Apocalypse: I Can See the HP Bar, Killing Monsters Drops Loot

"Whether it's enhancing the ammo capacity of the powered armor or getting a vehicle full of bullets, I think either works. Best if you have both, you're not short on resources anyway. But perhaps there's a method that could cover both bases..." Wang Tao spoke up. "What method!" Cheng Yiyi quickly turned to Wang Tao. She was merely asking out of a bit of unwillingness to accept her situation, but could Wang Tao really have a solution to this problem? "We can first test whether you can trigger your awakening ability when you are equipped with the Beetle Armor. If you can, then get yourself an Iron Beetle and have the research institute customize a weapon equipment system specifically for it. Then you'll have both firepower and mobility! Plus, the Iron Beetle is strong in melee combat, so you won't have to worry about being approached..." Hearing what Wang Tao said, Cheng Yiyi's expression flared with excitement, but quickly her small face fell, and she said somewhat helplessly: "To my knowledge, there are only two Iron Beetles in the whole base, which people wouldn't sell for any amount of money, they won't even lend them. I'm not even talking about whether I can afford to buy it, I can't even test it..." "Eh? There has been a lucky one who obtained an Iron Beetle?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The second [Iron Beetle] he had found had not been made public, and Cheng Yiyi obviously did not know about it, the two she mentioned did not include the one in Wang Tao's possession. "Yes, someone found one. As for whether they're a lucky one... I'm not in a position to comment, but I do know that the cost of them finding this Iron Beetle was four to five million Crystal Coins... The second Iron Beetle was found by the First Army Corps." Cheng Yiyi explained. "Four to five million Crystal Coins..." Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Whether this price to get an [Iron Beetle] was a gain or a loss was hard to say. After all, that amount of money was enough to buy both a [Snake Bead] and an [Awakening Key]. Purely in terms of combat power, a fourth-order Awakener would definitely be better than an [Iron Beetle], because an Awakener can continue to grow and increase in strength. Whereas an [Iron Beetle] can't ascend and has no potential left. Not to mention, the [Iron Beetle] that Wang Tao first found was bought by City Hall for a million; he felt that was a more reasonable price. Any more expensive and it might not have been worth it. "But no problem, I can let you test it." Wang Tao flipped his hand, and a black beetle slowly crawled on the palm of his hand. "?" Seeing the beetle in Wang Tao's hand, Cheng Yiyi was dumbfounded. She rubbed her eyes, somewhat disbelievingly looked at Wang Tao, then at the black beetle in Wang Tao's hand. "Iron Beetle?" Cheng Yiyi asked uncertainly, as she had seen the First Army Corps' [Iron Beetle] before, and it looked exactly like the one in Wang Tao's hand. "Yep, Iron Beetle." Wang Tao nodded. "You found it?" Cheng Yiyi asked again. "Yep, I found it." Wang Tao nodded again. Cheng Yiyi opened her mouth but for a moment didn't know what to say. If someone else had this [Iron Beetle], she could accept it, but wasn't Wang Tao the first to find an [Iron Beetle]? It had only been a few days, and he found another [Iron Beetle]? Moreover, during this period, she had been observing individuals or powers within the base who were opening meteorites on a large scale, after all, she wanted to investigate the probability of finding good items. But she hadn't heard anything about Starfire Society, about Wang Tao massively opening meteorites. To open meteorites on a large scale, one would need to exchange a lot of Crystal Cores, buy tons of meteorites! Even if you had both things, you would need a place and manpower. These are usually done outside of the base, which can't be kept secret. Of course, these are not absolutes, maybe someone secretly hid outside to open meteorites, but there's no need for that, nobody else would steal... especially for Wang Tao, even if someone tried, he wouldn't be afraid. So Cheng Yiyi speculated that probably Wang Tao casually opened a few meteorites in the wild and found this! What sort of divine luck was this! It was even better than her luck in merging the Strange Poison Sac and successfully awakening! Cheng Yiyi was shocked, but Wang Tao just shrugged. He suddenly had an idea, a bit of mischief crossed his mind – what if he told Cheng Yiyi that the Crystal Core he used to find the [Iron Beetle] was provided from her purchase of the [Strange Poison Sac], would that make her feel a bit more involved? "I want to try!" After the shock, Cheng Yiyi immediately looked at Wang Tao eagerly. This was not only about testing her awakening issue, but more importantly, she had never been equipped with an [Iron Beetle] before! Whether it was City Hall's [Iron Beetle] or the First Army Corps' [Iron Beetle], they treasured them dearly. They wouldn't even let others try them, let alone have a look... "Okay, let's go outside then. The space in this underground shooting range is too small for me to use my full abilities." Wang Tao and his group headed outside, and then Wang Tao had the [Night Demon Type I] stay just inside the entrance of the underground shooting range. There was a shadow in that spot, which prevented it from being exposed to the sun. Also, if they shot from outside, they would have a direct line of fire to it. Wang Tao tossed the [Armored Beetle] over to Cheng Yiyi's side. Whoosh— The Iron Beetle immediately began to swell and grow larger, transforming in the blink of an eye into a massive carapaced monster that was slightly shorter than his three-story villa. Cheng Yiyi looked up at the grotesquely shaped [Armored Beetle] before her, which also had a certain ugly charm, and she felt incredibly excited. The half-crouching [Armored Beetle]'s abdomen had already opened, and Cheng Yiyi immediately jumped up into it. Click— The [Armored Beetle]'s abdomen closed, and its eyes emitted a yellow light as it stood up straight. Thud, thud— Cheng Yiyi, as if she had been given a fun new toy, walked around the vicinity. Wang Tao threw her an ordinary rifle, which Cheng Yiyi caught with her hand. However, as the [Armored Beetle]'s hands were too big to use this standard firearm, she had no choice but to forcefully remove the trigger guard. She then daintily held the rifle between her index finger and thumb and used her other hand to pull the trigger. Bang— The sound of the gunfire rang out, and the bullet hit the leg of the [Night Demon Type I], which was being used as a target. After all, it was Wang Tao's weapon, and she was just testing whether it could trigger an Awakening, so she didn't aim for the head. [-23] The damage wasn't high, but that was just the kinetic energy of the bullet, without any poison damage. "Could it not work, or is there a probability issue?" Wang Tao had Cheng Yiyi test it a few more times, but they still couldn't trigger the poison damage. When Cheng Yiyi, still slightly excited, jumped out of the Beetle Armor, Wang Tao shook his head somewhat helplessly. "It doesn't work, it can't be triggered—wait, wait, try binding it!" Wang Tao suddenly remembered that the Armored Beetle was still bound to him. Although a non-bound person could use the Armored Beetle with Wang Tao's permission, it wouldn't exhibit its full power. Perhaps it would be different after binding? When Cheng Yiyi heard it couldn't be triggered, her eyes showed disappointment. However, seeing that Wang Tao seemed to imply there was still a chance, she followed the method Wang Tao had taught her to bind the Armored Beetle. After completing the binding, Cheng Yiyi instantly felt a sense of ownership over the Armored Beetle. She could distinctly feel that when she previously used the Armored Beetle, it was restricted, but this time she could unleash all of its power! For a moment, she even thought about whisking the Armored Beetle away, but since she still valued her reputation, she quickly suppressed that shameless idea. After binding and arming it, Cheng Yiyi took another shot at the [Night Demon Type I]. Bang! [-22] [-4] [-4] [...] "As expected..." Seeing the continuous poison damage popping up after Cheng Yiyi's shot, Wang Tao nodded in approval. Indeed, after the binding, it was different, and it was effective. Wang Tao shared the news with Cheng Yiyi, and she was overjoyed. Although she did not currently have the [Armored Beetle], at least it meant that her potential for improvement was substantial! Cheng Yiyi walked out of the Beetle Armor with some reluctance. She looked at Wang Tao and suddenly said: "Mr. Wang, I would like to offer a handsome sum to hire you as a special consultant for our Sixth Army Corps..."