As Qin Ming pushed open the door of the small room, he found himself temporarily aligned with the Nature Protection Society due to their shared goal. Inside the room, he finally met the other two protagonists of the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs world: a tall, capable-looking Black man and a hulking, muscle-bound giant.
After exchanging greetings, the group formally introduced themselves. Soon, Qin Ming was led to a chest within the room, which contained various special rewards exclusive to the protagonist faction.
At the back of the room, there was a black suitcase. While it appeared empty, Qin Ming could see special data displayed within his vision, showing a list of items he could exchange for using favorability points.
50 Favorability Points: A croissant.
100 Favorability Points: A white-grade throwing knife.
250 Favorability Points: Green-grade special equipment, such as Hannah's red shirt, Jack's blue jacket, or Mustafa's jeans. Essentially, everything worn by the four protagonists was available.
For 500 Favorability Points, he could get some specific blue-grade equipment:
[Item Name: Mustafa's Yellow Hat]
Effect 1: Strength +5
Effect 3: Extra +5 to running speed
Description: Want to run fast? Long legs are enough! Oh, and you'll need a stylish hat too!
In addition to the yellow hat, there were other items like Jack's combat gloves, Hannah's fashionable earrings, and Mess's metal belt, each boasting three impressive attribute boosts.
Beyond the 500-point rewards, there were even more—four special items that were not equipment but skill books containing the signature moves of the four protagonists.
These were all B-grade skills: Jack's Spinning Uppercut, Hannah's Spinning Smash Kick, Mustafa's Super Whirlwind Kick, and Mess's Tornado Impact. Each skill inflicted massive area damage and granted temporary invulnerability, allowing the user to avoid regular attacks.
The only downside was the self-damage these moves caused, which in-game would be referred to as forced health deduction. Without this drawback, these short-term invincibility skills would be rated much higher than B-grade.
The exchange cost for these skills? A mere 1000 favorability points.
But favorability was calculated individually for each protagonist, and the levels were:
Close Confidant (400)
Life-and-Death Comrade (500)
Above that were two more levels:
Romantic Love (points vary depending on the character)
Faith (fixed at 1000 for all).
In other words, to learn one of the protagonists' signature moves, you would need to max out their favorability, reaching a level where they practically worship you.
The difficulty of this was astronomical. After all, they were the main protagonists, not some easy-to-please side characters. Why would they serve as your loyal companion?
As for Qin Ming's current standing with the four protagonists? Well, his best relationship was with Mess, since the muscle-bound brute didn't like to think too much. If you were on his team, that was enough for him to like you, so his favorability with Mess was at Familiar (160).
Following closely was Mustafa, whose favorability stood at Familiar (110).
Despite Hannah's outwardly friendly demeanor, the sudden kiss from Qin Ming had caused a slight negative effect. Her favorability with him was only at Indifferent (70).
Qin Ming glanced at the suitcase and saw that Jack's profile showed a glaring Dislike (-90). His expression turned blank as his hand instinctively moved toward the revolver at his waist.
"So, he's holding a grudge even though he was the one who scared me first? Fine! I haven't forgotten that kick either. When the time comes, we'll settle this once and for all!"
Because his favorability with Mustafa and Mess was high enough, Qin Ming quickly used 100 points from each to purchase two white-grade throwing knives from the suitcase.
The points spent didn't disappear entirely; they simply became grayed out, meaning they couldn't be used for further exchanges. The relationship status between Qin Ming and the two protagonists remained unchanged.
With the two throwing knives in hand, Qin Ming ignored the meeting of the four protagonists and retreated to a corner to begin his grand project of upgrading his equipment.
He fused the two white-quality throwing knives together, instantly creating a green-quality throwing knife. Then, using the throwing knife as a catalyst and the revolver as the base, he crafted a brand-new blue-grade revolver.
[Item Name: Version 2.0 Revolver]
Effect 1: Paired with special bullets, deals 25 fixed damage per shot.
Effect 2: Restores one bullet every 30 seconds.
Effect 3: Each time the hammer is cocked, the next attack deals an additional 10 damage.
Description: Cock the hammer, shoot the gun, I'm the cowboy king. After I fire, I'll give you a spin. Borrow your scalp for a moment, will you?
Admiring his new weapon, Qin Ming couldn't suppress the radiant smile spreading across his face.
Seeing him grinning foolishly, the four protagonists couldn't help but frown. Jack's favorability for Qin Ming dropped even lower, and he muttered under his breath, "Hannah, why'd you bring this outsider along? Look at him. What else can he do besides drag us down?"
Hannah rolled her eyes at him. "Everyone has their use. Besides, I heard a lot of poachers died yesterday, many of them shot by a revolver. I suspect it was his handiwork."
"Who knows? Our goals are aligned for now. Having him around might be helpful. Even if he's not great in combat, what do we have to lose?"
Smirking like a mischievous fox, Hannah's scheming tone didn't escape the others. Clearly, they were used to her cunning ways and could only smile wryly in response.
Mess, especially, was all too familiar with her tricks. After all, it was Hannah's sweet smile and friendly attitude that had tricked him into joining the group in the first place.
You could never trust a word that came out of that woman's mouth.