Chapter 120: Creating Life

After contacting Hassan through his Dream Badge, Wang Ling used the coordinates provided to teleport into the room where the old man resided.

Unlike Su’s room, which was filled with Pokémon posters, Hassan’s dwelling was extremely austere, if not outright crude. Aside from portraits of Allah and Muhammad on the walls, a camel-hair rug on the floor, and a bed made of ebony, there were no additional decorations.

Upon seeing the Damascus saber, Hassan was naturally overjoyed. For an Arab, this saber, forged from the long-lost Damascus steel, was quite simply the finest weapon imaginable.

"With this saber, I won't have to waste my Mimic Card. Thank you, my friend."

Hassan accepted the blade reverently with both hands and swung it a few times. The blade was as bright as snow, with silvery light flickering across its surface. This old man was a fairly capable Dreamer; at the very least, in the previous world, he had managed to exchange a few blows with Singh. His marksmanship with an AK was not to be underestimated—he had killed an opposing Dreamer during an assault—and he knew how to pilot an armed helicopter. In the real world, he would be considered a rare technical talent.

After chatting with the Arab elder for a while, Wang Ling left the room and entered the Free Market to search for the weapons he needed.

He had previously considered duplicating his White Iron Musket. Firearms were relatively precious in the Beginner Zone, and the musket’s stats were quite good. If he could obtain another one and reinforce it to level 7, he could wield dual pistols. However, he was currently lacking a suitable close-quarters weapon, so he abandoned that idea.

In fact, the "Hero’s Sword" once used by Bai Feng, which consisted of a broadsword and a shield-sheath, was the perfect weapon for him—an ideal combination of offense and defense. It would have been wonderful if he could duplicate that, but unfortunately, he had no idea where Bai Feng was, nor did he feel comfortable seeking her out.

"Perhaps she has already ascended to the Intermediate Zone..."

As he searched slowly through the Free Market, he spotted many D-grade weapons, including some purple-tier equipment. Just as he was finishing his rounds of all the stalls, his eyes suddenly lit up. He had seen a weapon.

To be precise, it was not entirely a weapon, but a hybrid of a weapon and protective gear: fingerless gauntlets. They could protect the fists while simultaneously enhancing the power of unarmed strikes. Once worn, the fingers remained exposed, ensuring full dexterity.

"Survival Gauntlet (Right Hand): Type: Gauntlet-class weapon. Grade: D; Attribute: Green-tier equipment; Attack: 15; Defense: 15; Ability: Grappling success rate +15%."

"Equipment Requirements: Strength: 15, Basic Melee: LV3."

"Description: Crafted with Rejia ore, a plant-based mineral imbued with natural essence. It will not be damaged by metal weapons and can block swords and blades with bare hands. It is a highly practical piece of gear. If the matching gauntlet is found, a hidden ability will be unlocked."

The stats were simple. It added 15 points to attack and 15 to defense; while not massive, it was a solid mix of offense and defense. More importantly, the 15% increase in grappling success rate was perfect for Wang Ling’s Plum Blossom Sit-Down!

The only thing he found troublesome was that it was a single gauntlet. Furthermore, in terms of raw stats, it was clearly not as good as the purple-tier D-grade weapons he had seen earlier, nor even as good as some blue-tier D-grade or even E-grade weapons. Additionally, being a gauntlet, it lacked the reach of swords or firearms.

After much deliberation, Wang Ling decided to choose this weapon—after all, a 15% grappling success rate was a practical attribute he hadn't seen anywhere else in the entire market; it seemed this stat only appeared on glove-type gear. Plus, as green-tier equipment, if he could collect the other piece, it would surely grant an additional ability.

Besides, his own Strength stat was high enough that a heavy punch would still deal significant damage.

The price tag for the Survival Gauntlet (Right Hand) was not low. Being a D-grade green-tier set piece, it was unique in the Free Market. The seller had marked it at a high price of 38,000, even more expensive than the White Iron Musket Su had been selling! Naturally, a gauntlet was less practical than a firearm, and the price was quite steep. Even so, many Dreamers were attracted to it.

Seeing Wang Ling standing nearby for a while, the seller said impatiently, "Are you buying or not? D-grade green equipment is rare in the Beginner Zone market; it is absolutely worth this price. If you want it, be quick; if not, leave. Don't block the way."

Hearing this, Wang Ling, who had just made up his mind, smiled slightly and picked up the gauntlet—because of the system's protection, the equipment could not be snatched away, so the seller did not stop him. However, the seller’s eyes went wide as saucers, because he saw a card appear in Wang Ling’s hand, followed by a flash of light. The card vanished, replaced by another gauntlet identical in shape and style to the one he was selling!

"What is going on?!" The seller’s jaw dropped, and he was left utterly stunned.

Wang Ling placed the gauntlet back on the stall, tucked the duplicated one into his spatial bag, and without a word, teleported out of the Free Market and back to his personal room.

He took out the Survival Gauntlet and equipped it on his right hand, examining it closely. The material was a black, unidentified leather, interspersed with extremely fine green mineral grains that formed leaf-like patterns. These not only increased friction for grappling and impact force for strikes, but the hard grains also allowed the gauntlet to block incoming weapons.

He flexed and clenched his right hand, finding it very comfortable, and nodded with satisfaction. This black leather gauntlet with green stripes was excellent in appearance, utility, and comfort.

"I wonder what kind of ability I'll get if I find the left one..."

He spent 5,400 points to reinforce the gauntlet to LV4, and its stats improved again.

"Survival Gauntlet (Right Hand): Type: Gauntlet-class weapon. Grade: D; Attribute: Green-tier equipment; Attack: 24; Defense: 24; Ability: Grappling success rate +18%, Reinforcement Level: LV4."

"Equipment Requirements: Strength: 30, Basic Melee: LV3."

Wang Ling now had a total of 26,100 points. After spending 3,000 points to expand his badge spatial bag to 20 slots, he decided to keep 3,100 points for daily expenses and emergencies, leaving 20,000 points to create his ideal android.

Spending 20,000 points to create an android that could not leave the room and served no purpose other than keeping the bed warm seemed like a huge waste. But Wang Ling had no immediate need for further reinforcements or purchases. Moreover, since the Mainframe Sub-unit offered an android creation option—the ability to create a girl who belonged entirely to him, both in body and mind—what man could resist such a temptation?

As a shut-in who had never even held a girl’s hand in the real world, Wang Ling couldn't resist at all. The reason he had refrained from doing anything inappropriate to Bai Feng at the last moment was that she had her own will; forcibly possessing her body was no different from rape, something only scum would do.

With an android that belonged to him, he had no such concerns. While it might be cruel to the android, wasn't the purpose of androids in this space to satisfy the needs of the Dreamers? Whether physical or mental.

Fighting in plot worlds and returning to the Dream Space required constant training, inevitably leading to both physical and mental exhaustion, which naturally demanded a release.

Smoking, drinking, and sex were all avenues for release. Unfortunately, as a shut-in, Wang Ling had spent all his money on game cards in the real world and never touched cigarettes or alcohol. In the Dream Space, he had no women around him—Lan Yue could not be summoned into the space—which was why, after touching Bai Feng, he felt increasingly frustrated and mentally craved a girl.

Calming his mood, Wang Ling spoke to the Mainframe Sub-unit’s sphere of light: "I want to use the android creation function."

"Androids can only be created once and cannot leave the personal room. The cost is 20,000 currency points. Do you wish to proceed?"

"Proceed!"

After paying the points, Wang Ling looked at the light screen that suddenly appeared, filled with dense options, and realized just how thorough and intimate the Mainframe’s creation function was—it was detailed down to every single body part, personality trait, and preference, all of which could be custom-designed!

This made Wang Ling, who had initially planned to create a generic anime beauty, decide that he must not be so careless. He had to create a perfect woman, without a single flaw.

"First, the figure... who has the best figure in anime? Most of the ones with good figures seem to be 'onee-san' types... As a fan of both lolis and onee-sans, having only an onee-san is too monotonous. Is there any girl whose face and body combine the advantages of both?"

He suddenly thought of a woman: Asahina Mikuru from *The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya*. As a traveler from the future, she possessed a child-like face but an astonishing figure.

Through the neural link provided by the Mainframe, a naked, baby-faced, voluptuous girl appeared. With an adorable doll-like face, curly chestnut hair, and wide, watery eyes, she perfectly matched the anime standard for a "weak loli," yet she possessed an exaggerated figure with D-cup breasts, complete with pink areolas and a star-shaped mole, nearly causing Wang Ling to have a nosebleed on the spot.

"No, since she is my ideal perfect girl, this is far from enough!"

Wang Ling’s eyes burned with the fire of determination. Thinking of Bai Feng’s body, he pointed at the naked girl with the authority of a god creating life: "I say, let there be a