Having too many Magic Crystals was useless, but having too few was a problem.
After buying the mechanical workbench, Feng Hao only had a little over two hundred million left. Never mind other expenses, that wasn’t even enough to support his cultivation.
After all, his genetic activity was too low. Now that he had advanced to the third rank, he needed a large amount of Level 3 Magic Crystals to assist him, or else he would never be able to keep up with the other Mages.
And that was just for the third rank. Once he reached the fourth, the Magic Crystal consumption would become even more terrifying. A single Level 4 Magic Crystal cost one hundred million. Although it would last a long time, it couldn’t sustain a consumption rate of one hundred million every few days.
In short, the most urgent priority right now was to make money, make money, and make more money!
’Maybe I can refine some medicinal pills to sell?’ Feng Hao pondered for a moment before quickly shaking his head. ’No, Five States City isn’t like Rongcheng. The Mages who come and go are a mixed bag. If my skill level is too high, it will definitely attract trouble.’
’If I only sell ordinary pills, I won’t make much money, and I’ll have to tend the shop all the time.’ Feng Hao racked his brain, his gaze falling on the Space Bracelet on his wrist. ’Huh? Why not try making some fun little gadgets?’
At this thought, Feng Hao quickly grew excited. Although he was just a beginner in mechanics, he could still manage to make a few small trinkets.
Speaking of which, ever since coming to the Mage World, many of the leisure activities from Earth were gone. Thinking back, he actually missed them a little.
’Let’s do it. First, I’ll whip up a portable music player. How can I fight without any BGM?’
He was used to the background music that was everywhere in games; fighting without it always felt like something was missing.
Having set his goal, Feng Hao didn’t hesitate. He casually closed the shop doors and began his research with great fanfare.
He had to admit, the high-end mechanical workbench was definitely worth the price. Although it was a bit big, it came equipped with all the common tools and processing equipment, and it felt pretty good to operate.
’Damn, I only have one piece of Level 4 Refined Iron. Whatever, I’ll make do with it for now. I have to go to Old Sun’s place this afternoon anyway, so I can stop by the Thief God Hall and exchange for some metal on the way.’
Feng Hao fumbled around for a while before realizing he had no metal materials, so he had to make do with the Level 4 Refined Iron.
Using the knowledge he’d learned from "Magic Energy Mechanism Theory," his work actually started to look quite impressive. Well, black tech was black tech; making a portable music player was still a simple task.
’Hot damn, a high-end workbench really is different. It cuts through Level 4 Refined Iron like a knife through tofu.’
The more he fiddled with it, the more interesting it became. Soon, Feng Hao was completely immersed in the ocean of mechanics, unable to pull himself away...
But dreams are beautiful, and reality is harsh.
He tinkered all morning but couldn’t even produce the most basic Magic Energy Circuit Board. Instead, he had managed to waste the entire piece of Level 4 Refined Iron.
"’No wonder they say getting into mechanics burns through money. A normal person can’t afford this shit at all!’" Feng Hao’s expression was pained as he looked at the Refined Iron scraps on the workbench. "’Forget it. I’ll go to Old Sun’s place first and deal with this when I get back.’"
With that, he waved his hand and stored the workbench in his Spatial Ring. As for that Space Bracelet, it was basically useless.
He drove his *Mánsa* all the way to Sun Yaowen’s laboratory to continue studying the extraterrestrial demon beast corpses.
...
And so the days passed. He would tinker with mechanics in the morning, research extraterrestrial demon beasts with Sun Yaowen in the afternoon, and cultivate at night. His life was incredibly full.
Until the morning of the fifth day, when Feng Hao pushed open the shop door as usual, his peaceful life was once again shattered.
Yao Ying was standing outside, her face filled with venomous resentment. Behind her was a large group of young experts, who all looked to be her pursuers. Among them were a few familiar faces.
’Well, here comes trouble.’ Feng Hao gave a wry smile and calmly walked forward to meet them. "What’s this? Here to trash my place?"
"You bastard! Today is the day you die." Yao Ying glared at him, grinding her silver teeth, then turned to her crowd of pursuers. "Whoever beats him to a pulp today, I’ll be his girlfriend! What are you all standing around for? Get him!"
The moment they saw Feng Hao, many of them began to shrink back. They couldn’t help it; Feng Hao had quite a reputation at the Five Provinces Academy.
"Didn’t you say we were just teaching some punk a lesson? How did it turn out to be Feng Hao?" a few of the pursuers muttered, dark lines forming on their foreheads.
Yao Ying gritted her teeth and snapped, "What are you afraid of? Are you men or not?"
"Even Xu Long and Yun Jiansong were no match for him. There’s no way I can win. I’m out."
In just a few moments, more than half of the originally mighty army of pursuers had scattered. The ones who remained were basically all experts ranked in the top fifty of the Crystal Stele, with strengths at the fourth rank or higher.
Yao Ying was so angry she could have died. To get her revenge, she had sacrificed countless flirtations over the past few days, only to attract a bunch of cowards.
Feng Hao was equally dumbfounded. He had expected a bloody battle, but more than half of them had been scared off before the fight even started. ’Damn,’ he thought, ’have I already acquired the legendary aura of a king?’
"Dongfang Qi, haven’t you been pursuing me? If you beat him to a pulp, I’ll go to a hotel with you right now!" Yao Ying’s mind was clouded by hatred, and she had completely lost her usual seductive and charming demeanor.
"Ahem." Dongfang Qi gave an awkward laugh and quickly walked over to Feng Hao’s side. "Sorry, I’d have no problem beating up anyone else, but I’ll have to pass on Feng Hao."
"What do you mean? You can’t beat him either?" Yao Ying’s face turned ashen. She looked like she was about to explode with rage.
"Can’t be helped. This kid is from my hometown, and he even has some ties with my old man," Dongfang Qi said sheepishly.
Feng Hao glanced at Dongfang Qi in astonishment, feeling a sense of warmth. It seemed that old fellow Dongfang Wuji was quite loyal to his friends after all.
Yao Ying’s expression twisted instantly. She gritted her teeth and looked toward another slender young man. Before she could even speak, he too walked over to Feng Hao’s side with an embarrassed look and a shy smile. "You know that Dongfang Qi and I are from the same place. Naturally, Feng Hao is from my hometown too. So... let’s just forget about this, shall we? Otherwise, my old man will definitely have my hide."
"You...!" Yao Ying was completely floored by anger. When she looked behind her again, her remaining pursuers had already vanished without a trace.
It was a joke. Even Dongfang Qi and Nanyuan Xu were standing with Feng Hao. How were they supposed to fight? It was better to leave early than to stand around in embarrassment.
Just then, Feng Hao rubbed his nose and made his grand entrance. "Oh, my apologies. I heard you were here to trash my place? My feet just happen to be feeling a bit itchy. How about we spar a little?"
"You! You! You!" Yao Ying’s face contorted with rage. She let out an indignant shriek and fled in disgrace.
After Yao Ying left, Feng Hao turned his gaze to Dongfang Qi and the other young man. He recognized Dongfang Qi, so the other one must be Nanyuan Xu.
"Haha, thank you both for your help. I’m truly grateful," Feng Hao said with a light laugh.
But Dongfang Qi just pouted and said, "I wouldn’t dare accept your thanks. My old man told me I should call you ’Uncle.’"
"Yeah, my old man said the same thing," Nanyuan Xu added.
Feng Hao laughed awkwardly. "Don’t mind them. We can have our own seniority. You two are older than me, so it’s fine for us to call each other brothers."
"Now that’s more like it." Dongfang Qi was immediately satisfied.
Nanyuan Xu nodded and chuckled. "Well? Aren’t you going to invite us in for a look?"
"Ah, my mistake. Please, come on in, both of you. Let’s skip the pleasantries and have a few drinks first." Feng Hao laughed as if suddenly realizing, then pulled the two of them into the pharmacy.