Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 1861: Cruel Start (2)

Within the tent, over a dozen pieces of gear radiated a striking purple glow.

Truth be told, in the vast array of cosmic races, purple gear ranked just below the legendary seven-colored variety as top-tier. Yet, for most lesser races beyond the dominant ones, handing out many purple-level items to fresh recruits was rare indeed.

Even across the universe's many races, such gear remained scarce treasures.

Back on Earth, Ye Zhongming's skill in forging purple equipment was common knowledge. Ji Ruiguang was aware that Chief Commander Mu possessed no fewer than two such pieces crafted by him. Whispers even spread through the national zone about how, come next year, the Female Guard might boast full purple gear, making them unbeatable worldwide.

Ji Ruiguang had dismissed those tales at first. Sure, Ye Zhongming could make purple gear, but hitting a ten percent success rate would be a feat. Outfitting hundreds in the Female Guard would demand at least three thousand pieces—imagine the time sink! Plus, the raw materials alone could drain Cloud Peak dry.

Now, though, staring at this purple haul, he began to think it might just happen.

Ye Zhongming, for his part, found no thrill in the sight.

All these purple items served mostly as flashy displays.

In his grasp, they truly shone with that purple hue, yet at their core, they only hit purple standards in raw defense or attack stats, lacking any real added skills. Sure, a few special effects might pop up, but that hardly made up for missing solid abilities.

Ye Zhongming resolved that, once free of this place, he'd dig deep into how those cosmic races built their equipment.

Following their earlier deal, Ye Zhongming handed Ji Ruiguang six purple gear pieces, twenty more at about golden level, and fifty healing salves whipped up by He.

Ji Ruiguang forked over six hundred points in exchange.

Against going rates, that shaved off a solid two hundred points at minimum.

Gripping the goods and a detailed list, Ji Ruiguang gave Ye Zhongming a nod and departed.

Right after his exit, Helsky stepped inside.

"Captain, I've lined up three candidates."

Helsky had actually shown up sooner but spotted Ji Ruiguang inside, so he hung back at a distance, only approaching once the man was gone.

"Three folks: a tough shield fighter from the Fengkan Race, an archer from the Six-Eye Race, and an aura battler from the Cijin Race."

Ye Zhongming mulled over those race names, piecing together the basics.

The Fengkan Race stood out for churning out fierce close-combat experts, especially ax wielders and shield guardians famed for their attack and defense prowess. Their natural gifts let them fuse body and blade to unleash devastating might.

The Six-Eye Race's archer didn't carry the same renown as Fengkan melee pros, merely one among bow-savvy groups clinging to ancient shooting ways amid a fading era.

What caught Ye Zhongming off guard was Helsky pulling in an aura fighter from the Cijin Race—a standout support group across the cosmos. They held their own in battle while shining at unleashing aura techniques packed with buffs, temporarily boosting allies with those extra edges.

A fighter like that ought to join some elite crew, so why pick a squad barely hitting ten strong?

Helsky ushered the trio forward. Ye Zhongming eyed the Fengkan shield warrior's massive build. Next to him, the Cloud Peak King seemed like a dainty 160cm lady beside the towering Shaquille O'Neal. Bald-headed with wide eyes, the warrior donned bulky armor and hauled a shield nearly matching his own height and breadth. Just slamming it down could crater the ground twice over.

The remaining pair threw Ye Zhongming for a loop since both were female beings.

The Six-Eye Race woman strayed far from human beauty ideals, sporting six eyes across her face and four arms up top, dual-wielding bows—one slim, one beefy. Ye Zhongming peered closer: the light bow appeared forged from animal bones and sinews, firing bone-tipped shafts, whereas the heavy one was all machine, loaded with steel bolts. The first looked refined and petite, the second bulky and robust. Even the arrows varied wildly in girth, like a kid's limb, giving her arms an odd, mismatched look.

Ye Zhongming shook his head inside; it struck him as pretty off-putting.

The Cijin aura fighter, by contrast, passed for almost human, if solidly built—like Brienne out of Game of Thrones—with a single-hand sword, round shield, and light plating, coming off as a solid combatant.

Having trailed Helsky here, the three already grasped the squad's setup. Ye Zhongming skipped the long talk, starting by passing each a fourth-turn pill and breaking down its perks—skipping the fresh faces, naturally. Next, he doled out complete gear sets and five healing salves apiece, all gratis, once more leaving out the newbies.

The recruits couldn't hide their envy over these perks.

Out in the wild, they might shrug it off, but in this grind, gear and weapons wore out fast. Sure, they could fix or buy replacements with points, but quality often lagged behind Ye Zhongming's handmade stuff.

"Boss, the crew outside is all geared up and waiting."

Jie Kui had shifted from calling Ye Zhongming Boss Ye to plain Boss—that single tweak signaling true respect.

Ye Zhongming shot a look at He and declared, "Time to kick things off."

With that, the trading of pills and gear kicked into gear.

Word had leaked out ahead of time, drawing folks with genuine needs. As the third cycle loomed, these supplies screamed urgency. Ye Zhongming and He's prices stayed fair, too, so in no time flat, the stock vanished. A few unlucky ones missed out and dashed to shops for backups, while booking slots with Ye Zhongming's group to snag reserves post-next cycle.

Scenes like that hit the three newbies hard, no surprise. Once they caught the other members' names, checking leaderboards for ranks and points came easy. Any lingering hesitations melted away on the spot.

What else could they do? Check Ye Zhongming's standings: over 2,100 points, seventh place! He trailed right behind at 2,001, eighth spot. Jie Kui and the rest had sunk 'investments' into plays, and even as most saw point totals dip from heavy spending, their positions climbed. Rankings and scores didn't match Ye Zhongming and He's wild heights, but they all cracked the top 500.

No doubt about it—the squad had built a rock-solid base for what lay ahead.

"Boss, where we heading this round?" Jie Kui chafed his palms, itching for the next clash.

Ye Zhongming ignored the question, tilting his gaze skyward where Zizikaba had climbed anew.

"Okay, rookies, pipe down. I'm about to reveal the fresh rules for this third mini-cycle."