Chapter 122: Chapter 121: Super Stretchy Silk Stockings
In the wooden basin, the freshly produced Spider Silk was warm.
But its color was a yellowish-orange.
"Gu Qing, drink more water after you get back."
"Oh, got it."
Zhao Chi poured the Moon Jelly and Swan Mushroom Juice into the basin, added some water, and waited for the stickiness to be removed.
After sending Gu Qing back, Zhao Chi slept for another hour.
He woke up feeling refreshed and full of vigor.
After soaking in the Carefree Spring to refresh his Bonus duration, he returned to the Wooden House. It was already past midnight.
The Spider Silk in the basin had all separated.
Fine strands covered the surface of the basin; the yellowish-orange threads now looked almost golden.
Zhao Chi placed them all into his System Space.
Now that all the materials were ready, the only thing left was to craft like his life depended on it.
He pushed the door open and walked out.
He headed straight for the village.
The village roads were dark at midnight.
A dog barked occasionally, but otherwise, it was completely silent.
Separated from Gu Qingâs body, Zhao Chi felt a little out of sorts.
âWithout Gu Qingâs constant chatter in my mind, itâs actually a bit lonely.â
And having lost that warm, comfortable feeling, Zhao Chi suddenly felt a bit cold.
At the same time, he was surprised by how slow he was running.
The difference between 7 agility and 5 agility was just too obvious.
Plus, Zhao Chi didnât have any Silk Stockings to give him a Bonus, which made him feel even slower.
Over ten minutes later, Zhao Chi arrived in front of a large courtyard and knocked on the wooden door.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK, KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
It was quiet all around, so the sound was clearly audible.
"Who is it? Itâs the middle of the night, arenât you supposed to be sleeping?"
A manâs complaining voice drifted out.
"Fifth Brother, itâs me, Zhao Chi."
CREAKâ
The wooden door opened, revealing a frowning man.
This was Zhao Chiâs clan brother, Zhao Jing, who was ranked fifth. He was also a Lord and the familyâs professional Tailor.
Zhao Jing frowned, staring at Zhao Chi.
Then he snapped, "Itâs the middle of the night. What are you doing here?"
Zhao Chi smiled. "Donât you work 24/7? I want to rent a sewing room."
Zhao Jing laughed in exasperation. "Why arenât you sewing in the tailor shop in your own territory? What are you doing sewing in the Great World? Are you planning to sell your products on the black market?"
Zhao Chi was startled and quickly said, "What are you talking about? Donât say such things. Be careful not to bring trouble to the family."
Hearing this, Zhao Jing also felt his words were a bit serious and quickly looked left and right.
No one was around.
"Alright, hurry up and get in! I was just reminding you not to do anything shady. *Thatâs* what brings trouble to the family."
Zhao Jing led Zhao Chi into the courtyard and over to a single-person sewing room on the side.
Inside was a Sewing Table, where one could make clothes and fashion items.
"How long do you want to rent it for?"
"Iâll rent it for a day to start."
Zhao Jing sneered. "Just one day? What do you think this is, a hotel? Youâre not planning on using a Speeding Charm, are you?"
Zhao Chi really wanted to punch him.
Zhao Jing continued with a huff:
"Itâs 10 Silver Coins to rent for a day.
"If you feel like throwing up after using a Speeding Charm, youâd better hold it in.
"If you do puke, itâs a 1 Silver Coin cleaning fee for the floor and a 5 Silver Coin cleaning fee for the Sewing Table.
"Got it?"
The price wasnât cheap.
But Zhao Chi didnât waste words, immediately taking out 10 Silver Coins and shoving them at him.
Zhao Jing raised his eyebrows. "Not bad. Youâve only been a Lord for a few days and youâre already rich. Before, youâd think twice before spending even 1 Copper Coin, and you were always coming over to my place to freeload on pickled vegetables."
Zhao Chiâs gaze softened a little. "Yeah. Thanks for taking care of me before, Fifth Brother. When I make it big, Iâll definitely buy you the best High Tier Sewing Table."
Zhao Jing huffed. "Getting ahead of yourself. Do you have any idea how much a High Tier Sewing Table costs? Donât just give me lip service. If you throw up later, you still have to pay what you owe, you hear?"
"Haha, I know."
"Good. All my materials are accounted for. If you use any, you have to pay for them too."
"I know."
"Hmph. In the middle of the night, too."
Zhao Jing walked away, yawning.
Zhao Chi closed the door and locked it from the inside.
This small, six-square-meter workshop was temporarily his.
Against the wall in the corner was a single bed, next to it the Sewing Table, and next to that was a wooden cabinet for storing materials.
It was a bit cramped, but it would do.
He took out all the materials from his System Space and arranged them by type beside him.
He took a deep breath and entered crafting mode.
At the same time, he activated a Speeding Charm.
Instantly, he felt his surroundings become extremely quiet.
The wind blowing in through the crack under the door seemed to have stopped.
He knew the effect of the Speeding Charm was active.
From his perspective, the world had slowed down.
Raindrops took a long time to hit the ground, and the voices of people nearby were too low and slow to be distinguished.
Now, for every hour he spent crafting, only one minute passed in the outside world.
This was equivalent to a 60-fold increase in speed.
However, this was limited to crafting mode.
If he entered combat or exited crafting mode, the effect would disappear.
There was no time to think.
He began making the Silk Stockings.
He was still making the Crude Quality ones.
Soon, ten minutes had passed.
The Speeding Charmâs effect wore off.
But from Zhao Chiâs perspective, he had been focused on crafting for a full ten hours.
He had made three and a half pairs of Silk Stocking Fashion from the special material.
The moment the effect expired, an extremely intense wave of discomfort washed over him.
Extreme dizziness and nausea.
It was like carsickness or seasickness.
Zhao Chi closed his eyes, but that only seemed to make it worse.
He fought back the discomfort, collapsing onto the bed and gasping for breath.
After a while, the feeling gradually subsided.
But then his body began to feel sore and stiff.
His mind was a complete muddle.
Zhao Chi checked his bodyâs State; the Bonus from the Carefree Spring was still active.
But his Energy was completely depleted, and his Physical Strength, while recovering quickly, was still very low.
He had even lost a tiny bit of Life.
Under the effect of the Speeding Charm, the bodyâs Consumption increased by 100%.
This meant that his ten hours of work had consumed the equivalent of twenty hours of his bodyâs resources.
Without the Bonus from the Carefree Spring, he might not have lasted even ten minutes.
âThis item really isnât meant for human use.â
âI wonder how other Craftsmen manage to endure it?â
âMaybe by taking medicine?â
âWork while taking medicine to supplement Energy and Physical Strength?â
âThatâs actually a good idea.â
âAlthough it would add some extra costs, the increase in Efficiency is worth the investment. Iâll buy some various medicines next time.â
âUnfortunately, thereâs a resistance effect with medicine; it only works a few times. Iâll still have to rest when I need to.â
Musing over this, Zhao Chi gradually drifted off into a daze and fell asleep.
He woke up more than two hours later.
His Energy and Physical Strength were fully restored.
The Bonus from the Carefree Spring was still in effect.
Only now did Zhao Chi have the strength to check the system messages.
[Improvement Successful! "Super Stretchy Silk Stockings" created.]
[Your Level has increased to Level 7. You have gained 1 Enhancement Point.]
Of the 3.5 pairs of Silk Stockings he made, 2.5 pairs were still the Defense-increasing type, the Super Smooth Silk Stockings.
But one pair was a newly improved model that increased Movement Speed, the Super Stretchy Silk Stockings.
Moreover, this pair was carefully crafted to Standard Quality.
Similarly, the new material yielded another 10 Improvement Points.
But Zhao Chi didnât apply the Improvements immediately.
âIâll apply them all at once later.â
He took another deep breath, entered crafting mode again, and activated a Speeding Charm.
By noon the next day, he had made a total of 18 pairs of special material Silk Stockings.
During this period, he returned every six hours to refresh the effect of the Carefree Spring. Fortunately, his own room wasnât far from here.
At the same time, he ultimately couldnât hold back the discomfort and threw up twice. Luckily, he managed to do it on the floor both times.
Zhao Jing happily collected the money. "If you canât handle it, donât force yourself. Do you really think a Speeding Charm is something you can use? If you keep puking like this, the cleaning fees are going to be higher than the room rent."
Zhao Chi asked, "Fifth Brother, how many Speeding Charms can you use?"
Zhao Jing sneered. "Donât you worry about that. Iâm definitely stronger than you. Your sister-in-law made some congee. Want some? You can have a bowl for free."
Zhao Chi waved his hand. "No, thanks. Iâll definitely just throw it up if I eat."
Zhao Jing sighed in resignation. "Then stop using them. Use them in moderation according to your own abilities, or youâll definitely shorten your lifespan."
Zhao Chi sighed. "I have no choice. The Magical Beast quota is about to increase. Arenât you worried, Fifth Brother?"
Zhao Jing shook his head. "Dammit... youâre right. Iâll go back to my territory to check on things. You keep up the good work. I wonât charge you the cleaning fee anymore, but donât you dare puke on the Sewing Table."
Zhao Jing left with a sigh.
Zhao Chi closed the door and got back to work.
But this time, he wasnât making new stockings. Instead, he was going to apply all his Improvements.
First, he had to allocate the remaining Improvement Points for the Super Stretchy Silk Stockings.
[Please select an Improvement target]
He selected the special material Silk Stockings.
[This Fashion item has unallocated Improvement Points. Configure them now?]
Yes!
[Please select an Improvement direction]
He transferred the stats to Movement Speed, then allocated everything to Movement Speed.
Improvement configuration successful!
Zhao Chi immediately began to improve the ultra-thin, super stretchy stockings.
Not long after, the Improvement was complete.
[Improvement Successful! "Ultra-Thin Super Stretchy Silk Stockings" created.]
[Your Sewing Skills have increased to 2 points.]
[Your Silk Stocking Specialization has increased to 2 points.]
It seemed this Improvement also gave a lot of specialization experience, raising his Sewing Skills and Silk Stocking Specialization again.
âThey both went up by one point. Iâll just keep accumulating them slowly.â
Zhao Chi clicked to view the information on the new Silk Stockings.
[Name] Ultra-Thin Super Stretchy Silk Stockings
[Quality] Standard
[Durability] 5
[Color] Transparent Yellowish-Orange
[Effective] Female Only
[Attributes] Movement Speed +10%
[Improvement] Movement Speed +50%
[Material] Movement Speed +10%, Durability +45
[Explanation] An ultimate-elasticity improved version of the special material Silk Stocking Fashion. It greatly enhances the stockingsâ stretchiness, which can assist the leg muscles in exerting force for better movement, while also shaping the legâs contours.
The Attributes were very strong.
If Gu Qing wore these Silk Stockings, she would almost seem to fly when running at full speed.
But for now, he only needed to make one pair of this type for Gu Qing to use for travel.
The defense-oriented models would be the ones heâd sell.
And selling the Crude Quality versions would be just fine.