Chapter 464: Warfare Specialist
As before, Zhou Ning first opened the Template Cultivation Mode to check the template he'd previously chosen to train.
About a week ago he'd picked what looked like a Tony Stark-type template to simulate a crossover into the One Piece world—he was curious how that would turn out.
This was the card Zhou Ning pinned his hopes on. He counted on it to reverse his fortunes. The Immortal Saint god-tier specialty had an effect that boosts luck during simulations, so this was the perfect chance to test how well that worked.
Zhou Ning watched eagerly.
After he confirmed, the game interface flashed a modest orange light. Zhou Ning was a little surprised—though not dazzling, the glow indicated this was a legendary template. Could the Immortal Saint specialty really be that effective?
A moment later a notification popped up:
[Congratulations: You have obtained a Legendary Template Card!]
Within the soft orange glow, an image appeared: himself with golden hair, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, wearing a black suit and looking irreverent. Behind him was a large military-industrial base marked with a Germa66 emblem, and countless armored suits floated like a tide.
Warfare Specialist · Zhou Ning.
Personality: irreverent, arrogant, witty, obsessive, sharp-tongued, playboy.
Innate Specialties: Research Genius (red), Mechanical Mastery (orange), Learning Ability (purple), Anxiety Disorder (gray negative), Cash Power (orange).
Skills: Precision Mechanical Fabrication (Grandmaster), Research Capability (Master), Genetic Modification (Expert), Cloning Technology (Advanced), Lineage Factor (Expert), Explosive Flying Kick (Advanced).
[Note: When Warfare Specialist · Zhou Ning is used, his identity will be fixed as that world's top-tier tycoon. Unlockable mystic gear formula in mystic gear crafting: Iron Battle Suit. This function is irreversible.]
Suggested sale price: 1,590 traversal coins.
Zhou Ning: !!!
The Immortal Saint specialty really worked! The template crafting—so often a loss-maker—paid off in one fell swoop. This was an amazing hit!
The result fit perfectly with Zhou Ning's understanding of cultivation mechanics. Tony Stark's core traits are playboy lifestyle and top-tier research ability, and of course having money. In the One Piece world, the character most aligned with that was Sanji during his time in the Vinsmoke family—so crossing into him made sense.
Logical. It made perfect sense.
The power of this template was unquestionable—practically at the pinnacle of tech builds, and it even had the top-tier Research Genius specialty. Compared to it, Zhou Ning's own boss-level Research Genius specialty looked insignificant. On certain maps he could absolutely field this template and have a real shot at clearing them.
It also unlocked a special mystic gear formula. He looked at the Iron Battle Suit recipe and could only marvel at why it was so expensive.
Not only costly, but because of tech-tree restrictions it would be impossible to craft in the short term.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath and selected Template Cultivation Mode again to train another recruit.
Now he had confidence in the mode!
[Randomly creating template.]
[Initial template confirmed as Blue.]
[Matching…]
[Match successful.]
[You are the renowned writer who rose to fame young. You charge ahead on the literary path, your prose ornate; you master many styles and every work is a hit. Used to success and growing weary of it, you receive a chance to cross into another world. What waves will such a you stir up? Wait and see.]
A card slid into the slot showing him in a casual T-shirt—handsome but slightly unkempt—hunched over his desk with a stack of manuscripts beside him.
[Randomly selecting crossover destination.]
[Randomizing…]
[Random complete. You've been randomly assigned to the Bungo Stray Dogs world!]
Zhou Ning was greatly surprised. Honestly, the moment he first saw this writer template he'd thought the Bungo Stray Dogs universe would be the ideal destination—so he could snag some literature-based abilities like "Please Don't Die" or a flashy "Rashomon." And now it really had sent him there… wish granted, as if he'd willed it himself.
Could this be the Immortal Saint's dominance?
Tears of gratitude welled up in the longtime unlucky player.
Considering the unique fit between character and world, Zhou Ning spent 50 traversal coins to pick the Aggressive option, hoping for extraordinary returns this time.
After finishing the template cultivation came the thrilling moment. Zhou Ning opened the Traversal Simulator to run another simulation and see which templates were available to purchase.
As before, the new map offered two options: Storm of the Ninja Village and the Magic Era, priced at 180 and 220 traversal coins respectively.
Which map to choose? After a moment's thought, Zhou Ning picked Storm of the Ninja Village for the simulation. Come on, luck!
Then the moment he'd long awaited finally arrived. As a newly minted super-rich template, he excitedly chose the second option to inspect it.
A brilliant flash burst forth, and three cards appeared before him—three orange cards shining like spotlights that nearly blinded him. That's right—you read it correctly: all three were orange cards!!!!
The first card depicted himself with dark blue hair and darker skin, cloaked in black, glancing past the card with a disdainful look.
Personality: mad, stubborn, destructive.
Innates: Complete Draconic Transformation (red), Devour Magic (orange), Human Nemesis (purple), Dragon Physique (orange).
Skills: Draconic Transformation (Master), Black Dragon's Roar (Expert), Immortality Ray (Master), Dragon-Extermination Magic (Master).
Title: Final Dusk Blackwing · Zhou Ning. Crossover price: 2,090 traversal coins.
Though he didn't know this character's exact background, the skill list contained no dead weight—this template clearly had the capacity to clear maps. It also carried a god-tier specialty. Zhou Ning didn't hesitate to buy it.
This template belonged to the villain faction and didn't unlock a mystic gear recipe. Still, it completed the eighth bond in his roster that linked villain boss cards, keeping him ahead of the righteous faction.
Mad Clown — Penguin Man — Ordinary Office Worker — Illusionary Flowers — Black Warrior — Ultimate Magneto — Saviour of Villains — Final Dusk Black.
The eight great villains had connected once more, creating a new bond in the template compendium.
Awe-inspiring Villain Bond (8):
HP +1800
Spirit +15
Will +3
Agility +8
Strength +6
Bond Special: Using villain templates for crossovers dramatically speeds up dungeon completion rates. Additionally, your rate of switching personal alignment increases by 50%.
(Note: I previously missed an Ultimate Magneto—now it's added back. Single-bond attributes do not stack; the newest values take precedence. I'll post a single chapter later to correct all data—there was a half-year hiatus and a lot of data got messed up; I need time to reread and fix everything.)