28 Chapter 26 Soaring Basic Attributes_1

The model Zero Mecha, once enhanced, did not show significant changes in form, just a few distinctively colored patterns as embellishments.

The focus was on the attribute changes.

Strength, agility, and defense had a modest increase, with a mere three points each.

However, both the Armor Value and Energy Value, in terms of both limits and recovery speed, saw a tremendous boost.

"The most important thing is that the attributes of the mecha are equivalent to the growth values of the body."

"Now that the attributes have increased, the growth rate after expanded armor has also doubled!"

Jiang Chen was very satisfied.

Now that the model Zero Mecha had been enhanced to the 0th Rank's limit, he could grow with peace of mind, challenge the abyss, and prepare for ranking up.

Senior Ruan was clearly overworked, yawning continuously after enhancing a batch of model Zero Mecha.

Now that the enhancement was finished, he casually gave a few instructions, said goodbye, and left to rest.

Jiang Chen also left Xuntian City with Bai Ying in tow, returning to Shuilan City.

Repairs and enhancements took close to eight hours in total, and the time had reached midnight.

But perhaps due to the refreshing presence of the spring of life's aura or because of the automatic stamina recovery after absorbing the mecha,

Jiang Chen did not feel the slightest bit tired.

He had a midnight snack, watched the busy Bai Ying, and made a decision.

"Let's descend into the abyss again."

"First, turn the mecha into strength, then consider resting."

However, the ordinary difficulty level of the abyss carbon copy, with its low difficulty and low returns, had lost its value.

After some consideration, Jiang Chen skipped the ordinary difficulty level and went straight for the hard difficulty level.

His current attributes were the equivalent of wearing two fully enhanced model Zero Mecha; if his mecha shattered, his defense could even stack up to fifteen points!

With such a level of attributes, soloing the Nightmare difficulty level might still be challenging.

But the hard difficulty level was definitely not a problem.

"Time to grind before bed!"

[Construction of the Age-Old Shadow is complete.]

[Welcome to the abyss.]

...

[Talent Trigger: Undying Barehand, Mecha absorbed: model Zero-Type 3.]

[Attributes: Strength 15, Agility 14, Defense 15, Enigmatism 0.]

[Special: Regenerate 0.23 life per second (doubled under sunlight), 0.05 Stamina.]

[Abilities: Uncontrollable Mutation, Roots Core, Blood Demon Transformation.]

In the hard difficulty level of the Endless Demons Realm, the strength and agility of the Six-armed Rakshasa went from a mere eight points to thirteen points each.

An increase of five points in attributes, further augmented by martial skills, meant his combat strength more than doubled.

Wielding six flame sabers, he nearly turned into a dragon of fire, kept hitting Jiang Chen constantly.

However…

Jiang Chen was even more exaggerated.

Not only were his dual attributes higher than the Six-armed Rakshasa's, reaching fifteen points in defense, but he also formed a Wall of Sighs.

The Rakshasa's saber strike landed on his face, only leaving a minor cut, unable to chop through the fragile skin!

And with his powerful regenerative ability, what was a small wound one second was completely gone the next.

Boosted by this formidable defense, Jiang Chen cheekily said,

"Master, put some effort into it, will you? Didn't you have your meal?"

"..."

For a martial arts master, this was obviously the ultimate humiliation.

The furious Rakshasa mechanic spread his six arms and astonishingly plunged the six flame sabers into his own body.

However, instead of inflicting damage when the weapons touched the body, they merged into it.

Amidst the expanding flames, the Six-armed Rakshasa transformed into a huge beast over three meters tall with a bull's head and horse's hooves, grasped the fire in his hands as a weapon, and charged forward with a slash.

Jiang Chen didn't dodge or evade, and with one punch, he shattered the flames.

Finally, Stage 2 begun.

The rise in difficulty in the abyss meant more than just an increase in attributes.

The techniques and abilities used by the enemy also became richer and more troublesome as the difficulty increased.

Or rather…

This was the actual power the abyss monsters should possess, which was diminished to the point of vanishing in the Age-Old Shadow of the lower difficulty levels.

At this moment, the Six-armed Rakshasa displayed the Bull Demon form, which was a new shape unlocked only in difficulties above hard level.

It could enhance its own strength, increase the flame damage of the weapon, and enlarge the attack range.

For ordinary mecha pilots, this form was extremely terrifying; a slight carelessness could result in being engulfed by flames, incinerated to ashes along with the mecha.

For Jiang Chen, this form was likewise fearsome.

As flames swept over him, his skin, which possessed strong defenses, merely turned slightly red, while his clothes were reduced to ashes.

He walked through the flames and grabbed the arm of the Six-armed Rakshasa.

"Playing dirty, huh?"

He held on to the arm, pulled downward, and his swelling fist heavily smashed into the bull's face.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The earth itself seemed to tremble.

The abyss atmosphere was quickly absorbed by the Abyss Rune.

[Killed the Six-armed Rakshasa, obtained material: Unperished Iron Bones*3.]

...

[Successfully killed the boss, achieved exploration goal.]

[Total time taken: 26 minutes 19 seconds.]

[Mission evaluation: SSS.]

[Reward settlement based on trial evaluation in progress...]

[You have obtained Abyss Coins: 500.]

[You have obtained material: Indestructible Metal*3.]

[You have obtained module: Hades Incarnation.]

[Settlement complete, would you like to exit the abyss now?]

[Note: Rejecting exit allows for an additional stay of sixty minutes.]

Jiang Chen stood up naked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

His body's defenses were incredibly high, even his hair strands were enhanced, turning only slightly yellow after being scorched by flames.

Clothes, these external objects, couldn't benefit from the defensive boost, and were easily destroyed.

It wasn't the price he cared about...

Every time he returned from the abyss carbon copy, he was stark naked, which was quite awkward.

Even the Green Giant knew to wear undamageable pants.

"I'm not the only one with physical strengthening talents."

"Next time, I'll go shopping at the Xuntian City tool store and buy some durable clothes."

Thinking this, Jiang Chen glanced over the settlement rewards, and his mood lightened considerably.

The profits from the Abyss difficulty level carbon copy were much higher than those from ordinary ones.

Abyss Coins, materials, modules—added together, their value already reached two thousand contributions!

To strengthen his mecha, Jiang Chen had used up all his materials, even the five thousand Abyss Coins from the basic trial reward had been used up as strengthening materials and invested into the mecha.

This haul at least replenished his resources, preventing him from being penniless.

"Two thousand contributions, that should be enough to buy repair tools, right?"

Just two thousand contributions used to repay debts were but a drop in the bucket.

However, it was enough to purchase a set of brand-new repair tools, allowing Jiang Chen to gain the ability to repair his mecha himself—

While strengthening a mecha required the capability of Mecha Soul Perception, repairing a mecha wasn't as strict; it just took slower, with a slightly reduced income.

Jiang Chen could get ahead by practicing, familiarizing himself with the operations of mecha repair, laying the groundwork for the future.

After all, his mecha damage rate was extremely high; he never lacked opportunities to practice.

"Exit the abyss."

...

Back home, in the present world.

Bai Ying had just finished tidying up the room and was sitting on the sofa when a rift suddenly opened up in front of her.

Jiang Chen fell from the rift, locking eyes with Bai Ying.

"...Hey."

"Welcome home, Master."

Jiang Chen steadied his footing and casually grabbed a towel, walking composedly towards the bathroom.

He indeed preferred living alone.