Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Evaluation of Charles
Bailey Zhao wasn't foolish; he realized that everything Charles had said in the vault was a lie.
It was just a white-quality supreme spear!
It was by no means a weapon close to orange quality!
At that moment, Bailey Zhao's eyes were filled with unprecedented rage. Five hexagram arrays lit up, and his anger made him forget that they were still inside the Genosha palace, with others around.
David Zheng immediately gripped the supreme spear in his hand, positioning himself protectively in front of Charles.
Avery Bai calmly stated, "Bailey Zhao, you need to understand the consequences of acting out in the palace. You should know better."
Those words fell like a bucket of cold water, dousing half of Bailey Zhao's fury. He stood there, taking deep breaths, trying hard to calm himself down.
After a moment, Bailey Zhao approached Avery Bai and lowered his once-proud head, pleading, "Can you give me another chance? I was deceived by Charles, which is why I brought out a white-quality supreme spear."
Avery Bai shook his head and replied, "You know the rules. Once you step out of the vault, there is no second chance to choose."
Bailey Zhao took two steps back, his body swaying, clearly unable to accept this reality. He turned to Charles and shouted in anger, "It's all your fault! Charles, you are truly despicable and shameless for deceiving me!"
"Deceiving? Bailey Zhao, don't slander me. When did I ever deceive you?" Charles said calmly.
Bailey Zhao clenched his fists tightly, blood dripping from them. He questioned, "If you didn't say this supreme spear was close to orange quality, then why would I have given up the [Flame Dagger]?"
Charles turned to David Zheng and said, "When did I ever say it was close to orange quality? What I meant by close to orange quality was only referring to the appearance of this supreme spear."
David Zheng thought carefully and realized that Charles had indeed never claimed it was close to orange quality.
"You did it on purpose!" Bailey Zhao was nearly beside himself with anger, his resentment toward Charles nearly boiling over.
"What do you mean I did it on purpose? You were the one who directly snatched that supreme spear away. You're just too foolish," Charles said, not wanting to say any more to someone like Bailey Zhao.
Some people never reflect on their own mistakes and push all their misfortunes onto others.
If Bailey Zhao hadn't started belittling Charles and making various taunts as soon as he entered the vault, Charles wouldn't have targeted him.
Or if Bailey Zhao had been a bit smarter and less greedy, this outcome wouldn't have happened at all.
People who lack self-reflection and are both foolish and greedy are not worth Charles's time.
Just as Charles was about to leave with David Zheng, Bailey Zhao blocked their way. His target was no longer Charles but rather David Zheng.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll trade me your supreme spear. I'll compensate you with something else!" Bailey Zhao said, clearly reluctant. He had set his sights on the [Bloodthirsty Supreme Spear] in David Zheng's hands.
David Zheng looked confused and asked uncertainly, "What? You want to trade your white-quality supreme spear for my purple-quality supreme spear? Isn't that just robbery?"
"It's a trade, and there will be other things as compensation," Bailey Zhao insisted.
"What kind of compensation?" David Zheng pressed for more information.
To his surprise, Bailey Zhao replied, "I'll throw in an extra five gold coins as compensation."
As soon as those words were out, even Avery Bai, who had been watching from the side, couldn't hold back. "Bailey Zhao, you need to be more aware of yourself. You're part of the Taylor family; don't embarrass yourself."
Bailey Zhao acted as if he hadn't heard, his gaze fixed intently on David Zheng.
David Zheng outright refused, "Sorry, but I won't treat a white-quality supreme spear as a treasure!"
"How dare you refuse me!" Bailey Zhao raised his voice, his tone laced with threats.
This made Avery Bai's brows furrow. He felt that Bailey Zhao was becoming a bit too arrogant.
After all, David Zheng was a warrior of Genosha.
Threatening a Genosha warrior in front of him, a prince of Genosha, was disrespectful.
"Bailey Zhao, get lost before I take action! And if you dare make any other moves, you'll experience the wrath of a prince!" Avery Bai declared decisively.
Coming to his senses, Bailey Zhao shot a deep glance at David Zheng and Charles and left without saying another word.
"Don't worry, don't be afraid of his threats. I will look out for you," Avery Bai said to David Zheng.
David Zheng nodded. His only concern was for his sister; nothing else could make him humble himself again.
Before long, under Avery Bai's lead, Charles and David Zheng left the palace.
In front of Cyber Academy,
David Zheng wore a serious expression and bowed deeply to Charles, saying, "Charles, thank you so much today. You've already helped me twice. I have nothing to repay you with now, but if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come to me!"
Charles waved his hand dismissively. To him, these were just small favors, and he had a good impression of warriors who protected their homes and country.
"It's no problem. I have some things to take care of back at the academy," Charles replied.
After exchanging contact information, they parted ways.
Back at Cyber Academy, Charles arrived at Hale's office. He was looking forward to the enhancement of his [Black Gold Long Knife] to orange quality.
"Professor Hale, I'm back," Charles said.
Hale looked a bit curious and asked, "So, what kind of equipment did you pick in the vault?"
Charles directly pulled out the [Overlord Heavy Armor] and handed it to Hale.
Hale waved his hand, not accepting it. He wasn't very skilled at equipment appraisal and simply said, "Just tell me what quality it is. Is it purple quality armor?"
Charles shook his head. Hale frowned slightly, looking somewhat disappointed. "That's alright; blue quality armor is still pretty good. Better than nothing."
"It's orange quality," Charles said.
Hale's eyes widened in disbelief. "Orange quality? There are only a few pieces of orange quality equipment in the vault, and you actually found one?"
Charles nodded. He was used to people's astonishment; it couldn't be helped. Everything he did seemed impossible to others, but for him, those things were quite simple.
"Alright, no surprise coming from you. By the way, the president of the Forging Masters Guild, Xavier, sent over the [Black Gold Long Knife] at noon. Take a look," Hale said, calming himself a bit as he handed the [Black Gold Long Knife] to Charles.
Charles looked at the information prompt before him:
[Black Gold Long Knife [Orange Quality]: Forged from black gold and mixed with other rare metal materials, crafted using a special technique combined with the fires of the Earth's core. It can conduct various attribute energies, is incredibly tough, and exceptionally sharp. In the face of damage caused by the fusion of multiple attribute energies, it can slowly self-repair.]
[Black Gold Knife Glow]: Inject attribute energy to activate and generate knife light capable of long-distance attacks.
The information prompt didn't change much; the quality had improved to orange, and it had gained self-repair capabilities.
Charles was somewhat surprised. He remembered Xavier mentioning that the fusion of multiple attribute energies would cause wear on the [Black Gold Long Knife], requiring metal materials for repair.
He didn't expect that after the [Black Gold Long Knife] upgraded to orange quality, it would actually be able to self-repair!
Now he just needed to control the frequency of using the fusion of multiple attribute energies, and he wouldn't have to look for other rare metal materials of orange quality anymore.
Thinking of this, Charles almost forgot that he still needed to find Sadie to practice the fusion of multiple attribute energies using her light attribute skills!
There had been so many things going on in the past few days that Charles was nearly overwhelmed.
After saying goodbye to Hale, Charles went to the dedicated testing grounds at Cyber Academy to test the [Black Gold Long Knife].
Meanwhile,
In the Genosha palace, a dignified middle-aged man with an imposing presence was listening to Avery Bai's report.
"Wait a minute, you're saying Charles not only picked the [Overlord Heavy Armor] but also made the Taylor family suffer a huge loss?" Emperor Bai Qianli of Genosha asked with curiosity.
Avery Bai looked down and said, "I'm not clear on the specifics, but it seems that Charles has impressive appraisal skills and used his acting to make Bailey Zhao take the initiative to compete."
"Interesting. It's been a while since I've encountered such an interesting young man. You met Charles today; what are your impressions of him?" Bai Qianli was not concerned about the orange quality armor.
After all, it was meant for others to select from in the vault. If Charles took it, it only showed how capable he was.
He was quite curious about Charles and had reviewed a lot of information about him, which is why he wanted to hear Avery Bai's opinion.
"Your Majesty, I have a very good impression of Charles. There's a saying that comes to mind to describe him," Avery Bai expressed his thoughts on Charles.
Emperor Bai Qianli replied, "What saying? Go ahead and share."
"With a heart like a fierce tiger, he delicately sniffs the roses," Avery Bai recalled his interactions with Charles.
He continued, "Moreover, Charles has a great attitude toward David Zheng. He truly admires warriors."
"Very good, very good, very good," Emperor Bai Qianli said three times in succession.
This was the first time Avery Bai had heard such praise, but considering who was being evaluated, he wasn't surprised.
"We should encourage Camilla to spend more time with Charles. A genius like him growing up is a good thing for Genosha," Bai Qianli said, then turned to look in Kingston's direction.
His gaze was deep, and it was unclear what he was thinking. After a moment, he sighed, "War is approaching, and this world is about to fall into chaos. We need to be prepared."
Avery Bai slowly replied, "Yes, I have a sense of foreboding about the future."