Luo Feng's body, Bai Chen stood before a pile of materials.

"Let's start with the weapons."