Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sharp Sword and Precious Armor!

When a person encounters an unexpected, overwhelming surprise, it is easy for their emotional state to become unhinged.

It was much like an wanderer from another world, who spends every day struggling just to fill his stomach, suddenly being notified that he had qualified as a special resident of a powerful Tower City. That kind of surprise would absolutely drive such a wanderer insane with joy.

Tang Zhen was on the verge of going mad with excitement at this very moment. He had been working himself to the bone in the Tower City world, only managing to scrape together a small number of low-level brain pearls. Yet, right now, there were at least several hundred brain pearls of level three or higher sitting solidly in the chest before him!

Several hundred brain pearls of level three and above—the difficulty of obtaining even one was immense. For Tang Zhen, this meant nearly a million gold coins. He could finally roar, "I’ve finally escaped poverty and am heading toward a life of prosperity!"

No wonder his phone had been vibrating incessantly, unable to be stopped; it was for this very reason! Compared to Tang Zhen, this phone seemed even more ravenous for the brain pearls.

Holding a handful of the pearls, Tang Zhen laughed until he was nearly gasping for air. After calming his emotions, he immediately and excitedly began to count the quantity. He remained smiling throughout the entire process, and when he saw one particular pearl, his expression even shifted several times.

Once the count was finished, Tang Zhen placed them on the table. Looking at the pile of brain pearls before him, he felt momentarily dazed. In this heap were four hundred and fifty level-three pearls, fifty level-four pearls, and ten level-five pearls. Converted into phone gold coins, it totaled a staggering one million nine hundred and fifty thousand!

For Tang Zhen, this was a truly shocking figure—a number he hadn't even dared to dream of before!

Why hesitate? Absorb them, absorb every single one!

Tang Zhen roared in his heart, and he watched as the pearls slowly vanished before his eyes. Immediately following this, his personal information displayed a seven-figure balance. Tang Zhen stared at the string of numbers, as if he were looking at a mountain of gold.

However, at that very moment, a line of text suddenly popped up before his eyes:

【Gold coin balance exceeds one million. The system is automatically entering its first upgrade. Duration: seventy-two hours. Please wait quietly.】

Before Tang Zhen could process this, the text vanished. The projection at the back of his eyes, which he had gradually grown accustomed to, disappeared as if it had never existed. The return to a normal field of vision actually made Tang Zhen feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Tang Zhen took out the phone he kept close to him and saw that, sure enough, it had powered down. Distracted and heavy-hearted, he set the phone aside. At this moment, he felt a sense of anxiety and apprehension; after all, this was the very object that had changed his life.

Now that it was undergoing an upgrade, Tang Zhen’s heart was filled with anticipation. What would it be like after the upgrade? Would the already formidable App Store add even more miraculous applications?

Tucking the phone away securely, Tang Zhen turned his gaze back to the table, specifically to the single brain pearl he had set aside. This pearl looked extraordinary; compared to the others, it was surrounded by a faint halo, making it appear truly remarkable.

And it was indeed extraordinary. This was a level-six brain pearl, something only a Lord-class monster could possess, with a minimum value of one million gold coins! Just thinking about the terror of a Lord-class monster was enough to understand the value of this pearl; it was truly priceless, a rarity beyond market availability.

At the same time, a Lord-class brain pearl was one of the essential items for establishing a high-level Tower City. From this moment on, as long as Tang Zhen could acquire a cornerstone, he would be able to establish his own Tower City in this otherworldly realm!

"What you search for far and wide is often right under your nose."

Gently fiddling with this Lord-class brain pearl, one could only imagine the depth of Tang Zhen's reflections. Carefully storing away the pearl that held the key to his grand plans, Tang Zhen turned his attention to the other items in the chest.

He first picked up the short sword lying on top and examined it closely. The sword was about forty-five centimeters long, with a purple scabbard and a matching hilt, its design simple and archaic. With a gentle pull, the blade left the sheath; Tang Zhen heard a faint ring, and a purplish-black blade caught his eye.

The purple blade shimmered with flowing light, appearing to be crafted from a strange, translucent crystal, its entire length engraved with mysterious runes. The sword looked like a pool of rippling water, possessing a certain fluid vitality. Just looking at it, one knew it was extraordinary.

He gave the wooden chair beside him a light swipe, and Tang Zhen was shocked to see the thick wood sliced cleanly in two. In truth, he hadn't used much force, but the sword itself seemed to possess a power that rendered the wood as soft as tofu. Or perhaps it emitted an invisible, sharp aura, and it was that very aura that had sliced through the chair without effort!

Regardless of the specific reason, he had found a treasure. With such a divine weapon, wouldn't hacking through the rubbery-skinned corpse monsters be an easy and pleasant task?

After admiring and testing the short sword, a still-unsatisfied Tang Zhen turned his gaze to the black, robe-like garment. In fact, it was not a robe, but a piece of attire combining elements of leather armor and a cloak. The texture was incredibly comfortable, thin and supple, feeling as if he were touching smooth skin.

Tang Zhen held it in his hands and examined it carefully, discovering that the soft, black fabric seemed to hide countless patterns. They looked like runes, or perhaps some sort of mysterious, intricate design; in any case, it felt full of mystery. Holding the robe, Tang Zhen had a vague feeling that a mysterious power was flowing through the fabric.

After some thought, Tang Zhen took the sharp purple short sword and swiped it against the hem of the black robe. To his surprise, the sharp blade that had cut through wood like tofu failed to pierce the fabric of the robe. His keen eyes also noticed that when the sword passed over the garment, the patterns in the black fabric seemed to flicker. It appeared as if a faint film of light had blocked the sword's edge.

He tried stabbing the robe with the sword again, but it remained completely unscathed. Tang Zhen was truly astonished now—this robe possessed such powerful defensive capabilities!

Carefully setting the robe aside, Tang Zhen checked the black leather armor inside, wondering if it, too, possessed such terrifying defensive properties. The black leather armor was made from an unknown beast hide and felt equally comfortable to the touch, with patterns embossed on its surface in an elegant and unique style. Attached to the two elbows of the leather armor were four black metal wrist guards interlocked together.

The hopeful Tang Zhen was disappointed this time; before the purple short sword, this black armor was fragile, and he easily shaved off a small flake of leather without any effort. Tang Zhen felt a bit let down, but looking at the stylish, well-crafted design of the armor, it must surely be of great value, and he could at least wear it to look impressive.

Thinking of this, Tang Zhen put on the leather armor. He tried it on and found it fit quite well, making him look heroic and imposing. As he preened before the mirror, striking a few poses, he accidentally touched a protrusion on the metal wrist guard—it was the eye of a monster.

*Whoosh!*

After a sharp, rapid sound, Tang Zhen saw a black, ghostly streak of light fly from the wrist guard, instantly punching a small hole through the mirror in front of him. On the wall behind the mirror, a tiny, dark hole appeared as well; leaning in to look, he saw it had actually pierced straight through the wall!

Tang Zhen was startled by this sudden turn of events. He stared blankly at the hole piercing through the wall, then looked down at the wrist guard on his leather armor. Only then did he fully realize that, within this chest, there was likely not a single item that was simple!