The next day, noon.

  Linguang City's lower district, Black Street, Red Crowbar General Store.

  An automated transport vehicle violently tossed a crate of goods at the shop's entrance before driving off.

  Ke Xiao, wearing an exoskeleton, walked out and dragged the box inside.

  Inside the shop.

  Ke Xiao opened the crate lid. A stranger's young man was crouching inside, looking at her with dissatisfied eyes.

  "You said I'd arrive last night? It's already noon! And couldn't you get me a bigger box? Couldn't you expedite it?"

  The young man spoke—the voice was Xia Li's. This immediately told Ke Xiao that the stranger before her was Xia Li.

  "Wasn't I trying to save you spirit stones? Arrangement fee: fifty spirit stones. Remember to send it to me later."

  "This service is terrible."

  Xia Li climbed out of the box. Only here did he dare remove his disguise. Going to the upper district for Heaven-path Foundation Establishment had really been full of difficulties.

  "You should be grateful you could smuggle back undetected. Too bad our Hidden Wing focuses on concealment—we're not the type of faction that can call up hundreds of bodyguards with stun batons to escort you."

  "Forget it. I still think concealment is better. Being escorted back by hundreds of bodyguards would just make me a target anyway, right?"

  "Good that you understand."

  Ke Xiao nodded. After this trip, Xia Li should further appreciate the advantages of joining Hidden Wing. Those who understood knew the benefits of being in the dark while enemies were in the light.

  "Let's not talk about this. After Foundation Establishment, I feel the Spirit Core and Heaven Chip I'm using are somewhat lacking in performance. Give me modifications—I want to spend."

  Xia Li had now achieved Heaven-path Foundation Establishment. Ordinary Foundation Establishment Spirit Cores could no longer fully bring out his strength.

  "Already ordered for you. Total: three thousand eight hundred fifty-two spirit stones. Round it up to four thousand. Thanks for your patronage."

  "What? You call that rounding? Why don't you round up to a hundred million?"

  This wasn't rounding—this was blatantly taking a cut.

  "Your Sis Ke here runs a small business. Four thousand is already a bargain for you. Don't you know what's good for you?"

  With that, Ke Xiao turned and entered the storeroom. Xia Li knew what Ke Xiao meant—she wanted him to follow her into the secret chamber.

  Underground chamber.

  Ke Xiao led Xia Li directly to the modification pod. The old, worn pod from before was gone, replaced by a blue-white modification pod.

  "Ta-da! Shuyi Generation Three Plus, a light-luxury modification pod. Guaranteed satisfaction!"

  Ke Xiao happily introduced her newly purchased modification pod. Xia Li instinctively began checking the price.

  This modification pod's brand-new factory price was close to three thousand five hundred spirit stones. How had Ke Xiao bought it for two thousand?

  Could it be...

  Another damn secondhand one?

  Xia Li immediately began inspecting the pod's condition and indeed found many spots that had been touched up with paint.

  "Sis Ke, does this modification pod come with a warranty?"

  "Are you going to use it or not!"

  "If this pod were new, I'd definitely use it!"

  "Are you here to pick a fight?"

  Ke Xiao's expression changed. Though Xia Li had repeatedly emphasized wanting brand new, she was the frugal type. Secondhand refurbished goods were life—why buy new?

  "Here, touched up. Here, peeling. And here, and here!"

  "Stop, stop! It's practically new—at least ninety percent new. If I didn't have connections, two thousand wouldn't have gotten it!"

  "So what happened to this machine? Why does it smell like blood?"

  "Well... someone was killed inside it while lying there. Heard it was a crime of passion. Pretty gruesome."

  "Wait, this modification pod doesn't have a spirit inside it, does it?"

  Modification pods having AI wasn't scary, but having a spirit was terrifying. Yin ghosts weren't much of a threat to modern people, but the key was they were frightening.

  "I checked. No spirit. The modification technician who sold me this was skilled—there won't be any residue."

  "So you dealt directly with the killer?"

  And bought evidence that could prove the murder. She really would collect anything. Wasn't she afraid of ghosts haunting her home?

  "Sigh, that modification technician was pitiful too. Got scammed. You know the Dao companion scam? After the divorce, half his cultivation was taken."

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  "Cultivation... half his cultivation was taken..."

  Xia Li's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

  "Yeah, directly extracting your cultivation and converting it to spirit stones. It's not particularly difficult technology. I can do it here too. When you're desperate someday, you can sell your cultivation."

  "Forget it. So where are the Spirit Core, Heaven Chip, and prosthetic you ordered for me? You were that sure I'd make it back?"

  Ke Xiao daring to order in advance meant she was confident he'd return safely.

  "I contacted my superior. If there was real trouble, they'd handle it. Looks like it wasn't needed, but they still made a trip. Travel expenses need reimbursing, right?"

  "I... I..."

  Xia Li wanted to say that while he had spirit stones, wasn't this reimbursing everything a bit excessive?

  "If you're short on cash, I can arrange a loan for you."

  "No need. I'll reimburse. Also, I suggest you consider developing in the Corporate Alliance."

  Xia Li was completely defeated.

  "How'd you know I transferred from the Corporate Alliance?"

  "You..."

  Xia Li wanted to say something but couldn't.

  "Be grateful I'm not charging you a service fee. I am doing work for you."

  "Thank... thank you."

  Xia Li could only force a smile of gratitude. Ke Xiao waved her hand, done teasing Xia Li, and pointed directly at the table beside the modification pod.

  "The stuff I ordered for you. Don't complain if it's not to your liking—I'm a modification technician with professional certification. It's more suitable than what you'd pick yourself."

  With that, Xia Li immediately walked to the table and opened the box.

  The box's exterior was plain, even worn. But the moment Xia Li opened it...

  The Heaven Chip began alerting.

  〖This Spirit Core is in warning state. Decoding warning message...〗

  〖Dare touch Mount Tai Prefecture's stuff? Tired of living? Don't let me catch you, or you'll regret it!〗

  After the Heaven Chip's alert, Xia Li forcefully closed the box.

  "Black market goods?"

  Xia Li glanced at Ke Xiao. This was definitely black market goods!

  "Yes. Mount Tai Prefecture Sect's martial dao Spirit Core, Tai'e Four Forms. Globally ranked top ten for Foundation Establishment Spirit Cores. When operating, it uses spiritual energy to temper the body, effectively increasing physical strength."

  "This compensates for your weakness. Your spiritual power isn't weak, your divine thought is strong, but your physical body is frail. Long-term, this could lead to body-not-accepting-spirit phenomenon."

  "Body-not-accepting-spirit?"

  "Meaning inability to precisely control your body, easily causing severe damage without realizing it."

  "Thanks!"

  Thinking about it, the Tai'e Spirit Core was indeed what Xia Li currently needed.

  Afterward...

  Xia Li opened the box containing the Heaven Chip. This time no warning popped up—the box just contained a transparent black chip.

  "Stealth-Hack Type One. The name tells you it's organization-produced. Twenty storage slots, five technique slots, comprehensive performance upgrades."

  "Fifth-generation Heaven Chip, also using Smart Bridge technology. The smart-technique is Future Vision—it can predict imminent events to some degree, giving you the upper hand in combat!"

  "And paired with this prosthetic..."

  Ke Xiao pointed to a rectangular box. No need to guess—it contained a prosthetic arm.

  Xia Li eagerly opened the box to examine it. Inside was a pitch-black mechanical arm that hadn't yet been given realistic treatment.

  "Martial Arm: Steel Breaker. Extremely high hardness, and crafted using stress technology. It can self-deflect blades—knife edges and bullets hitting it will be bounced back by the stress field."

  "Most importantly, it comes with the martial dao technique Crashing Star. In close combat, if you land a hit, even a Golden Core would be shattered."

  Ke Xiao had configured a martial dao powerhouse setup for Xia Li. This way, he could truly catch enemies off guard.

  Think Xia Li's divine thought is strong and engage him in close combat? Get mercilessly destroyed.

  Think Xia Li's close combat is strong and keep distance? Get toyed with by his powerful divine thought.

  "How about it? Satisfied?"