Chapter 87

Qifeng used such a cool and stylish way to take out a few Chavor street thugs, not just to show off. It was because in this plane, most armed personnel (including street scum) had something called a "kinetic barrier." Qifeng didn't want to miss his shot and then be suppressed by the enemy's superior firepower. After all, in Omega, everyone carried guns, and Qifeng was probably the only one without one.

If the omni-tool was the technology Qifeng most envied in the Mass Effect universe, then the kinetic barrier was the most practical and valuable equipment in this plane.

A kinetic barrier, commonly known as a "shield," is a mass effect field—a core piece of black technology in this plane. It provides a repulsion barrier around the wearer's body, safely deflecting small objects flying at speeds exceeding a safe threshold. The above is the dry, official description from the manual.

To put it simply, this thing can deflect bullets from a distance! As for the effectiveness of the bulletproofing...

From Qifeng's understanding in the game, the power of individual weapons in this world is actually not that great. In the 21st century, common military small arms, such as the famous AK-47 assault rifle, have a kinetic energy of about 1,000 to 2,000 joules per bullet. In the Mass Effect universe, ordinary firearms have only a few tens of thousands of joules... that's all.

Imagine a time when a handheld device can store as much data as the entire Earth's internet, and spaceships can travel faster than light, yet the power of guns has only increased tenfold or twentyfold. It's surprisingly low.

A single individual's "kinetic barrier" can withstand about ten shots from a typical mass effect weapon. If converted to Earth's AK-47, Qifeng could stand there and let someone spray him with bullets, and he could remain calm for about five bursts, treating it as if they were just setting off fireworks.

However, this shield is not without its weaknesses. It only reacts to high-speed bullets; punches and slashes do not trigger the shield. The shield only works within a few centimeters in front of the wearer, like a protective dome. Attacks like the explosive bugs, which silently attach to the target and then explode, are completely ineffective against the shield.

Especially when those explosive bugs directly crawled into the large openings on the Chavor heads. "Oh my," Qifeng swore he didn't do it; his control over the bugs was not that precise. He had only intended to blow up their faces.

It's worth mentioning that while the technology in this world is advanced, the various races are quite fragile. If those explosive bugs were thrown at a powerful individual like the Sword Saint Dugu, Qifeng estimated, they might only blacken his face... Regardless, he first checked the equipment. Qifeng squatted down and looked at the alien corpses, whose heads were already blown apart like watermelons, with some charred remains. He felt a bit nauseous. It seemed that next time, unless necessary, it would be better to aim the explosive bugs at their bodies.

Qifeng didn't know if all Chavor, a race of thugs and bandits, dressed like this, similar to the ones Sister Xue had killed before: wearing only a small pair of shorts and using belts as clothing. But this was good for looting.

Qifeng raised his left hand, called out the omni-tool, and activated the scanning function. The omni-tool's multitasking capabilities were excellent. While it was still translating the "Nine Yang True Scripture," it quickly analyzed Qifeng's actions and scanned the valuable items on the dead Chavor.

The four Chavor had only two "Ninja Dart" submachine guns, a basic entry-level weapon. This weak armament indicated that these guys were just low-level thugs. The belts contained only five standard heat sinks for light weapons. The rest were junk. However, the accounts of these guys were not encrypted, and Qifeng easily used the omni-tool to transfer 200 credits. He heard that the average lifespan of Chavor was less than 20 years, and their education level was almost non-existent (which made sense, as Qifeng was still in his second year of college, but if he were a Chavor, he would be close to death. Implementing a nine-year compulsory education system in such a race would be like a death sentence). Therefore, electronic keys were not suitable for them.

Qifeng looked at the credits in his omni-tool, which had increased from 3 to over 200, and weighed the gun in his hand, shaking his head and smiling, "Want to get rich? Being robbed is a way..." He had no complaints about this effortless gain, but it was a pity that these poor Chavor didn't have shield generators. Otherwise, it would have been perfect.

The omni-tool also displayed the weapon's usage instructions. Space-age weapons were much simpler than 21st-century ones; no need to load ammunition, just turn off the safety and shoot. The only feature of this gun was the ability to switch between three-shot bursts and continuous fire, with an automatic aiming correction function. The recoil during continuous fire was significant, but for someone with Qifeng's strength, it was negligible.

Qifeng tried it out, aiming at a graffiti on the wall about ten meters away. He pulled the trigger, and in five seconds, he fired twenty rounds. With his current eyesight and nerve reaction, plus steady control, the twenty rounds clustered in a small circle no larger than a fist.

Qifeng was quite satisfied with his first shooting performance. It wasn't the marksmanship of a sharpshooter, but it wasn't bad either. He blew the light smoke from the muzzle, pressed the ejection button, removed the now red-hot heat sink, and replaced it with a new one from the belt.

In this world, light weapons almost never needed to prepare ammunition. The omni-tool could extract tiny metal particles from many things to use as bullets. However, the heat generated when these metal particles were fired at a fraction of the speed of light was enormous, so heat sinks were created. Their function was to dissipate heat, allowing soldiers to continue shooting without waiting for the barrel to cool down. As long as the heat sinks were not depleted, the barrel could fire almost indefinitely.

Qifeng cleaned up the battlefield, hung the more comfortable gun on his waist, and felt awkward. The image of a Taoist immortal with wide sleeves and a gun didn't fit. But there was no other way; the gun couldn't fit into his inventory, which only accepted items from stores... a strange restriction. He could only carry two heat sinks in his sleeves; carrying more would make them bulge. Qifeng shook his head, finding it troublesome. Even his backpack would look strange. No wonder King Wuling of Zhao promoted the adoption of nomadic clothing and cavalry tactics; wide sleeves were just for show.

Thus, the remaining items could only be sold. Qifeng thought his boss was fair. "Fertilizer doesn't flow to outsiders," so he decided to let Harlot buy the items. Considering Harlot had lent him an omni-tool, Qifeng would accept whatever price he offered without haggling.

He walked to the upper level of the commercial district, where everything was as usual. The explosions downstairs hadn't surprised the experienced residents of Omega; no one even bothered to look, let alone panic.

Entering Harlot's shop, the elephant-like boss, who was looking down at something, looked up and saw Qifeng, his small eyes widening.

"…You… why are you here?"

Qifeng smiled awkwardly, scratching his face. Closing the shop and then showing up in front of the boss would be suicidal for a regular employee. Although Qifeng didn't take the job seriously, he felt a bit over the line.

"Ah, I'm not here to work overtime. I was just wandering around. I happened to encounter some robbers on the way and took care of them. I picked up two guns, kept one for myself, and wondered if the shop buys these?"

As Qifeng spoke, he realized he wasn't speaking Chinese but a strange language, and he hadn't even noticed, as if it were his native tongue. It wasn't until he paid attention that he realized it.

This must be the automatic translation module in his omni-tool. It was amazing; not only could he pass English exams, but his oral skills had instantly improved to the level of a simultaneous interpreter.

While Qifeng was distracted, Harlot's face twisted, his lip twitching, a sign of fear or shock among the Ecori. Qifeng, lost in thought, didn't notice, and even if he had, he wouldn't have recognized the subtle expressions of the Ecori.

"…Ah, yes, we buy them, of course. Our shop offers a good price for all usable second-hand resources…" Harlot, after a moment of hesitation, responded in a welcoming tone.

"Oh, oh! Great, give me an employee discount!" Qifeng casually placed the extra "Ninja Dart" and two heat sinks on the table, pushing them toward Harlot.

The gun still had spots of blood, dark and deep red. Seeing this, Harlot's lip twitched again. (To be continued. Search for Piaowen.com for faster updates and better reading experience!)