The Venom set is divided into two types, namely Tier 1 and Tier 2.
According to what Lin Mo knows, a full set of Tier 1 Venom gear only provides about 50% poison resistance.
Meanwhile, a full set of Tier 2 Venom gear can reach 100% poison resistance.
Therefore, if he wanted to ensure survivability in the Shadow Holy Hall dungeon, where poison damage is percentage-based, Lin Mo's goal had to be a full set of Tier 2 Venom gear.
The Tier 2 weapon in front of him perfectly matched Lin Mo's ultimate pursuit.
Even though, level-wise, Lin Mo couldn't use it yet, that didn't affect him evolving it in advance.
So, using the 3,585 equipment evolution points he had accumulated earlier by incinerating low-tier gear whenever he had time, Lin Mo began evolving the Venomous Crossbow.
[Ding~ Consumed 40 equipment evolution points. Congratulations, you have evolved the quality of the Level 20 Tier 2 · White Venomous Crossbow to Green!]
[Ding~ Consumed 80 equipment evolution points. Congratulations, you have evolved the quality of the Level 20 Tier 2 · Green Venomous Crossbow to Blue!]
[Ding…]
The higher the level and quality of the equipment, the greater the cost of evolution became.
After evolving it six times in a row, a total of 2,520 equipment evolution points were spent.
Finally, a dazzling golden light flashed past—
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[Skyvault · Venomous Crossbow] (Lv20)
— Quality: Tier 2 · Gold
— Physical Attack Power: 455
— Additional Attributes: Strength +80, Strength +80
— Special Effect: Poison Damage (All attacks by the wielder additionally deal 280 points of poison damage to enemies)
— Class: Archer
— Description: One of the Venom set components for archers…
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Based on the recycling price of 500 yuan for a Level 20 Tier 1 white piece of equipment, which yields 20 equipment evolution points after incineration, those 2,520 evolution points, converted to RMB, amounted to a full 63,000 yuan.
Originally, spending such a massive cost just to evolve a single piece of equipment made Lin Mo feel extremely pained.
But the moment he saw this equipment's attributes, all that reluctance vanished in an instant.
In its place came boundless excitement and exhilaration.
Compared to the Hero's Golden Bow on his body, which only added 190 attack power.
Lin Mo had absolutely zero resistance to this Venomous Crossbow with double Strength bonuses.
He wished he could equip this Venomous Crossbow immediately.
Unfortunately, his current level was only 17 and didn't meet the requirement, so he could only put it into his backpack for now.
Still, this crossbow became Lin Mo's greatest goal and driving force at the moment.
Thus, Lin Mo turned around and accepted the fourth-floor quest of the Insect Nest Underground Palace from Captain of the Guards William—
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[Clear the Insect Nest (4)]
— Difficulty Index: 380
— Description: Please enter the fourth floor of the Insect Nest Underground Palace, kill Venomous Toads, and collect venom…
— Quest Progress: 0/10
— Quest Rewards: EXP +120,000, Silver Coins +2, Reputation +4, William Favorability +1, Level 20 Venom Set equipment +1 (Quality, slot, and class are random. The higher William's favorability level, the higher the chance of obtaining high-quality gear).
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The quest difficulty kept increasing.
But in Lin Mo's eyes, it meant he was getting closer and closer to the peak.
After Ling Xiao and the other four all accepted the quest, the group of five stepped into the fourth floor of the Insect Nest Underground Palace.
Facing the Level 23 poison insect, Venomous Toads, which were one level higher than the Venomous Scorpions on the third floor, Lin Mo repeated the same method, using Ice Snow · Extreme Cold Grasp plus Heaven-Slaying · Seven-Star Volley, chaining two SSS-tier skills to farm monsters.
But it was obvious that the process was no longer as smooth as before.
Previously, one full combo was enough to easily harvest three to four poison insects and end a round of combat.
Now, even with damage pushed to the limit, it often wasn't enough to kill three Venomous Toads at the same time.
Lin Mo still needed to follow up with basic attacks to finish them off.
Although it wasn't a big problem, it made Lin Mo increasingly realize, 'This Level 8 orange weapon in my hands needs to be retired.'
'Once I hit Level 20 and equip the Venomous Crossbow, paired with SSS-tier skills, my damage ceiling will definitely rise a lot.'
Lin Mo had never felt such a strong desire to level up as he did now.
And while hunting poison insects, collecting venom bottles, and carrying out the Insect Nest Underground Palace quest, Lin Mo also began thinking about one issue.
That was…the matter of the Heart of Shadow.
'At present, not a single Tier 3 main city on the entire server has successfully unlocked the hidden dungeon Shadow Holy Hall. That means no one knows yet that the Heart of Shadow dropped by the newbie village boss is the key to entering Shadow Holy Hall.'
'Once Wang Junjie deals with the Shadow Legion in Shadow City, he'll discover this secret. By then, the value of a single Heart of Shadow will directly skyrocket to ten million RMB.'
'So I must get the other two Hearts of Shadow before that happens.'
As for the one in the hands of the Dragon Soul Guild's leader, Dragon Soul Aoshi, Lin Mo already had a plan.
But now wasn't the time to take his. According to the plan Lin Mo had already laid out, he still needed to wait before making a move.
'Before that, I need to get the other Heart of Shadow first.'
Based on memories from his previous life, Lin Mo knew who held another Heart of Shadow in Blazing Ember City.
However, that person had a trait that was extremely hard for Lin Mo to deal with: greed.
Lin Mo wasn't as filthy rich as Wang Junjie, who could casually throw ten million at the problem and make it go away.
If he wanted to get the Heart of Shadow from that person without spending money, or rather, with the smallest possible cost, he'd have to put in some effort.
After all, one day had already passed since the server opened, which meant the time left for Lin Mo was only 89 days.
Lin Mo had to race against time. Unless absolutely necessary, all funds had to be used to accumulate the fifty million in total recharge.
'No time to lose. I can't let things drag on.'
'Looks like tonight, I'll have to go meet you.'
Thus, Lin Mo led Ling Xiao and the others farming until midnight.
After clearing the fourth floor of the Insect Nest Underground Palace, he told Ling Xiao and the others to log off and rest.
First, Ling Xiao had been leveling nonstop to fulfill his wager with Wang Junjie and, according to rumors, hadn't slept a wink since the server opened at eight last night.
He had already triggered multiple system safety warnings. If this continued, he would be forcibly logged off.
Second, this also gave Lin Mo the perfect opportunity to deal with his own matters.
"Senior Lin Mo, see you tomorrow!"
"Bye-bye!"
Watching Ling Xiao and Xia Wanwan and the others return to the city, Lin Mo began putting his plan into action.
He opened WeChat and sent Qin Feng a message, [You free? I need you to help me with something.]
Qin Feng's admiration for Lin Mo had already reached the point of unquestioning obedience, [Brother Mo, what is it? Just say the word.]
[Go find a guild called [Chasing Dreams]. Place an order with them and sign a breach-of-contract agreement. Remember, you must sign the contract.]
After a while, Qin Feng asked in confusion, [Brother Mo, I looked them up. This Chasing Dreams you mentioned is just a small power-leveling guild with only a dozen people. Their team leader is just a Level 12 assassin, not even higher level than me.]
[Why do you want me to place an order with them?]
Lin Mo didn't explain and simply continued laying out his plan, [Don't ask for now. Just do as I say. Remember, raise the commission, and when signing the contract, choose the highest compensation rate.]
As he spoke, Lin Mo transferred 100,000 yuan to Qin Feng's bank card.
[Use this first. If it's not enough, tell me.]
Qin Feng didn't ask any more questions and replied cheerfully, [Got it! Don't worry, Brother Mo! Leave it to me.]
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