Chapter 179 - 178: The Missing Driver

Chapter 179: Chapter 178: The Missing Driver

Standing before the Metal table piled high with a green glow, Gu Su was momentarily dazzled.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to carefully inspect the Attributes of the items one by one.

Lu Chen wasn’t in a hurry. He just leaned against the side of the car with a cigarette dangling from his lips, occasionally exhaling a puff of smoke. His gaze shifted back and forth between Gu Su and the Graveyard Demon.

The items on the table were sorted by category and arranged neatly.

There were weapons and Armor for a player’s personal use.

Swords, Long Spears, Leather Armor, and chainmail—each piece gave off a faint green glow, with Attributes that were more than a notch above the tattered set Gu Su was wearing.

There were defensive armaments for the Mobile City: cannon barrels, ballistae, reinforcing plates, and even a few crystal pillars that looked like some kind of Energy Core.

There were supplies for his Undead subordinates: bundles of bone spears, neatly stacked Undead Armor, and Skill Stones in boxes that could allow a normal Undead to instantly learn a combat technique.

There was also a thick stack of architectural designs and blueprints. The edges of the papers were slightly curled, the lines and symbols on them faintly visible under the green light.

But what excited Gu Su the most were the few Skill Books in the corner. These items, which allowed a player to directly learn new Skills, were more precious than any piece of equipment.

All of them were Green Quality.

But precisely because all the supplies were a practical Green Quality, the more Gu Su looked, the more tempted he became. His gaze lingered on each item, and for a moment, he found it difficult to decide which one to prioritize.

Every item seemed like a necessity. He didn’t want to miss out on a single one.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen showed no sign of impatience. He simply leaned against the wall of the car, cigarette in his mouth, with smoke curling upwards. Arms crossed, he watched Gu Su’s struggle with great interest. When he saw Gu Su linger over an item for a long time, he would casually offer a few practical suggestions in a relaxed and cheerful tone.

Lu Chen frankly admitted that all these supplies were combat rewards issued by the DT-501 District. He was only responsible for their transportation and handover and didn’t know the specific origins or deeper uses of each item. Otherwise, he said, he could have given Gu Su a more detailed explanation to help him choose faster.

Faced with this situation, Gu Su wanted everything he saw. He wished he could just move the entire table back to the Graveyard Demon.

But he knew he was only allowed to pick two items, so he had to make a choice.

He looked up at Lu Chen, a helpless expression on his face.

Lu Chen exhaled a puff of smoke and chuckled. "What’s wrong? Can’t decide?"

"Yeah," Gu Su admitted honestly. "This is all great stuff. I want all of it."

"Hahahaha." Lu Chen burst out laughing, ash falling from his cigarette. "Totally normal. The players from the other sectors all said the same thing.

Let me tell you, for a newcomer like you, don’t worry about long-term planning. Just grab whatever you can use right now, whatever you need most urgently.

Taking something you can’t use right away—now *that* would be a real waste."

Gu Su nodded repeatedly as he listened.

What Lu Chen said made sense. Gu Su recalled the architectural designs he had bought from Zhi Xiang. At the time, he felt his choice was foolproof, but thinking back now, he realized he actually had better options.

’So, what do I need most urgently right now?’

’A weapon? The Plague Cutter I have is already Green Quality.’

’City defenses? The Oil Sprayer works pretty well, and the turrets are still holding up. That’s not my most pressing need right now.’

’Architectural designs? I don’t even have any empty space...’

’The only places I can even build are... the cockpit... wait a minute.’

He looked up at Lu Chen, his tone decisive. "I need a pilot."

Lu Chen paused for a moment, then turned to look at the bizarrely styled Graveyard Demon in the distance.

He squinted, sizing it up, then turned back to Gu Su with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"That thing of yours... it can’t be easy to Control, can it?"

"’Not easy’ is an understatement." Gu Su couldn’t help but complain the moment the topic came up.

"Steering is extremely difficult to Control. I either overshoot or undershoot, and trying to make precise adjustments to the angle takes forever.

It can move straight or strafe just fine if I don’t turn, but what’s the use in that?

A Mobile City that can’t turn flexibly is no different from a sitting duck."

Lu Chen listened to his complaints, nodding thoughtfully. He then asked, "When you first got this Mobile City, it didn’t come with a pilot?

Or did no one teach you how to operate it?"

Gu Su gave a bitter smile. "As if."

He went ahead and briefly explained what had happened.

He explained how he had bought the Graveyard Demon, how he had discovered it was missing various parts, how he had undertaken repair missions, and how the Graveyard Demon had eventually upgraded itself by devouring things on its own.

Lu Chen smoked as he listened, occasionally nodding or furrowing his brow.

When Gu Su finished, Lu Chen suddenly spoke up. "Wait. You’re saying the first repair mission you got was to seal three Ghosts or Wandering Souls, and then install a mobile power system?"

Gu Su nodded.

"And later, because the powerful or special corpses you brought back were devoured by the Mobile City, it completed the repairs on its own?"

Gu Su nodded again.

Lu Chen threw his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it with his foot. Then he looked up at Gu Su, his voice tinged with certainty. "That’s it.

That’s where you went wrong."

Gu Su was taken aback. "Went wrong how?"

"Those three Ghosts or Wandering Souls were supposed to be the pilots rewarded to you by the mission."

Lu Chen pointed at Gu Su. "If you had completed the repair mission the normal way, they would have gained a piloting Talent through the mission’s mechanics upon its completion.

The kind of Talent that would, at the very least, let them operate your Mobile City.

But instead, you let the Graveyard Demon devour the corpses itself, skipping that part of the mission. So, naturally, the three pilots never appeared."

After hearing this, Gu Su stood frozen on the spot.

He had never imagined such an explanation was possible.

Thinking back carefully, that repair mission had indeed been strangely worded.

Seal three Ghosts or Wandering Souls. At the time, he thought he was supposed to use the Ghosts as materials. Who could have guessed they were actually the reward?

If he had known better, his only concern should have been finding a frame and the tires or tracks to support the Graveyard Demon.

But the situation back then didn’t give him time to think. The Graveyard Demon devoured the corpses, the mission completed instantly, and he thought he’d gotten a great deal. Who knew it had actually devoured the real reward.

He fell silent for a few seconds, silently making a mental note of this loss.

’I missed my chance, but now that I know what happened, I’ll just have to make up for it when I get another opportunity.’

He looked up at Lu Chen, his voice tinged with hope. "So... do you have any other pilots here?"

Lu Chen grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "As a matter of fact, I do..."

He turned and started walking toward the train, waving for Gu Su to follow. "Come with me. I’ve got something good to show you."