Chapter Sixty-Five: Second Tier, Second Stage!

When did Fang Tang finish making the mechanical claw arm? If he counted carefully, it must have been the day before yesterday. It was around that time that Liu Xu began gathering materials for the mechanical claw arm. In less than two days, Liu Xu had managed to collect all the necessary materials. He hadn’t expected that this woman, who just days before wanted to survive alongside him, would grow so quickly. Who says women are inferior to men? Fang Tang had witnessed firsthand the rise of a wealthy woman! And she was someone he had nurtured. The sense of accomplishment was nearly overflowing.

“Wait a moment,” Fang Tang said, a gratified smile on his face as he accepted the materials Liu Xu sent him. He forwarded the materials for the intelligent motherboard to Xie Ling, asking her to help with the crafting. Xie Ling agreed readily. Meanwhile, Fang Tang worked on crafting the Mithril Heart. The two of them advanced side by side, soon producing all the required components.

The mechanical claw arm entered its final countdown. Fang Tang opened a private chat with Liu Xu.

“You’ve been doing well lately!” Fang Tang always spoke kindly to those who could help him.

Liu Xu replied, “Yes, I’ve received several weapon blueprints, and have had good gains exploring the caverns myself. At least now I can protect myself and survive.”

“That’s right,” Fang Tang said. “In this cavern world, you can’t rely on others. Still, the mechanical claw arm doesn’t deal effective damage against the Fallen. You might want to try some elemental weapons to stack the damage.”

He had a very favorable impression of Liu Xu now and didn’t mind offering her some advice.

“I saw the message you posted in the public channel,” Liu Xu responded. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

“...Good,” Fang Tang said. “Once you deal with the Fallen, don’t rush to leave. If you’re lucky, the Twisted Rules might help you become an Evolver. But be careful not to let negative emotions consume you.”

“Thank you for the advice!”

Fang Tang smiled gently, hoping Liu Xu would survive. After all, establishing a stable partnership was difficult, especially since Liu Xu was someone he had nurtured. He didn't want anything to happen to her.

Soon, the mechanical claw arm was finished. After sending it to Liu Xu, Fang Tang was about to go to bed when his legs suddenly gave way and he fell to the ground. Checking the time, he realized another four hours had passed.

He focused carefully and sensed his second debuff status: paralysis of both legs!

“Tsk, if this happened during a fight, I’d be finished. Luckily, I have the mechanical claw arm.”

Using the mechanical claw arm to walk, he entered his room and collapsed onto the bed. With the large auxiliary spine on his back, he couldn’t lie flat, so he slept on his side. The sleep deprivation from two days without rest swept over him, overwhelming his mind.

...

The night passed uneventfully.

Fang Tang slowly awoke from his dreams, and as soon as he opened his eyes, a splitting headache greeted him.

“Hiss... another debuff status.”

One night’s sleep had earned him three new debuffs: headache, loss of appetite, and disorientation. None were particularly impactful, except for the disorientation, which made it difficult to tell up from down. But after some adjustment, he managed to move around.

After spending the night in the cavern, Fang Tang was pleasantly surprised to find his evolution level had broken through to Tier Two, Stage Two. In just one day, he had advanced a whole rank. Not only that, but his mind now presented him with five choices: agility, endurance, strength, defense, and perception. Five paths, each leading to a different future.

“No wonder Tu Jiawen advised me to choose carefully,” Fang Tang mused, staring at the five globes of light.

“Agility is reaction and speed, endurance is recovery and stamina, strength is attack and force, defense is health and armor, perception is mental power.”

“Now I’m something of a jack-of-all-trades. So what should I choose—balanced growth or specialization? I have two skill points. Where should I invest them?”

“The Divine Staircase has twelve steps, which means eleven choices. Balanced development is good, but if I put all twenty-two skill points into a single direction and go to the extreme, I’d be a powerhouse too.”

“Specialists are easy to target; balanced warriors don’t excel in any field. Such a tough choice!”

Fang Tang scratched his head and picked up Yueyue.

“Yueyue, should Daddy be a specialist or a generalist? Bark once for specialist, twice for generalist.”

“Woof?” Yueyue looked at Fang Tang in confusion, then nuzzled his face and stuck out her pink tongue.

“…Well, this little one knows nothing!”

“Eye, get to work. What should I choose?”

[This is your path to choose, not mine. As I said, you’re the one holding the knife. I’m just an innocent, pure, kind, adorable, and upright little eye. What evil could an eye possibly have? I’m only fond of big waves! A tip: your choice will affect your sequence talent.]

Hmm?

Fang Tang’s mind stirred, and suddenly he had an idea.

His greatest strength was his eye, of course! Of the five choices, only perception had anything to do with his eye. But perception seemed to be more supportive in nature. If his eye couldn’t be enhanced, he’d have to consider the other options: Steel Guard? Rapid Recovery?

If he chose these, wouldn’t he be going down the tank route…

The very thought of his muscles bulging made Fang Tang shudder. No, he must be an attacker! And not just an attacker—he must be stylish!

Yes, that’s the way.

Fang Tang assigned his two skill points to agility and strength. Suddenly, he felt his power double, and his mind grew clearer. It felt great!

His eyes sparkled as he left the room. With the debuff still on him, he had no appetite. Instead, he sent the weapons he had crafted overnight to those who had placed orders, packed up his things, and looked at the wall.

The Twisted Rules of this cavern would no longer boost his strength. Staying here would only accumulate more debuffs—far from worthwhile. Better to continue exploring the caverns.

[Ahead: Night Owl, Silver Treasure Chest.]

Fang Tang picked up his pickaxe and advanced toward the wall.

Cavern 105.

Passing through the black mist, Fang Tang was instantly freed from all debuffs. His legs regained feeling, his mind cleared, the headache vanished, his sense of direction returned, and hunger surged.

He glanced casually at the night owl perched on the ceiling. Blue fluid surged through his right arm, morphing into a square-mouthed *** filled with technological flair. The scope locked onto the night owl, and he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A bullet radiating cold struck the night owl. The little demon didn’t even have time to cry out before being frozen solid, falling to the ground and shattering into pieces.

“Tsk, Level Five tech—excellent!”

The freezing gun reverted into blue fluid, forming a snowflake tattoo that adhered to Fang Tang’s arm.

Rubbing his flat stomach, Fang Tang set up the grill and began preparing lunch.

Breakfast became lunch!

It just goes to show how important a good routine is.

Eating his exquisite lunch, Fang Tang glanced at the messages in the public channel. In his private chat, a familiar name had sent him a message.

Ye Qing!