Chapter Seven: Strengthening the Skyward Vessel’s Components (Seeking Continued Reading)

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Withdrawing his gaze from the attribute panel of the Fire Sunflower Soldier Figurine tree component before him, Song Chi began tallying the funds he currently possessed. Aside from the 1,000 strands of zero-level floating land essence provided by his parents, he also had 2.4 million credit points in his account. According to the official exchange rate of the Morning Star Principality, 10,000 credit points could be exchanged for one strand of zero-level floating land essence. This meant that, all told, he had about 1,240 strands of zero-level floating land essence in hand.

Out of these 1,240 strands, at least 500 had to be reserved for purchasing medical supplies, basic nanobot repair kits, the Furious Tiger Model 1 floating land mining vehicle, specialized exploration devices for the mining vehicle, and so forth. That left him with roughly 700 strands to enhance his Psychic Energy Flyer.

There was no hesitation in choosing the first component to upgrade: the Psychic Energy Shield. Once activated, it could form an energy shield around the surface of the Psychic Energy Flyer, serving as the primary defense mechanism of a Phoenix Firefly-class vessel.

For Song Chi, who had access to the Vast Celestial Marketplace, steady cultivation would allow him to continuously elevate his own life tier. Thus, preserving life was naturally paramount when exploring alien star domains.

However, enhancing this component required not only floating land essence and psychic energy points but also items called Life Cores.

Song Chi was well acquainted with such items. In the vast shattered star sea, most star-sea life forms leave behind a special crystal upon death. This crystal contains the essence of most of the energy absorbed throughout the life of the being—this was the Life Core.

In fact, Life Cores were considered a universal special resource, incorporated into the common currency systems of many star-sea civilizations. The Phoenix Firefly human civilization was no exception. Larger trade guilds or family enterprises could freely use and exchange Life Cores, as well as other commonly used enhancement materials like refined iron and floating land essence.

After greeting his parents on the first floor, Song Chi set out again, heading to the Dongjiang Phoenix Market not far from Dongjiang Residential District. This was just one of many Phoenix Markets in Jiangyuan City, where the number of merchants was limited. Yet for someone like Song Chi, newly awakened as a Phoenix Firefly captain, it was more than sufficient.

Spending a dozen minutes comparing prices, he secured the necessary Life Cores. Rather than heading home immediately, he summoned the Psychic Energy Flyer in the market’s designated enhancement zone and began its first enhancement.

[Confirm spending {1 strand zero-level floating land essence + 100 psychic energy points + 5 Life Cores} to upgrade the Psychic Energy Shield component from level 0 to level 1?]

“Confirm!”

[Confirm spending {3 strands zero-level floating land essence + 200 psychic energy points + 6 Life Cores} to upgrade the Psychic Energy Shield component from level 1 to level 2?]

...

After four consecutive upgrades, Song Chi brought the Psychic Energy Shield component to level 4. It wasn’t that he didn’t intend to continue; rather, the 1,000 psychic energy points stored in the psychic energy pool of the Psychic Energy Engine had been fully depleted and needed time to recharge.

Fortunately, the recharge rate was not slow. With only the Psychic Energy Engine active, it could store 9 points per second, filling up in less than two minutes.

Two minutes later, Song Chi resumed the enhancement.

Ultimately, he elevated the Psychic Energy Shield to level 7, spending a total of 59 strands of zero-level floating land essence, 56 zero-level Life Cores, and 2,800 psychic energy points.

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Of the 59 strands of zero-level floating land essence, 49 were used for enhancement, while the remaining 10 were spent acquiring 100 zero-level Life Cores.

The level 7 Psychic Energy Shield indeed showed considerable improvement.

Psychic Energy Shield Lv7
Quality: Colorless
Consumption: 10/s (psychic energy points)
Protection: 18
Shield Value: 180/180
Charge Time: 23 seconds; Overload Buffer: 46 minutes
Upgrade Requirements: 15 strands zero-level floating land essence, 800 psychic energy points, 12 zero-level Life Cores

Despite enhancing the Psychic Energy Shield, Song Chi remained uneasy. As a traveler from another world, the profound value he placed on survival was deeply ingrained in his very being. Thus, he began upgrading the hull armor immediately afterward.

Though its defense was not as strong as the Psychic Energy Shield, the hull armor was nonetheless a crucial layer of defense for a Phoenix Firefly vessel, and he was not about to overlook it.

After several minutes, the hull armor was also enhanced to level 7.

However, this component required refined iron, a special mineral resource, for each upgrade. Reaching level 7 consumed a total of 28 tons of refined iron, each ton priced at one strand of zero-level floating land essence.

In total, upgrading the hull armor cost 77 strands of floating land essence.

Hull Armor Lv7
Quality: Colorless
Consumption: 3/s (psychic energy points)
Protection: 18
Upgrade Requirements: 15 strands zero-level floating land essence, 800 psychic energy points, 8 tons refined iron

...

With both the Psychic Energy Shield and hull armor upgraded to level 7, their activation energy consumption surged, exceeding the normal output of the Psychic Energy Engine. Therefore, to maintain the Psychic Energy Shield continuously in unknown star domains, the engine itself needed enhancement.

[Confirm spending {1 strand zero-level floating land essence + 100 psychic energy points + 5 Life Cores} to upgrade the Psychic Energy Engine component from level 0 to level 1?]

“Confirm!”

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After four consecutive upgrades, Song Chi had only 9 zero-level Life Cores left, insufficient for a fifth upgrade. He had to spend another 20 strands of zero-level floating land essence to purchase 200 Life Cores.

Finally, he also enhanced the Psychic Energy Engine to level 7, spending resources identical to those used for the Psychic Energy Shield. The remaining 188 zero-level Life Cores were stored inside the flyer for future use.

Observing the engine’s attributes, it too had improved significantly.

Psychic Energy Engine Lv7
Quality: Colorless
Consumption: 4/s (psychic energy points)
Power Supply: 24/s (psychic energy points)
Overload Buffer: 23 minutes
Psychic Energy Pool: 1,700 points (capacity to store 1,700 psychic energy points)
Upgrade Requirements: 15 strands zero-level floating land essence, 800 psychic energy points, 12 zero-level Life Cores

Next in line was the Psychic Energy Main Cannon. Although part of a welfare distribution, alien star-sea creatures were ubiquitous, and it was uncertain that welfare gear wouldn’t encounter danger. Thus, enhancing the flyer’s firepower was necessary.

Enhancing the Psychic Energy Main Cannon required no Life Cores. Song Chi upgraded it to level 5, spending a total of 25 strands of zero-level floating land essence and 1,500 psychic energy points.

Its detailed post-upgrade attributes were as follows:

Psychic Energy Main Cannon Lv5
Quality: Colorless
Consumption: 20 per shot (psychic energy points)
Power: 16
Charge Time: 4 seconds; Buffer Time: 8 seconds
Upgrade Requirements: 11 strands zero-level floating land essence, 600 psychic energy points

It was clear that the enhanced main cannon gained considerable power, and its charge and buffer times were both reduced. Overall, the improvements were quite significant.