Technology Tree

After Ke Ning moved in, Ye Chuan discovered that his phone had gained a new function.

In the adventure interface, a new world appeared—

[New Era]

With too many accessible worlds at the moment, Ye Chuan didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, he hadn’t even visited Lilith’s Aiser Continent yet.

There were too many places to explore, so for now, Ye Chuan decided to focus on the Tianxuan Continent.

Moreover, once Bai Qianshuang’s strength improved, he could take the girl with him for revenge.

By then, with their affection maxed out, the main quest would finally be completed.

The only regret was that the app didn’t have any affection quests related to Luo Xi.

Otherwise, starting with max affection would’ve meant instant rewards galore.

Among the newly unlocked features, the one Ye Chuan valued most was something called the "Tech Tree."

"Tech Tree?" The phone’s interface displayed a massive tech tree with countless branches, each extending into various technologies.

"Hiss… I don’t get it."

Ye Chuan realized that many of the options were completely incomprehensible—quantum this, equipment that—without even a single explanation. They were just grayed-out terms, with some even marked as question marks.

And without exception, unlocking any part of the tech tree required something called "Crystal Cores."

"Crystal Cores?" After studying it for a while, Ye Chuan still couldn’t figure out how to obtain them.

The first layer of the tech tree unlocked a series of buffs—things like increased sanity recovery speed, enhanced firearm damage, and other boosts.

But the second layer introduced more interesting items.

[Transformation Belt

Allows the user to undergo an armored transformation. The armor’s capabilities depend on manufacturing quality.]

"Now this is mechanical ascension." Ye Chuan realized that the abilities Ke Ning had unlocked for him were far more powerful than he’d imagined. He even spotted weapons like the "dimensional foil" in there.

However, unlocking them seemed quite difficult.

"These Crystal Cores… Do I have to go to Ke Ning’s world to get them?" After pondering for a moment, Ye Chuan decided it might be more efficient to just ask Ke Ning directly.

After all, she was a scientist—why not just clarify his doubts with her?

Ye Chuan walked to Ke Ning’s room and knocked. The door soon opened—

Ke Ning appeared before him, still dressed in her usual attire—a white lab coat and glasses, with dark circles under her eyes giving her a half-dead look.

"What is it?" Ke Ning asked.

Ye Chuan got straight to the point. "Do you know what Crystal Cores are?"

"Crystal Cores?" Ke Ning thought for a second. "You mean polymer thermal fluctuations forming crystalline nuclei?"

"Probably not that." Seeing that Ke Ning didn’t seem to know, Ye Chuan dropped the topic. But out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of flame. Upon closer inspection—

The large desk he’d prepared for her was now cluttered with equipment, including a beaker boiling coffee.

"That’s… a lot of stuff." Ye Chuan hesitated.

Ke Ning noticed his gaze. "Want a cup?"

"Does boiling it like that make it taste better?" Ye Chuan asked.

"Of course not. I just forgot to bring a cup." Ke Ning sighed, rubbing her temples. "I crossed over in too much of a hurry and didn’t pack any in my dimensional storage."

Ye Chuan: "…"

"Never mind."

"Wait." Ke Ning stopped him.

"What?"

"I heard monsters emerge from rifts in your world. If possible, could I observe one up close? The rift too, ideally."

"Observe one? What for?" Ye Chuan asked.

"Just to collect data on the monsters and rifts. It’ll help me analyze the situation."

Hearing this, Ye Chuan immediately agreed—after all, he was also curious about the origins of the rifts.

"But there aren’t any rifts in the city. If you’re fine with it, I can take you to one nearby."

"Thank you for your help." Ke Ning said.

"No problem."

After learning Ke Ning wanted rift data, Ye Chuan immediately called Wang Yanran.

Upon hearing Ye Chuan needed a rift location, Wang Yanran quickly found a suitable spot. "There’s a rift in the Phoenix Mountain area with monsters roaming around. Neither the military nor the Alliance has sent anyone to deal with it yet."

"Phoenix Mountain? That’s only a few dozen kilometers away."

"Right."

"Come pick me up."

"Got it."

Soon, Wang Yanran arrived to drive them. Though she could’ve sent someone else, she’d fully embraced her role as Ye Chuan’s personal chauffeur by now.

She also met Ke Ning for the first time.

"And this is…?" Wang Yanran asked curiously.

"A new tenant at my place," Ye Chuan introduced. "Ke Ning."

Then he gestured to Wang Yanran. "Wang Yanran."

"Hello."

"Ah, hi." Though Wang Yanran didn’t know Ke Ning’s relationship with Ye Chuan, the fact that she could stay with him suggested it wasn’t simple. After all, not just anyone could live in Ye Chuan’s house.

Not to mention, Wang Yanran was also intrigued by the floating metal block hovering near Ke Ning. How was that even possible?

Thinking about Ye Chuan’s house, Wang Yanran couldn’t help but wish she could move in too. She’d already grown fond of the rapid breakthroughs she experienced there.

"I see… A vehicle powered by light petroleum fuel. Quite an archaic method." Ke Ning examined the Maybach, her thoughtful expression leaving Wang Yanran baffled.

What did that mean?

"Something wrong?" Ye Chuan asked.

"No, nothing." Ke Ning snapped out of it and shook her head.

"What do you use for fuel in your world?"

"Strictly speaking, we don’t have the concept of ‘fuel.’" Ke Ning replied, then launched into an explanation that left both Ye Chuan and Wang Yanran utterly lost.

"Ahem, let’s just get going."

The few dozen kilometers passed quickly, and soon they arrived at Phoenix Mountain—

"Entry prohibited ahead." As they tried to drive further, a barricade blocked their path.

Wang Yanran immediately got out to negotiate with the personnel. Due to the uncleared rift ahead, the area had been sealed off for safety, awaiting military or Superhuman Alliance intervention.

"Ye Chuan, the road ahead is destroyed. We can’t drive any further."

Hearing this, Ye Chuan shrugged. "No problem. We’ll just walk the rest of the way."