Chapter 889: You Will Be Happy, Mr. Fan Huo

"Then let's start with this one."

He set down the Barista and gripped Drawing Slash.

Sublimation began.

[Spirit: 161→151]

The consumption was a mere ten points of Spirit, exactly as Ye Qiyan had anticipated.

This thing really wasn't all that precious.

[Conductor Module Card · Drawing Slash → Conductor Advanced Module Card · Drawing Slash Technique]

[Drawing Slash Technique]

[Requires a weapon possessing both a [Blade] and a [Sheath] to use. Accumulates power from the [Sheath], consuming Stamina. In a single battle, the first attack of that weapon will deal higher area damage, and greatly increase the initial attack speed.]

"Not... bad?"

Most of the sword techniques inherent to the Realm of No Self were basic abilities, such as sword aura, sword momentum, sword pressure, and the like.

Actual named moves of this caliber had all been researched and developed by Ye Qiyan himself.

Like that previous slash from September's Fall.

Ye Qiyan pressed this module card against his body.

The card transformed into fragments of light and merged into him.

The methods for using the Drawing Slash Technique were also fully installed.

The usage method was actually quite simple.

Although Moon Veil didn't have a sheath in the conventional sense, it had always resided within Ye Qiyan's body.

As long as he accumulated power inside his body before drawing the blade, it was equivalent to activating it.

As for the power itself, that was secondary.

Its true purpose was to boost the attack speed of the first strike.

For an upgrade option that had only cost Ye Qiyan 100 Train Coins, it was already quite excellent.

This gave Ye Qiyan a tiny bit of anticipation for his last option, worth 350 Train Coins.

What if?

What if this Barista was actually an incredibly powerful enhancement module, no less than the Realm of No Self?

Harboring this sliver of hope, Ye Qiyan opened the appraisal on the final option.

[Tradable Module Card · Barista]

[Can be Traded]

[Upon activation, you will obtain the standard enhancement module: Barista]

[Barista: Can use any materials to brew different types of coffee]

"...?"

His anticipation shattered.

No, there was still a chance.

After all, it could still be Sublimated once.

[Spirit: 189→164]

[Tradable Module Card · Barista → Tradable Advanced Module Card · Barista]

[Can use non-[edible] materials to brew special coffee drinkable by [non-humans].]

"..."

Why had he gone and Suliminated this thing?

If he hadn't sublimated it and just dumped it on the black market to sell, he might've been able to recover some funds.

After all, it had only cost 350 Train Coins among the upgrade options, but on the black market or Trading Platform, it could sell for at least 1000 Coins or more.

That was the meaning of "tradable."

Selling something with this prefix meant it still counted as legitimate Train Coins.

So what should he do with this thing?

Use it himself? Or find someone he knew, someone gullible, and sell it to them?

Ye Qiyan's first thought was Zhao Lin.

No, forget it. That girl probably didn't have much money on hand. Even if she did, she most likely wouldn't spend it on something like this.

"Just use it and be done with it."

He gave up on selling it, tossed the card into the air, and just happened to spot Lisette walking toward him carrying a tray.

"Lisette, catch."

The maid didn't release her tray. Instead, she accelerated her own time just enough for the card to land perfectly on her body.

Ye Qiyan pressed the confirm-use button, and the card dissolved.

The light of data flickered through Lisette's eyes, and a module called Barista appeared on her panel.

"How does it feel?"

"Hmm... it seems I can brew coffee using metal now~ Master, would you like some? I can add sugar."

"On second thought, forget it. Here, come over and let me make some adjustments."

"Yes~"

With all the option purchases complete.

Ye Qiyan didn't idle either. Starting with Lisette, he went through all his companions' appraisal information, concealing and adjusting it.

Their names, he kept them all.

Some of the prefixes, such as Lisette's Absolute Supreme · Perfected World, Eve's Overdrive Star, and The Hunt's Overdrive Omniplus, were also left intact.

All other information was completely hidden.

This way, if he ever faced top-tier Train Conductors with appraisal permissions in the future, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage in an intelligence war.

"Phew~ At least I can rest and resupply for a few days."

Starting from the next station, he'd be living the scrape-by-on-a-shoestring life inside a Station World from zero all over again.

After all, Miatira had secretly told him earlier that she was saving up something big for him in the next upgrade tier's options for next level.

Hmm... how big could it get?

Seven or eight thousand Train Coins should be enough, right?

-----

A few days later, Utopia City.

A burly, powerful man wearing a cowboy hat and deep black sunglasses, who could drain an entire cigar in a matter of seconds, put away his train.

He walked along the street.

Every person here wore a blissful smile on their face.

And these smiles weren't false. They came entirely from the bottom of their hearts.

Fan Huo.

The master of the War Card.

A member of the Emperor's Order.

He followed a person's guidance and entered a building that resembled a museum.

Not long after entering, his gaze was caught by a card floating midair, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Mr. Fan Huo, that is the War Card. Our Utopia City offers it to you as a show of sincerity. As long as you help us complete what comes next, that Card Sequence will be yours."

Fan Huo exhaled a thick cloud of cigar smoke.

The irritating smell of churning smoke lingered in the air.

He took off his sunglasses, revealing his long-since-modified left eye, and scanned the Card Sequence and the fixtures surrounding it.

Before any results appeared, the guide had already spoken:

"Mr. Fan Huo, I must ask that you not do anything unnecessary. Since we invited you, we naturally have made thorough preparations. If you choose to take it by force, I can guarantee you will never see this War Card again. Until... never."

Fan Huo's expression didn't change. He simply put his sunglasses back on.

The guide was right.

Outside the War Card existed Marranna's Magic Energy Runes, which he could not pass through, a thing that would require a great deal of time to unravel and break down.

And within, there was also a Space Transfer Spell Formation.

If he truly wished to seize the War Card, the result lined up with that guide's assertion.

He had also tested leaving the mark of War on it.

But the runes blocked the outside of his mark, preventing it from affixing to the War Card.

"Your Mayor, Werner... Heinz, what does he exactly want me to do?"

The guide's smile brightened even more, again using that extreme, blissful tone of voice:

"We, want to make you happy."

Fan Huo's pupils shrank. The War Cards that numbered nine at one recent time appeared at once, but even so, they came too late.

A large amount of pale pink aura pressed in on him from all directions.

Fan Huo's Warning Module screamed alarms without reserve.

Countless war machines surged out of his body.

But to no avail.

In the museum, the sound of a broadcast played.

【Peace · Unfold】

【Oppose War】

【Deny War】

【This is our Utopia. All conflicts will be erased】

Countless voices echoed from every corner of the city.

Fan Huo only felt his own strength being continuously suppressed! As though he had wandered into the territory of an opposing existence, mutually countering him, down to his very core.

"Damn it!"

Fan Huo's Spirit and Stamina were completely sealed. In the moment before slipping completely unconscious, he saw that female guide pull away her face, revealing underneath it the features of a man.

"Werner... Heinz...!"

"Mr. Fan Huo, you top-tier Train Conductors who hold Card Sequences really are far too daring~ To come into this place with no concern at all, hehe. But don't worry, you will be happy."