Chapter 382: Advanced Equipment Enhancement Stone

Qi Suian had no idea what the survivor protagonist, Su Huayun, was thinking. He had just returned to the mortal realm and hadn’t even had a chance to start working before the Crown Prince showed up at his door.

Normally, having just obtained new data, his work would have been the priority.

But he couldn’t just turn away the Crown Prince when he came bearing gifts.

They were all items obtained from the Truth Layer, chosen specifically to suit his tastes.

Among them was a game-like item, similar to the Poisonous Nova Skill Tree he had seen before.

Seeing a profitable opportunity, Qi Suian immediately put on a different face and gave the Crown Prince a warm reception.

’The man came to deliver a fortuitous opportunity. If I act all high and mighty, will he ever bring more in the future?’

’I have to give him the emotional validation he’s looking for.’

The Crown Prince wanted to win Qi Suian over, which made his behavior a bit like a simp’s.

But he wasn’t a *real* simp. If Qi Suian were to reject him without giving him any face every time, the visits would stop after one or two attempts.

Not only did Qi Suian give him face, but he also provided emotional validation. The Crown Prince couldn’t help but be pleased, feeling that a few more visits would be all it took to successfully recruit him.

This way, Qi Suian reaped the benefits, and the Crown Prince received his emotional validation. It was a win-win situation.

After a bit of conversation, Qi Suian saw the Crown Prince off. Both parties were very satisfied.

Once the man was gone, Qi Suian began rummaging through the gifts and quickly found the opportunity he was looking for.

It was a special stone, only about the size of his palm, covered in strange patterns.

Overall, it looked extremely luxurious.

[High-Grade Equipment Enhancement Stone]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Trait 1: +7~+9 Enhancement]

"What the hell, an Equipment Enhancement Stone???" Qi Suian genuinely hadn’t expected something like this.

Its function was just as the name implied: it was used to enhance equipment. However, because of the "High-Grade" prefix, it was an Enhancement Stone that could only be used after a piece of equipment had already been enhanced to +7~+9.

Of course, it could also substitute for mid and low-grade stones. A single High-Grade Equipment Enhancement Stone could guarantee a 100% success rate for enhancements from +0 to +6.

’Theoretically, I could enhance the Tai Sui God with this directly.’

’But I don’t understand the principles behind it, so I’ll keep it for research.’ Qi Suian had no intention of using the Enhancement Stone right away.

He would deal with it when he had time. Otherwise, even if he used it, it would just be a +1 for the Tai Sui God. What good would that do?

’Or I could keep it to use as a module.’

’But the quality is only Excellent. There must be even higher-quality Enhancement Stones above this High-Grade one. I refuse to believe equipment can only be enhanced to a maximum of +9.’

’The Ghost World is certainly strange. I wonder if it used to be a world where everyone had classes, or maybe one where a game merged with reality.’

’Thinking about it that way, the ghosts’ killing rules being converted into game effects actually seems quite reasonable,’ Qi Suian couldn’t help but smile.

First, there were Skill Books, then an Enhancement Stone. If a piece of equipment or something else showed up next, he wouldn’t even be surprised.

’It’s a shame the World Will is unwilling to talk. Otherwise, I’d be really curious to know what the Extraordinary system that was eliminated back then really was.’

Qi Suian felt it was a pity, but the thought of being digitized immediately dampened his curiosity quite a bit.

After all, he really wasn’t suited to become a being of rules. Even if he were to become one, it would have to be a voluntary transformation after his own power reached a certain level.

He wouldn’t be forced to change by some external power.

’There probably aren’t many of these leftover game products. The Crown Prince must have put in a lot of effort to collect all these strange and curious things.’

Qi Suian picked up a sword and examined it closely. It had been repaired, and there was a clear difference between the hilt and the blade. The Ziyue Dynasty wasn’t very advanced in this area, so they couldn’t see it.

But it was obvious that the two parts had been joined together later.

’If I’m not mistaken, this was likely a piece of equipment from the game era, but its power has now completely faded.’

With that, Qi Suian picked up another item, a folding fan.

’Not only must the item remain intact, but its rules must also not dissipate. Only then can it retain the powerful effects it had in the game.’

’But the Ghost World’s central theme is ghosts, and they don’t have a panel like in the Apocalypse Game, so they have no way of telling if any of the original power remains.’

’Furthermore, ghosts are by no means inferior to these game products. In fact, they’re far more specialized for the job.’

’So, even if someone noticed something different and reported it, the Ziyue Dynasty wouldn’t pay it any mind, because there’s no way to mass-produce them.’

’Besides, the only effects they could possibly get would be the attributes attached to the equipment. They wouldn’t be able to use any skills, items, or the like.’

From this, Qi Suian quickly analyzed some intelligence.

’So, what exactly happened back then to turn a game era into an era of ghosts?’

Qi Suian was destined never to know the answers to these questions. The blank period between the game era and the Ziyue Dynasty was extremely long.

What’s more, the Ziyue Dynasty didn’t have a tradition of writing history books, so figuring out how many generations had passed would be a troublesome task for Qi Suian.

In any case, besides the World Will, no one could possibly live that long.

The appearance of the Ghost Control Technique did indeed extend the lifespan of the Zhiyue People. However, besides the Royal Family, the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and others protected by the World Will who could live to be seventy or eighty, the lifespan of ordinary people was not high.

Reaching the age of forty was already considered living to a ripe old age.

Without the Ghost Control Technique, anyone who lived to be eighteen didn’t do so because they were strong, but because they were incredibly tough—or just plain lucky.

Surviving eighteen life-draining rituals was the mark of a true survivor among survivors.

Things were better now. As long as a commoner didn’t die in an accident, they could live to be about thirty.

The advent of the Ghost Control Technique had greatly extended their lifespans.

Conversely, in Zhiyue organizations with Extraordinary power like the Exorcism Bureau and the Royal Shadow Guard, the mortality rate was so high that few lived to the age of ten.

They weren’t born; they *spawned*. So they appeared as fully grown adults from the start.

Take Yan Jingxing, the former head of the Shengshi Mansion’s Exorcism Bureau. He was not only recognized for his merits but also for how long he had lived.

He was one of those one-in-ten-thousand tough nuts to crack, which was how he became the head of the Exorcism Bureau. After all, his colleagues and superiors had all died fighting ghosts. With only new recruits left, who else was there to take the position but him?

Many officials in the royal court were the same. Most had survived life-or-death struggles, continuously accumulating experience until they finally reached high positions.

One didn’t need to have outstanding abilities. For the Ziyue Dynasty, being stable was enough.

Thus, the Ziyue Dynasty itself was a very strange system. In any other world, it would have surely collapsed in an instant.

But here, not only was it thriving, it even seemed to be flourishing.

It had not only stabilized its own foundation but was also expanding outward, clearing out ghosts little by little to increase its territory. It was truly a case of special circumstances calling for special measures.

’Well, I won’t figure it out just by thinking. I’ll deal with it later.’ Qi Suian quickly put the matter aside for the time being.

The next time he met the World Will, he could ask about it. If it was willing to talk, it would satisfy his curiosity.

If not, so be it. To Qi Suian, knowing the truth wouldn’t change much anyway.

He’d be better off asking the World Will for a complete set of Enhancement Stones. That might be more valuable.

Assuming it was actually willing to give them to him.

Qi Suian figured it was unlikely. Its stinginess left him feeling helpless.

’You’re an entire world, what are you being so stingy for?’

This made Qi Suian wonder, ’Do you have to be sufficiently stingy to become a world?’

"Sir, the Royal Family is here to deliver your ’yang energy’," a servant boy outside the door announced, beating Qi Suian to the punch.

Qi Suian swallowed the words he was about to say. He had over-predicted, and the other party had started predicting him, speaking even before he could.

"Have them bring it in." Qi Suian found the servant’s phrasing a bit odd. What did he mean, ’deliver your yang energy’?

’I’m not some female ghost. What would I need to absorb yang energy for?’

Then again, he was the one who had come up with this stupid name, so he couldn’t really blame anyone else. The thought alone was just ridiculous.

With his command, the doors to Qi Suian’s laboratory were opened. A transport team filed in and quickly delivered this month’s ten percent share to him.

"Reporting to you, Sir, this delivery of ’yang energy’ totals..." The leader of the team began to recite the quantity and quality, mumbling on and on for nearly five minutes.

Qi Suian didn’t interrupt. It was part of the man’s job.

As long as others weren’t making things difficult for him, he wouldn’t make things difficult for a working man.

He usually saved that for the bosses.

After all, you could squeeze a worker dry and still not get two drops of oil out of them.

"Mm, I understand," Qi Suian replied, then dismissed them. "If there’s nothing else, you may go back."

As for the quantity, there was naturally no problem.

Feedback from the Tai Sui God’s reconnaissance network, sensory perception, and other modules, all cross-referenced by the AI, meant there were basically no discrepancies.

After getting Qi Suian’s signature, the team naturally turned and left.

’This time’s quantity is nearly fifty percent more than last time’s.’

’The Apocalypse Game is increasing its investment at a time like this. What is it planning?’ Qi Suian mused. ’I remember the Apocalypse Game is masquerading as a National Fortune System this time, right?’

’Failure results in the annihilation of the population, so what’s its angle here?’

’It’s not planning a desperate counterattack, is it?’ Qi Suian was fairly certain that the Apocalypse Game likely knew about the World Will’s plan.

It was so obvious, how could it not understand? Unless the thing was brainless.

Alright, Qi Suian really couldn’t figure out some of the Apocalypse Game’s bizarre maneuvers. Sometimes, it really did act as if it had no brain.

But it was also flexible, though unfortunately, only within its restricted set of rules.

It was like trying to host a grand ceremony inside a snail shell; no matter how flexible it was, it remained confined.

If it were truly flexible, it would have kicked Qi Suian out by now, and it wouldn’t have been tormented by him to this extent.

’It really could be one of the three great delusions of gaming: "I can turn this around."’

Qi Suian truly didn’t think the Apocalypse Game had any chance of winning. The World Will of the Ghost World was not only strong, but it might also have some kind of backing.

Even if the Apocalypse Game won, the Ghost World probably wouldn’t suffer much of a loss. The Apocalypse Game, on the other hand, would likely get a huge slap in the face.

This guess of his was a hypothesis formed from various clues he had gathered.

Even without any backing, the World Will of the Ghost World was no weakling. A living Profound God probably wouldn’t even be a match for it.