Chapter 202 Reputation System: Sudden Wealth and Sudden Poverty

In this faction selection, Chen Qing had one more option than the other survivors.

However, rights and obligations are equal.

This also means that Chen Qing can't rely on either side.

War is always cruel.

If she encounters either the red or blue side, and is not strong enough, she will be in great danger.

Even so, Chen Qing's choice is beyond question.

Chen Qing put down his tools and chose the gray square, which represented neutrality.

The page displays a dim gray virtual screen, and the activity content unfolds accordingly.

The large-scale event, Deep Blue War, has begun. Players are requested to quickly proceed to their respective faction islands to participate.

[Quests will be posted on the faction island. Completing quests will earn you kill points, which can be exchanged for rewards in the faction shop.]

Besides completing missions, kill points can also be obtained through the following methods: killing enemy faction creatures, capturing enemy islands, etc.

[Special Note: Survivors from the neutral faction should contact the Bounty Guild for details.]

In short, you'll have to go to the faction island to find out the details of the event and what the rewards are.

In addition to war activities, this system update also includes a reputation system.

Survivors' reputation is divided into three levels.

[Islands—coldness. On some islands, some people know or have heard of you, but they are indifferent to you.]

[Seas—Fear/Friendship/Hatred/...In some seas, many have heard of your name, and they have some different opinions of you.]

[Deep Blue—Fear/Worship/Hate/...The entire Deep Blue community has heard of you, and they have different opinions of you because of your actions.]

You can claim different reputation gift packs for each new level you unlock.

Chen Qing's reputation level is at level three, which is the highest level, but her reputation progress bar has not yet reached the maximum value.

Each reputation level has 1000 reputation points, and Chen Qing currently only has 172 points.

According to the system, there will be a mysterious reward when the reputation at level three reaches its maximum value.

It will probably take Chen Qing quite some time to find out what the mysterious reward is.

After claiming all three gift packs, Chen Qing opened them without much hesitation.

[Congratulations to survivor Chen Qing for receiving 1000 gold coins, ... one C-grade mechanical photosynthetic butterfly blueprint, one C-grade mechanical worm blueprint, one C-grade medical pod blueprint, and one B-grade mechanical biological scavenger.]

[Congratulations to survivor Chen Qing for obtaining 10,000 gold coins, ... one formula for the B-grade potion Biomimetic Agent UTA-17, and a B-grade mechanical bio-manufacturing body doctor.]

[Congratulations to survivor Chen Qing for obtaining 100,000 gold coins, ... a Grade B mechanical ant nest, a Grade A mechanical biological creation liquid metal enforcer, a supernatural ability overlay badge (one-time use item), a mind immunity hairpin (lasting one month), and a talent enhancement potion.]

Undoubtedly, the third-tier reputation gift pack contains the best and most abundant resources.

Especially liquid metal enforcers and talent-enhancing potions.

Chen Qing had already experienced the power of the A-grade machine firsthand. With such a machine by his side, Chen Qing was practically invincible.

The gift pack actually contained quite a lot of random items, such as a navigator's compass, plant seeds, and a swordsman's sword. I got a lot of things out of it.

Chen Qing only listened to what she cared about, leaving the rest—things she didn't need or weren't needed for the time being—to be handled by the Mechanical Heart.

The photosynthetic butterfly, the mechanical worm, the medical chamber, and the formula for that medicine can be put into production and use immediately.

The photosynthetic butterfly is a mechanical creation that can convert sunlight/moonlight into energy, which is very useful to Chen Qing and can save him money.

Mechanical worms are combat machines, cannon fodder, and can be sold to survivors.

Needless to say, the medical pod, together with the B-level fluid doctor and the water-covered healing butterfly, meant that Chen Qing's medical area could finally begin to operate.

The B-level fluid physician was named Dean by Chen Qing and, together with the Water Cover Therapy Butterfly, was in charge of the medical area.

Once the medical pods are produced, they can be sold to survivors.

The potion produced by that formula should be considered a kind of enhancement potion. After taking it, it can randomly transform into a higher-level non-human creature with the most suitable genes.

This can still be sold to survivors; Chen Qing is determined to fleece survivors.

Besides these, the remaining Cleaner and Anthill are also included. The Cleaner is a combat machine, but it can also be classified as a medical machine.

It is a humanoid machine, and its description includes the function of removing mechanical viruses.

As for the anthill, Mini Rabbit can finally be freed from its role as a laborer.

The titanium crystal flying ants in the mechanical ant nest are considered logistical support machines; they excel at tasks such as assembly, disassembly, and transportation.

As long as they are given blueprints, they are the best workers.

Chen Qing was finally freed from the tedious factory assembly work.

Moreover, these titanium crystal flying ants are different from the assistant bees; they have a complete colony structure, including queen ants, worker ants, and soldier ants...

Their nests are also intact.

Chen Qing immediately instructed Mechanical Heart to place the mechanical titanium crystal flying ant nests in a suitable location and to start them working immediately.

With a large number of machines put into operation, the factory began to run.

Before Chen Qing could even check the Scavenger and the Liquid Metal Enforcer, she received a ledger about the mechanical ship compiled by the Mechanical Heart.

All the ship's expenses were listed in detail, and the final conclusion was—a deficit.

And it's a huge deficit.

The ship itself was already a heavy burden for Chen Qing, and it had never been able to enter a virtuous cycle.

Now, there's another bunch of people who just eat and don't work, like the combat machines in the combat machine legion that Chen Qing has been supporting.

If everything were converted into goldfish, Chen Qing's daily income, when averaged out, would be 1,284 goldfish.

However, the ship requires an expenditure of 2,117 gold fish every day.

This was the estimate from the previous timeline by Mechanical Heart, not including the newly added Liquid Metal Enforcers, a major drain on resources.

The more advanced the machinery, the more money it requires. Unlike machinery factories or fishing teams, they don't generate positive returns after deducting expenses.

These combat machines are pure expenditures.

In addition, the mechanical supership is itself a huge machine, and its maintenance and operation require even more money.

"The photosynthetic butterfly I just got—"

Chen Qing looked at the ledger and asked calmly.

"A drop in the ocean."

The mechanical heart answered her coldly.

The Photosynthetic Butterfly is, after all, a Class C machine, and can only supply a limited amount of energy each day.

"I understand. Please recalculate the latest income and expenditure statement for me."

"Include all the blueprints of the production machinery on the ship that can be put into use, and make a preliminary estimate of future income and expenditure."

"Yes, Master."

Chen Qing's expression remained calm; things that could be solved with money were never a problem.

She lacks money, but she also has the ability to generate money.

This mechanical ship is a giant money printing machine, only its current banknote printing speed is a bit slow.

Since it's slow, we should find a way to improve it.

Chen Qing wasn't worried about that; compared to that, she was more troubled by the current assistant manager, Beehive.

She disassembled a small part of the beehive, but she had no clue what to do with it, and the materials inside were ones she had never seen before.

If we keep agonizing over this, I'm afraid we'll still make no progress.

Beehives are a product of our ancestors, and all the knowledge Chen Qingxue has learned is from modern civilization, making it difficult to apply.

Her gaze fell on the bottle of talent potion on the table.

[Talent Enhancement Potion (Special Item): After consumption, one talent will be randomly enhanced, with temporary side effects.]

Temporary side effects.

Acceptable.

Chen Qing opened the medicine bottle and drank it all in one gulp.

The cool liquid went down his throat, and Chen Qing did not feel any discomfort. After waiting for half an hour, there was still no reaction.

Chen Qing looked at the beehive again, but still couldn't figure it out.

It seems that the improvement wasn't in mechanical talent.

Further experiments are needed to determine the specific aspects involved.

Chen Qing opened his eyes and stood up. The smooth metallic surface of the honeycomb reflected Chen Qing's current appearance.

"?"

She has changed a lot.

Chen Qing had the Mechanical Heart deliver a mirror, and only then could she see her current appearance clearly.

She turned into a half-skeletal creature.

Half of her body remained the same, but the other half was just bones.

A green orb of light floated in the middle of one half of the bone.

Chen Qing tried to touch it, but his fingers passed through the sphere of light and he couldn't touch it.

Is this what they call side effects?

Chen Qing's current appearance is actually quite terrifying; the cross-section of flesh, blood vessels, and internal organs can be clearly seen.

Open your personal panel, and you'll see a negative buff: Curse.

The Evil Curse of the Half-Skeleton: You will become a half-skeleton for 444 hours.

During this period, you will be unable to eat and will suffer from hunger; any attempt to increase satiety will be ineffective for you.

Furthermore, once the act of feeding begins, the half-skeleton form will be prolonged until it is permanently fixed.

444 hours, which means less than twenty days.

Less than twenty days to gain the opportunity to improve one's talent is tolerable.

“Seal off all food on the ship, including medicine, and forbid me from having any chance to touch any food.”

"If I show any intention to eat, stop me immediately. Use any means necessary as long as it does not endanger my life."

"Let the liquid metal enforcement officers be in charge of this work."

The evil curse of the half-skull—Chen Qing suspected that this curse was not as simple as described on the panel.

If becoming a half-skull is merely an external change, then it shouldn't be considered a curse.

The Black Knife Pirates, killed by Chen Qing, were, to be precise, killed by a curse.

If it weren't for the curse of the ocean they carried, Chen Qing would have been killed in a single encounter.

It must be said that Chen Qing's decision was quite wise, and before long, she will be glad she made it.

However, she doesn't feel any discomfort yet.

The meal had just been delivered by Mechanical Heart before she opened the reputation gift pack, so Chen Qing could last for a while longer.

Chen Qing opened the chat channel. The national channel was already open, but no one had the right to speak yet; none of them were qualified.

However, Chen Qing did do it once.

She gets one speaking opportunity every day, which is a reward for her level three reputation.

Chen Qing had no intention of speaking at the moment and switched the channel to the remaining two channels.

All the survivors speaking up were marked with faction colors, and there was basically no useful information; it was all just insults and verbal abuse.

Almost no one spoke in Chen Qing's private channel. These people were quite restrained in their choice of faction, and probably hadn't made a decision yet.

Unbeknownst to her, many of the survivors in her private channel had gathered together, preparing to come to her and seek her advice.

Well, they generally trust Chen Qing.

She turned the tide in the last gem event, so they figured they would choose whichever side Chen Qing chose.

Who would have thought that Chen Qing wouldn't take sides? She remained neutral.

Survivors who have a third choice are extremely rare; you can count them on one hand.

Thanks to the additional advantages, Zhao Fuli also has a third option. Although Zhao Fuli's strength is not great, as a member of the Demon Dragon Pirate Gang, she has a powerful backer and a reputation.

Zhao Fuli's reputation level has also reached the second level, which is quite good.

At this moment, Zhao Fuli was in her bedroom, looking at the contents of the reputation gift pack and crying loudly.

Prestige packages are biased.

Chen Qing checked the chat channel and found nothing important, so he stopped looking.

She planned to go to the Bounty Hunter Guild to check things out.

However, she doesn't look like she should be in public right now.

The Half-Skull Curse is a curse, and although Chen Qing doesn't know the specifics, those outside might.

It could very well become Chen Qing's weakness.

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then took out an exoskeleton suit from the warehouse and put it on.

This is something that came out of a mechanical slot machine; it's only level D, but it's perfect for her current disguise.

Even if others see it and find it strange, you can still cover it up.

After visiting the Bounty Guild, Chen Qing planned to return to seclusion and wait until the curse period was over before leaving the ship.

As they disembarked, the pirate ships beside the dock remained; the bets they had lost to Chen Qing yesterday had already been delivered to the ships.

Haibo Qiluo and Lan Gui were pressured into paying the ransom together and were now full of ambition to get it back from Chen Qing. The two of them had no intention of leaving.

Unless you turn the tables.

Or perhaps there are more important things to do.

However, they wouldn't stay long. The fact that these four major pirate groups were gathered together and staying for an extended period of time clearly indicated that they were planning something big, and other forces wouldn't just stand by and watch.

Besides, the Mechanical Engineering Association is keeping an eye on them.

As Chen Qing disembarked and was about to enter the Bounty Guild, he suddenly heard a terrifying scream erupting from the Demon Dragon Pirates.

It was added on top.

Immediately afterwards, a figure escaped from the ship of the Demon Dragon Pirates.

"?"