As Bai Yi entered the store, a lingering sense of unease gnawed at him. He turned around and immediately caught sight of Irene's resentful glare.
Ignoring her gaze, Bai Yi walked past the counter to the right, where another metal door stood. This door led to his laboratory, which was far more advanced than the assembly line he had seen earlier.
"Erin, if Mr. Quartermaster brings anything in, take him to see Mr. Orr," he instructed, not sparing Irene another glance.
With that, Bai Yi opened the door and stepped into the corridor.
The passage to the right was much shorter than the one to the left, with another metal door just five meters away. After checking the security mechanism to ensure it was intact, Bai Yi inserted a key and unlocked the door.
Inside, the room was enormous—about 400 square meters, as large as three of the smaller workshops combined. This lab had been granted to him by the Lord of Dongwu City after Bai Yi developed the energy Barrett. In exchange, he had helped the city enhance its weaponry, a trade that ultimately proved advantageous for both sides.
Such a large, well-located facility in the city center, near the city lord's estate, was a rare and invaluable asset—one that couldn't be bought, no matter how much money you had.
The lab was filled with an array of metal equipment, test tubes, and several large boxes. Occasional flashes of golden light glimmered from the gaps between the boxes. One of the boxes even contained a familiar shield, which was tied to a small transmission device at the cash register outside. Through it, Bai Yi could transfer both money and equipment directly into these boxes.
Upon checking, he found that there were over five thousand gold coins in total.
In the Dawn Federation, gold coins were extremely valuable, as they could be exchanged for federation contribution points. One gold coin equaled one contribution point, and these points could be traded for extraordinary knowledge and items.
It was this system that ensured civilians, despite having enough food, could still find themselves starving if they didn't work. For extraordinary individuals, civilians were often a resource—helping them accumulate wealth.
Bai Yi picked up a badge with a screen from one of the shelves. It was identical to the ones he had taken from the two assassins. Checking its contribution points, he saw [18589] listed, and proceeded to transfer the points from the other two badges onto his own. His current total now read [20534].
With these five thousand gold coins added to his haul from the recent loot, his total was quickly approaching thirty-five thousand gold coins.
Bai Yi's next step was to buy a set of alchemical knowledge. While that wouldn't be enough to purchase an entire branch of alchemical science, it would allow him to begin exploring either energy or material science.
Once he gathered more resources, money would no longer be an issue.
Among all the professions, wizards were the poorest, followed closely by alchemists. However, this only highlighted the fact that both professions were major spenders. A single gold-level magic scroll could cost at least 100,000 gold coins, and even then, there was still a shortage of them on the market.
Spending and making money in these fields were not contradictory—they were the way of life. If wizards and alchemists had bank accounts that displayed their balances, the numbers would only keep growing higher.
Putting the badge aside, Bai Yi retrieved a collection of small instruments from the hem of his windbreaker. He walked toward a machine, donned a silver metal monocle, and his expression shifted into a deep focus.
When an alchemist progresses from upper bronze to lower silver, a special form of silver energy begins to form in their magic power. This energy is distinct from ordinary magic power and signifies that the alchemist is now able to engrave silver alchemical inscriptions.
Without this special energy, an alchemist could only craft basic technology and couldn't enchant it. Unenchanted technology was easy to bypass and ineffective against stronger enemies. For a bronze-level alchemist to create silver-level equipment, they would need to pay a hefty price—either exchanging for the energy at the Federation or other costly means.
Bai Yi, aware of the value of gold coins, had only one silver-level random teleportation scroll in his possession—an emergency item worth 10,000 gold coins. Therefore, upgrading his equipment was a top priority.
He carefully controlled the machine and upgraded a small ball designed to erase traces in the snow. A system prompt immediately followed:
**[You upgraded your bronze equipment to silver: gained +500 experience points.]**
**[You created silver-level equipment: Honeycomb, gained +500 distributable experience points.]**
**[You upgraded the Honeycomb; Alchemy Technology proficiency +10, Skill Point +1.]**
**[You created equipment for the first time after obtaining the boss panel. The game identification function has been enabled.]**
**[Identification: You can view the attributes of equipment that is at most one level higher than the boss.]**
Bai Yi smiled, the game interface feeling increasingly familiar. As long as there were experience points to earn, there was no need to worry.
He stood up and, after thinking for a moment, picked up some metal fragments and powdered materials from the corner of the room. Returning to his workstation, he fell into a concentrated state once more.
After carefully carving alchemical inscriptions, a metal sphere quickly took shape in his hands. The system chimed in again:
**[You created a bronze-level item: Flame Bomb, gained +10 experience points.]**
**[You created a bronze-level item: Flame Bomb; Alchemy Technology proficiency +1.]**
Bai Yi paused for a moment. As expected, the experience gained from creating lower-level items was significantly less, but this was still a valuable source of progress.
For an alchemist, continual knowledge absorption and refinement of magic power were essential for overcoming the bottlenecks that would eventually lead to advancement.
While some bronze alchemists might possess more profound knowledge than gold alchemists, they were still unable to transform their internal magic power—a talent issue that few could overcome.
Knowledge-based professions like alchemy required 99% hard work and only 1% talent. The real breakthrough came when a sufficient amount of experience points was accumulated, allowing the alchemist to level up and eventually advance.
Bai Yi's eyes shifted toward his skill points, and a new realization dawned on him.
He glanced at the **[Intermediate Alchemy Technology (2375/5000) (Expand)]** entry on his personal panel. The word **"Expand"** caught his attention.
With a flick, the panel shifted, revealing two new options.
- **[Energy] (Expand)**
- **[Matter] (Expand)**
After a moment of consideration, Bai Yi selected **Energy**.
Instantly, a list of options appeared, filled with various choices.
- **[Liquid Bomb-350/500]** +
- **[Small Energy Core-98/500]** +
- **[Electric Energy Conversion-11/500]** +
- **[Solar Energy Collection Core-30/500]** +
- **[High Explosive Energy-500/500]**
With his sights set on the future, Bai Yi knew this was just the beginning. The road to power was long, but every step forward brought him closer to his goals.